CCAO Statehouse Report - March 4, 2022

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THE STATEHOUSE REPORT
March 4, 2022

A publication of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio Printer Friendly Version

General Assembly provides additional funds for May 3^rd Primary Election administration

Pictured above: The proposed congressional redistricting maps enacted by the State Redistricting Commission on Wednesday

The State Redistricting Committee this week enacted a second version of congressional district boundaries following the Ohio Supreme Court’s invalidation of the previously passed map. The new map (accessible here) now goes to the Ohio Supreme Court for review.

With the Redistricting Commission having now passed new versions of state legislative and congressional maps, legislative leaders requested that Secretary of State Frank LaRose instruct county boards of elections to prepare for a traditional May 3^rd primary election including both state legislative and congressional candidates. Secretary LaRose later provided directives to county boards to make such preparations while noting the significant timeline constraints brought on due to ongoing redistricting litigation.

Also this week, the Ohio Association of Elections Officials (OAEO) released a letter to state lawmakers indicating their significant concerns about the difficulties of administering a full primary with the little time due to litigation. OAEO expressed their support for delaying the primary to a later date to allow more time for election preparation.

In response, the General Assembly on Wednesday appropriated $9 million to local boards of elections via Senate Bill 9 to assist with additional expenses brought on by the expedited timeline. These funds will be dispersed to county boards of elections at the discretion of the Secretary of State’s office to fund expenses such as overtime, temporary labor, additional support for board vendors, and ballot production and printing. The bill now goes to Governor DeWine for his signature.

CCAO thanks the General Assembly for the additional state support provided to county boards of elections. Counties have a significant fiscal responsibility to fund many election-related expenses, so additional state funds to offset unbudgeted costs brought on by events outside counties’ control is appreciated.

CCAO will continue to monitor redistricting-related litigation at the Ohio Supreme Court closely. Further delays could pose even greater risk to the viability of the May 3^rd primary election.

Any questions can be directed to CCAO policy analyst Adam Schwiebert.

Water and sewer lien legislation clears House committee; counties removed

The House State and Local Government Committee this week took action on House Bill 422, a piece of legislation which would limit county and municipal authority to place liens on non-owner-occupied properties for unpaid water and sewer charges.

CCAO had raised concerns about this legislation’s impact on counties’ abilities to collect unpaid water and sewer bills and the impact this could have on other ratepayers within the county system. CCAO also shared concerns about a new state-based appeals process which would establish a secondary appeals process for both billing and lien placement, housed within the State Environmental Review Appeals Commission.

During Wednesday’s committee hearing, a CCAO-supported amendment was added to the bill to remove counties from the legislation. The amendment also clarified that a county that operates as a municipal services provider on behalf of the municipality is not subject to the billing and lien appeals process outlined in the legislation. The legislation is now isolated to municipalities only.

CCAO thanks Chairman Wiggam and the members of the House State and Local Government Committee for their support of this amendment, offered by Rep. Brian Stewart. Following amendment, HB 422 passed out of the committee.

Bill to change board of revision process to go to conference committee

This week, by a vote of 0-90, the House did not concur with Senate changes to House Bill 126 (Rep. Derek Merrin). The two chambers will consider the bill in an upcoming conference committee, yet to be scheduled.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee made substantial changes to the bill that fundamentally alter the County Board of Revision process. The bill prohibits any person or political subdivision from filing a property tax valuation complaint with respect to property that the person or political subdivision does not own. A school board would still be permitted to file a counter-complaint if the school board first adopts an authorizing resolution, but the board could not file an appeal from the BOR decision. The bill also prohibits a property owner and a school district from entering into a private payment agreement in which the owner pays the school district to dismiss, not file, or settle a counter-complaint.

During his floor speech urging non-concurrence, Rep. Merrin indicated support for the Senate changes but wants the House to further review the Senate amendments.

Members with questions should contact Senior Policy Analyst Jon Honeck, jhoneck@ccao.org, 614-220-7982.

Committee amends Community Reinvestment Area reform bill

House Bill 123 (Reps. Fraizer and Cross) received its fourth hearing in the Senate Ways and Means committee, at which the committee adopted an amendment incorporating many of the CCAO's suggested changes outlined in interested party testimony.

The bill makes numerous changes to the law governing community reinvestment areas (CRA), a form of property tax abatement intended to stimulate economic development. This form of abatement is currently available for municipalities and for county governments in the unincorporated areas.

The bill removes the requirement for Department of Development approval of a new CRA. It also raises the exemption percentage threshold that requires for school board approval from 50% to 75% and allows home rule townships to establish a CRA within their boundaries.

The amendment the committee adopted includes the following provisions:

Requires CRA agreements to provide an estimate of the number and payroll of employment opportunities created and retained each year.
Sets the amount of time required to transpire between the discontinuation of a CRA project and when the project's owner may obtain an enterprise zone tax exemption or another CRA exemption at three years, compared to two years as in the bill before the amendment.
Reinstates a requirement that the owner of a CRA project notify the local authority in advance of locating the site of the project to different local authority's CRA.

CCAO is appreciative of the committee for addressing the Association's concerns and will keep members informed as the legislation continues through the process.

Bill Introductions

HB 581 - To allow county credit card charges for temporary and necessary assistance care provided by a county veterans service office.