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Democratic Lawmakers Say Key Promises Absent From Turnpike Bill

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Ohio House Democrats say key public promises made by Gov. John Kasich are absent from a bill authorizing the sale of $1.5 billion in Ohio Turnpike bonds to fund highway projects.

The lawmakers said legislative language out last week excluded a guarantee to keep 90 percent of the bond deal's proceeds in northern Ohio, and made no mention of Kasich's pledge to freeze toll rates for a decade for those making short trips on the 241-mile toll road that cuts across northern Ohio.

State Rep. Alicia Reece of Cincinnati, the budget-writing committee's ranking Democrat, said her party has submitted amendments that would insert those provisions and others into the bill.

Messages were left seeking responses from Kasich's office and the Ohio Turnpike Commission.