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February 3, 2023

UPDATE AT A GLANCE

This week, Gov. DeWine delivered his State of the State Address and released the executive proposal of the state operating budget. We also now have a full legislative schedule for the first half of the year, and the committee rosters for both the House and Senate have been set.

Here are the most noteworthy items from the week:

GOV. DEWINE DELIVERS STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS, HIGHLIGHTS BUDGET PROPOSAL

Gov. DeWine delivered his State of the State Address on Tuesday. You can view OML's statement in reaction to the speech here. The speech highlighted aspects of his administration's state operating budget proposal, which the House will consider before the Senate. Books that highlight the budget details are now available and are linked at the bottom of this bulletin. Not mentioned in the speech is that the budget recommendations include an increase in the Local Government Fund percentage from 1.66% of General Revenue Fund tax revenues to 1.7% See more below.

HOUSE LEGISLATIVE SCHEDULE REVISED

House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) sent out a revised legislative schedule for the House through June. The adjustments include changing previously set House sessions as “if needed” and adding a session on Thursday, April 20. View Combined House/Senate Schedule

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES FINALIZED

The House Republicans were the final caucus to release their committee assignments, which happened this week. Here are the full committee rosters: Ohio House Committees | Ohio Senate Committees

BWC CUTS GOVERNMENT RATE

Last week, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation approved an average public-employer rate cut of 2.5 percent. The cut of 2.5 percent follows single- to double-digit decreases over the last nine years, except for increases of 6.1 percent in 2019 and 2.2 percent in 2022.

MORE BLIGHTED BUILDINGS TO BE DEMOLISHED

A total of 599 additional structures in 15 counties will be demolished with support from the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program. The projects announced bring the total number of demolition projects funded through the program to 3,699 projects in 87 counties, including 825 projects announced in October and 2,275 projects awarded in early December. More Info

OHIO TO RECEIVE $264 MILLION IN TRANSIT INVESTMENT

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown announced that Ohio will receive $1.3 billion in transit funding over the next five years through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The state will receive more than $264 million in FY23 -- with the majority of this year's funding going to large urban areas and rural/small urban areas receiving around $60.8 million.

ODNR HAS NEW APP FOR WATER USERS

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources now has an online application available for water withdrawal reporting and facility registration. The app can be used to file annual water use reports, view past reports, update information for active facilities, and register new facilities. More Info

LOANS AWARDED FOR WASTEWATER, DRINKING WATER IMPROVEMENTS

The Ohio Water Development Authority awarded $4.6 million in low-interest loans this week for communities to improve wastewater and drinking water. Communities receiving the funds include the villages of Camden (replacement of water meters), Dalton (wastewater treatment plant improvements), and Lexington (replacement of water meters), as well as the City of Zanesville (rehabilitation of filter media beds).

OPWC RELEASES FUNDING FOR CLEAN OHIO CONSERVATION PROJECTS

The Ohio Public Works Commission released $8 million for 14 conservation projects aimed at acquiring green space and protecting rivers and streams. The projects overlap with communities including the the cities of St. Clairsville (National Road bikeway trail enhancement) and Orrville (Heartland Trail Wetlands and Greenspace Acquisition).

REGISTRATION OPEN FOR OHIO BROWNFIELDS CONFERENCE

Learn about brownfields funding opportunities, remediation, the Voluntary Action Program, redevelopment, forging private/public partnerships, and future trends at the 2023 Ohio Brownfields Conference on May 9. Early-bird registration is happening now. More Info

OHIO UNIVERSITY VOINOVICH SCHOOL OFFERING TRAINING FOR LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS

The Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service is again offering its "Governing Essentials for Local Elected Officials" training for newly elected officials and experienced officials seeking a refresher. The training series includes three in-person and three-virtual workshops, and it starts Feb. 28. More Info

GOV. DEWINE DELIVERS STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS, HIGHLIGHTS OPERATING BUDGET PROPOSAL

Gov. DeWine delivered his State of the State Address on Tuesday. The speech highlighted aspects of his administration's FY2024-2025 state operating budget proposal, which the House will consider before the Senate. The budget includes a 12.7% increase in general revenue fund appropriations compared to the governor's previous proposal, as well as an increase of 15.5% in all-funds appropriations.

Not mentioned in the governor's speech, but included in the budget recommendations, is that the budget proposes a slight increases to the Local Government Fund. Under current law, the fund receives 1.66% of General Revenue Fund tax revenues. The budget proposes to increase the percentage to 1.7%. As a result, the LGF will grow as state GRF tax revenues increase and will also grow due to the funding percentage increase.

The governor is also recommending almost $100 million in increased and continued investments for multi-modal transportation, some of which will go to public transit.

OML is continuing to analyze the budget documents and will provide additional information throughout the budgeting process. Some of the highlights of the governor's speech that involve the work of municipalities include:

• Economic Development. The budget proposal includes provisions to help get people back to work and create more shovel-ready/development-ready sites. It would invest $2.5 billion in the All Ohio Future Fund to prepare infrastructure for large economic development sites. It also invests an additional $150 million for innovation hubs in each region of the state to encourage more economic development.
• Continued Support of Law Enforcement. The budget would include funding for body cameras, police officer training ($40 million per year for de-escalation, use of force, and crisis intervention training for those with a mental health illness). This represents an increase from the current funding level of $8.9 million per year. The budget proposal also provides funding for schools to help place school resource officers.
• Public Safety Technology. The budget proposal fully funds the Next Generation 911 system in every Ohio community, provides more resources for body cameras, and would fully pay the monthly fees for any agency that uses Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) radios -- more than 3,000 agencies.
• Affordable Housing and Revitalization. The budget proposal addresses the need for adequate and affordable housing/revitalization of downtowns and historical communities through a series of tax changes and programs, including the creation of state low income housing tax credits and single family housing tax credits to stimulate housing for more families. It would also create the Ohio Homeownership Savings Account program to allow for Ohioans to save for down payments and other expenses.
• Clean Water. The budget proposal expands the H2Ohio initiative to improve water quality by focusing on the cleanup and restoration of rivers.

The speech can be read in full here, and you can view OML's statement in reaction to the speech here.

The governor's administration has posted the budget "blue book" that contains the proposed budget details for FY24-25, along with other resources. There are three books:

• Budget Recommendations
• Tax Expenditure Report
• Budget Highlights

NEWLY INTRODUCED

BILLS OF MUNICIPAL INTEREST



Below is the list of bills that were newly introduced and that are impactful to Ohio municipalities:

SB41 - LAW CHANGES-BUILDING INSPECTIONS 

Sponsored by Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson)

To make changes to the law relating to building inspections.

Bill Text

COMMITTEE SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 6

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

SENATE SMALL BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

Tue., Feb. 7, 2023, 11:00 AM, Hearing Room 110

Sen. Lang: 614-466-8072

SB41 – LAW CHANGES-BUILDING INSPECTIONS (ROEGNER)

To make changes to the law relating to building inspections.

         First Hearing, Sponsor Testimony

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