Ohio Municipal League
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John Mahoney
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OML E- BULLETIN
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No. 16                                                               June 5, 1999

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS BULLETIN TO YOUR COUNCIL, DEPARTMENT HEADS & STAFF

Budget; DeReg Dominate Legislative Activity

The Senate began wrapping up its committee hearings on the state's education (HB 282) and operating (HB 283) budgets this week, while the House continued the seemingly unending job of creating a bill (SB 5) for the deregulation of the electric industry.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote out its version of the education budget, including the repassage of the school voucher program that was struck down by the Supreme Court, on Monday of this coming week. The pilot Voucher program, which allows 4,000 Cleveland students to choose a private school, was inserted in the general state budget last session. The Court declared that insertion was a violation of the "single subject" rule of the constitution. The Senate, with the support of the Attorney General, is betting that insertion of the program in the state first-ever "education-only" budget will meet constitutional muster.

On Tuesday, the Senate is then expected to pass out HB 283. That budget contains an amendment which attempts to regulate the way and level of fees permitted in municipal right-of-way ordinances, an issue that was the subject of an OML FAX Alert earlier this week. That amendment is opposed by the League. If you did not receive our FAX Alert on this matter, please, give us a call and we will make sure you get that important information.

The budget also contains a provision, supported by the Taft administration, that would reduce Ohio's inventory tax from 25% to 0% over the next twenty-five years.

A provision that was included in the House version that would change the eligibility standards for the Urban Redevelopment Loan Fund in the Department of Development is expected to be deleted from the Senate version of the bill.

The House is expected to begin its flurry of amendments to the Electric DeReg bill this coming week. The Chair of the House Public Utilities Committee has told the press that "community aggregation" of electric supply will be part of that committee's consideration.

COMMITTEE MEETING/SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF JUNE 7, 1999

 TUESDAY, JUNE 8

SENATE INSURANCE, COMMERCE & LABOR, 9:30 a.m., North Hearing Rm.

HB 101 LABOR REQUIREMENTS (Young) Prohibits public authorities from imposing certain labor requirements as a condition of performing public works. (2nd Hearing)

SENATE HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORTATION, After Session, North Hearing Rm..

SB 137 PORT AUTHORITIES (Oelslager) Comprehensively revises the powers and duties of port authorities, enhances the ability of port authorities and other political subdivisions to cooperate in the accomplishment of mutual objectives and makes other changes. (5th Hearing)

HOUSE COMMERCE & LABOR, 7:15 p.m., Rm. 121

HB 286 DESIGN-BUILD (Coughlin) Permits public authorities to use design-build contractors in the construction of public improvements and establishes a two-phase procedure for selecting those contractors. (3rd Hearing)

SENATE JUDICIARY, 9 a.m., North Hearing Rm.

HB 95 PUBLIC RECORDS (Terwilleger) Awards reasonable expenses to the relator if a writ of mandamus is issued in a taxpayer's suit and authorizes a similar award plus court costs to a prevailing aggrieved person in a mandamus action under the Public Records Law. (2nd Hearing)

HOUSE HEALTH, RETIREMENT & AGING, 10 a.m., Rm. 017

HB 138 TRAUMA CARE (Schuck) Provides quality assurance for trauma care and makes other changes in the laws regarding emergency medical services and fire services. (8th Hearing - Possible vote)

HB 199 ALTERNATIVE PUBLIC PENSION (Cates) Creates an alternative retirement program for public employees covered by Ohio's state retirement systems. (10th Hearing)

HOUSE ETHICS & STANDARDS, 11 a.m., Rm. 113

SB 78 PUBLIC RECORDS (Oelslager) Generally grants members of the public the option of choosing the medium in which they will receive copies of public records and requires a public office to transmit copies of a public record through the United States mail if so requested. (2nd Hearing)

HOUSE LOCAL GOVERNMENT & TOWNSHIPS, 4 p.m., Rm. 121