| Sec. 1531.26. There is hereby created in the state
treasury | 33 |
|
the nongame and endangered wildlife fund, which shall
consist of | 34 |
|
moneys paid into it by the tax commissioner under
section 5747.113 | 35 |
|
of the Revised Code, moneys deposited in the fund
from the | 36 |
|
issuance of wildlife conservation license plates under section | 37 |
|
4503.57 of the Revised Code,
moneys deposited in the fund from the | 38 |
|
issuance of bald eagle license plates
under section 4503.572 of | 39 |
|
the Revised Code,
moneys credited to the fund under section | 40 |
|
1533.151 of the Revised Code, and contributions made
directly to | 41 |
|
it. Any person may contribute directly to the fund
in addition to | 42 |
or independently of the income tax refund
contribution system | 43 |
|
established in section 5747.113
of the Revised Code. Moneys in the | 44 |
|
fund shall be disbursed pursuant to vouchers approved by the | 45 |
|
director of natural resources for use by the division of wildlife | 46 |
|
solely for the purchase, management, preservation, propagation, | 47 |
|
protection, and stocking of wild animals that are not commonly | 48 |
|
taken for sport or commercial purposes, including the acquisition | 49 |
|
of title and
easements to lands, biological investigations, law | 50 |
|
enforcement, production of educational materials, sociological | 51 |
|
surveys,
habitat development, and personnel and equipment costs; | 52 |
|
and for carrying out
section 1531.25 of the Revised
Code. Moneys | 53 |
|
in the fund also may be used to promote and develop
nonconsumptive | 54 |
|
wildlife recreational opportunities involving wild animals. | 55 |
|
Moneys in the fund from the issuance of bald eagle license
plates | 56 |
|
under section 4503.572 of the Revised Code shall be expended by | 57 |
|
the division only to
pay the costs of acquiring, developing, and | 58 |
|
restoring habitat for bald eagles
within this
state. Moneys in the | 59 |
|
fund from any other source also may be used to pay the
costs of | 60 |
|
acquiring, developing, and restoring habitat for bald eagles | 61 |
|
within
this state. | 62 |
| All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to
the | 63 |
|
fund. Subject to the approval of the director, the chief of
the | 64 |
|
division of wildlife may enter into agreements that the chief | 65 |
|
considers
appropriate to obtain additional moneys for the | 66 |
|
protection of
nongame native wildlife under the "Endangered | 67 |
|
Species Act of
1973," 87 Stat. 884, 16 U.S.C.A. 1541-1543, as | 68 |
|
amended, and the
"Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980," 94 | 69 |
|
Stat. 1322, 16
U.S.C.A. 2901-2911, as amended. Moneys appropriated | 70 |
|
from the
fund are not intended to replace other moneys | 71 |
|
appropriated for
these purposes. | 72 |
| Sec. 5101.98. (A) There is hereby created in the state | 73 |
|
treasury the military injury relief fund, which shall consist of | 74 |
|
money contributed to it under section 5747.113 of the Revised | 75 |
|
Code, of incentive grants authorized by the "Jobs for Veterans | 76 |
|
Act," 116 Stat. 2033 (2002), and of contributions made directly to | 77 |
|
it. Any person or entity may contribute directly to the fund in | 78 |
addition to or independently of the income tax refund contribution | 79 |
|
system established in section 5747.113 of the Revised Code. | 80 |
| (B) Upon application, the director of job and family services | 81 |
|
shall grant money in the fund to individuals injured while in | 82 |
|
active service as a member of the armed forces of the United | 83 |
|
States while serving under operation Iraqi freedom or
operation | 84 |
|
enduring freedom and to individuals diagnosed with
post-traumatic | 85 |
|
stress disorder while serving, or after having
served, in | 86 |
|
operation Iraqi freedom or operation enduring freedom. | 87 |
| (B) Each year, the executive director of the state emergency | 118 |
|
management agency created under section 5502.22 of the Revised | 119 |
|
Code shall make one or more grants to the American red cross | 120 |
|
greater Columbus chapter from money appropriated for that purpose | 121 |
|
from the American red cross disaster response fund, to be used by | 122 |
|
the chapter for planning, for the implementation of programs to | 123 |
|
assist in disaster preparedness and response throughout this | 124 |
|
state, and for the costs of administering those programs. The | 125 |
|
American red cross greater Columbus chapter shall
submit to the | 126 |
|
executive director its plan for the use of any
grants received | 127 |
|
under this section within sixty days after the
effective date of | 128 |
|
any section of law appropriating money from the
fund for the | 129 |
|
purpose of such grants. | 130 |
| Sec. 5747.113. (A)(1) Any taxpayer claiming a refund under | 136 |
section
5747.11 of the Revised Code for taxable years ending on
or | 137 |
after
October 14, 1983, who wishes to contribute any part of
the | 138 |
|
taxpayer's refund to the natural areas and preserves
fund created | 139 |
|
in
section 1517.11 of the Revised Code, the nongame and endangered | 140 |
|
wildlife fund created in section 1531.26 of the Revised Code, the | 141 |
|
military injury relief fund created in section 5101.98 of the | 142 |
|
Revised Code, or
all of those funds, may designate on
the | 143 |
|
taxpayer's income tax return the
amount that
the taxpayer wishes | 144 |
to contribute to the fund
or
funds. A | 145 |
| (2) For taxable years beginning in 2008 or thereafter, a | 146 |
|
taxpayer who wishes to contribute to the American red cross | 147 |
|
disaster response fund created in section 5502.23 of the Revised | 148 |
|
Code may do so by contributing any part of the taxpayer's refund | 149 |
|
or by increasing the payment required to accompany the taxpayer's | 150 |
|
annual return under section 5747.08 of the Revised Code. A | 151 |
|
taxpayer shall designate on the taxpayer's income tax return the | 152 |
|
amount the taxpayer wishes to contribute to the fund, provided | 153 |
|
that the amount contributed shall be at least one dollar. If a | 154 |
|
taxpayer elects to increase a payment required to accompany the | 155 |
|
taxpayer's annual return and the taxpayer fails to remit the full | 156 |
|
amount of the contribution, the amount of the contribution shall | 157 |
|
be reduced accordingly. In no case shall a contribution under this | 158 |
|
division operate to reduce the combined amount of the state and | 159 |
|
school district income taxes shown to be due on a taxpayer's | 160 |
|
annual return. | 161 |
| (3) A designated
contribution of any part of a refund is | 162 |
|
irrevocable upon the filing
of the return and
shall be made in the | 163 |
|
full amount designated if
the refund found
due the taxpayer upon | 164 |
|
the initial processing of
the
taxpayer's return, after any | 165 |
|
deductions including those
required by
section 5747.12 of the | 166 |
|
Revised Code, is greater than
or equal to the
designated | 167 |
|
contribution. If the refund due as
initially determined is less | 168 |
|
than the designated contribution, the
contribution shall be made | 169 |
|
in the full amount of the refund. The
tax commissioner shall | 170 |
|
subtract the amount of the contribution
from the amount of the | 171 |
|
refund initially found due the taxpayer and
shall certify the | 172 |
|
difference to the director of budget and
management and treasurer | 173 |
|
of state for payment to the taxpayer in
accordance with section | 174 |
|
5747.11 of the Revised Code. For the
purpose of any subsequent | 175 |
|
determination of the taxpayer's net tax
payment, the contribution | 176 |
|
shall be considered a part of the refund
paid to the taxpayer. | 177 |
| (B) The tax commissioner shall provide a space on the income | 178 |
|
tax
return form in which a taxpayer may indicate that
the
taxpayer | 179 |
|
wishes to make a donation in accordance with this section. The
tax | 180 |
|
commissioner shall also print in the instructions accompanying
the | 181 |
|
income tax return form a description of the purposes for
which
the | 182 |
|
natural areas and preserves fund, the nongame and
endangered | 183 |
wildlife fund, and the military injury relief fund, and the | 184 |
|
American red cross disaster response fund were created and the use | 185 |
of moneys from
the income tax refund contribution system | 186 |
|
established in this
section. No person shall designate on
the | 187 |
|
person's income
tax
return any
part of a refund claimed under | 188 |
|
section 5747.11 of the
Revised
Code as a contribution to any fund | 189 |
other than the natural
areas
and preserves fund, the nongame and | 190 |
endangered wildlife
fund, the military injury relief fund, | 191 |
|
American red cross disaster response fund, or
all of those funds. | 192 |
| (D) No later than the thirtieth day of September each year, | 199 |
|
the
tax commissioner shall determine the total amount contributed | 200 |
|
to
each fund under this section during the preceding eight months, | 201 |
|
any adjustments to prior months, and the cost to the department
of | 202 |
taxation of administering the income tax refund contribution | 203 |
|
system during that eight-month period. The commissioner shall
make | 204 |
|
an additional determination no later than the thirty-first
day of | 205 |
|
January of each year of the total amount contributed to
each fund | 206 |
|
under this section during the preceding four calendar
months, any | 207 |
|
adjustments to prior years made during that
four-month
period, and | 208 |
|
the cost to the department of taxation of
administering the income | 209 |
|
tax contribution system during that
period. The cost of | 210 |
|
administering the income tax contribution
system shall be | 211 |
|
certified by the tax commissioner to the director
of budget and | 212 |
management, who shall transfer an amount equal to
one-third | 213 |
one-fourth of such administrative costs from the natural areas and | 214 |
preserves fund, one-third of such costs from the nongame and | 215 |
endangered wildlife fund, and one-third of such costs from the | 216 |
military injury relief fundeach of the four funds to the litter | 217 |
control and natural
resource taxincome tax contribution | 218 |
|
administration fund, which is hereby created,
provided that the | 219 |
|
moneys that the department receives to pay the
cost of | 220 |
administering the income tax refund contribution system
in
any | 221 |
|
year shall not exceed two and one-half per cent of the
total | 222 |
|
amount contributed under that system during that year. | 223 |
| (E)(1) The director of natural resources, in January of every | 224 |
|
odd-numbered year, shall report to the general assembly on the | 225 |
effectiveness of the income tax refund contribution system as it | 226 |
|
pertains to the natural areas and preserves fund and the nongame | 227 |
and endangered wildlife fund. The
report shall include the amount | 228 |
of money contributed to each fund in each of the previous five | 229 |
years, the amount of
money contributed directly to each fund in | 230 |
addition to or
independently of the income tax refund contribution | 231 |
system in
each
of the previous five years, and the purposes for | 232 |
which the
money
was expended. | 233 |
| (2) The director of job and family services, in January of | 234 |
|
every odd-numbered year, shall report to the general assembly on | 235 |
the effectiveness of the income tax refund contribution system as | 236 |
it pertains to the military injury relief fund. The report shall | 237 |
include the amount of money contributed to the fund in each of the | 238 |
previous five years, the amount of money contributed directly to | 239 |
the fund in addition to or independently of the income tax refund | 240 |
contribution system in each of the previous five years, and the | 241 |
purposes for which the money was expended | 242 |