130th Ohio General Assembly
The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office in the Continental Plaza, 180 East Broad St., Columbus.

Sub. H. B. No. 293  As Reported by the House Finance and Appropriations Committee
As Reported by the House Finance and Appropriations Committee

126th General Assembly
Regular Session
2005-2006
Sub. H. B. No. 293


Representatives Kilbane, Miller, Trakas, McGregor, J., Wolpert, Evans, C., Reidelbach, Gilb, Faber, Cassell, Kearns, Hartnett, Carano, Boccieri, Healy, Buehrer 



A BILL
To amend section 135.353 and to enact sections 135.804, 135.805, 135.806, and 135.807 of the Revised Code to authorize boards of county commissioners to establish property tax payment linked deposit programs to assist senior citizens and permanently and totally disabled citizens in paying property taxes on their homesteads.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 135.353 be amended and sections 135.804, 135.805, 135.806, and 135.807 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 135.353.  (A) In addition to the investments specified in section 135.35 of the Revised Code, the investing authority of a county may do both all of the following:
(A)(1) Invest inactive or public moneys in linked deposits as authorized by resolution adopted pursuant to section 135.80 or 135.801 of the Revised Code;
(B)(2) Invest inactive or public moneys in linked deposits as authorized by resolution adopted pursuant to section 135.805 of the Revised Code for a term considered appropriate by the investing authority, but not exceeding fifteen years, which investment may be renewed for up to two additional terms with each additional term not exceeding fifteen years.
(3) Invest inactive moneys in certificates of deposit in accordance with all of the following:
(1)(a) The inactive moneys initially are deposited with an eligible public depository described in section 135.32 of the Revised Code and selected by the investing authority.
(2)(b) For the investing authority depositing the inactive moneys pursuant to division (B)(1)(A)(3)(a) of this section, the eligible public depository selected pursuant to that division invests the inactive moneys in certificates of deposit of one or more federally insured banks or savings and loan associations, wherever located. The full amount of principal and any accrued interest of each certificate of deposit invested in pursuant to division (B)(2)(A)(3)(b) of this section shall be insured by federal deposit insurance.
(3)(c) For the investing authority depositing the inactive moneys pursuant to division (B)(1)(A)(3)(a) of this section, the eligible public depository selected pursuant to that division acts as custodian of the certificates of deposit described in division (B)(2)(A)(3)(b) of this section.
(4)(d) At the same time that the eligible public depository selected in accordance with division (B)(1)(A)(3)(a) of this section invests the deposit received pursuant to that division in the certificates of deposit described in division (B)(2)(A)(3)(b) of this section, and the certificates of deposit are issued by the bank or savings and loan association, the eligible public depository receives an amount of deposits from customers of other federally insured financial institutions, wherever located, that are equal to or greater than the amount initially deposited by the investing authority pursuant to division (B)(1)(A)(3)(a) of this section.
(C)(B) Inactive moneys deposited or invested in accordance with division (B)(A)(3) of this section are not subject to any pledging requirements described in section 135.181 or 135.37 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 135.804.  As used in sections 135.804 to 135.807 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Taxes" has the same meaning as in section 323.01 of the Revised Code.
(B) "Eligible borrower" means a person meeting all of the following:
(1) The person is the owner of a homestead that is not charged with more than two years worth of certified delinquent taxes.
(2) The person had total income in the year prior to submitting an application for a reduced rate loan under a property tax payment linked deposit program the lesser of fifty thousand dollars or the total income limit established pursuant to section 135.805 of the Revised Code by the board of county commissioners as an eligibility requirement for participation in a property tax payment linked deposit program.
(3) The person meets all other eligibility requirements established pursuant to section 135.805 of the Revised Code by the board of county commissioners for participation in a property tax payment linked deposit program.
(C) "Eligible lending institution" means a financial institution that meets all of the following:
(1) The financial institution is eligible to make loans to individuals that are secured by mortgages, including mortgages commonly known as reverse mortgages.
(2) The financial institution has an office located within the territorial limits of the county.
(3) The financial institution is an eligible public depository described in section 135.32 of the Revised Code into which the county's investing authority may deposit the public moneys of the county.
(4) The financial institution has entered into an agreement described in division (B)(4) of section 135.805 of the Revised Code with the investing authority of the county to participate in the property tax payment linked deposit program.
(D) "Homestead" means either of the following:
(1) A dwelling, including a unit in a multiple-unit dwelling and a manufactured home or mobile home taxed as real property pursuant to division (B) of section 4503.06 of the Revised Code, owned and occupied as a home by an individual whose domicile is in this state and who has not acquired ownership from a person, other than the individual's spouse, related by consanguinity or affinity for the purpose of qualifying for a property tax payment linked deposit program.
(2) A unit in a housing cooperative that is occupied as a home, but not owned, by an individual whose domicile is in this state.
The homestead shall include so much of the land surrounding it, not exceeding one acre, that is reasonably necessary for the use of the dwelling or unit as a home. An owner includes a holder of one of the several estates in fee, a vendee in possession under a purchase agreement or a land contract, a mortgagor, a life tenant, one or more tenants with a right of survivorship, tenants in common, and a settlor of a revocable inter vivos trust holding the title to a homestead occupied by the settlor as of right under the trust. The tax commissioner shall adopt rules for the uniform classification and valuation of real property or portions of real property as homesteads.
(E) "Housing cooperative" means a housing complex of at least two hundred fifty units that is owned and operated by a nonprofit corporation that issues a share of the corporation's stock to an individual, entitling the individual to live in a unit of the complex, and collects a monthly maintenance fee from the individual to maintain, operate, and pay the taxes of the complex.
(F) "Investing authority" and "public moneys" have the same meanings as in section 135.31 of the Revised Code.
(G) "Lien certificate" means the certificate described in section 135.807 of the Revised Code.
(H) "Old age and survivors benefits received pursuant to the 'Social Security Act'" or "tier I railroad retirement benefits received pursuant to the 'Railroad Retirement Act'" means:
(1) Old age benefits payable under the social security or railroad retirement laws in effect on the last day of the calendar year prior to the year for which a reduced rate loan under a property tax payment linked deposit program is applied for, or, if no such benefits are payable that year, old age benefits payable the first succeeding year in which old age benefits under the social security or railroad retirement laws are payable, except in those cases where a change in social security or railroad retirement benefits results in a reduction in income.
(2) The less of:
(a) Survivors benefits payable under the social security or railroad retirement laws in effect on the last day of the calendar year prior to the year for which a reduced rate loan under a property tax payment linked deposit program is applied for, or, if no such benefits are payable that year, survivors benefits payable the first succeeding year in which survivors benefits are payable; or
(b) Old age benefits of the deceased spouse, as determined under division (H)(1) of this section, upon which the surviving spouse's survivors benefits are based under the social security or railroad retirement laws, except in those cases where a change in benefits would cause a reduction in income.
Survivors benefits are those described in division (H)(2)(b) of this section only if the deceased spouse received old age benefits in the year in which the deceased spouse died. If the deceased spouse did not receive old age benefits in the year in which the deceased spouse died, then survivors benefits are those described in division (H)(2)(a) of this section.
(I) "Permanently and totally disabled" means a person who, on the first day of January of the year that a reduced rate loan under a property tax payment linked deposit program is applied for, has some impairment in body or mind that makes the person unable to work at any substantially remunerative employment that the person reasonably is able to perform and that will, with reasonable probability, continue for an indefinite period of at least twelve months without any present indication of recovery therefrom or has been certified as permanently and totally disabled by a state or federal agency having the function of so classifying persons.
(J) "Property tax payment linked deposit program" means a county-wide program authorized under section 135.805 of the Revised Code and established by the board of county commissioners of a county pursuant to that section.
(K) "Sixty-five years of age or older" means a person who has attained age sixty-four prior to the first day of January of the year of application for a reduced rate loan under a property tax payment linked deposit program.
(L) "Total income" means the adjusted gross income of the owner and the owner's spouse for the year preceding the year in which application for a reduced rate loan under a property tax payment linked deposit program is made, as determined under the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 1, as amended, adjusted as follows:
(1) Subtract the amount of disability benefits included in adjusted gross income, but not to exceed fifty-two hundred dollars;
(2) Add old age and survivors benefits received pursuant to the "Social Security Act" that are not included in adjusted gross income;
(3) Add retirement, pension, annuity, or other retirement payments or benefits not included in adjusted gross income;
(4) Add tier I and tier II railroad retirement benefits received pursuant to the "Railroad Retirement Act," 50 Stat. 307, 45 U.S.C.A. 228;
(5) Add interest on federal, state, and local government obligations;
(6) For a person who received a reduced rate loan under a property tax payment linked deposit program for a prior year on the basis of being permanently and totally disabled and whose current application for a reduced rate loan is made on the basis of age, subtract the following amount:
(a) If the person received disability benefits that were not included in adjusted gross income in the year preceding the first year in which the person applied for a reduced rate loan on the basis of age, subtract an amount equal to the disability benefits the person received in that preceding year, to the extent included in total income in the current year and not subtracted under division (L)(1) of this section in the current year;
(b) If the person received disability benefits that were included in adjusted gross income in the year preceding the first year in which the person applied for a reduced rate loan on the basis of age, subtract an amount equal to the amount of disability benefits that were subtracted pursuant to division (L)(1) of this section in that preceding year, to the extent included in total income in the current year and not subtracted under division (L)(1) of this section in the current year.
Disability benefits that are paid by the department of veterans affairs or a branch of the armed forces of the United States on account of an injury or disability shall not be included in total income.
Sec. 135.805.  (A) The general assembly finds that many low to moderate income senior citizens and permanently and totally disabled citizens face financial hardship and find it difficult to timely pay property taxes on their homesteads which can lead to delinquencies, penalties, declines in tax receipts, foreclosures, a loss of stable and affordable housing, a loss of neighborhoods and communities, and a decline in property values. Accordingly, it is declared to be the public policy of the state through property tax payment linked deposit programs established by counties to provide a source of low-cost funds for lending purposes to assist these citizens in timely paying property taxes on their homesteads.
(B) The board of county commissioners, by resolution, may establish for the benefit of persons sixty-five years of age or older, or persons who are permanently and totally disabled, or both groups of persons, a property tax payment linked deposit program. The program shall authorize the investing authority of the county, in accordance with division (A)(2) of section 135.353 of the Revised Code, to place certificates of deposit at up to three per cent below market rates with an eligible lending institution, provided that the eligible lending institution agrees to lend the value of such deposit to eligible borrowers at up to three per cent below the present borrowing rate applicable to each eligible borrower. The resolution shall include requirements, parameters, limitations, and other provisions that are consistent with sections 135.804 to 135.807 of the Revised Code and are necessary to establish and carry out the property tax payment linked deposit program, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Eligibility requirements for borrowers who may receive reduced rate loans under the property tax payment linked deposit program, including both of the following:
(a) A total income limit for a borrower to be eligible for such a loan;
(b) An indebtedness limit that a borrower may not exceed to be eligible for such a loan, under which the sum of all recorded liens on the homestead plus the amount of the reduced rate loan cannot exceed eighty per cent of the homestead's true value as most recently determined by the county auditor.
(2) Application procedures for eligible borrowers and eligible lending institutions wishing to participate in the property tax payment linked deposit program;
(3) Review procedures for applications and criteria for acceptance or rejection of applications for reduced rate loans under the property tax payment linked deposit program;
(4) Necessary agreements between the eligible lending institution and the investing authority of the county to carry out the purposes of the property tax payment linked deposit program, including procedures for the payment directly to the county treasurer by the eligible lending institution of the property taxes due on the homestead and delivery by the county treasurer to the eligible lending institution of the lien certificate as provided in section 135.807 of the Revised Code;
(5) Annual reports regarding the operation of the property tax payment linked deposit program to be made by the investing authority to the board of county commissioners.
(C) A board of county commissioners may appropriate funds from the general fund of the county or any other lawfully available funds of the county for the purpose of defraying some or all of the closing costs and expenses of reduced rate loans made by eligible lending institutions to eligible borrowers pursuant to the property tax payment linked deposit program.
(D) The county and its investing authority and board of county commissioners are not liable to any eligible lending institution in any manner for the payment of the principal or interest on any reduced rate loan made under the property tax payment linked deposit program, and any delay in payment or default on the part of any borrower does not in any manner affect the deposit agreement between the eligible lending institution and the investing authority or board of county commissioners.
Sec. 135.806.  Upon placement of a property tax payment linked deposit with an eligible lending institution pursuant to an agreement described in section 135.805 of the Revised Code, the eligible lending institution shall do both of the following:
(A) Lend funds pursuant to the agreement to an eligible borrower;
(B) Comply fully with the requirements of sections 135.804 to 135.807 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 135.807.  (A) A property tax payment linked deposit program shall provide for the delivery of a lien certificate to an eligible lending institution making payment to the county treasurer, pursuant to a loan agreement between the eligible lending institution and eligible borrower, of some or all of the taxes then due on the homestead of that eligible borrower.
(B)(1) To ensure uniformity among all counties, the tax commissioner shall prescribe the form for a lien certificate delivered pursuant to division (A) of this section, which form shall include the identity of the homestead, the eligible borrower, the eligible lending institution, the amount of taxes paid by that eligible lending institution, and the tax year for which the taxes were paid. The tax commissioner shall distribute the forms to the county treasurers of all counties in which a property tax payment linked deposit program is established.
(2) A county treasurer shall use the lien certificate form prescribed by the tax commissioner, except that, prior to the time that a lien certificate form is prescribed and the forms are distributed by the tax commissioner, the form shall be prepared by the county treasurer of the county, contain the information required by division (B)(1) of this section, and include the following sentence: "This lien certificate is delivered pursuant to section 135.807 of the Revised Code and vests in the eligible lending institution the first lien held previously by the state and its taxing districts for the amount of taxes paid by the eligible lending institution, together with any and all unpaid interest thereon."
(C)(1) The delivery of the lien certificate pursuant to division (A) of this section vests in the eligible lending institution the first lien held previously by the state and its taxing districts for the amount of the taxes paid by the eligible lending institution, together with any unpaid interest thereon from the date of delivery at the interest rate specified in the loan agreement between the eligible lending institution and the eligible borrower. The lien is superior to any subsequent tax liens.
(2) Subject to division (C)(3) of this section, the lien certificate delivered pursuant to division (A) of this section is superior to all other liens and encumbrances upon the homestead described in that lien certificate, and the lien continues in full force and effect until the amount of all taxes paid by the eligible lending institution, together with any unpaid interest thereon, has been repaid to the eligible lending institution.
(3) With respect to the priority as among first liens of the state and its taxing districts, the priority is determined by the date that the first liens of the state and its taxing districts attached pursuant to section 323.11 of the Revised Code, with first priority to the earliest attached lien and each immediately subsequent priority based upon the next earliest attached lien.
(D) The eligible lending institution may record the lien certificate or memorandum thereof as a mortgage on the land in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the homestead is situated. The county recorder shall record the certificate in the record of mortgages provided in division (B) of section 317.08 of the Revised Code and shall index the certificate in the indexes provided for under section 317.18 of the Revised Code. If the lien subsequently is canceled, the cancellation also shall be recorded by the county recorder. When a loan is repaid in full, the eligible financial institution shall promptly record the full payment and cancel or otherwise release the lien. On repayment of the loan in full, the lien certificate shall be null and void.
Section 2. That existing section 135.353 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.
Please send questions and comments to the Webmaster.
© 2024 Legislative Information Systems | Disclaimer