State Fiscal Highlights
· No direct fiscal effect on the state.
Local Fiscal Highlights
· The bill provides municipal corporations with the authority to establish, by ordinance, a community emergency response team and provides these teams with the same legal protections provided to municipal employees under the law. The bill is not expected to have any new fiscal impact on political subdivisions.
Detailed Fiscal Analysis
The bill provides municipal corporations with the authority to establish, by ordinance, a community emergency response team (CERT). These are volunteer organizations responsible for educating persons in municipal corporations about disaster preparedness and for training community members in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Currently, there are 99 such CERTs already existing and operating in the state of Ohio. The bill would classify these CERT organizations as municipal entities and provide CERT volunteers with the same legal protections and immunities as those provided to municipal employees under section 2744.02 of the Revised Code, similar to auxiliary police and other related volunteer organizations. As such, the bill is not expected to have any fiscal impact on any political entity.
