Ohio Municipal League
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Annexation Bill Moves Through Senate with Amendments.

SB 289, a bill that will significantly change the processes for annexation in Ohio, passed the Ohio Senate by a vote of 27-6 following a day-long negotiation resulting in a few positive changes in the bill. Though the League is still is opposed to the bill for reasons outlined in previous Bulletins, some of the modest changes made at the last minute by the Senate do improve this proposal.

Prior to passage, the Senate adopted amendments which:

* Mark the effective date of the bill as April, 2001. Should the Ohio House pass the bill shortly after the fall elections, this date would delay changes made by this bill by approximately 30-40 days. All annexations filed prior to the April 1 date would proceed under current law.

* Change the criteria for allowing certain annexations to proceed under the expedited "significant economic development" process by allowing retail and residential components to such projects, rather than just commercial and industrial. The retail and residential components would not count toward the capital and payroll thresholds required by this process. Other changes in the process would have the State Director of Development certify thresholds to qualify such projects and provisions that would lessen county commission discretion in this process.

* Require municipalities rather than developers to pay the cost of tax abatements in annexed areas withdrawn from townships as part of the municipalities reparations to those townships. Of course, municipalities could choose to not withdraw in such abatement situations and owe townships nothing or work abatement deals to shift this cost to developers through lower abatements.

* Limit to 350 acres annexations that fall under the 100%, non-withdrawal expedited process. This change was made in exchange for what private developers see as favorable changes in the way this process would be handled. Because of undefined buffer requirements and confusing perimeter limits included in this compromise the League has some serious questions about whether this process will still work.

Prior to the Senate vote, the bill was passed out of the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans' Affairs by a 6-3 vote, with Senators Spada, Furney and Watts voting against the measure. On the floor, Senators Horn, Ray, Spada, Furney, Brady and Fingerhut voted against the final measure. The League appreciates that support and the work of Committee Chair Senator Mumper for the inclusive way in which negotiations were handled prior to the committee and final Senate vote.