To amend sections 3375.40, 3375.41, and 5705.281 and to enact section 3375.392 of the Revised Code to revise the bidding threshold for public improvements applicable to free public libraries; to eliminate restrictions on group life insurance coverage offered by free public libraries to their employees; to allow a board of library trustees to authorize its employees to use a credit card held by the library to pay for library business expenses; and to allow the county budget commission to waive certain requirements relating to tax budgets or estimates of contemplated revenue and expenditures in any county in which a single library receives all of the county library and local government support fund or receives all of that portion of the fund that is distributed to libraries.

Section 1. That sections 3375.40, 3375.41, and 5705.281 be amended and section 3375.392 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 3375.392. (A) A board of library trustees appointed pursuant to section 3375.06, 3375.10, 3375.12, 3375.15, 3375.22, or 3375.30 of the Revised Code may authorize an officer, employee, or appointee of the free public library under its jurisdiction to use a credit card that the library holds to pay for expenses related to library business. The debt incurred as a result of the use of the credit card shall be paid from library funds.

(B) Misuse of a credit card of a free public library by an officer, employee, or appointee of the library is subject to section 2913.21 of the Revised Code. The officer, employee, or appointee also may be found personally liable to the library in a civil action for the officer's, employee's, or appointee's misuse of the library's credit card.

(C) Any officer, employee, or appointee of a free public library who is authorized to use a credit card that the library holds and who suspects the loss, the theft, or another person's possible unauthorized use of the credit card shall notify the board of library trustees immediately in writing of the suspected loss, theft, or possible unauthorized use. The officer, employee, or appointee may be held personally liable to the library for any unauthorized debt resulting from the credit card's loss, theft, or unauthorized use in the amount of fifty dollars or the amount charged to the credit card as a result of the loss, theft, or unauthorized use, whichever is less.

Sec. 3375.40.  Each board of library trustees appointed pursuant to sections section 3375.06, 3375.10, 3375.12, 3375.15, 3375.22, and or 3375.30 of the Revised Code may do the following:

(A) Hold title to and have the custody of all real and personal property of the free public library under its jurisdiction;

(B) Expend for library purposes, and in the exercise of the power enumerated in this section, all moneys, whether derived from the county library and local government support fund or otherwise, credited to the free public library under its jurisdiction and generally do all things it considers necessary for the establishment, maintenance, and improvement of the free public library under its jurisdiction;

(C) Purchase, lease, construct, remodel, renovate, or otherwise improve, equip, and furnish buildings or parts of buildings and other real property, and purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire motor vehicles and other personal property, necessary for the proper maintenance and operation of the free public libraries library under its jurisdiction, and pay the their costs thereof in installments or otherwise. Financing of these costs may be provided through the issuance of notes, through an installment sale, or through a lease-purchase agreement. Any such notes shall be issued pursuant to section 3375.404 of the Revised Code.

(D) Purchase, lease, lease with an option to purchase, or erect buildings or parts of buildings to be used as main libraries, branch libraries, or library stations pursuant to section 3375.41 of the Revised Code;

(E) Establish and maintain a main library, branches, library stations, and traveling library service within the territorial boundaries of the political subdivision or district over which it has jurisdiction of free public library service;

(F) Establish Except as otherwise provided in this division, establish and maintain branches, library stations, and traveling library service in any school district, outside the territorial boundaries of the political subdivision or district over which it has jurisdiction of free public library service, upon application to and approval of the state library board, pursuant to section 3375.05 of the Revised Code; provided the. The board of library trustees of any free public library maintaining branches, stations, or traveling-book traveling library service, outside the territorial boundaries of the political subdivision or district over which it has jurisdiction of free public library service, on September 4, 1947, may continue to maintain and operate such those branches, those stations, and that traveling library service without the approval of the state library board;.

(G) Appoint and fix the compensation of all of the employees of the free public library under its jurisdiction;, pay the reasonable cost of tuition for any of its employees who enroll in a course of study the board considers essential to the duties of the employee or to the improvement of the employee's performance;, and reimburse applicants for employment for any reasonable expenses they incur by appearing for a personal interview;

(H) Make and publish rules for the proper operation and management of the free public library and facilities under its jurisdiction, including rules pertaining to the provision of library services to individuals, corporations, or institutions that are not inhabitants of the county;

(I) Establish and maintain a museum in connection with and as an adjunct to the free public library under its jurisdiction;

(J) By the adoption of a resolution, accept any bequest, gift, or endowment upon the conditions connected with such the bequest, gift, or endowment; provided no. No such bequest, gift, or endowment shall be accepted by such the board if the its conditions thereof remove any portion of the free public library under its the board's jurisdiction from the control of such the board or if such the conditions, in any manner, limit the free use of such the library or any part thereof of it by the residents of the counties in which such the library is located;.

(K) At the end of any fiscal year, by a two-thirds vote of its full membership, set aside any unencumbered surplus remaining in the general fund of the free public library under its jurisdiction for any purpose, including creating or increasing a special building and repair fund, or for operating the library or acquiring equipment and supplies;

(L) Procure and pay all or part of the cost of group life, hospitalization, surgical, major medical, disability benefit, dental care, eye care, hearing aids, or prescription drug insurance or coverage, or a combination of any of the foregoing those types of insurance or coverage, whether issued by an insurance company or a health insuring corporation duly licensed by the state, covering its employees, and, in the case of group life, hospitalization, surgical, major medical, dental care, eye care, hearing aids, or prescription drug insurance or coverage, also covering the dependents and spouses of such its employees, and, in the case of disability benefits, also covering the spouses of such its employees. With respect to life insurance, coverage for any employee shall not exceed the greater of the sum of ten thousand dollars or the annual salary of the employee, exclusive of any double indemnity clause that is a part of the policy.

(M) Pay reasonable dues and expenses for the free public library and library trustees in library associations.

Any instrument by which real property is acquired pursuant to this section shall identify the agency of the state that has the use and benefit of the real property as specified in section 5301.012 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3375.41.  When a board of library trustees appointed pursuant to sections section 3375.06, 3375.10, 3375.12, 3375.15, 3375.22, and or 3375.30 of the Revised Code determines to construct, demolish, alter, repair, or reconstruct a library or make any improvements or repairs, the cost of which will exceed fifteen twenty-five thousand dollars, except in cases of urgent necessity or for the security and protection of library property, it shall proceed as follows:

(A) The board shall advertise for a period of four weeks for sealed bids in some newspaper of general circulation in the district, and, if there are two such papers newspapers, the board shall advertise in both of them. If no newspaper has a general circulation in the district, the board shall advertise by posting such post the advertisement in three public places therein in the district. Such The advertisement shall be entered in full by the clerk on the record of proceedings of the board.

(B) The sealed bids shall be filed with the clerk by twelve noon of the last day stated in the advertisement.

(C) The sealed bids shall be opened at the next meeting of the board, shall be publicly read by the clerk, and shall be entered in full on the records of the board; provided, that the board may, by resolution, may provide for the public opening and reading of such the bids by the clerk, immediately after the time for their filing such bids has expired, at the usual place of meeting of the board, and for the tabulation of such the bids and a report of such the tabulation to the board at its next meeting.

(D) Each sealed bid shall contain the name of every person interested therein, in it and shall meet the requirements of section 153.54 of the Revised Code.

(E) When both labor and materials are embraced in the work bid for, the board may require that each be separately stated in the sealed bid, with the their price thereof, or may require that bids be submitted without such the separation.

(F) None but the lowest responsible bid shall be accepted. The board may reject all the bids or accept any bid for both labor and material for such the improvement or repair which is the lowest in the aggregate.

(G) The contract shall be between the board and the bidders. The board shall pay the contract price for the work in cash at the times and in the amounts as provided by sections 153.12, 153.13, and 153.14 of the Revised Code.

(H) When two or more bids are equal, in whole or in part, and are lower than any others, either may be accepted, but in no case shall the work be divided between such these bidders.

(I) When there is reason to believe there is collusion or combination among the bidders, the bids of those concerned in such the collusion or combination shall be rejected.

Sec. 5705.281. (A) Notwithstanding section 5705.28 of the Revised Code, the county budget commission, by an affirmative vote of a majority of the commission, including an affirmative vote by the county auditor, may waive the requirement that the taxing authority of a subdivision or other taxing unit adopt a tax budget as provided under section 5705.28 of the Revised Code, but shall require such a taxing authority to provide such information to the commission as may be required by the commission to perform its duties under this chapter, including dividing the rates of each of the subdivision's or taxing unit's tax levies as provided under section 5705.04 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) Notwithstanding divisions (B)(1) and (D) of section 5705.28 of the Revised Code, in any county in which a single library receives all of the county library and local government support fund or receives all of that portion of the fund that is distributed to libraries, the county budget commission, by an affirmative vote of a majority of the commission, including an affirmative vote by the county auditor, may waive any or all of the following requirements:

(a) The requirement that the board of trustees of a school library district entitled to participate in any appropriation or revenue of a school district or to have a tax proposed by the board of education of a school district file with the board of education of the school district a tax budget, and the requirement that the board of education adopt the tax budget on behalf of the library district, as provided in division (B)(1) of section 5705.28 of the Revised Code;

(b) The requirement that the board of trustees of a public library desiring to participate in the distribution of the county library and local government support fund certify to the taxing authority its estimate of contemplated revenue and expenditures, and the requirement that the taxing authority include in its budget of receipts and budget of expenditures the full amounts specified or requested by the board of trustees, as provided in division (D) of section 5705.28 of the Revised Code.

(2) If a county budget commission waives the requirements described in division (B)(1)(a) or (b) of this section, the commission shall require the board of trustees of the school library district or the board of trustees of the public library desiring to participate in the distribution of the county library and local government support fund to provide to the commission any information the commission may require from the board in order for the commission to perform its duties under this chapter.

Section 2. That existing sections 3375.40, 3375.41, and 5705.281 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.