October 7, 2008
Hi, everyone - Last week the OML Board of Trustees met at our Annual Conference in Columbus. The Board moved to endorse State Issue 2, the Clean Ohio bond issue. You can get a resolution sharing that endorsement at www.cleanohio.org and get it to the campaign through their website or by e-mailing it to us and we'll get your council resolution or individual endorsement for the campaign to them.
The Board also endorsed a "Yes" vote on the Payday Lending issue (Issue 5). A "Yes" vote on that issue would keep in place the bipartisan legislation that limits the practices of the Payday Lending industry. A sample resolution for that issue is attached.
The Board also voted to oppose Issue 3, which purports to protect property owners rights regarding water underneath their property. The Board's objected to the issue based on the provision that the issue would supersede all other provisions of the Ohio Constitution, including Home Rule.
We have also attached information on a Land Use Conference at Ohio State.
For those observing the Jewish holidays, we wish you well. And for those with a day off on Columbus Day, we wish you a pleasant three-day weekend. Go Bucks! John
September 22, 2008
Hi, everyone - It's now official. The General Assembly has canceled all sessions between now and the November election.
We have a request from the Continue Clean Ohio campaign. As you will recall that is a campaign for a "yes" vote on Issue 2 this November. Should that issue pass it would double, from $200 million to $400 million, the number of dollars available to local governments for both brownfield and green field programs, plus money for things like agricultural preservation and bike trails.
If you'd like to get involved you can go to www.cleanohio.org to endorse the issue, which many of you have done. There you will also find a factbook, sample letter to the editor and sample resolution. You might also want to think about using some of that material to reach out to your personal/political e-mail lists. We also know many folks have been trying to put together individual local events in favor of this issue. If you need help in doing that, please, contact eddy.eckart@gmail.com, who is with the campaign, for any assistance you might need.
Also, please, let us know how the "grassroots" feel is for this campaign and issue in your community. Clean Ohio has enjoyed great support, in the past, with a fairly low-key campaign, but we're still interested in your observations and thoughts and those of your neighbors.
If your interested in the 4-3 Supreme Court decision against the City of Clyde's ordinance banning guns in city-owned parks, you can read the summary and decision at www.sconet.state.oh.us.
Finally, have attached an invitation to a one-day conference, co-sponsored by the City of Oberlin, on "green energy" on October 10. The invitation, from the President of Oberlin College, includes a link for registration.
Hope to see and visit with many of you at the OML's Annual Conference from October 1-3 in Columbus. Information on the Conference is available at Here.
September 12, 2008
Good morning, everyone - Attached is everything you need to know about and to register for the League's Annual Conference in Columbus from October 1-3. We hope to see you there! Your registration can be mailed to the League's office at 175 S. Third St, Suite 510, Columbus 43215 or faxed to us at 614.221.4390.
On another note, the House has canceled its tentative sessions for September 16 and 17. The only other tentative sessions before the November elections are on September 23 and 24. The Senate has not acted on whether they will be in for any of those days. Since the Governor's budget cuts do not, apparently, need legislative action, there is only one issue swirling the rumor mill that might involve a one day session of both Houses. Fortunately, that issue does not involve us.
And, in a speech given yesterday, Chief Justice Thomas Moyer expressed hope that HB 154, the Mayor's Court bill, still might have some life in it. Respectfully, we, of course, hope the Chief Justice is mistaken.
Hope everyone has a great weekend and hope to see you at the Conference! John
September 11, 2008
Hi, everyone - Yesterday, the Governor announced an additional $540 million in cuts to this state biennial budget. Some of that is from "cash management" techniques (yes, I can send something on that, but it's pretty esoteric stuff) and from a cut across the board for most state agencies of 4.75%. Education line items and a few other expenditures were spared. The cuts do not affect the Ohio Public Works Commission or the Local Government Fund.
What will affect the Local Government Fund is court suits limiting the scope of the state's new commercial activity tax (CAT). The less that tax yields, the less the state's General Revenue Fund grows and, thus, fewer dollars flow into the LGF. Three industries have sued to be exempt or redirect dollars from the CAT tax into the General Fund (grocers, motor fuel interests and direct TV). The grocers won their exemption from the CAT within the last two weeks.
Also, have attached a copy of the administration's new prevailing wage policy, which is not as far reaching as was originally expected. According to the administration, this set of "guidelines" is meant to clarify their policy in relation to the prevailing wage statute and bring consistent application of the law among all state agencies. They also say that these policy guidelines should be considered fluid and suggestions for further adjusting these policies should be brought to their attention.
Any comments or criticisms of these guidelines should go to the Department of Commerce, which issued the guidelines. The Director of Commerce is Kimberly Zurz. (Or, as always, you can give me your comments by e-mail and we'll be glad to pass them along.)
Finally, I want to thank everyone who responded to our e-mail request for information on the road salt situation in Ohio. Obviously, right now, the widespread problems of price and availability for road salt are creating looming budgetary, public safety and economic development problems for dozens, if not hundreds of communities across Ohio.
Though the problems are most severe in some regions of the state, we certainly consider it a statewide problem simply because we cannot have an integrated state system of transportation without all the parts of the system in useful shape. While the price problem is prevalent across the Midwest, availability problems seem much more severe in parts of Ohio than in other Midwest states.
We will continue to try raise the profile on this issue. You can help with that by raising the importance of this issue with your legislators and the Governor's office. Let them know what a lack of salt will mean to public safety and the impact unsafe streets may have on your community this winter. We will be doing the same.
Thanks for all of your help. John
September 5, 2008
Hi, everyone - Know that this will not be of interest to everyone because of your different roles in your municipal governments. However, for those who have information about your community's ability to find and/or afford road salt for this winter, we would really appreciate you sharing that information with us.
We have somewhat spotty information from a couple the state's regions about huge increases in the price of salt or an inability to even get a bid for replenishing salt supplies for this winter.
We have also started inquiring of the state and county engineers about their problems with this issue.
We understand why many commodities spike in price (e.g. oil, concrete, steel, etc.), but so far the problems we're hearing with road salt don't seem to have an underlying market story. We will keep digging on that front for an answer.
Please, let us know what your community is experiencing on this issue so we can get a better statewide picture of the price and availability of road salt. We've had fluctuations before on this issue, but this one, on its face doesn't make a lot of sense.
Any information you can e-mail me would, of course, be greatly appreciated. Thanks. John
September 4, 2008
Good morning, everyone - We just got a call a little while ago from the Governor's office. They let us know that there will a press conference this morning announcing that an agreement has been reached, between the Governor and the groups supporting an issue on mandatory sick leave, that will pull that issue off the November ballot.
The issue, supported by the SEIU union and other groups, would have mandated seven days of sick leave for full-time public and private employees in organizations with more than twenty-five employees. The Governor and legislative leaders argued that the passage of such a measure would not be helpful to Ohio's economy.
Though the League had not yet taken a formal position on the issue, we were supportive of the Governor's efforts to work out a compromise on this issue. Since no one usually walks away from an issue in which they invested a lot of money gathering signatures, we expect there is more to this than just pulling the issue from the ballot. Probably not an issue that is just going away, but its forum will not be the November ballot. John
August 18, 2008
Hi, everyone - We don't want to be too critical, because attacking the municipal income tax may just be a CPA's idea of summer fun, but we were a bit amazed last week by just such an attack by the Ohio Society of CPA's. This criticism of the lifeblood of municipal services came in testimony before the Regulatory Reform Task Force of the Ohio General Assembly. The Task Force's charge is to find those things that make Ohio unfriendly as a place to do business.
A spokesperson for the CPA's described the Ohio municipal income tax as the first problem for business in Ohio and a "morass" and a burden in over 500 Ohio cities. We'll let it go that such a number doubles the number of cities in Ohio.
However, the testimony went on to attack the simplest tax in Ohio as too complicated. Further the testimony made it quite clear that only centralized (state) collection of the tax would stop the mistakes that are made by municipal tax folks all the time through their inability to read correctly ORC 718.
While we might quibble with this broad deification of the state's ability to collect taxes, that seems picky in the shadow of a charge that municipal income tax departments and the law departments, which back them up, make mistakes all the time, without the presentation of any documentation of such charges.
Short of the ideal time when we have centralized collection, the CPA's would like to see "certification and/or continuing education for a city tax administrators, standardization of interest and penalties, uniformity of resident tax credits and mandating that health insurance premiums and HSA contributions for self-employed individuals are tax deductible."
These are all fascinating ideas! Uniformity of tax credits, for example, would raise taxes in some communities or create huge deficit budgets in others, depending on what the "uniform" level turned out to be. Standardization of interest and penalties could be a nice break, especially for tax cheats.
Certification for income tax administrators just seems sort of laughably redundant. We know of no other group of public officials in Ohio that soak up educational opportunities like Ohio's municipal officials. We should know, since we sponsor and organize many of those events. And among those officials, income tax administrators and the legal departments who advise them are among the most diligent in seeking out those educational opportunities. To say otherwise, as the CPA's have, is simply insulting!
It is amazing to us that a tax that is simple, fair, keeps our members from significantly competing with schools for the property tax and provides services to almost two-thirds of the state's citizens would once again come under this kind of attack.
We have worked with the CPA's three times in recent years on municipal income tax reform bills. Each time, the bills were supposed to be revenue neutral and they were not!
At a certain point, we hope the Governor and the General Assembly ask the CPA's two questions:
1. Why, after 60 years and the huge growth in computers, has this tax become more burdensome, rather than less burdensome?
2. How will we fund our cities and villages and their essential services once the Ohio Society of CPA's reduces the yield from the municipal tax to a level they like?
This is not the sort of issue that calls for letters and resolutions. It is the kind of issue, however, that you could discuss, informally, with your legislators and candidates for the General Assembly during this budding campaign season. We hope you will.
Hope all is well with everyone. And, once again, thanks to the Hamilton County Municipal League for including us in their great annual golf outing in beautiful Blue Ash. John
August 12, 2008
Hi, everyone - Just wanted to let you know that we posted on our website the text from HB 46 on changes in public records regulations that will take effect September 1, 2008. It has to do with posting the information about public employees, especially on the internet, and redactions. The text also mentions the employees ability to ask for redactions about some information through a form developed by the Ohio Attorney General's office, a form which has not yet been done. We will post that form too, when it is completed.
Also the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is hosting a one-day, free seminar on wind energy on September 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at their headquarters in north Columbus. All the information on that first-come, first-served seminar is also posted on our website. The seminar may also be webcast and we will let you know if that is going to happen.
Hope all is well. John
August 8, 2008
Good morning, everyone - The Ballot Board met yesterday and developed the language for some of the possible statewide issues for November.
Three certain issues were dubbed Issues 1, 2 and 3. Issue 1 will deal with election deadlines for citizen initiatives. Issue 2 will be the Clean Ohio issue. Issue 3 will be the issue on water rights.
Issue 4 is the issue of mandatory sick leave. Issue 5 is the issue of whether to overturn the state law that limited payday lenders. Issue 6 is the issue that would establish a casino in Clinton County. Issues 4, 5 and 6 will only be on the ballot if those supporting those efforts submit the necessary number of required signatures.
So we now know, we can once again say "Vote Yes on Issue 2," something we've said often since the first infrastructure issue was on the ballot in 1987, as Issue 2.
Have a good weekend! Looks like a nice one. John
August 7, 2008
Hi, everyone - Attached is all you need to register for the "Restoring Prosperity to Ohio" summit meeting which will be held in Columbus on September 10. While attending the meeting is free, you have to register to attend. There is a link in the attachment to look at the agenda for the meeting. Looks like a pretty good event. Hope to see some of you there.
BTW (see I could text, if I had to), we are posting on our website (www.omlohio.org), today, (see below) new information on Local Government Fund distributions, should you have any interest.
Oh, and for those who want a sample resolution supporting the Clean Ohio issue, just go to www.cleanohio.org, click on "Get Involved." Go to the bottom of the page and there's a spot about organization endorsements. Click on it and there's a sample resolution.
Hope all is well, though I know some of you will have to take the weekend to just adjust to Brett Favre becoming a Jet. John
August 6, 2008
Hi, everyone - As part of the Governor and General Assembly's stimulus package a renewal for more Clean Ohio program resources will be on the November ballot. This is a bipartisan effort and will entail no new taxes. This issue was supported by the League when the Governor first proposed it and throughout the legislative process needed to put it on the ballot.
As you know, Clean Ohio has been very helpful to many of our members on both the green field and brownfield sides of the effort. Clean Ohio has meant more clean ups of old industrial sites, more bikes trails, more green space and many other important projects throughout the state. Seeing this issue pass in November would be very helpful for many of our members.
See the fact sheet on the issue, as well as an "endorsement, get involved" sheet that can be faxed into the campaign. Anything you can do in this regard would be greatly appreciated. For more information about the issue and the effort to urge a "Yes" vote on the issue go to www.cleanohio.org.
Also, September is "National Preparedness Month" and one of our members was kind enough to send along to us information you can get for free to distribute to your residents about that awareness program. The information you need to get those free materials is also attached.
Hope everyone is having a safe and great summer! John
July 23, 2008
Hi, everyone - Know this will not be of interest to everyone, but we had two new court fees imposed toward the end of session.
One applies to all moving violations, so it would have to be imposed and sent to the state from mayors' and municipal courts. This $10 additional court cost was in HB 562 and takes effect on September 23. You can get the language at www.legislature.state.oh.us and it is contained in Section 2949.094(A).
The second change is an additional $2.50 charge related only to certain multiple OMVI offenses (no mayor's court offenses). The change was included in SB 17, which takes effect September 30. The specific language can be found at the same website as above and is contained in Section 4510.13 A (9).
Hope everyone's having a great summer. John
June 25, 2008
Hi, everyone - Because not everyone would be interested instead of attaching, we have posted on our website Here all the financial information and an explanation of what the new economic stimulus package (HB 157) will mean to each local infrastructure district. As with past "Issue 2" and LTIP money,the districts will prioritize the local infrastructure grants and loans for spending this new money for local projects.
There are three files of information, from the Ohio Public Works Commission. If you need additional information, OPWC's website is www.pwc.state.oh.us or you can call them at 614.466.0880. Or, you can, of course, always call (614.221.4349) or e-mail us with any questions.
The Governor has also signed HB 562, the capital/corrections budget and SB 17, an OMVI bill. HB 562 has a new $10 court fee for state and county programs and SB 17 has a new $2.50 fee for those convicted of OMVI. These fees apply to municipal and mayors' courts, however, we do not yet know the effective date for either bill. Once that is determined with the filing of the bills at the Secretary of State's office, we will let you know. Should be 90 days out before you have to collect and remit these new fees.
Hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July. John
June 10, 2008
Hi, everyone - The Ohio General Assembly just ended its last day of session for awhile.
Today the House and Senate agreed to a conference committee report on HB 562, the capital and corrections bill. The bill does include, without mention of "consolidation" of local governments, a study of local government in Ohio with a focus on efficiency and economic development. The study group is expanded from nine members to fifteen members in order to include members from local government groups, including an appointment from the League. The study is to conclude its work by July, 2010.
The conference committee report also includes an exemption from Controlling Board action for the Ohio Public Works Commission for receiving Tobacco settlement money. That should speed up the availability of about $80 million for OPWC grants and loans contingent on that money. It is part of the economic stimulus package.
The General Assembly also passed the Great Lakes Compact and agreed to place on the November ballot a modified SJR 8, which is designed to protect a property owner's rights to water that passes through their property. The logjam on the latter measure was broken when it was agreed to place the measure on the ballot without its provisions that said the SJR 8 Constitutional amendment would supersede all other provisions of the Ohio Constitution, including Home Rule.
The General Assembly also reached final agreement on HB 359, which allows counties over 100,000 population to use excess delinquent property assessment funds to help townships and municipalities to maintain, secure or demolish foreclosed properties.
Though it was a fairly focused session, a few other bills, such as SB 281, which updates exemptions in bankruptcy cases, were also finalized.
As expected, HB 154, the Mayors' Court bill, did not come up for consideration and is still in the House Rules Committee.
We now start the General Assembly's summer recess. There are four days of session scheduled for September, but those days are on an "as needed" basis. Barring an emergency, need for giving authority to the Governor for further budget cuts or a political flap of some sort (it is an election year!), we think it's unlikely that those days will be needed. So, it's possible that there will be no sessions until after the November election, but we'll see.
Given that, we will not be publishing a Legislative Bulletin over most of the summer. We will, however, periodically, update you on things like the Clean Ohio campaign and other important matters.
Now, at least for me, it's on to pleasant things like the Mayors' Association of Ohio's Annual Golf Outing and Meeting and a visit, next week, with the fine municipal officials in Warren County.
Hope everyone has a great summer! And if you have any questions,thoughts or criticisms, please, don't hesitate to let us know. Thanks. John
May 30, 2008
Hi, everyone - The General Assembly adjourned this week, having dealt with most expected legislation, except the $1.3 capital budget. In that instance, the House insisted on its version of the bill, which sends the bill to a conference committee with the Senate. This delays the summer recess a bit and both Houses are now scheduled for a June 10 session.
There will be no session next week and no committees have announced meetings.
We will do a full Legislative Bulletin early next week, once we're sure we've really have read all the amendments to bills that were in the mix this week.
We are pleased that the economic stimulus package passed the House by a vote of 88-5 and is on its way to the Governor's desk.
Hope everyone has a great weekend - John
May 23, 2008
Hi, everyone - Next week is scheduled to be the last week of session before the summer recess, though a few days of session are scheduled on an as needed basis in June. Expect them not to be needed.
Committees are hearing bills of interest next week (see committee schedule). It is clear now that the doubling of Clean Ohio Funds will be on the ballot in November and that the economic stimulus package agreed upon by the Governor and the legislative leaders (HB 554) will be adopted. A change inserted in the latter piece of legislation, by the Senate, is that grants for broadband projects may be eligible for a relatively small portion of the infrastructure dollars in the package, if such projects are selected through the usual OPWC integrating district process. That money for broadband, up to $80 million, would be an eligible use as of July, 2009. Just this morning, the Senate Finance Committee decided to infuse the infrastructure program with $200 million from the state's Rainy Day Fund and forego the use of Turnpike money for that part of the stimulus package.
SB 171, the scrap metal bill, passed the House without restrictions on municipal ordinances. However, we expect the Senate to insist on its version of the bill, which will result in a Tuesday conference committee to iron out this difference.
The capital bill (HB 562) also passed the House this week. HB 521, a study of local governments, which was stopped in committee, was stuck in the bill as an amendment. An amendment was also inserted in HB 562 that prohibits municipalities from charging for PEG (public and government access) channels under the new statewide franchise act (SB 117). A new state court fee of $10 was also added through the omnibus amendment that was inserted in the bill. A synopsis of the omnibus amendment is available below.
We are still waiting to hear whether HB 270 will be heard next week. Under provisions of that bill, anyone in a public retirement system who retires in a particular public position and returns to that same position may not draw both their salary and pension at the same time. An amendment was added this week to that bill that allows public employers to pick up employee retirement contributions only if that pick-up is part of a collective bargaining agreement under Chapter 4117 of the ORC. That means those in municipal management and village officials, which are not subject to Chapter 4117, would no longer be eligible for such pick-ups, no matter what is in the best interest of those cities or villages, their employees and local taxpayers. In the interest of fairness and employee morale, this is a bad amendment to a bill already surrounded by questions and opposition. We will let you know if the bill is scheduled for a hearing next week, but it is pretty late in the session to see this bill move through both Houses before recess.
Hope everyone has a happy and thoughtful Memorial Day. John
May 19, 2008
Hi, everyone - Below is information on a videoconference (with links) that the Department of Development will hold tomorrow morning on the collaborative grants that were put in the state budget last year. Sorry for the late notice. John
Please Register
May 20th Local Government Services and Regional Collaboration Grant Program Launch
http://universitysystem.ohio.gov/vcr/vcr.php
May 16, 2008
Hi, everyone - Attached is the schedule of committee hearings of interest for next week. As you can see, it is mostly Finance Committee work on the stimulus package and the capital bill. Again, any help you can give, by talking to your legislators about the importance of the stimulus package (HB 554 and SB 335, SJR 7 and HJR 5), would be greatly appreciated. We think whichever bill and resolution emerge, it will keep the bill mostly intact, but legislators hearing from back home will really help make that the case.
By the way, HB 521, the bill to study local governments, was taken off the agenda this week. That is usually an indicator that the bill did not have enough support to get out of committee. We expect supporters of that study will now try to attach the study to the capital bill.
Hope everyone has a good weekend. John
May 14, 2008
Hi, everyone - While, with the support of the Governor and the leaders of both Houses of the General Assembly, we think the economic stimulus package is in pretty good shape. However, this week and next there will be hearings in both Houses related to this package (HB 554 and SB 335, bio-industries and infrastructure and SJR 7 & and HJR 5, the increase in Clean Ohio funds that must go to the ballot).
Any communication you could have with your local Representatives and Senators on the need for this package of state assistance would be greatly appreciated.
The details of the package are outlined on our April 3 entry below. Just click on the Jobs Analysis entry.
As I wrote, we think support for the package is strong, but any positive reinforcement from you to your legislators would be of great help. Thanks. John
May 9, 2008
Other than the dusting off of Ohio's impeachment law and calls for Attorney General Marc Dann's resignation, this week was a fairly quiet week in Columbus. The Mayor's Court bill ( HB 154) did not surface for a vote in the full House. The capital and corrections bill did not surface and is expected to be introduced either next week or the week following. HB 521, which proposes a study of local government in Ohio, was not, as scheduled, put up for a vote in House Committee. That bill is scheduled for possible amendments and a committee vote next week.
Heat was turned up on a bill, passed by the House, that would cap Payday loans at 28%. Opponents of the bill took to the airwaves with paid advertisements and showed up at the Statehouse to protest the bill, which is now under consideration by the Senate.
SB 171 (Scrap Metal Theft), which was under consideration by the House State Government and Elections Committee, was voted out of committee. An amendment, suggested by the League, that would effectively strip the bill of its anti-Home Rule language was adopted by the committee on a 13-2 vote. Opponents of that amendment suggested that having tougher laws in some parts of the state would encourage thieves to go to other parts of the state and was, therefore a bad idea. We, of course, wondered if Ohio had tougher laws on robbing banks caused thieves to rob more banks in Indiana, whether anyone would suggest Ohio ease its law on bank robbery. We very much support the House version of the bill and hope the bill can be moved through the House and reach concurrence in the Senate.
We should also not that the initial hearings on the statutory parts of the economic stimulus package will receive its first glance next week, as noted in the committee schedule, which is attached.
Hope everyone has a great weekend and hope that all the moms get the praise, gifts and hugs they so richly deserve this Mother's Day. John
May 2, 2008
Hi, everyone - Most of the energy in the General Assembly was taken up by a bill, which passed the House, that would cap the Payday lending business to a 28% annual interest rate and further regulate that business. The bill engendered some excitement when, for about 25 minutes, it was amended to also ban the Governor's effort to establish Keno in Ohio. Such an amendment would have, no doubt, garnered a gubernatorial veto for the whole bill. After some paper rattling and a short recess, the "showdown" was downgraded to "making a point" and the amendment was tabled out of the bill.
More importantly, this week the House passed, in quick order, a bill (HB 544) which would close down the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Fund and move $40 million from that Fund to the Ohio Department of Health for anti-smoking and smoking cessation programs. The rest of the money in that fund ($230 million) would go to help pay for the state's economic stimulus package, announced by the Governor and legislative leaders three weeks ago. $80 million of that $230 million would be used to help fund the increase in local infrastructure money announced as part of that package. HB 544, designed to truncate the efforts by the Foundation to thwart the state's effort to divert those funds to the economic stimulus package, is expected to be voted on by the Senate on Tuesday and signed by the Governor shortly thereafter.
And if you still would like to offer your thoughts, through testimony, on HB 521, the bill to establish a study of local government, next week may be your last chance as the bill is up for a possible vote in committee.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. John
April 14, 2008
Hi, everyone - Attached is the committee schedule for hearings of interest in the General Assembly next week. Also attached is the notice for a committee hearing and possible vote on HB 154, the Mayor's Court Bill. The hearing, in House Judiciary, is on Thursday and we hope we will have a good number of witnesses to oppose that bill. If you plan on testifying on the bill, please, let us know. This will most likely be our last chance to testify in the House on HB 154.
We very much appreciate the testimony against the bill this week from the Mayors of Boston Heights, Minerva Park, Worthington, Pataskala, Beverly and Lakemore and the testimony of the Beverly Police Chief and the Law Director of Cuyahoga Falls. All made great presentations. We hope we will have just as strong a showing next week in committee.
This week, we had a number of bills up for consideration, but not much by way of news. The one tussle we will continue to watch (though there's not much we do about this one) is over $230 million from the tobacco settlement. In announcing the economic stimulus package, the Governor, Speaker of the House and President of the Senate said that those dollars would be recouped from the state's major anti-smoking foundation, which the state created, to help pay for the stimulus package. The foundation disagreed and tried to push that money out the door to other more untouchable anti-smoking foundations. The Governor and General Assembly disagreed with that disagreement and passed a bill, in short order, to recover the money. The foundation went to court and the judge said the money just isn't going anywhere until he's heard arguments. The morning line on this one is that the Governor and General Assembly will win this fight, in the end.
Our interest is that $80 million of that tobacco money is to go to the local infrastructure package, which is a key component of the stimulus package.
The Governor also announced late today that he would veto the House version of the new energy bill (SB 221), when and if it reached his desk. He cited "unwarranted" rate increases, among other objections, as one of his reasons for his problems with the bill.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! John
April 7, 2008
Hi, everyone - Attached is the committee notice for the House Judiciary Committee. As you can see HB 154 is up for a hearing. This is your chance to testify against HB 154. Having talked to the chair late this afternoon, it will not be the last hearing on the bill or your last chance to testify in the House. Another hearing for testimony will be held the following week.
So, despite my rather petulant remarks in the Bulletin earlier today, Lou Blessing, the chairman of the committee is a great American and will hear testimony next week and the following week to make our case against this bill. Please, let us know if and when you would like to testify on HB 154.
April 4, 2008
Hi, everyone - Attached is this week's Legislative Bulletin. Our biggest concern for next week is that HB 154, the anti-Mayor's Court bill, may be up for a committee vote next week, according to comments made by the chair this week. We still do not have officials notification on the committee's plans, but will let you know as soon as we do.
Also attached is a memo that outlines the changes made to HB 154 through a substitute bill this week. It should be pointed out that "chief executive" mentioned is the memo is "Mayor" in the actual language of the amendment.
We should also point out that HB 431 is not up for a hearing next week.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. John
April 3, 2008
Hi,everyone - Today, Governor Ted Strickland, House Speaker Jon Husted and Senate President Bill Harris announced a bipartisan proposal, which is a compromise stemming from the Governor's Building Ohio Jobs Program outlined in his State of the State.
In that the proposal offers a slightly smaller package and deletes or restructures one program in which we had a great deal of interest (downtown revitalization), it is what we expected, a compromise. In that the proposal offers more certainty of success and earlier availability of new infrastructure dollars, this proposal, especially as a bipartisan effort, offers a great deal of promise. It is certainly a package we can support strongly.
Attached is our first analysis of the new proposal. We will have a full Legislative Bulletin on Friday. John
Analysis of the New Jobs Package
March 31, 2008
Hi, everyone -Just got word that the Mayor's Court Bill (HB 154) will be up for a hearing next week. However, it is marked for Possible Amendments and committee discussion. However, there will be no vote on the bill and further meetings for opposition testimony will be held. That means no testimony is needed next week.
If you would like to attend the hearing, it is at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, April 3 in House Hearing Room 114. We have been assured, once again, by the Chair's office that there will ample opportunity for opposition testimony, but just not this week. John
March 28, 2008
Hi,everyone - Spring break is over the General Assembly and attached is the committee schedule for next week. One bill that is up for an opponent hearing is HB 431, which gives firefighters a presumption for disability in the line of duty for all cancer and contagious and infectious diseases for both workers' comp and disability retirement. This presumption is given no matter how long the firefighter has served. We would like to have witnesses to oppose this bill.
The hearing on HB 431, in the House Commerce and Labor Committee is Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in House Hearing Room 114. If you would like testify against this bill, please, let us know.
We have also attached a statement by the Ohio Municipal League Board of Trustees endorsing the Governor's Jobs Program, the bond issue he outlined in his State of the State address. Understanding that often a key to such issues, historically, is bipartisan support, the Board urges everyone to talk to all members of the General Assembly about bringing to Ohio's voters in November a proposal that is effective.
Finally, we still do not have a notice for House Judiciary (Thursday, 9:30 a.m.) yet, but expect that notice sometime this afternoon. We fairly certain that HB 154, the Mayor's Court bill, will be up for a hearing and that we will need witnesses for that hearing. We will let you know as soon as we get notice.
Hope everyone has a good weekend.
March 20, 2008
Hi, again, everyone - Even though the League has yet to endorse the Governor's bond package, attached is a list of regional informational meetings that you can attend to learn more about the issue.
No matter your thoughts on the bond issue, it is a good chance to talk to a cabinet member. Pari Sabety is the OBM Director, Ross Boggs is Director of Agriculture, Sean Logan is Director of Natural Resources and Mark Shanahan is Director of Energy Policy. And, of course, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher is Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Director of the Department of Development.
Hope this information is helpful
Regional Bond Proposal Meetings
March 19, 2008
Hi, everyone - We usually rely on the National League of Cities to effectively deal with federal issues, but there is one issue that's come up that only effects a few states. That issue is one that will substantially harm those states (7) which, to one extent or another, have municipal income taxes. HR 3359, which places limits on what income can be taxed by municipalities, by folks working in a community for less than 60 days a year, will severely harm the tax revenues of many of our communities.
Attached is an appeal for you to contact your local member of Congress and our two U.S. Senators about this short sighted legislation. Have also attached a copy of this brief legislation. Any help you can give us on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
As always, thanks for your help
| Federal Munitax Bill | HR 3559 |
March 7, 2008
Hi, everyone - The committee schedule for next week is fairly light. We still don't know if House Judiciary is meeting or not, but with House in just Tuesday and Wednesday, as Judiciary is usually a Thursday meeting, it is unlikely. Because that committee has HB 154 (Mayor's Court), we will let you know as soon as we do.
It is also unlikely that we will have any sort of Bulletin next week. Following this week's sessions, the General Assembly will be on spring break until April 1.
Hope everyone has a great and safe weekend. John
February 29, 2008
Hi,everyone - With the upcoming primary election on Tuesday, next week will be light week at the Statehouse. The only bill of any interest up next week will be a bill that simply reappropriates money for capital projects that were approved in the last capital bill. No new projects in the bill and quick final passage of that bill is expected, when the General Assembly returns, after the primary.
The bill for new capital projects is expected later, perhaps as early as June.
Hope everyone has a great weekend and we have a problem-free primary. John
February 26, 2008
Hi, everyone - Attached are two documents, one from the Civil Rights Commission and one from ODOT.
The ODOT memo is simply for your information about new Federal Highway Administration rules on traffic sign visibility standards that will go into effect by 2012. There is a contact within ODOT, if you have any questions.
The second memo is a presentation of the somewhat controversial new rules that the Civil Rights Commission is proposing on pregnancy leave. These rules, if adopted, would make more specific the statutory requirements surrounding pregnancy leave. The Commission has proffered that there is no fiscal impact on any local governments that would stem from this rule. As far as we know, the Commission made that estimate without talking to any local official and they did not discuss this with the League. If you have a comment or think these rules would have a fiscal impact on your community, please, just let me know by responding to this e-mail. We will pass along to the Commission any comments you would like to have on the record on this issue. Or, of course, you can comment to the Commission directly.
The Commission would like these comments by March 10.
Thanks. John
February 22, 2008
Hi, everyone - While the League has not yet taken a position on the Governor's Bond Issue, proposed for this fall, thought we'd pass along this piece, which the administration produced, as an FYI.
We still do not have any definitive language about the issue or any clear read as to whether there is legislative support for the issue. Given the amount of new infrastructure money, Clean Ohio money and downtown revitalization money involved in this issue, we are very interested in this issue, but have not seen final language. On issues like this, that language can often be critical for both support and possible success.
Our Board will meet next week, where the matter will, most likely, be discussed. John
