Rapidly advancing legislation to fund transportation agencies for the upcoming two years was amended this week. A substitute version of House Bill 54 was accepted by the House Finance Committee this week. Notable for Ohio’s airshed management is the inclusion of the “E-Check Ease Act” intended to reduce the administrative and financial burden on Ohio drivers by creating an alternative to E-Check.

Ohio has required E-Check as an air pollution control measure in certain congested counties. The U.S. EPA has historically not allowed alternatives to conventional centralized emissions testing, however, that may change under the Trump administration. The topic will be discussed at the upcoming OMA Environment Committee meeting on April 10. 2/5/2025