DECEMBER 19, 2008 LEGISLATURE WRAPS UP 127 TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY Members of the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate 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. Ted Strickland 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.