COLUMBUS — Local officials from around the state asked lawmakers Wednesday to increase motor vehicle license fees or the state's gasoline tax to help fix thousands of aging bridges.

        They also proposed that more of the revenue from the 22-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax — now the main funding source for the Ohio State Highway Patrol — be returned to counties and municipalities specifically for bridges.

        “I don't think we're concerned about where the revenue comes from as long as we get enough to solve the problems,” Larry Long, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, told the House Finance Committee.

        Of the state's 43,000 bridges, counties control 26,000 and municipalities maintain 2,000, many of which are in critical need of repairs. The Ohio Department of Transportation is responsible for about 15,000, and agency officials say those are in relatively good shape.

        “We're kind of chasing the tail of the rabbit trying to keep up,” Mr. Long said of county efforts to repair bridges before their 50-year life span expires.

        Mr. Long said counties and municipalities receive most of the money for roads and bridges from part of the $20 statewide motor vehicle license fee and about 25 percent of the gasoline tax. The license fee generated about $303.6 million and the gas tax $329.1 million in 2000, he said.

        Mr. Long recommended the committee consider various increases in the license fees or gas tax, but did not offer specifics. He noted that “a $5 increase in license fees would bring in the same amount as a 1-cent hike in the gas tax.”

        Rural counties and municipalities rely mostly on the gasoline tax money while urban areas receive more revenue from license plate sales because that money is distributed based on population.

        “I'm worried that increasing the gas tax or the license fees is just going to create more of a discrepancy,” said Rep. Jean Schmidt, a Republican from Loveland. She questioned whether the state should create a formula based entirely on population to ensure that funding levels are even across the state.

        Glenn Sprowls, executive director of the County Engineers Association of Ohio, said that wouldn't work because the number of bridges each county has isn't based on population.

        Mr. Long also proposed that the highway patrol be funded not from the gasoline tax, but from money generated by raising certain fees, including drivers' license renewals.

        The patrol opposes any change in its funding formula, which has been in place since the 1950s, said Sgt. Gary Lewis, the agency's spokesman.

        Under Gov. Bob Taft's budget proposal, about $168 million of the patrol's $217.6 million two-year budget would be generated from the patrol's share of the gasoline tax, which is about 2.7 cents per gallon.

        “Ultimately, Ohioans would have to take on the responsibility of funding the patrol's entire budget — that's about a quarter of a billion dollars and that's a lot to ask,” Sgt. Lewis said.

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