Bills Tracked by GCP that Impact Ohio’s Business Environment
As the voice of business in Northeast Ohio, the Greater Cleveland Partnership provides the business community perspective on issues confronting the Ohio Legislature. In the 26th General Assembly (2007-2008), the GCP is tracking more than 50 pieces of legislation that have the potential to influence Ohio’s ability to attract and retain jobs.
HB5 Eminent Domain (Gibbs, B)
Implements recommendations made by the Eminent Domain Task Force.
HB34 Graduate Student Loans (Wolpert, L)
To establish the Third Frontier Pilot Forgivable Loan Program for graduate students.
HB40 Council on Sustainable Energy Development (Skindell, M)
To create the Council on Sustainable Energy Development and specify its duties.
HB67 Transportation Budget (Patton, T)
To make appropriations for and to prescribe terms and conditions pertaining to, transportationpurposes.
HB72 Broadband and Wireless Telecommunications (Evans, C)
To create the Broadband and Wireless Telecommunications Task Force.
HB100 Workers’ Compensation/Industrial Commission Budget (Brinkman, T)
To abolish the Workers' Compensation Oversight Commission, the Workers' Compensation Oversight Commission Nominating Committee, and the Services Committee; to create the Bureau of Workers' Compensation Board of Directors and specified working committees, to transfer the powers and duties of the Oversight Commission to the Board and the working committees, and to make other changes in the Workers' Compensation Law, and to make appropriations.
HB118 Race Track Telecast Wagering (Seitz, B)
To authorize wagering at a track on horse races that are telecast via an instant racing system and to levy a tax on amounts wagered in thismanner.
HB119 Biennial Budget (Dolan, M)
To make operating appropriations for the biennium beginning July 1, 2007 and ending June 30, 2009, and to provide authorization and conditions for the operation of state programs.
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Current Status: 6/30/2007 - 6/30/2007 - SIGNED BY GOVERNOR; appropriations effective 6/30/2007-some sections different dates
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Comments: GCP offered testimony on OBDC funding and use of Tobacco tax funds for property tax cuts
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GCP Position: Interested Party
HB125 Health Care Providers (Huffman, M)
To establish certain uniform contract provisions between health care providers and third-party payers, to establish standardized credentialing and to require third-party payers to provide to health care providers specified information concerningenrollees.
HB133 Business Internships (Hughes, J)
To grant tax credits to businesses that provide internships to students attending Ohio's colleges and universities and that hire formerinterns.
HB295 Energy Conservation Counties (Wagoner, M)
To require that the amount spent by counties on energy conservation measures be unlikely to exceed the amount saved in energy and operating costs over the average system life of the measures, and to require that financed measures be paid for within their average systemlife.
HB298 Lake Erie Waters (Skindell, M)
To establish requirements governing oceangoing vessels on the state waters of Lake Erie in order to control aquatic nuisancespecies.
HB305 Electric Distribution (Blessing, L)
To continue an electric distribution utility's current rate stabilization plan until the Public Utilities Commission determines there is effective competition in retail generation service within the utility's distribution territory and to require the Commission to ensure adequate generating capacity in Ohio through specifiedmeans.
HB313 Renewable Energy Credits (Skindell, M)
To create a renewable energy portfolio standard for electric suppliers and authorize a state system of tradable renewable energycredits.
HB357 Energy Development and Supply (McGregor, J)
To modify and expand the laws governing energy development and supply in thestate.
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Current Status: 12/11/2007 - House Alternative Energy (Sixth Hearing)
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Comments: GCP met with sponsor and Chairman and articulated GCP Energy and re-regulation positions.
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GCP Position: Interested Party
HB359 Nuisance Abatement (Huffman, M)
To extend to all counties the authority to utilize surplus delinquent tax collections to facilitate nuisance abatement of deteriorated residential buildings in foreclosure and to terminate the temporary authority of a county with a population exceeding 1.2 million to use such collections to prevent residential mortgage foreclosures.
HB381 Ohio Research Scholars Program (Webster, S)
To increase the funds available for the Ohio Research Scholars Program and to permit a nonpublic four-year Ohio university to submit a proposal for the Ohio Research Scholars Program if the proposal is to be implemented in collaboration with a state college or university.
HB382 Job Retention Tax Credit (Wagoner, M)
To expand the job retention tax credit for eligible businesses with corporate headquarters in this state.
HB397 Workers’ Compensation (Szollosi, M)
To exempt individuals covered under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act from coverage under Ohio's Workers' Compensation Law unless an employer elects to provide such coverage.
HB416 Great Lakes Compact (Dolan, M)
To ratify the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and to establish related requirements.
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Current Status: 4/16/2008 - Senate Envirionment and Natural Resources (First Hearing)
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Comments: GCP has worked as part of the Coalition for Sustainable Water Management
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GCP Position: Interested Party
HB420 State Spending (Brinkman, T)
To promote transparency with respect to state spending by requiring that certain information on state awards and earmarks, state real property management, state agency management, and state program effectiveness be collected and made available on-line.
HB421 Nuisance Properties (Miller, E)
To eradicate nuisance properties from around schools.
HB422 Water Resources/Economic Development (Setzer, A)
To create the Water Resources and Economic Development Study Committee.
HB454 Community Schools (Brady, J)
To establish a moratorium on new "brick and mortar" community schools until July 1, 2010, to require community school operators to be nonprofit entities, and to eliminate the requirement that school districts offer property suitable for classroom space for sale to community schools under certain conditions.
HB455 Historic Building Rehabilitation (Ujvagi, P)
To authorize a county that is issued a historic building rehabilitation tax credit certificate to assign the certificate to another person.
HB536 Healthy Families Act (Husted, J)
To enact the Healthy Families Act.
HB544 Tobacco Use Prevention/Control Foundation (Hottinger, J)
To abolish the Tobacco use Prevention and Control Foundation and transfer certain power of the Foundation to the Department of Health, to make an appropriation, and to declare an emergency/
SB7 Eminent Domain (Grendell, T)
To formally state the G.A.'s intentions in its upcoming deliberations on reforming Ohio's laws regulating the exercise of eminent domain.
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Current Status: 7/10/2007 - SIGNED BY GOVERNOR; effective 10/10/2007
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Comments: GCP provided testimony to Senate State Government committee expressing concerns
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GCP Position: Opposed in part
SB8 College Tuition Tax Deduction (Coughlin, K)
To restore the income tax deduction for college tuition and fees.
SB24 Job Ready Sites Program (Carey, JR., J)
To require the Director of Development to adopt rules regarding the annual competitive process for the Job Ready Site Program.
SB29 Lead Hazard Removal (Kearney, E)
Establish a grant program to pay lead hazard removal costs incurred by qualifiedhomeowners.
SB32 Alternative Fuels (Boccieri, J)
To promote the production of alternative fuels, the application of clean coal energy generation methods, and the redevelopment of brownfield sites by granting tax incentives for thoseactivities.
SB60 African-American Chamber of Commerce (MILLER, R)
Create grant to fund the operations of an African-American Chamber of Commerce in six most populous Ohiocities.
SB78 Great Lakes Task Force (Grendell, T)
To create the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact Task force for the purpose of determining whether Ohio should enter into the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water ResourcesCompact.
SB107 Hybrid Vehicles (Mason, L)
To create a tax credit for individuals who purchase a new hybridvehicle.
SB117 Video Service Authorizations (Jacobson, J)
To provide for the issuance of video service authorizations by the Director ofCommerce.
SB198 Renewable Energy Credits (Mason, L)
To create tax credits for investing in renewable energyproperty.
SB199 Energy-efficient Buildings (Mason, L)
To create tax credits for constructing energy efficient and environmentally responsiblebuildings.
SB200 Solar and Wind Energy (Mason, L)
To exempt sales of solar and wind energy devices from sales and usetaxation.
SB213 Renewable Energy (Mason, L)
To require the Director of Administrative Services to ensure that a certain percentage of state agencies' total electricity purchases are from renewable energysystems.
SB221 State Energy Policy (Schuler, R)
To revise state energy policy to address electric service price regulation, new bonding authority for advanced energy projects, advanced (including renewable) energy portfolio standards, energy efficiency standards, and greenhouse gas emission reporting and carbon control planningrequirements.
SB239 Energy Conservation Measures (Gardner, R)
To require that the amount spent by counties on energy conservation measures be unlikely to exceed the energy and operating costs over the average system life of the measures, and to require that financed measures be paid for within their average systemlife.
SB242 Renewable Energy (Miller, D)
To create a renewable energy portfolio standard for electric suppliers and authorize a state system of tradable renewable energycredits.
SB265 Energy-Saving Devices (Mason, L)
To exempt purchases of energy-saving devices from sales and usetaxation.
SB277 Nuisance Properties (Stivers, S)
To create a new cause of action in foreclosure in the environmental or housing division of a municipal court to abate nuisanceproperties.
SCR11 Water Resources Development Act (Grendell, T)
To urge Congress to enact the Water Resources Development Act.
SCR12 Protect Great Lakes (GRENDELL, T)
To urge Congress to enact legislation to protect the Great Lakes from ballast water discharges of invasive species.
SJR1 Taking Private Property (Coughlin, K)
Provide limits on the power of a public authority to take private property for public use.
SJR3 Taking Private Property (Coughlin, K)
To provide limits on the power of a public authority to take private property for a public use.
SJR4 Lottery Profits (Schuring, K)
To require all lottery profits and a percentage of revenue from certain taxes to be devoted to funding primary, secondary, and higher education.