OML UPDATE AT-A-GLANCE
Here are the top things you need to know from this past week:
· On Wednesday, the Senate passed HB 51, which was amended on Tuesday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee to extend the ability of local governments to hold virtual meetings through June 30, 2022. The amendment contains an emergency clause, meaning this authority would go into effect immediately upon the signing of the bill. HB 51 now heads back to the House for concurrence on the amendments. We will keep our members updated on the status of this bill.
The League along with the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, the Ohio Mayors Alliance and the Ohio Township Association has released a Toolkit to assist local governments in understanding and establishing regional governance structures under the OneOhio Memorandum of Understanding. You can access that toolkit HERE. We encourage members to register for one of the upcoming webinars to discuss the toolkit and have their questions answered. You can register for the Friday, February 4 webinar at 1:30 p.m. HERE and the Monday, February 7 webinar at 12 p.m. HERE.
· On Wednesday, the Ohio House voted to pass SB 56, which contains an amendment impacting municipal sovereign immunity. The amendment is similar to language that the League helped craft during the last General Assembly. You can find the amendment HERE and read more in the article below.
· This week, Rep. Patton (R – Strongsville) introduced seven separate bills that continue the legislature’s restriction of local authority over the use of red-light traffic cameras. These bills are reintroductions from the 133rd General Assembly. The legislation imposes restrictions on which municipalities could use red-light traffic cameras, how many traffic tickets could be issued via red-light traffic camera, how much revenue could be remitted from those tickets, and where a municipality could place the cameras. Read more in the article below.
· On Monday, Governor DeWine awarded over $4.7 million in grant funding to 109 local law enforcement agencies for expenses associated with launching or maintaining body-worn camera programs. Of those agencies, 49 will use funding to create new body-worn camera programs and the other 60 agencies will dedicate funding toward expanding or upgrading existing technology. Overall, the funding will help fund the purchase of approximately 1,700 new body cameras as well as computer equipment, software and video storage. You can find the full list of recipients HERE.
· On Tuesday, Governor DeWine announced that 212 fire departments in 57 counties throughout Ohio are the recipients of the 2022 MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communications Systems) grant, which totals $3.5 million. The MARCS Grant is available annually to fire departments with service areas of 25,000 residents or less and up to $50,000 per department is available through this grant. You can read the full list of recipients HERE.
· The League has announced the 2022 schedule for the OML Municipal Officials Training Seminars. These important seminars will equip municipal officials to best lead their communities by covering topics such as home rule and local control, city and village financing procedures, council powers and procedures, public records and liability for municipalities and municipal officers. Click HERE to register. Learn more in the article below.
· OML Regional Conferences are back! Mark your calendars for the return of our in-person regional meetings from May through August. The League will once again be holding four one-day conferences in each of the four corners of our state to bring important educational resources and networking opportunities to our members. These meetings will be in addition to our Annual Conference which is scheduled for late fall of this year. Dates and location information can be found in the article below.
· On March 23, legislation impacting local governments regarding towing and storage will go into effect. SB 162, which was signed by the Governor on December 22, 2021, deals with vehicles ordered into storage by law enforcement or public safety entities and abandoned at storage facilities due to their lack of value. The new law creates a process enabling towing and storage companies to acquire the titles to these vehicles so they can properly dispose of them. Learn more about SB 162 and how it will impact municipalities HERE.
· On Saturday, the Ohio Redistricting Commission voted along party lines to adopt redrawn state legislative district maps after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the previous maps were unconstitutional. On Tuesday, the plaintiffs that filed the initial lawsuit before the Ohio Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of those map filed an objection to the new maps adopted this past weekend. The objection was filed on the basis that the Ohio Redistricting Commission did not follow the Court’s guidance and draw new maps that follow the preferences of Ohio voters more closely.
OHIO HOUSE PASSES BILL WITH SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY PROVISION
On Wednesday, the Ohio House voted to pass SB 56 by a vote of 88-2. In November 2021, the bill was amended in the House Civil Justice Committee to include a provision impacting municipal sovereign immunity. The amendment is similar to language that the League helped craft during the last General Assembly. SB 56 is sponsored by Sen. Blessing (R – Colerain Twp.) and was written to regulate the use of indemnity provisions in professional design contracts related to public improvements.
The amendment modifies the definition of "emergency call" and removes the reference to "a call to duty" in the existing definition of "emergency call”. It also requires the reduction of compensatory damages recoverable against a municipality by the percentage of contributory fault that can be attributed to the plaintiff or any other party. The League is neutral on this amendment, which you can read in full HERE.
Another amendment was adopted into SB 56 to extend similar immunity to hospital police. The bill must now be sent back to the Senate for concurrence on the House changes.
NEW SERIES OF BILLS WOULD PREEMPT MUNICIPAL CONTROL OVER RED-LIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
This week, Rep. Patton (R – Strongsville) introduced seven separate bills that continue the legislature’s restriction of local authority over the use of red-light traffic cameras. These bills are reintroductions from the 133rd General Assembly. The legislation imposes restrictions on which municipalities could use red-light traffic cameras, how many traffic tickets could be issued via the camera, how much revenue a municipality could collect from those tickets, and where a municipality could place the cameras.
The following are the bill descriptions with a link to the bill language:
· HB 547 would prohibit a municipal corporation or township that does not operate either a fire department or an emergency medical services organization from utilizing traffic law photo-monitoring devices. (Link: https://bit.ly/3rfLxEd)
· HB 548 would prohibit a local authority with a population of 200 or fewer from utilizing traffic law photo-monitoring devices. (Link: https://bit.ly/35wbDdx)
· HB 549 prohibit a local authority, in any year, from issuing a total number of traffic tickets based on the use of traffic law photo-monitoring devices that exceeds two times the population of the local authority. (Link: https://bit.ly/34dLjnZ)
· HB 550 would prohibit a local authority from deriving more than 30 per cent of the total annual revenue of the local authority from the issuance of tickets for traffic law violations based on evidence recorded by traffic law photo-monitoring devices. (Link: https://bit.ly/3rV86gu)
· HB 551 would require 80 per cent of all revenue from a traffic camera ticket be used for law enforcement expenses. (Link: https://bit.ly/3r6kjjb)
· HB 552 would prohibit placement of a traffic camera within one-half mile of an interstate highway entrance. (Link: https://bit.ly/3ABV6Ad)
· HB 553 would prohibit a local authority, located in a county with a population of one million or more, from using traffic cameras to enforce traffic violations on interstate highways. (Link: https://bit.ly/3KLSqEO)
These bills are a blatant preemption on municipal Home Rule authority and the right of cities and villages to operate red light traffic cameras within their jurisdictions. The legislature has already created a penalty for local governments operating these cameras in HB 62, the FY20-21 transportation budget, by mandating that the revenue obtained through traffic tickets issued by red light traffic cameras must be reported to the Ohio Department of Taxation (ODT) so that the amount of revenue in tickets is deducted from that local government’s Local Government Fund (LGF) distribution. The legislature must stop this continued encroachment on local control. We will continue to keep our members updated on this legislation.
DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR UNRESPONSIVE NON-ENTITLEMENT UNITES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT (NEUs) TO APPLY FOR AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) FUNDS
The following is a communication from the Ohio Office of Budget and Management to unresponsive NEUs:
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), passed by the U.S. Congress in March 2021, appropriated $844 million to the state of Ohio for distribution to local governments with a population less than 50,000. During the previous application period offered by the Office of Budget and Management (OBM), your local government did not apply for your allocation and was been deemed unresponsive. Funds from unresponsive governments gets redistributed to all other eligible local governments that applied for funds.
The U.S. Treasury released their final rule on January 6, 2022 providing significant flexibility for the use of funds. Previously, funds needed to be used for specific purposes provided in the rule to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The final rule added a standard allowance for assumed revenue losses of up to $10 million. Funds used under the assumed revenue loss category can be used for most general government services, and do not need to tie back to the pandemic or the other eligible use categories. This means that your government entity could use your full allocation toward typical general government expenditures such as road paving, payroll, parks and recreation needs, facility renovations, vehicles, equipment, etc. Local governments have until December 31, 2024 to obligate funds and until December 31, 2026 to fully spend the funding. In addition, the Treasury has communicated minimal reporting requirements when using funds for revenue loss.
In recognition of this new flexibility, OBM is offering one final opportunity for your local government to apply for their allocation. We have opened the application portal up through February 11, 2022 to allow for those that were previously unresponsive to apply. The application can be found at https://grants.ohio.gov/fundingopportunities.aspx under the funding opportunity titled “American Rescue Plan Act-Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for Ohio Non-Entitlement Units of Local Government.”
If we do not receive your application by the deadline, your local government will be declared as unresponsive in accordance with the U.S. Treasury requirements and your allocation may be reallocated to other eligible local governments across the state. In addition, unresponsive local governments are not eligible for the second tranche payment. Please consider completing the application; this is a rare opportunity to use one-time funds to address the needs of your community with minimal restrictions.
If you need any assistance in applying or wish to discuss the new requirements, you may reach out to Gene Berry at (614) 728-4661 or email the Ohio Grants Partnership team at grants@obm.ohio.gov.
LEAGUE ANNOUNCES DATES AND LOCATIONS FOR 2022 REGIONAL CONFERENCES
From May through August, the League will be holding four Regional Conferences throughout the state to bring important elements of our Annual Conference right to the doorstep of the local leaders who serve Ohio's cities and villages.
Our Regional Conferences are an invaluable opportunity for municipal officials across the state to attend presentations on the many critical issues facing Ohio’s cities and villages while connecting and networking with other local leaders in their area.
Mark your calendars for the following dates:
· Southeast: Friday, May 20 – Ohio University Inn & Conference Center in Athens
· Northeast: Friday, June 10 – Hilton Garden Inn in Akron
· Southwest: Friday, June 24 – Marriott NE Mason
· Northwest: Friday, August 5 – Hancock Hotel in Findlay
We will have the agenda and registration information available in the next few weeks. We look forward to seeing you there!
2022 SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR OML MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS TRAINING SEMINARS
The League is excited to announce the 2022 schedule for our Municipal Officials Training Seminars. These seminars are designed to prepare our local leaders for the issues and responsibilities they manage as municipal officials and assist in navigating the successful management of their communities.
The presentations will cover topics such as what is Home Rule and what authorities are granted to municipalities through local control, new changes to city and village financing procedures, council procedures and authorities, management responsibilities related to public records and liability issues for municipalities.
The following are the dates and locations for this year’s Municipal Officials Training Seminars:
· Saturday, March 5 – Cincinnati Marriott Northeast
· Saturday, March 12 – Doubletree Columbus/Worthington
· Saturday, March 26 – Embassy Suites Rockside, Independence
These seminars are a great opportunity for both local leaders starting their first terms in office and current municipal leaders. To find out more information and register, click HERE
UPCOMING FEBRUARY OML/OMAA WEBINARS
On Wednesday, February 16 from 11a.m. to 12 p.m., the League along with the Ohio Municipal Attorneys Association (OMAA) will be hosting a free webinar called “American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – Practical Guidance from Final Rule.” As we reported in previous Member Alerts and bulletins, on January 6, the U.S. Dept. of Treasury issued the Final Rule on the implementation of the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund established under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The Final Rule will take effect April 1, 2022, and there are some provisions that may prove very helpful to Ohio municipalities. This webinar will focus on these new provisions in the Final Rule and include opportunities for questions and answers, both during and after the webinar. Learn more and register HERE.
Additionally, on Wednesday, February 23 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., the League and the OMAA will be hosting a webinar called “Labor and Employment Issues – Basics of Discipline.” Public employees have constitutional procedural rights which are strictly enforced by courts, arbitrators, and in civil service appeals. This webinar will examine which employees are subject to the standards, the multiple standards, and provide the legal basis for each including the Loudermill and Garrity standards. Investigation techniques and potential conflict between administrative and criminal investigations and discipline in union and civil service environments will be addressed. Practical applications will be presented, and sample forms and outlines will be provided. Learn more and register HERE.
MUNICIPALITIES INVITED TO HELP FOSTER NEXT-GENERATION ENTREPRENEURS
The Ohio Afterschool Network (OAN) is inviting community leaders, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, parents, schools, libraries and others to help Ohio K-12 youth to share their great ideas by entering the Ohio Afterschool Network Pitch Challenge.
Youth submit a 30-90 second video pitching an idea for a business or social venture and compete for prizes including $500 Amazon gift cards. Youth don’t need to start a business; they just need to pitch an idea! The entry deadline is Monday, March 28, 2022.
Free curricula, training and technical assistance are available to those who want to facilitate sessions to help youth learn about entrepreneurship.
Details are available on the OAN website HERE. For more information contact Liz Nusken, OAN Entrepreneur Education Consultant, liz@oanohio.org.
NEW BILLS OF MUNICIPAL INTEREST
· HB 538 – Public Meetings. Sponsored by Rep. Koehler (R – Springfield) and Rep. Kelly (D – Cincinnati), would provide temporary authority, expiring July 1, 2022, for members of a public body to meet by means of teleconference or video conference, and declare an emergency.
· HB 546 – Senior Citizen Homesteads. Sponsored by Rep. Grendell (R – Chesterland, would allow local governments to establish investment funds and use interest earnings to reduce taxes and special assessments on senior citizen homesteads.
BILLS OF MUNICIPAL INTEREST PASSED BY THE OHIO HOUSE
· SB 105 – Minority Businesses. Sponsored by Sen. Sykes (D – Akron) and Sen. Schuring (R – Canton), would require political subdivisions to recognize state certifications of minority business enterprises, women-owned business enterprises, and veteran-friendly business enterprises. The House passed this by a vote of 92-1, sending the bill back to the Senate for concurrence on amendments. The League is neutral on this legislation.
COMMITTEE RECAP: BILLS OF MUNICIPAL INTEREST
· SB 225 – Tax Credits. Sponsored by Sen. Schuring (R – Canton), would temporarily modify the historic rehabilitation and the opportunity zone investment tax credits. During its fifth hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, the bill was amended to include the following:
o Allow projects that were previously awarded Historic Preservation Tax Credit projects and have not started construction to instead apply for an enhanced Historic Preservation Tax Credit.
o Requires the certificate to be issued when the project is completed and placed into service as with the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit.
o If the project is a historic theater, the Ohio Department of Development (DOD) will consider the potential increase in attendance and gross revenue when determining the economic impact.
o Dividing the annual awarding of Ohio Opportunity Zone Tax Credits into two application periods.
o Allow the transfer of an Ohio Opportunity Zone Tax Credit.
o Allow the city of Canton to expend and dissolve the Hartford-Houtz Poor Fund, which was enacted in 1879.
The League is supportive of this legislation.
