Spending bills that would make funds available for a number of construction projects will hit the Ohio House of Representatives in the coming weeks.

According to local media, Ohio had a decades-long ban on earmarks, a practice that can sometimes carry a reputation for enabling corruption as they set aside funds for specific projects in yearly funding bills. But that ban has recently been reversed and so earmarked projects will again be voted on in the Ohio legislature.

Some of the earmarked projects that will be voted on include $3.8 million for the US Army Corp of Engineers to dredge Fairport Harbor, $3.5 million to rehabilitate Chagrin Falls’ wastewater treatment plan, and $3.5 million to increase storage capacity at the Willoughby-Eastlake Water Pollution Control Center.

Additionally, there’s more than a million earmark to aid the city of Munroe Falls for the installation of a water line, another million for Lake County to upgrade its emergency operations center, $800,000 to renovate and upgrade the wastewater treatment plant in Geauga County, more than a half a million for Painesville to install a water main, and a half a million upgrade the Great Lakes coastline to better whether storms and rising water levels.

Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH 13th District), who is running for Senate next year, helped get the earmarks into the upcoming funding bills and secured $18 million in projects for his district alone.

“These projects that I secured funding for will help bolster our workers and build the economy of the future right here in Northeast Ohio,” Ryan said in a statement, according to Cleveland.com. “These investments will provide outdoor space for community gatherings and events, help people who face mental health and addiction challenges, and provide women with both preventive care and treatment.”

The projects that would be funded if passed are too numerous to list, but include a large amount of funds for anything from highway improvements to bridge work. A list of the projects Ohio’s House of Representatives will be voting on is available on Cleveland.com.

Image via Wikimedia Commons.