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Ohio Municipal League email:
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No. 3
February 5, 1999
PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS BULLETIN TO
YOUR COUNCIL, DEPARTMENT HEADS & STAFF
Criminal Sentencing Legislation
Expected Soon. We expect that legislation which embodies many of the ideas put forward in a November, 1998 report of the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission will appear soon in legislation. The extent of that legislation in addressing the issues brought forth by the Commission is not yet known, but we will keep you informed as we get more information. As many of you know, the Commission's Report includes two provisions of interest to many municipalities. One provision would require that mayor's courts report to the Supreme Court on the nature and disposition of cases which occur in mayor's courts. Our concerns about this provision, if it appears in the legislation, will rise or fall on the practical difficulties presented by the details of such a required report. A second provision will remand all issues of costs and
revenues of the criminal justice system, including fine distribution and jail costs, to a
negotiated or arbitrated contract between municipalities and counties. This option is a
compromise over what the Commission was considering, which was that each arresting entity
would keep all fines from an arrest, but be required to pay for all costs which the county
says they incurred because of that arrest. We think the Commission opted for the less
arbitrary choice in what they recommended. In fact, the League did give input which we
believe got the Commission to move away from the more costly and arbitrary course toward
what we believe is a framework in which we can start to find an equitable solution to this
sometime municipal-county conflict. This issue and the many other issues embodied in the
Criminal Sentencing Report are far from over. Once again, the Police and Firefighters Unions have returned to the General Assembly in an attempt to overturn collective bargaining agreements, charter amendments, popular votes and local ordinances on residency. Under the provisions of SB 46, no political subdivision of the state would be permitted to require, as a condition of employment, an employee of that subdivision to live in any specific area of the state. The legislation is sponsored by Senator Richard Shrafrath and co-sponsored by Senators Oelslager and Shoemaker. We will let you know when this bill isreferred to a committee and when hearings are scheduled. As you may recall, a similar bill, with the League's opposition, was defeated on the floor of the Ohio Senate by a vote of 19-14. However, as they say, "past performance is not an indicator of future success." Estate Tax Under Attack HB 72, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Coughlin, proposes to repeal Ohio's Estate Tax on everyone who dies after July 1, 2000. Since about two-thirds of the Estate Tax accrues to local governments, is a significant revenue for many municipalities and the bill does absolutely nothing to make up for lost revenue stemming from this proposal, we hope everyone will let their local members of the House and Senate know the exact impact the passage of such a bill would have on local services. |
