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Sub. H. B. No. 289 As Enrolled
(130th General Assembly)
(Substitute House Bill Number 289)
AN ACT
To amend sections 9.482, 715.691, and 715.771, to
enact sections 715.692 and 715.84, and to repeal
section 715.69 of the Revised Code to terminate
the authority to create new alternative joint
economic development zones (JEDZs) or
substantially modify existing alternative JEDZs
after December 31, 2014, to require the creation
of review councils to approve the economic
development plans for alternative JEDZs created or
substantially amended before that date, to
eliminate municipal-only JEDZs, to authorize
municipal corporations to create municipal utility
districts (MUDs) for economic development
purposes, to allow existing municipal-only JEDZs
to continue operating as MUDs, and to declare an
emergency.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
SECTION 1. That sections 9.482, 715.691, and 715.771 be
amended and sections 715.692 and 715.84 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 9.482. (A) As used in this section, "political
subdivision" has the meaning defined in section 2744.01 of the
Revised Code.
(B) When authorized by their respective legislative
authorities, a political subdivision may enter into an agreement
with another political subdivision whereby a contracting political
subdivision agrees to exercise any power, perform any function, or
render any service for another contracting recipient political
subdivision that the contracting recipient political subdivision
is otherwise legally authorized to exercise, perform, or render.
In the absence in the agreement of provisions determining by
what officer, office, department, agency, or other authority the
powers and duties of a contracting political subdivision shall be
exercised or performed, the legislative authority of the
contracting political subdivision shall determine and assign the
powers and duties.
An agreement shall not suspend the possession by a
contracting recipient political subdivision of any power or
function that is exercised or performed on its behalf by another
contracting political subdivision under the agreement.
A political subdivision shall not enter into an agreement to
levy any tax or to exercise, with regard to public moneys, any
investment powers, perform any investment function, or render any
investment service on behalf of a contracting subdivision. Nothing
in this paragraph prohibits a political subdivision from entering
into an agreement to collect, administer, or enforce any tax on
behalf of another political subdivision or to limit the authority
of political subdivisions to create and operate joint economic
development zones or as provided in section 715.691, joint
economic development districts as provided in sections 715.69
715.70 to 715.83, or municipal utility districts as provided in
section 715.84 of the Revised Code.
(C) No county elected officer may be required to exercise any
power, perform any function, or render any service under an
agreement entered into under this section without the written
consent of the county elected officer. No county may enter into an
agreement under this section for the exercise, performance, or
rendering of any statutory powers, functions, or services of any
county elected officer without the written consent of the county
elected officer.
(D) No power shall be exercised, no function shall be
performed, and no service shall be rendered by a contracting
political subdivision pursuant to an agreement entered into under
this section within a political subdivision that is not a party to
the agreement, without first obtaining the written consent of the
political subdivision that is not a party to the agreement and
within which the power is to be exercised, a function is to be
performed, or a service is to be rendered.
(E) Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code, insofar as it applies
to the operation of a political subdivision, applies to the
political subdivisions that are parties to an agreement and to
their employees when they are rendering a service outside the
boundaries of their employing political subdivision under the
agreement. Employees acting outside the boundaries of their
employing political subdivision while providing a service under an
agreement may participate in any pension or indemnity fund
established by the political subdivision to the same extent as
while they are acting within the boundaries of the political
subdivision, and are entitled to all the rights and benefits of
Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code to the same extent as while they
are performing a service within the boundaries of the political
subdivision.
Sec. 715.691. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Contracting party" means a municipal corporation that
has entered into a joint economic development zone contract or any
party succeeding to the municipal corporation, or a township that
entered into a joint economic development zone contract with a
municipal corporation.
(2) "Zone" means a joint economic development zone designated
under this section.
(3) "Substantial amendment" means an amendment to a joint
economic development zone contract that increases the rate of
municipal income tax that may be imposed within the zone, changes
the purposes for which municipal income tax revenue derived from
the zone may be used, or changes the area or areas included in the
zone.
(B) This section provides alternative procedures and
requirements for creating and operating a joint economic
development zone to those set forth in section 715.69 of the
Revised Code. This section applies only if one of the contracting
parties to the zone does not levy a municipal income tax under
Chapter 718. of the Revised Code. A municipal corporation that
does not levy a municipal income tax may enter into an agreement
to create and operate a joint economic development zone under this
section or under section 715.69 of the Revised Code.
Two At any time before January 1, 2015, two or more municipal
corporations or one or more townships and one or more municipal
corporations may enter into a contract whereby they agree to share
in the costs of improvements for an area or areas located in one
or more of the contracting parties that they designate as a joint
economic development zone for the purpose of facilitating new or
expanded growth for commercial or economic development in the
state. The contract and zone shall meet the requirements of
divisions (B) to (J) of this section.
(C) The contract shall set forth each contracting party's
contribution to the joint economic development zone. The
contributions may be in any form that the contracting parties
agree to, and may include, but are not limited to, the provision
of services, money, or equipment. The contract may be amended,
renewed, or terminated with the consent of the contracting
parties, subject to division (K) of this section. The contract
shall continue in existence throughout the term it specifies and
shall be binding on the contracting parties and on any entities
succeeding to the contracting parties.
If the contract is approved
by the electors of any contracting party under division (F) of
this section or substantially amended after the effective date of
H.B. 289 of the 130th general assembly, the contracting parties
shall include within the contract or the amendment to the contract
an economic development plan for the zone, a schedule for the
implementation or provision of any new, expanded, or additional
services, facilities, or improvements within the zone or in the
area surrounding the zone, and any provisions necessary for the
contracting parties to create a joint economic development review
council in compliance with section 715.692 of the Revised Code.
(D) Before the legislative authority of any of the
contracting parties enacts an ordinance or resolution approving a
contract to designate a joint economic development zone, the
legislative authority of each of the contracting parties shall
hold a public hearing concerning the contract and zone. Each
legislative authority shall provide at least thirty days' public
notice of the time and place of the public hearing in a newspaper
of general circulation in the municipal corporation or township.
During the thirty-day period prior to the public hearing, all of
the following documents shall be available for public inspection
in the office of the clerk of the legislative authority of a
municipal corporation that is a contracting party and in the
office of the fiscal officer of a township that is a contracting
party:
(1) A copy of the contract designating the zone;
(2) A description of the area or areas to be included in the
zone, including a map in sufficient detail to denote the specific
boundaries of the area or areas;
(3) An economic development plan for the zone that includes a
schedule for the provision of any new, expanded, or additional
services, facilities, or improvements.
A public hearing held under division (D) of this section
shall allow for public comment and recommendations on the contract
and zone. The contracting parties may include in the contract any
of those recommendations prior to approval of the contract.
(E) After the public hearings required under division (D) of
this section have been held and the economic development plan has
been approved under division (D) of section 715.692 of the Revised
Code, and before January 1, 2015, each contracting party may enact
an ordinance or resolution approving the contract to designate a
joint economic development zone. After each contracting party has
enacted an ordinance or resolution, the clerk of the legislative
authority of a municipal corporation that is a contracting party
and the fiscal officer of a township that is a contracting party
shall file with the board of elections of each county within which
a contracting party is located a copy of the ordinance or
resolution approving the contract and shall direct the board of
elections to submit the ordinance or resolution to the electors of
the contracting party on the day of the next general, primary, or
special election occurring at least ninety days after the
ordinance or resolution is filed with the board of elections. If
any of the contracting parties is a township, however, then only
the township or townships shall submit the resolution to the
electors. The board of elections shall not submit an ordinance or
resolution filed under this division to the electors at any
election occurring on or after January 1, 2015.
(F)(1) If a vote is required to approve a municipal
corporation as a contracting party to a joint economic development
zone under this section, the ballot shall be in the following
form:
"Shall the ordinance of the legislative authority of the
(city or village) of (name of contracting party) approving the
contract with (name of each other contracting party) for the
designation of a joint economic development zone be approved?
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FOR THE ORDINANCE AND CONTRACT |
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AGAINST THE ORDINANCE AND CONTRACT |
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(2) If a vote is required to approve a township as a
contracting party to a joint economic development zone under this
section, the ballot shall be in the following form:
"Shall the resolution of the board of township trustees of
the township of (name of contracting party) approving the contract
with (name of each other contracting party) for the designation of
a joint economic development zone be approved?
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FOR THE RESOLUTION AND CONTRACT |
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AGAINST THE RESOLUTION AND CONTRACT |
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If a majority of the electors of each contracting party
voting on the issue vote for the ordinance or resolution and
contract, the ordinance or resolution shall become effective
immediately and the contract shall go into effect immediately or
in accordance with its terms.
(G)(1) A board of directors shall govern each joint economic
development zone created under this section 715.691 of the Revised
Code. The members of the board shall be appointed as provided in
the contract. Each of the contracting parties shall appoint three
members to the board. Terms for each member shall be for two
years, each term ending on the same day of the month of the year
as did the term that it succeeds. A member may be reappointed to
the board.
(2) Membership on the board is not the holding of a public
office or employment within the meaning of any section of the
Revised Code or any charter provision prohibiting the holding of
other public office or employment. Membership on the board is not
a direct or indirect interest in a contract or expenditure of
money by a municipal corporation, township, county, or other
political subdivision with which a member may be affiliated.
Notwithstanding any provision of law or a charter to the contrary,
no member of the board shall forfeit or be disqualified from
holding any public office or employment by reason of membership on
the board.
(3) The board is a public body for the purposes of section
121.22 of the Revised Code. Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code
applies to the board and the zone.
(H) The contract may grant to the board of directors
appointed under division (G) of this section the power to adopt a
resolution to levy an income tax within the zone. The income tax
shall be used for the purposes of the zone and for the purposes of
the contracting parties pursuant to the contract. Not less than
fifty per cent of the revenue from the tax shall be used solely to
provide the new, expanded, or additional services, facilities, or
improvements specified in the economic development plan until all
such services, facilities, or improvements have been completed as
specified in that plan. The income tax may be levied in the zone
based on income earned by persons working within the zone and on
the net profits of businesses located in the zone. The income tax
is subject to Chapter 718. of the Revised Code, except that a vote
shall be required by the electors residing in the zone to approve
the rate of income tax unless a majority of the electors residing
within the zone, as determined by the total number of votes cast
in the zone for the office of governor at the most recent general
election for that office, submit a petition to the board
requesting that the election provided for in division (H)(1) of
this section not be held. If no electors reside within the zone,
then division (H)(3) of this section applies. The rate of the
income tax shall be no higher than the highest rate being levied
by a municipal corporation that is a party to the contract.
(1) The board of directors may levy an income tax at a rate
that is not higher than the highest rate being levied by a
municipal corporation that is a party to the contract, provided
that the rate of the income tax is first submitted to and approved
by the electors of the zone at the succeeding regular or primary
election, or a special election called by the board, occurring
subsequent to ninety days after a certified copy of the resolution
levying the income tax and calling for the election is filed with
the board of elections. If the voters approve the levy of the
income tax, the income tax shall be in force for the full period
of the contract establishing the zone. No election shall be held
under this section if a majority of the electors residing within
the zone, determined as specified in division (H) of this section,
submit a petition to that effect to the board of directors. Any
increase in the rate of an income tax by the board of directors
shall be approved by a vote of the electors of the zone and shall
be in force for the remaining period of the contract establishing
the zone.
(2) Whenever a zone is located in the territory of more than
one contracting party, a majority vote of the electors in each of
the several portions of the territory of the contracting parties
constituting the zone approving the levy of the tax is required
before it may be imposed under division (H) of this section.
(3) If no electors reside in the zone, no election for the
approval or rejection of an income tax shall be held under this
section, provided that where no electors reside in the zone, the
rate of the income tax shall be no higher than the highest rate
being levied by a municipal corporation that is a party to the
contract.
(4) The board of directors of a zone levying an income tax
shall enter into an agreement with one of the municipal
corporations that is a party to the contract to administer,
collect, and enforce the income tax on behalf of the zone.
(5) The board of directors of a zone shall publish or post
public notice within the zone of any resolution adopted levying an
income tax in the same manner required of municipal corporations
under sections 731.21 and 731.25 of the Revised Code.
(I)(1) If for any reason a contracting party reverts to or
has its boundaries changed so that it is classified as a township
that is the entity succeeding to that contracting party, the
township is considered to be a municipal corporation for the
purposes of the contract for the full period of the contract
establishing the joint economic development zone, except that if
that contracting party is administering, collecting, and enforcing
the income tax on behalf of the district as provided in division
(H)(4) of this section, the contract shall be amended to allow one
of the other contracting parties to administer, collect, and
enforce that tax.
(2) Notwithstanding any other section of the Revised Code, if
there is any change in the boundaries of a township so that a
municipal corporation once located within the township is no
longer so located, the township shall remain in existence even
though its remaining unincorporated area contains less than
twenty-two square miles, if the township has been or becomes a
party to a contract creating a joint economic development zone
under this section or the contract creating that joint economic
development zone under this section is terminated or repudiated
for any reason by any party or person. The township shall continue
its existing status in all respects, including having the same
form of government and the same elected board of trustees as its
governing body. The township shall continue to receive all of its
tax levies and sources of income as a township in accordance with
any section of the Revised Code, whether the levies and sources of
income generate millage within the ten-mill limitation or in
excess of the ten-mill limitation. The name of the township may be
changed to the name of the contracting party appearing in the
contract creating a joint economic development zone under this
section, so long as the name does not conflict with any other name
in the state that has been certified by the secretary of state.
The township shall have all of the powers set out in sections
715.79, 715.80, and 715.81 of the Revised Code.
(J) If, after creating and operating a joint economic
development zone under this section, a contracting party that did
not levy a municipal income tax under Chapter 718. of the Revised
Code levies such a tax, the tax shall not apply to the zone for
the full period of the contract establishing the zone, if the
board of directors of the zone has levied an income tax as
provided in division (H) of this section.
(K) No substantial amendment may be made to any joint
economic development zone contract after December 31, 2014.
Sec. 715.692. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Assessed value" means the assessed value of a parcel
listed on the most recent tax list and duplicate or, if the parcel
is exempted from taxation, the list of exempt property, compiled
by the county auditor under section 319.28 or 5713.08 of the
Revised Code.
(2) "Business" means a sole proprietorship, a corporation for
profit, a pass-through entity as defined in section 5733.04 of the
Revised Code, the federal government, the state, the state's
political subdivisions, a nonprofit organization, or a school
district.
(3) "Contracting party" means a municipal corporation,
county, or township that is a party to a joint economic
development zone contract under section 715.691 of the Revised
Code or, if the contract has not yet taken effect, will be a party
to such a contract.
(4) A business "operates within" a zone if the net profits of
the business or the income of employees of the business would be
subject to an income tax levied within the zone.
(5) "Economic development plan" means the economic
development plan required to be included in a joint economic
development zone contract under division (C) of section 715.691 of
the Revised Code.
(6) "Owner" means a partner of a partnership, a member of a
limited liability company, a majority shareholder of an S
corporation, a person with a majority ownership interest in a
pass-through entity, or any officer, employee, or agent with
authority to make decisions legally binding upon a business.
(7) "Record owner" means the person or persons in whose name
a parcel is listed on the tax list or exempt list compiled by the
county auditor under section 319.28 or 5713.08 of the Revised
Code.
(8) "Substantial amendment" has the same meaning as in
section 715.691 of the Revised Code.
(B) Before enacting ordinances or resolutions to approve a
joint economic development zone contract under section 715.691 of
the Revised Code or adopting a substantial amendment to such a
contract, the contracting parties shall create a joint economic
development review council. The purpose of the council is to
review the economic development plan included in the joint
economic development zone contract or amendment to the contract,
and either approve the plan or disapprove the plan and provide
recommendations to the contracting parties for ways in which the
plan may be modified to meet the approval of the council.
The council is a public body for the purposes of section
121.22 of the Revised Code, and it is a public office for the
purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code. Members of the
council shall not be considered to be holding a direct or indirect
interest in a contract or expenditure of money by a contracting
party because of their affiliation with the council.
(C)(1) The county auditor of the county in which the largest
portion of the territory of the zone is located shall serve as
chairperson of the joint economic development council. The auditor
shall continue in the office of chairperson until the council is
dissolved under division (G) of this section or the boundaries of
the joint economic development zone are reconfigured by the
contracting parties in such a way that a different county contains
the largest portion of the territory of the zone.
(2) The contracting parties shall appoint the other members
of the council as follows:
(a) One appointed member shall be a person affiliated with an
economic development organization that provides services for, or
advocates on behalf of, businesses operating within the zone or,
if there are no businesses currently operating within the zone,
businesses operating in the area surrounding the zone.
(b) One appointed member shall be a member of the public
appointed by joint agreement of the contracting parties.
(c) Except as provided by division (C)(2)(d) of this section,
four appointed members shall be owners of businesses operating
within the zone or an individual designated by such an owner. The
contracting parties shall first appoint the owners of the four
businesses that employ the most persons within the zone. If one or
more of these owners is unwilling or unable to serve as a member
of the council or to designate an individual to serve in the
owner's place, the contracting parties shall appoint the owner of
the business that employs the next most number of persons within
the zone until each position to be appointed under this division
is filled. No business may have more than one owner or a designee
thereof serving as a member of the council at any time.
(d) If there are not four owners of businesses operating
within the zone who will accept an appointment or designate an
individual to serve on the council as prescribed by division
(C)(2)(c) of this section, the contracting parties shall appoint
record owners of real property located within the zone to the
remaining positions on the council. The contracting parties shall
first appoint the record owner of the parcel or parcels with the
greatest aggregate assessed value within the zone or an individual
designated by that record owner. If the record owner is unwilling
or unable to serve or designate an individual to serve as a member
of the council, the contracting parties shall appoint the record
owner of the parcel or parcels with the next greatest aggregate
assessed value within the zone or an individual designated by that
record owner until each position on the council is filled. If
there are not enough record owners of real property located within
the zone who will accept an appointment or designate an individual
to serve on the council as prescribed by this division, the number
of members of the council shall be reduced accordingly.
(D)(1) The joint economic development review council shall
hold at least one public meeting before ordinances or resolutions
are enacted by the contracting parties to approve the contract or
a substantial amendment to the contract. The chairperson shall
provide public notice of the time and place of each meeting in a
newspaper of general circulation in the area or areas to be
included in the zone. Attendance by the chairperson and at least
one-half of the appointed members of the council constitutes a
quorum to conduct the business of the council.
(2) At the meeting, the council shall review the economic
development plan for the zone and consider the question of whether
the plan is in the best interests of the zone. The council shall
allow each contracting party, or a representative thereof, the
opportunity to present testimony on the economic development plan
and on any other relevant provisions of the joint economic
development zone contract. The council shall also allow time,
during the meeting or meetings, for public comment and
recommendations on the economic development plan and the joint
economic development zone. The council may hold an executive
session in the manner provided in section 122.22 of the Revised
Code.
(3) If the council, by majority vote of the membership of the
council, determines that the plan is in the best interests of the
zone, the plan is thereby approved and the ordinances or
resolutions approving the contract may be enacted as provided in
section 715.691 of the Revised Code; otherwise, the plan is not
approved and such ordinances or resolutions may not be enacted. If
the plan is not approved, the council shall provide
recommendations to the contracting parties for ways in which the
economic development plan may be modified to meet the approval of
the council. Such recommendations shall be in writing and shall be
sent to each contracting party within fourteen days after the vote
of the council on the economic development plan.
(E) The joint economic development review council shall
dissolve by operation of law upon approving the economic
development plan.
(F) The contracting parties shall make appropriations as are
necessary to pay the costs incurred by the council in the exercise
of its functions under this section. The costs incurred by a
council in any year shall not exceed ten thousand dollars.
(G) If, on the effective date of H.B. 289 of the 130th
general assembly, the contracting parties to a joint economic
development zone contract have enacted ordinances or resolutions
approving the contract but the contract has not yet been submitted
to the electors under division (F) of section 715.691 of the
Revised Code, the contracting parties shall recall the contract
from the county board of elections and comply with this section as
if the contracting parties had not yet enacted ordinances or
resolutions approving the contract.
Sec. 715.771. Upon the creation of or addition to a joint
economic development district under section 715.72 or 715.761 of
the Revised Code, one of the contracting parties shall file a copy
of each of the documents described in divisions (A) to (G) of
section 715.76 or division (C) of section 715.761 of the Revised
Code, as applicable, with the director of development.
Sec. 715.84. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Contracting party" means a municipal corporation that
has entered into a municipal utility district contract or any
party succeeding to such a municipal corporation.
(2) "Contract for utility services" means a contract under
which a municipal corporation agrees to provide to another
municipal corporation water, sewer, electric, or other utility
services necessary to the public health, safety, and welfare.
(3) "Municipal utility district contract" means a contract
described in and entered into under division (B) of this section.
(4) "District" means a municipal utility district designated
under this section.
(B) Two or more municipal corporations may enter into a
contract whereby they agree to share in the costs of improvements
for an area or areas located in one or more of the contracting
parties that they designate as a municipal utility district for
the purpose of facilitating new or expanded growth for commercial
or economic development in the state. Except as otherwise provided
in division (I) of this section, the contract and district shall
meet the requirements of divisions (B) to (H) of this section.
(C) The contract shall set forth each contracting party's
contribution to the municipal utility district. The contributions
may be in any form that the contracting parties agree to, subject
to divisions (G) and (I) of this section, and may include, but are
not limited to, the provision of services, money, or equipment.
The contract may provide for the contracting parties to distribute
among themselves, in the manner they agree to, any municipal
income tax revenues derived from the income earned by persons
employed by businesses that locate within the district after it is
designated by the contracting parties and from the net profits of
such businesses. Except as provided in divisions (G) and (I) of
this section, the contract may be amended, renewed, or terminated
with the consent of the contracting parties.
(D) Before the legislative authority of any of the
contracting parties enacts an ordinance approving a contract to
designate a municipal utility district, the legislative authority
of each of the contracting parties shall hold a public hearing
concerning the contract and district. Each such legislative
authority shall provide at least thirty days' public notice of the
time and place of the public hearing in a newspaper of general
circulation in the municipal corporation. During the thirty-day
period prior to the public hearing, all of the following documents
shall be available for public inspection in the office of the
clerk of the legislative authority of each of the contracting
parties:
(1) A copy of the contract designating the district;
(2) A description of the area or areas to be included in the
district, including a map in sufficient detail to denote the
specific boundaries of the area or areas;
(3) An economic development plan for the district that
includes a schedule for the provision of any new, expanded, or
additional services, facilities, or improvements.
A public hearing held under division (D) of this section
shall allow for public comment and recommendations on the contract
and district. The contracting parties may include in the contract
any of those recommendations prior to approval of the contract.
(E) After the public hearings required under division (D) of
this section have been held, each contracting party may enact an
ordinance approving the contract to designate a municipal utility
district. After each contracting party has enacted such an
ordinance, the clerk of the legislative authority of each
contracting party shall file with the board of elections of each
county within which a contracting party is located a copy of the
ordinance approving the contract and shall direct the board of
elections to submit the ordinance to the electors of the
contracting party on the day of the next general, primary, or
special election occurring at least ninety days after the
ordinance is filed with the board of elections.
(F) The ballot shall be in the following form:
"Shall the ordinance of the legislative authority of the
(city or village) of (name of contracting party) approving the
contract with (name of each other contracting party) for the
designation of a municipal utility district be approved?
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FOR THE ORDINANCE AND CONTRACT |
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AGAINST THE ORDINANCE AND CONTRACT |
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If a majority of the electors of each contracting party voting on
the issue vote for the ordinance and contract, the ordinance shall
become effective immediately and the contract shall go into effect
immediately or in accordance with its terms.
(G) If two or more contracting parties previously have
entered into a separate contract for utility services, then
amendment, renewal, or termination of the separate contract for
utility services shall not constitute a part of the consideration
for a municipal utility district contract unless the legislative
authority of each contracting party determines all of the
following:
(1) That the creation of the municipal utility district will
facilitate new or expanded growth for commercial or economic
development in this state;
(2) That substantial consideration exists to support the
municipal utility district contract;
(3) That the contracting parties are entering into the
municipal utility district contract freely and without duress or
coercion related to the amendment, renewal, or termination of the
separate contract for utility services.
(H) A municipal utility district contract that does not
satisfy division (G) of this section is void and unenforceable. If
the contract provides for the extension of utility service or the
provision of utility service at a lower rate than is currently in
effect, any action claiming duress or coercion relating to a
municipal utility district contract may be brought only by a
contracting party, and must be brought before the contracting
parties enter into the municipal utility district contract. The
signing of the municipal utility district contract as authorized
by the contracting parties is conclusive evidence as to the
determinations set forth under division (G) of this section.
(I) If one of the contracting parties is an impacted city as
defined in division (C) of section 1728.01 of the Revised Code,
then divisions (D) to (F) of this section shall not apply to the
municipal utility district contract or to the municipal utility
district to which that contract relates unless the contracting
parties agree that those divisions shall apply.
(J) Joint economic development zones created under section
715.69 of the Revised Code as that section existed before its
repeal by H.B. 289 of the 130th general assembly shall henceforth
be known as municipal utility districts and shall be subject to
this section without any action of the contracting parties to such
a joint economic development zone contract. The contracting
parties to a joint economic development zone contract that is
pending a public hearing or approval of electors under section
715.69 of the Revised Code on the effective date of H.B. 289 of
the 130th general assembly may continue the process of approving
the contract as provided in this section with the same force and
effect as if the proceedings were conducted pursuant to section
715.69 of the Revised Code.
SECTION 2. That existing sections 9.482, 715.691, and
715.771 and section 715.69 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
SECTION 3. This act is an emergency measure necessary for
the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and
safety. The reason for such necessity is that enactment into law
at the earliest possible time will prevent the unfair imposition
of income taxes by local governments through the use of joint
economic development zones. Therefore, this act goes into
immediate effect.
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