To amend sections 133.01, 4504.08, and 4504.09 and to enact sections 4504.22 and 5595.01 to 5595.12 of the Revised Code to authorize counties to undertake regional transportation improvement projects funded by the issuance of securities and by revenue pledges from the state and political subdivisions and taxing districts located within the cooperating counties.

Section 1.  That sections 133.01, 4504.08, and 4504.09 be amended and sections 4504.22, 5595.01, 5595.02, 5595.03, 5595.04, 5595.05, 5595.06, 5595.07, 5595.08, 5595.09, 5595.10, 5595.11, and 5595.12 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 133.01.  As used in this chapter, in sections 9.95, 9.96, and 2151.655 of the Revised Code, in other sections of the Revised Code that make reference to this chapter unless the context does not permit, and in related proceedings, unless otherwise expressly provided:

(A) "Acquisition" as applied to real or personal property includes, among other forms of acquisition, acquisition by exercise of a purchase option, and acquisition of interests in property, including, without limitation, easements and rights-of-way, and leasehold and other lease interests initially extending or extendable for a period of at least sixty months.

(B) "Anticipatory securities" means securities, including notes, issued in anticipation of the issuance of other securities.

(C) "Board of elections" means the county board of elections of the county in which the subdivision is located. If the subdivision is located in more than one county, "board of elections" means the county board of elections of the county that contains the largest portion of the population of the subdivision or that otherwise has jurisdiction in practice over and customarily handles election matters relating to the subdivision.

(D) "Bond retirement fund" means the bond retirement fund provided for in section 5705.09 of the Revised Code, and also means a sinking fund or any other special fund, regardless of the name applied to it, established by or pursuant to law or the proceedings for the payment of debt charges. Provision may be made in the applicable proceedings for the establishment in a bond retirement fund of separate accounts relating to debt charges on particular securities, or on securities payable from the same or common sources, and for the application of moneys in those accounts only to specified debt charges on specified securities or categories of securities. Subject to law and any provisions in the applicable proceedings, moneys in a bond retirement fund or separate account in a bond retirement fund may be transferred to other funds and accounts.

(E) "Capitalized interest" means all or a portion of the interest payable on securities from their date to a date stated or provided for in the applicable legislation, which interest is to be paid from the proceeds of the securities.

(F) "Chapter 133. securities" means securities authorized by or issued pursuant to or in accordance with this chapter.

(G) "County auditor" means the county auditor of the county in which the subdivision is located. If the subdivision is located in more than one county, "county auditor" means the county auditor of the county that contains the highest amount of the tax valuation of the subdivision or that otherwise has jurisdiction in practice over and customarily handles property tax matters relating to the subdivision. In the case of a county that has adopted a charter, "county auditor" means the officer who generally has the duties and functions provided in the Revised Code for a county auditor.

(H) "Credit enhancement facilities" means letters of credit, lines of credit, stand-by, contingent, or firm securities purchase agreements, insurance, or surety arrangements, guarantees, and other arrangements that provide for direct or contingent payment of debt charges, for security or additional security in the event of nonpayment or default in respect of securities, or for making payment of debt charges to and at the option and on demand of securities holders or at the option of the issuer or upon certain conditions occurring under put or similar arrangements, or for otherwise supporting the credit or liquidity of the securities, and includes credit, reimbursement, marketing, remarketing, indexing, carrying, interest rate hedge, and subrogation agreements, and other agreements and arrangements for payment and reimbursement of the person providing the credit enhancement facility and the security for that payment and reimbursement.

(I) "Current operating expenses" or "current expenses" means the lawful expenditures of a subdivision, except those for permanent improvements and for payments of debt charges of the subdivision.

(J) "Debt charges" means the principal, including any mandatory sinking fund deposits and mandatory redemption payments, interest, and any redemption premium, payable on securities as those payments come due and are payable. The use of "debt charges" for this purpose does not imply that any particular securities constitute debt within the meaning of the Ohio Constitution or other laws.

(K) "Financing costs" means all costs and expenses relating to the authorization, including any required election, issuance, sale, delivery, authentication, deposit, custody, clearing, registration, transfer, exchange, fractionalization, replacement, payment, and servicing of securities, including, without limitation, costs and expenses for or relating to publication and printing, postage, delivery, preliminary and final official statements, offering circulars, and informational statements, travel and transportation, underwriters, placement agents, investment bankers, paying agents, registrars, authenticating agents, remarketing agents, custodians, clearing agencies or corporations, securities depositories, financial advisory services, certifications, audits, federal or state regulatory agencies, accounting and computation services, legal services and obtaining approving legal opinions and other legal opinions, credit ratings, redemption premiums, and credit enhancement facilities. Financing costs may be paid from any moneys available for the purpose, including, unless otherwise provided in the proceedings, from the proceeds of the securities to which they relate and, as to future financing costs, from the same sources from which debt charges on the securities are paid and as though debt charges.

(L) "Fiscal officer" means the following, or, in the case of absence or vacancy in the office, a deputy or assistant authorized by law or charter to act in the place of the named officer, or if there is no such authorization then the deputy or assistant authorized by legislation to act in the place of the named officer for purposes of this chapter, in the case of the following subdivisions:

(1) A county, the county auditor;

(2) A municipal corporation, the city auditor or village clerk or clerk-treasurer, or the officer who, by virtue of a charter, has the duties and functions provided in the Revised Code for the city auditor or village clerk or clerk-treasurer;

(3) A school district, the treasurer of the board of education;

(4) A regional water and sewer district, the secretary of the board of trustees;

(5) A joint township hospital district, the treasurer of the district;

(6) A joint ambulance district, the clerk of the board of trustees;

(7) A joint recreation district, the person designated pursuant to section 755.15 of the Revised Code;

(8) A detention facility district or a district organized under section 2151.65 of the Revised Code or a combined district organized under sections 2152.41 and 2151.65 of the Revised Code, the county auditor of the county designated by law to act as the auditor of the district;

(9) A township, a fire district organized under division (C) of section 505.37 of the Revised Code, or a township police district, the fiscal officer of the township;

(10) A joint fire district, the clerk of the board of trustees of that district;

(11) A regional or county library district, the person responsible for the financial affairs of that district;

(12) A joint solid waste management district, the fiscal officer appointed by the board of directors of the district under section 343.01 of the Revised Code;

(13) A joint emergency medical services district, the person appointed as fiscal officer pursuant to division (D) of section 307.053 of the Revised Code;

(14) A fire and ambulance district, the person appointed as fiscal officer under division (B) of section 505.375 of the Revised Code;

(15) A subdivision described in division (MM)(19) of this section, the officer who is designated by law as or performs the functions of its chief fiscal officer;

(16) A joint police district, the treasurer of the district;

(17) A lake facilities authority, the fiscal officer designated under section 353.02 of the Revised Code;

(18) A regional transportation improvement project, the county auditor designated under section 5595.10 of the Revised Code.

(M) "Fiscal year" has the same meaning as in section 9.34 of the Revised Code.

(N) "Fractionalized interests in public obligations" means participations, certificates of participation, shares, or other instruments or agreements, separate from the public obligations themselves, evidencing ownership of interests in public obligations or of rights to receive payments of, or on account of, principal or interest or their equivalents payable by or on behalf of an obligor pursuant to public obligations.

(O) "Fully registered securities" means securities in certificated or uncertificated form, registered as to both principal and interest in the name of the owner.

(P) "Fund" means to provide for the payment of debt charges and expenses related to that payment at or prior to retirement by purchase, call for redemption, payment at maturity, or otherwise.

(Q) "General obligation" means securities to the payment of debt charges on which the full faith and credit and the general property taxing power, including taxes within the tax limitation if available to the subdivision, of the subdivision are pledged.

(R) "Interest" or "interest equivalent" means those payments or portions of payments, however denominated, that constitute or represent consideration for forbearing the collection of money, or for deferring the receipt of payment of money to a future time.

(S) "Internal Revenue Code" means the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 1 et seq., as amended, and includes any laws of the United States providing for application of that code.

(T) "Issuer" means any public issuer and any nonprofit corporation authorized to issue securities for or on behalf of any public issuer.

(U) "Legislation" means an ordinance or resolution passed by a majority affirmative vote of the then members of the taxing authority unless a different vote is required by charter provisions governing the passage of the particular legislation by the taxing authority.

(V) "Mandatory sinking fund redemption requirements" means amounts required by proceedings to be deposited in a bond retirement fund for the purpose of paying in any year or fiscal year by mandatory redemption prior to stated maturity the principal of securities that is due and payable, except for mandatory prior redemption requirements as provided in those proceedings, in a subsequent year or fiscal year.

(W) "Mandatory sinking fund requirements" means amounts required by proceedings to be deposited in a year or fiscal year in a bond retirement fund for the purpose of paying the principal of securities that is due and payable in a subsequent year or fiscal year.

(X) "Net indebtedness" has the same meaning as in division (A) of section 133.04 of the Revised Code.

(Y) "Obligor," in the case of securities or fractionalized interests in public obligations issued by another person the debt charges or their equivalents on which are payable from payments made by a public issuer, means that public issuer.

(Z) "One purpose" relating to permanent improvements means any one permanent improvement or group or category of permanent improvements for the same utility, enterprise, system, or project, development or redevelopment project, or for or devoted to the same general purpose, function, or use or for which self-supporting securities, based on the same or different sources of revenues, may be issued or for which special assessments may be levied by a single ordinance or resolution. "One purpose" includes, but is not limited to, in any case any off-street parking facilities relating to another permanent improvement, and:

(1) Any number of roads, highways, streets, bridges, sidewalks, and viaducts;

(2) Any number of off-street parking facilities;

(3) In the case of a county, any number of permanent improvements for courthouse, jail, county offices, and other county buildings, and related facilities;

(4) In the case of a school district, any number of facilities and buildings for school district purposes, and related facilities.

(AA) "Outstanding," referring to securities, means securities that have been issued, delivered, and paid for, except any of the following:

(1) Securities canceled upon surrender, exchange, or transfer, or upon payment or redemption;

(2) Securities in replacement of which or in exchange for which other securities have been issued;

(3) Securities for the payment, or redemption or purchase for cancellation prior to maturity, of which sufficient moneys or investments, in accordance with the applicable legislation or other proceedings or any applicable law, by mandatory sinking fund redemption requirements, mandatory sinking fund requirements, or otherwise, have been deposited, and credited for the purpose in a bond retirement fund or with a trustee or paying or escrow agent, whether at or prior to their maturity or redemption, and, in the case of securities to be redeemed prior to their stated maturity, notice of redemption has been given or satisfactory arrangements have been made for giving notice of that redemption, or waiver of that notice by or on behalf of the affected security holders has been filed with the subdivision or its agent for the purpose.

(BB) "Paying agent" means the one or more banks, trust companies, or other financial institutions or qualified persons, including an appropriate office or officer of the subdivision, designated as a paying agent or place of payment of debt charges on the particular securities.

(CC) "Permanent improvement" or "improvement" means any property, asset, or improvement certified by the fiscal officer, which certification is conclusive, as having an estimated life or period of usefulness of five years or more, and includes, but is not limited to, real estate, buildings, and personal property and interests in real estate, buildings, and personal property, equipment, furnishings, and site improvements, and reconstruction, rehabilitation, renovation, installation, improvement, enlargement, and extension of property, assets, or improvements so certified as having an estimated life or period of usefulness of five years or more. The acquisition of all the stock ownership of a corporation is the acquisition of a permanent improvement to the extent that the value of that stock is represented by permanent improvements. A permanent improvement for parking, highway, road, and street purposes includes resurfacing, but does not include ordinary repair.

(DD) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the Revised Code and also includes any federal, state, interstate, regional, or local governmental agency, any subdivision, and any combination of those persons.

(EE) "Proceedings" means the legislation, certifications, notices, orders, sale proceedings, trust agreement or indenture, mortgage, lease, lease-purchase agreement, assignment, credit enhancement facility agreements, and other agreements, instruments, and documents, as amended and supplemented, and any election proceedings, authorizing, or providing for the terms and conditions applicable to, or providing for the security or sale or award of, public obligations, and includes the provisions set forth or incorporated in those public obligations and proceedings.

(FF) "Public issuer" means any of the following that is authorized by law to issue securities or enter into public obligations:

(1) The state, including an agency, commission, officer, institution, board, authority, or other instrumentality of the state;

(2) A taxing authority, subdivision, district, or other local public or governmental entity, and any combination or consortium, or public division, district, commission, authority, department, board, officer, or institution, thereof;

(3) Any other body corporate and politic, or other public entity.

(GG) "Public obligations" means both of the following:

(1) Securities;

(2) Obligations of a public issuer to make payments under installment sale, lease, lease purchase, or similar agreements, which obligations may bear interest or interest equivalent.

(HH) "Refund" means to fund and retire outstanding securities, including advance refunding with or without payment or redemption prior to maturity.

(II) "Register" means the books kept and maintained by the registrar for registration, exchange, and transfer of registered securities.

(JJ) "Registrar" means the person responsible for keeping the register for the particular registered securities, designated by or pursuant to the proceedings.

(KK) "Securities" means bonds, notes, certificates of indebtedness, commercial paper, and other instruments in writing, including, unless the context does not admit, anticipatory securities, issued by an issuer to evidence its obligation to repay money borrowed, or to pay interest, by, or to pay at any future time other money obligations of, the issuer of the securities, but not including public obligations described in division (GG)(2) of this section.

(LL) "Self-supporting securities" means securities or portions of securities issued for the purpose of paying costs of permanent improvements to the extent that receipts of the subdivision, other than the proceeds of taxes levied by that subdivision, derived from or with respect to the improvements or the operation of the improvements being financed, or the enterprise, system, project, or category of improvements of which the improvements being financed are part, are estimated by the fiscal officer to be sufficient to pay the current expenses of that operation or of those improvements or enterprise, system, project, or categories of improvements and the debt charges payable from those receipts on securities issued for the purpose. Until such time as the improvements or increases in rates and charges have been in operation or effect for a period of at least six months, the receipts therefrom, for purposes of this definition, shall be those estimated by the fiscal officer, except that those receipts may include, without limitation, payments made and to be made to the subdivision under leases or agreements in effect at the time the estimate is made. In the case of an operation, improvements, or enterprise, system, project, or category of improvements without at least a six-month history of receipts, the estimate of receipts by the fiscal officer, other than those to be derived under leases and agreements then in effect, shall be confirmed by the taxing authority.

(MM) "Subdivision" means any of the following:

(1) A county, including a county that has adopted a charter under Article X, Ohio Constitution;

(2) A municipal corporation, including a municipal corporation that has adopted a charter under Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution;

(3) A school district;

(4) A regional water and sewer district organized under Chapter 6119. of the Revised Code;

(5) A joint township hospital district organized under section 513.07 of the Revised Code;

(6) A joint ambulance district organized under section 505.71 of the Revised Code;

(7) A joint recreation district organized under division (C) of section 755.14 of the Revised Code;

(8) A detention facility district organized under section 2152.41, a district organized under section 2151.65, or a combined district organized under sections 2152.41 and 2151.65 of the Revised Code;

(9) A township police district organized under section 505.48 of the Revised Code;

(10) A township;

(11) A joint fire district organized under section 505.371 of the Revised Code;

(12) A county library district created under section 3375.19 or a regional library district created under section 3375.28 of the Revised Code;

(13) A joint solid waste management district organized under section 343.01 or 343.012 of the Revised Code;

(14) A joint emergency medical services district organized under section 307.052 of the Revised Code;

(15) A fire and ambulance district organized under section 505.375 of the Revised Code;

(16) A fire district organized under division (C) of section 505.37 of the Revised Code;

(17) A joint police district organized under section 505.482 of the Revised Code;

(18) A lake facilities authority created under Chapter 353. of the Revised Code;

(19) A regional transportation improvement project created under Chapter 5595. of the Revised Code;

(20) Any other political subdivision or taxing district or other local public body or agency authorized by this chapter or other laws to issue Chapter 133. securities.

(NN) "Taxing authority" means in the case of the following subdivisions:

(1) A county, a county library district, or a regional library district, the board or boards of county commissioners, or other legislative authority of a county that has adopted a charter under Article X, Ohio Constitution, but with respect to such a library district acting solely as agent for the board of trustees of that district;

(2) A municipal corporation, the legislative authority;

(3) A school district, the board of education;

(4) A regional water and sewer district, a joint ambulance district, a joint recreation district, a fire and ambulance district, or a joint fire district, the board of trustees of the district;

(5) A joint township hospital district, the joint township hospital board;

(6) A detention facility district or a district organized under section 2151.65 of the Revised Code, a combined district organized under sections 2152.41 and 2151.65 of the Revised Code, or a joint emergency medical services district, the joint board of county commissioners;

(7) A township, a fire district organized under division (C) of section 505.37 of the Revised Code, or a township police district, the board of township trustees;

(8) A joint solid waste management district organized under section 343.01 or 343.012 of the Revised Code, the board of directors of the district;

(9) A subdivision described in division (MM)(19) of this section, the legislative or governing body or official;

(10) A joint police district, the joint police district board;

(11) A lake facilities authority, the board of directors;

(12) A regional transportation improvement project, the governing board.

(OO) "Tax limitation" means the "ten-mill limitation" as defined in section 5705.02 of the Revised Code without diminution by reason of section 5705.313 of the Revised Code or otherwise, or, in the case of a municipal corporation or county with a different charter limitation on property taxes levied to pay debt charges on unvoted securities, that charter limitation. Those limitations shall be respectively referred to as the "ten-mill limitation" and the "charter tax limitation."

(PP) "Tax valuation" means the aggregate of the valuations of property subject to ad valorem property taxation by the subdivision on the real property, personal property, and public utility property tax lists and duplicates most recently certified for collection, and shall be calculated without deductions of the valuations of otherwise taxable property exempt in whole or in part from taxation by reason of exemptions of certain amounts of taxable value under division (C) of section 5709.01, tax reductions under section 323.152 of the Revised Code, or similar laws now or in the future in effect.

For purposes of section 133.06 of the Revised Code, "tax valuation" shall not include the valuation of tangible personal property used in business, telephone or telegraph property, interexchange telecommunications company property, or personal property owned or leased by a railroad company and used in railroad operations listed under or described in section 5711.22, division (B) or (F) of section 5727.111, or section 5727.12 of the Revised Code.

(QQ) "Year" means the calendar year.

(RR) "Administrative agent," "agent," "commercial paper," "floating rate interest structure," "indexing agent," "interest rate hedge," "interest rate period," "put arrangement," and "remarketing agent" have the same meanings as in section 9.98 of the Revised Code.

(SS) "Sales tax supported" means obligations to the payment of debt charges on which an additional sales tax or additional sales taxes have been pledged by the taxing authority of a county pursuant to section 133.081 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4504.08.  A resolution, ordinance, or other measure levying a county motor vehicle license tax, municipal motor vehicle license tax, township motor vehicle license tax, or transportation improvement district motor vehicle license tax, or regional transportation improvement project motor vehicle license tax shall not be applicable to motor vehicle registrations for a registration year beginning at the time established in section 4503.10 of the Revised Code unless a copy of such resolution or ordinance is certified to the registrar of motor vehicles not later than the first day of July of the year preceding that in which such registration year begins.

Sec. 4504.09.  Any county, township, municipal, or transportation improvement district, or regional transportation improvement project motor vehicle license tax shall be paid to the registrar of motor vehicles or to a deputy registrar at the time application for registration of a motor vehicle as provided in sections 4503.10 and 4503.102 of the Revised Code is made and no certificate of registration, numbered license plates and validation stickers, or validation stickers alone, shall be issued to the owner of a motor vehicle for which any amount of county, township, municipal, or transportation improvement district, or regional transportation improvement project motor vehicle license tax due thereon has not been paid. Payment of the tax shall be evidenced by a stamp on the certificate of registration by the official issuing such certificate.

Upon the transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle, the registrar or deputy registrar shall collect any additional county, township, municipal, or transportation improvement district, or regional transportation improvement project motor vehicle license tax due thereon, computed in the manner provided in section 4503.12 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4504.22.  (A) Subject to division (B) of this section and for the purposes of paying the costs and expenses of enforcing and administering the tax provided for in this section; paying the costs of transportation improvements as defined in section 5595.01 of the Revised Code; paying debt service charges on obligations issued for those purposes; and to supplement revenue already available for those purposes, the board of county commissioners of a county that is participating in a regional transportation improvement project in accordance with Chapter 5595. of the Revised Code may levy an annual license tax upon the operation of motor vehicles on the public roads and highways in the county.

The board of county commissioners shall levy the tax at a rate from one dollar to fifteen dollars per motor vehicle in whole dollar increments as determined by the governing board of the regional transportation improvement project. However, for each commercial car and each commercial trailer and semitrailer that is subject to the tax in that county the board of county commissioners shall levy the tax at a rate of either one dollar or any whole multiple of ten dollars not exceeding one hundred dollars as determined by the governing board of the regional transportation improvement project. The owner of each such motor vehicle who resides in the county or a portion of the county subject to the tax shall pay the tax levied by the board of county commissioners. The tax is in addition to all other taxes levied under this chapter, subject to reduction in the manner provided in division (B)(2) of section 4503.11 of the Revised Code.

(B) Upon written request of the governing board of a regional transportation improvement project, the board of county commissioners of a county in which any part of that project is located may propose that a motor vehicle license tax be levied under this section. The board of county commissioners, via a resolution, shall put the question of the tax to the electors of the county or of that portion of the county in which the tax would be levied. The board of county commissioners shall specify in the resolution the rate of the tax, the date on which the tax will terminate, and, if the request of the governing board of the regional transportation improvement project indicates that a portion of the revenue will be used for supplemental transportation improvements not described in the cooperative agreement, the portion of the tax revenue that will be used for such supplemental improvements. The board of elections shall submit the question of the tax to the electors at the primary or general election to be held not less than ninety days after the board of county commissioners certifies to the county board of elections its resolution proposing the tax. The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of the ballot for the election. If approved by a majority of the electors voting on the question of the tax in that county or portion of that county, as applicable, the board of county commissioners of that county shall levy the tax as provided in the resolution. However, the board may make implementation of the tax contingent upon the approval of tax measures under this section in one or more of the other counties participating in the regional transportation improvement project.

(C) The registrar of motor vehicles shall deposit money from a tax levied under this section that is received by the registrar under section 4504.09 of the Revised Code in the local motor vehicle license tax fund created by section 4501.031 of the Revised Code. The registrar shall distribute the money to the board of county commissioners levying such tax. The registrar may assign to that board of county commissioners a unique code to facilitate the distribution of such money, which may be the same unique code assigned to that county under section 4501.03 of the Revised Code. The board of county commissioners then shall pay the money to the governing board of the regional transportation improvement project that requested that the question of the levying of the tax be placed on the ballot.

Sec. 5595.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Regional transportation improvement project" or "project" means a regional transportation improvement project undertaken pursuant to section 5595.02 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Transportation improvement" or "improvement" means the construction, repair, maintenance, or expansion of streets, highways, parking facilities, freight rail tracks and necessarily related freight rail facilities, bridges, tunnels, overpasses, underpasses, interchanges, approaches, culverts, and other means of transportation, and the erection and maintenance of traffic signs, markers, lights, and signals.

Sec. 5595.02.  (A) The boards of county commissioners of two or more counties may undertake a regional transportation improvement project for the purpose of completing transportation improvements within the territory of the counties. The project shall be administered by a governing board in accordance with a cooperative agreement.

(B) The cooperative agreement shall provide for the creation of a governing board consisting of one county commissioner from each county that is a party to the agreement or a designee appointed by the board of county commissioners of the county for the purpose of serving on the governing board, and the county engineer of each such county or a designee appointed by the county engineer for the purpose of serving on the governing board. Membership on the board is not a direct or indirect interest in a contract or expenditure of money by the county. The board is a public body for the purposes of section 121.22 of the Revised Code and a public office for the purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code. Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code applies to the board.

(C) The governing board of a regional transportation improvement project is a body both corporate and politic, and the exercise by it of the powers conferred by this chapter in the financing, construction, maintenance, repair, and operation of transportation improvements are essential governmental functions.

(D) A board of county commissioners, in accordance with the cooperative agreement, may make appropriations to pay costs incurred by the governing board in the exercise of its functions under this chapter.

Sec. 5595.03.  (A) A resolution of a board of county commissioners undertaking a regional transportation improvement project must include a cooperative agreement containing all of the following:

(1) A description or analysis of the deficiencies of the existing transportation system in the counties participating in the project and of projected needs or deficiencies of the system in ensuing years under reasonable assumptions about development, population trends, and other factors affecting transportation infrastructure in the counties;

(2) A comprehensive list of the transportation improvements to be completed as part of the project, including a general description of each improvement, schedules of the projected beginning and end of each improvement, and the estimated cost of each improvement;

(3) Directives regarding the operations and reporting requirements of the governing board;

(4) The number of years the agreement is to be in effect;

(5) Any other terms the board of county commissioners considers necessary or conducive to communicate the intentions of the cooperative agreement and to ensure its effective implementation by the governing board.

(B) A board of county commissioners that intends to undertake a regional transportation improvement project shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposed cooperative agreement before adopting a resolution approving the agreement. The board of county commissioners 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 county. During the thirty-day period before the public hearing, the proposed cooperative agreement shall be made available for public inspection at the offices of each county that will be a party to the agreement.

(C) The cooperative agreement governing a regional transportation improvement project may be amended at any time by majority vote of the governing board and of the boards of county commissioners of each of the participating counties.

Sec. 5595.04.  The governing board of a regional transportation improvement project may do any of the following:

(A) 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 and in accordance with the cooperative agreement. The procuring of goods and awarding of contracts with a cost in excess of fifty thousand dollars shall be done in accordance with the competitive bidding procedures established for boards of county commissioners by sections 307.86 to 307.91 of the Revised Code.

(B) Sue and be sued in its own name, plead and be impleaded, provided any actions against the governing board or the regional transportation improvement project shall be brought in the court of common pleas of a county that is a party to the cooperative agreement or in the court of common pleas of the county in which the cause of action arose, and all summonses, exceptions, and notices shall be served on the governing board by leaving a copy thereof at its principal office with a member of the governing board or an employee or agent thereof;

(C) Employ or retain persons as are necessary in the judgment of the governing board to carry out the project, and fix their compensation;

(D) Acquire by purchase, lease, lease-purchase, lease with option to purchase, appropriation, or otherwise any property necessary, convenient, or proper for the construction, maintenance, repair, or operation of one or more transportation improvements. The governing board may pledge net revenues, to the extent permitted by this chapter with respect to bonds, to secure payments to be paid by the governing board under such a lease, lease-purchase agreement, or lease with option to purchase. Title to real and personal property shall be held in the name of the governing board. In any proceedings for appropriation under this section, the procedure to be followed shall be in accordance with that provided in sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code. Except as otherwise agreed to by the owner of the property, full compensation shall be paid for public property so taken.

(E) Issue securities to pay for the costs of transportation improvements pursuant to section 5595.05 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5595.05.  The governing board of a regional transportation improvement project may provide for the issuance of securities for the purpose of paying costs of transportation improvements. The securities are Chapter 133. securities, and the issuance of the securities, the maturities and other details thereof, the rights of the holders thereof, and the rights, duties, and obligations of the governing board in respect to the securities is governed by the applicable bond proceedings, section 133.22 or 133.23, and other applicable sections of Chapter 133. of the Revised Code, notwithstanding that the transportation improvements may result in permanent improvements for more than one purpose under that chapter.

Such securities do not constitute a debt or a pledge of the faith and credit of the state or of any political subdivision of the state. Debt charges on outstanding securities are payable solely from revenues pledged to the regional transportation improvement project pursuant to section 5595.06 of the Revised Code. All securities shall contain on their face a statement to that effect. Sections 9.98 to 9.983 of the Revised Code apply to the securities.

Sec. 5595.06.  (A) The governing board of a regional transportation improvement project, pursuant to the cooperative agreement, may request and receive pledges of revenue from the state, the counties that are parties to the agreement, and any political subdivision or taxing unit located within any of those counties. Except as provided in division (B) of this section, the pledged revenues shall be used solely for the purpose of funding the transportation improvements prescribed by the cooperative agreement, the debt charges on any securities issued by the governing board under section 5595.05 of the Revised Code, and the expenses of the governing board. The state, the counties, and any political subdivision or taxing unit located within such a county may pledge revenue to the governing board from any of the following sources:

(1) The general revenue fund of the state;

(2) License tax revenue derived from an annual motor vehicle license tax imposed pursuant to section 4504.22 of the Revised Code;

(3) Payments in lieu of taxes derived under section 5709.42, 5709.74, or 5709.79 of the Revised Code if the real property for which such payments are made will benefit from the proposed transportation improvements;

(4) Income tax revenue derived from a joint economic development district or joint economic development zone established pursuant to section 715.69, 715.691, 715.70, or 715.71 or sections 715.72 to 715.81 of the Revised Code if the district or zone will benefit from the proposed transportation improvements;

(5) Revenue derived from special assessments levied in a special improvement district created under Chapter 1710. of the Revised Code if the district will benefit from the proposed transportation improvements;

(6) Revenue from an income source of a new community district established pursuant to section 349.03 of the Revised Code if the district will benefit from the proposed transportation improvements.

(B) The governing board shall use license tax revenue pledged to the project under division (A)(2) of this section for the purpose of funding transportation improvements described in the cooperative agreement and any other supplemental transportation improvements necessary to complete the project. If the board intends to use any of the license tax revenue for supplemental improvements not described in the agreement, the board, before submitting a request for license tax revenue to a board of county commissioners under section 4504.22 of the Revised Code, shall adopt a resolution allocating the revenue among the improvements described in the agreement and such supplemental improvements not described in the agreement. The amount used for supplemental improvements may not exceed five dollars for each motor vehicle on which the motor vehicle license tax is collected. If the motor vehicle license tax is approved, the governing board shall allocate the revenue only in accordance with the resolution. The allocation may not be changed unless a proposition to change the allocation is approved by the majority of electors voting on the proposition in each county that is a party to the cooperative agreement. Such a proposition may be proposed by resolution of the governing board certified to the board of county commissioners of each county, and, upon receiving such a certified resolution, each board of county commissioners shall certify identical resolutions to the respective county board of elections for placement on the questions and issues ballot at the next succeeding election occurring at least ninety days after the resolution is certified to the board of elections.

Sec. 5595.07.  The governing board of a regional transportation improvement project may submit a written request to the director of transportation for the assistance of the department of transportation in any or all aspects, components, or phases of that project. Upon receipt of such a request, the director shall make available to the governing board all such resources of the department as may be necessary to fulfill the request. The director, in the director's discretion, may elect to assign any or all of any post-construction management responsibilities for the project back to the governing board.

The governing board shall pay all expenses the department incurs in fulfilling the request of the governing board for assistance, which expenses may be paid from the proceeds of bonds issued by the governing board under this section.

Sec. 5595.08.  All money, funds, properties, and assets acquired by the governing board of a regional transportation improvement project under this chapter, whether as proceeds from the sale of securities, as revenues, or otherwise, shall be held by it in trust for the purpose of carrying out its powers and duties, shall be used and reused as provided in this chapter, and shall at no time be part of other public funds. Such funds, except as otherwise provided in bond proceedings or in any trust agreement securing such securities, or except when invested pursuant to section 5595.09 of the Revised Code, shall be kept in depositories selected by the governing board in the manner provided in Chapter 135. of the Revised Code for the selection of eligible public depositories, and the deposits shall be secured as provided in that chapter. Bond proceedings or the trust agreement securing securities shall provide that any officer to whom, or any bank or trust company to which, such money is paid shall act as trustee of the money and hold and apply the money for the purposes for which the securities are issued, subject to such conditions as Chapter 133. or 135. of the Revised Code and such proceedings or trust agreement provide.

Sec. 5595.09.  Except as otherwise provided in any bond proceedings or in any trust agreement securing securities, money in the funds of the governing board of a regional transportation improvement project in excess of current needs may be invested as permitted by sections 135.01 to 135.21 of the Revised Code. Income from all investments of moneys in any fund shall be credited to funds as the governing board determines, subject to the provisions of any such proceedings or trust agreement, and the investments may be sold at any time the governing board determines.

Sec. 5595.10.  The county auditor of the county with the greatest population, according to the most recent federal decennial census, that is a party to the cooperative agreement shall be the fiscal officer for the governing board of the project. The county prosecutor of the county with the greatest population, according to the most recent federal decennial census, that is participating in the project shall be the legal advisor of the governing board of the project and shall prosecute and defend all suits and actions that the governing board directs or to which it is a party.

Sec. 5595.11.  The exercise of the powers granted by this chapter is in all respects for the benefit of the people of the state, for the increase of their commerce and prosperity, and for the improvement of their health and living conditions, and, as the completion of transportation improvements by a regional transportation improvement project constitute the performance of essential governmental functions, neither the project nor the governing board may be required to pay any state or local taxes or assessments upon any improvement, or upon revenue or any property acquired or used by the governing board of the project under this chapter, or upon the income therefrom. The securities issued under this chapter, their transfer, and the income therefrom, including any profit made on the sale thereof, shall at all times be free from taxation within the state.

Sec. 5595.12.  Notwithstanding any other section of the Revised Code to the contrary, the approval, consent, or cooperation of a political subdivision is not required for a transportation improvement that involves constructing or improving a street or highway that runs through the territory of the political subdivision, connects to a highway that is part of the interstate system, and has been journalized by the director of transportation prior to the effective date of the enactment of this section.

Section 2.  That existing sections 133.01, 4504.08, and 4504.09 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.