Ohio Municipal League
175 South Third Street
Suite 510
Columbus, Ohio 43215

614-221-4349 Office
614-221-4390 Fax

email:
Legislative Inquiries
John Mahoney
General Inquiries
info@omunileague.org

For email inquiries to the OML, it would be most helpful if you would include your name, position, city or village you represent. 

Also please include a phone number and/or address for instances when we need further contact with you.

Please type “OML Inquiry” in subject line so that we can identify e-mails picked up as spam.

OML E- BULLETIN
If you would like to sign up for the E-Bulletin, send an email here: info@omunileague.org
 In the e-mail, indicate that you would like to be taken off the paper Bulletin list.

Predatory Lending Bill May Still Be On Fast-Track.

In doubt about having the number of votes needed to get the predatory lending bill (HB 386) out of the Senate Finance Committee this week, the panel held off action on the bill this week. However, the committee is scheduled to meet at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday (see committee schedule) to try to push the bill through again. If the majority can come up with amendments that will get the bill out of committee, it is expected the bill would then move quickly to the Senate floor for a vote.

The League has sent a letter to all members of the Senate expressing our deep concern about this bill and its disregard for the Home Rule provisions of the Ohio Constitution. First, the bill purports to "preempt" any and all municipal regulations regarding lending, even if such regulations do not conflict with state law or address matters which are not regulated by state law.

Secondly, the bill contains a provision which bars a municipality from disqualifying anyone from doing business with the city of village on the basis of that person's or its affiliates or subsidiaries activities in relation to originating, granting, servicing or collecting loans or other forms of credit. This provisions is a serious and overly broad attempt to restrict the substantive powers of local self-government, a power that is guaranteed to all cities and villages under the Home Rule provisions of the Ohio Constitution. Article XVIII, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution's grant of substantive powers of local self-government would be infringed upon by these provisions which attempt to say a municipality may not decide with whom they will engage in business transactions.

The entire text of our letter is available on our website (omunileague.org).

We urge you to call or write your member(s) of the General Assembly today to urge them to vote against HB 386. We also strongly encourage and ask you to write or call Governor Taft asking that he veto this legislation if a final version of the bill shows up on his desk with these anti-Home Rule provisions intact. Beyond the important social concerns that have been raised about the issue of predatory lending by many groups, there are important infringements upon Home Rule contained in this bill. We hope you will let your legislators and the Governor know about your opposition to such infringements.

Thanks to all who have decided to get their Bulletin by e-mail. If you want to join this very chic crowd, just send us your e-mail address, your name and your municipality to omunileague2@copper.net.