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H. B. No. 430 As IntroducedAs Introduced
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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Representatives Boose, Hackett
Cosponsors:
Representatives Grossman, Brenner, Beck, Blessing, Adams, J., Henne, Gardner, Uecker, Stebelton, McGregor, Combs, Blair, Hill, Thompson
A BILL
To amend sections 307.12, 307.86, 307.861, 307.88,
and 5705.41 and to enact section 307.863 of the
Revised Code to increase the county competitive
bidding and other procurement thresholds, to make
other changes to the county competitive bidding
law, and to eliminate the annual adoption of
certain resolutions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 307.12, 307.86, 307.861, 307.88, and
5705.41 be amended and section 307.863 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 307.12. (A) Except as otherwise provided in divisions
(D), (E), and (G) of this section, when the board of county
commissioners finds, by resolution, that the county has personal
property, including motor vehicles acquired for the use of county
officers and departments, and road machinery, equipment, tools, or
supplies, that is not needed for public use, is obsolete, or is
unfit for the use for which it was acquired, and when the fair
market value of the property to be sold or donated under this
division is, in the opinion of the board, in excess of two
thousand five hundred dollars, the board may do either of the
following:
(1) Sell the property at public auction or by sealed bid to
the highest bidder. Notice of the time, place, and manner of the
sale shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the county at least ten days prior to the sale, and a typewritten
or printed notice of the time, place, and manner of the sale shall
be posted at least ten days before the sale in the offices of the
county auditor and the board of county commissioners.
If a board conducts a sale of property by sealed bid, the
form of the bid shall be as prescribed by the board, and each bid
shall contain the name of the person submitting it. Bids received
shall be opened and tabulated at the time stated in the notice.
The property shall be sold to the highest bidder, except that the
board may reject all bids and hold another sale, by public auction
or sealed bid, in the manner prescribed by this section.
(2) Donate any motor vehicle that does not exceed four
thousand five hundred dollars in value to a nonprofit organization
exempt from federal income taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 501(a)
and (c)(3) for the purpose of meeting the transportation needs of
participants in the Ohio works first program established under
Chapter 5107. of the Revised Code and participants in the
prevention, retention, and contingency program established under
Chapter 5108. of the Revised Code.
(B) When the board of county commissioners finds, by
resolution, that the county has personal property, including motor
vehicles acquired for the use of county officers and departments,
and road machinery, equipment, tools, or supplies, that is not
needed for public use, is obsolete, or is unfit for the use for
which it was acquired, and when the fair market value of the
property to be sold or donated under this division is, in the
opinion of the board, two thousand five hundred dollars or less,
the board may do either of the following:
(1) Sell the property by private sale, without advertisement
or public notification;
(2) Donate the property to an eligible nonprofit organization
that is located in this state and is exempt from federal income
taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 501(a) and (c)(3). Before donating
any property under this division, the board shall adopt a
resolution expressing its intent to make unneeded, obsolete, or
unfit-for-use county personal property available to these
organizations. The resolution shall include guidelines and
procedures the board considers necessary to implement a donation
program under this division and shall indicate whether the county
will conduct the donation program or the board will contract with
a representative to conduct it. If a representative is known when
the resolution is adopted, the resolution shall provide contact
information such as the representative's name, address, and
telephone number.
The resolution shall include within its procedures a
requirement that any nonprofit organization desiring to obtain
donated property under this division shall submit a written notice
to the board or its representative. The written notice shall
include evidence that the organization is a nonprofit organization
that is located in this state and is exempt from federal income
taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 501(a) and (c)(3); a description of
the organization's primary purpose; a description of the type or
types of property the organization needs; and the name, address,
and telephone number of a person designated by the organization's
governing board to receive donated property and to serve as its
agent.
After adoption of the resolution, the board shall publish, in
a newspaper of general circulation in the county, notice of its
intent to donate unneeded, obsolete, or unfit-for-use county
personal property to eligible nonprofit organizations. The notice
shall include a summary of the information provided in the
resolution and shall be published twice or as provided in section
7.16 of the Revised Code. The second and any subsequent notice
shall be published not less than ten nor more than twenty days
after the previous notice. A similar notice also shall be posted
continually in a conspicuous place in the offices of the county
auditor and the board of county commissioners. If the county
maintains a web site on the internet, the notice shall be posted
continually at that web site.
The board or its representative shall maintain a list of all
nonprofit organizations that notify the board or its
representative of their desire to obtain donated property under
this division and that the board or its representative determines
to be eligible, in accordance with the requirements set forth in
this section and in the donation program's guidelines and
procedures, to receive donated property.
The board or its representatives also shall maintain a list
of all county personal property the board finds to be unneeded,
obsolete, or unfit for use and to be available for donation under
this division. The list shall be posted continually in a
conspicuous location in the offices of the county auditor and the
board of county commissioners, and, if the county maintains a web
site on the internet, the list shall be posted continually at that
web site. An item of property on the list shall be donated to the
eligible nonprofit organization that first declares to the board
or its representative its desire to obtain the item unless the
board previously has established, by resolution, a list of
eligible nonprofit organizations that shall be given priority with
respect to the item's donation. Priority may be given on the basis
that the purposes of a nonprofit organization have a direct
relationship to specific public purposes of programs provided or
administered by the board. A resolution giving priority to certain
nonprofit organizations with respect to the donation of an item of
property shall specify the reasons why the organizations are given
that priority.
(C) Members of the board of county commissioners shall
consult with the Ohio ethics commission, and comply with the
provisions of Chapters 102. and 2921. of the Revised Code, with
respect to any sale or donation under division (A) or (B) of this
section to a nonprofit organization of which a county
commissioner, any member of the county commissioner's family, or
any business associate of the county commissioner is a trustee,
officer, board member, or employee.
(D) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in division (A),
(B), or (E) of this section and regardless of the property's
value, the board of county commissioners may sell or donate county
personal property, including motor vehicles, to the federal
government, the state, any political subdivision of the state, or
a county land reutilization corporation without advertisement or
public notification.
(E) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in division (A),
(B), or (G) of this section and regardless of the property's
value, the board of county commissioners may sell personal
property, including motor vehicles acquired for the use of county
officers and departments, and road machinery, equipment, tools, or
supplies, that is not needed for public use, is obsolete, or is
unfit for the use for which it was acquired, by internet auction.
The board shall adopt, during each calendar year, a resolution
expressing its intent to sell that property by internet auction.
The resolution shall include a description of how the internet
auctions will be conducted and shall specify the number of days
for bidding on the property, which shall be no less than ten days,
including Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. The resolution
shall indicate whether the county will conduct the auction
internet auctions or the board will contract with a representative
to conduct the auction internet auctions and shall establish the
general terms and conditions of sale. If a representative is known
when the resolution is adopted, the resolution shall provide
contact information such as the representative's name, address,
and telephone number.
After adoption of the resolution, the board shall publish, in
a newspaper of general circulation in the county, notice of its
intent to sell unneeded, obsolete, or unfit-for-use county
personal property by internet auction. The notice shall include a
summary of the information provided in the resolution and shall be
published twice or as provided in section 7.16 of the Revised
Code. The second and any subsequent notice shall be published not
less than ten nor more than twenty days after the previous notice.
A similar notice also shall be posted continually throughout the
calendar year in a conspicuous place in the offices of the county
auditor and the board of county commissioners. If the county
maintains a web site on the internet, the notice shall be posted
continually throughout the calendar year at that web site.
When property is to be sold by internet auction, the board or
its representative may establish a minimum price that will be
accepted for specific items and may establish any other terms and
conditions for the a particular sale, including requirements for
pick-up or delivery, method of payment, and sales tax. This type
of information shall be provided on the internet at the time of
the auction and may be provided before that time upon request
after the terms and conditions have been determined by the board
or its representative.
(F) When a county officer or department head determines that
county-owned personal property under the jurisdiction of the
officer or department head, including motor vehicles, road
machinery, equipment, tools, or supplies, is not of immediate
need, the county officer or department head may notify the board
of county commissioners, and the board may lease that personal
property to any municipal corporation, township, other political
subdivision of the state, or to a county land reutilization
corporation. The lease shall require the county to be reimbursed
under terms, conditions, and fees established by the board, or
under contracts executed by the board.
(G) If the board of county commissioners finds, by
resolution, that the county has vehicles, equipment, or machinery
that is not needed, or is unfit for public use, and the board
desires to sell the vehicles, equipment, or machinery to the
person or firm from which it proposes to purchase other vehicles,
equipment, or machinery, the board may offer to sell the vehicles,
equipment, or machinery to that person or firm, and to have the
selling price credited to the person or firm against the purchase
price of other vehicles, equipment, or machinery.
(H) If the board of county commissioners advertises for bids
for the sale of new vehicles, equipment, or machinery to the
county, it may include in the same advertisement a notice of the
willingness of the board to accept bids for the purchase of
county-owned vehicles, equipment, or machinery that is obsolete or
not needed for public use, and to have the amount of those bids
subtracted from the selling price of the other vehicles,
equipment, or machinery as a means of determining the lowest
responsible bidder.
(I) If a board of county commissioners determines that county
personal property is not needed for public use, or is obsolete or
unfit for the use for which it was acquired, and that the property
has no value, the board may discard or salvage that property.
(J) A county engineer, in the engineer's discretion, may
dispose of scrap construction materials on such terms as the
engineer determines reasonable, including disposal without
recovery of costs, if the total value of the materials does not
exceed twenty-five thousand dollars. The engineer shall maintain
records of all dispositions made under this division, including
identification of the origin of the materials, the final
disposition, and copies of all receipts resulting from the
dispositions.
As used in division (I) of this section, "scrap construction
materials" means construction materials that result from a road or
bridge improvement, remain after the improvement is completed, and
are not reusable. Construction material that is metal and that
results from a road or bridge improvement and remains after the
improvement is completed is scrap construction material only if it
cannot be used in any other road or bridge improvement or other
project in its current state.
Sec. 307.86. Anything to be purchased, leased, leased with
an option or agreement to purchase, or constructed, including, but
not limited to, any product, structure, construction,
reconstruction, improvement, maintenance, repair, or service,
except the services of an accountant, architect, attorney at law,
physician, professional engineer, construction project manager,
consultant, surveyor, or appraiser, by or on behalf of the county
or contracting authority, as defined in section 307.92 of the
Revised Code, at a cost in excess of twenty-five fifty thousand
dollars adjusted annually by the director of commerce under
section 307.863 of the Revised Code, except as otherwise provided
in division (D) of section 713.23 and in sections 9.48, 125.04,
125.60 to 125.6012, 307.022, 307.041, 307.861, 339.05, 340.03,
340.033, 4115.31 to 4115.35, 5119.16, 5513.01, 5543.19, 5713.01,
and 6137.05 of the Revised Code, shall be obtained through
competitive bidding. However, competitive bidding is not required
when any of the following applies:
(A) The board of county commissioners, by a unanimous vote of
its members, makes a determination that a real and present
emergency exists, and that determination and the reasons for it
are entered in the minutes of the proceedings of the board, when
either of the following applies:
(1) The estimated cost is less than fifty one hundred
thousand dollars.
(2) There is actual physical disaster to structures, radio
communications equipment, or computers.
For purposes of this division, "unanimous vote" means all
three members of a board of county commissioners when all three
members are present, or two members of the board if only two
members, constituting a quorum, are present.
Whenever a contract of purchase, lease, or construction is
exempted from competitive bidding under division (A)(1) of this
section because the estimated cost is less than fifty one hundred
thousand dollars, but the estimated cost is twenty-five fifty
thousand dollars or more, the county or contracting authority
shall solicit informal estimates from no fewer than three persons
who could perform the contract, before awarding the contract. With
regard to each such contract, the county or contracting authority
shall maintain a record of such estimates, including the name of
each person from whom an estimate is solicited. The county or
contracting authority shall maintain the record for the longer of
at least one year after the contract is awarded or the amount of
time the federal government requires.
(B)(1) The purchase consists of supplies or a replacement or
supplemental part or parts for a product or equipment owned or
leased by the county, and the only source of supply for the
supplies, part, or parts is limited to a single supplier.
(2) The purchase consists of services related to information
technology, such as programming services, that are proprietary or
limited to a single source.
(C) The purchase is from the federal government, the state,
another county or contracting authority of another county, or a
board of education, educational service center, township, or
municipal corporation.
(D) The purchase is made by a county department of job and
family services under section 329.04 of the Revised Code and
consists of family services duties or workforce development
activities or is made by a county board of developmental
disabilities under section 5126.05 of the Revised Code and
consists of program services, such as direct and ancillary client
services, child care, case management services, residential
services, and family resource services.
(E) The purchase consists of criminal justice services,
social services programs, family services, or workforce
development activities by the board of county commissioners from
nonprofit corporations or associations under programs funded by
the federal government or by state grants.
(F) The purchase consists of any form of an insurance policy
or contract authorized to be issued under Title XXXIX of the
Revised Code or any form of health care plan authorized to be
issued under Chapter 1751. of the Revised Code, or any combination
of such policies, contracts, plans, or services that the
contracting authority is authorized to purchase, and the
contracting authority does all of the following:
(1) Determines that compliance with the requirements of this
section would increase, rather than decrease, the cost of the
purchase;
(2) Requests issuers of the policies, contracts, plans, or
services to submit proposals to the contracting authority, in a
form prescribed by the contracting authority, setting forth the
coverage and cost of the policies, contracts, plans, or services
as the contracting authority desires to purchase;
(3) Negotiates with the issuers for the purpose of purchasing
the policies, contracts, plans, or services at the best and lowest
price reasonably possible.
(G) The purchase consists of computer hardware, software, or
consulting services that are necessary to implement a computerized
case management automation project administered by the Ohio
prosecuting attorneys association and funded by a grant from the
federal government.
(H) Child care services are purchased for provision to county
employees.
(I)(1) Property, including land, buildings, and other real
property, is leased for offices, storage, parking, or other
purposes, and all of the following apply:
(a) The contracting authority is authorized by the Revised
Code to lease the property.
(b) The contracting authority develops requests for proposals
for leasing the property, specifying the criteria that will be
considered prior to leasing the property, including the desired
size and geographic location of the property.
(c) The contracting authority receives responses from
prospective lessors with property meeting the criteria specified
in the requests for proposals by giving notice in a manner
substantially similar to the procedures established for giving
notice under section 307.87 of the Revised Code.
(d) The contracting authority negotiates with the prospective
lessors to obtain a lease at the best and lowest price reasonably
possible considering the fair market value of the property and any
relocation and operational costs that may be incurred during the
period the lease is in effect.
(2) The contracting authority may use the services of a real
estate appraiser to obtain advice, consultations, or other
recommendations regarding the lease of property under this
division.
(J) The purchase is made pursuant to section 5139.34 or
sections 5139.41 to 5139.46 of the Revised Code and is of programs
or services that provide case management, treatment, or prevention
services to any felony or misdemeanant delinquent, unruly youth,
or status offender under the supervision of the juvenile court,
including, but not limited to, community residential care, day
treatment, services to children in their home, or electronic
monitoring.
(K) The purchase is made by a public children services agency
pursuant to section 307.92 or 5153.16 of the Revised Code and
consists of family services, programs, or ancillary services that
provide case management, prevention, or treatment services for
children at risk of being or alleged to be abused, neglected, or
dependent children.
(L) The purchase is to obtain the services of emergency
medical service organizations under a contract made by the board
of county commissioners pursuant to section 307.05 of the Revised
Code with a joint emergency medical services district.
(M) The county contracting authority determines that the use
of competitive sealed proposals would be advantageous to the
county and the contracting authority complies with section 307.862
of the Revised Code.
Any issuer of policies, contracts, plans, or services listed
in division (F) of this section and any prospective lessor under
division (I) of this section may have the issuer's or prospective
lessor's name and address, or the name and address of an agent,
placed on a special notification list to be kept by the
contracting authority, by sending the contracting authority that
name and address. The contracting authority shall send notice to
all persons listed on the special notification list. Notices shall
state the deadline and place for submitting proposals. The
contracting authority shall mail the notices at least six weeks
prior to the deadline set by the contracting authority for
submitting proposals. Every five years the contracting authority
may review this list and remove any person from the list after
mailing the person notification of that action.
Any contracting authority that negotiates a contract under
division (F) of this section shall request proposals and negotiate
with issuers in accordance with that division at least every three
years from the date of the signing of such a contract, unless the
parties agree upon terms for extensions or renewals of the
contract. Such extension or renewal periods shall not exceed six
years from the date the initial contract is signed.
Any real estate appraiser employed pursuant to division (I)
of this section shall disclose any fees or compensation received
from any source in connection with that employment.
Sec. 307.861. The county or contracting authority, as
defined in section 307.92 of the Revised Code, may renew a lease
which has been entered into for electronic data processing
equipment, services, or systems, or a radio communications system
at a cost in excess of ten fifty thousand dollars as follows:
(A) The lessor shall submit a written bid to the county or
contracting authority which that is the lessee under the lease,
stating the terms under which the lease would be renewed,
including the length of the renewal lease, and the cost of the
renewal lease to the county or contracting authority. The county
or contracting authority may require the lessor to submit a bond
with the bid.
(B) The county or contracting authority shall advertise for
and receive competitive bids, as provided in sections 307.87 to
307.90 of the Revised Code, for a lease under the same terms and
for the same period as provided in the bid of the lessor submitted
under division (A) of this section.
(C) The county or contracting authority may renew the lease
with the lessor only if the bid submitted by the lessor under
division (A) of this section is an amount less than the lowest and
best bid submitted pursuant to competitive bidding under division
(B) of this section.
Sec. 307.863. On January 1, 2012, and on the first day of
January of each year thereafter, the director of commerce shall
adjust the fifty thousand dollar threshold amount specified in
division (A) of section 307.86 of the Revised Code, as adjusted in
any previous year under this section. The director shall adjust
the amount according to the percentage increase or decrease in the
United States department of commerce, bureau of economic analysis
implicit price deflator for gross domestic product, state and
local governments, from the first day of January of the preceding
calendar year to the last day of December of the preceding
calendar year, and shall adjust the amount for the current
calendar year by multiplying the amount by the percentage increase
or decrease in the implicit price deflator, state and local
governments, for that period, adding to or subtracting the
resulting product from the amount, and rounding the resulting sum
upward to the nearest multiple of five dollars. In no case shall
the increase or decrease for any calendar year exceed five per
cent of the threshold amount existing at the time of the
adjustment.
The director of commerce shall post the new threshold amount
on the department of commerce's web site immediately after the
director adjusts the amount.
Sec. 307.88. (A) Bids submitted pursuant to sections 307.86
to 307.92 of the Revised Code shall be in a form prescribed by the
contracting authority and filed in a sealed envelope at the time
and place mentioned in the notice. The bids received shall be
opened and tabulated at the time stated in the notice. Each bid
shall contain the full name of each person submitting the bid. If
the bid is in excess of twenty-five fifty thousand dollars and for
a contract for the construction, demolition, alteration, repair,
or reconstruction of an improvement, it shall meet the
requirements of section 153.54 of the Revised Code. If the bid is
in excess of twenty-five fifty thousand dollars and for any other
contract authorized by sections 307.86 to 307.92 of the Revised
Code, it shall may be accompanied by a bond or certified check,
cashier's check, or money order on a solvent bank or savings and
loan association in a reasonable amount stated in the notice but
not to exceed five per cent of the bid, conditioned that the
bidder, if the bidder's bid is accepted, shall execute a contract
in conformity to the invitation and the bid.
(B) The board of county commissioners, by a unanimous vote of
the entire board, may permit a contracting authority to exempt a
bid from any or all of the requirements of section 153.54 of the
Revised Code if the estimated cost is
twenty-five two hundred
fifty thousand dollars or less. If the board exempts a bid from
any but not all of those requirements, the bid notice published in
the newspaper pursuant to section 307.87 of the Revised Code shall
state the specific bid guaranty requirements that apply. If the
board exempts a bid from all requirements of section 153.54 of the
Revised Code, the notice shall state that none of the requirements
of that section apply.
Sec. 5705.41. No subdivision or taxing unit shall:
(A) Make any appropriation of money except as provided in
Chapter 5705. of the Revised Code; provided, that the
authorization of a bond issue shall be deemed to be an
appropriation of the proceeds of the bond issue for the purpose
for which such bonds were issued, but no expenditure shall be made
from any bond fund until first authorized by the taxing authority;
(B) Make any expenditure of money unless it has been
appropriated as provided in such chapter;
(C) Make any expenditure of money except by a proper warrant
drawn against an appropriate fund;
(D)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of
this section and section 5705.44 of the Revised Code, make any
contract or give any order involving the expenditure of money
unless there is attached thereto a certificate of the fiscal
officer of the subdivision that the amount required to meet the
obligation or, in the case of a continuing contract to be
performed in whole or in part in an ensuing fiscal year, the
amount required to meet the obligation in the fiscal year in which
the contract is made, has been lawfully appropriated for such
purpose and is in the treasury or in process of collection to the
credit of an appropriate fund free from any previous encumbrances.
This certificate need be signed only by the subdivision's fiscal
officer. Every such contract made without such a certificate shall
be void, and no warrant shall be issued in payment of any amount
due thereon. If no certificate is furnished as required, upon
receipt by the taxing authority of the subdivision or taxing unit
of a certificate of the fiscal officer stating that there was at
the time of the making of such contract or order and at the time
of the execution of such certificate a sufficient sum appropriated
for the purpose of such contract and in the treasury or in process
of collection to the credit of an appropriate fund free from any
previous encumbrances, such taxing authority may authorize the
drawing of a warrant in payment of amounts due upon such contract,
but such resolution or ordinance shall be passed within thirty
days after the taxing authority receives such certificate;
provided that, if the amount involved is less than one hundred
dollars in the case of counties or three thousand dollars in the
case of all other subdivisions or taxing units, the fiscal officer
may authorize it to be paid without such affirmation of the taxing
authority of the subdivision or taxing unit, if such expenditure
is otherwise valid.
(2) Annually, the The board of county commissioners may adopt
a resolution exempting county purchases of one thousand dollars or
less from the requirement of division (D)(1) of this section that
a certificate be attached to any contract or order involving the
expenditure of money. The resolution shall state the dollar amount
that is exempted from the certificate requirement and whether the
exemption applies to all purchases, to one or more specific
classes of purchases, or to the purchase of one or more specific
items. Prior to the adoption of the resolution, the board shall
give written notice to the county auditor that it intends to adopt
the resolution. The notice shall state the dollar amount that is
proposed to be exempted and whether the exemption would apply to
all purchases, to one or more specific classes of purchases, or to
the purchase of one or more specific items. The county auditor may
review and comment on the proposal, and shall send any comments to
the board within fifteen days after receiving the notice. The
board shall wait at least fifteen days after giving the notice to
the auditor before adopting the resolution. A person authorized to
make a county purchase in a county that has adopted such a
resolution shall prepare and file with the county auditor, within
three business days after incurring an obligation not requiring a
certificate, or within any other period of time the board of
county commissioners specifies in the resolution, a written or
electronically transferred document specifying the purpose and
amount of the expenditure, the date of the purchase, the name of
the vendor, the specific appropriation items from which the
expenditures are to be made, and any additional information as the
auditor of state may prescribe.
(3) Upon certification by the auditor or other chief fiscal
officer that a certain sum of money, not in excess of an amount
established by resolution or ordinance adopted by a majority of
the members of the legislative authority of the subdivision or
taxing unit, has been lawfully appropriated, authorized, or
directed for a certain purpose and is in the treasury or in the
process of collection to the credit of a specific line-item
appropriation account in a certain fund free from previous and
then outstanding obligations or certifications, then for such
purpose and from such line-item appropriation account in such
fund, over a period not extending beyond the end of the fiscal
year, expenditures may be made, orders for payment issued, and
contracts or obligations calling for or requiring the payment of
money made and assumed; provided, that the aggregate sum of money
included in and called for by such expenditures, orders,
contracts, and obligations shall not exceed the sum so certified.
Such a certification need be signed only by the fiscal officer of
the subdivision or the taxing district and may, but need not, be
limited to a specific vendor. An itemized statement of obligations
incurred and expenditures made under such certificate shall be
rendered to the auditor or other chief fiscal officer before
another such certificate may be issued, and not more than one such
certificate shall be outstanding at a time.
In addition to providing the certification for expenditures
as specified in this division, a subdivision also may make
expenditures, issue orders for payment, and make contracts or
obligations calling for or requiring the payment of money made and
assumed for specified permitted purposes from a specific line-item
appropriation account in a specified fund for a sum of money upon
the certification by the fiscal officer of the subdivision that
this sum of money has been lawfully appropriated, authorized, or
directed for a permitted purpose and is in the treasury or in the
process of collection to the credit of the specific line-item
appropriation account in the specified fund free from previous and
then-outstanding obligations or certifications; provided that the
aggregate sum of money included in and called for by the
expenditures, orders, and obligations shall not exceed the
certified sum. The purposes for which a subdivision may lawfully
appropriate, authorize, or issue such a certificate are the
services of an accountant, architect, attorney at law, physician,
professional engineer, construction project manager, consultant,
surveyor, or appraiser by or on behalf of the subdivision or
contracting authority; fuel oil, gasoline, food items, roadway
materials, and utilities; and any purchases exempt from
competitive bidding under section 125.04 of the Revised Code and
any other specific expenditure that is a recurring and reasonably
predictable operating expense. Such a certification shall not
extend beyond the end of the fiscal year or, in the case of a
board of county commissioners that has established a quarterly
spending plan under section 5705.392 of the Revised Code, beyond
the quarter to which the plan applies. Such a certificate shall be
signed by the fiscal officer and may, but need not, be limited to
a specific vendor. An itemized statement of obligations incurred
and expenditures made under such a certificate shall be rendered
to the fiscal officer for each certificate issued. More than one
such certificate may be outstanding at any time.
In any case in which a contract is entered into upon a per
unit basis, the head of the department, board, or commission for
the benefit of which the contract is made shall make an estimate
of the total amount to become due upon such contract, which
estimate shall be certified in writing to the fiscal officer of
the subdivision. Such a contract may be entered into if the
appropriation covers such estimate, or so much thereof as may be
due during the current year. In such a case the certificate of the
fiscal officer based upon the estimate shall be a sufficient
compliance with the law requiring a certificate.
Any certificate of the fiscal officer attached to a contract
shall be binding upon the political subdivision as to the facts
set forth therein. Upon request of any person receiving an order
or entering into a contract with any political subdivision, the
certificate of the fiscal officer shall be attached to such order
or contract. "Contract" as used in this section excludes current
payrolls of regular employees and officers.
(E) Taxes and other revenue in process of collection, or the
proceeds to be derived from authorized bonds, notes, or
certificates of indebtedness sold and in process of delivery,
shall for the purpose of this section be deemed in the treasury or
in process of collection and in the appropriate fund. This section
applies neither to the investment of sinking funds by the trustees
of such funds, nor to investments made under sections 731.56 to
731.59 of the Revised Code.
No district authority shall, in transacting its own affairs,
do any of the things prohibited to a subdivision by this section,
but the appropriation referred to shall become the appropriation
by the district authority, and the fiscal officer referred to
shall mean the fiscal officer of the district authority.
Section 2. That existing sections 307.12, 307.86, 307.861,
307.88, and 5705.41 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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