State budgeting

Requires the Governor to calculate a state appropriation limitation on aggregate General Revenue Fund (GRF) appropriations for each fiscal year of the 2008-2009 biennium and for each fiscal year thereafter, and exempts certain appropriations from the limitation.

Provides that the state appropriation limitation for fiscal year 2008 is to be the aggregate GRF appropriations for fiscal year 2007 increased by whichever of the following is greater: (1) 3.5% or (2) the sum of the inflation rate and rate of Ohio population change.

Provides that, for each succeeding fiscal year, the growth factor is to be applied to the previous year's state appropriation limitation or, every fourth year, the previous year's aggregate GRF appropriations.

Prohibits the Governor from proposing and the General Assembly from making aggregate GRF appropriations that exceed the state appropriation limitation for each fiscal year, but provides limited exceptions to the prohibition as applied to the General Assembly.

Requires OBM to determine a method incorporating zero-based budgeting principles into state agency budget request forms.

Taxation

Increases the total amount of technology investment tax credits that may be approved by Edison Centers from $20 million to $30 million.

Makes tax credits authorized by the Ohio Venture Capital Authority for losses on loans made to the Ohio Venture Capital Program fully refundable credits.

Changes the computation of business personal property replacement payments when territory is transferred from one school district to another, by allowing the district from which the territory is transferred to retain one-half of the payments arising from property in the transferred territory during the first five years after the transfer, instead of all the payments arising from the property being paid to the district receiving the territory. Applies only if tax rate of recipient district is less than that of the other district, and only until FY 2012. Also requires the associated tax value losses to be transferred in order to effect corresponding adjustments in the state aid offset computation.

Corrects a special reimbursement provision enacted in H.B. 530 for school districts where a former uranium processing facility was located and where personal property tax values declined by 50% in one year. The correction precludes future, unintended reductions in reimbursements that would be caused by increased state aid offsets.

School Facilities Commission

Specifies that unvoted debt issued to pay a school district's portion of its school facilities project does not count toward the district's overall debt limit (9% of valuation) and the limit on ballot questions to issue debt without the consent of the Tax Commissioner and the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Permits a city, exempted village, or local school district participating in a state-assisted facilities project to agree to deposit annually for 23 years an amount equal to 1/2 mill of the district's tax valuation from other school district resources in lieu of levying a 1/2-mill maintenance tax for 23 years, as otherwise required under law.

Permits a school district to use state funds reimbursed under the Expedited Local Partnership School Building Assistance Program to replace moneys used from the district's general revenue and permanent improvement funds to pay for classroom facilities included in the district's project.

Permits a big-eight school district participating in a state-assisted construction project to transfer from the district's project construction fund to a "special construction fund" an amount of the investment earnings attributable to the district, as long as certain conditions are satisfied, to be used to acquire classroom facilities in later segments of the project or to acquire classroom facilities that were included in the master facilities plan for the district prior to a reduction in scope of the project.

Board of Regents

Requires all doctor of philosophy degree-granting universities (both state-assisted and private not-for-profit) to participate in the Innovation Incentive Program, rather than making participation optional.

Requires each doctor of philosophy degree-granting university to internally reallocate a specified portion (1.5% in FY 2006 and 3.0% in FY 2007) of its allocation of the doctoral reserve received from GRF appropriation item 235-501, State Share of Instruction, for the Innovation Incentive Program, rather than requiring the Board of Regents to withhold the required amounts.

Allows the Board of Regents to withhold up to 0.75% in FY 2006 and 1.5% in FY 2007 of a participating university's allocation of the doctoral reserve after a transition period if the university is not competing at an acceptable level with other participating universities.

Long-Term Care

Makes a technical change to the definition of "applicant" used in current law governing criminal records checks of persons seeking employment with the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsperson program, including a regional program, in a position that involves providing ombudsperson services to residents of long-term care facilities or recipients of community-based long-term care services.

Replaces the Director of Health with the Director of Aging as an official who may receive a copy of a criminal records check conducted of such an applicant.

Office of Information Technology

Removes the authority of the Department of Administrative Services to (1) contract for, operate, or superintend telephone, other telecommunication, and computer services for specified state agencies and (2) contract for bulk long distance telephone services to be made available to immediate family members of active duty military personnel, and confers that same authority upon the Office of Information Technology.

Adjutant General

Increases the total appropriation made by the bill to three of the Adjutant General's GRF appropriation items (745-404, Air National Guard, 745-409, Central Administration, and 745-499, Army National Guard) by $270,000 in fiscal year 2007.

Conveyance of state-owned real estate

Authorizes the conveyance of state-owned real estate in Jefferson County that the Adjutant General has determined is no longer required for armory or military purposes to a buyer or buyers to be determined at a later date; authorizes the conveyance of certain state-owned real estate in Franklin County to The Ohio State University; and authorizes the conveyance of certain state-owned real estate in Ross County to the City of Chillicothe.

Department of Health

Appropriates $2.5 million in fiscal year 2007 to appropriation item 440-428, Automated External Defibrillators (Fund S87) within the Department of Health and earmarks these funds to be used for the acquisition and placement of automated external defibrillators in Ohio primary and secondary schools.

Changes the name of appropriation item 440-432, Prevnar Vaccines (Fund L87), to Pneumococcal Vaccines for Children.

Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation

Requires, in order for the TUPAC Board of Trustees to take action, an affirmative vote of a majority of the voting members instead of: (1) an affirmative vote of a majority of the members (as required by current law) or (2) an affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum (as required under the Senate version).

S0321-126.doc/ar 5/23/2006