Ohio Municipal League
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No. 16                                             May 16, 2003

Senate Wraps Up State Agency Hearings.

The Ohio Senate’s Finance Committee finished its round of hearings for state agencies this week. It will now begin hearing public testimony related to agency line items and other matters in the budget, including local government funds. (The committee’s hearing schedule for next week was unavailable at deadline for the Bulletin. We will post the schedule on our website (www. omunileague.org) when the schedule becomes available.

In other budget news, Senate leadership expressed some hope that the federal government may provide some assistance in facing the state’s two-year budget problems. In an attempt to reach a compromise within its own chamber, the U.S. Senate voted this week to include $20 billion in its tax cut measure for state and local governments. If that measure survives the process, Ohio would receive $384 million in Medicaid assistance, $231.6 million in state grants and $154.4 million in grants to municipalities and counties, according to a spokesperson for U.S. Senator George Voinovich. However, the U.S. House’s proposal for a $550 million tax cut contains no similar provision and how such a provision would fare in a conference committee of the two houses and what stance the Bush administration would take on such a provision during those negotiations is not known.

In addition, both the House and Senate versions include provisions that would suspend and/or reduce the tax on dividends from federal taxation. Because the state income tax is coupled to the federal adjusted gross tax base, those provisions could cost the state $300 million in lost revenues, according to one published estimate. The state would have the option to mitigate that loss by decoupling the state income tax base from the federal on that particular tax reduction.

Next week, as we move away from state agency budget hearings, starts the period when some of the hard decisions regarding the budget in the Senate will begin being made. It is important that you remind your member(s) of the Senate of the critical need for local government funds and estate tax revenue.

League Continues Negotiations on Municipal Income Tax Changes.

The League, with the help of many local municipal officials, continues to work toward acceptable changes to the municipal income tax. The Department of Taxation prepared a draft of changes which were discussed and, in concept, agreed to during a day-long session involving the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio CPA’s, other business interests, the Department and municipal representatives. All parties then submitted changes they thought were necessary to more accurately reflect the points agreed to in the negotiating session. We are now waiting for a redraft that reflects those changes.

The goal of this effort is to reach a consensus on a revenue neutral package of changes for insertion in the Senate version of the budget, which is to be voted on by the full Senate by June 4.

Senate/House Committee Meeting Schedule - Week of May 19, 2003

HOUSE STATE GOVERNMENT, 3 p.m., Rm. 122, Chr. Carmichael, Phone: 466-1474.

HB 164 ELECTION PETITIONS (Setzer) Permits the resigning of an election petition after the elector’s signature is stricken and increases the number of signatures needed on a municipal referendum petition. (2^nd Hearing - Proponent, opponent & interested party)

HB 176 ELECTED OFFICIAL RETIREMENT NOTICE (Hoops) Concerning the deadline for an elected official seeking re-election to file a notice of intent to retire and continue in public office. (1^st Hearing - Sponsor)

HB 181 ELECTED OFFICIAL SUSPENSIONS (Schaffer) Permits the Governor to suspend from office in accordance with a specified procedure any elected local official charged with a felony related to the official’s administration of, or conduct in the performance of the duties of, the office and prohibits a person who is convicted of certain theft offenses, or any other felony or recent 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. (1^st Hearing - Sponsor)

HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY, ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, 4 p.m., Rm. 116, Chr. Schaffer, Phone: 466-8100.

HB 175 CONTRACTOR LICENSING (Buehrer) Requires statewide licensing of residential contractors, establishes a statewide uniform building code for residential buildings, establishes a process for granting variances from the statewide uniform residential building code, and makes other changes in the laws governing residential contractors and residential construction. (1^st Hearing - Sponsor)

HOUSE CIVIL & COMMERCIAL LAW, 9:30 a.m., Rm. 114, Chr. Seitz, Phone: 466-8258.

HB 179 GASOLINE THEFT (Wolpert) Requires a suspension of the driver’s license of a person who causes a motor vehicle to leave the premises of a retail gasoline establishment without full payment for gasoline dispensed into the motor vehicle’s fuel tank or another container and declares that those sections in the Revised Code that regulate theft of gasoline in certain circumstances are general laws. (1^st Hearing - Sponsor)

HB 180 TOWNSHIP FIREARM REGULATIONS (Wolpert) Permits a township to prohibit the discharge of a firearm in designated districts in the unincorporated area of the township. (1^st Hearing - Sponsor)

HOUSE BANKING, PENSIONS & SECURITIES, 10:30 a.m., Rm. 018, Chr. Blasdel, Phone: 466-8022.

HB 63 PERS RETIREMENT EXCEPTION (Olman) Eliminates an exception to the law that keeps certain officials from receiving a Public Employees Retirement System pension while serving in an elective office. (2^nd Hearing - Proponent)

HOUSE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT & URBAN REVITALIZATION, 11 a.m., Rm. 122, Chr. Williams, Phone: 644-5085.

SB 18 METRO HOUSING AUTHORITIES (Coughlin) Changes the composition of certain metropolitan housing authorities. (2^nd Hearing - Proponent, opponent & interested party - Possible vote)

PREDATORY LENDING STUDY COMMITTEE, 11:30 a.m., Rm. 018, Chr. Blasdel, Phone: 466-8022.