(b) To ensure adequate response times by certain employees of | 18 |
political subdivisions to emergencies or disasters while ensuring | 19 |
that those employees generally are free to reside throughout the | 20 |
state, the electors of any political subdivision may file an | 21 |
initiative petition to submit a local law to the electorate, or | 22 |
the legislative authority of the political subdivision may adopt | 23 |
an ordinance or resolution, that requires any individual employed | 24 |
by that political subdivision, as a condition of employment, to | 25 |
reside either in the county where the political subdivision is | 26 |
located or in any adjacent county in this state. For the purposes | 27 |
of this section, an initiative petition shall be filed and | 28 |
considered as provided in sections 731.28 and 731.31 of the | 29 |
Revised Code, except that the fiscal officer of the political | 30 |
subdivision shall take the actions prescribed for the auditor or | 31 |
clerk if the political subdivision has no auditor or clerk, and | 32 |
except that references to a municipal corporation shall be | 33 |
considered to be references to the applicable political | 34 |
subdivision. | 35 |
(B) Section 34 of Article II, Ohio Constitution, specifies | 45 |
that laws may be passed providing for the comfort, health, safety, | 46 |
and general welfare of all employees, and that no other provision | 47 |
of the Ohio Constitution impairs or limits this power, including | 48 |
Section 3 of Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution. | 49 |
Section 3. The General Assembly finds, in enacting section | 50 |
9.481 of the Revised Code in this act, that it is a matter of | 51 |
statewide concern to generally allow the employees of Ohio's | 52 |
political subdivisions to choose where to live, and that it is | 53 |
necessary to generally prohibit political subdivisions from | 54 |
requiring their employees, as a condition of employment, to reside | 55 |
in any specific area of the state in order to provide for the | 56 |
comfort, health, safety, and general welfare of those public | 57 |
employees. | 58 |