OML UPDATE AT-A-GLANCE
Here are the top three things you need to know from the past week:
· Due to the passage of the $900 billion COVID-19 relief package by Congress this week, the Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM) has announced that since the bill extends the timeline for state and local governments to spend Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) through December 31, 2021, OBM will request that the state Controlling Board adjust the CRF spending deadlines for local governments. SB 310, which is currently awaiting the Governor’s signature, grants the Controlling Board the authority to adjust the deadline. Once the federal and state legislation are enacted, OBM will issue notifications through the OBM grants portal and will update the CRF guidance and FAQs at grants.ohio.gov.
· Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Brown has granted a preliminary injunction to block the collection of nuclear subsidies under HB 6. The injunction was sought by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati. The General Assembly failed to take any action to repeal or replace HB 6 before the end of the legislative session. Read more in the article below.
· The League will be compiling a list of bills that the General Assembly has passed and the Governor has signed that impact Ohio’s cities and villages. We will be sending this list out as our final legislative bulletin of the year.
· We want to wish all our members Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year. We want to thank our local leaders for all they did for their communities through this truly unprecedented year. We also want to thank members of the General Assembly and the DeWine Administration for their continued partnership with Ohio’s municipalities. There will be no legislative bulletin next week unless circumstances warrant it.
LEGISLATURE ENDS VOTING SESSIONS FOR 133RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The Ohio House and Senate each held marathon legislative sessions Tuesday to wrap up the lame duck legislative session. The House and Senate are each scheduled to reconvene for a nonvoting session to sine die, which is a motion to officially end the two-year General Assembly.
Two major issues were not addressed by the General Assembly before they ended the legislative session. The first was the HB 6 repeal discussed earlier in this bulletin. The second issue they did not address was the veto override of SB 311, which is a bill that would restrict the Governor’s the ability to issue statewide health orders such as quarantine orders.
Here are the major bills passed by the legislature during the lame duck session:
• HB 1 - Criminal Sentencing. Sponsored by Rep. Plummer (R - Dayton) and Rep. Hicks-Hudson (D - Toledo), would modify the requirements for intervention in lieu of conviction and for sealing records of conviction. It also provide for some of the sealing application fee to be deposited into the Attorney General Reimbursement Fund and allows the use of that amount for expenses related to sealing and expungement. The bill also expands the duties of the Criminal Sentencing Commission regarding gathering certain data and revises provisions regarding involuntary court-ordered treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.
• HB 431 - Exploitation Database. Sponsored by Rep. Abrams (R - Harrison) and Rep. Carfagna (R - Genoa Twp.), require a juvenile court in specified circumstances to hold a delinquency complaint in abeyance in certain prostitution or human trafficking cases. It also revises the law to presume that minors under the age of 17 involved in prostitution are not consenting; prohibits a person from engaging in prostitution; modifies certain soliciting offenses and penalties; and modifies Sex Offender Registration and Notification Law and Conviction Record Sealing Law provisions regarding certain "unlawful sexual conduct with a minor" convictions.
• HB 136 – Death Penalty. Sponsored by Rep. Hillyer (R – Uhrichsville), prohibit imposing the death penalty for aggravated murder when the offender had a serious mental illness at the time of the offense.
• HB 409 - Student Attendance. Sponsored by Rep. Koehler (R - Springfield) and Rep. Plummer (R - Dayton), revises attendance policies for online “e-schools” and school districts. The bill also temporarily permits school boards to employ an individual as a substitute teacher under their own education requirements. exempt schools from retaining students under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee for the 2020-2021 school year; permits the Superintendent of Public Instruction to adjust various deadlines; prohibits the Department of Education from issuing state report card ratings for the 2020-2021 school year; and establishes a safe harbor from penalties and sanctions based on the absence of state report card ratings and community school sponsor ratings for the 2020-2021 school year.
Here are all the bills the General Assembly sent to the Governor’s desk for his signature over the course of the lame duck session:
• SB 9 - Claim Information. Sponsored by Sen. Huffman (R - Lima), would require health plan issuers to release certain claim information to group plan policyholders and allow a professional employer organization to file federal payroll taxes entirely under a client employer's tax identification number.
• HB 33 - Animal Abuse. Sponsored by Rep. Lanes (R - Grove City) and Rep. Carruthers (R - Hamilton), would establish animal abuse reporting requirements.
• HB 67 - Veterinarian Services. Sponsored by Rep. Brinkman (R - Cincinnati) and Rep. Kelly (D - Cincinnati), would create the Veterinarian Student Debt Assistance Program.
• SB 68 - License Reinstatement. Sponsored by Sen. Williams (D - Cleveland), would make changes to the laws governing police and driver education, driver's licenses and testing, motor vehicle title transactions, and Bureau of Motor Vehicles transactions; and to establish requirements related to orthotics and prosthetics licensure.
• SB 140 - Concealed Weapons. Sponsored by former Sen. Uecker, would eliminate prohibitions on carrying any kind of concealed knife, razor or cutting instrument and allows for the manufacture and sale of brass knuckles, switchblades and other similar weapons to the general public.
• HB 150 - Banks Laws. Sponsored by Rep. Merrin (R - Moncolva Twp.), would reduce the tax liability of newly formed banks by up to one million dollars per year for their first three years and to exclude the principal balance of mortgage loans sold by a mortgage lender from the lender's commercial activity tax gross receipts.
• HB 210 - Health Screening. Sponsored by Rep. Carruthers (R - Hamilton) and Rep. Galonski (D - Akron), is regarding the screening of child care and preschool employees for tuberculosis and the disclosure of information about public assistance recipients to public health authorities.
• HB 231 - Epinephrine Use. Sponsored by Rep. Greenspan (R - Westlake) and Rep. Crawley (D - Columbus), would require the Department of Education to notify public and private schools of free and reduced cost epinephrine autoinjector programs, enact the "Allison Rose Act" with regard to food allergy training for public schools, and permit schools and camps to procure and use glucagon in certain circumstances.
• SB 256 – Parole. Sponsored by Sen. Manning (R - N. Ridgeville) and Sen. Lehner (R - Kettering), is regarding a bar against a sentence of life without parole, and special parole dates, for offenders who committed the offense when under age 18 and regarding dispositional hearings for abused, neglected, and dependent children.
• SB 260 – Abortion Drugs. Sponsored by Rep. Huffman (R – Tipp City), would prohibit doctors from using telemedicine to assist patients with taking two prescription drugs that induce an abortion.
• HB 263 - Occupational Licensing. Sponsored by Rep. Koehler (R - Springfield), would revise the initial occupational licensing restrictions applicable to individuals convicted of criminal offenses.
• SB 276 – LLC Act. Sponsored by Rep. Manning (R – N. Ridgeville), would enact the Ohio Revised Limited Liability Company Act and make changes to the Unclaimed Funds Law.
• HB 295 - Electric Scooters. Sponsored by Rep. Hoops (R - Napoleon), would establish requirements governing low-speed micromobility devices and make other changes to the law related to special modes of transportation.
• SB 312 – Hardin Courts. Sponsored by Sen. McColley (R – Napoleon), would reallocate jurisdictional responsibilities of current judges of the Hardin County Court of Common Pleas, create the Domestic Relations Division of the Hardin County Court of Common Pleas, and modify the provisions regarding the reimbursement of assigned municipal and county court judges.
• HB 352 - Employment Laws. Sponsored by Rep. Lang (R - West Chester Twp.) and Rep. Cross (R - Kenton, would modify Ohio civil rights laws related to employment; to modify tolling and time limitations related to criminal, civil, administrative, and other actions.
• SB 375 – County Fairs. Sponsored by Sen. Hoagland (R – Adena) and Sen. Schaffer (R – Lancaster), would void the Director of Health's July 30th order regarding county fairs and create the Agricultural Society Working Group for 2021.
• HB 388 - Out-of-Network Care. Sponsored by Rep. Holmes (R - Zanesville) is regarding out-of-network care and would prevent patients from receiving unexpected bills from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities.
• HB 436 - Dyslexia. Sponsored by Rep. Baldridge (R - Winchester) and Rep. Lang (R - West Chester Twp.), is regarding the screening and intervention for children with dyslexia.
• HB 442 – Occupational Regulations. Sponsored by Rep. Roemer (R – Richfield) and Rep. West (D – Canton), would revise the state's occupational regulations by modifying the process to obtain certified public accountant certificates.
• HB 473 - State Motto. Sponsored by Rep. Smith (R - Germantown) and Rep. Abrams (R - Harrison), would allow the state motto to be used alongside the state seal.
• HB 665 - Agricultural Societies. Sponsored by Rep. Jones (R - Freeport) and Rep. Wilkin (R - Hillsboro), would modify the laws governing agricultural societies, recodify the law governing amusement ride safety, to address funding and other issues related to county and independent agricultural societies and the Ohio Expositions Commission, and declare an emergency.
BILLS OF MUNICIPAL INTEREST PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE
Both the Ohio House and Senate concurred on multiple bills on Tuesday, sending them to Governor DeWine for his signature. The following bills impacting municipalities won the support of both chambers yesterday and are now pending the Governor’s enactment:
• SB 33 - Critical Infrastructure Facilities. Sponsored by Sen. Hoagland (R - Adena), would modify certain criminal offenses with respect to critical infrastructure facilities and to impose fines and civil liability for damage to a critical infrastructure facility. The bill was amended to also create the offense of improper organizational involvement with a critical infrastructure facility, prohibiting an organization from knowingly directing, authorizing, facilitating, or encouraging a person to commit an offense involving a critical infrastructure facility or providing compensation to do so.
• SB 175 - Civil Immunity/“Stand Your Ground.”. Sponsored by Sen. Schaffer (R - Lancaster), would grant civil immunity to nonprofit corporations and persons associated with them for certain injuries, deaths, or losses resulting from the carrying of handguns and expands the locations where a person has no duty to retreat.
• SB 259 - TIF Agreements. Sponsored by Sen. Sykes (D - Akron), would authorize the conveyance of state-owned real property and to specify that tax increment financing minimum service payment obligation agreements are enforceable against subsequent property owners. Previously, the bill was amended to require a public entity to allocate federal income tax deductions to a public building designer for installing energy-efficient commercial building fixtures. It was also amended to allow a municipality to publish notice online for certain special assessments and increased the estimated cost of certain special assessments from $250 to $500, mandating that a municipality notify affected property owners of this change.
• HB 264 - Infrastructure Loan. Sponsored by Rep. Wilkin (R - Hillsboro) and Rep. O’Brien (D - Warren), would allow the Ohio Water Development Authority to provide for the refinancing of loans for certain public water and waste water infrastructure projects and permits the authority to provide for the financing and refinancing of loans for those projects and issue water development revenue bonds and notes to pay refinancing for one or more projects.
• HB 308 - PTSD Coverage. Sponsored by Rep. Patton (R - Strongsville), is concerning workers' compensation and disability retirement for peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical workers diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) arising from employment without an accompanying physical injury. The bill was previously amended to establish a PTSD fund under the Office of Budget and Management (OBM) and task the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund with conducting a study to be complete by October 2021 regarding the needs and administration of the fund.
• HB 444 - Township Laws. Sponsored by Rep. Abrams (R - Harrison) and Rep. Balridge (R - Winchester), would make various changes to township law. The bill was amended to include a provision requiring municipalities to notify affected townships when the municipality seeks to conform boundaries.
• HB 674 – Liquor Laws. Sponsored by Rep. Hillyer (R - Urichsville), and Rep. Becker (R - Union Township), would revise specified provisions of the liquor control laws.
Earlier in the lame duck session, the General Assembly sent several additional bills to the Governor’s desk that would impact municipalities. The Governor has yet to sign any of the following bills:
• HB 7 - Water Fund. Sponsored by Rep. Ghanbari (R - Perrysburg) and Rep. Patterson (D - Jefferson), would create the H2Ohio Trust Fund for the protection and preservation of Ohio's water quality, create the H2Ohio Advisory Council to disburse money from the Fund for water quality programs, and create the H2Ohio Endowment Board to make recommendations to the Treasurer of State regarding the issuance of securities to pay for costs related to the purposes of the Fund.
• SB 10 - Theft in Office. Sponsored by Sen. Wilson (R - Maineville), would expand the penalties for theft in office based on the amount stolen. The bill also includes as restitution audit costs of the entity that suffered the loss; modifies various aspects of the laws regarding criminal and delinquency record sealing and expungement; expands the list of debts toward satisfaction of which the Tax Commissioner may apply a tax refund due to a taxpayer; expands the basis of a court's exercise of personal jurisdiction; and specify a separate standard for the issuing of warrants upon presentation of a court order.
• SB 310 - Capital Appropriations. Sponsored by Sen. Dolan (R - Chagrin Falls), allocates $2.1 billion for state and local capital projects.
• HB 312 - Crowdfunding. Sponsored by Rep. Powell (R - Laura), would permit intrastate equity crowdfunding under certain circumstances and make an appropriation.
• HB 450 - Fiscal Officers. Sponsored by Rep. Stephens (R - Kitts Hill), would require fiscal officers of certain political subdivisions to provide certificates of transition to their successors when leaving office. The bill also modifies language regarding the duty of a treasurer of a board of education to deliver to the treasurer's successor all papers related to the affairs of the district, and removes the eligibility requirements for political subdivisions to receive agreed-upon procedure audits from the Auditor of State, while continuing the agreed-upon procedure audits under rules adopted by the Auditor of State.
CONGRESS PASSES $900 BILLION COVID-19 RELIEF PACKAGE, NO NEW OR FLEXIBLE FUNDING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, BUT INCLUDES SPENDING DEADLINE EXTENSION
On Monday evening, Congress passed a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package. The legislation contains no new funding or increased spending flexibility for local governments. The bill does extends the spending deadline for CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) for state and local governments until Dec. 31, 2021.
The package also fails to increase the federal cost share for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance grants to 100 percent. Instead, the package provides FEMA up to $2 billion in assistance through states for families with funeral expenses due to COVID through December 31, 2020. It requires FEMA to provide this assistance and waives an otherwise required 25% state match.
Two other allocations that affect local governments are $27 billion for state highways, struggling transit agencies, Amtrak and airports, and $22 billion for the health-related expenses of state, local, tribal and territorial governments.
The relief package also contains:
• $600 in stimulus payments for individuals
• $300 unemployment insurance supplement through March 14, 2021
• $25 billion for rental assistance
• $325 billion in small business aid, $284 billion of which is another round of modified PPP loans along with $20 billion in Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance Program funding and $15 billion to support closed performance and entertainment venues
• $45 billion for transportation, including $14 billion in additional transit support, $10 billion in additional surface transportation block grant funding that can be used directly by communities above 200,000 and across the state, as well as $2 billion additional for primary and general aviation airports
• $54.3 billion for public K-12 schools, $10 billion for childcare via funding for the Child Care & Development Block Grant and Head Start
• $13 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
• $7 billion for broadband, $3.2 billion of which is dedicated to a low-income broadband emergency subsidy for households, and another $300 million for rural broadband
• $4.25 billion to provide increased mental health and substance abuse services and support, including $1.65 billion for the Substance Abuse and Prevention Treatment Block Grant
• $8 billion for vaccine distribution.
We want to thank our members for their outreach to their Congressional delegation and their efforts to emphasize the importance of greater and more flexible funding to ensure local economies can recover from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also want to thank the National League of Cities (NLC) for their advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill on behalf of municipalities across the nation. We encourage local leaders to continue to communication with Ohio’s Congressional delegation and urge them to take action in future legislation to ensure local governments have the financial aid they need to balance local budgets and ensure Ohioans and businesses alike continue to receive the critical quality local services they need and deserve.
BILLS SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR
Over the past two weeks, the Governor has signed a handful of the bills sent to him by the General Assembly this year:
• HB 340 - Drainage Laws. Sponsored by House Speaker Cupp (R - Lima), revises the state’s drainage laws.
• SB 21 - Benefit Corporations. Sponsored by Sen. Dolan (R - Chagrin Falls), allows a corporation to become a benefit corporation.
• SB 40 - Campus Speech. Sponsored by Sen. Brenner (R - Delaware) and Sen. McColley (R - Napoleon), expands the "Forever Buckeye" program by granting in-state college tuition to individuals who receive a certificate of high school equivalence in Ohio and enacts the "Forming Open and Robust University Minds Act" regarding free speech on college campuses.
• SB 201 - Employer Organizations. Sponsored by Sen. Dolan (R - Chagrin Falls) creates alternate employer organizations.
• SB 318 - Suffrage Commission. Sponsored by Sen. Kunze (R - Hilliard) and Sen.Williams (D - Cleveland), extends the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission through the end of 2021.
• HB 123 – School Safety. Sponsored by Rep. Manning (R - N Ridgeville), is regarding school safety and youth suicide awareness education and training.
• HB 325 – Day Designation. Sponsored by Rep. Howse (D - Cleveland) and Rep. Miller (D - Amherst), designates Feb. 18 as Toni Morrison Day.
• HB 412 – Disease Council. Sponsored by Rep. Clites (D - Ravenna) and Rep. Winter (R - Salem), establishes the Rare Disease Advisory Council.
• SB 123 – Fossil Fish. Sponsored by Sen Dolan (R - Chagrin Falls) and Sen. Manning (R - N. Ridgevile), designates the dunkleosteus terrelli as Ohio’s official state fossil fish.
• SB 252 – Drug Treatment. Sponsored by Sen. Craig (D - Columbus) and Sen. Hackett (R - London), prohibits “fail first” drug coverage for advanced spreading cancer.
• SB 284 – Reinsurance. Sponsored by Sen Hottinger (R - Newark) and Sen. Peterson (R - Sabina), changes how insurers receive credit for reinsurance.
OHIO CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE
· As of Tuesday afternoon, Ohio is reporting 637,032 cases of coronavirus, 8,252 deaths, 35,594 hospitalizations and 5,588 ICU admissions.
· Ohio is not experiencing a drastic surge in cases related to Thanksgiving gatherings which is attributable to the fact that Ohioans greatly reduced their contacts and travel over the holiday. According to anonymized data published in the New York Times, there was a 60% to 70% reduction in contacts over the Thanksgiving holiday.
· The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Ohio National Guard received a waiver that will allow them to help administer the COVID-19 vaccine. The waiver gives the Ohio National Guard the flexibility to fully utilize National Guard medical personnel trained in administering the vaccine. Ohio is working to determine how it will best utilize Guard medical personnel without adversely affecting Ohio health care systems’ critical medical resources by removing Guard members from their civilian medical positions.
· The Ohio Department of Aging and the Ohio Department of Health, with support of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, have announced the launch of the 10 Million Mask Mailer. Over the month of December, more than 10 million disposable face masks are being mailed to 2.1 million Ohioans age 65 and older. Each mailer includes five masks and information about staying well throughout the winter.
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR FIRST-EVER VIRTUAL TAX SEMINAR IN 2021
The League is excited to announce that we will be hosting our first-ever virtual Municipal Income Tax Seminar from Tuesday, January 12 through Thursday, January 14, 2021.
Our virtual seminar will provide municipal tax administrators across the state the opportunity to attend webinars covering timely topics. Webinars will cover issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact HB 197 has on withholding and refunds and how a municipality can handle the issue of projecting revenue. The seminar will also feature presentations from the Attorney General’s office on collections, as well as other practical topics, such as how to find taxpayers that have moved.
The seminar will also feature two Q&A panels, giving participants the opportunity to submit questions ahead of the seminar to be answered by expert panelists. Attendees can submit questions for two Thursday webinars. The first is entitled “Net Operating Loss, Form 4797 and Other Questions from Tax Administrators”, and the second is a presentation on municipal net profit collections and the Ohio Business Gateway by the Ohio Department of Taxation. Please submit your questions in this survey HERE, or to Director of Communications Ashley Ringle at aringle@omlohio.org by Tuesday, December 29.
To access the agenda and to register for this important event, click HERE. We hope you will join us!
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR MAYORS COURT TRAINING
The League will be hosting a live interactive webinar for Mayors Court Training from Thursday, January 14, 2021 to Friday, January 15, 2021. The training will feature presentations on topics such as reporting requirements, rules of evidence, court procedures and general legal procedures. To find more information and to register, click HERE.
OHIO EPA TO HOST WEBINAR ON RECYCLING AND LITTER PREVENTION GRANTS
On January 7, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., the Ohio EPA will host a webinar highlighting the 2021 Recycling and Litter Prevention Grant application process for local governments and other entities. The grants are allocated to help establish and implement recycling and litter prevention programs, expand recycling equipment and processing facilities and other related measures. To learn more and to register, click HERE.
GRANT WRITING USA TO HOST TRAINING WEBINARS
Grant Writing USA are offering two grant writing workshops on January 12-13, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on January 27-28, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, both via Zoom. The first webinar will cover how to find grants and write winning grant proposals, while the second teaches attendees how to stay in compliance with pre-COVID and new grant management requirements.
Grant Management Training is offering Ohio Municipal League members and their staff a special tuition rate. Members can use code “ASSN" to receive this $30 discount off the full price of either workshop at registration. This program includes downloadable class materials in PDF format. Those attending both classes can receive $70 off combined tuition. Groups of 5 or more receive a $50 discount per person. Discounts for Grant Writing USA alumni are also available.
Registration grants members unlimited access to on-demand replays through February 27, 2021. For details and registration, click HERE. Contact Janet Darling with questions at 888-290-6237 or janet@grantwritingusa.com.
