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Sub. H. B. No. 47 As Passed by the HouseAs Passed by the House
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Fessler, Combs, Collier, Aslanides, Zehringer, Hagan, J., Batchelder, Carmichael, Flowers, Healy, Hottinger, Oelslager
A BILL
To amend sections 6101.10, 6101.29, 6101.30, 6101.48,
6101.53, 6101.70, and 6101.77 and to enact section
6101.101
of the Revised Code to revise the
membership of
the board of directors of a
conservancy district
that includes all or parts
of more than sixteen
counties, to require the
board of directors of
such a district rather than
the conservancy court
to perform certain
functions under the Conservancy
Districts Law, to
prohibit the levying of a first-time
assessment
by the board of directors of a
conservancy
district on land that is owned by a
church within
the district unless the governing
authority of
the church requests that the church's
land be
subject to the assessment, and to
authorize the
board
of directors of such a
conservancy
district to
revise the boundaries of
the
district to include
lands that are within the
watershed in which the
district is located.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 6101.10, 6101.29, 6101.30, 6101.48,
6101.53, 6101.70, and 6101.77 be amended and section 6101.101 of
the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 6101.10. (A) Except as provided in division (B) of
this
section, within thirty days after entering the decree
incorporating a conservancy district, the court shall appoint
three persons, at least two of whom are residents of counties,
all
or part of which are included within the territorial limits
of the
district, as a board of directors of the conservancy
district, one
for a term of three years, one for a term of five
years, and one
for a term of seven years. At the expiration of
their terms of
office, appointments shall be made for terms of
five years. The
court shall fill any vacancy which that may occur on
the board for
the unexpired term.
(B) Within thirty days after the entering of a decree under
section 6101.09 of the Revised Code incorporating a conservancy
district that includes all or parts of more than sixteen
counties,
the court presidents of the boards of county commissioners of the
counties all or part of which are included within the territorial
limits of the district shall appoint five nine persons, each of
whom is a
resident of a different county and at least three of
whom are
residents of counties all or part of which are is
included within
the territorial limits of the district, as a
members of the board of directors
of the conservancy district. In
appointing members of the board, the presidents of boards of
county commissioners shall divide the district into three distinct
geographic regions based on the three largest subwatersheds within
the district. The board shall include three members from each of
the three geographic regions. The presidents of the boards of
county commissioners shall establish procedures for accepting
applications for positions on the board of directors.
A majority vote of the presidents of the boards of county
commissioners is necessary for appointment of a member of the
board of directors of the conservancy district. Of the initial
appointments made to
the board, one two shall be for a term of two
years, two for a term of three years, one two for a term
of four
years, one and three for a term of five years, one for a term of
six years, and one for a term of seven years. At the expiration
of
their terms of office, appointments shall be made for terms of
five years. The court presidents of the boards of county
commissioners of the counties all or part of which are included
within the territorial limits of the district shall fill any
vacancy which that may occur on
the board for the unexpired term.
A member of the board of directors of the conservancy district may
be reappointed.
(C) Within thirty days after issuing an order under
section
6101.30, 6101.70, or 6101.72 of the Revised Code annexing lands to
a district or uniting districts and resulting in a district that
includes all or parts
of more than sixteen counties, the court
shall appoint to the
a board of directors two additional members,
each of whom is a
resident of a different county and does not
reside in the same
county as any member of the existing board, for
terms of not more
than five years, provided that the terms of
those two members
shall not expire in the same year or in the year
in which any
existing member's term expires. At the expiration of
their terms
of office, appointments shall be made for terms of
five years. In appointing
the two additional members, the court
shall ensure
that at least three of the five members of the board
are
residents of counties all or part of which are included within
the territorial limits of the district. The court shall fill any
vacancy which may occur on the board for the unexpired term and,
in filling vacancies or making subsequent appointments, shall
ensure that all members of the board reside in different
counties
for the resulting conservancy district shall be appointed in
accordance with division (B) of this section. Upon the appointment
of the new board of directors, the prior board of directors of the
conservancy district shall terminate, and the new board of
directors shall govern and operate the conservancy district.
Sec. 6101.101. (A) On and after the effective date of this
section and notwithstanding any other section of the Revised Code
to the contrary, the board of directors of a conservancy district
that includes all or parts of more than sixteen counties
shall
perform all of the functions of the conservancy court
established
under this chapter for the district except the
functions of the
court specified in sections 6101.01, 6101.03,
6101.05, 6101.06,
6101.061, 6101.07, 6101.08, 6101.09, 6101.10,
6101.11, 6101.13,
6101.181, 6101.26, 6101.29, 6101.30, 6101.31, 6101.32, 6101.33,
6101.34, 6101.35,
6101.36, 6101.37, 6101.38, 6101.39, 6101.40,
6101.43, 6101.44, 6101.45, 6101.48, 6101.53, 6101.54, 6101.59,
6101.60,
6101.66, 6101.67, 6101.68, 6101.69, 6101.70, 6101.71,
6101.72,
6101.73, 6101.74, 6101.76, 6101.77, 6101.78, and 6101.79
of the
Revised Code.
(B) In performing the functions of the court pursuant to
division (A) of this section, the board shall resolve reasonably
any conflicts that may occur and shall avoid duplication of any
requirement.
Sec. 6101.29. (A) If the board of appraisers of a conservancy
district finds that
lands or other property not embraced within
the boundaries of the district
will
be affected by the proposed
improvement, or should be included in the
district,
it shall
appraise the benefits and damages to such land, and shall file
notice
in the court of the appraisal which that it has made upon
the lands beyond the
boundaries of the district, and to the land
which that in its opinion should be
included in the district. The
board shall also report to the court any lands
which that in its
opinion should be eliminated from the district.
(B) If the board of directors of a conservancy district that
includes all or parts of more than sixteen counties determines
that any lands within the watershed in which the district is
located are not included within the boundaries of the district,
the board may adopt a resolution, by a two-thirds vote of the
board, revising the boundaries of the district to include those
lands. The board shall file notice in the court of the resolution.
Not later than thirty days after adopting a resolution under this
division, the board shall provide written notice, by United States
mail, to each property owner whose land is proposed to be
incorporated into the district. The notice shall include both of
the following:
(1) A statement that land owned by the property owner is
proposed to be included in the district;
(2) Information regarding the procedure for objecting to the
incorporation of the land in the district.
Sec. 6101.30. (A) If the report of the board of appraisers of
a conservancy
district includes recommendations under division (A)
of section 6101.29 of the Revised Code that other lands and public
corporations be
included in the district or that certain lands and
public corporations be
excluded from the district, the clerk of
the court before which the proceeding
is pending shall give to the
owners of that
property and to the public
corporations by
publication notice of a hearing on
the petition for the
creation
of the district. The notice to those owners whose
lands are or the
public corporations to be added to the district may be
substantially as shown
in section 6101.84 of the Revised Code. The
time and
place of
the hearing may be the same as those of a
hearing on appraisals. To
the owners
of property and public
corporations to be excluded from the district,
it is sufficient to
notify them of that fact.
(B) Within ninety days of the filing of notice of a
resolution adopted under division (B) of section 6101.29 of the
Revised Code, a property owner whose land is to be incorporated
into the district in accordance with the resolution may file
objections to the incorporation with the court. All objections
shall be heard by the court not later than one hundred eighty days
after the filing of notice of the resolution adopted under
division (B) of that section. The court shall provide for
a
hearing on the objections in the county seat of each county in
which property is located with respect to which objections have
been filed. Hearings shall be conducted at a time and a place
fixed by the court. Notice of the time and place of a hearing
shall be given in the manner that the court determines
appropriate.
The court, at a hearing, shall approve or deny the
incorporation of land in the district as specified in the
resolution adopted by the board of directors. If the court
approves the incorporation, the land that is the subject of the
hearing shall be incorporated into the district. If the court
disapproves the incorporation, the land that is the subject of the
hearing shall not be incorporated into the district.
Sec. 6101.48. After (A) Except as otherwise provided in
division (B) of this section, after the conservancy appraisal
record as approved by
the court, or that part of it from which no
appeal is
pending,
has been filed with the secretary of the
conservancy district as
provided in section 6101.37 of the Revised
Code, from time
to time, as the affairs of the district demand it,
the board of
directors of the conservancy district shall levy on
all real
property and on all public corporations, upon which
benefits have
been appraised, an assessment of the portion of the
benefits that
is found necessary by the board to pay the cost of
the execution
of the official plan, including superintendence of
construction
and administration, plus one-ninth of that total to
be added for
contingencies, but not to exceed in the total of
principal the
appraised benefits so adjudicated.
The assessment shall be apportioned to and levied on each
tract of land or other property and each public corporation in
the
district in proportion to the benefits appraised, and not in
excess of the benefits appraised. Interest at a rate
not to exceed
the rate
provided in section 9.95 of the Revised Code, payable
semiannually, shall be included in and added to the
assessment,
but the interest shall not be considered as a
part of the cost in
determining whether or not the expenses and costs
of making the
improvement are equal to or in excess of the
benefits appraised.
After the assessment is levied, the board shall report it to
the court for confirmation. Upon the entry of the order of the
court confirming the assessment, the clerk of the court shall
transmit a certified copy of the order to the governing or taxing
body of each political subdivision assessed, and the governing or
taxing body shall receive and file the order. Thereafter, the
board may order the issuance of notes in an amount not exceeding
ninety per cent of the assessment in anticipation of the
collection of the assessment.
After the court has confirmed the assessment, the secretary
of the conservancy district, at the expense of the district,
shall
prepare an assessment record named
"Conservancy Assessment Record
of ....... District." It
shall contain a notation of the items of
property
appraised and the public corporations to which benefits
have been
appraised, the total amount of benefits appraised
against each
item or public corporation, and the total assessment
levied
against each item or public corporation. If successive
levies
of assessment are made for the execution of the official
plan and
the acquisition or construction of improvements, the
conservancy
assessment record shall contain suitable notations to
show the
number of levies and the amount of each, to the end that
the
conservancy assessment record may disclose the aggregate of
all
such levies made up to that time.
Upon the completion of the conservancy assessment
record, it
shall be signed and
certified by the president of the board and by
the secretary of
the conservancy district
and placed on file and
shall become a permanent
record in the office of the district.
After the expiration
of the
thirty-day period for the payment of
assessments as provided by section
6101.49 of the Revised Code, a
copy of that part of the
conservancy assessment record affecting
lands or public
corporations in any county shall be filed with the
county auditor
of the county.
If it is found at any time that the total amount of
assessments levied is insufficient to pay the cost of works set
out in the official plan or of additional work done, the board
may
make an additional levy to provide funds to complete the
work,
provided the total of all levies of the assessment
exclusive of
interest does not exceed the total of benefits
appraised.
(B)(1) The board of directors of a conservancy district that
has not collected an assessment under this section prior to the
effective date of this amendment and that subsequently proposes to
collect such an assessment shall not levy the assessment on real
property that is owned by a church or on which a church operates a
camp and that is located within the district unless the governing
authority of the church has specifically requested in writing that
the assessment be imposed on the church's real property or on the
property on which the church operates a camp. If a board of
directors receives such a written request from the governing
authority of a church, the board shall levy and collect the
assessment in accordance with the procedures and requirements
established in this chapter.
(2) Prior to the levying of an assessment as described in
division (B)(1) of this section, the board of directors of a
conservancy district may send a written notice to the governing
authority of a church that is located within the district or that
operates a camp in the district that explains the benefits of the
proposed assessment and that requests the governing authority of
the church to choose to voluntarily allow the proposed assessment
to be imposed on the church's real property or on the property on
which the church operates a camp.
(3) The governing authority of a church that has requested in
writing that an assessment be imposed on the church's real
property or on the property on which the church operates a camp in
accordance with division (B)(1) of this section may cease paying
the assessment if the governing authority of the church
specifically requests in writing to the board of directors of the
conservancy district that the assessment cease to be imposed on
the church's real property or the property on which the church
operates a camp. If the board of directors of a conservancy
district receives such a written request from the governing
authority of a church, the board shall cease levying and
collecting the assessment.
(4)
A written request from the governing authority of a
church to impose an assessment on the church's real property or on
the property on which the church operates a camp in accordance
with division (B)(1) of this section and a church's payment of
such an assessment shall not be construed to abdicate, abridge, or
limit the rights and privileges pertaining to a church that are
established under any other section of the Revised Code.
(5) As used in this section and section 6101.53 of the
Revised Code, "church" means a fellowship of believers,
congregation, society, corporation, convention, or association
that is formed primarily or exclusively for religious purposes and
that is not formed for the private profit of any person.
(C) The owner of real property that is exempt from an
assessment levied under this section may specifically request in
writing to the board of directors of the conservancy district that
the assessment be imposed on the owner's real property. The
procedures established in division (B) of this section apply to
such a request.
Sec. 6101.53. To (A) Except as otherwise provided in
division (B) of this section, to maintain, operate, and preserve
the
reservoirs, ditches, drains, dams, levies, canals, sewers,
pumping stations, treatment and disposal works, or other
properties or improvements acquired or made pursuant to this
chapter,
to strengthen, repair, and restore the same, when needed,
and to
defray the current expenses of the conservancy district,
the
board of directors of the district may, upon the
substantial
completion of the improvements and on or before
the first day of
September in each year thereafter, levy an
assessment upon each
tract or parcel of land and upon each public
corporation within
the district, subject to assessments under
this chapter, to be
known as a conservancy
maintenance
assessment. No assessment shall
be made with respect to
works and improvements acquired or
constructed for the purpose of
providing a water supply for
domestic, industrial, and public use
within the district, when the
water supply can be metered or
measured when furnished to persons
or public corporations. If
the district, for the benefit of one or
more persons or political
subdivisions, provides a water supply
that recharges underground
aquifers and thereby replenishes wells
or provides a source of
water for new wells, or increases the
natural low flow of a
stream used for water supply, or creates an
impoundment, in such
a way that the augmented use of water cannot
be metered or
measured for individual or public consumption, the
board may make
a maintenance assessment against benefited property
and public
corporations in the same manner provided in this
section
for maintenance of other properties or improvements.
The maintenance assessment shall be apportioned upon the
basis of the total appraisal of benefits accruing for original
and
subsequent construction, shall not exceed one per cent
of the
total appraisal of benefits in any one year
unless the court by
its order authorizes
an assessment of a larger percentage, shall
not be less than two
dollars, and shall be certified to
the county
auditor of each county in which lands of the
district
are located
in the conservancy assessment record but in a
separate
column in
like manner and at the same time as the annual
installment of the
assessment levied under section 6101.48 of the
Revised Code is
certified, under the heading
maintenance
assessment. The auditor
shall certify the same to the
county
treasurer of the county at
the same time that the auditor
certifies the annual installment of
the assessments levied under
that section,
and the sum of the
levies for any tract or public
corporation
may be certified as a
single item. The treasurer shall demand
and collect the
maintenance assessment and make return of it,
and shall be liable
for the same penalties for failure to do so
as are provided for
the annual installment of the assessment
levied under section
6101.48 of the Revised Code.
The amount of the maintenance assessment paid by any parcel
of land or public corporation shall not be credited against the
benefits assessed against the parcel of land or public
corporation, but the maintenance assessment shall be in
addition
to any assessment that has been or can be levied under section
6101.48 of the Revised Code.
To maintain, operate, and preserve the works and
improvements
of the district acquired or constructed for the
purpose of
providing a water supply, to strengthen, repair, and
restore the
same, and to defray the current expenses of the
district for this
purpose, the board may impose rates for the
sale of water to
public corporations and persons within
the district. The rates to
be charged for the water shall be fixed
and adjusted by the board
at intervals of not less than one year,
so that the income thus
produced will be adequate to provide a
maintenance fund for the
purpose of water supply. Contracts for
supplying water to public
corporations and persons shall be
entered into before the service
is rendered by the
district. Contracts shall specify the maximum
quantity of water to be
furnished to the public corporation or
person, and the
quantity
shall be fixed so as equitably to
distribute the supply.
Preference shall be given to water supply
furnished to public
corporations for domestic and public uses.
Bills for water
supplied to public corporations shall be rendered
at regular
intervals and shall be payable from the waterworks fund
of the
public corporation or, if it is not sufficient, from the
general
fund.
(B)(1) The board of directors of a conservancy district that
has not collected a maintenance assessment under this section
prior to the effective date of this amendment and that
subsequently proposes to collect such a maintenance assessment
shall not levy the maintenance assessment on land that is owned by
a church or on which a church operates a camp and that is located
within the district unless the governing authority of the church
has specifically requested in writing that the maintenance
assessment be imposed on the church's land or on the land on which
the church operates a camp. If a board of directors receives such
a written request from the governing authority of a church, the
board shall levy and collect the maintenance assessment in
accordance with the procedures and requirements established in
this chapter.
(2) Prior to the levying of a maintenance assessment as
described in division (B)(1) of this section, the board of
directors of a conservancy district may send a written notice to
the governing authority of a church that is located within the
district or that operates a camp in the district that explains the
need for the proposed maintenance assessment and that requests the
governing authority of the church to choose to voluntarily allow
the proposed maintenance assessment to be imposed on the church's
land or on the land on which the church operates a camp.
(3) The governing authority of a church that has requested in
writing that a maintenance assessment be imposed on the church's
land or on the land on which the church operates a camp in
accordance with division (B)(1) of this section may cease paying
the maintenance assessment if the governing authority of the
church specifically requests in writing to the board of directors
of the conservancy district that the maintenance assessment cease
to be imposed on the church's land or the land on which the church
operates a camp. If the board of directors of a conservancy
district receives such a written request from the governing
authority of a church, the board shall cease levying and
collecting the maintenance assessment.
(4)
A written request from the governing authority of a
church to impose a maintenance assessment on the church's land or
on the land on which the church operates a camp in accordance with
division (B)(1) of this section and a church's payment of such a
maintenance assessment shall not be construed to abdicate,
abridge, or limit the rights and privileges pertaining to a church
that are established under any other section of the Revised Code.
(C) The owner of land that is exempt from a maintenance
assessment levied under this section may specifically request in
writing to the board of directors of the conservancy district that
the maintenance assessment be imposed on the owner's land. The
procedures established in division (B) of this section apply to
such a request.
Sec. 6101.70. (A) If two or more conservancy districts
have
been organized in a territory which that, in the opinion of the
board of directors of the conservancy district of any one of the
districts, should constitute only one district, the board of any
one of the districts may petition the court for an order uniting
those districts into a single district. The petition shall be
filed in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of
that county that has the greatest valuation of real property
within the districts sought to be included, as shown by the tax
duplicates of the respective counties. The petition shall set
forth the necessity for the union of the two or more districts
and
that the union of the districts would be conducive to the
public
health, convenience, safety, or welfare and to the
economical
execution of the purposes for which the districts were
organized.
Upon receipt of the petition, the clerk shall give
notice by
publication or by personal service to the boards of the
districts
that it is desired to unite with the district of the
petitioners.
The notice shall contain the time and place where
the hearing on
the petition will be had and the purpose of the
hearing. The
hearing shall be had in accordance with
this chapter as for an
original
hearing. If, after the hearing, the court finds that the
averments
of the petition are true and that the districts, or any
of them,
should be united, it shall so order, and thereafter those
districts shall be united into one and proceed as one. The
court
shall designate the corporate name of the united district,
and
further proceedings shall be taken as provided for in this
chapter.
In accordance with division (A) or (B) of section
6101.10 of the
Revised Code, as applicable
If the united district includes all or parts of sixteen
counties or less, the court shall direct in the order
in
accordance with division (A) of section 6101.10 of the Revised
Code who shall be the members of the board of the united district,
who
shall thereafter have the powers and be subject to
the
regulations as are provided for the board in districts
created in
the first instance. However, if the united district includes all
or parts of more than sixteen counties, the presidents of the
boards of county commissioners of the counties all or part of
which are included within the territorial limits of the united
district shall appoint the members of the board of the united
district in accordance with divisions (B) and (C) of section
6101.10 of the Revised Code, who shall thereafter have the powers
and be subject to the regulations as are provided for the board in
districts created in the first instance.
(B) All legal proceedings already instituted by or against
any of the constituent districts united into a single district
under division (A) of this section may be revived and continued
against the united district by an order of court substituting the
name of the united district for the constituent district, and
those proceedings shall then proceed as provided in
this chapter.
(C) Instead of organizing a new district from the
constituent
districts, the court may do one of the following:
(1) Direct that one or more of the districts described in
the
petition be included into another of the districts, which
other
district shall continue under its original corporate name
and
organization, unless the resulting district includes all or
parts
of more than sixteen counties, in which case the court
shall
appoint two additional members whose appointments and terms
of
office shall comply with the requirements established in
division
a new board of directors shall be appointed in accordance with
divisions (B) and (C) of section 6101.10 of the Revised Code;
(2) Direct that the districts absorbed as described in
division (C)(1) of this section shall be represented on the board
of the original district, designating what members of the board
of
the original district shall be retired from the new board and
what
members representing the included districts shall take their
places, except that, if the resulting district includes all or
parts of more than sixteen counties, the court also shall appoint
two additional members whose appointments and terms of office
shall comply with the requirements established in division a new
board of directors shall be appointed in accordance with divisions
(B) and (C) of
section 6101.10 of the Revised Code;
(3) Direct that the included districts shall become
subdistricts of the main district.
(D) If the districts sought to be united were organized in
different counties, the court to determine the question
involved
shall consist of one judge from each of the counties in
the court
of which one of the districts was organized, and a
majority shall
be necessary to render a decision. From
the decision or from a
failure to decide, any interested property
owner may appeal. No
action under this section shall interrupt
or delay any proceeding
under this chapter, until the questions involved
are finally
determined.
Sec. 6101.77. The performance of all duties prescribed in
this
chapter concerning the organization and administration or
operation of
the conservancy district may be enforced against any
officer
of the district by mandamus at the instance of the board
of directors of the district or of any
person or public
corporation interested in any way in the
district. The board of
directors
may institute court proceedings to enforce compliance by
any
person or public corporation with any order of the board. The
board may
institute those proceedings in the court of appeals in
the first
instance.
Section 2. That existing sections 6101.10, 6101.29, 6101.30,
6101.48, 6101.53, 6101.70, and 6101.77 of the Revised Code are
hereby
repealed.
Section 3. (A) This section addresses the appointment of
members to the board of directors of a conservancy district in
existence on the effective date of this section that includes all
or parts of more than sixteen counties in order to comply with the
amendments made by this act to section 6101.10 of the Revised
Code. The five existing members of the board of directors of such
a conservancy district shall be appointed to the new nine-member
board in accordance with division (B) of this section. In
addition, four new members shall be appointed to the board as
provided in division (B) of this section so that the total
membership of the board is nine members.
(B) Not later than thirty days after the effective date of
this section, the presidents of the boards of county commissioners
of the counties all or part of which are included within the
territorial limits of a conservancy district in existence on the
effective date of this section that includes all or parts of more
than sixteen counties shall appoint four additional persons as
members of the existing board of directors of the conservancy
district. The terms of office of the resulting nine-member board
shall be as follows: two years for one of the new additional
persons, three years for one of the new additional persons and one
existing member, four years for one of the new additional persons
and two existing members, and five years for one of the new
additional persons and two existing members. Each member of the
board shall be a resident of a county all or part of which is
included within the territorial limits of the district. In
addition, the presidents of the boards of county commissioners in
appointing the new members to the board shall ensure, to the
extent possible, that the membership of the board includes three
members from each of the three geographic regions of the district
that are required to be established under division (B) of section
6101.10 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act. The
procedures and requirements established in division (B) of section
6101.10 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act, shall govern
the filling of vacancies, terms of office of future appointments,
reappointments, and other appointment matters.
Upon the appointment of the four additional members to the
existing board of directors of an existing conservancy district
under this section, the new board of directors shall govern and
operate the conservancy district.
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