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H. B. No. 190 As IntroducedAs Introduced
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Adams, J., Rosenberger, Brenner, Thompson, Becker, Young, Wachtmann, Lynch, Maag, Boose, Retherford, Roegner, Damschroder, Hottinger, Buchy
A BILL
To amend sections 164.07, 307.022, 307.671, 307.673,
307.674, 307.696, 351.06, 1506.44, 1710.02,
4115.03, 4115.034, 4115.04, 4115.06, 4115.09,
4115.10, 4115.133, 5540.03, 6117.012, and 6121.061
of the Revised Code to increase the threshold to
trigger the requirement that the prevailing wage
be paid for work on vertical public improvement
projects and to allow political subdivisions and
state institutions of higher education to elect
whether to be subject to the Prevailing Wage Law
for a public improvement project.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 164.07, 307.022, 307.671, 307.673,
307.674, 307.696, 351.06, 1506.44, 1710.02, 4115.03, 4115.034,
4115.04, 4115.06, 4115.09, 4115.10, 4115.133, 5540.03, 6117.012,
and 6121.061 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 164.07. (A) In awarding contracts for capital
improvement projects to be financed in whole or in part under this
chapter, a local subdivision shall comply with the percentage
requirements of section 125.081 of the Revised Code.
(B) A capital improvement that is financed in whole or in
part under this chapter is a public improvement, and a subdivision
undertaking a capital improvement is a public authority, for
purposes of section 4115.03 of the Revised Code. All contractors
and subcontractors working on a capital improvement financed in
whole or in part under this chapter shall comply with sections
4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 307.022. (A) The board of county commissioners of any
county may do both of the following without following the
competitive bidding requirements of section 307.86 of the Revised
Code:
(1) Enter into a lease, including a lease with an option to
purchase, of correctional facilities for a term not in excess of
forty years. Before entering into the lease, the board shall
publish, once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county or as provided in section 7.16
of the Revised Code, a notice that the board is accepting
proposals for a lease pursuant to this division. The notice shall
state the date before which the proposals are required to be
submitted in order to be considered by the board.
(2) Subject to compliance with this section, grant leases,
easements, and licenses with respect to, or sell, real property
owned by the county if the real property is to be leased back by
the county for use as correctional facilities.
The lease under division (A)(1) of this section shall require
the county to contract, in accordance with Chapter 153., and
sections 307.86 to 307.92, and Chapter 4115. of the Revised Code,
for the construction, improvement, furnishing, and equipping of
correctional facilities to be leased pursuant to this section.
Prior to the board's execution of the lease, it may require the
lessor under the lease to cause sufficient money to be made
available to the county to enable the county to comply with the
certification requirements of division (D) of section 5705.41 of
the Revised Code.
A lease entered into pursuant to division (A)(1) of this
section by a board may provide for the county to maintain and
repair the correctional facility during the term of the leasehold,
may provide for the county to make rental payments prior to or
after occupation of the correctional facilities by the county, and
may provide for the board to obtain and maintain any insurance
that the lessor may require, including, but not limited to, public
liability, casualty, builder's risk, and business interruption
insurance. The obligations incurred under a lease entered into
pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section shall not be
considered to be within the debt limitations of section 133.07 of
the Revised Code.
(B) The correctional facilities leased under division (A)(1)
of this section may include any or all of the following:
(1) Facilities in which one or more other governmental
entities are participating or in which other facilities of the
county are included;
(2) Facilities acquired, constructed, renovated, or financed
by the Ohio building authority and leased to the county pursuant
to section 307.021 of the Revised Code;
(3) Correctional facilities that are under construction or
have been completed and for which no permanent financing has been
arranged.
(C) As used in this section:
(1) "Correctional facilities" includes, but is not limited
to, jails, detention facilities, workhouses, community-based
correctional facilities, and family court centers.
(2) "Construction" has the same meaning as in division (B) of
section 4115.03 of the Revised Code.
As used in division (C)(2) of this section:
(a) "Public improvement" means all buildings, roads, streets,
alleys, sewers, ditches, and other structures or works constructed
by a public authority or by any person who, pursuant to a contract
with a public authority, constructs any structure or work for a
public authority. When a public authority rents or leases a newly
constructed structure within six months after completion of its
construction, any work performed on that structure to suit it for
occupancy is a "public improvement."
(b) "Public authority" means any officer, board, or
commission of the state, or any political subdivision of the
state, or any institution supported in whole or in part by public
funds, authorized to enter into a contract for the construction of
a public improvement or to construct a public improvement by the
direct employment of labor.
Sec. 307.671. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Bonds" means, as the context requires: general
obligation bonds of the county, or notes in anticipation thereof,
described in division (B)(1)(b) of this section; revenue bonds of
the port authority described in division (B)(2)(a) of this
section; and urban renewal bonds, or notes in anticipation
thereof, of the host municipal corporation described in division
(B)(3)(a) of this section.
(2) "Corporation" means a nonprofit corporation that is
organized under the laws of this state and that includes within
the purposes for which it is incorporated the authorization to
lease and operate facilities such as a port authority educational
and cultural facility.
(3) "Debt service charges" means, for any period or payable
at any time, the principal of and interest and any premium due on
bonds for that period or payable at that time whether due at
maturity or upon mandatory redemption, together with any required
deposits to reserves for the payment of principal of and interest
on such bonds, and includes any payments required by the port
authority to satisfy any of its obligations arising from any
guaranty agreements, reimbursement agreements, or other credit
enhancement agreements described in division (C) of this section.
(4) "Host municipal corporation" means the municipal
corporation within the boundaries of which the port authority
educational and cultural facility is located.
(5) "Port authority" means a port authority created pursuant
to the authority of section 4582.02 of the Revised Code by a
county and a host municipal corporation.
(6) "Port authority educational and cultural facility" means
a facility located within an urban renewal area that may consist
of a museum, archives, library, hall of fame, center for
contemporary music, or other facilities necessary to provide
programs of an educational and cultural nature, together with all
parking facilities, walkways, and other auxiliary facilities, real
and personal property, property rights, easements, and interests
that may be appropriate for, or used in connection with, the
operation of the facility.
(7) "Urban renewal area" means an area of a host municipal
corporation that the legislative authority of the host municipal
corporation has, at any time, designated as appropriate for an
urban renewal project pursuant to Chapter 725. of the Revised
Code.
(B) The board of county commissioners of a county, a port
authority, and a host municipal corporation may enter into a
cooperative agreement with a corporation, under which:
(1) The board of county commissioners agrees to do all of the
following:
(a) Levy a tax under division (D) of section 5739.09 of the
Revised Code exclusively for the purposes described in divisions
(B)(1)(c) and (d) of this section;
(b) Issue general obligation bonds of the county, or notes in
anticipation thereof, pursuant to Chapter 133. of the Revised
Code, for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, and equipping
the port authority educational and cultural facility and
contribute the proceeds from the issuance to the port authority
for such purpose. The cooperative agreement may provide that such
proceeds be deposited with and administered by the trustee
pursuant to the trust agreement provided for in division (C) of
this section.
(c) Following the issuance, sale, and delivery of the port
authority revenue bonds provided for in division (B)(2)(a) of this
section, and prior to the date certain stated in the cooperative
agreement which shall be the date estimated for the completion of
construction of the port authority educational and cultural
facility, pledge and contribute to the port authority revenue from
the tax levied pursuant to division (B)(1)(a) of this section,
together with any investment earnings on that revenue, to pay a
portion of the costs of acquiring, constructing, and equipping the
port authority educational and cultural facility;
(d) Following such date certain, pledge and contribute to the
corporation all or such portion as provided for in the cooperative
agreement of the revenue from the tax, together with any
investment earnings on that revenue, to pay a portion of the costs
of the corporation of leasing the port authority educational and
cultural facility from the port authority.
(2) The port authority agrees to do all of the following:
(a) Issue revenue bonds of the port authority pursuant to
Chapter 4582. of the Revised Code for the purpose of acquiring,
constructing, and equipping the port authority educational and
cultural facility;
(b) Construct the port authority educational and cultural
facility;
(c) Lease the port authority educational and cultural
facility to the corporation;
(d) To the extent provided for in the cooperative agreement
or the lease to the corporation, authorize the corporation to
administer on behalf of the port authority the contracts for
acquiring, constructing, or equipping a port authority educational
and cultural facility;
(e) Use the revenue derived from the lease of the port
authority educational and cultural facility to the corporation
solely to pay debt service charges on the revenue bonds of the
port authority described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section.
(3) The host municipal corporation agrees to do both of the
following:
(a) Issue urban renewal bonds of the host municipal
corporation, or notes in anticipation thereof, pursuant to Chapter
725. of the Revised Code for the purpose of acquiring and
constructing the port authority educational and cultural facility
and contribute the proceeds from the issuance to the port
authority for such purpose. The cooperative agreement may provide
that such proceeds be deposited with and administered by the
trustee pursuant to the trust agreement provided for in division
(C) of this section.
(b) To the extent provided for in the cooperative agreement,
contribute to the county, for use by the county to pay debt
service charges on the bonds of the county, or notes in
anticipation thereof, described in division (B)(1)(b) of this
section, any excess urban renewal service payments pledged by the
host municipal corporation to the urban renewal bonds described in
division (B)(3)(a) of this section and not required on an annual
basis to pay debt service charges on the urban renewal bonds.
(4) The corporation agrees to do all of the following:
(a) Lease the port authority educational and cultural
facility from the port authority;
(b) Operate and maintain the port authority educational and
cultural facility pursuant to the lease;
(c) To the extent provided for in the cooperative agreement
or the lease from the port authority, administer on behalf of the
port authority the contracts for acquiring, constructing, or
equipping a port authority educational and cultural facility.
(C) The pledges and contributions described in divisions
(B)(1)(c) and (d) of this section and provided for in the
cooperative agreement shall be for the period stated in the
cooperative agreement, but shall not be in excess of the period
necessary to provide for the final retirement of the port
authority revenue bonds provided for in division (B)(2)(a) of this
section and any bonds issued by the port authority to refund such
bonds, and for the satisfaction by the port authority of any of
its obligations arising from any guaranty agreements,
reimbursement agreements, or other credit enhancement agreements
relating to such bonds or to the revenues pledged to such bonds.
The cooperative agreement shall provide for the termination of the
cooperative agreement including the pledges and contributions
described in divisions (B)(1)(c) and (d) of this section if the
port authority revenue bonds provided for in division (B)(2)(a) of
this section have not been issued, sold, and delivered within two
years of the effective date of the cooperative agreement.
The cooperative agreement shall provide that any revenue
bonds of the port authority shall be secured by a trust agreement
between the port authority and a corporate trustee that is a trust
company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or
outside the state. The county may be a party to such trust
agreement for the purpose of securing the pledge by the county of
its contribution to the corporation pursuant to division (B)(1)(d)
of this section. A tax levied pursuant to division (B)(1)(a) of
this section is not subject to diminution by initiative or
referendum or diminution by statute, unless provision is made
therein for an adequate substitute therefor reasonably
satisfactory to the trustee under the trust agreement that secures
the revenue bonds of the port authority.
(D) A pledge of money by a county under this section shall
not be net indebtedness of the county for purposes of section
133.07 of the Revised Code.
(E) If the terms of the cooperative agreement so provide, any
contract for the acquisition, construction, or equipping of a port
authority educational and cultural facility shall be made in such
manner as is determined by the board of directors of the port
authority, and unless the cooperative agreement provides
otherwise, such a contract is not subject to division (A) of
section 4582.12 of the Revised Code. The port authority may take
the assignment of and assume any contracts for the acquisition,
construction, and equipping of a port authority educational and
cultural facility that previously have been authorized by either
or both the host municipal corporation or the corporation. Such
contracts likewise are not subject to division (A) of section
4582.12 of the Revised Code.
Any contract for the acquisition, construction, or equipping
of a port authority educational and cultural facility entered
into, assigned, or assumed pursuant to this division shall provide
that all laborers and mechanics employed for the acquisition,
construction, or equipping of the port authority educational and
cultural facility shall be paid at the prevailing rates of wages
of laborers and mechanics for the class of work called for by the
port authority educational and cultural facility, which wages
shall be determined in accordance with the requirements of Chapter
4115. of the Revised Code for the determination of prevailing wage
rates.
Sec. 307.673. This section applies only in a county in which
a tax is levied under section 307.697, 4301.421, 5743.024, or
5743.323 of the Revised Code on the effective date of this
amendment July 19, 1995.
(A) As used in this section:
(1) "County taxes" means taxes levied by a board of county
commissioners under division (D) of section 307.697, division (B)
of section 4301.421, division (C) of section 5743.024, and section
5743.323 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Corporation" means a nonprofit corporation organized
under the laws of this state and that includes among the purposes
for which it is incorporated the authority to acquire, construct,
renovate, equip, lease, manage, or operate a sports facility.
(3) "Cooperative agreement" means an agreement entered into
pursuant to this section.
(4) "Cost of a sports facility" means the cost of acquiring,
constructing, renovating, equipping, or improving one or more
sports facilities, including reconstructing, rehabilitating,
remodeling, and enlarging; the cost of equipping and furnishing
such a facility; and all financing costs pertaining thereto,
including the cost of engineering, architectural, and other
professional services, designs, plans, specifications and surveys,
and estimates of costs; the costs of refinancing obligations
issued by, or reimbursement of money advanced by, the parties to
the cooperative agreement or other persons, the proceeds of which
obligations were used to pay the costs of the sports facility; the
cost of tests and inspections; the cost of any indemnity or surety
bonds and premiums on insurance, all related direct and
administrative costs pertaining thereto, fees and expenses of
trustees, depositories, and paying agents for the obligations,
capitalized interest on the obligations, amounts necessary to
establish reserves as required by the obligation proceedings, the
reimbursement of money advanced or applied by the parties to the
cooperative agreement or other persons for the payment of any item
of costs of the sports facility, and all other expenses necessary
or incident to planning or determining the feasibility or
practicability with respect to the sports facility; and any other
such expenses as may be necessary or incident to the acquisition,
construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, remodeling,
renovation, enlargement, improvement, equipping, and furnishing of
the sports facility, the financing of the sports facility, placing
the sports facility in use and operation, including any one, part
of, or combination of such classes of costs and expenses.
(5) "Financing costs" has the same meaning as in section
133.01 of the Revised Code.
(6) "Obligations" means obligations issued or incurred to pay
the cost of a sports facility, including bonds, notes,
certificates of indebtedness, commercial paper, and other
instruments in writing, anticipatory securities as defined in
section 133.01 of the Revised Code, issued or incurred by an
issuer pursuant to Chapter 133. or 4582. of the Revised Code or
this section, or otherwise, to evidence the issuer's obligation to
repay borrowed money, or to pay interest, by, or to pay at any
future time other money obligations of, the issuer of the
obligations, including obligations of an issuer or lessee to make
payments under an installment sale, lease, lease-purchase, or
similar agreement.
(7) "Owner" means any person that owns or operates a
professional athletic or sports team, that is party to a
cooperative agreement, or that has a lease or other agreement with
a party to a cooperative agreement, and that commits to use the
sports facility that is the subject of the cooperative agreement
for all of the team's home games for the period specified in that
agreement.
(8) "Payments," when used with reference to obligations,
means payments of the principal, including any mandatory sinking
fund deposits and mandatory redemption payments, interest and any
redemption premium, and lease rentals, lease-purchase payments and
other amounts payable under obligations in the form of installment
sale, lease, lease-purchase, or similar agreements.
(9) "Person" has the same meaning as defined in section
133.01 of the Revised Code.
(10) "Port authority" means a port authority created under
Chapter 4582. of the Revised Code.
(11) "Sports facility" means a facility, including a stadium,
that is intended to house or provide a site for one or more major
league professional athletic or sports teams or activities,
together with all spectator facilities, parking facilities,
walkways, and auxiliary facilities, real and personal property,
property rights, easements, leasehold estates, and interests that
may be appropriate for, or used in connection with, the operation
of the sports facility.
(B) The board of county commissioners of a county, the
legislative authority of a municipal corporation, a port
authority, a corporation, and an owner, or any combination
thereof, may enter into one or more cooperative agreements under
which the parties enter into one or more of the agreements
described in divisions (B)(1) to (5) of this section.
(1) The board of county commissioners agrees to do one or
more of the following:
(a) Levy a tax under division (D) of section 307.697,
division (B) of section 4301.421, division (C) of section
5743.024, and section 5743.323 of the Revised Code and make
available all or a portion of the revenue from those taxes for the
payment of the cost of the sports facility or to make payments on
obligations;
(b) Issue or incur obligations of the county pursuant to
Chapter 133. of the Revised Code or this section;
(c) Make available all or a portion of the revenue from those
taxes or of the proceeds from the issuance of those obligations to
the municipal corporation, port authority, corporation, or
otherwise for the payment of the cost of a sports facility or the
payment of obligations;
(d) Acquire, construct, renovate, equip, lease to or from
another person, and operate, directly or by a lease or management
contract with another person, one or more sports facilities;
(e) To the extent provided in the cooperative agreement or a
lease with respect to a sports facility, authorize the municipal
corporation, port authority, corporation, or owner to administer
contracts for designing, planning, acquiring, constructing,
renovating, or equipping a sports facility.
(2) The port authority agrees to do one or more of the
following:
(a) Issue or incur obligations of the port authority pursuant
to Chapter 133. or 4582. of the Revised Code or this section;
(b) Make available all or a portion of the proceeds from the
issuance of those obligations to the municipal corporation,
county, or corporation for the payment of the cost of a sports
facility or the payment of obligations;
(c) Acquire, construct, renovate, equip, lease to or from
another person, and operate, directly or by a lease or management
contract with another person, one or more sports facilities;
(d) To the extent provided in the cooperative agreement or a
lease with respect to a sports facility, authorize the municipal
corporation, county, corporation, or owner to administer contracts
for designing, planning, acquiring, constructing, renovating, or
equipping a sports facility.
(3) The legislative authority of the municipal corporation
agrees to do one or more of the following:
(a) Make available the revenue from taxes levied by the
legislative authority for the payment of the cost of a sports
facility or to make payments on obligations;
(b) Issue or incur obligations of the municipal corporation
pursuant to Chapter 133. of the Revised Code or otherwise;
(c) Make available all or a portion of the proceeds from the
issuance of those obligations to the county, port authority,
corporation, or otherwise for the payment of the cost of a sports
facility or the payment of obligations;
(d) Acquire, construct, renovate, equip, lease to or from
another person, and operate, directly or by a lease or management
contract with another person, one or more sports facilities;
(e) To the extent provided in the cooperative agreement or a
lease with respect to a sports facility, authorize the county,
port authority, corporation, or owner to administer contracts for
designing, planning, acquiring, constructing, renovating, or
equipping a sports facility.
(4) The corporation agrees to do one or more of the
following:
(a) Issue or incur obligations;
(b) Make available all or a portion of the proceeds from the
issuance of those obligations to the county, port authority,
municipal corporation, or otherwise for the payment of the cost of
a sports facility or the payment of obligations;
(c) Acquire, construct, renovate, equip, lease to or from
another person, and operate, directly or by a lease or management
contract with another person, one or more sports facilities;
(d) To the extent provided in the cooperative agreement or a
lease with respect to a sports facility, agree that the
corporation will administer contracts for designing, planning,
acquiring, constructing, renovating, or equipping a sports
facility.
(5) The owner agrees to do one or more of the following:
(a) Use the sports facility that is the subject of the
cooperative agreement for all of the home games of the owner's
professional athletic or sports team for a specified period;
(b) Administer contracts for designing, planning, acquiring,
constructing, renovating, or equipping a sports facility.
(C) Any obligations may be secured by a trust agreement
between the issuer of obligations and a corporate trustee that is
a trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company in or
outside this state and authorized to exercise corporate trust
powers in this state. Proceeds from the issuance of any
obligations or the taxes levied and collected by any party to the
cooperative agreement may be deposited with and administered by a
trustee pursuant to the trust agreement.
(D) Any contract for the acquisition, construction,
renovation, or equipping of a sports facility entered into,
assigned, or assumed under this section shall provide that all
laborers and mechanics employed in the acquisition, construction,
renovation, or equipping of the sports facility shall be paid at
the prevailing rates of wages of laborers and mechanics for the
class of work called for, as those wages are determined in
accordance with Chapter 4115. of the Revised Code.
Sec. 307.674. (A) As used in this section:
(a) Revenue bonds of the port authority described in division
(B)(2)(a) of this section;
(b) Securities as defined in division (KK) of section 133.01
of the Revised Code issued by the host municipal corporation,
described in division (B)(3)(a) of this section;
(c) Any bonds issued to refund any of those revenue bonds or
securities.
(2) "Corporation" means a nonprofit corporation that is
organized under the laws of this state and that includes within
the purposes for which it is incorporated the authorization to
lease and operate facilities such as a port authority educational
and cultural performing arts facility.
(3) "Cost," as applied to a port authority educational and
cultural performing arts facility, means the cost of acquiring,
constructing, renovating, rehabilitating, equipping, or improving
the facility, or any combination of those purposes, collectively
referred to in this section as "construction," and the cost of
acquisition of all land, rights of way, property rights,
easements, franchise rights, and interests required for those
purposes, the cost of demolishing or removing any buildings or
structures on land so acquired, including the cost of acquiring
any land to which those buildings or structures may be moved, the
cost of public utility and common carrier relocation or
duplication, the cost of all machinery, furnishings, and
equipment, financing charges, interest prior to and during
construction and for not more than three years after completion of
construction, costs arising under guaranty agreements,
reimbursement agreements, or other credit enhancement agreements
relating to bonds, engineering, expenses of research and
development with respect to such facility, legal expenses, plans,
specifications, surveys, studies, estimates of costs and revenues,
other expenses necessary or incident to determining the
feasibility or practicability of acquiring or constructing the
facility, administrative expense, and other expenses as may be
necessary or incident to that acquisition or construction and the
financing of such acquisition or construction, including, with
respect to the revenue bonds of a port authority, amounts to be
paid into any special funds from the proceeds of those bonds, and
repayments to the port authority, host county, host municipal
corporation, or corporation of any amounts advanced for the
foregoing purposes.
(4) "Debt service charges" means, for any period or payable
at any time, the principal of and interest and any premium due on
bonds for that period or payable at that time whether due at
maturity or upon mandatory redemption, together with any required
deposits to reserves for the payment of principal of and interest
on those bonds, and includes any payments required by the port
authority to satisfy any of its obligations under or arising from
any guaranty agreements, reimbursement agreements, or other credit
enhancement agreements described in division (C) of this section.
(5) "Host county" means the county within the boundaries of
which the port authority educational and cultural performing arts
facility is or will be located.
(6) "Host municipal corporation" means the municipal
corporation within the boundaries of which the port authority
educational and cultural performing arts facility is or will be
located.
(7) "Port authority" means a port authority created pursuant
to section 4582.22 of the Revised Code.
(8) "Port authority educational and cultural performing arts
facility" means a facility that consists of a center for music or
other performing arts, a theater or other facilities to provide
programs of an educational, recreational, or cultural nature, or
any combination of those purposes as determined by the parties to
the cooperative agreement for which provision is made in division
(B) of this section to fulfill the public educational,
recreational, and cultural purposes set forth therein, together
with all parking facilities, walkways, and other auxiliary
facilities, real and personal property, property rights,
easements, and interests that may be appropriate for, or used in
connection with, the operation of the facility.
(B) A host county, a host municipal corporation, and a port
authority may enter into a cooperative agreement with a
corporation under which, as further provided for in that
agreement:
(1) The host county may agree to do any or all of the
following:
(a) Levy and collect a tax under division (E) and division
(F) of section 5739.09 of the Revised Code for the purposes, and
in an amount sufficient for those purposes, described in divisions
(B)(1)(b) and (c) of this section;
(b) Pay to the port authority all or such portion as provided
for in the cooperative agreement of the revenue from the tax,
together with any investment earnings on that revenue, to be used
to pay a portion of the costs of acquiring, constructing,
renovating, rehabilitating, equipping, or improving the port
authority educational and cultural performing arts facility;
(c) Pledge and pay to the corporation all or such portion as
provided for in the cooperative agreement of the revenue from the
tax, together with any investment earnings on that revenue, to be
used to pay a portion of the costs to the corporation of leasing
the port authority educational and cultural performing arts
facility from the port authority.
(2) The port authority may agree to do any or all of the
following:
(a) Issue its revenue bonds pursuant to section 4582.48 of
the Revised Code for the purpose of paying all or a portion of the
costs of the port authority educational and cultural performing
arts facility;
(b) Acquire, construct, renovate, rehabilitate, equip, and
improve the port authority educational and cultural performing
arts facility;
(c) Lease the port authority educational and cultural
performing arts facility to the corporation;
(d) To the extent provided for in the cooperative agreement
or the lease to the corporation, authorize the corporation to
administer on behalf of the port authority the contracts for
acquiring, constructing, renovating, rehabilitating, or equipping
the port authority educational and cultural performing arts
facility;
(e) Use the revenue derived from the lease of the port
authority educational and cultural performing arts facility to the
corporation solely to pay debt service charges on revenue bonds of
the port authority issued pursuant to division (B)(2)(a) of this
section and to pay its obligations under or arising from any
guaranty agreements, reimbursement agreements, or other credit
enhancement agreements provided for in this section.
(3) The host municipal corporation may agree to do either or
both of the following:
(a) Issue its bonds for the purpose of paying all or a
portion of the costs of the port authority educational and
cultural performing arts facility, and pay the proceeds from the
issuance to the port authority for that purpose;
(b) Enter into a guaranty agreement, a reimbursement
agreement, or other credit enhancement agreement with the port
authority to provide a guaranty or other credit enhancement of the
port authority revenue bonds referred to in division (B)(2)(a) of
this section pledging taxes, other than ad valorem property taxes,
or other revenues for the purpose of providing the funds required
to satisfy the host municipal corporation's obligations under that
agreement.
The cooperative agreement may provide that the proceeds of
such securities or of such guaranty agreement, reimbursement
agreement, or other credit enhancement agreement be deposited with
and administered by the trustee pursuant to the trust agreement
authorized in division (C) of this section.
(4) The corporation may agree to do any or all of the
following:
(a) Lease the port authority educational and cultural
performing arts facility from the port authority;
(b) Operate and maintain the port authority educational and
cultural performing arts facility pursuant to the lease;
(c) To the extent provided for in the cooperative agreement
or the lease from the port authority, administer on behalf of the
port authority the contracts for acquiring, constructing,
renovating, rehabilitating, or equipping the port authority
educational and cultural performing arts facility.
(C) The pledge and payments referred to in divisions
(B)(1)(b) and (c) of this section and provided for in the
cooperative agreement shall be for the period stated in the
cooperative agreement but shall not extend longer than the period
necessary to provide for the final retirement of the port
authority revenue bonds referred to in division (B)(2)(a) of this
section, and for the satisfaction by the port authority of any of
its obligations under or arising from any guaranty agreements,
reimbursement agreements, or other credit enhancement agreements
relating to those bonds or to the revenues pledged to them. The
cooperative agreement shall provide for the termination of the
cooperative agreement, including the pledge and payment referred
to in division (B)(1)(c) of this section, if the port authority
revenue bonds referred to in division (B)(2)(a) of this section
have not been issued, sold, and delivered within five years of the
effective date of the cooperative agreement.
The cooperative agreement shall provide that any port
authority revenue bonds shall be secured by a trust agreement
between the port authority and a corporate trustee that is a trust
company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or
outside the state but authorized to exercise trust powers within
the state. The host county may be a party to that trust agreement
for the purpose of better securing the pledge by the host county
of its payment to the corporation pursuant to division (B)(1)(c)
of this section. A tax levied pursuant to section 5739.09 of the
Revised Code for the purposes specified in division (B)(1)(b) or
(c) of this section is not subject to diminution by initiative or
referendum or diminution by statute, unless provision is made for
an adequate substitute reasonably satisfactory to the trustee
under the trust agreement that secures the port authority revenue
bonds.
(D) A pledge of money by a host county under this section
shall not be net indebtedness of the host county for purposes of
section 133.07 of the Revised Code. A guaranty or other credit
enhancement by a host municipal corporation under this section
shall not be net indebtedness of the host municipal corporation
for purposes of section 133.05 of the Revised Code.
(E) If the terms of the cooperative agreement so provide, any
contract for the acquisition, construction, renovation,
rehabilitation, equipping, or improving of a port authority
educational and cultural performing arts facility shall be made in
such manner as is determined by the board of directors of the port
authority, and unless the cooperative agreement provides
otherwise, such a contract is not subject to division (R)(2) of
section 4582.31 of the Revised Code. The port authority may take
the assignment of and assume any contracts for the acquisition,
construction, renovation, rehabilitation, equipping, or improving
of a port authority educational and cultural performing arts
facility that had previously been authorized by any of the host
county, the host municipality, or the corporation. Such contracts
are not subject to division (R)(2) of section 4582.31 of the
Revised Code.
Any contract for the acquisition, construction, renovation,
rehabilitation, equipping, or improving of a port authority
educational and cultural performing arts facility entered into,
assigned, or assumed pursuant to this division shall provide that
all laborers and mechanics employed for the acquisition,
construction, renovation, rehabilitation, equipping, or improving
of that facility shall be paid at the prevailing rates of wages of
laborers and mechanics for the class of work called for by the
port authority educational and cultural performing arts facility,
which wages shall be determined in accordance with the
requirements of Chapter 4115. of the Revised Code for the
determination of prevailing wage rates.
Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in section
3383.07 of the Revised Code, construction services and general
building services for a port authority educational and cultural
performing arts facility funded completely or in part with money
appropriated by the state to the Ohio cultural facilities
commission may be provided by a port authority or a corporation
that occupies, will occupy, or is responsible for that facility,
as determined by the commission. The construction services and
general building services to be provided by the port authority or
the corporation shall be specified in an agreement between the
commission and the port authority or corporation. That agreement,
or any actions taken under it, are not subject to Chapters 123. or
153. of the Revised Code, but are subject to Chapter 4115. of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 307.696. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "County taxes" means taxes levied by the county pursuant
to sections 307.697, 4301.421, 5743.024, and 5743.323 of the
Revised Code.
(2) "Corporation" means a nonprofit corporation that is
organized under the laws of this state for the purposes of
operating or constructing and operating a sports facility in the
county and that may also be organized under the laws of this state
for the additional purposes of conducting redevelopment and
economic development activities within the host municipal
corporation.
(3) "Sports facility" means a sports facility that is
intended to house major league professional athletic teams,
including a stadium, together with all parking facilities,
walkways, and other auxiliary facilities, real and personal
property, property rights, easements, and interests that may be
appropriate for, or used in connection with, the operation of the
facility.
(4) "Construction" includes, but is not limited to, providing
fixtures, furnishings, and equipment.
(5) "Debt service charges" means the interest, principal,
premium, if any, carrying and redemption charges, and expenses on
bonds issued by either the county or the corporation to:
(a) Construct a sports facility or provide for related
redevelopment or economic development as provided in this section;
(b) Acquire real and personal property, property rights,
easements, or interests that may be appropriate for, or used in
connection with, the operation of the facility; and
(c) Make site improvements to real property, including, but
not limited to, demolition, excavation, and installation of
footers, pilings, and foundations.
(6) "Host municipal corporation" means the municipal
corporation within the boundaries of which the sports facility is
located, and with which a national football league, major league
baseball, or national basketball association sports franchise is
associated on the effective date of this amendment
March 20, 1990.
(B) A board of county commissioners of a county that levies a
tax under section 307.697, 4301.421, or 5743.024 of the Revised
Code may enter into an agreement with a corporation operating in
the county, and, if there is a host municipal corporation all or a
part of which is located in the county, shall enter into an
agreement with a corporation operating in the county and the host
municipal corporation, under which:
(1)(a) The corporation agrees to construct and operate a
sports facility in the county and to pledge and contribute all or
any part of the revenues derived from its operation, as specified
in the agreement, for the purposes described in division (C)(1) of
this section; and
(b) The board agrees to levy county taxes and pledge and
contribute any part or all of the revenues therefrom, as specified
in the agreement, for the purposes described in division (C)(1) of
this section; or
(2)(a) The corporation agrees to operate a sports facility
constructed by the county and to pledge and contribute all or any
part of the revenues derived from its operation, as specified in
the agreement, for the purposes described in division (C)(2) of
this section; and
(b) The board agrees to issue revenue bonds of the county,
use the proceeds from the sale of the bonds to construct a sports
facility in the county, and to levy county taxes and pledge and
contribute all or any part of the revenues therefrom, as specified
in the agreement, for the purposes described in division (C)(2) of
this section; and, if applicable
(3) The host municipal corporation agrees to expend the
unused pledges and contributions and surplus revenues as described
in divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section for redevelopment and
economic development purposes related to the sports facility.
(C)(1) The primary purpose of the pledges and contributions
described in division (B)(1) of this section is payment of debt
service charges. To the extent the pledges and contributions are
not used by the county or corporation for payment of debt service
charges, the county or corporation, pursuant to the agreement
provided for in division (B) of this section, shall provide the
unused pledges and contributions, together with surplus revenues
of the sports facility not needed for debt service charges or the
operation and maintenance of the sports facility, to the host
municipal corporation, or a nonprofit corporation, which may be
the corporation acting on behalf of the host municipal
corporation, for redevelopment and economic development purposes
related to the sports facility. If the county taxes are also
levied for the purpose of making permanent improvements, the
agreement shall include a schedule of annual pledges and
contributions by the county for the payment of debt service
charges. The county's pledge and contribution provided for in the
agreement shall be for the period stated in the agreement but not
to exceed twenty years. The agreement shall provide that any such
bonds and notes shall be secured by a trust agreement between the
corporation or other bond issuer and a corporate trustee that is a
trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within
or without the state, and the trust agreement shall pledge or
assign to the retirement of the bonds or notes, all moneys paid by
the county for that purpose under this section. A county tax, all
or any part of the revenues from which are pledged under an
agreement entered into by a board of county commissioners under
this section shall not be subject to diminution by initiative or
referendum, or diminution by statute, unless provision is made
therein for an adequate substitute therefor reasonably
satisfactory to the trustee under the trust agreement that secures
the bonds and notes.
(2) The primary purpose of the pledges and contributions
described in division (B)(2) of this section is payment of debt
service charges. To the extent the pledges and contributions are
not used by the county for payment of debt service charges, the
county or corporation, pursuant to the agreement provided for in
division (B) of this section, shall provide the unused pledges and
contributions, together with surplus revenues of the sports
facility not needed for debt service charges or the operation and
maintenance of the sports facility, to the host municipal
corporation, or a nonprofit corporation, which may be the
corporation, acting on behalf of the host municipal corporation,
for redevelopment and economic development purposes related to the
sports facility. The corporation's pledge and contribution
provided for in the agreement shall be until all of the bonds
issued for the construction of the facility have been retired.
(D) A pledge of money by a county under this section shall
not be indebtedness of the county for purposes of Chapter 133. of
the Revised Code.
(E) If the terms of the agreement so provide, the board of
county commissioners may acquire, make site improvements to,
including, but not limited to, demolition, excavation, and
installation of footers, pilings, and foundations, and lease real
property for the sports facility to a corporation that constructs
a sports facility under division (B)(1) of this section. The
agreement shall specify the term, which shall not exceed thirty
years and shall be on such terms as are set forth in the
agreement. The purchase, improvement, and lease may be the subject
of an agreement between the county and a municipal corporation
located within the county pursuant to section 153.61 or 307.15 of
the Revised Code, and are not subject to the limitations of
sections 307.02 and 307.09 of the Revised Code.
(F) The corporation shall not enter into any construction
contract or contract for the purchase of services for use in
connection with the construction of a sports facility prior to the
corporation's adoption and implementation of a policy on the set
aside of contracts for bidding by or award to minority business
enterprises, as defined in division (E)(1) of section 122.71 of
the Revised Code. Sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code
apply to a sports facility constructed under this section.
(G) Not more than one-half of the total costs, including debt
service charges and cost of operation, of a project undertaken
pursuant to an agreement entered into under division (B) of this
section shall be paid from county taxes. Nothing in this section
authorizes the use of revenues from county taxes or proceeds from
the sale of bonds issued by the board of county commissioners for
payment of costs of operation of a sports facility.
Sec. 351.06. A facility to be constructed pursuant to this
chapter is a public improvement and a convention facilities
authority is a public authority for purposes of section 4115.03 of
the Revised Code. All contractors and subcontractors working on
such facilities are subject to and shall comply with sections
4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code. A convention facilities
authority is a contracting authority for purposes of sections
307.86 to 307.91 of the Revised Code.
No convention facilities authority shall construct a facility
under this chapter unless the plans for the facility provide for
parking and transportation determined by the board of county
commissioners as adequate to serve that facility.
A convention facilities authority may do all of the
following:
(A) Adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the
conduct of its business;
(B) Adopt an official seal;
(C) Maintain a principal office within its territory;
(D) Acquire, purchase, construct, reconstruct, enlarge,
furnish, equip, maintain, repair, sell, exchange, lease or rent
to, lease or rent from, operate, or contract for the operation by
others of, facilities within its territory, and make charges for
the use of the facilities;
(E) Make available the use or services of any facility to
persons or governmental agencies on such terms and conditions as
the authority shall determine;
(F) By resolution of its board of directors, issue convention
facilities authority revenue bonds beyond the limit of bonded
indebtedness provided by law, payable solely from revenues as
provided in section 351.14 of the Revised Code, unless the bonds
are refunded by refunding bonds, for the purpose of providing
funds to pay the costs of any facility or facilities or parts of
any facility or facilities, and, if moneys raised by taxation are
not obligated or pledged for the payment of those revenue bonds,
to pay the costs of any facility or facilities or parts of any
facility or facilities pursuant to Section 13 of Article VIII,
Ohio Constitution, and in order to create or preserve jobs and
employment opportunities and improve the economic welfare of the
people of the state;
(G) Maintain such funds as it determines necessary;
(H) Direct its agents or employees, when properly identified
in writing and after at least five days' written notice, to enter
upon lands within its territory in order to make surveys and
examinations preliminary to location and construction of
facilities, or other work for the purposes of the convention
facilities authority, without liability of the authority or its
agents or employees except for actual damage done;
(I) Promote, advertise, and publicize the authority and its
facilities;
(J)(1) Adopt rules, not in conflict with general law,
governing the use of its property, grounds, buildings, equipment,
and facilities, and the conduct of its employees and the public,
in order to promote the public safety and convenience in and about
its facilities and grounds, and to maintain order. Any such rule
shall be posted at a prominent place in each of the buildings or
facilities to which it applies.
(2) No person shall violate any lawful rule adopted and
posted as provided in this division.
(K) Acquire by gift or purchase, hold, lease, and dispose of
real and personal property and interests in the property in the
exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under
this chapter;
(L) Acquire, in the name of the authority, by purchase or
otherwise, on such terms and in such manner as the authority finds
proper, or by the exercise of the right of appropriation in the
manner provided by section 351.22 of the Revised Code, such public
or private lands, including public parks, playgrounds, or
reservations, or parts thereof or rights therein, rights-of-way,
rights, franchises, easements, and interests as it finds necessary
or proper for carrying out this chapter, and compensation shall be
paid for public or private lands so taken;
(M) Make and enter into all contracts and agreements and
execute all instruments necessary or incidental to the performance
of its duties and the execution of its powers under this chapter
provided that no construction contract or contract for the
purchase of goods or services shall be approved or entered into by
the authority prior to the adoption and implementation of a policy
on the set aside of contracts for bidding by or award to minority
business enterprises, as defined in division (E)(1) of section
122.71 of the Revised Code;
(N) Employ managers, superintendents, and other employees and
retain or contract with consulting engineers, financial
consultants, accounting experts, architects, attorneys, and such
other consultants and independent contractors as are necessary in
its judgment to carry out this chapter, and fix their
compensation. All expenses of doing so shall be payable solely
from the proceeds of convention facilities authority bonds and
notes issued under this chapter, or from excise taxes and
revenues.
(O) Receive and accept from any governmental agency grants
for or in aid of the purposes of the authority, and receive and
accept aid or contributions from any source of money, property,
labor, or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied
only for the purposes for which such grants and contributions are
made;
(P) Engage in research and development with respect to
facilities;
(Q) Purchase fire and extended coverage and liability
insurance for any facility and for the offices of the authority,
insurance protecting the authority and its officers and employees
against liability for damage to property or injury to or death of
persons arising from its operations, and any other insurance the
authority may agree to provide under any resolution authorizing
its convention facilities authority revenue bonds or in any trust
agreement securing the same;
(R) Charge, alter, and collect rentals and other charges for
the use or services of any facility as provided in section 351.09
of the Revised Code;
(S) If a tax proposed under section 5739.026 of the Revised
Code is disapproved by the electors, request the board of county
commissioners to dissolve the authority pursuant to section 351.03
of the Revised Code;
(T) By resolution of its board of directors, levy any of the
excise taxes authorized by division (B) or (C) of section 351.021
of the Revised Code if authorized by the county commissioners, and
issue convention facilities authority tax anticipation bonds
beyond any limit of bonded indebtedness provided by law, payable
solely from excise taxes levied pursuant to division (B) or (C) of
section 351.021 of the Revised Code and revenues as provided in
section 351.141 of the Revised Code.
(U) Do all acts necessary or proper to carry out the powers
expressly granted in this chapter.
Sec. 1506.44. (A) A board of county commissioners may use a
loan obtained under division (C) of this section to provide
financial assistance to any person who owns real property in a
coastal erosion area and who has received a permit under section
1506.40 of the Revised Code to construct an erosion control
structure in that coastal erosion area. The board shall enter into
an agreement with the person that complies with all of the
following requirements:
(1) The agreement shall identify the person's real property
for which the erosion control structure is being constructed and
shall include a legal description of that property and a reference
to the volume and page of the deed record in which the title of
that person to that property is recorded.
(2) In accordance with rules adopted by the Ohio water
development authority under division (V) of section 6121.04 of the
Revised Code for the purposes of division (C) of this section and
pursuant to an agreement between the board and the authority under
that division, the board shall agree to cause payments to be made
by the authority to the contractor hired by the person to
construct an erosion control structure in amounts not to exceed
the total amount specified in the agreement between the board and
the person.
(3) The person shall agree to pay to the board, or to the
authority as the assignee pursuant to division (C) of this
section, the total amount of the payments plus administrative or
other costs of the board or the authority at times, in
installments, and bearing interest as specified in the agreement.
The agreement may contain additional provisions that the
board determines necessary to safeguard the interests of the
county or to comply with an agreement entered into under division
(C) of this section.
(B) Upon entering into an agreement under division (A) of
this section, the board shall do all of the following:
(1) Cause the agreement to be recorded in the county deed
records in the office of the county recorder of the county in
which the real property is situated. Failure to record the
agreement does not affect the validity of the agreement or the
collection of any amounts due under the agreement.
(2) Establish by resolution an erosion control repayment fund
into which shall be deposited all amounts collected under division
(B)(3) of this section. Moneys in that fund shall be used by the
board for the repayment of the loan and for administrative or
other costs of the board or the authority as specified in an
agreement entered into under division (C) of this section. If the
amount of money in the fund is inadequate to repay the loan when
due, the board of county commissioners, by resolution, may advance
money from any other fund in order to repay the loan if that use
of the money from the other fund is not in conflict with law. If
the board so advances money in order to repay the loan, the board
subsequently shall reimburse each fund from which the board
advances money with moneys from the erosion control repayment
fund.
(3) Bill and collect all amounts when due under the agreement
entered into under division (A) of this section. The board shall
certify amounts not paid when due to the county auditor, who shall
enter the amounts on the real property tax list and duplicate
against the property identified under division (A)(1) of this
section. The amounts not paid when due shall be a lien on that
property from the date on which the amounts are placed on the tax
list and duplicate and shall be collected in the same manner as
other taxes.
(C) A board may apply to the authority for a loan for the
purpose of entering into agreements under division (A) of this
section. The loan shall be for an amount and on the terms
established in an agreement between the board and the authority.
The board may assign any agreements entered into under division
(A) of this section to the authority in order to provide for the
repayment of the loan and may pledge any lawfully available
revenues to the repayment of the loan, provided that no moneys
raised by taxation shall be obligated or pledged by the board for
the repayment of the loan. Any agreement with the authority
pursuant to this division is not subject to Chapter 133. of the
Revised Code or any requirements or limitations established in
that chapter.
(D) The authority, as assignee of any agreement pursuant to
division (C) of this section, may enforce and compel the board and
the county auditor by mandamus pursuant to Chapter 2731. of the
Revised Code to comply with division (B) of this section in a
timely manner.
(E) The construction of an erosion control structure by a
contractor hired by an individual homeowner, group of individual
homeowners, or homeowners association that enters into an
agreement with a board under division (A) of this section is not a
public improvement, as defined in section 4115.03 of the Revised
Code, and is not subject to competitive bidding or public bond
laws.
Sec. 1710.02. (A) A special improvement district may be
created within the boundaries of any one municipal corporation,
any one township, or any combination of contiguous municipal
corporations and townships for the purpose of developing and
implementing plans for public improvements and public services
that benefit the district. A district may be created by petition
of the owners of real property within the proposed district, or by
an existing qualified nonprofit corporation. If the district is
created by an existing qualified nonprofit corporation, the
purposes for which the district is created may be supplemental to
the other purposes for which the corporation is organized. All
territory in a special improvement district shall be contiguous;
except that the territory in a special improvement district may be
noncontiguous if at least one special energy improvement project
is designated for each parcel of real property included within the
special improvement district. Additional territory may be added to
a special improvement district created under this chapter for the
purpose of developing and implementing plans for special energy
improvement projects if at least one special energy improvement
project is designated for each parcel of real property included
within such additional territory and the addition of territory is
authorized by the initial plan proposed under division (F) of this
section or a plan adopted by the board of directors of the special
improvement district under section 1710.06 of the Revised Code.
The district shall be governed by the board of trustees of a
nonprofit corporation. This board shall be known as the board of
directors of the special improvement district. No special
improvement district shall include any church property, or
property of the federal or state government or a county, township,
or municipal corporation, unless the church or the county,
township, or municipal corporation specifically requests in
writing that the property be included within the district, or
unless the church is a member of the existing qualified nonprofit
corporation creating the district at the time the district is
created. More than one district may be created within a
participating political subdivision, but no real property may be
included within more than one district unless the owner of the
property files a written consent with the clerk of the legislative
authority, the township fiscal officer, or the village clerk, as
appropriate. The area of each district shall be contiguous; except
that the area of a special improvement district may be
noncontiguous if all parcels of real property included within such
area contain at least one special energy improvement thereon.
(B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, a
district created under this chapter is not a political
subdivision. A district created under this chapter shall be
considered a public agency under section 102.01 and a public
authority under section 4115.03 of the Revised Code. Each member
of the board of directors of a district, each member's designee or
proxy, and each officer and employee of a district shall be
considered a public official or employee under section 102.01 of
the Revised Code and a public official and public servant under
section 2921.42 of the Revised Code. Districts created under this
chapter are not subject to sections 121.81 to 121.83 of the
Revised Code. Districts created under this chapter are subject to
sections 121.22 and 121.23 of the Revised Code.
(C) Each district created under this chapter shall be
considered a political subdivision for purposes of section 4905.34
of the Revised Code.
Membership on the board of directors of the district shall
not be considered as holding a public office. Directors and their
designees shall be entitled to the immunities provided by Chapter
1702. and to the same immunity as an employee under division
(A)(6) of section 2744.03 of the Revised Code, except that
directors and their designees shall not be entitled to the
indemnification provided in section 2744.07 of the Revised Code
unless the director or designee is an employee or official of a
participating political subdivision of the district and is acting
within the scope of the director's or designee's employment or
official responsibilities.
District officers and district members and directors and
their designees or proxies shall not be required to file a
statement with the Ohio ethics commission under section 102.02 of
the Revised Code. All records of the district shall be treated as
public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code, except
that records of organizations contracting with a district shall
not be considered to be public records under section 149.43 or
section 149.431 of the Revised Code solely by reason of any
contract with a district.
(D) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
nonprofit corporation that governs a district shall be organized
in the manner described in Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code.
Except in the case of a district created by an existing qualified
nonprofit corporation, the corporation's articles of incorporation
are required to be approved, as provided in division (E) of this
section, by resolution of the legislative authority of each
participating political subdivision of the district. A copy of
that resolution shall be filed along with the articles of
incorporation in the secretary of state's office.
In addition to meeting the requirements for articles of
incorporation set forth in Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code, the
articles of incorporation for the nonprofit corporation governing
a district formed under this chapter shall provide all the
following:
(1) The name for the district, which shall include the name
of each participating political subdivision of the district;
(2) A description of the territory within the district, which
may be all or part of each participating political subdivision.
The description shall be specific enough to enable real property
owners to determine if their property is located within the
district.
(3) A description of the procedure by which the articles of
incorporation may be amended. The procedure shall include
receiving approval of the amendment, by resolution, from the
legislative authority of each participating political subdivision
and filing the approved amendment and resolution with the
secretary of state.
(4) The reasons for creating the district, plus an
explanation of how the district will be conducive to the public
health, safety, peace, convenience, and welfare of the district.
(E) The articles of incorporation for a nonprofit corporation
governing a district created under this chapter and amendments to
them shall be submitted to the municipal executive, if any, and
the legislative authority of each municipal corporation or
township in which the proposed district is to be located. Except
in the case of a district created by an existing qualified
nonprofit corporation, the articles or amendments shall be
accompanied by a petition signed either by the owners of at least
sixty per cent of the front footage of all real property located
in the proposed district that abuts upon any street, alley, public
road, place, boulevard, parkway, park entrance, easement, or other
existing public improvement within the proposed district,
excluding church property or property owned by the state, county,
township, municipal, or federal government, unless a church,
county, township, or municipal corporation has specifically
requested in writing that the property be included in the
district, or by the owners of at least seventy-five per cent of
the area of all real property located within the proposed
district, excluding church property or property owned by the
state, county, township, municipal, or federal government, unless
a church, county, township, or municipal corporation has
specifically requested in writing that the property be included in
the district. Pursuant to Section 2o of Article VIII, Ohio
Constitution, the petition required under this division may be for
the purpose of developing and implementing plans for special
energy improvement projects, and, in such case, is determined to
be in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Section 2o of
Article VIII, Ohio Constitution. If a special improvement district
is being created under this chapter for the purpose of developing
and implementing plans for special energy improvement projects,
the petition required under this division shall be signed by one
hundred per cent of the owners of the area of all real property
located within the proposed special improvement district, at least
one special energy improvement project shall be designated for
each parcel of real property within the special improvement
district, and the special improvement district may include any
number of parcels of real property as determined by the
legislative authority of each participating political subdivision
in which the proposed special improvement district is to be
located. For purposes of determining compliance with these
requirements, the area of the district, or the front footage and
ownership of property, shall be as shown in the most current
records available at the county recorder's office and the county
engineer's office sixty days prior to the date on which the
petition is filed.
Each municipal corporation or township with which the
petition is filed has sixty days to approve or disapprove, by
resolution, the petition, including the articles of incorporation.
In the case of a district created by an existing qualified
nonprofit corporation, each municipal corporation or township has
sixty days to approve or disapprove the creation of the district
after the corporation submits the articles of incorporation or
amendments thereto. This chapter does not prohibit or restrict the
rights of municipal corporations under Article XVIII of the Ohio
Constitution or the right of the municipal legislative authority
to impose reasonable conditions in a resolution of approval. The
acquisition, installation, equipping, and improvement of a special
energy improvement project under this chapter shall not supersede
any local zoning, environmental, or similar law or regulation.
(F) Persons proposing creation and operation of the district
may propose an initial plan for public services or public
improvements that benefit all or any part of the district. Any
initial plan shall be submitted as part of the petition proposing
creation of the district or, in the case of a district created by
an existing qualified nonprofit corporation, shall be submitted
with the articles of incorporation or amendments thereto.
An initial plan may include provisions for the following:
(1) Creation and operation of the district and of the
nonprofit corporation to govern the district under this chapter;
(2) Hiring employees and professional services;
(3) Contracting for insurance;
(4) Purchasing or leasing office space and office equipment;
(5) Other actions necessary initially to form, operate, or
organize the district and the nonprofit corporation to govern the
district;
(6) A plan for public improvements or public services that
benefit all or part of the district, which plan shall comply with
the requirements of division (A) of section 1710.06 of the Revised
Code and may include, but is not limited to, any of the permissive
provisions described in the fourth sentence of that division or
listed in divisions (A)(1) to (7) of that section;
(7) If the special improvement district is being created
under this chapter for the purpose of developing and implementing
plans for special energy improvement projects, provision for the
addition of territory to the special improvement district.
After the initial plan is approved by all municipal
corporations and townships to which it is submitted for approval
and the district is created, each participating subdivision shall
levy a special assessment within its boundaries to pay for the
costs of the initial plan. The levy shall be for no more than ten
years from the date of the approval of the initial plan; except
that if the proceeds of the levy are to be used to pay the costs
of a special energy improvement project, the levy of a special
assessment shall be for no more than thirty years from the date of
approval of the initial plan. In the event that additional
territory is added to a special improvement district, the special
assessment to be levied with respect to such additional territory
shall commence not earlier than the date such territory is added
and shall be for no more than thirty years from such date. For
purposes of levying an assessment for this initial plan, the
services or improvements included in the initial plan shall be
deemed a special benefit to property owners within the district.
(G) Each nonprofit corporation governing a district under
this chapter may do the following:
(1) Exercise all powers of nonprofit corporations granted
under Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code that do not conflict with
this chapter;
(2) Develop, adopt, revise, implement, and repeal plans for
public improvements and public services for all or any part of the
district;
(3) Contract with any person, political subdivision as
defined in section 2744.01 of the Revised Code, or state agency as
defined in section 1.60 of the Revised Code to develop and
implement plans for public improvements or public services within
the district;
(4) Contract and pay for insurance for the district and for
directors, officers, agents, contractors, employees, or members of
the district for any consequences of the implementation of any
plan adopted by the district or any actions of the district.
The board of directors of a special improvement district may,
acting as agent and on behalf of a participating political
subdivision, sell, transfer, lease, or convey any special energy
improvement project owned by the participating political
subdivision upon a determination by the legislative authority
thereof that the project is not required to be owned exclusively
by the participating political subdivision for its purposes, for
uses determined by the legislative authority thereof as those that
will promote the welfare of the people of such participating
political subdivision; to improve the quality of life and the
general and economic well-being of the people of the participating
political subdivision; better ensure the public health, safety,
and welfare; protect water and other natural resources; provide
for the conservation and preservation of natural and open areas
and farmlands, including by making urban areas more desirable or
suitable for development and revitalization; control, prevent,
minimize, clean up, or mediate certain contamination of or
pollution from lands in the state and water contamination or
pollution; or provide for safe and natural areas and resources.
The legislative authority of each participating political
subdivision shall specify the consideration for such sale,
transfer, lease, or conveyance and any other terms thereof. Any
determinations made by a legislative authority of a participating
political subdivision under this division shall be conclusive.
Any sale, transfer, lease, or conveyance of a special energy
improvement project by a participating political subdivision or
the board of directors of the special improvement district may be
made without advertising, receipt of bids, or other competitive
bidding procedures applicable to the participating political
subdivision or the special improvement district under Chapter 153.
or 735. or section 1710.11 of the Revised Code or other
representative provisions of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4115.03. As used in sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the
Revised Code:
(A)(1) "Public authority" means any officer, board, or
commission of the state, or any political subdivision of the
state, authorized to enter into a contract for the construction of
a public improvement or to construct the same by the direct
employment of labor, or any institution supported in whole or in
part by public state funds and said sections apply to expenditures
of such institutions made in whole or in part from public state
funds.
(2) "Public authority" does not mean either of the following:
(a) A political subdivision or special district, unless the
political subdivision or special district elects to be subject to
the requirements of sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised
Code pursuant to section 4115.04 of the Revised Code.
(b) A state institution of higher education, unless the state
institution of higher education elects to be subject to the
requirements of sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code
pursuant to section 4115.04 of the Revised Code.
(B) "Construction" means any of the following:
(1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) or (3) of this
section, any new construction of a public improvement, the total
overall project cost of which is fairly estimated to be more than
the following amounts and performed by other than full-time
employees who have completed their probationary periods in the
classified service of a public authority:
(a) One hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, beginning on
the effective date of this amendment and continuing for one year
thereafter;
(b) Two hundred thousand dollars, beginning when the time
period described in division (B)(1)(a) of this section expires and
continuing for one year thereafter;
(c) Two hundred fifty thousand dollars, beginning when the
time period described in division (B)(1)(b) of this section
expires.
(2) Except as provided in division (B)(4) of this section,
or any reconstruction, enlargement, alteration, repair,
remodeling, renovation, or painting of a public improvement, the
total overall project cost of which is fairly estimated to be more
than the following amounts three million five hundred dollars
adjusted biennially by the director of commerce pursuant to
section 4115.034 of the Revised Code and performed by other than
full-time employees who have completed their probationary period
in the classified civil service of a public authority:.
(a) Thirty-eight thousand dollars, beginning on the effective
date of this amendment and continuing for one year thereafter;
(b) Sixty thousand dollars, beginning when the time period
described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section expires and
continuing for one year thereafter;
(c) Seventy-five thousand dollars, beginning when the time
period described in division (B)(2)(b) of this section expires.
(3)(2) Any new construction of a public improvement that
involves roads, streets, alleys, sewers, ditches, and other works
connected to road or bridge construction, the total overall
project cost of which is fairly estimated to be more than
seventy-eight thousand two hundred fifty-eight dollars adjusted
biennially by the director of commerce pursuant to section
4115.034 of the Revised Code and performed by other than full-time
employees who have completed their probationary periods in the
classified service of a public authority;
(4)(3) Any reconstruction, enlargement, alteration, repair,
remodeling, renovation, or painting of a public improvement that
involves roads, streets, alleys, sewers, ditches, and other works
connected to road or bridge construction, the total overall
project cost of which is fairly estimated to be more than
twenty-three thousand four hundred forty-seven dollars adjusted
biennially by the director of commerce pursuant to section
4115.034 of the Revised code Code and performed by other than
full-time employees who have completed their probationary periods
in the classified service of a public authority.
(C) "Public improvement" includes all buildings, roads,
streets, alleys, sewers, ditches, sewage disposal plants, water
works, and all other structures or works constructed by a public
authority of the state or any political subdivision thereof or by
any person who, pursuant to a contract with a public authority,
constructs any structure for a public authority of the state or a
political subdivision thereof. When a public authority rents or
leases a newly constructed structure within six months after
completion of such construction, all work performed on such
structure to suit it for occupancy by a public authority is a
"public improvement." "Public improvement" does not include an
improvement authorized by section 1515.08 of the Revised Code that
is constructed pursuant to a contract with a soil and water
conservation district, as defined in section 1515.01 of the
Revised Code, or performed as a result of a petition filed
pursuant to Chapter 6131., 6133., or 6135. of the Revised Code,
wherein no less than seventy-five per cent of the project is
located on private land and no less than seventy-five per cent of
the cost of the improvement is paid for by private property owners
pursuant to Chapter 1515., 6131., 6133., or 6135. of the Revised
Code.
(D) "Locality" means the county wherein the physical work
upon any public improvement is being performed.
(E) "Prevailing wages" means the sum of the following:
(1) The basic hourly rate of pay;
(2) The rate of contribution irrevocably made by a contractor
or subcontractor to a trustee or to a third person pursuant to a
fund, plan, or program;
(3) The rate of costs to the contractor or subcontractor
which may be reasonably anticipated in providing the following
fringe benefits to laborers and mechanics pursuant to an
enforceable commitment to carry out a financially responsible plan
or program which was communicated in writing to the laborers and
mechanics affected:
(a) Medical or hospital care or insurance to provide such;
(b) Pensions on retirement or death or insurance to provide
such;
(c) Compensation for injuries or illnesses resulting from
occupational activities if it is in addition to that coverage
required by Chapters 4121. and 4123. of the Revised Code;
(d) Supplemental unemployment benefits that are in addition
to those required by Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code;
(f) Disability and sickness insurance;
(h) Vacation and holiday pay;
(i) Defraying of costs for apprenticeship or other similar
training programs which are beneficial only to the laborers and
mechanics affected;
(j) Other bona fide fringe benefits.
None of the benefits enumerated in division (E)(3) of this
section may be considered in the determination of prevailing wages
if federal, state, or local law requires contractors or
subcontractors to provide any of such benefits.
(F) "Interested party," with respect to a particular contract
for construction of a public improvement, means:
(1) Any person who submits a bid for the purpose of securing
the award of the contract;
(2) Any person acting as a subcontractor of a person
described in division (F)(1) of this section;
(3) Any bona fide organization of labor which has as members
or is authorized to represent employees of a person described in
division (F)(1) or (2) of this section and which exists, in whole
or in part, for the purpose of negotiating with employers
concerning the wages, hours, or terms and conditions of employment
of employees;
(4) Any association having as members any of the persons
described in division (F)(1) or (2) of this section.
(G) Except as used in division (A) of this section, "officer"
means an individual who has an ownership interest or holds an
office of trust, command, or authority in a corporation, business
trust, partnership, or association.
(H) "Political subdivision" has the same meaning as in
section 9.23 of the Revised Code.
(I) "State institution of higher education" has the same
meaning as in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4115.034. On January 1, 1996, and the first day of
January of every even-numbered year thereafter, the director of
commerce shall adjust the threshold levels for which public
improvement projects are subject to sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of
the Revised Code as set forth in divisions division (B)(3) and (4)
of section 4115.03 of the Revised Code. The director shall adjust
those amounts according to the average increase or decrease for
each of the two years immediately preceding the adjustment as set
forth in the United States department of commerce, bureau of the
census implicit price deflator for construction, provided that no
increase or decrease for any year shall exceed three per cent of
the threshold level in existence at the time of the adjustment.
Sec. 4115.04. (A)(1) Every public authority authorized to
contract for or construct with its own forces a public
improvement, before advertising for bids or undertaking such
construction with its own forces, shall have the director of
commerce determine the prevailing rates of wages of mechanics and
laborers in accordance with section 4115.05 of the Revised Code
for the class of work called for by the public improvement, in the
locality where the work is to be performed. Except as provided in
division (A)(2) of this section, that schedule of wages shall be
attached to and made part of the specifications for the work, and
shall be printed on the bidding blanks where the work is done by
contract. A copy of the bidding blank shall be filed with the
director before the contract is awarded. A minimum rate of wages
for common laborers, on work coming under the jurisdiction of the
department of transportation, shall be fixed in each county of the
state by the department of transportation, in accordance with
section 4115.05 of the Revised Code.
(2) In the case of contracts that are administered by the
department of natural resources, the director of natural resources
or the director's designee shall include language in the contracts
requiring wage rate determinations and updates to be obtained
directly from the department of commerce through electronic or
other means as appropriate. Contracts that include this
requirement are exempt from the requirements established in
division (A)(1) of this section that involve attaching the
schedule of wages to the specifications for the work, making the
schedule part of those specifications, and printing the schedule
on the bidding blanks where the work is done by contract.
(B) Sections Except as provided in division (C) of this
section, sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code do not
apply to:
(1) Public improvements in any case where the federal
government or any of its agencies furnishes by loan or grant all
or any part of the funds used in constructing such improvements,
provided that the federal government or any of its agencies
prescribes predetermined minimum wages to be paid to mechanics and
laborers employed in the construction of such improvements;
(2) A participant in a work activity, developmental activity,
or an alternative work activity under sections 5107.40 to 5107.69
of the Revised Code when a public authority directly uses the
labor of the participant to construct a public improvement if the
participant is not engaged in paid employment or subsidized
employment pursuant to the activity;
(3) Public improvements undertaken by, or under contract for,
the board of education of any school district or the governing
board of any educational service center;
(4) Public improvements undertaken by, or under contract for,
a county hospital operated pursuant to Chapter 339. of the Revised
Code or a municipal hospital operated pursuant to Chapter 749. of
the Revised Code if none of the funds used in constructing the
improvements are the proceeds of bonds or other obligations that
are secured by the full faith and credit of the state, a county, a
township, or a municipal corporation and none of the funds used in
constructing the improvements, including funds used to repay any
amounts borrowed to construct the improvements, are funds that
have been appropriated for that purpose by the state, a board of
county commissioners, a township, or a municipal corporation from
funds generated by the levy of a tax, provided that a county
hospital or municipal hospital may elect to apply sections 4115.03
to 4115.16 of the Revised Code to a public improvement undertaken
by, or under contract for, the hospital a political subdivision or
state institution of higher education;
(5)(4) Any project described in divisions (D)(1)(a) to
(D)(1)(e) of section 176.05 of the Revised Code;
(6) Public improvements undertaken by, or under contract for,
a port authority as defined in section 4582.01 or 4582.21 of the
Revised Code;
(7)(5) Any portion of a public improvement undertaken and
completed solely with labor donated by the individuals performing
the labor, by a labor organization and its members, or by a
contractor or subcontractor that donates all labor and materials
for that portion of the public improvement project.
(C) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this
section, a political subdivision, a special district, including a
special improvement district created in section 1710.02 of the
Revised Code, or a state institution of higher education may elect
to apply sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code to a
public improvement undertaken by, or under contract for, the
political subdivision, the special district, or the state
institution of higher education, including any of the following:
(1) A contract financed in whole or in part under Chapter
164. of the Revised Code;
(2) The construction, improvement, furnishing, and equipping
of a correctional facility to be leased pursuant to section
307.022 of the Revised Code;
(3) Any contract for the acquisition, construction, or
equipping of a port authority educational and cultural facility
entered into, assigned, or assumed pursuant to section 307.671 of
the Revised Code;
(4) Any contract for the acquisition, construction, or
equipping of a sports facility entered into, assigned, or assumed
pursuant to section 307.673 of the Revised Code;
(5) Construction services for a port authority educational
and cultural performing arts facility under section 307.674 of the
Revised Code;
(6) Construction of a sports facility under section 307.696
of the Revised Code;
(7) A facility constructed under Chapter 351. of the Revised
Code;
(8) A public improvement undertaken by, or under contract
for, a lake facilities authority under Chapter 353. of the Revised
Code;
(9) Projects described under section 6117.012 of the Revised
Code performed by a county;
(10) Projects undertaken with funding provided under Chapter
6121. of the Revised Code.
(D)(1) Under no circumstances shall a public authority apply
the prevailing wage requirements of this chapter to a public
improvement that is exempt under division (B)(3) of this section
is undertaken by, or under contract for, a board of education of
any school district or the governing board of any educational
service center.
(2) A political subdivision or special district may not elect
to apply sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code to any of
the following:
(a) An improvement authorized by section 1515.08 of the
Revised Code that is constructed pursuant to a contract with a
soil and water conservation district, as defined in section
1515.01 of the Revised Code, or performed as a result of a
petition filed pursuant to Chapter 6131., 6133., or 6135. of the
Revised Code, wherein no less than seventy-five per cent of the
project is located on private land and not less than seventy-five
per cent of the cost of the improvement is paid for by private
property owners pursuant to Chapter 1515., 6131., 6133., or 6135.
of the Revised Code;
(b) The construction of an erosion control structure under
section 1506.44 of the Revised Code;
(c) An improvement undertaken by, or under contract for, a
transportation improvement district created in Chapter 5540. of
the Revised Code.
Sec. 4115.06. In all cases where any public authority fixes
a prevailing rate of wages under section 4115.04 of the Revised
Code, and the work is done by contract, the contract executed
between the public authority and the successful bidder shall
contain a provision requiring the successful bidder and all
his
subcontractors to pay a rate of wages which shall not be less than
the rate of wages so fixed. The successful bidder and all
his
subcontractors shall comply strictly with the wage provisions of
the contract.
Where a public authority constructs a public improvement with
its own forces, such public authority shall pay a rate of wages
which shall not be less than the rate of wages fixed as provided
in section 4115.04 of the Revised Code, except in those instances
provided for in sections 723.52, section 5517.02, 5575.01, and
5543.19 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4115.09. No member of a public state board, commission,
or other public authority authorized to contract for or construct
with its own forces a public improvement, shall vote for the award
of any contract for the construction of such improvement, or vote
for the disbursement of any funds on account of the construction
of such public improvement, unless such public authority has first
had the director of commerce determine the prevailing rates of
wages of mechanics and laborers for the class of work called for
by such public improvement in the locality where the work is to be
performed, as provided in section 4115.04 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4115.10. (A) No person, firm, corporation, or public
authority that constructs a public improvement with its own
forces, the total overall project cost of which is fairly
estimated to be more than the amounts set forth in division (B) of
section 4115.03 of the Revised Code, adjusted biennially by the
director of commerce pursuant to section 4115.034 of the Revised
Code, as appropriate, shall violate the wage provisions of
sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code, or suffer,
permit, or require any employee to work for less than the rate of
wages so fixed, or violate the provisions of section 4115.07 of
the Revised Code. Any employee upon any public improvement, except
an employee to whom or on behalf of whom restitution is made
pursuant to division (C) of section 4115.13 of the Revised Code,
who is paid less than the fixed rate of wages applicable thereto
may recover from such person, firm, corporation, or public
authority that constructs a public improvement with its own forces
the difference between the fixed rate of wages and the amount paid
to the employee and in addition thereto a sum equal to twenty-five
per cent of that difference. The person, firm, corporation, or
public authority who fails to pay the rate of wages so fixed also
shall pay a penalty to the director of seventy-five per cent of
the difference between the fixed rate of wages and the amount paid
to the employees on the public improvement. The director shall
deposit all moneys received from penalties paid to the director
pursuant to this section into the industrial compliance operating
fund. The director shall use the fund for the enforcement of
sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code. The employee may
file suit for recovery within ninety days of the director's
determination of a violation of sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the
Revised Code or is barred from further action under this division.
Where the employee prevails in a suit, the employer shall pay the
costs and reasonable attorney's fees allowed by the court.
(B) Any employee upon any public improvement who is paid less
than the prevailing rate of wages applicable thereto may file a
complaint in writing with the director upon a form furnished by
the director. The complaint shall include documented evidence to
demonstrate that the employee was paid less than the prevailing
wage in violation of this chapter. Upon receipt of a properly
completed written complaint of any employee paid less than the
prevailing rate of wages applicable, the director shall take an
assignment of a claim in trust for the assigning employee and
bring any legal action necessary to collect the claim. The
employer shall pay the costs and reasonable attorney's fees
allowed by the court if the employer is found in violation of
sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code.
(C) If after investigation pursuant to section 4115.13 of the
Revised Code, the director determines there is a violation of
sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code and a period of
sixty days has elapsed from the date of the determination, and if:
(1) No employee has brought suit pursuant to division (A) of
this section;
(2) No employee has requested that the director take an
assignment of a wage claim pursuant to division (B) of this
section.
The director shall bring any legal action necessary to
collect any amounts owed to employees and the director. The
director shall pay over to the affected employees the amounts
collected to which the affected employees are entitled under
division (A) of this section. In any action in which the director
prevails, the employer shall pay the costs and reasonable
attorney's fees allowed by the court.
(D) Where persons are employed and their rate of wages has
been determined as provided in section 4115.04 of the Revised
Code, no person, either for self or any other person, shall
request, demand, or receive, either before or after the person is
engaged, that the person so engaged pay back, return, donate,
contribute, or give any part or all of the person's wages, salary,
or thing of value, to any person, upon the statement,
representation, or understanding that failure to comply with such
request or demand will prevent the procuring or retaining of
employment, and no person shall, directly or indirectly, aid,
request, or authorize any other person to violate this section.
This division does not apply to any agent or representative of a
duly constituted labor organization acting in the collection of
dues or assessments of such organization.
(E) The director shall enforce sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of
the Revised Code.
(F) For the purpose of supplementing existing resources and
to assist in enforcing division (E) of this section, the director
may contract with a person registered as a public accountant under
Chapter 4701. of the Revised Code to conduct an audit of a person,
firm, corporation, or public authority.
(G) No contractor or subcontractor shall be responsible for
the payment of the penalties provided in division (A) of this
section resulting from a violation of sections 4115.03 to 4115.16
of the Revised Code by its subcontractor, provided that the
contractor or subcontractor has made a good faith effort to ensure
that its subcontractor complied with the requirements of sections
4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4115.133. (A) The director of commerce shall file with
the secretary of state a list of contractors, subcontractors, and
officers of contractors and subcontractors who have been
prosecuted and convicted for violations of or have been found to
have intentionally violated sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the
Revised Code. The director shall not include on the list a
contractor, subcontractor, or officer of a contractor or
subcontractor until the expiration of any applicable appeal period
relative to the finding, or if appealed, until the date of the
final judgment of a court.
(B) Each contractor, subcontractor, or officer of a
contractor or subcontractor who has been prosecuted and convicted
for violations of or is found to have intentionally violated
sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code is prohibited from
contracting directly or indirectly with any public authority for
the construction of a public improvement or from performing any
work on the same as a contractor, subcontractor, or officer of a
contractor or subcontractor for a period of one year from the date
of the expiration of the applicable period for filing an appeal,
or if appealed, from the date of the final judgment of a court. If
the contractor, subcontractor, or officer of a contractor or
subcontractor is found to have intentionally violated sections
4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code another time within five
years after the date specified under division (B) of this section,
the contractor, subcontractor, or officer of a contractor or
subcontractor is prohibited from so contracting or performing work
for a period of three years from the date of the expiration of the
applicable period for filing an appeal, or if appealed, from the
date of the final judgment of a court.
(C) No public authority shall award a contract for a public
improvement to any contractor, subcontractor, or officer of a
contractor or subcontractor during the time that the contractor's,
subcontractor's, or officer's name appears on such list. The
filing of the notice of conviction or of the finding with the
secretary of state constitutes notice to all public authorities.
(D) Notwithstanding section 4115.03 of the Revised Code, as
used in this section, "public authority" means any officer, board,
or commission of the state, or any political subdivision of the
state, authorized to enter into a contract for the construction of
a public improvement or to construct the same by the direct
employment of labor, or any institution supported in whole or in
part by public funds and said sections apply to expenditures of
such institutions made in whole or in part from public funds.
Sec. 5540.03. (A) A transportation improvement district may:
(1) Adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the
conduct of its business;
(2) Adopt an official seal;
(3) Sue and be sued in its own name, plead and be impleaded,
provided any actions against the district shall be brought in the
court of common pleas of the county in which the principal office
of the district is located, or in the court of common pleas of the
county in which the cause of action arose, and all summonses,
exceptions, and notices of every kind shall be served on the
district by leaving a copy thereof at its principal office with
the secretary-treasurer;
(4) Purchase, construct, maintain, repair, sell, exchange,
police, operate, or lease projects;
(5) Issue either or both of the following for the purpose of
providing funds to pay the costs of any project or part thereof:
(a) Transportation improvement district revenue bonds;
(b) Bonds pursuant to Section 13 of Article VIII, Ohio
Constitution;
(6) Maintain such funds as it considers necessary;
(7) Direct its agents or employees, when properly identified
in writing and after at least five days' written notice, to enter
upon lands within its jurisdiction to make surveys and
examinations preliminary to the location and construction of
projects for the district, without liability of the district or
its agents or employees except for actual damage done;
(8) Make and enter into all contracts and agreements
necessary or incidental to the performance of its functions and
the execution of its powers under this chapter;
(9) Employ or retain or contract for the services of
consulting engineers, superintendents, managers, and such other
engineers, construction and accounting experts, financial
advisers, trustees, marketing, remarketing, and administrative
agents, attorneys, and other employees, independent contractors,
or agents as are necessary in its judgment and fix their
compensation, provided all such expenses shall be payable solely
from the proceeds of bonds or from revenues;
(10) Receive and accept from the federal or any state or
local government, including, but not limited to, any agency,
entity, or instrumentality of any of the foregoing, loans and
grants for or in aid of the construction, maintenance, or repair
of any project, and receive and accept aid or contributions from
any source or person of money, property, labor, or other things of
value, to be held, used, and applied only for the purposes for
which such loans, grants, and contributions are made. Nothing in
division (A)(10) of this section shall be construed as imposing
any liability on this state for any loan received by a
transportation improvement district from a third party unless this
state has entered into an agreement to accept such liability.
(11) Acquire, hold, and dispose of property in the exercise
of its powers and the performance of its duties under this
chapter;
(12) Establish and collect tolls or user charges for its
projects;
(13) Do all acts necessary and proper to carry out the powers
expressly granted in this chapter.
(B) Chapters 123., 124., 125., and 153., and 4115., and
sections 9.331 to 9.335 and 307.86 of the Revised Code do not
apply to contracts or projects of a transportation improvement
district.
Sec. 6117.012. (A) A board of county commissioners may adopt
rules requiring owners of property within the district whose
property is served by a connection to sewers maintained and
operated by the board or to sewers that are connected to
interceptor sewers maintained and operated by the board to do any
of the following:
(1) Disconnect storm water inflows to sanitary sewers
maintained and operated by the board and not operated as a
combined sewer, or to connections with those sewers;
(2) Disconnect non-storm water inflows to storm water sewers
maintained and operated by the board and not operated as a
combined sewer, or to connections with those storm water sewers;
(3) Reconnect or relocate any such disconnected inflows in
compliance with board rules and applicable building codes, health
codes, or other relevant codes;
(4) Prevent sewer back-ups into properties that have
experienced one or more back-ups of sanitary or combined sewers
maintained and operated by the board;
(5) Prevent storm water from entering a combined sewer and
causing an overflow or an inflow to a sanitary sewer, which
prevention may include projects or programs that separate the
storm water from a combined sewer or that utilize a prevention or
replacement facility to prevent or minimize storm water from
entering a combined sewer or a sanitary sewer.
(B) Any inflow required to be disconnected or any sewer
back-up required to be prevented under a rule adopted pursuant to
divisions (A)(1) to (4) of this section constitutes a nuisance
subject to injunctive relief and abatement pursuant to Chapter
3767. of the Revised Code or as otherwise permitted by law.
(C) A board of county commissioners may use sewer district
funds; county general fund moneys; the proceeds of bonds issued
under Chapter 133. or 165. of the Revised Code; and, to the extent
permitted by their terms, loans, grants, or other moneys from
appropriate state or federal funds, for either of the following:
(1) The cost of disconnections, reconnections, relocations,
combined sewer overflow prevention, or sewer back-up prevention
required by rules adopted pursuant to division (A) of this
section, performed by the county or under contract with the
county;
(2) Payments to the property owner or a contractor hired by
the property owner pursuant to a competitive process established
by district rules, for the cost of disconnections, reconnections,
relocations, combined sewer overflow prevention, or sewer back-up
prevention required by rules adopted pursuant to division (A) of
this section after the board, pursuant to its rules, has approved
the work to be performed and after the county has received from
the property owner a statement releasing the county from all
liability in connection with the disconnections, reconnections,
relocations, combined sewer overflow prevention, or sewer back-up
prevention.
(D) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, the
board of county commissioners shall require in its rules regarding
disconnections, reconnections, relocations of sewers, combined
sewer overflow prevention, or sewer back-up prevention the
reimbursement of moneys expended pursuant to division (C) of this
section by either of the following methods:
(1) A charge to the property owner in the amount of the
payment made pursuant to division (C) of this section for
immediate payment or payment in installments with interest as
determined by the board not to exceed ten per cent, which payments
may be billed as a separate item with the rents charged to that
owner for use of the sewers. The board may approve installment
payments for a period of not more than fifteen years. If charges
are to be paid in installments, the board shall certify to the
county auditor information sufficient to identify each subject
parcel of property, the total of the charges to be paid in
installments, and the total number of installments to be paid. The
auditor shall record the information in the sewer improvement
record until these charges are paid in full. Charges not paid when
due shall be certified to the county auditor, who shall place the
charges upon the real property tax list and duplicate against that
property. Those charges shall be a lien on the property from the
date they are placed on the tax list and duplicate and shall be
collected in the same manner as other taxes.
(2) A special assessment levied against the property, payable
in the number of years the board determines, not to exceed fifteen
years, with interest as determined by the board not to exceed ten
per cent. The board shall certify the assessments to the county
auditor, stating the amount and time of payment. The auditor shall
record the information in the county sewer improvement record,
showing separately the assessments to be collected, and shall
place the assessments upon the real property tax list and
duplicate for collection. The assessments shall be a lien on the
property from the date they are placed on the tax list and
duplicate and shall be collected in the same manner as other
taxes.
(E) The county may adopt a resolution specifying a maximum
amount of the cost of any disconnection, reconnection, relocation,
combined sewer overflow prevention, or sewer back-up prevention
required pursuant to division (A) of this section that may be paid
by the county for each affected parcel of property without
requiring reimbursement. That amount may be allowed only if there
is a building code, health code, or other relevant code, or a
federally imposed or state-imposed consent decree that is filed or
otherwise recorded in a court of competent jurisdiction,
applicable to the affected parcel that prohibits in the future any
inflows, combined sewer overflows, or sewer back-ups not allowed
under rules adopted pursuant to division (A)(1), (4), or (5) of
this section. The board, by rule, shall establish criteria for
determining how much of the maximum amount for each qualifying
parcel need not be reimbursed.
(F) Disconnections, reconnections, relocations, combined
sewer overflow prevention, or sewer back-up prevention required
under this section and performed by a contractor under contract
with the property owner shall not be considered a public
improvement, and those performed by the county shall be considered
a public improvement as defined in section 4115.03 of the Revised
Code.
Disconnections, reconnections, relocations, combined sewer
overflow prevention, or sewer back-up prevention required under
this section performed by a contractor under contract with the
property owner shall not be subject to competitive bidding or
public bond laws.
(G) Property owners shall be responsible for maintaining any
improvements made or facilities constructed on private property to
reconnect or relocate disconnected inflows, for combined sewer
overflow prevention, or for sewer back-up prevention pursuant to
this section unless a public easement or other agreement exists
for the county to maintain that improvement or facility.
(H) A board of county commissioners may provide rate
reductions of and credits against charges for the use of sewers to
a property owner that implements a project or program that
prevents storm water from entering a combined sewer and causing an
overflow. Such a project or program may include the use of a
prevention or replacement facility to handle storm water that has
been separated from a combined sewer. The revised rates or charges
shall be collected and paid to the county treasurer in accordance
with section 6117.02 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 6121.061. The Ohio water development authority shall
not issue any bonds or otherwise participate in any project
authorized by this chapter or Chapter 6123. of the Revised Code
unless the contract, resolution, or other written document setting
forth the board's participation specifies that all wages paid to
laborers and mechanics employed on the projects shall be paid at
the prevailing rates of wages of laborers and mechanics for the
class of work called for by the project, which wages shall be
determined in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 4115. of
the Revised Code for determination of prevailing wage rates,
provided that the requirements of this section do not apply to
loans made to boards of county commissioners under division (V) of
section 6121.04 of the Revised Code or where the federal
government or any of its agencies furnishes by loan or grant all
or any part of the funds used in connection with the project and
prescribes predetermined minimum wages to be paid to the laborers
and mechanics, and provided that if a non-public user beneficiary
of the project undertakes, as part of the project, construction to
be performed by its regular bargaining unit employees who are
covered under a collective bargaining agreement that was in
existence prior to the date of the commitment instrument setting
forth the board's participation, the rate of pay provided under
the collective bargaining agreement may be paid to those
employees.
Section 2. That existing sections 164.07, 307.022, 307.671,
307.673, 307.674, 307.696, 351.06, 1506.44, 1710.02, 4115.03,
4115.034, 4115.04, 4115.06, 4115.09, 4115.10, 4115.133, 5540.03,
6117.012, and 6121.061 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. The amendments by Section 1 of this act of
sections 164.07, 307.022, 307.671, 307.673, 307.674, 307.696,
351.06, 1506.44, 1710.02, 4115.03, 4115.034, 4115.04, 4115.06,
4115.09, 4115.10, 4115.133, 5540.03, 6117.012, and 6121.061 of the
Revised Code, with respect to the application of sections 4115.03
to 4115.16 of the Revised Code, do apply to contracts governed by
this act that are entered into before the effective date of this
act.
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