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September 28, 2010

The Honorable Richard Cordray


Ohio Attorney General
30 East Broad Street, 17th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Dear Attorney General Cordray:

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

Kevin Bacon Nan Baker Troy Balderson


House District 21 House District 16 House District 94

Pete A. Beck Louis W. Blessing Jr. Terry Boose


House District 67 House District 29 House District 58

Danny R. Bubp Dave Burke Bill Coley


House District 88 House District 83 House District 55

David T. Daniels Tim Derickson Clyde Evans


House District 86 House District 53 House District 87

Randy Gardner Bruce Goodwin Cheryl Grossman


House District 6 House District 74 House District 23

Robert Hackett Dave Hall Cliff Hite


House District 84 House District 97 House District 76

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Matt Huffman Kris Jordan Peggy Lehner
House District 4 House District 2 House District 37

Ron Maag Jarrod B. Martin Jeffrey McClain


House District 35 House District 70 House District 82

Robert Mecklenborg Seth Morgan Margaret Ann Ruhl


House District 30 House District 36 House District 90

Barbara R. Sears Todd Snitchler Peter Stautberg


House District 46 House District 50 House District 34

Gerald L. Stebelton Joseph Uecker Lynn R. Wachtmann


House District 5 House District 66 House District 75

Jeff Wagner Jim Zehringer


House District 81 House District 77

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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

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