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H. B. No. 500 As IntroducedAs Introduced
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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A BILL
To amend sections 306.04 and 307.982 and to enact
sections 306.14 and 307.863 of the Revised Code to
permit a board of county commissioners, on behalf
of a county transit board, to award a franchise
for the operation of a public transit system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 306.04 and 307.982 be amended and
sections 306.14 and 307.863 of the Revised Code be enacted to read
as follows:
Sec. 306.04. (A) Except as otherwise provided in division
(B) of this section, employees of a county transit board or a
board of county commissioners operating a transit system are
employees of the county. If the system is operated by the board of
county commissioners, the board shall appoint an executive
director, who shall be in the unclassified service.
(B) Any county transit board that established its own civil
service organization and procedure prior to October 25, 1995,
shall continue to operate under that organization. Appointments
and promotions in that system shall be made, as far as
practicable, by competitive examination.
A board that established its own civil service organization
prior to October 25, 1995, shall establish by rule the seniority
provisions relating to street railway and motor bus employees in
effect at the time of the acquisition of the transit system by the
county. The vacation, holiday, and sick leave privileges shall not
be regulated by other provisions of law relating to public
employees of the state or county, except that the transit board,
its officers and employees, shall be subject to the public
employees retirement system of the state and the transit board
shall assume any pension obligations which have been assumed by
any publicly owned transit system which the county may acquire.
(C) A county transit board or board of county commissioners
operating a transit system may:
(1) Acquire in its name by gift, grant, purchase, or
condemnation and hold and operate real estate and interests
therein and personal property suitable for its purposes;
(2) In its name purchase, acquire, construct, enlarge,
improve, equip, repair, maintain, sell, exchange, lease as lessee
or lessor, receive a right of use of, and manage, control, and
operate, in or out of the county, a county transit system
consisting of all real estate and interests therein, personal
property, and a combination thereof, for or related to the
movement of persons including but not limited to street railway,
tramline, subways, rapid transits, monorails, and passenger bus
systems but excluding therefrom trucks, the movement of property
by truck, and facilities designed for use in the movement of
property by truck for hire;
(3) Issue, with the approval of the county commissioners when
the issuance is made by the transit board, revenue bonds of the
county as provided in division (B) of section 306.09 of the
Revised Code, to secure funds to accomplish its purposes. The
principal of and interest on such bonds, together with all other
payments required to be made by the trust agreement or indenture
securing such bonds, shall be paid solely from revenues or other
income accruing to the board from facilities of the county transit
system designated in said agreement or indenture.
(4) Enter into contracts in the exercise of the rights,
powers, and duties conferred upon it, and execute all instruments
necessary in the conduct of its business;
(5) Fix, alter, and charge rates and other charges for the
use of its real estate and interests therein, personal property,
and combinations thereof;
(6) Employ such financial consultants, accountants,
appraisers, consulting engineers, architects, construction
experts, attorneys-at-law, managers and other supervisory
personnel, and other officers, employees, and agents as it
determines necessary to conduct its business, and fix their
compensation and duties;
(7) Pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber its revenues
and other income as security for its obligations and enter into
trust agreements or indentures for the benefit of revenue
bondholders;
(8) Borrow money or accept or contract to accept advances,
loans, gifts, grants, devises, or bequests from and enter into
contracts or agreements with any federal, state, or other
governmental or private source and hold and apply advances, loans,
gifts, grants, devises, or bequests according to the terms thereof
including provisions which are required by such federal, state, or
other governmental or private source to protect the interest of
employees affected by such advances, loans, gifts, grants,
devises, or bequests. Such advances, loans, gifts, grants, or
devises may be subject to any reasonable reservation and any gift,
grant, or devise or real estate may be in fee simple or any lesser
estate. Any advances or loans received from any federal, state, or
other governmental or private source may be repaid in accordance
with the terms of such advance or loan.
A loan accepted by a
county transit board shall not, in any way, obligate the general
fund of a county or a board of county commissioners.
(9) Conduct investigations and surveys into the needs of the
public within or without the county for transportation services to
provide for the movement of persons within, into, or from the area
serviced or to be serviced by the county transit system;
(10) Enter into lawful arrangements with the appropriate
federal or state department or agency, county, township, municipal
corporation, or other political subdivision or public agency for
the planning and installation of any public facilities which are
determined necessary in the conduct of its business;
(11) Purchase fire, extended coverage, and liability
insurance for the real estate and interests therein, personal
property and any combination thereof, used by or in connection
with the county transit system and insurance covering the board
and the county transit system and its officers and employees for
liability for damage or injury to persons or property;
(12) Procure and pay all or any part of the cost of group
hospitalization, surgical, major medical, or sickness and accident
insurance, or a combination thereof, for the officers and
employees of the county transit system and their immediate
dependents, issued by an insurance company, duly authorized to do
business in this state;
(13) Sell, lease, release, or otherwise dispose of real
estate or interests therein or personal property owned by it and
grant such easements across its real estate and interests therein
as will not interfere with its use by the county transit system;
(14) Establish rules for the use and operation of the county
transit system including the real estate or interests therein,
personal property or a combination of the foregoing used by or in
connection with such system;
(15) Exercise the power of eminent domain to appropriate any
real estate or interests therein, personal property, franchises,
or any combination thereof, within or without the county,
necessary or proper in the exercise of its powers provided in
sections 306.01 to 306.13 of the Revised Code, as provided in
sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code, and subject to
divisions (15)(a), (b), and (c) of this section, provided that a
county transit board or a board of county commissioners operating
a transit system shall not proceed to so appropriate real property
outside its territorial boundaries, until it has served at the
office of the county commissioners of the county in which it is
proposed to appropriate real property, a notice describing the
real property to be taken and the purpose for which it is proposed
to be taken, and such county commissioners have entered on their
journal within thirty days after such service a resolution
approving such appropriation;.
(a) Nothing contained in this division authorizes a county
transit board or a board of county commissioners to appropriate
any land, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, or easements
belonging to the state or to a municipal corporation without the
consent of the state or of the municipal corporation, and no
county transit board or board of county commissioners shall
exercise the right of eminent domain to acquire any certificate of
public convenience and necessity, or any part thereof, issued to a
for-hire motor carrier by the public utilities commission of Ohio
or by the federal motor carrier safety administration of the
United States, or to take or disturb other real estate or
interests therein, personal property, or any combination thereof
belonging to any municipal corporation without the consent of the
legislative authority of such municipal corporation, or take or
disturb real estate or interests therein, personal property, or
any combination thereof belonging to any other political
subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or common
carrier, which is necessary and convenient in the operation of
such political subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or
common carrier unless provision is made for the restoration,
relocation, or duplication of that taken or upon the election of
such political subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or
common carrier for the payment of compensation, if any, at the
sole cost of the county transit system.
(b) If any restoration or duplication proposed to be made
under this division involves a relocation, the new location shall
have at least comparable utilitarian value and effectiveness, and
such relocation shall not impair the ability of the public utility
or common carrier to compete in its original area of operation.
(c) If such restoration or duplication proposed to be made
under this division involves a relocation, the county transit
board or board of county commissioners shall acquire no interest
or right in or to the appropriated property or facility until the
relocated property or facility is available for use and until
marketable title thereto has been transferred to the political
subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or common
carrier. Nothing in this division shall require any board of
county commissioners or county transit board operating a county
transit system to so restore, relocate, or duplicate, if all of
the real estate and interests therein, personal property, and any
combination of the foregoing which is owned by a public utility or
common carrier and used by it or in connection with the movement
of persons, is acquired by exercise of the power of eminent
domain.
(16) When real property is acquired that is located outside
the county and is removed from the tax duplicate, the county
transit board or board of county commissioners operating a transit
system shall pay annually to the county treasurer of the county in
which that property is located, commencing with the first tax year
in which that property is removed from the tax duplicate, an
amount of money in lieu of taxes equal to the smaller of the
following:
(a) The last annual installment of taxes due from the
acquired property before removal from the tax duplicate;
(b) An amount equal to the difference between the combined
revenue from real estate taxes of all the taxing districts in
which the property is located in the tax year immediately prior to
the removal of the acquired property from the tax duplicate, and
either:
(i) The total revenue which would be produced by the tax rate
of each such taxing district in the tax year immediately prior to
the removal of the acquired property from the tax duplicate,
applied to the real estate tax duplicate of each of such taxing
districts in each tax year subsequent to the year of removal; or
(ii) The combined revenue from real estate taxes of all such
taxing districts in each tax year subsequent to the year of
removal, whichever is the greater.
The county transit board or board of county commissioners may
be exempted from such payment by agreement of the affected taxing
district or districts in the county in which the property is
located.
The county auditor of the county in which that property is
located shall apportion each such annual payment to each taxing
district as if the annual payment had been levied and collected as
a tax.
Those annual payments shall never again be made after they
have ceased.
(17) Sue or be sued, plead or be impleaded, and be held
liable in any court of proper jurisdiction for damages received by
reason of negligence, in the same manner and to the same extent as
if the county transit system were privately operated, provided,
that no funds of a county other than those of the county transit
board or, if the transit system is operated by the board of county
commissioners, other than those in the account for the county
transit system created under division (C) of section 306.01 of the
Revised Code, shall be available for the satisfaction of judgments
rendered against that system;
(18) Annually prepare and make available for public
inspection a report in condensed form showing the financial
results of the operation of the county transit system. For systems
operated by a county transit board, copies of this report shall be
furnished to the county commissioners as well as a monthly summary
statement of revenues and expenses for the preceding month
sufficient to show the exact financial condition of the county
transit system as of the last day of the preceding month.
(19) With the approval of the county commissioners when the
action is taken by the transit board, and without competitive
bidding, sell, lease, or grant the right of use of all or a
portion of the county transit system to any other political
subdivision, taxing district, or other public body or agency
having the power to operate a transit system;
(20) Enter into and supervise franchise agreements for the
operation of a county transit system;
(21) Accept the assignment of and then supervise an existing
franchise agreement for the operation of a county transit system.
(D)(1) As used in divisions (D)(1) to (7) of this section:
(a) "Applicant" means any person who responds to a request
for proposals and submits an application for a franchise to
operate a public transit system or portion of a public transit
system;
(b) "Application for certification" means the documents that
are required to be filed by a franchisee to initiate the
proceedings required for certification;
(c) "Application for a franchise" means the documents that
are required to be filed in response to a request for proposals
and that initiate the proceedings required for the award of a
franchise;
(d) "Certification" means the order issued by a board of
county commissioners, after submission of an application for
certification, that approves the operation of a public transit
system, or a portion of a public transit system, by a franchisee,
subject to terms and conditions imposed by the board.
(e) "Franchise" means the document and all accompanying
rights approved by the board of county commissioners that provides
the franchisee with the exclusive right to establish a public
transit system and, subject to certification, the right to operate
a public transit system. A franchise may include the right of a
franchisee to provide transportation services for a county
department of job and family services.
(f) "Franchisee" means the individual, corporation, or other
entity awarded a franchise.
(2) A board of county commissioners, on behalf of a county
transit board, may award a franchise to an applicant subject to
such terms and conditions as the board of county commissioners
considers appropriate and consistent with applicable laws.
Subsequent to awarding the franchise, the board of county
commissioners may issue a certification and, until such issuance,
the franchisee has no right to operate a public transit system or
part of such a system. The board of county commissioners shall not
delete, alter, or amend the terms and conditions of the
certification after its issuance. The board shall include in the
certification performance targets related to the operation of a
public transit system by the franchisee, including cost savings to
the county, gains in efficiency, the safety and security of the
traveling public and franchise employees, service to the traveling
public, return on any investments made by the county, and any
other performance targets as determined by the board. All terms
and conditions of the order of certification are terms and
conditions of the franchise. Unless expressly exempted or granted
a waiver in the certification, the franchisee shall comply with
all applicable rules, regulations, orders, and ordinances.
(3) The award of a franchise by a board of county
commissioners to an applicant is the sole license and authority
for the franchisee to establish a public transit system and,
subject to certification, operate a public transit system.
(4) A board of county commissioners shall award a franchise
for a period of not less than ten years, as provided in the
franchise.
(5) A franchise shall not prohibit the franchisee from
implementing new or improved services during the term of the
franchise.
(6) A franchisee shall coordinate its services, as specified
in the franchise, with public transit providers to make effective
transportation services available to the public and provide access
to and from the public transit system.
(7) A board of county commissioners shall provide terms and
conditions in a franchise to ensure that the franchisee will
continue operation of the public transit system for the duration
of the term of the franchise or, if the franchise is revoked,
suspended, or abandoned, that financial and other necessary
resources are available to continue the operation of the system
until another franchisee is selected or until the board of county
commissioners determines to cease the transit operations governed
by the franchise. The franchise shall specifically provide that
the board shall have the right to terminate the franchise if the
board determines that the franchisee has materially breached the
franchise in any manner. The franchisee may appeal such a
termination to the board, and, if the board upholds the
termination, to the proper court of common pleas.
Sec. 306.14. (A) If a board of county commissioners awards a
franchise to a franchisee on behalf of a county transit board, the
county transit board shall submit an annual written report to the
board of county commissioners not later than a date designated by
the board of county commissioners and in a form prescribed by that
board. The board of county commissioners shall make the report
available on the general web site of the county. The county
transit board shall include in the report a description in detail
of the effects the franchise agreement had during the prior year
on all of the following as they relate to the operation of a
public transit system by the franchisee in that county:
(1) Cost savings to the county;
(3) Safety and security of the traveling public and franchise
employees;
(4) Service to the traveling public;
(5) Return on investment by the county;
(6) Any other aspects the board of county commissioners
determines should be included in the report.
(B) A franchisee that is awarded a franchise by a board of
county commissioners on behalf of a county transit board shall
submit an annual written report to the board of county
commissioners or county transit board not later than a date
designated by the board of county commissioners and in a form
prescribed by that board. The board of county commissioners also
shall direct the franchisee to submit the report to the board of
county commissioners, the county transit board, or both. The board
of county commissioners shall establish the issues to be addressed
in the report with respect to the public transit system that the
franchisee operated during the prior year. The board of county
commissioners shall make the report available on the general web
site of the county.
(C) A board of county commissioners that awards a franchise
to a franchisee on behalf of a county transit board shall conduct
an annual review of the performance of the franchisee. The board
of county commissioners shall include in the review a
determination of the number of performance targets the franchisee
met during the prior year and an evaluation of the franchisee's
compliance with the other terms and conditions of the franchise,
including any breaches of the franchise by the franchisee. The
board shall issue a written report, and shall make the report
available on the general web site of the county.
Sec. 307.863. (A) Notwithstanding section 307.86 of the
Revised Code, a board of county commissioners that awards a
franchise to a franchisee on behalf of a county transit board
pursuant to section 306.04 of the Revised Code to operate a public
transit system shall award the franchise through competitive
bidding as prescribed in this section. The board shall solicit
bids that are not sealed, and shall ensure that all bids the board
receives are open for public inspection. The board shall consider
all bids that are timely received.
(B) The fact that a bid proposes to be the most beneficial to
the county monetarily in and of itself does not confer best bid
status on that bid.
(C) In awarding a franchise to a bidder to operate a public
transit system, the board may consider all of the following:
(1) The proposed monetary benefit to the county;
(2) The bidder's ownership of, or access to, transportation
facilities or transportation equipment such as vehicles, automated
transit systems, or any other applicable equipment;
(3) The bidder's experience in operating public transit
systems;
(4) If the bidder has experience in operating public transit
systems, the record of the bidder in relation to all aspects of
operating a public transit system, including cost savings to a
political subdivision, gains in efficiency, the safety and
security of the traveling public and employees, service to the
traveling public, return on any investments made by a political
subdivision, and any other aspects the board includes for
consideration.
Sec. 307.982. (A) To the extent permitted by federal law,
including subpart F of 5 C.F.R. part 900, and subject to any
limitations established by the Revised Code, including division
(B) of this section, a board of county commissioners may enter
into a written contract with a private or government entity,
including a public or private college or university, for the
entity to perform a family services duty or workforce development
activity on behalf of a county family services agency or workforce
development agency. The entity with which a board contracts is not
required to be located in the county the board serves.
A family services duty or workforce development activity
includes transportation services provided by a county transit
board. A board of county commissioners may delegate to a county
transit board the authority to solicit bids and award and execute
contracts for such transportation services on behalf of the board
of county commissioners.
(B) A board of county commissioners may not enter into a
contract under division (A) of this section regarding a family
services duty of a public children services agency if a county
children services board appointed under section 5153.03 of the
Revised Code serves as the public children services agency for the
county. The county children services board may enter into
contracts regarding its duties in accordance with division (C)(2)
of section 5153.16 of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing sections 306.04 and 307.982 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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