DECEMBER 19, 2008

LEGISLATURE WRAPS UP 127 TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Members of the House of Representatives and wrapped up their business this week, just in time for the holiday season. Much of their work will proceed to Governor Strickland for his consideration.

Below are highlights of various bills impacting county government that moved (or did not pass) during the past few days:

• 9-1-1 Wireless Fee . The continuation of the fee on cell phones for wireless emergency 9-1-1 operations was continued at the lower rate of 28 cents through December 2012. This provision was included in Senate Bill 129, which originally addressed the removal of auto crashes blocking roadways. ( See separate story in this edition of the Statehouse Report for more details.)

• Dog Legislation . Representative Webster’s House Bill 446, which was the long focus of the Ohio County Dog Warden Association, unexpectedly died in the Ohio Senate. Senators received pressure from hunters and the National Rifle Association to remove mandatory rabies-prevention provisions in the bill. While a floor amendment was prepared to eliminate that language, support for the remainder of the bill waned as some legislators viewed it largely as a fee increase bill.

• Cuyahoga County Government Structural Reforms . The House and Senate had dueling bills with different approaches in how to reform Cuyahoga County Government. Neither proposal, though, was supported by the other chamber. As a result, both approaches died.

House Bill 650, sponsored by Representative Dolan, called for the implementation of the Cuyahoga County Government Commission’s recommendations. This includes “super- sizing” one of the three commissioners with additional “executive” powers and converting certain elected county offices into appointed positions. House Democrats largely opposed HB 650 as they claimed the proposal unfairly singled out Cuyahoga County and its large numbers of minority and Democratic residents.

Senator Grendell’s more restrained proposal (Senate Bill 391) provided clarity to existing provisions in Ohio Revised Section 302 for an “alternative form” of county government 1 by stating that a county could have county commissioners elected in districts and countywide. He also would allow in Cuyahoga County the voters to elect a president of the board of county commissioners, similar to the concept of electing a chief justice for the Supreme Court.

• Elections . Senate Bill 380, sponsored by Senator Seitz, passed through the legislature with much partisan wrangling. The bill eliminates the “golden week” in which voters this year could register to vote and cast a ballot as well as other provisions. ( See separate story in this edition of the Statehouse Report for more details.)

• Law Libraries . The county commissioners’ obligation relative to law libraries was adjusted in House Bill 420. ( See separate story in this edition of the Statehouse Report for more details.)

• Adoption . House Bill 7, for which PCSAO was the driving proponent force, was adopted by the both the House and Senate and streamlines Ohio’s adoption laws. CCAO, OJFSDA, and OCDA all formally supported the measure as well.

• Coroner’s Reforms . House Bill 471 made it past the finish line, but was trimmed down along the way. Language that would have provided coroners in certain large counties a pay supplement for performing autopsies from several other counties was removed from the bill.

• Joe the Plumber/Data Base Searches . House Bill 648 prohibits and provides penalties for state government officials who access citizens’ private information without cause. (See separate story in this edition of the Statehouse Report for more details.)

• Health Boards . House Bill 327, sponsored by Rep. Jim McGregor, did not get all the way through the process and will have to start over in January. This bill would have provided more autonomy and authority to boards of health.

• Booster Seats . House Bill 320 did get to the finish line. This legislation, sponsored by Representative Jones, would require certain children who are between four and eight years of age to be secured in a booster seat.

• Workers Comp . House Bill 79, sponsored by Representative Batchelder, was changed extensively from its original version by the Senate, and provides for the continuation of the Bureau of Workers Comp’s group-rating program in light of a recent lawsuit.

• Veteran Bonuses . This measure would provide compensation to veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts. The debate surrounding House Bill 649 was how the payments would be financed given Ohio’s current and future budget constraints. The legislation, largely backed by Republicans, would finance the stipends with up to $200 million in state reserve funds, but the Administration and democrat legislators prefer a bond-back plan. While the measure passed both the House and Senate, the Governor is expected to veto the bill.

• Land Bank . Senate Bill 353, sponsored by Senator Patton, allows the creation of land reutilization corporations that are authorized to reclaim, rehabilitate, and reuse foreclosed and other abandoned properties in Cuyahoga County. The bill is intended to help with the county’s growing foreclosure problem. The measure is time-limited for two years, at which time the Ohio Legislature will review the pilot project. In the meantime,

2 legislators are expected to consider expanding the measure to more counties next year in the state budget bill.

Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis spearheaded the effort in gaining overwhelming bi-partisan support for the proposal.

• Witness Fees for Mileage Rate Reimbursement . Language was included in House Bill 525 to permit a board of county commissioners to set the mileage reimbursement rate for witnesses in civil and criminal cases in common pleas and county courts at a rate not to exceed fifty and one-half cents per mile. The bill also sets the mileage reimbursement rate for witnesses in other courts of record and state adjudication hearings at fifty and one-half cents per mile.

• Christmas Tree Bill. One of the more loaded up measures (House Bill 420) started in the House merely as Rep. Brinkman’s plan to increase transparency in state government contracting with additional disclosure requirements. But, it ended up as a vehicle for all sorts of add-ons, including language relating to Tax Increment Finance law changes. It also included the law library provision, noted earlier.

Not making it through the entire legislative process includes:

• CAFO’s . Among those left behind were bills involving a transfer of concentrated animal feeding operation enforcement (HB 635) and updating laws regarding animal control (HB 446). Both proposals appeared poised for passage earlier in the week.

• Lodging Tax for Montgomery County . The Senate informally passed and took no action on a measure (SB 306) that picked up what was believed to be a controversial lodging tax for Montgomery County. Senate leadership was not aware until it was too late that agreement had been reached with local officials. By that time, the plan could not be resurrected as the House already had adjourned.]

• No Pay Bill . Given no support among key leaders, there was no pay bill put forth and acted upon. Hence, there are no raises or salary adjustments for county elected officials, state legislators, statewide officeholders, township officials, and board of elections members in 2009 calendar year.

This is not an exhaustive list, and next year CCAO policy staff will put together a listing of bills passed by the Legislature during the 127 th General Assembly. If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact the staff toll free at 1-888-757-1904.

9-1-1 FUNDING - ON TO THE GOVERNOR !!

Tuesday night a House Committee took the provisions of HB 550 and, with some changes, amended them into SB 129. The House passed SB 129 on Wednesday on a vote of 79 to 14, and the Senate concurred in the House amendments on Thursday by a vote of 32 to 1. The bill now will be forwarded to the Governor for his signature and should become law prior to the end of the year, thus continuing for an additional 4 years a monthly surcharge on wireless phones to support wireless 9-1-1 systems in Ohio.

The 9-1-1 legislation does all of the following:

• Reduces the monthly surcharge on wireless cell phones from 32 cents to 28 cents. As the increasing number of cell phones has generated more revenue, some legislators

3 wanted the fee reduced to return the level of funding back closer to the funding level initially projected at the time the surcharge was adopted. The 28-cent amount was accepted to ease some concerns and gain more legislative support for continuing the surcharge.

• Extends the sunset provision for another 4 years. The surcharge now will expire on December 31, 2012.

• Increases the minimum annual amount that each county receives from $25,000 to $90,000.

• Limits to five, beginning March 1, 2009, the number of wireless PSAPs per county that counties can fund with surcharge revenue.

• Allows a county to use up to $25,000 annually to utilize technology that helps identify for emergency responders for those callers who may have a mental or physical disability.

HOUSE, SENATE PASS ELECTION BILL, GOVERNOR CONTEMPLATES VETO Compiled in part from Gongwer and The Columbus Dispatch

A divided Senate Wednesday night sent Gov. a controversial bill that makes a handful of election-related changes, likely setting up a confrontation between the Republican- controlled legislature and the Democratic chief executive. The 19-12 vote on House amendments to the legislation (SB 380) came near the end of a session that spanned more than 11 hours and concluded at about 1 am Thursday.

In taking the action on the election measure, the majority Republicans signaled their desire to end a period in which Ohioans could register and vote on the same day, increase standards for the verification of absentee ballots, and direct the Secretary of State to advise local election boards of mismatches between registration information and motor vehicle records. Sen. (R-) urged support for the changes, saying the thrust of the Senate-passed bill remains in tact, and noted that the Ohio Association of Election Officials lent support for the measure.

The bill’s passage prompted a statement from Secretary of State 's office blasting the legislation. "This is a flawed bill that lacks bipartisan support. Despite clear support among the public for early voting, the House-passed version of the measure has said 'no' to more voting options and eliminated two weeks of in-person early voting," Brunner spokesman Jeff Ortega said. "Additionally, the House, in its measure, has eliminated the necessary oversight for party officials appointed to the boards of elections. This office understands that opponents of the bill have appealed to the Governor to veto. This office will provide the Governor with any information he needs to make an informed decision."

House Speaker Jon Husted rejected the contention from Secretary Brunner and Democrats that the legislature is rushing election changes into law unnecessarily. He argued that the bill is narrowly focused in responding to court rulings this fall on election disputes, such as when observers are allowed at voting locations and areas where the Secretary argued that the

4 Legislature had passed unclear laws. "If she (Brunner) thinks that we didn't do a very good job, then it's incumbent upon us before we leave this General Assembly to make the statute abundantly clear," Husted said.

Gov. Ted Strickland said through spokesman Keith Dailey that he continues to review the bill but remains concerned about passing such "complex and wide-ranging issues" in the lame duck session. "The Governor will also take into consideration the concerns raised by Secretary of State Brunner," Mr. Dailey said.

The bill's proposed change from 35 to 20 days before the election for absentee balloting was prompted in part over disagreements surrounding the so-called "Golden Week," the overlap of the start of absentee voting and the deadline for voter registration. The tightening of rules on polling place observers stemmed from complaints that some people serving in that role were over-aggressive.

Among other controversial provisions, the bill also proposes to limit the Secretary of States' authority over county election board appointments. That change, and a handful of others, were added in committee on Monday before it was reported on party lines. The other changes included all of the following:

• Revert to the original bill language allowing for only one early voting location for counties. Rep. Jim Carmichael (R-Wooster), who offered all but one of the amendments, said the language stemmed from concerns over the costs of operating additional early polling places.

• Prohibit the Secretary of State from nullifying a county election board appointment absent a substantial cause. The sponsor said the change responds to a Summit County disqualification by Secretary Brunner that led to an Ohio Supreme Court case.

• Extend the bill's restrictions on observers to those working on Election Day as well as at early voting locations.

• Allow for incidental or casual interaction between observers and people at the polls, such as an exchange of greetings.

JOE THE PLUMBER BILL PASSES HOUSE AND SENATE

Representative Shannon Jones and Senator Mark Wagoner sponsored companion bills (HB 648/SB 388) that require all state agencies to adopt rules governing access to the confidential person information that they keep. HB 648 passed the House, and then the Senate with amendments, in which the House concurred.

Under the act, confidential personal information is any information that is not a public record under the Revised Code. Mostly importantly for counties, the act only applies to state agencies. The act specifically exempts any local agency from its provisions. CCAO, along with OJFSDA, PCSAO, and OCDA, worked with the bills’ sponsors to help protect local human service agencies from becoming crippled with new documentation requirements.

Thus, the act requires any state agency that keeps confidential person information, whether electronically or on paper, to adopt rules concerning access of the information. Examples of items that the rules must include are the following: criteria for determining which state agency employees may access information; a list of valid reasons for which agency employees may access information; and a requirement that any new or upgraded state agency database containing information include a mechanism to automatically record access and, until a 5 database can be upgraded or replaced, that the state agency must keep a log of access unless the access is done as part of official agency research or routine office procedures.

DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION ESTIMATES FOR LGF IN CALENDAR YEAR 2009

The Ohio Department of Taxation has issued revised estimates of the calendar year 2009 distributions from the state Local Government Fund (LGF) and the state Public Library Fund (PLF). The estimates are available at the following web site:

http://tax.ohio.gov/channels/government/OhioDepartmentofTaxation.stm.

The revised LGF and PLF estimates for calendar year 2009 are projected to be approximately 7% less than actual calendar year 2008 distributions. Actual distributions to the LGF and the PLF in calendar year 2008 also are less than had been originally estimated for this year.

The Department of Taxation memorandum dated December 17, 2008, cautions local government officials that these projections “are fraught with considerable measurement uncertainty due to the inherent difficulty in accurately forecasting revenues in the current volatile economic environment.” The Department of Taxation will continue to monitor the situation and will issue additional information as the state proceeds through calendar year 2009.

LAW LIBRARY REFORM PASSES AS PART OF HB 420

Earlier this month, SB 345, the law library reform legislation, was amended by the Senate into HB 420. The Senate then passed HB 420 and the bill returned to the House of Representatives for its consideration of the Senate amendments. The House this week voted to concur in the Senate Amendments. Thus, the law library provisions will become law before the end of the year.

Commissioners need to remember that the law library reform proposal requires the commissioners to pay 100% of the salary of the law librarian and up to two assistant librarians and provide space for the law library association during calendar year 2009.

Beginning in 2010, the law library will be governed by the County Law Library Resources Board. This Board will be comprised of 5 members, with the county prosecutor, common pleas judges, and the municipal/county court judges each appointing one, and the commissioners appointing two. The Board will submit to commissioners for their approval. In 2010, the fine and penalty money the law library association currently receives will be allocated to the County Law Library Resources Board. The commissioners also may provide additional funding for the County Law Library Resources Board from the general fund.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMISSION TO CALL FIRST MEETING

The Commission on Local Government Reform and Collaboration will hold its first meeting on Monday, January 5 from 10:30 to noon in Downtown Columbus.

According to the statute that created the Commission, the first order of business is to elect the co-chairs of the Commission.

Lake County Commissioner and Past-CCAO President Daniel Troy will represent CCAO on the Commission. Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley also will serve on the Commission, as he was appointed by Speaker Husted.

6 GOVERNOR ORDERS $640 MILLION IN ADJUSTMENTS TO STATE BUDGET

Governor Ted Strickland today ordered $640 million in budget adjustments to maintain a balanced budget as the accelerated deterioration of the national economy continues to deprive Ohio of revenue .

This reduction is in addition to the $1.27 billion in budget adjustments already undertaken this year, for a total of $1.9 billion in budget adjustments over the biennium. This is in line with the Office of Budget and Management’s recession-based scenario, outlined in January 2008, which had forecast a $1.9 billion total budget deficit if the economy fell into recession. Earlier this month, economists agreed that the national economy has been in recession since December 2007.

Strickland said the adjustments must be undertaken now to give state agencies ample planning time before January 1, when large subsidy payments to local communities are scheduled.

“Ohio’s budget circumstances are substantially worse today than they were just 12 weeks ago,” Strickland said. “I believe that taking this action today is necessary to make sure the state budget remains balanced and agencies have time to plan. And we are making this decision while continuing to protect the college tuition freeze and foundation funding for local schools.”

The budget adjustment plan includes a 5.75 percent across-the-board cut to state agency spending levels while holding harmless key programs. The plan also anticipates a 6 percent increase in the federal share of Medicaid payments early next year.

“It appears clear that the federal government will include aid to states in any economic recovery package,” Strickland said. “While we do not yet know what the full scope of that aid will be, we believe it is reasonable to plan for an increase in federal Medicaid funding.”

The budget adjustments announced today protect tax reform passed by previous legislatures, the newly-established homestead tax cut, the tuition freeze for state colleges and universities, and increased funding for local school districts in addition to exempting other key programs.

Budget reductions announced today will result in $180.5 million less being spent by state agencies through June 30, 2009. The remaining $460 million shortfall will be made up through Medicaid spending adjustments and various cash management strategies.

General revenue fund (GRF) Medicaid spending in the Department of Job and Family Services will be adjusted to reflect an anticipated enhanced federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP), additional cost containment and the liquidation of balances in non-GRF funds.

Specific line items fully exempted include: Department of Education line items for foundation funding, pupil transportation, gifted pupil program, special education enhancements and career/technical education enhancements; Board of Regents line items for OCOG, OIG, SSI, Academic Scholarships, Central State Supplement, Shawnee State Supplement, and capital component; Ohio Department of Job and Family Services line items for Medicare Part D, TANF and Child Care maintenance of effort, and Disability Financial Assistance; Expositions line item for Junior Fair Subsidy; all GRF line items within the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction; all GRF line items within the Department of Youth Services; Ballot Board advertising reimbursement; all line items within the Department of Veterans’ Services; line items for mandate assistance and ballot advertising costs; debt service line items; line items related to tax relief; several boards and commissions; disability pension and survivor funds administered by the Treasurer of State; and all GRF line items for the legislative and judicial agencies.

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