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As members of the Ohio House of Representatives, my Republican caucus colleagues and I are
greatly concerned over the efforts of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to continue
to develop the 3C rail corridor without the proper legal authority.
As you are aware, House Bill 2 required a supermajority of five supportive votes in the Ohio
Controlling Board to approve any capital expenditures associated with 3C Rail. This letter is to
support State Senator David Goodman’s recent request that you halt the expenditure of $25
million by ODOT for tasks like environmental design, equipment selection, and negotiations
with the host freight railroads. The ODOT request for Controlling Board approval of these funds
did not receive five supportive votes. While ODOT has argued that these funds are not being
used for capital expenditures, it is clear to us, without going into the extensive legal
documentation here, that the definition of “capital expenditure” used by ODOT for this situation
is not in accordance with the Ohio Revised Code, federal procurement standards, or even past
ODOT practices. This is a blatant attempt to circumvent the will of the Ohio General Assembly
as conveyed in House Bill 2. We, the undersigned, fully support State Senator David
Goodman’s request that you take the appropriate legal action to halt this expenditure to protect
taxpayer funds, avoid litigation, uphold state law and protect the constitutional authority of the
Ohio General Assembly to appropriate funds.
We thank you for your consideration of this request and for your efforts to protect the people of
Ohio from all who would violate state law.
Sincerely,
Jay Hottinger
State Representative
71st Ohio House District
John Adams Richard Adams Ron Amstutz
House District 78 House District 79 House District 3
2
Matt Huffman Kris Jordan Peggy Lehner
House District 4 House District 2 House District 37
3
CC:
The Honorable Ted Strickland, Governor
The Honorable Bill Harris, President of the Ohio Senate
The Honorable Armond Budish, Speaker of the Ohio House
The Honorable Capri Cafaro, Minority Leader of the Ohio Senate
The Honorable William Batchelder, Minority Leader of the Ohio House
Joe Secrest, President of the State Controlling Board
The Honorable John Carey, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
The Honorable Vernon Sykes, Chairman of the House Finance Committee
The Honorable David Goodman, Member of the State Controlling Board
The Honorable Clayton Luckie, Member of the State Controlling Board
The Honorable Ray Miller, Member of the State Controlling Board
Jolene Molitoris, Director of the Ohio Department of Transportation
Lisa Patt-McDaniel, Director of the Ohio Department of Development