Am.
H.B. 289
127th General Assembly
(As Reported by H. Agriculture and Natural Resources)
Reps. Core, Distel, Hite, Gibbs, Zehringer, Reinhard
BILL SUMMARY
· Alters the definition of "new development" for purposes of the Agricultural Security Areas Law by specifying that "new development" does not include easements for electricity, gas, or oil lines, the grants of new mineral leases, or the drilling or operation of any oil or gas well on or in connection with the applicable land under certain circumstances.
· Alters the application requirements for enrolling land in an agricultural security area with respect to the preparation and contents of a map concerning the land.
· Allows additional contiguous farmland to be enrolled in an existing agricultural security area during a partially elapsed ten-year enrollment period.
· Authorizes land that is enrolled in an agricultural security area to be transferred to another person during a partially elapsed ten-year enrollment period.
· Requires the clerk of the board of county commissioners of the county that includes the most land that is located or is to be located within an agricultural security area to serve as the clerk on behalf of all boards of county commissioners and boards of township trustees that are participating in a joint meeting concerning an application for the formation of an agricultural security area.
· Alters the requirements pertaining to the operation of a business in an agricultural security area.
· Alters the definition of "qualifying agricultural real property" for purposes of the law that provides a property tax exemption for property that is enrolled in an agricultural security area.
· Makes other changes to the Agricultural Security Areas Law.
CONTENT AND OPERATION
Current law provides for the establishment of
agricultural security areas whereby owners of land located in unincorporated
areas of a county may enroll the land in such an agricultural security
area. As part of the application for
such enrollment, an applicant must pledge in a statement that he will not
initiate, approve, or finance any new development for nonagricultural purposes
on the land that is proposed to be enrolled in the agricultural security area
for a ten-year period. "New development"
is defined to include an applicant's transfer to another person of the
ownership of property interest in the land during the ten-year period of
enrollment of the land in the agricultural security area. Thus, agricultural
security areas serve as a statutory mechanism by which owners of agricultural
land may protect the land from uses other than agriculture.
With respect to agricultural security areas,
current law establishes application requirements, requirements pertaining to
hearings concerning applications by boards of township trustees and boards of
county commissioners, authorizations for landowners in an agricultural security
area to conduct certain businesses and build certain dwellings, agricultural
security area renewal requirements, procedures for the withdrawal from an
agricultural security area, and fines for failure to comply with certain
requirements of the Agricultural Security Areas Law.
The bill makes changes to various aspects of
the Agricultural Security Areas Law and other provisions of current law dealing
with property tax exemptions for property included in agricultural security
areas.
As stated above, current law states that when a person enrolls land in an agricultural security area, he must pledge that he will not initiate, approve, or finance any new development for nonagricultural purposes on the land for a period of ten years. Current law specifies that "new development" does not include the construction, modification, or operation of transmission lines for electricity, gas, or oil or of any gathering or production lines for oil or gas, provided that the construction, modification, or operation of the lines does not cause the land to become ineligible for valuation and assessment for real property tax purposes in accordance with its current agricultural use value. The bill expands the exclusions from the definition of "new development" by specifying that the term does not include the grant of easements for or construction, modification, or operation of transmission lines for electricity, gas, or oil or of any gathering or production lines for oil or gas, or the grant of new mineral leases, or the drilling or operation of any oil or gas well on or in connection with the land, provided that such activities do not cause the land to become ineligible for valuation and assessment for real property tax purposes in accordance with its current agricultural use value. (Sec. 931.02(A)(3).)
Current law establishes certain application
requirements for persons applying for the inclusion of land in an agricultural
security area. One of those
requirements is that an applicant must submit a map of the land that is the
subject of the application. Under
current law, the map must be prepared and certified by a regional or county
planning commission or a professional engineer or surveyor registered under
current law. The bill instead requires
that the map be prepared, but not certified, by a regional or county planning
commission; a professional engineer, including a county engineer, or a surveyor
registered under current law; a soil and water conservation district created
under existing law; or the Natural Resources Conservation Service. (Sec. 931.02(A)(6)(a).)
Current law also requires the map to show the
names and locations of all streams, creeks, or other bodies of water,
roads, rights-of-way, railroads, utility lines, and water and sewer lines
together with any existing residential, recreational, commercial, or industrial
facilities that are on or are situated on the land to be included in the area
and within five hundred feet of the perimeter of the area. The bill changes the requirements to require
the map to show such locations that are situated on the land rather than are on
or are situated on the land. The bill also revises the requirements
pertaining to utility, water, and sewer lines by specifying that the map must
show the location of all utility, water, and sewer lines that are situated on the land to be included in
the agricultural security area and within 500 feet of the perimeter of the area
unless the board of county commissioners of each county and the board of
township trustees of each township in which the land is located exempts the
application from that requirement because the information generally is not
readily available. (Sec.
931.02(A)(6)(d).)
The bill allows additional contiguous farmland to be enrolled in an existing agricultural security area during a partially elapsed ten-year enrollment period either by a landowner who already has land enrolled in the agricultural security area or by a landowner who does not already have land enrolled in the agricultural security area. To enroll additional contiguous land in an existing agricultural security area, a landowner must obtain permission from each owner of land that already is enrolled in the agricultural security area, submit an application in accordance with current law, and obtain approval of the application from all appropriate boards of township trustees and boards of county commissioners. Enrollment of the additional land in the existing agricultural security area is required to continue until the expiration of the current, partially elapsed ten-year enrollment period and may be renewed in accordance with renewal procedures established in current law. (Sec. 931.02(C).)
If an owner of land that is enrolled in an agricultural security area transfers the land to another person during a partially elapsed ten-year enrollment period, the bill provides that the land may remain in the agricultural security area until the expiration of that period, provided that both of the following apply:
(1) The transferee certifies and submits a statement, together with the transferee's first, middle, and last name and a description of the transferred land, to the appropriate boards of township trustees and boards of county commissioners specifying that, in accordance with current law, the transferee will not initiate, approve, or finance any new development for nonagricultural purposes on the transferred land during the remainder of the partially elapsed ten-year enrollment period. Upon receipt of the statement, the boards of township trustees and boards of county commissioners are required to adopt a resolution acknowledging the receipt; and
(2) The transferred land continues to satisfy the criteria in current law that require the land forming an agricultural security area to be located in an agricultural district and require the land forming an agricultural security area to be valued and assessed for real property tax purposes as agricultural land under Ohio's Property Tax Law during the remainder of the partially elapsed ten-year enrollment period. (Sec. 931.02(D).)
The bill then declares that the procedures in current law regarding township and county approval of an application for enrollment of land in an agricultural security area do not apply to the continued inclusion of such transferred land in an agricultural security area. Upon the expiration of the partially elapsed ten-year enrollment period, enrollment in the agricultural security area may be renewed in accordance with current law. (Sec. 931.02(D).) Further, the bill specifies that the definition of "new development" (see above) does not include land that is transferred in accordance with the bill (sec. 931.02(A)(3)).
Current law requires that not later than 60 days after receipt of an application to form an agricultural security area, the board of township trustees of each township in which the land that is proposed for enrollment in the agricultural security area is located and the board of county commissioners of each county in which the land is located must hear the application at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board. Current law then establishes various provisions concerning procedures that are applicable to the meetings. One such provision allows boards of township trustees and boards of county commissioners to conduct joint meetings regarding an application in lieu of meeting separately. The bill adds that for purposes of such a joint meeting, the clerk of the board of county commissioners of the county that includes the most land that is located or is to be located within the agricultural security area must serve as the clerk on behalf of all boards of county commissioners and boards of township trustees participating in the joint meeting. The clerk's duties are required to include providing the public notice that is required under current law together with maintaining minutes and a record of proceedings for the joint meeting. (Sec. 931.03(A)(2).)
In order for a board of township trustees or board of county commissioners to approve an application to form an agricultural security area, the board must adopt a resolution doing so. Current law includes various requirements governing what must be included in the resolution. One such requirement provides that the resolution must include a statement that the board of township trustees or board of county commissioners, as applicable, commits not to initiate, approve, or finance any development for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes, including construction of new roads and water and sewer lines, within the area for a period of ten years. Current law specifies that "development" does not include, in part, the improvement of existing roads, provided that the county engineer of each county in which the portion of the area affected by the improvement is located determines that the improvement is necessary for traffic safety, and provided that the improvement is consistent with the agricultural use of land in the area. The bill requires instead that the improvement must be as consistent as possible with the agricultural use of land in the area. (Sec. 931.03(C).)
Under current law, an owner of land that is enrolled in an agricultural security area may request approval to operate any business that does not impair the owner's ability to engage in agriculture from each board of township trustees and each board of county commissioners that adopted a resolution approving the establishment of the agricultural security area. The bill instead authorizes an owner of land that is enrolled in an agricultural security area to request approval from each board of township trustees and each board of county commissioners that adopted a resolution approving the establishment of the agricultural security area to operate any business that does not impair the owner's ability to engage in agriculture and does not cause the land to become ineligible for valuation and assessment for real property tax purposes in accordance with its current agricultural use value. (Sec. 931.04(A)(1).)
Current law states that whoever violates the provision of the Agricultural Security Areas Law that deals with notice of withdrawal from an agricultural security area or the provision that deals with failure to comply with the statement that is required to be submitted by the owner of land in an agricultural security area indicating that the owner will only use the land for agricultural purposes must be fined $500. The bill adds that the $500 fine is applicable for a violation of each provision. (Sec. 931.99.)
Current law establishes a property tax exemption for qualifying agricultural real property that is enrolled in an agricultural security area. For purposes of that law, "qualifying agricultural real property" is defined to mean a building, structure, improvement, or fixture that is used exclusively for agricultural purposes, is located on land enrolled in an agricultural security area, and has a true value in money of $25,000 or more. The bill alters the definition to provide that "qualifying agricultural real property" means a building, structure, improvement, or fixture that is used exclusively for agricultural purposes, that is located on land enrolled in an agricultural security area, and for which the aggregate new investment has a true value in money of $25,000 or more. (Sec. 5709.28.)
HISTORY
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ACTION |
DATE |
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Introduced |
07-24-07 |
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Reported, H. Agriculture & Natural Resources |
11-01-07 |
H0289-RH-127.doc/jc