Ohio Municipal League
175 South Third Street
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Columbus, Ohio 43215

614-221-4349 Office
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John Mahoney
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Home Rule, No Rule

By a 71-24 vote the Ohio House passed and sent to the Senate HB 258 (Flowers). As it came to the floor, the bill would prohibit local residency requirements for all police, fire and EMT employees. As amended on the floor, it would prohibit such requirements, but allow them in the case of an adjoining county residency requirement. If passed, the bill would be the first time since the establishment of Home Rule (1912), that the General Assembly would choose to overturn the will of the voters in Akron, Dayton, Toledo, Cleveland and many other Ohio communities. In those cities, residency requirements were put into place by the voters through their charter. Should the General Assembly be successful in this effort to render the votes of millions of Ohioans meaningless, the question has to be "What next?"

What is at stake in this bill is the very core of Home Rule. Whether a municipality has imposed residency requirements on some or all of its employees through charter, ordinance, civil service rules, or collective bargaining, this bill says that the General Assembly, not council or the people, has ultimate sway over any decision the General Assembly wishes to second guess. There is no such thing as Home Rule under this concept of lawmaking.

Don't like the City Manager form of government? No problem. Introduce a bill to ban it. Don't like at-large municipal council races? No problem. Introduce a bill to require ward races. Don't like a piece of the municipal income tax being set-aside by charter for capital improvements. No problem. Introduce a bill to stop people from ruining their community through such silly voter decisions. Think your local council members make too much money. No problem. Introduce the Uniform Council Salary Bill to cut down on council pay statewide.

Underlying the specifics of HB 258 is a concept of state control that endangers the decision-making powers of every municipal voter and ever city and village organization in the state. Whether you like residency requirements for municipal employees or not, this bill says that no matter what your council or voters say, it doesn't matter. If this bill is successful, every special interest group which could not have its way at the municipal level will now have an open door to come to the General Assembly and overturn your decisions. Home Rule decisions, even if they are made by the voters, will be meaningless.

If you'd like to check how your member of the Ohio House voted on this anti-Home Rule bill go to our website (www.omunileague.org).

The effort on this bill now goes to the Senate. Please, contact your State Senator today and ask them to vote for Home Rule by opposing HB 258. Residency requirements are very important to those communities which have them. However, this fight goes way beyond that issue. This fight is about the rights of municipal voters and municipal councils to make decisions and the role the state may play and not play in those decisions.

BWC Problem Solved.

HB 515, which makes a number of changes in township law passed out of the House Townships and Local Government Committee this week. Though the League did not have concerns with most of the bill, there was one problem. As introduced HB 515 would have put the 15 urban townships of the state in the same Workers' Comp pool as the cities of Ohio. While this would have been fine with the townships, saving them about $1.5 million a year in workers' comp premiums, the same could not be said for cities. According to a Bureau of Workers' Comp (BWC) study, this change would increase BWC premiums for the cities (e.g. a $170,000 increase for the city of Columbus).

After listening to the League's concerns on this matter, the sponsor of the bill, Representative Jean Schmidt, offered an amendment to delete this provision from the bill. That amendment was accepted. We appreciate Rep. Schmidt's cooperation and understanding on this matter.

Municipal Income Tax Deemed "Cumbersome and Complicated".

After complying with the municipal income tax for 55 years, the business community, primarily through the Ohio Chamber of Commerce still finds the simple municipal income tax too complicated.

And after the League worked for over two years, in good faith with the Ohio Society of CPA's and the Ohio Chamber, on the development and passage of HB's 477 and 483, to bring more simplicity and uniformity to the municipal income tax, the tax still seems to be driving Ohio business to its grave, at least according to testimony given before the State Committee on State and Local Taxes.

The tax is "cumbersome and complicated," according to Bruce Johnson, Director of the Ohio Department of Development. "The burden on Ohio businesses to comply with multi-jurisdictional municipal tax is significant," according to a speaker on behalf of the Ohio Society of CPA's. A spokesman for the Ohio Chamber all but threw out the need to be revenue neutral ( a charge to the committee) when it comes to changing the Ohio municipal income tax.

Municipalities, with their investment in infrastructure and other services, are key to Ohio's economic future. It is no accident that 2/3 of Ohio's jobs exist in Ohio's cities and villages. They are the spots where most businesses can do business. But, business, many living quite well thanks to tax abatements and tax increment plans, just can't seem to any longer manage the paying of the municipal income tax. It's the simplest income tax in Ohio, much simpler than either the state or federal income tax. It asks for less than either the state or federal, but somehow it is a huge problem. It is a tax that, more than any other, directly creates the day-to-day services needed by business in Ohio. And it directly relates to providing the services needed to gather a workforce in one place so business can have the necessary employees.

We continue to be willing to work with the groups interested in changes in the municipal income tax, but not at the cost of creating a municipal income tax that will no longer support our communities or Ohio's economy.

The Tax Study Committee will meet again this week (see schedule) and hear from municipal officials on this matter.

SB 106 Clears Committee.

SB 106 (Hottinger) made its way out the House Local Government and Townships Committee this week. It may be on the floor of the House this coming week. SB 106 would create some needed immunities for premises and street and road liability for local governments, including municipal governments.

We urge you to call or write your State Representative and ask for their support for SB 106.

COMMITTEE TO STUDY STATE & LOCAL TAXES, 9:30-11:30 a.m., South Hearing Rm., Chr. Tax Commissioner Zaino, Phone: 466-2166.

Scheduled testimony only.

HOUSE COMMERCE & LABOR, 2 p.m., Rm. 121, Chr. Young, Phone: 644-6074.

HB 659 CONTRACTOR LICENSING (Buehrer) Requires statewide licensing of residential contractors. (1st Hearing - Sponsor & proponent)

HOUSE STATE GOVERNMENT, 4 p.m., Rm. 122, Chr. Carmichael, Phone: 466-1474.

HB 605 DISASTER RESPONSE (White) Establishes an intrastate mutual aid program for disaster response and recovery and declares an emergency. (2^nd Hearing - Proponent, opponent & interested party - Possible vote)

SENATE JUDICIARY ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE, 9:30 a.m., North Hearing Rm., Chr. Oelslager, Phone: 466-0626.

HB 490 MISDEMEANOR SENTENCING (Latta) Implements recommendations of the Criminal Sentencing Commission pertaining to misdemeanor sentencing generally and makes other changes in the criminal law. (4^th Hearing - Proponent & opponent - Possible vote)

HOUSE LOCAL GOVERNMENT & TOWNSHIPS, 10 a.m., Rm. 121, Chr. Roman, Phone: 466-1790.

HB 594 PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY (Schaffer) Prohibits a person who is convicted of certain theft offenses, or any other felony or misdemeanor involving fraud, deceit, or theft, from holding a public office or position of public employment, or serving in certain unpaid volunteer positions, that involve substantial management or control of certain public or private property. (2nd Hearing - Proponent, opponent & interested party - Amendments - Possible vote)

HOUSE CRIMINAL JUSTICE, 10 a.m., Rm. 116, Chr. Womer Benjamin, Phone: 466-2004.

SB 208 FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS (Coughlin) Relative to the use, in an OMVI or OMVUAC prosecution, of the results of field sobriety tests. (6^th Hearing - Proponent, opponent & interested party - Possible vote)

HOUSE RETIREMENT & AGING, 10:30 a.m., Rm. 122, Chr. Schuring, Phone: 752-2438.

HB 629 ELECTED OFFICIAL PENSIONS (Olman) Prohibits an elected official from receiving a pension from the Public Employees Retirement System while earning a salary for the same term or a subsequent term of the same public office. (1^st Hearing - Sponsor)

SENATE STATE & LOCAL GOVT. & VETERAN’S AFFAIRS, After 1:30 p.m. session or 3 p.m., South Hearing Rm., Chr. Coughlin, Phone: 466-4823.

SB 307 MUTUAL AID PROGRAM (Amstutz) Establishes an intrastate mutual aid program for emergency preparedness and disaster response and recovery to be known as the Intrastate Mutual Aid Compact and declares an emergency. (2^nd Hearing - Proponent, opponent & interested party)