Rep. Bryant Bailey Votes No on HB 1019, Calls for Broader Affordability Relief for Ohio Families

COLUMBUS — State Rep. Ashley Bryant Bailey (D-Cincinnati) voted no Wednesday on House Bill (HB) 1019, a 90-day suspension of Ohio’s motor fuel tax, saying Ohioans need immediate relief from rising costs, but the proposal falls short of the broader affordability action families need.

“We did not wake up on September 30th in an affordability crisis for the first time. Ohio families have been living this crisis every single day,” said Rep. Bryant Bailey. “They have been telling us for years that groceries cost too much, utility bills are too high, childcare is unaffordable, and housing is eating up more of every paycheck. Relief at the pump matters, but after years of rising costs, Ohio families deserve a response that meets the full weight of what they are facing.”

HB 1019 temporarily suspends Ohio’s 38.5-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax and 47-cent-per-gallon diesel tax for 90 days and appropriates more than $725 million from the state’s General Revenue Fund.

Rep. Bryant Bailey said she agrees with Dr. Amy Acton’s call for immediate relief for Ohioans struggling with rising gas prices, but believes the legislature had an opportunity to deliver a broader package of relief and stronger protections to ensure the savings reach consumers.

“Dr. Acton was right to call on the Statehouse to act. Ohioans need relief, and they need it now,” Rep. Bryant Bailey added. “But if we are going to commit more than $725 million from our General Revenue Fund, we have a responsibility to make those dollars go as far as possible for Ohio families. What passed simply does not go far enough.”

Rep. Bryant Bailey cosponsored House Bill (HB) 1020, an alternative proposal that would have provided temporary relief at the pump while also helping Ohioans with residential energy costs and property taxes.

“Affordability does not begin and end at the gas pump,” Rep. Bryant Bailey noted. “It is the gas pump. It is the grocery store. It is the electric bill. It is rent, property taxes and childcare. We had an opportunity to meet this moment with relief that reached families across their household budgets, and we should have taken it.”

The vote also comes as Ohio faces additional pressure from federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Beginning October 1, the federal government’s share of SNAP administrative costs drops from 50% to 25%, shifting a greater share of those costs to states and local governments. New SNAP work requirements also take effect October 1.

Rep. Bryant Bailey said Ohio families have been asking the General Assembly for action on affordability throughout the legislative session.

“At the same time, we are making decisions about hundreds of millions of dollars from our General Revenue Fund, Ohio communities are being asked to shoulder new costs just to help families put food on the table,” Rep. Bryant Bailey concluded. “There is much more work ahead of us to protect our families, and we need to be thoughtful about how we use every resource available to us. My no vote was not a vote against relief. It was a vote against pretending this is enough. Ohio families deserve immediate relief, real relief and a Statehouse prepared to address the full affordability crisis they are living every single day.”