130th Ohio General Assembly
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(123rd General Assembly)
(Substitute House Bill Number 91)



AN ACT
To amend sections 503.02, 503.03, and 503.08 of the Revised Code to provide that a township reduced at the request of a municipal corporation to less than twenty-two square miles may continue as a reduced township unless a petition is filed by the township electors, and to change the procedure for partitioning a township.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:

SECTION 1 .  That sections 503.02, 503.03, and 503.08 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 503.02.  The (A) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the board of county commissioners may change the boundaries of any civil township, or partition any township among other townships within the county, by attaching a part of one township to another, by dividing one township and attaching the parts to other townships, or by laying off and designating a new township from the territory of one or more townships of the same county or from territory not before included in a civil township, when it is made to appear necessary or expedient by a petition for that purpose, signed by a majority of the householders electors residing within the bounds of the townships to be affected by such the partition or division, as determined by the number of votes cast in those townships for the office of governor at the most recent general election for that office.

If the board receives a petition to partition a township that has adopted a limited home rule government under Chapter 504. of the Revised Code, signed by a majority of the electors residing in that township, the board shall certify the question of whether or not the township shall remain intact to the board of elections. The board of elections shall determine the validity and sufficiency of the signatures on the petition and, if there are enough valid signatures, shall place the question on the ballot at a special election to be held on the day of the next general or primary election in the township occurring at least seventy-five days after the petition is filed, for a vote of the electors within that township. If a majority of those voting vote against keeping the township intact, the board of county commissioners shall proceed to partition the township. If a majority of those voting vote for keeping the township intact, the board of county commissioners shall not partition the township and shall deny the petition.

(B) If a township is divided or partitioned under this section, the board of county commissioners shall apportion the funds in the township's treasury to the township to which portions of the divided or partitioned township are attached, or to the new townships established. This apportionment may take into account the taxable property valuation, population, or size of the portions created by the division or partition, as well as any other readily ascertainable criteria.

Sec. 503.03.  No Except as provided in section 503.09 of the Revised Code, no new township shall be laid off containing less than twenty-two square miles, or have its but the boundaries so of a township may be changed so as to reduce its territory below that quantity, unless it includes a municipal corporation, except as provided by sections 503.09 to 503.13, inclusive, of the Revised Code. In case of division or partition of a township, the funds in the treasury thereof shall be apportioned to the townships to which portions thereof are attached, or to the new townships established, to the extent they are collected from such territory.

Sec. 503.08.  In making After a change of boundaries is made as provided by section 503.07 of the Revised Code, if any township not having a municipal corporation remaining within its limits is reduced in territory to less than twenty-two square miles, it may thereupon be annexed by the board of county commissioners to any contiguous township, or the board may annex thereto territory from any contiguous township and erect a new township. If a majority of the householders of such reduced township, outside the limits of a municipal corporation, petition for such annexation, the board may erect such reduced township into a new township partitioned as provided in section 503.02 of the Revised Code. Unless and until a partition is made under that section, the remaining township territory shall remain intact. If the changes made under section 503.07 of the Revised Code require the remaining township to acquire a new township name, the board of county commissioners shall name the remaining township and record the name in a book kept as required in section 503.04 of the Revised Code. No two townships in any county shall have the same name.

SECTION 2 .  That existing sections 503.02, 503.03, and 503.08 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

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