OML UPDATE AT-A-GLANCE
Here are the top five things you need to know from this past week:
· We want to thank all the members that attended our first-ever virtual Annual Conference this week. Attendees had the unique opportunity hear directly from Governor DeWine and Lt. Gov. Husted in a special address to local leaders. Participants were able to virtually attend expert-led sessions and roundtable peer-to-peer discussions on valuable and timely topics regarding how municipalities can navigate both the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the other important issues facing cities and villages. We appreciate all the presenters who helped make this conference a valuable opportunity for our members, and thank you to all who participated!
· Senate Republicans have voted to select who will serve in Majority Leadership positions in the upcoming 134th General Assembly. Sen. Matt Huffman (R – Lima) will serve as Senate President; Sen. Jay Hottinger (R - Newark) will serve as President Pro Tempore; Sen. Kirk Schuring (R – Canton) will serve as Majority Floor Leader; and Sen. Rob McColley (R – Napoleon) will serve as Majority Whip. House Republicans have scheduled to elect their Majority Leadership next Wednesday, while both Senate and House Democrats have yet to schedule their leadership vote. The League congratulates all who were elected to majority leadership, and we look forward to working with each of them in the upcoming General Assembly.
· Lame Duck Watch: We are urging our member municipalities to pass a resolution urging the Ohio legislature not to pass legislation repealing Section 29 of HB 197, which allows municipalities to continue withholding income tax at a taxpayer’s place of work during the Governor’s declaration of emergency. Two bills, SB 352 and HB 754, would create a hurried and radical change to Ohio’s municipal income tax during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and jeopardize Ohio economic growth. You can find sample language for this resolution HERE and read more in the article below.
· On Monday, the Ohio Controlling Board approved an additional $30 million in CARES Act funds for local health departments. The majority of the revenues will fund epidemiology, staff and other pandemic-related services. Each local health department is projected to receive $200,000.
· New requirements for businesses have been issued under the Ohio Department of Health’s new mask order. Governor DeWine announced this week that each business will be required to post a Face Covering Requirement sign at each public entrance, and will be responsible for ensuring that customers and employees are wearing masks. The requirements will be enforced by a new Retail Compliance Unit led by the Bureau of Workers Compensation. A first violation will bring about a written warning and a second violation will bring about closure of the store for up to 24 hours. Read more in the article below.
LEAGUE URGES LEGISLATURE NOT TO REPEAL STATE-IMPOSED MUNICIPAL INCOME TAX PANDEMIC WITHHOLDING POLICY
The League is urging the Ohio legislature not to pass any legislation during lame duck regarding the repeal of Section 29 of HB 197, which instructs municipalities to continue withholding income tax at a taxpayer’s place of work, even if that taxpayer is currently working from home in another local jurisdiction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This provision extends until the end of the Governor’s declaration of emergency.
One of the two bills that would repeal Section 29 is SB 352, which is sponsored by Sen. Roegner (R – Hudson) and has already received one hearing in the Senate Local Government, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs Committee. The other bill is HB 754, which is sponsored by Rep. Jordan (R – Ostrander) and has not received any hearings.
Any action during lame duck to repeal Section 29 of HB 197 would quickly and drastically alter Ohio’s long-standing municipal income tax collection structure right in the middle of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Because of Ohio’s municipalities’ heavy reliance on municipal income tax as their primary source of revenue, this legislation would create substantial revenue cuts and destabilize the budgets of Ohio’s largest economic centers, jeopardizing the state’s economic competitiveness and stymieing future economic growth.
Cities with large employers that have a substantial number of employees working from home would experience deep revenue cuts that would harm their ability to fund essential services such as public health and safety, police and fire services, utilities, and critical infrastructure. These cities would no longer be able to keep or attract businesses, which would negatively impact not only the regional economies, but the state’s economy as a whole. Additionally, businesses would suffer the added administrative burden of tracking, reporting and remitting municipal income tax based on employee’s work-from-home locations. This legislation would result in an unavoidable increased cost of doing business in Ohio municipalities, such as increased rates for liability insurance. These factors would make it difficult to incentivize those business to remain in Ohio.
The League recognizes that this legislation offers an opportunity for the legislature to begin to examine issues related to changes in revenue generation for municipalities as employers and employees adjust to changes in workplace environments. During her sponsor testimony for SB 352, Sen. Roegner stated that the legislation is intended to provide an opportunity for state leaders to begin the discussion on the impact the withholding policy has on businesses, municipalities and taxpayers and to examine what the impact would be through a repeal or continuation of the withholding procedure.
Much more data is needed to fully understand the future impact of work-from-home employer polices on Ohio’s municipal income tax, municipalities and the statewide economy. For this reason, the League is urging that the Ohio General Assembly and the DeWine Administration establish a taskforce to study the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the future of the municipal income tax in Ohio.
Additionally, the League is talking with other interested parties in ongoing discussions about the future of the municipal income tax to ensure open and clear communication between all impacted entities going forward. We have also launched a data-gathering initiative to better understand the revenue impacts of permanent work-from-home policies on municipalities both large and small across the state. We will continue to keep our members apprised on this issue.
UPDATE ON OHIO CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE
· As of Thursday afternoon, Ohio is reporting 274,457 cases of coronavirus, 5,658 deaths, 21,558 hospitalizations and 4,143 ICU admissions.
· Ohio set another record for number of new daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday with 7,101 new cases registered in 24 hours.
o Upgraded to Level 3 (Red): Brown, Delaware, Erie, Hancock, Jackson, Knox, Miami, Paulding, Seneca, Shelby, Williams, and Wood
o Downgraded to Level 2 (Orange): None
o Watchlist Counties: Tuscarawas and Franklin
· The Governor announced the creation of a new zip code dashboard. Ohioans can now view data from their local communities and filter data by probable or confirmed case status, county, a specific zip code, or a specific time period. The new zip code dashboard can be found at coronavirus.ohio.gov.
· During a statewide address on Wednesday evening Governor DeWine outlined the increased measures his administration is taking in response to the intense surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions across the entire state. The measures are outlined below:
New Mask Order:
o Each business will be required to post a Face Covering Requirement sign at each public entrance. You can access a copy of the sign HERE.
o Each business will be responsible for ensuring that customers and employees are wearing masks.
o A new Retail Compliance Unit, led by the Bureau of Workers Compensation, will be inspecting to ensure retail compliance. A first violation of this order will bring about a written warning and a second violation will bring about closure of the store for up to 24 hours.
New Social Gathering Order:
· There has been an order in place since April to limit gatherings to no more than 10 people.
· Despite the order, there is rampant spread of the virus from banquets, wedding receptions, and social gatherings following funerals. It’s not the ceremonies, it is at the parties afterwards.
· A new order will place significant new restrictions on these social activities. Open congregate areas can no longer be open. The new order requires everyone to be seated and masked unless they are actively consuming food or drinks and prohibits things such as dancing and games.
Restaurants/Bars/Gyms:
· If the trend continues and cases keep increasing, the administration will be forced to close restaurants, bars, and gyms on November 19.
· These are locations where it is difficult or impossible to maintain mask-wearing. Mask wearing is the chief way of slowing down the spread of the virus.
Schools:
· Colleges and universities have taken strong action to keep their cases low and their campuses safe. Many have agreed to not return to in-person learning after Thanksgiving for the remainder of the semester. Unless there is a dramatic slow in the community spread of the virus, higher education institutions may have to remain virtual when classes begin in January.
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY OFFERING MAPS COURSES/CONTINUING EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY FOR LOCAL LEADERS
Last year, more than 1,400 public and nonprofit professionals participated in Management Advancement for the Public Service (MAPS) courses through the John Glenn College of Public Affairs. This year, the MAPS program is offering 70 skill-building courses from October 2020 to June 2021 in practical categories like grant writing, finance and budgeting, and project management along with more than a dozen courses on diversity, equity and inclusion.
The goal of MAPS is to provide simple, one-stop access to high quality professional development for public agencies and their employees. Each one-day course results in six hours of continuing education unit (CEU) credit. MAPS courses are 100% online through December. Individuals pay $275 per course and employers, including municipal employers, pay $225 per course when they purchase 12 or more courses in advance.
To find out more and to register, click HERE.
OHIO EPA TO HOST WEBINAR ON MOSQUITO CONTROL GRANT
The Ohio EPA will be holding a webinar next week November 17 on the OEPA’s Mosquito Control Grant. This webinar provides a brief overview of Ohio EPA’s mosquito control grant (MCG) and information about how to apply for the upcoming grant cycle. Mosquito control
grants are available annually to health departments or other governmental organizations to help with mosquito surveillance, control, source reduction, and community outreach.
The webinar will begin at 10:00 a.m. and should run till 11:00 a.m. The Ohio EPA will start accepting applications for the 2021 grant cycle on Monday November 16 and the deadline for submission is January 29. To learn more information and to register, click HERE.
COMMITTEE RECAP: BILLS OF MUNICIPAL INTEREST
Here are the bills impacting municipalities that received committee hearings this week:
· SB 212 – PROPERTY TAXATION. Sponsored by Sen. Schuring (R – Canton), would authorize townships and municipal corporations to designate areas within which new homes and improvements to existing homes are wholly or partially exempted from property taxation. During its second hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee, Ashley Ringle, Director of Communications for the League testified in support of the bill, saying it provided municipalities a “permissive tool to incentivize development and revitalization within their neighborhoods.” You can read the League’s testimony in full HERE.
· HB 312 – CROWDFUNDING. Sponsored by Rep. Powell (R – Laura), would permit intrastate equity crowdfunding under certain circumstances. During its second hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, the League submitted written testimony in support of the bill, which you can read in full HERE.
