Fiscal Note & Local Impact Statement
127 th General Assembly of Ohio
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BILL: |
DATE: |
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STATUS: |
SPONSOR: |
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LOCAL IMPACT
STATEMENT REQUIRED: |
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STATE FUND |
FY 2008 |
FY 2009 |
FUTURE YEARS |
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General Revenue Fund |
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Revenues |
Potential negligible gain |
Potential negligible gain |
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Expenditures |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
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State Fire Marshal Fund (Fund
546) – Department of Commerce |
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Revenues |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
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Expenditures |
- 0 - |
Potential minimal increase
in inspection or administrative hearing costs |
Potential minimal increase
in inspection or administrative hearing costs |
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Victims of Crime/Reparations
Fund (Fund 402) – Attorney General |
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Revenues |
- 0 - |
Potential negligible gain |
Potential negligible gain |
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Expenditures |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
Note: The state
fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.
For example, FY 2008 is July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008.
·
There appears to be little fiscal effect on the State Fire
Marshal's (SFM) hotel inspection activities as a result of the bill. SFM inspectors would likely ensure that the
new requirement is being followed during routine inspections.
·
Current law, unchanged by the bill, prescribes SFM activities when
a hotel is found to be in noncompliance of Hotel Law requirements. After notification, the
licensee must make the alterations or changes as necessary to put the building
and premises into complete compliance within a reasonable time. If not, SFM may suspend or revoke a hotel
license after an administrative hearing conducted under Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code.
·
New misdemeanor cases could mean that the state
may gain a negligible amount of state court cost revenue, which is deposited
into the GRF and the Victims of Crime/Reparations Fund (Fund 402).
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LOCAL
GOVERNMENT |
FY 2008 |
FY 2009 |
FUTURE YEARS |
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Counties and
Municipalities |
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Revenues |
Potential minimal gain |
Potential minimal gain |
Potential minimal gain |
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Expenditures |
Potential minimal increase |
Potential minimal increase |
Potential minimal increase |
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Note:
For most local governments, the fiscal year is the calendar year. The school district fiscal year is July 1
through June 30.
·
Under current law unchanged by the bill, persons
refusing or failing to make the necessary alterations or changes can be charged
with a first-degree misdemeanor, meaning that court expenses for counties and
municipalites may increase as a result of the new requirement, but likely no
more than minimally. The potential for
additional cases also could mean that counties and municipalities will gain
court cost and fine revenue (fine revenue remains in the county of
prosecution), which would mitigate the impact of any increase in criminal
justice expenditures.
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Overview
Americans
with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) prescribe certain
requirements on places of public accommodation, such as hotels, restaurants,
movie theaters, stadiums, grocery stores, banks, libraries, and so forth, so
that persons with physical disabilities will not be discriminated against in
terms of access to those places. Under
ADAAG, hotels must contain a certain number of rooms that are accessible to
those with physical disabilities (based on the total number of rooms in the
hotel) that meet various minimum requirements concerning such things as access
routes and accessible elements and spaces.
This bill
requires hotels to provide at least one bed that is suitable for use with a
portable lift (that the guest provides) in any sleeping room that is designed
to be accessible to the physically disabled.
The State Fire Marshal (SFM) is responsible for licensing and inspecting
hotels and motels and is required by the bill to adopt a rule describing the
access to the bed and amount of clearance between the floor and the bottom of
the bed necessary for a bed to comply with the new requirement.
State fiscal effects – State Fire
Marshal
There appears to
be little fiscal effect on SFM's inspection activities, as SFM inspectors would
likely ensure that the new requirement is being followed by checking for a bed
that meets the height and accessibility rules while conducting routine
inspections. In the course of an
inspection under current law, if an inspector finds
that a property is not equipped in the manner and condition required by the
Hotel Law (section 3731.01 to 3731.21 of the Revised Code), the SFM must notify
the owner, proprietor, or agent in charge of the business, or the owner or
agent of the building being occupied, of the changes or alterations that are
necessary to come into compliance with Hotel Law requirements or the Ohio Fire
Code.
The
owner, proprietor, or agent in charge of the business must make the alterations
or changes as necessary to put the building and premises into complete
compliance within a reasonable time set by the SFM after being notified. Under continuing law unchanged by the bill,
if a person fails to satisfy the bill's requirements, the person is subject to
a fine of $10 per day the violation continues.
If the alterations or changes are not made within a reasonable time
period, the SFM may suspend or revoke a hotel license after an administrative
hearing conducted under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code and the owner,
proprietor, or agent would be subject to the misdemeanor penalty described
below.
Local
fiscal effects
Under
current law unchanged by the bill, persons refusing or failing to make the
necessary alterations or changes can be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor
(M1), which carries a maximum sentence of six months and a maximum fine of
$1,000. This means that court expenses
for counties and municipalites may increase as a result of the new requirement
in the bill, but likely no more than minimally. If so, counties and municipalities would gain court cost and fine
revenue (fine revenue remains in the county of prosecution), which would offset
some or all of the impact of any increase in criminal justice
expenditures. The state may also gain a
negligible amount of state court cost revenue that is deposited into the GRF
and the Victims of Crime/Reparations Fund (Fund 402).
LSC fiscal staff: Jason Phillips, Budget Analyst