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(127th General Assembly)
(Substitute House Bill Number 458)
AN ACT
To amend sections 505.60, 505.601, 5701.11, 5705.05,
5705.06, and 5709.121 of the Revised Code to
authorize townships
to use money
derived from
the general current
expense levy
for road and
bridge construction and
repair,
to make
clarifying changes to the laws
authorizing
a
township to provide health care
insurance, to
expressly
incorporate changes in the Internal
Revenue Code since
December
21, 2007, into Ohio
tax law, to clarify qualifications
for charitable
institution exemptions from property taxation, and
to declare an emergency.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
SECTION 1. That sections 505.60, 505.601, 5701.11 5705.05,
5705.06, and 5709.121 of the Revised Code be amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 505.60. (A) As provided in this section and section
505.601 of the Revised Code, the board of township trustees of any
township may procure and pay all or any part of the cost of
insurance policies that may provide benefits for hospitalization,
surgical care, major medical care, disability, dental care, eye
care, medical care, hearing aids, prescription drugs, or sickness
and accident insurance, or a combination of any of the foregoing
types of insurance for township officers and employees.
The board
of township trustees of any township may negotiate and contract
for the purchase of a policy of long-term care insurance for
township officers and employees pursuant to section 124.841 of the
Revised Code.
(B) If the board procures any insurance
policies under this
section, the board shall
provide uniform coverage under these
policies for township
officers and full-time township employees
and their immediate
dependents, and may provide coverage under
these policies for
part-time township employees and their
immediate dependents, from
the funds or budgets from which the
officers or employees are
compensated for services, such policies
to be
issued by an insurance company duly authorized
to do
business in this state. Any township officer or employee
may
refuse to accept the insurance coverage without affecting the
availability of such insurance coverage to other township
officers
and employees.
(B) The board may also provide coverage for any or all of the
benefits described in division (A) of this section by entering
into a contract for group health
care services
with health
insuring corporations
holding certificates of
authority under
Chapter
1751. of the Revised Code
for township
officers and
employees and their immediate dependents. If the board so
contracts,
it shall
provide uniform coverage under any such
contracts for
township
officers and full-time township employees
and their
immediate
dependents, from the funds or budgets from
which the officers or employees are compensated for services,
and
may provide coverage under such
contracts for
part-time
township
employees and their immediate
dependents,
from the funds
or
budgets from which the officers or employees are
compensated for
services, provided that each officer and employee
so covered is
permitted
to:
(1) Choose between a plan offered by an insurance company
and
a plan
offered by a health insuring corporation, and provided
further that the
officer or employee pays any amount by which the
cost of the
plan chosen
exceeds the cost of the plan offered by
the board under this
section;
(2) Change the choice made under
this division (B) of this
section
at a time each year as determined in advance by the board.
An addition of a class or change of definition of coverage
to
the plan offered under this division by the board may be made at
any time that it
is
determined by the board to be in the best
interest of the
township. If the total cost to the township of the
revised plan
for any trustee's coverage does not exceed that cost
under the
plan in effect during the prior policy year, the
revision of the
plan does not cause an increase in that trustee's
compensation.
(C) Any township officer or employee may refuse to accept any
coverage authorized by this section without affecting
the
availability of such coverage to other township
officers and
employees.
(D) If any township officer or employee is denied coverage
under
a health care plan procured under division (B) of this
section or if
any township officer or employee elects not to
participate in the township's
health care plan, the township
may
reimburse the officer or employee for each out-of-pocket premium
that attributable to the coverage provided for the
officer or
employee incurs for insurance
policies
benefits described in
division (A) of this section that the
officer or
employee
otherwise obtains, but not to exceed an amount equal to
the
average premium
paid by the township for its officers and
employees under policies any health care plan it procures
under
division (B) of this
section.
(D)(E) The board may provide the benefits authorized under
this
section, without competitive bidding, by contributing to a
health
and welfare trust fund administered through or in
conjunction
with
a collective bargaining representative of the
township
employees.
The board may also provide the benefits described in this
section through an individual self-insurance program or a joint
self-insurance program as provided in section 9.833 of the
Revised
Code.
(E)(F) If a board of township trustees fails to pay one or
more
premiums for a policy, contract, or plan of insurance or
health
care services authorized by division (A) or (B) of under
this
section
and the failure causes a lapse, cancellation, or
other
termination
of coverage under the policy, contract, or plan,
it
may reimburse
a township officer or employee for, or pay on
behalf of the
officer or employee, any expenses incurred that
would have been
covered under the policy, contract, or plan.
(F)(G) As used in this section and
section 505.601 of the
Revised Code:
(1) "Part-time township employee" means a township employee
who is
hired with the expectation that
the employee will work not
more than one thousand five hundred hours in any
year.
(2) "Premium" does not include any deductible or health care
costs paid directly by a township officer or employee.
Sec. 505.601. If a board of township trustees does not
procure an
insurance policy or group health care services as
provided in section 505.60
of the Revised Code, the board of
township trustees may reimburse any township officer or employee
for each
out-of-pocket premium attributable to the coverage
provided for that the officer or employee incurs for insurance
policies
benefits described in division (A) of
section 505.60 of
the Revised Code that the officer or
employee otherwise obtains,
if all of the following conditions are met:
(A) The board of township trustees adopts a resolution that
states that the township has chosen not to procure a health care
plan under
section 505.60 of the Revised Code and has chosen
instead to reimburse its officers and employees for each
out-of-pocket
premium that they incur attributable to the coverage
provided for them for insurance policies benefits described in
division
(A) of section 505.60 of the Revised Code that they
otherwise obtain.
(B) That resolution provides for a uniform maximum monthly
or
yearly payment amount for each officer or employee to cover
themselves and their immediate dependents, beyond which the
township will not reimburse the officer or employee.
(C) That resolution states the specific benefits listed in
division (A) of section 505.60 of the Revised Code for which the
township will reimburse all officers and employees of the
township. The
township may not reimburse officers and employees
for benefits other than
those listed in division (A) of section
505.60 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 5701.11. The effective date to which this
section
refers is the effective date of this section as amended by
H.B.
157 Sub. H.B. 458 of the 127th general assembly.
(A)(1) Except as provided under division (A)(2) or (B) of
this section, any reference in Title LVII of the Revised Code to
the Internal Revenue Code, to the Internal Revenue Code "as
amended," to other laws of the United States, or to other laws of
the United States, "as amended," means the Internal Revenue Code
or other laws of the United States as they exist on the effective
date.
(2) This section does not apply to any reference in Title
LVII of the Revised Code to the Internal Revenue Code as of a date
certain specifying the day, month, and year, or to other laws of
the United States as of a date certain specifying the day, month,
and year.
(B)(1) For purposes of applying section 5733.04, 5745.01, or
5747.01 of the Revised Code to a taxpayer's taxable year ending
after December 28, 2006 December 21, 2007, and before the
effective date, a taxpayer
may irrevocably elect to incorporate
the provisions of the
Internal Revenue Code or other laws of the
United States that are
in effect for federal income tax purposes
for that taxable year if
those provisions differ from the
provisions that, under division
(A) of this section, would
otherwise apply. The filing by the
taxpayer for that taxable year
of a report or return that
incorporates the
provisions of the
Internal Revenue Code or other
laws of the
United States
applicable for federal income tax
purposes for
that taxable
year, and that does not include any
adjustments to reverse the
effects of any differences between
those provisions and the
provisions that would otherwise apply,
constitutes
the making of
an irrevocable election under this
division for that
taxable
year.
(2) Elections under prior versions of division (B)(1) of this
section remain in effect for the taxable years to which they
apply.
Sec. 5705.05. The purpose and intent of the general levy
for
current expenses is to provide one general operating fund
derived
from taxation from which any expenditures for current
expenses of
any kind may be made, and the. The taxing authority of a
political
subdivision may include in such levy the amounts
required for
carrying into effect any of the general or special
powers granted
by law to such subdivision, including the
acquisition or
construction of permanent improvements and the
payment of
judgments, but excluding the payment of debt charges and, in the
case of counties, the construction,
reconstruction,
resurfacing,
or repair of roads and bridges in
counties and
townships and the
payment of debt charges. The
power to include in
the general levy
for current expenses
additional amounts for
purposes for which a
special tax is
authorized shall not affect
the right or
obligation to levy such
special tax. Without
prejudice to the
generality of the
authority to levy a general tax
for any current
expense, such
general levy shall include:
(A) The amounts certified to be necessary for the payment
of
final judgments;
(B) The amounts necessary for general, special, and
primary
elections;
(C) The amounts necessary for boards and commissioners of
health, and other special or district appropriating authorities
deriving their revenue in whole or part from the subdivision;
(D) In the case of municipal corporations, the amounts
necessary for the maintenance, operation, and repair of public
buildings, wharves, bridges, parks, and streets, for the
prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution, and for a
sanitary fund;
(E) In the case of counties, the amounts necessary for the
maintenance, operation, and repair of public buildings, for
providing or maintaining senior citizens services or facilities,
for the relief and support of the poor, for the relief of needy
blind, for the support of mental health, mental retardation, or
developmental disability services, for the relief of honorably
discharged soldiers, indigent soldiers, sailors, and marines, for
mothers' pension fund, support of soil and water conservation
districts, watershed conservancy districts, and educational
television, for the prevention, control, and abatement of air
pollution, and for the county's share of the compensation paid
judges;
(F) In the case of a school district, the amounts
necessary
for tuition, the state teachers retirement system, and
the
maintenance, operation, and repair of schools;
(G) In the case of a township, the amounts necessary for
the
relief of the poor and for the prevention, control, and
abatement
of air pollution. This
This section does not require the
inclusion
within the
general levy of amounts for any purpose for
which a
special levy
is authorized by section 5705.06 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 5705.06. The following special levies are hereby
authorized without vote of the people:
(A) A levy for any specific permanent improvement which
the
subdivision is authorized by law to acquire, construct, or
improve, or any class of such improvements which could be
included
in a single bond issue;
(B) A levy for the library purposes of the subdivision, in
accordance with the provisions of the Revised Code authorizing
levies for such purposes, but only to the extent so authorized;
(C) In the case of a municipal corporation, a levy for a
municipal university under section 3349.13 of the Revised Code,
but only to the extent authorized;
(D) In the case of a county, a levy for the construction,
reconstruction, resurfacing, and repair of roads and bridges,
other than state roads and bridges;
(E) In the case of a county, a levy for paying the
county's
proportion of the cost of the construction, improvement,
and
maintenance of state highways;
(F) In the case of a township, a levy for the
construction,
reconstruction, resurfacing, and repair of roads
and bridges,
excluding state roads and bridges, including the
township's
portion of the cost of the construction, improvement,
maintenance,
and repair of county roads and bridges;
(G) The levies prescribed by division (B) of sections
742.33
and 742.34 of the Revised Code.
Each such special levy shall be within the ten-mill
limitation and shall be subject to the control of the county
budget commission, as provided by sections 5705.01 to 5705.47 of
the Revised Code.
Except for the special levies authorized in divisions (A),
(B), (C), (D), (E), and (G) of this section,
any authority granted
by the
Revised Code to levy a special tax
within the ten-mill
limitation
for a current expense shall be
construed as authority
to provide
for such expense by the general
levy for current
expenses.
Sec. 5709.121. (A) Real property and tangible personal
property
belonging to a charitable or educational institution or
to the
state or a political subdivision, shall be considered as
used
exclusively for charitable or public purposes by such
institution,
the state, or political subdivision, if it meets one
of the
following requirements:
(1) It is used by such institution, the state, or
political
subdivision, or by one or more other such institutions,
the state,
or political subdivisions under a lease, sublease, or
other
contractual arrangement:
(a) As a community or area center in which presentations
in
music, dramatics, the arts, and related fields are made in
order
to foster public interest and education therein;
(b) For other charitable, educational, or public purposes.
(2) It is made available under the direction or control of
such institution, the state, or political subdivision for use in
furtherance of or incidental to its charitable,
educational, or
public purposes and not with the view to profit.
(3) It is used by an organization described in division
(D)
of section 5709.12 of the Revised Code.
If the organization is a
corporation that
receives a grant under the Thomas Alva Edison
grant program
authorized by division (C) of section 122.33 of the
Revised Code
at any time during the tax year, "used," for the
purposes of this
division, includes holding property
for lease or
resale to
others.
(B)(1) Property described in division (A)(1)(a) of this
section shall continue to be considered as used exclusively for
charitable or public purposes even if the property is conveyed
through one conveyance or a series of conveyances to an entity
that is not a charitable or educational institution and is not the
state or a political subdivision, provided that all of the
following conditions apply with respect to that property:
(a) The property has been listed as exempt on the county
auditor's tax list and duplicate for the county in which it is
located for the ten tax years immediately preceding the year in
which the property is conveyed through one conveyance or a series
of conveyances;
(b) The owner to which the property is conveyed through one
conveyance or a series of conveyances leases the property through
one lease or a series of leases to the entity that owned or
occupied the property for the ten tax years immediately preceding
the year in which the property is conveyed or an affiliate of such
prior owner or occupant;
(c) The property includes improvements that are at least
fifty years old;
(d) The property is being renovated in connection with a
claim for historic preservation tax credits available under
federal law;
(e) The property continues to be used for the purposes
described in division (A)(1)(a) of this section after its
conveyance; and
(f) The property is certified by the United States secretary
of the interior as a "certified historic structure" or certified
as part of a certified historic structure.
(2) Notwithstanding section 5715.27 of the Revised Code, an
application for exemption from taxation of property described in
division (B)(1) of this section may be filed by either the owner
of the property or its occupant.
(C) For purposes of this section, an institution is that
meets all of the following requirements is conclusively presumed
to be a
charitable institution if the:
(1) The institution is a nonprofit
corporation or
association, no part of the net earnings of which
inures to the
benefit of any private shareholder or individual,;
(2) The institution is
exempt from federal income taxation
under section 501(a) of the
Internal Revenue Code, the;
(3) The majority of the institution's board of
directors are
appointed by the mayor or legislative authority of a
municipal
corporation or a board of county commissioners, or a
combination
thereof, and the;
(4) The primary purpose of the institution is
to assist in
the development and revitalization of downtown urban
areas.
SECTION 2. That existing sections 505.60, 505.601, 5701.11,
5705.05, 5705.06, and 5709.121 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
SECTION 3. No board of township trustees, township officer,
or township employee shall
be required to repay
funds identified
in a finding for recovery
made by the Auditor of
State as the
result of the board of
trustees having elected to
provide
township officer or township
employee health care
coverage, or
reimbursement to a township officer or employee for such coverage,
in violation of sections 505.60 and
505.601 of the
Revised Code
as
they existed prior to amendment by
H.B. 458 of
the 127th
General
Assembly. The county prosecuting
attorney and
Attorney
General are
under no obligation to act, and shall
not act, upon
the Auditor of State's
finding for recovery. Any such
finding
for
recovery shall be
considered resolved for the
purposes of
section 9.24 of the
Revised Code. Any sum that has already been
repaid by a person against whom such a finding for recovery was
issued, or repaid by a person in anticipation of the issuance of
such a finding, shall be paid to that person from the treasury of
the public office to which the sum was credited.
SECTION 4. 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 is to
immediately clarify the terms governing the provision of health
care to township officers and employees and preclude unnecessary
recoveries. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.
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