Legislative Priorities

OTA advocates and advances issues at the Ohio Statehouse on behalf of the trucking industry. We take your problems and find solutions, that is what we do best.

The legislative agenda is directed and monitored by our Legislative Committee. The committee membership is open to all current members of the association and meets monthly by conference call.

Below is a list of priorities we are currently working on at the Ohio Statehouse.

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Continued Funding of CDL Student Aid Program
To date, OTA has secured over $10 million for the Commercial Truck Driver Student Aid Program, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Higher Education and many supporters in the General Assembly.  As Governor DeWine enters his final operating budget, and as the 136thGeneral Assembly with new leadership, OTA is actively working to continue this funding for the FY2025-2026 budget years.

Status:

The operating budget is expected to be introduced in February 2025 and will likely be passed by July 2025.  OTA has been working to advocate for this program leading up to the budget’s introduction.

Sales Tax Exemption for Forklifts
Ohio currently exempts sales and use tax for forklifts purchased for manufacturing, yet does not extend this tax exemption for those in the logistics industry like our neighboring state of Indiana. This puts Ohio’s logistics industry, as well as Ohio-based forklift manufacturers and retailers, at a competitive disadvantage.

Status:
Legislation was included in the House version of the state operating budget, HB 33, but was ultimately removed by the Senate.  SB 291 was introduced in the 135th General Assembly by Senator Shane Wilkin.  While that legislation was not enacted, OTA will work with Senator Wilkin and the General Assembly to re-introduce the legislation.

Fuel Tax Parity
During the 2019 transportation funding bill the legislature increased the revenue for roads in the form of a fuel tax increase, something the Ohio Trucking Association supported, but they increased the diesel tax by 8.5 cents more than gasoline. This is the first time in Ohio’s history that the fuel tax has been bifurcated. While we advocated for paying our fair share, trucking now pays well over 50% of the taxes and fees for Ohio’s roads, while only operating 10% of the total vehicle miles. The Ohio Trucking Association is resolute in our policy that we will not support any increase or indexing of the diesel tax until the gasoline tax rate is raised to match diesel tax.

Status:
There have not been attempts to further increase Ohio’s fuel tax; however, there were efforts in the 134th Ohio General Assembly to reduce the fuel tax to pre-2019 levels. OTA is continuing to monitor activity in the 136th General Assembly.

For-Hire Motor Carrier Sales Tax Exemption
Ohio law provides a sales tax exemption on vehicles and equipment that are primarily used in highway transportation for hire (TH). Those eligible for the TH exemption need to provide the Ohio Department of Taxation their PUCO number or their Interstate Commerce Commission number. Unfortunately, the Department of Taxation is often requiring companies to verify their tax exempt eligibility on each purchase. This antiquated process has become an accounting and administrative burden on companies, which are being forced to provide verification on hundreds of purchases. This process needs to be streamlined to allow Ohio’s for-hire motor carriers to more easily verify their tax exempt status.

Status:
The Ohio Trucking Association has coordinated meetings with the Department of Taxation and impacted members to discuss ideas on how to improve the verification process.

Limited to Third Party Litigation Financing
Protecting the industry from lawsuit abuse remains a priority for the Ohio Trucking Association. We created the Lawsuit Abuse Task Force within the Association to develop a comprehensive proposal that will increase transparency and create a better legal climate for trucking companies in Ohio.

Status:
SB 10 was introduced by Senator Steve Wilson, which puts guardrails around the third-party litigation financing industry, which largely contributes to enormous settlements and verdicts in cases against trucking companies.  We remain committed to protecting our members from lawsuit abuse and will stay involved in the SB 10 process.

Updated Spring, 2025