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October 14, 2005 PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS BULLETIN TO YOUR COUNCIL, DEPARTMENT HEADS & STAFF General Assembly Returns for an Interesting Set of Hearings. If you’re not all that fond of Home Rule, you probably ought to block out a large part of next week for spending time at the Ohio General Assembly. The week starts out in the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee where there will be a briefing on the evils of predatory lending in Ohio. There you will hear testimony about how Ohio got to be first in the nation in home foreclosures. Much of that foreclosure activity is the direct result of unregulated predatory lending practices, according to a four-day Columbus Dispatch series published last month. This hearing follows the passage of legislation, still under Court consideration, three years ago that told municipal governments not to pass anymore “anti-predatory” lending ordinances because the state’s regulatory system could take care of the problem just fine. Even the Governor is getting in on this one. He announced Friday that on November 14 his Department of Commerce will go to the State Controlling Board to ask for $1.5 million to increase Ohio’s enforcement of the mortgage lending industry. And where will that money come from? From money the state already collects for mortgage lending enforcement! Seems the state is collecting $5.8 million from the industry for enforcement, but in the state budget, the General Assembly and the Governor only allowed the Department of Commerce to spend $4.3 million on enforcement. Over the past six years, according to the Dispatch, the Department has collected, but not spent, $10 million in enforcement dollars in its ever vigilant efforts to protect Ohioans from predatory lending practices. Also on Tuesday, there will be a hearing (see committee schedule) on a bill (HB 56 – Raussen) which declares that the General Assembly is better at running police departments than local governments. That bill virtually bans the use of red lights cameras by all local police agencies. To be fair, the bill does allow the use of the cameras, as long as a police officer is present, but then what would be the point. That hearing is for all testimony. So if you wish to be heard on this issue now is your chance. On Wednesday, House Bill 304, legislation designed to help landlords get off the hook for unpaid water, sewer and solid waste bills, will be heard in the House Civil and Commercial Law Committee. This hearing is for opponent testimony and we would urge you to come to testimony on this bill. Under the provisions of House Bill 304, water and sewer bills could not be collected by lien on the property served, unless the owner of the property has signed a service contract with the municipality, county or regional authority providing the service. For property owners whose tenants skip out on utility bills this is a nice windfall. For other ratepayers, who will have to eat these unpaid bills, this is simply paying for other people’s water and sewer services. Also, on Wednesday, HB 331 will be heard for all testimony in the House Civil and Commercial Law Committee. HB 331 is a companion bill to SB 167, which has passed the Senate and establishes a modified moratorium on the use of eminent domain for economic development in unblighted neighborhoods. The bills also establish a study commission to review Ohio’s eminent domain laws, something the League believes is necessary and helpful. And to wrap up the week, Thursday, proponent testimony on SB 82, the anti-residency bill, will be heard for a third time in the House Local and Municipal Government and Urban Revitalization Committee. As you will recall this bill bans municipalities from requiring that employees live within the municipality. This bill attempts to overturn the popular votes of many municipalities which have residency requirements in their charter and, as such, is a blatant attempt to destroy Home Rule. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING OCTOBER 17, 2005
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18 Senate Finance & Financial Institutions, (Chr. Carey, 466-8156), Finance Hearing Rm., 2 p.m. or after session Briefing on predatory lending from officials representing the Legislative Service Commission, the Department of Commerce and the Attorney General's office.
Senate Highways & Transportation, (Chr. Armbruster, 644-7613), North Hearing Rm., 2:30 p.m. or after session HB 56 TRAFFICLIGHT CAMERAS (Raussen) To allow the use of a traffic law photo-monitoring device to detect traffic law violations only if a law enforcement officer is present at the location of the device and issues tickets at the time and location of the violations. (2nd Hearing-All testimony) SB 184 ISLAND SPEED LIMITS (Gardner) To establish a 35 mile-per-hour speed limit for highways outside municipal corporations within island jurisdictions. (1st Hearing-Sponsor)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 House Civil & Commercial Law, (Chr. Seitz, 466-8258), Hayes Rm. (114), 9:30 a.m. HB 294 EXPEDITED FORECLOSURES (Kilbane) To provide an expedited foreclosure procedure for lands that have had delinquent tax charges for a specified number of years that are not occupied. (3rd Hearing-Opponent) HB 304 SERVICE LIENS (Blessing) To modify the circumstances under which a lien may be created an action at law commenced to collect unpaid water, sewage, and other service rates and charges owed local authorities. (3rd Hearing-Opponent) HB 331 EMINENT DOMAIN (Gibbs) To establish, until December 31, 2006, a moratorium on the use of eminent domain by any public body of the state to take unblighted private property when the sole or primary purpose for the taking is economic development that will ultimately result in ownership of the property being vested in another private person, to create the Legislative Task Force to Study Eminent Domain and Land Use Planning in the State, and to declare an emergency. (2nd Hearing-All testimony) House Public Utilities & Energy, (Chr. Hagan, 466-9078), Rm. 017, 11 a.m. HB 85 ELECTRIC UTILITY AGGREGATION (Blessing) To limit retail electric service automatic governmental aggregation and to create a "Do Not Aggregate" list. (4th Hearing-All testimony-Possible vote) Senate Environment & Natural Resources, (Chr. Niehaus, 466-8082), South Hearing Rm., 2 p.m. or after session SB 191 MINERAL SEVERANCE TAX (Mumper) To revise the distribution of revenues from the severance tax on minerals, to exempt industrial minerals mining operations from the state mine safety laws and instead provide for the adoption of federal mine safety requirements for those operations, to revise the zoning laws concerning industrial minerals mining, and to make other changes governing the mining of industrial minerals. (1st Hearing-Sponsor) House Transportation, Public Safety & Homeland Security, (Chr. Reinhard, 644-6265), McKinley Rm. (121), 4:30 p.m. HB 352 ISLAND SPEED LIMITS (Redfern) To establish a 35-mile per hour speed limit for highways outside municipal corporations within island jurisdictions. (1st Hearing-Sponsor) THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 House Local & Municipal Government & Urban Revitalization, (Chr. Wolpert, 466-9690), Rm. 018, 11 a.m. SB 82 RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS (Grendell) To generally prohibit political subdivisions from imposing residency requirements on certain employees. (3rd Hearing-Proponent) |
