Gov. Mike DeWine says a Republican plan to sharply slash his proposed gas tax hike will leave needed repairs undone and put lives at risk.

"For me it’s an issue of public safety. We’ve got to be able to protect our families on the highways," DeWine told reporters following a speech Wednesday to Ohio Nurses Association at the Statehouse.

His proposed 18-cent per-gallon increase in the 28-cent-a-gallon gas tax "is the bare minimum ... it allows us to keep our roads in good order; it allows us to focus on some dangerous intersections; it allows us to do a minimum of new work and new construction," DeWine said.

"Anything less than that we’re not going to be doing enough," he said. “It’s just not responsible” to ignore the problem.

The governor said state statistics show that poor road conditions contribute to one third of all highway fatalities and when road conditions deteriorate 25 percent, crashes double. When they deteriorate 60 percent, crashes go up tenfold.

DeWine's remarks came the day after House Republicans reduced his proposal. Instead of raising Ohio's gas tax by 18 cents beginning July 1, DeWine's fellow Republican proposed increasing the gas tax by 10.7 cents, phased in over three years starting Oct. 1, along with a 20-cent hike on diesel fuel. The House plan also would create a new $200 registration fee for electric vehicles and $100 for hybrids.

The House plan would raise $872 million a year when fully implemented compared to $1.2 billion annually under DeWine's plan. The House Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on the reduced amount tonight, and the full House plans to consider the transportation budget Thursday.

The governor argued during his State of the State speech Tuesday that Ohio is hundreds of millions of dollars behind in road and bridge maintenance project and $1.2 million was the "bare minimum" needed to keep Ohioans safe."

After that address, state Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks said, “We’re optimistic that the General Assembly will respond to the governor’s request for investment in Ohio.”

But when told the House likely was to substantially trim the amount requested, Marchbanks said, "Whatever amount they choose to invest, we will spend it wisely."

DeWine on Wednesday also promised that "dollars and cents" details are coming soon on funding for a host of initiatives outlined in his speech, including ones addressing drug addiction, early childhood education, safe water and child welfare.

“We plan to pay for them as we go,” he said when asked where the money would come from.

In coming days, he said, he will announce “we are going to spend X amount of dollars on this particular thing. Tomorrow for example we are going to lay out specifically in dollars and cents what we’re going to do … for our children’s services.”

DeWine is slated to speak at the Public Children Services Association of Ohio on Thursday at noon.

Dispatch Public Affairs Editor Darrel Rowland contributed to this story.

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