GOPC Legislative Update January 2016

By Lindsey Gardiner, GOPC Manager of Government Affairs The following grid is designed to provide you with insight into the likelihood of passage of the legislation we are monitoring. Please note that due to the fluid nature of the legislative process, the color coding of bills is subject to change at any time. GOPC will be regularly updating the legislative update the last Thursday of every month and when major developments arise. If you have any concerns about a particular bill, please let us know.

Updates on Key Bills: 

 HB 303 UPDATE: HB 303 continues to move smoothly through the legislative process and was referred to the Senate Financial Institutions Committee on January 20^th. With the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s support of HB 303, GOPC is optimistic members within the Senate will aptly receive the bill. GOPC offered Interested Party testimony on behalf of HB 303 and plans to continue offering support as it proceeds through committee within the Senate.

 HB 340 UPDATE: GOPC is happy to report that HB 340 was signed into law on December 22^nd, just 9 days before the Local Government Innovation Council (LGIC) was set to expire. As we reported in December, HB 340 contained more than an emergency extension of the LGIC as it soon became known as a budgetary corrections bill as well. GOPC commends the Legislature for coming together to extend the LGIC, which has provided loans and grants for local government innovation projects to hundreds of communities across the state.

  HB 233 UPDATE: HB 233 continues to move through the legislature as it was scheduled for a second hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Five witnesses testified as proponents to the bill, which included Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel; Shaker Heights Mayor Earl Leiken, the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the COO of the City of Toledo Eileen Granata. GOPC has offered interested party testimony for HB 233 while it was being vetted by the House, and we look forward to offering interested party testimony in a future hearing.

  SB 232 UPDATE: Earlier this week, the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee heard proponent testimony for SB 232. The Ohio State Bar Association was the only organization that offered testimony in support of the bill. Currently, there is no legal protection between ex-spouses for real estate that passes by way of a transfer-on-death (TOD) affidavit or deed. SB 232 intends to bring TOD affidavits and deeds for real estate in line with other areas of the Revised Code. GOPC commends Senator Kevin Bacon (R-Franklin) for championing this corrective legislation and plans to offer support of the bill that will help establish consistency with respect to the legal effects of divorce, dissolution, and annulment on beneficiary designations.

New Bills & Explanation of Bill Impact on Economic Development within Ohio:

HB 418 is sponsored by State Representative John Barnes (D-Cleveland). This bill proposes to enact the “Senior Housing Relief Act”, which will prohibit the sale of delinquent property tax certificates for homesteads owned for at least 20 years by a person aged 65 or older. Currently, local governments can place a lien on a property that is delinquent in property tax payments. HB 418 would remove properties that fall under the Senior Housing Relief Act from the list of parcels that may be selected for a tax certificate sale. HB 418 seeks to address an increasingly serious issue many Ohioans within the elderly community face. This bill will provide a much-needed supportive service to communities and will have positive long-term effects as it will keep people in their homes thus preventing blight.

For more details and information on legislation that GOPC is tracking, please visit our Previous Legislative Updates.

State Lawmakers Should Leverage Treasury Funds for A Fully Revitalized Ohio

By Lavea Brachman, Executive Director In the final hours of 2015, the Congressional spending bill redirected $2 billion of unspent mortgage relief funds for demolition programs that target blight in residential neighborhoods.  As much as $100 to $200 million in funding could come to Ohio -- thanks to advocates, such as Jim Rokakis at the Thriving Communities Institute in Cleveland.

The Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) applauds the federal recognition that legacy cities, such as those older industrial cities that populate Ohio, need special attention and investments to support their long climb back to prosperity.  However, demolition is one tool in the toolbox local leaders need to eliminate those properties that encourage blight, destroy surrounding property values, and pose significant health and safety hazards. Mitigating residential blight through demolition must be accompanied by other measures, such as the preservation, renovation and rehabilitation of functional homes and commercial properties as well as reclaiming and reusing the many industrial sites located in our older communities. Pilot projects underway in Cleveland (e.g. Slavic Village) and Cincinnati (e.g. Evanston) neighborhoods suggest that a balanced approach combining rehab, demo and other neighborhood improvements can both provide affordable homes to those who need them and stem the tide of blight and abandonment. These constructive measures will go far to help our communities return to vibrancy.

While the thousands of acres of abandoned residential and commercial properties, decaying factories, abandoned gas stations, boarded-up strip malls and contaminated land that dot the Ohio landscape are eyesores and burden market recovery, they are also the assets of rebuilding our neighborhoods for tomorrow.  We need a balanced approach that both retains neighborhood fabric yet eliminates those properties that are significantly devaluing their blocks and causing the most egregious harm.  GOPC’s research has found that investments in these types of commercial and industrial opportunities can produce over $4 in additional economic activity for every $1 invested by the state and one more additional job for every one created through direct remediation.

We encourage local and state policymakers to think boldly about the ways to leverage new inflow of demolition dollars. GOPC, which specializes in the study and crafting of statewide revitalization policy, firmly believes that comprehensive revitalization strategy that addresses all types of blight and opportunity in our cities, villages, and townships will lead to a prosperous, sustainable Ohio.

Economists Believe 2016 Shows Promise for Ohio

By Alex Highley, Project Associate Panelists at the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Blue Chip Economic Forecast offered bright expectations for Ohio in 2016. Gazing into their crystal balls, economists Bill Lafayette, Founder of Regionomics, and Ben Ayers, Senior Economist at Nationwide expressed their beliefs that net job growth will remain on the uptick and that Ohio will reflect the national incline. Still, in this statistically-dense session, the pair identified some job sectors that likely will continue to struggle and acknowledged that many people around the state would have trouble obtaining jobs.

2015’s job growth proved even better than Lafayette had expected this time last year. 22,000 net new jobs were created in central Ohio and this is a trend Lafayette believes will stay on course. He expects the education and health care sector to continue to thrive. Currently, one in four new jobs is created in this arena. Ayers and Lafayette also believe housing, technical services, and corporate management will do particularly well this year.

While central Ohio will probably see continued population and job growth this year, the fruits of this development can be enjoyed throughout the metro area. Areas such as Lancaster, Chillicothe, and Groveport can benefit from successes of Columbus’ growth. According to Lafayette, the rest of the Midwest lags behind central Ohio because it relies so heavily on the manufacturing industry. While much of the Ohio economy is built around manufacturing, there is still potential for job formation in other sectors. As discussed in GOPC’s report Regenerating America's Legacy Cities, assets in the heart of downtown, such as universities, medical centers, and government offices, represent the economic engine of any city. These fundamental resources employ thousands, spur economic activity, and build on their successes in surrounding neighborhoods.

Both panelists acknowledged that people from the Midwest tend to be more risk-averse and that this fear of failure when thinking of starting a business is perhaps holding Ohio back. If this attitude can be overcome, Lafayette thinks more people will pursue self-employed businesses in Columbus and throughout the state and that Ohio would be closer to fulfilling its business potential. GOPC works to ensure that business-friendly environments are prevalent throughout the state and that business owners in all neighborhoods and communities thrive and have the community-based tools to be successful job creators.