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No. 13 May 14, 1999 PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS BULLETIN TO YOUR COUNCIL, DEPARTMENT HEADS & STAFF League Asks That Municipalities Be Accountable For Own Actions in Farmland Bill. League staff testified this week in the House Local Government and Townships Committee in opposition to HB 267, the first in a series of bills aimed at stemming the perceived statewide threat to the preservation of farmland. While the League finds many of the provisions of the bill acceptable, there is one provision which could often penalize cities and villages for the inaction of their local county commissioners. Under the provisions of HB 267, priority would be given in the awarding of Issue 2 infrastructure and Local Transportation Improvement Program grants and loans to awards granted within "Certified Well-Planned Counties." Such counties are ones that choose, for the sake of farmland preservation, to develop comprehensive land-use plans for the unincorporated areas of the county. The plan would have to include a component which relates land-use to the quality of soil. The bill would tell both District Integrating Committees and the Ohio Public Works Commission are to give priority to projects within such counties. For the unfortunate city or village within a county that is not a certified well-planned county, their needs would thus become less of a priority, even though the city or village might have the most need, the best comprehensive plan in the world for its citizens and absolutely no influence over whether the county government thought it was a good idea or not to have a comprehensive plan for the unincorporated area of the county. The League asked that the idea of one government being penalized for the inaction of another be dropped from the bill. The bill also contains a provision which adds the "unnecessary duplication of infrastructure" as a negative factor for consideration in the awarding of Issue 2 and L-TIP funds. Such "duplication" rarely occurs, except as a blocking effort to annexation by the development of township sewer districts. As such, the League supported this provision of the bill. The bill also gives greater authority to the county commissioners, in their planning function, to regulate or ban new septic systems. This provision is designed to discourage scattered development, part of what is often considered "urban sprawl," even though such development is often an effort to not be a part of any urban center. The League, in general, supported this increased regulatory power in that such power may lead to more environmentally friendly neighbors for municipalities and/or encourage reliance on central infrastructure systems, in this case, sewage, which was one of the stated aims of the Farmland Preservation Task Force. DeReg Booted Out of Committee; Floor Vote Expected Tuesday. The Senate Ways and Means Committee, after consideration of a new version of the electric deregulation bill (SB 3) and 20 amendments, voted along party lines to recommend a version of the bill to the full Senate. The vote came on Thursday of this week following an all-day session of the committee. Republicans voted for the measure; Democrats voted against. Following the vote, the bill was roundly criticized by Democrats, utility companies and some consumer groups. Democrats attacked the bill, in part, because of a Republican amendment that exempts costs associated with labor issues from stranded costs, those costs which can be recovered by utility companies even though such costs could not be expected to be recovered in a competitive market. The bill settled the contentious issue of how much of those overall costs could be recovered by the utility companies by sending that decision to the PUCO for resolution. Democrats also complained that the 250-page bill was moving too fast through the Senate for proper review. Republicans defended the measure by saying the bill would save consumers billions of dollars in the long run by allowing consumers to choose their own electric supplier. A final vote on the bill by the full Senate is expected on Tuesday of this coming week. COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF MAY 17, 1999 TUESDAY, MAY 18 SENATE HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORTATION, After Session, North Hearing Rm. SB 137 PORT AUTHORITIES (Oelslager) Comprehensively revises the powers and duties of port authorities. (3rd Hearing) WEDNESDAY, MAY 19 HOUSE HEALTH, RETIREMENT & AGING, 10 a.m., Rm. 017 HB 199 ALTERNATIVE PUBLIC PENSION (Cates) Creates an alternative retirement program for public employees covered by Ohio's state retirement systems. (8th Hearing) HOUSE CIVIL & COMMERCIAL LAW, 10:30 a.m., Rm. 121 HB 295 Y2K LIABILITY IMMUNITY(Terwilleger) Provides immunity from liability to the state and to political subdivisions from harm relating to the Year 2000 computer problem. (2nd Hearing) HOUSE PUBLIC UTILITIES, 3 p.m., Rm. 313 HB 5 ELECTRIC DEREGULATION (Mead) Declares that the public policy of the State of Ohio is to effect the restructuring of the electric industry. (7th Hearing) HOUSE LOCAL GOVERNMENT & TOWNSHIPS, 4 p.m., Rm. 121 HB 298 SMOKING RULES (Schuler) Requires that any orders or rules enacted by a board of health related to smoking be adopted by the legislative authority. (2nd Hearing) THURSDAY, MAY 20 HOUSE PUBLIC UTILITIES, 9 a.m., Rm. 313 HB 5 ELECTRIC DEREGULATION (Mead) Declares that the public policy of the State of Ohio is to effect the restructuring of the electric industry. (8th Hearing) |
