To enact section 5703.95 of the Revised Code to create a Tax Expenditure Review Committee for the purpose of periodically reviewing existing and proposed tax expenditures.

Section 1. That section 5703.95 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 5703.95.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Tax expenditure" has the same meaning as in section 5703.48 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Tax expenditure bill" means a bill introduced in the house of representatives or the senate that proposes to enact or modify one or more tax expenditures.

(B) There is hereby created the tax expenditure review committee, consisting of nine members, composed of the following:

(1) The chair and ranking minority member of the house of representatives committee that deals primarily with tax legislation;

(2) The chair and ranking minority member of the senate committee that deals primarily with tax legislation;

(3) Two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;

(4) Two members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate;

(5) One member appointed by the governor.

The speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the governor shall make initial appointments to the committee not later than thirty days following the effective date of the enactment of this section. Thereafter, the terms of the office shall be the same as the term of each general assembly. Members may be reappointed, provided the member continues to meet all other eligibility requirements. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for original appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy before the expiration of the term for which the predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a member for the remainder of that term. Appointed members of the committee serve at the pleasure of the member's appointing authority and may be removed only by the appointing authority.

(C) The tax expenditure review committee shall hold its first meeting within ninety days after the effective date of the enactment of this section. At the first meeting, the members shall elect a chairperson. Thereafter, the committee shall meet at least once during the first year of each fiscal biennium to review existing tax expenditures pursuant to division (D) of this section. The committee shall also meet at the call of the chairperson to review proposed tax expenditures pursuant to division (E) of this section. The committee is a public body for the purposes of section 121.22 of the Revised Code.

A vacancy on the committee does not impair the right of the other members to exercise all the functions of the committee. The presence of a majority of the members of the committee constitutes a quorum for the conduct of business of the committee. The concurrence of at least a majority of the members of the committee is necessary for any action to be taken by the committee.

The committee shall permit any person to present evidence or testimony related to tax expenditures at a meeting of the committee. Upon the committee's request, the department of taxation, department of development, office of budget and management, or other state agency shall provide any information in its possession that the committee requires to perform its duties.

(D) The committee shall establish a schedule for review for each tax expenditure so that each expenditure is reviewed at least once every eight years. The schedule may provide for the review of each tax expenditure in the order the expenditures were enacted or modified, beginning with the least recently enacted or modified tax expenditure. Alternatively, the review schedule may group tax expenditures by the individuals or industries benefiting from the expenditures, the objectives of each expenditure, or the policy rationale of each expenditure. In its review, the committee shall make recommendations as to whether each tax expenditure should be continued without modification, modified, scheduled for further review at a future date to consider repealing the expenditure, or repealed outright. For each expenditure reviewed, the committee may recommend accountability standards for the future review of the expenditure. The committee may consider, when reviewing a tax expenditure, any of the relevant factors in division (F) of this section.

(E) Any tax expenditure bill shall include a statement explaining the objectives of the tax expenditure or its modification and the sponsor's intent in proposing the tax expenditure or its modification. Before a tax expenditure bill may be scheduled for a vote in any legislative committee, the bill must be reviewed by the tax expenditure review committee. The committee shall commence its review following the introduction of the tax expenditure bill in the chamber in which the bill originates. During the committee's review, the committee may consider any of the relevant factors in division (F) of this section. The committee shall issue copies of its review to each member of the legislative committee to which the bill has been referred upon the conclusion of the committee's review.

(F) In conducting reviews pursuant to division (D) or (E) of this section, the committee may consider the following factors:

(1) The number and classes of persons, organizations, businesses, or types of industries that would receive the direct benefit or consequences of the tax expenditure;

(2) The fiscal impact of the tax expenditure on state and local taxing authorities, including, in the case of a review under division (D) of this section, any past fiscal effects and expected future fiscal impacts of the tax expenditure in the following eight-year period;

(3) Public policy objectives that might support the tax expenditure. In researching such objectives, the committee may consider the expenditure's legislative history, the tax expenditure's sponsor's intent in proposing the tax expenditure, the extent to which the tax expenditure encourages or would encourage business growth or relocation into the state, promotes or would promote growth or retention of high-wage jobs in the state, or aids or would aid community stabilization.

(4) Whether the tax expenditure successfully accomplishes any of the objectives identified in division (F)(3) of this section;

(5) Whether the objectives identified in division (F)(3) of this section would or could have been accomplished successfully in the absence of the tax expenditure or with less cost to the state or local governments;

(6) Whether the objectives identified in division (F)(3) of this section could have been accomplished successfully through a program that requires legislative appropriations for funding;

(7) The extent to which the tax expenditure may provide unintended benefits to an individual, organization, or industry other than those the legislature or sponsor intended or creates an unfair competitive advantage for its recipient with respect to other businesses in the state;

(8) The extent to which terminating the tax expenditure may have negative effects on taxpayers that currently benefit from the tax expenditure;

(9) The extent to which the repeal of the tax expenditure may have negative effects on the state's employment and economy;

(10) The feasibility of modifying the tax expenditure to provide for adjustment or recapture of the proceeds of the tax expenditure if the objectives of the tax expenditure are not fulfilled by the recipient of the tax expenditure.

(G) The committee shall prepare a report of its determinations under division (D) of this section and, not later than the thirtieth day of June of each even-numbered year, provide a copy of the report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the minority leader of the house of representatives, and the minority leader of the senate. The first report shall be submitted either in the year of the effective date of this act or in the first even-numbered year thereafter.