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As Introduced
122nd General Assembly
Regular Session
1997-1998 | H. B. No. 228 |
REPRESENTATIVES CORBIN-ROBERTS-MOTTLEY-JACOBSON-LEWIS
A BILL
To amend section 306.35 of the Revised Code to authorize regional
transit authorities to use the lease and leaseback financing
technique to
finance their facilities, to remove from the Regional Transit Authority Law a
reference to an obsolete provision of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1954, and
to declare an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 306.35 of the Revised Code be amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 306.35. Upon the creation of a regional transit
authority as provided by section 306.32 of the Revised Code, and
upon the qualifying of its board of trustees and the election of
a president and a vice-president, the authority shall exercise in
its own name all the rights, powers, and duties vested in and
conferred upon it by sections 306.30 to 306.53 of the Revised
Code. Subject to any reservations, limitations, and
qualifications that are set forth in those
sections, the regional transit authority:
(A) May sue or be sued in its corporate name;
(B) May make contracts in the exercise of the rights,
powers, and duties conferred upon it;
(C) May adopt and at will alter a seal and use such seal
by causing it to be impressed, affixed, reproduced, or otherwise
used, but failure to affix the seal shall not affect the validity
of any instrument;
(D) May adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws for the
administration of its affairs and rules for the control of the
administration and operation of transit facilities under its
jurisdiction, and for the exercise of all of its rights of
ownership in those transit facilities;
(E) May fix, alter, and collect fares, rates, and rentals
and other charges for the use of transit facilities under its
jurisdiction to be determined exclusively by it for the purpose
of providing for the payment of the expenses of the regional
transit authority, the acquisition, construction, improvement,
extension, repair, maintenance, and operation of transit
facilities under its jurisdiction, the payment of principal and
interest on its obligations, and to fulfill the terms of any
agreements made with purchasers or holders of any such
obligations, or with any person or political subdivision;
(F) Shall have jurisdiction, control, possession, and
supervision of all property, rights, easements, licenses, moneys,
contracts, accounts, liens, books, records, maps, or other
property rights and interests conveyed, delivered, transferred,
or assigned to it;
(G) May acquire, construct, improve, extend, repair,
lease, operate, maintain, or manage transit facilities within or
without its territorial boundaries, considered necessary to
accomplish the purposes of its organization and make charges for
the use of transit facilities;
(H) May levy and collect taxes as provided in sections
306.40 and 306.49 of the Revised Code;
(I) May issue bonds secured by its general credit as
provided in section 306.40 of the Revised Code;
(J) May hold, encumber, control, acquire by donation, by
purchase for cash or by installment payments, by lease-purchase
agreement, by lease with option to purchase, or by condemnation,
and may construct, own, lease as lessee or lessor, use, and sell,
real and personal property, or any interest or right in real
and personal property, within or without its territorial boundaries,
for
the location or
protection of transit facilities and improvements and access
to transit facilities and improvements, the relocation of
buildings, structures, and
improvements situated on lands acquired by the regional transit
authority, or for any other necessary purpose, or for obtaining
or storing materials to be used in constructing, maintaining, and
improving transit facilities under its jurisdiction;
(K) May exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire
property or any interest in property, within or without
its territorial boundaries, that is necessary or proper for the
construction or efficient operation of any transit facility or
access to any transit facility under its jurisdiction in
accordance with section
306.36 of the Revised Code;
(L) May provide by agreement with any county, including
the counties within its territorial boundaries, or any municipal
corporation or any combination of counties or municipal
corporations for the making of
necessary surveys, appraisals, and examinations preliminary to
the acquisition or construction of any transit facility and the
amount of the expense for the surveys, appraisals, and
examinations to be paid by each such county or municipal corporation;
(M) May provide by agreement with any county, including
the counties within its territorial boundaries, or any municipal
corporation or any combination of those counties or
municipal corporations for the acquisition,
construction, improvement, extension, maintenance, or operation
of any transit facility owned or to be owned and operated by it
or owned or to be owned and operated by any such county or
municipal corporation and the terms on which it shall be
acquired, leased, constructed, maintained, or operated, and the
amount of the cost and expense of the acquisition, lease,
construction, maintenance, or operation to be paid by each such county or
municipal corporation;
(N) May issue revenue bonds for the purpose of acquiring,
replacing, improving, extending, enlarging, or constructing any
facility or permanent improvement that it is authorized to
acquire, replace, improve, extend, enlarge, or construct,
including all costs in connection with and incidental to
the acquisition, replacement, improvement, extension, enlargement, or
construction, and their financing, as
provided by section
306.37 of the Revised Code;
(O) May enter into and supervise franchise agreements for
the operation of a transit system;
(P) May accept the assignment of and supervise an
existing franchise agreement for the operation of a transit
system;
(Q) May exercise a right to purchase a transit system in
accordance with the acquisition terms of an existing franchise
agreement; and in connection with the purchase the regional
transit authority may issue revenue bonds as provided by section
306.37 of the Revised Code or issue bonds secured by its general
credit as provided in section 306.40 of the Revised Code;
(R) May apply for and accept grants or loans from the
United States, the state, or any other public body for the purpose of
providing for the development or improvement of transit
facilities, mass transportation facilities, equipment,
techniques, methods, or services, and grants or loans needed to
exercise a right to purchase a transit system pursuant to
agreement with the owner of those transit facilities, or
for providing lawful financial assistance to existing transit
systems; and may provide any consideration that may be
required in order to obtain those grants or loans from the
United
States, the state, or other public body, either of which grants or loans
may be evidenced by the issuance of revenue bonds as provided by
section 306.37 of the Revised Code or general obligation bonds as
provided by section 306.40 of the Revised Code;
(S) May employ and fix the compensation of consulting
engineers, superintendents, managers, and such other engineering,
construction, accounting and financial experts, attorneys, and
other employees and agents necessary for the accomplishment of
its purposes;
(T) May procure insurance against loss to it by reason of
damages to its properties resulting from fire, theft, accident,
or other casualties or by reason of its liability for any damages
to persons or property occurring in the construction or operation
of transit facilities under its jurisdiction or the conduct of
its activities;
(U) May maintain funds that it considers
necessary for the efficient performance of its duties;
(V) May direct its agents or employees, when properly
identified in writing, after at least five days' written notice,
to enter upon lands within or without its territorial boundaries
in order to make surveys and examinations preliminary to the
location and construction of transit facilities, without
liability to it or its agents or employees except for actual
damage done;
(W) On its own motion, may request the
appropriate zoning
board, as defined in section 4563.03 of the Revised Code, to
establish and enforce zoning regulations pertaining to any
transit facility under its jurisdiction in the manner prescribed
by sections 4563.01 to 4563.21 of the Revised Code;
(X) If it acquires any existing transit system,
shall assume all the employer's obligations under any existing labor
contract between the employees and management of the system. If the
board acquires, constructs, controls, or operates
any such facilities, it shall negotiate arrangements to protect the
interests of employees affected by the acquisition,
construction, control, or operation. The arrangements
shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) The preservation of rights, privileges, and benefits
under existing collective bargaining agreements or otherwise, the
preservation of rights and benefits under any existing pension
plans covering prior service, and continued participation in
social security in addition to participation in the public
employees retirement system as required in Chapter 145. of the
Revised Code;
(2) The continuation of collective bargaining rights;
(3) The protection of individual employees against a
worsening of their positions with respect to their employment;
(4) Assurances of employment to employees of those transit
systems and priority reemployment of employees terminated or laid
off;
(5) Paid training or retraining programs;
(6) Signed written labor agreements.
The arrangements may include provisions for the
submission
of labor disputes to final and binding arbitration.
(Y) May provide for and maintain security operations, including a transit
police department, subject to section 306.352 of the Revised Code. Regional
transit authority police officers shall have the power and duty to act as
peace officers within transit facilities owned, operated, or leased by
the transit authority to protect the transit authority's property and the
person and property of passengers, to preserve the peace, and to enforce all
laws of the state and ordinances and regulations of political subdivisions in
which the transit authority operates. Regional transit authority police
officers also shall have the power and duty to act as peace
officers when they render emergency assistance outside their jurisdiction to
any other peace officer who is not a regional transit authority police officer
and who has arrest authority under section 2935.03 of the Revised
Code. Regional transit authority police officers may render
emergency assistance if there is a threat of imminent physical danger to the
peace officer, a threat of physical harm to another person,
or any other serious emergency situation and if either the
peace officer
who is assisted requests emergency assistance or it appears that the peace
officer who is assisted is unable
to request emergency assistance and the circumstances observed by the regional
transit authority police officer reasonably indicate that emergency assistance
is appropriate.
Before exercising powers of arrest and the other powers
and duties of a peace officer,
each regional transit authority police officer shall
take an oath and give bond to the state in a sum that the
board of trustees prescribes for the proper performance of the officer's
duties.
Persons employed as regional transit authority police
officers shall complete training for the position to
which they have been appointed as required by the Ohio peace officer training
commission as authorized in section 109.77 of the
Revised
Code, or be otherwise qualified. The cost of the training
shall be provided by the regional transit authority.
(Z) May procure a policy or policies insuring members of
its board of trustees against liability on account of damages or
injury to persons and property resulting from any act or omission
of a member in the member's official capacity as a member of
the board or resulting solely out of the member's membership
on the board;
(AA) May enter into any agreement for the sale and
leaseback OR LEASE AND LEASEBACK of qualified mass commuting
vehicles for federal income tax purposes under section 168(F)(8) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended TRANSIT FACILITIES, which
agreement may contain all necessary covenants for the security and protection
of any lessor or the regional transit authority including, but not limited to,
indemnification of the lessor against the loss of anticipated tax
benefits arising from acts, omissions, or misrepresentations of
the regional transit authority. In connection with
that transaction, the regional transit authority may contract for
insurance and letters of credit and pay any premiums or other
charges for the insurance and letters of credit. The
fiscal officer shall not be required to furnish any certificate under section
5705.41 of the Revised Code in connection with the execution of any such
agreement.
(BB) In regard to any contract entered into on or after
March 19, 1993, for the rendering of services or the supplying of materials or
for the construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or
reconstruction of transit facilities in which a bond is required
for the faithful performance of the contract, may permit the person
awarded the contract to utilize a letter of credit issued by a
bank or other financial institution in lieu of the bond;
(CC) May enter into agreements with municipal corporations
located within the territorial jurisdiction of the regional transit authority
permitting regional transit authority police officers employed under
division (Y) of this section to exercise full arrest powers, as
provided in section 2935.03 of the Revised Code, for the
purpose of preserving the peace and enforcing all laws of the state and
ordinances and regulations of the municipal corporation within
the areas that may be agreed to by the regional
transit authority and the municipal corporation.
Section 2. That existing section 306.35 of the Revised Code is hereby
repealed.
Section 3. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The
reason for such necessity lies in the fact that the Federal Transit Authority,
because of reductions made by the Congress in the amount of federal funds
available to public transit agencies, is encouraging and providing regulatory
authority for such agencies to employ innovative financing techniques in order
to make the best possible use of the federal funds that are available. Among
these techniques is that of lease and leaseback, which cannot be utilized by
Ohio regional transit authorities under current law. However, granting the
authorities the authority to use the lease and leaseback financing technique
at the earliest possible time can save them many hundreds of thousands of
dollars, which then will become available for other transit needs such as
additional equipment and route maintenance. Therefore, this act shall go into
immediate effect.
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