As Passed by the House (Corrected Version)

128th General Assembly
Regular Session
2009-2010
Am. S. B. No. 270


Senators Hughes, Miller, R. 

Cosponsors: Senators Goodman, Harris, Schiavoni, Strahorn, Turner, Cates 

Representatives Bacon, Carney, Chandler, Combs, Domenick, Gardner, Garland, Grossman, Harris, Hite, Letson, Luckie, Stewart, Weddington, Yuko 

A BILL
To amend section 755.14 and to enact section 755.141 1
of the Revised Code to authorize a joint 2
recreation district operating on the site of the 3
United States Christopher Columbus Quincentenary 4
Jubilee to issue revenue bonds, maintain lines of 5
credit, and enter into lease purchase agreements 6
for property; to expand the district's powers with 7
respect to its own property; and to make certain 8
appointments to the district's board permissive 9
rather than mandatory; and to establish a dam 10
construction permit pilot program that, with 11
respect to an eligible dam project, establishes 12
permit fee and bonding requirements that are 13
different from the permit fee and bonding 14
requirements otherwise required under applicable 15
law.16


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That section 755.14 be amended and section 755.141 17
of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:18

       Sec. 755.14.  (A) If the legislative authority of a municipal 19
corporation determines that the power to equip, operate, and 20
maintain parks, playgrounds, playfields, gymnasiums, public baths, 21
swimming pools, or recreation centers shall be exercised by a 22
recreation board, it may establish such a board, which shall 23
possess all the powers and be subject to all the responsibilities 24
of the respective local authorities under sections 755.12 to 25
755.18 of the Revised Code. The board shall consist of five 26
persons, two of whom shall be members of the board of education of 27
the city or village school district or shall be appointed by that 28
board of education. The other members of the recreation board 29
shall be appointed by the mayor or manager as executive of such 30
municipal corporation with the consent of its council. The members 31
who are board of education members and members appointed by a 32
board of education shall be residents of the school district 33
making the appointment but need not be residents of the municipal 34
corporation. All other members of the board shall be residents of 35
the municipal corporation. All members of the board shall serve 36
for terms of five years, except that the members first appointed 37
shall be appointed for such terms that the term of one member 38
shall expire annually thereafter. Members of the board shall serve 39
without pay. Vacancies in the board, occurring otherwise than by 40
expiration of term, shall be for the unexpired term and shall be 41
filled in the same manner as original appointments.42

       (B)(1) The legislative authorities of the municipal 43
corporations, boards of township trustees of the townships, boards 44
of township park commissioners, boards of county commissioners of 45
the counties, and boards of education of the school districts 46
joined in the operation and maintenance of parks or recreation 47
facilities under section 755.16 of the Revised Code may, by 48
resolution, establish a joint recreation board which may possess 49
all the powers and be subject to all the responsibilities of the 50
respective local authorities under sections 755.12 to 755.18 of 51
the Revised Code. The resolutions shall specify the number of 52
members of the joint recreation board, other than any members who 53
may be appointed under division (B)(2) of this section, and the 54
method of appointing members and filling vacancies. Members of the 55
board shall serve without pay.56

       (2) If a park or recreational facility owned, operated, or 57
maintained by a joint recreation board created under division 58
(B)(1) of this section is the site where an exhibition sanctioned 59
by the United States Christopher Columbus quincentenary jubilee 60
commission is being or has been held and the exhibition is or was 61
sponsored by an organization that is also sponsoring or has 62
sponsored an exhibition sanctioned by the international 63
association of horticulture producers, then the governor, speaker 64
of the house of representatives, and president of the senate shall 65
each appoint one member to the board. The members appointed by the 66
speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the 67
senate may be members of the general assembly, but any members of 68
the general assembly appointed to the board shall be nonvoting 69
members and shall serve only while they remain members of the 70
general assembly. Members appointed under division (B)(2) of this 71
section shall serve terms of three years and serve without pay, 72
and all vacancies in their positions on the board, whether for an 73
unexpired term or at the end of a term, shall be filled in the 74
same manner as the original appointments.75

       (C) The legislative authorities of the several subdivisions 76
joined in the operation and maintenance of recreation facilities 77
under section 755.16 of the Revised Code may, by resolution, 78
establish a joint recreation district, consisting of all the 79
territory of the subdivisions so joined. The joint recreation 80
district board of trustees shall be the governing body of a 81
district and shall possess all the powers of a legislative 82
authority of an individual subdivision under sections 755.12 to 83
755.18 of the Revised Code. TheSubject to section 755.141 of the 84
Revised Code, the number of trustees shall be fixed by the 85
resolutions creating the district and may be any number so long as 86
there is representation of all participating subdivisions.87

       Sec. 755.141.  If a park or recreational facility owned, 88
operated, or maintained by a joint recreation district created 89
under division (C) of section 755.14 of the Revised Code is the 90
site where an exhibition sanctioned by the United States 91
Christopher Columbus quincentenary jubilee commission is being or 92
has been held and the exhibition is or was sponsored by the 93
organization that is also sponsoring or has sponsored an 94
exhibition sanctioned by the international association of 95
horticulture producers, the following provisions shall apply, in 96
addition to the provisions of sections 755.12 to 755.18 of the 97
Revised Code:98

       (A) The governor, speaker of the house of representatives, 99
and president of the senate shall each appoint one member to the 100
board of trustees of the district. These members may be members of 101
the general assembly, but any members of the general assembly 102
appointed to the board of trustees shall be nonvoting members and 103
shall serve only while they remain members of the general 104
assembly. Members appointed under this division shall serve terms 105
of three years and serve without pay, and all vacancies in their 106
positions on the board, whether for an unexpired term or at the 107
end of a term, shall be filled in the same manner as the original 108
appointments.109

       (B) The board of trustees of a joint recreation district may 110
designate the amounts and forms of property and casualty insurance 111
protection to be provided. The expense of providing the protection 112
shall be paid from operating funds of the joint recreation 113
district.114

       (C) The board of trustees of a joint recreation district may 115
acquire, construct, maintain, and operate horticultural 116
facilities, public banquet facilities, greenhouses, and such other 117
facilities as are authorized in section 755.16 of the Revised 118
Code.119

       (D)(1) By resolution of its board of trustees, the joint 120
recreation district may issue revenue bonds beyond the limit of 121
bonded indebtedness provided by law, for the acquisition, 122
construction, furnishing, or equipping of any real or personal 123
property, or any combination thereof which it is authorized to 124
acquire, construct, furnish, or equip, including all costs in 125
connection with or incidental thereto.126

       (2) The revenue bonds of the joint recreation district shall 127
be secured only by a pledge of and a lien on the revenues of the 128
joint recreation district that are designated in the resolution, 129
including, but not limited to, any property to be acquired, 130
constructed, furnished, or equipped with the proceeds of the bond 131
issue, after provision only for the reasonable cost of operating, 132
maintaining, and repairing the property of the joint recreation 133
district so designated. The bonds may further be secured by the 134
covenant of the joint recreation district to maintain rates or 135
charges that will produce revenues sufficient to meet the costs of 136
operating, maintaining, and repairing such property and to meet 137
the interest and principal requirements of the bonds and to 138
establish and maintain reserves for the foregoing purposes. The 139
board of trustees of the joint recreation district, by resolution, 140
may provide for the issuance of additional revenue bonds from time 141
to time, to be secured equally and ratably, without preference, 142
priority, or distinction, with outstanding revenue bonds, but 143
subject to the terms and limitations of any trust agreement 144
described in this section, and of any resolution authorizing bonds 145
then outstanding. The board of trustees, by resolution, may 146
designate additional property of the district, the revenues of 147
which shall be pledged and be subject to a lien for the payment of 148
the debt charges on revenue bonds theretofore authorized by 149
resolution of the board of trustees, to the same extent as the 150
revenues above described.151

       (3) In the discretion of the board of trustees, the revenue 152
bonds of the district may be secured by a trust agreement between 153
the joint recreation district and a corporate trustee, that may be 154
any trust company or bank having powers of a trust company, within 155
or without the state.156

       (4) The trust agreement may provide for the pledge or 157
assignment of the revenues to be received, but shall not pledge 158
the general credit and taxing power of the joint recreation 159
district. The trust agreement or the resolution providing for the 160
issuance of revenue bonds may set forth the rights and remedies of 161
the bondholders and trustees, and may contain other provisions for 162
protecting and enforcing their rights and remedies that are 163
determined in the discretion of the board of trustees to be 164
reasonable and proper. The agreement or resolution may provide for 165
the custody, investment, and disbursement of all moneys derived 166
from the sale of such bonds, or from the revenues of the joint 167
recreation district, other than those moneys received from taxes 168
levied pursuant to section 755.171 of the Revised Code, and may 169
provide for the deposit of such funds without regard to Chapter 170
135. of the Revised Code.171

       (5) All bonds issued under authority of this section, 172
regardless of form or terms and regardless of any other law to the 173
contrary, shall have all qualities and incidents of negotiable 174
instruments, subject to provisions for registration, and may be 175
issued in coupon, fully registered, or other form, or any 176
combination thereof, as the board of trustees determines. 177
Provision may be made for the registration of any coupon bonds as 178
to principal alone or as to both principal and interest, and for 179
the conversion into coupon bonds of any fully registered bonds or 180
bonds registered as to both principal and interest.181

       (6) The revenue bonds shall bear interest at such rate or 182
rates, shall bear such date or dates, and shall mature within 183
thirty years following the date of issuance and in such amount, at 184
such time or times, and in such number of installments, as may be 185
provided in or pursuant to the resolution authorizing their 186
issuance. Any original issue of revenue bonds shall mature not 187
later than thirty years from their date of issue. Such resolution 188
also shall provide for the execution of the bonds, which may be by 189
facsimile signatures unless prohibited by the resolution, and the 190
manner of sale of the bonds. The resolution shall provide for, or 191
provide for the determination of, any other terms and conditions 192
relative to the issuance, sale, and retirement of the bonds that 193
the board of trustees in its discretion determines to be 194
reasonable and proper.195

       (7) Whenever a joint recreation district considers it 196
expedient, it may issue renewal notes and refund any bonds, 197
whether the bonds to be refunded have or have not matured. The 198
final maturity of any notes, including any renewal notes, shall 199
not be later than five years from the date of issue of the 200
original issue of notes. The final maturity of any refunding bonds 201
shall not be later than the later of thirty years from the date of 202
issue of the original issue of bonds or the date by which it is 203
expected, at the time of issuance of the refunding bonds, that the 204
useful life of all of the property, other than interests in land, 205
refinanced with proceeds of the bonds will have expired. The 206
refunding bonds shall be sold and the proceeds applied to the 207
purchase, redemption, or payment of the bonds to be refunded and 208
the costs of issuance of the refunding bonds. The bonds and notes 209
issued under this section, their transfer, and the income 210
therefrom, shall at all times be free from taxation within the 211
state.212

       (E) A joint recreation district described in this section may 213
do all of the following:214

       (1) Operate or appoint agents to operate, or otherwise 215
provide for the operation of, its properties and its facilities, 216
activities, and programs and to enter into agreements and 217
arrangements related thereto, and to receive and apply the net 218
proceeds thereof solely to the management, operation, development, 219
maintenance, and repair of its properties, its buildings, 220
facilities, improvements, and grounds;221

       (2) Impose and collect a charge for admission for selective 222
events, exhibits, and facilities;223

       (3) Offer memberships of various denominations for selective 224
activities or facilities;225

       (4) Form advisory and other support committees to the board 226
of trustees to provide counsel and assistance to the board in the 227
management, operation, and development of its properties, 228
buildings, facilities, improvements, and grounds;229

       (5) Grant licenses, or enter into leases or contracts, for 230
the use of any part of its properties, facilities, buildings, and 231
grounds for such length of time and upon such terms and conditions 232
as the board of trustees deems appropriate and necessary, and 233
grant easements in, through, or over its property;234

       (6) Receive and accept from any federal, state, county, 235
municipal, or local government or agency, any grant or 236
contribution of money, property, labor, or other things of value, 237
to be held, used, and applied for the purpose for which such 238
grants and contributions are made; and239

       (7) Accept and expend gifts, grants, devises, and bequests of 240
money and property on behalf of the board of trustees and hold, 241
use, and apply such gifts, grants, devises, and bequests according 242
to the terms thereof.243

       (F)(1) For purposes of division (F)(2) of this section:244

       (a) "Bank" has the same meaning as in section 1101.01 of the 245
Revised Code.246

       (b) "Savings and loan association" has the same meaning as in 247
section 1151.01 of the Revised Code.248

       (c) "Savings bank" has the same meaning as in section 1161.01 249
of the Revised Code.250

       (2) The board of trustees may enter into a contract for a 251
secured line of credit with a bank, savings and loan association, 252
or savings bank if the contract meets all of the following 253
requirements:254

       (a) The term of the contract does not exceed one year, except 255
that the contract may provide for the automatic renewal of the 256
contract for up to four additional one-year periods.257

       (b) The contract provides that the bank, savings and loan 258
association, or savings bank shall not commence a civil action 259
against the board, any member of the board, or the county or the 260
municipal corporation to recover the principal, interest, or any 261
charges or other amounts that remain outstanding on the secured 262
line of credit at the time of any default by the board.263

        (c) The contract provides that no assets other than those of 264
the joint recreation district can be used to secure the line of 265
credit.266

       (d) The terms and conditions of the contract comply with all 267
state and federal statutes and rules governing the extension of a 268
secured line of credit.269

       (3) Any obligation incurred by a board of trustees of a joint 270
recreation district pursuant to division (B) of this section is an 271
obligation of that board only and not a general obligation of the 272
board of county commissioners, the county, or the municipal 273
corporation within the meaning of division (Q) of section 133.01 274
of the Revised Code.275

       (G)(1) For purposes of division (G)(2) of this section, 276
"lease-purchase agreement" has the same meaning as a lease with an 277
option to purchase.278

       (2) For any purpose for which a board of trustees of a joint 279
recreation district described in this section is authorized to 280
acquire real or personal property, that board may enter into a 281
lease-purchase agreement in accordance with this section to 282
acquire the property.283

       The lease-purchase agreement shall provide for a series of 284
terms in which no term extends beyond the end of the fiscal year 285
of the joint recreation district in which that term commences. In 286
total, the terms provided for in the agreement shall be for not 287
more than the useful life of the real or personal property that is 288
the subject of the agreement. A property's useful life shall be 289
determined either by the maximum number of installment payments 290
permitted under the statute that authorizes the board to acquire 291
the property or, if there is no such provision, by the maximum 292
number of years to maturity provided for the issuance of bonds in 293
division (B) of section 133.20 of the Revised Code if bonds were 294
to be issued by a subdivision under that section to finance such 295
facilities. If the useful life cannot be determined under either 296
of those statutes, it shall be estimated as provided in division 297
(C) of section 133.20 of the Revised Code.298

       The lease-purchase agreement shall provide that, at the end 299
of the final term in the agreement, if all obligations of the 300
joint recreation district have been satisfied, the title to the 301
leased property shall vest in the joint recreation district if 302
that title has not vested in the joint recreation district before 303
or during the lease terms; except that the lease-purchase 304
agreement may require the joint recreation district to pay an 305
additional lump sum payment as a condition of obtaining that 306
title.307

       (3) A board of trustees of a joint recreation district that 308
enters into a lease-purchase agreement under this section may do 309
any of the following with the property that is the subject of the 310
agreement:311

       (a) If the property is personal property, assign the board's 312
rights to that property;313

       (b) Grant the lessor a security interest in the property;314

       (c) If the property is real property, grant leases, 315
easements, or licenses for underlying land or facilities under the 316
board's control for terms not exceeding five years beyond the 317
final term of the lease-purchase agreement.318

       (4) The authority granted in division (G) of this section is 319
in addition to and not in derogation of, any other financing 320
authority provided by law.321

       (H) The board of trustees of a joint recreation district 322
described in this section may exercise such other powers as shall 323
have been granted to it in the agreement between the municipal 324
corporation and the board of county commissioners establishing the 325
joint recreation district entered into pursuant to division (C) of 326
section 755.14 of the Revised Code.327

       Section 2. That existing section 755.14 of the Revised Code 328
is hereby repealed.329

       Section 3. (A) As used in this section, "eligible dam 330
project" means a proposed upground reservoir that has an estimated 331
construction cost exceeding forty million dollars.332

       (B) The Chief of the Division of Soil and Water Resources in 333
the Department of Natural Resources shall select one eligible dam 334
project for purposes of a dam construction permit pilot program. 335
For purposes of the pilot program, divisions (C) and (D) of this 336
section apply to the eligible dam project that is selected under 337
this division. The eligible dam project shall comply with all 338
applicable requirements established in Chapter 1521. of the 339
Revised Code and rules adopted under it except as otherwise 340
provided in divisions (C) and (D) of this section.341

       (C) The filing fee for an eligible dam project for purposes 342
of division (B) of section 1521.06 of the Revised Code shall be 343
determined by the Chief, but shall not exceed one per cent of the 344
detailed cost estimate for the eligible dam project that is filed 345
with and approved by the Chief. The fee charged under this 346
division shall be charged notwithstanding the specific 347
requirements regarding fees established in division (B) of section 348
1521.06 of the Revised Code.349

       (D)(1) The Chief may accept a surety bond or other security 350
for an eligible dam project that is less than the surety bond or 351
other security otherwise required under section 1521.061 of the 352
Revised Code if the applicant for the permit demonstrates a lesser 353
cost to mitigate a potential failure of the eligible dam project 354
during construction or first filling of the eligible dam project. 355
In addition, the Chief may accept incremental surety bond or other 356
security amounts scheduled over the construction period of the 357
eligible dam project if the applicant demonstrates that the 358
incremental amounts are sufficient to mitigate a potential failure 359
during different phases of construction. The Chief shall include 360
the phased surety schedule as a term of the permit issued for the 361
eligible dam project under Chapter 1521. of the Revised Code.362

       (2) If the eligible dam project cannot be filled to the 363
normal operating pool level within one year after the approval of 364
the completed construction, the bond or other security shall not 365
be released until both of the following occur:366

       (a) The reservoir is filled to a normal operating pool level.367

       (b) Final approval is given by the Chief.368

       The bond or other security for the eligible dam project shall 369
be released within thirty days after the approval of the Chief has 370
been given.371

       (E) Within thirty days after the issuance of the construction 372
permit for the eligible dam project that is the subject of the dam 373
construction permit pilot program established under this section, 374
the Chief shall submit a report to the General Assembly outlining 375
the Chief's findings as to the efficacy of the pilot program 376
established under this section. The report may include 377
recommendations regarding statutory changes necessary for the 378
effective regulation of dams in this state.379

       (F) This section expires upon the submission of the report 380
under division (E) of this section.381