As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 113

2025-2026

Representatives Bird, Newman

Cosponsors: Representatives Plummer, Peterson, Ritter, Johnson, Klopfenstein, Schmidt, Stephens, Willis, Creech

A BILL

To amend sections 102.02, 709.022, 709.023, 709.024, 709.16, and 3735.67 and to enact section 3311.222 of the Revised Code to modify the law regarding annexation and financial disclosure forms, and to require school district approval of residential community reinvestment area property tax exemptions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 102.02, 709.022, 709.023, 709.024, 709.16, and 3735.67 be amended and section 3311.222 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 102.02. (A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (H) of this section, all of the following shall file with the appropriate ethics commission the disclosure statement described in this division on a form prescribed by the appropriate commission: every person who is elected to or is a candidate for a state, county, or city office and every person who is appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term in such an elective office; all members of the state board of education; the director, assistant directors, deputy directors, division chiefs, or persons of equivalent rank of any administrative department of the state; the president or other chief administrative officer of every state institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code; the executive director and the members of the capitol square review and advisory board appointed or employed pursuant to section 105.41 of the Revised Code; all members of the Ohio casino control commission, the executive director of the commission, all professional employees of the commission, and all technical employees of the commission who perform an internal audit function; the individuals set forth in division (B)(2) of section 187.03 of the Revised Code; the chief executive officer and the members of the board of each state retirement system; each employee of a state retirement board who is a state retirement system investment officer licensed pursuant to section 1707.163 of the Revised Code; the members of the Ohio retirement study council appointed pursuant to division (C) of section 171.01 of the Revised Code; employees of the Ohio retirement study council, other than employees who perform purely administrative or clerical functions; the administrator of workers' compensation and each member of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors; the bureau of workers' compensation director of investments; the chief investment officer of the bureau of workers' compensation; all members of the board of commissioners on grievances and discipline of the supreme court and the ethics commission created under section 102.05 of the Revised Code; every business manager, treasurer, or superintendent of a city, local, exempted village, joint vocational, or cooperative education school district or an educational service center; every person who is elected to or is a candidate for the office of member of a board of education of a city, local, exempted village, joint vocational, or cooperative education school district or of a governing board of an educational service center that has a total student count of twelve thousand or more as most recently determined by the department of education and workforce pursuant to section 3317.03 of the Revised Code; every person who is appointed to the board of education of a municipal school district pursuant to division (B) or (F) of section 3311.71 of the Revised Code; all members of the board of directors of a sanitary district that is established under Chapter 6115. of the Revised Code and organized wholly for the purpose of providing a water supply for domestic, municipal, and public use, and that includes two municipal corporations in two counties; every public official or employee who is paid a salary or wage in accordance with schedule C of section 124.15 or schedule E-2 of section 124.152 of the Revised Code; all members appointed to the Ohio livestock care standards board under section 904.02 of the Revised Code; all entrepreneurs in residence assigned by the LeanOhio office in the department of administrative services under section 125.65 of the Revised Code; every city manager, assistant city manager, village administrator, or assistant village administrator; and every other public official or employee who is designated by the appropriate ethics commission pursuant to division (B) of this section.

(2) The disclosure statement shall include all of the following:

(a) The name of the person filing the statement and each member of the person's immediate family and all names under which the person or members of the person's immediate family do business;

(b)(i) Subject to divisions (A)(2)(b)(ii) and (iii) of this section and except as otherwise provided in section 102.022 of the Revised Code, identification of every source of income, other than income from a legislative agent identified in division (A)(2)(b)(ii) of this section, received during the preceding calendar year, in the person's own name or by any other person for the person's use or benefit, by the person filing the statement, and a brief description of the nature of the services for which the income was received. If the person filing the statement is a member of the general assembly, the statement shall identify the amount of every source of income received in accordance with the following ranges of amounts: zero or more, but less than one thousand dollars; one thousand dollars or more, but less than ten thousand dollars; ten thousand dollars or more, but less than twenty-five thousand dollars; twenty-five thousand dollars or more, but less than fifty thousand dollars; fifty thousand dollars or more, but less than one hundred thousand dollars; and one hundred thousand dollars or more. Division (A)(2)(b)(i) of this section shall not be construed to require a person filing the statement who derives income from a business or profession to disclose the individual items of income that constitute the gross income of that business or profession, except for those individual items of income that are attributable to the person's or, if the income is shared with the person, the partner's, solicitation of services or goods or performance, arrangement, or facilitation of services or provision of goods on behalf of the business or profession of clients, including corporate clients, who are legislative agents. A person who files the statement under this section shall disclose the identity of and the amount of income received from a person who the public official or employee knows or has reason to know is doing or seeking to do business of any kind with the public official's or employee's agency.

(ii) If the person filing the statement is a member of the general assembly, the statement shall identify every source of income and the amount of that income that was received from a legislative agent during the preceding calendar year, in the person's own name or by any other person for the person's use or benefit, by the person filing the statement, and a brief description of the nature of the services for which the income was received. Division (A)(2)(b)(ii) of this section requires the disclosure of clients of attorneys or persons licensed under section 4732.12 of the Revised Code, or patients of persons licensed under section 4731.14 of the Revised Code, if those clients or patients are legislative agents. Division (A)(2)(b)(ii) of this section requires a person filing the statement who derives income from a business or profession to disclose those individual items of income that constitute the gross income of that business or profession that are received from legislative agents.

(iii) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(2)(b)(iii) of this section, division (A)(2)(b)(i) of this section applies to attorneys, physicians, and other persons who engage in the practice of a profession and who, pursuant to a section of the Revised Code, the common law of this state, a code of ethics applicable to the profession, or otherwise, generally are required not to reveal, disclose, or use confidences of clients, patients, or other recipients of professional services except under specified circumstances or generally are required to maintain those types of confidences as privileged communications except under specified circumstances. Division (A)(2)(b)(i) of this section does not require an attorney, physician, or other professional subject to a confidentiality requirement as described in division (A)(2)(b)(iii) of this section to disclose the name, other identity, or address of a client, patient, or other recipient of professional services if the disclosure would threaten the client, patient, or other recipient of professional services, would reveal details of the subject matter for which legal, medical, or professional advice or other services were sought, or would reveal an otherwise privileged communication involving the client, patient, or other recipient of professional services. Division (A)(2)(b)(i) of this section does not require an attorney, physician, or other professional subject to a confidentiality requirement as described in division (A)(2)(b)(iii) of this section to disclose in the brief description of the nature of services required by division (A)(2)(b)(i) of this section any information pertaining to specific professional services rendered for a client, patient, or other recipient of professional services that would reveal details of the subject matter for which legal, medical, or professional advice was sought or would reveal an otherwise privileged communication involving the client, patient, or other recipient of professional services.

(c) The name of every corporation on file with the secretary of state that is incorporated in this state or holds a certificate of compliance authorizing it to do business in this state, trust, business trust, partnership, or association that transacts business in this state in which the person filing the statement or any other person for the person's use and benefit had during the preceding calendar year an investment of over one thousand dollars at fair market value as of the thirty-first day of December of the preceding calendar year, or the date of disposition, whichever is earlier, or in which the person holds any office or has a fiduciary relationship, and a description of the nature of the investment, office, or relationship. Division (A)(2)(c) of this section does not require disclosure of the name of any bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or building and loan association with which the person filing the statement has a deposit or a withdrawable share account.

(d) All fee simple and leasehold interests to which the person filing the statement holds legal title to or a beneficial interest in real property located within the state, excluding the person's residence and property used primarily for personal recreation;

(e) The names of all persons residing or transacting business in the state to whom the person filing the statement owes, in the person's own name or in the name of any other person, more than one thousand dollars. Division (A)(2)(e) of this section shall not be construed to require the disclosure of debts owed by the person resulting from the ordinary conduct of a business or profession or debts on the person's residence or real property used primarily for personal recreation, except that the superintendent of financial institutions and any deputy superintendent of banks shall disclose the names of all state-chartered banks and all bank subsidiary corporations subject to regulation under section 1109.44 of the Revised Code to whom the superintendent or deputy superintendent owes any money.

(f) The names of all persons residing or transacting business in the state, other than a depository excluded under division (A)(2)(c) of this section, who owe more than one thousand dollars to the person filing the statement, either in the person's own name or to any person for the person's use or benefit. Division (A)(2)(f) of this section shall not be construed to require the disclosure of clients of attorneys or persons licensed under section 4732.12 of the Revised Code, or patients of persons licensed under section 4731.14 of the Revised Code, nor the disclosure of debts owed to the person resulting from the ordinary conduct of a business or profession.

(g) Except as otherwise provided in section 102.022 of the Revised Code, the source of each gift of over seventy-five dollars, or of each gift of over twenty-five dollars received by a member of the general assembly from a legislative agent, received by the person in the person's own name or by any other person for the person's use or benefit during the preceding calendar year, except gifts received by will or by virtue of section 2105.06 of the Revised Code, or received from spouses, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, fathers-in-law, mothers-in-law, or any person to whom the person filing the statement stands in loco parentis, or received by way of distribution from any inter vivos or testamentary trust established by a spouse or by an ancestor;

(h) Except as otherwise provided in section 102.022 of the Revised Code, identification of the source and amount of every payment of expenses incurred for travel to destinations inside or outside this state that is received by the person in the person's own name or by any other person for the person's use or benefit and that is incurred in connection with the person's official duties, except for expenses for travel to meetings or conventions of a national or state organization to which any state agency, including, but not limited to, any legislative agency or state institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, pays membership dues, or any political subdivision or any office or agency of a political subdivision pays membership dues;

(i) Except as otherwise provided in section 102.022 of the Revised Code, identification of the source of payment of expenses for meals and other food and beverages, other than for meals and other food and beverages provided at a meeting at which the person participated in a panel, seminar, or speaking engagement or at a meeting or convention of a national or state organization to which any state agency, including, but not limited to, any legislative agency or state institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, pays membership dues, or any political subdivision or any office or agency of a political subdivision pays membership dues, that are incurred in connection with the person's official duties and that exceed one hundred dollars aggregated per calendar year;

(j) If the disclosure statement is filed by a public official or employee described in division (B)(2) of section 101.73 of the Revised Code or division (B)(2) of section 121.63 of the Revised Code who receives a statement from a legislative agent, executive agency lobbyist, or employer that contains the information described in division (F)(2) of section 101.73 of the Revised Code or division (G)(2) of section 121.63 of the Revised Code, all of the nondisputed information contained in the statement delivered to that public official or employee by the legislative agent, executive agency lobbyist, or employer under division (F)(2) of section 101.73 or (G)(2) of section 121.63 of the Revised Code.

(3) A person may file a statement required by this section in person, by mail, or by electronic means.

(4) A person who is required to file a statement under this section shall file that statement according to the following deadlines, as applicable:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (A)(4)(b), (c), and (d) of this section, the person shall file the statement not later than the fifteenth day of May of each year.

(b) A person who is a candidate for elective office shall file the statement no later than the thirtieth day before the primary, special, or general election at which the candidacy is to be voted on, whichever election occurs soonest, except that a person who is a write-in candidate shall file the statement no later than the twentieth day before the earliest election at which the person's candidacy is to be voted on.

(c) A person who is appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term in an elective office shall file the statement within fifteen days after the person qualifies for office.

(d) A person who is appointed or employed after the fifteenth day of May, other than a person described in division (A)(4)(c) of this section, shall file an annual statement within ninety days after appointment or employment.

(5) No person shall be required to file with the appropriate ethics commission more than one statement or pay more than one filing fee for any one calendar year.

(6) The appropriate ethics commission, for good cause, may extend for a reasonable time the deadline for filing a statement under this section.

(7) A statement filed under this section is subject to public inspection at locations designated by the appropriate ethics commission except as otherwise provided in this section.

(B) The Ohio ethics commission, the joint legislative ethics committee, and the board of commissioners on grievances and discipline of the supreme court, using the rule-making procedures of Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, may require any class of public officials or employees under its jurisdiction and not specifically excluded by this section whose positions involve a substantial and material exercise of administrative discretion in the formulation of public policy, expenditure of public funds, enforcement of laws and rules of the state or a county or city, or the execution of other public trusts, to file an annual statement under division (A) of this section. The appropriate ethics commission shall send the public officials or employees written notice of the requirement not less than thirty days before the applicable filing deadline unless the public official or employee is appointed after that date, in which case the notice shall be sent within thirty days after appointment, and the filing shall be made not later than ninety days after appointment.

Disclosure statements filed under this division with the Ohio ethics commission by members of boards, commissions, or bureaus of the state for which no compensation is received other than reasonable and necessary expenses shall be kept confidential. Disclosure statements filed with the Ohio ethics commission under division (A) of this section by business managers, treasurers, and superintendents of city, local, exempted village, joint vocational, or cooperative education school districts or educational service centers shall be kept confidential, except that any person conducting an audit of any such school district or educational service center pursuant to Chapter 117. of the Revised Code may examine the disclosure statement of any business manager, treasurer, or superintendent of that school district or educational service center. Disclosure statements filed with the Ohio ethics commission under division (A) of this section by the individuals set forth in division (B)(2) of section 187.03 of the Revised Code shall be kept confidential. The Ohio ethics commission shall examine each disclosure statement required to be kept confidential to determine whether a potential conflict of interest exists for the person who filed the disclosure statement. A potential conflict of interest exists if the private interests of the person, as indicated by the person's disclosure statement, might interfere with the public interests the person is required to serve in the exercise of the person's authority and duties in the person's office or position of employment. If the commission determines that a potential conflict of interest exists, it shall notify the person who filed the disclosure statement and shall make the portions of the disclosure statement that indicate a potential conflict of interest subject to public inspection in the same manner as is provided for other disclosure statements. Any portion of the disclosure statement that the commission determines does not indicate a potential conflict of interest shall be kept confidential by the commission and shall not be made subject to public inspection, except as is necessary for the enforcement of Chapters 102. and 2921. of the Revised Code and except as otherwise provided in this division.

(C) No person shall knowingly fail to file, on or before the applicable filing deadline established under this section, a statement that is required by this section.

(D) No person shall knowingly file a false statement that is required to be filed under this section.

(E)(1) Except as provided in divisions (E)(2) and (3) of this section, the statement required by division (A) or (B) of this section shall be accompanied by a filing fee of sixty dollars.

(2) The statement required by division (A) of this section shall be accompanied by the following filing fee to be paid by the person who is elected or appointed to, or is a candidate for, any of the following offices:

(3) No judge of a court of record or candidate for judge of a court of record, and no referee or magistrate serving a court of record, shall be required to pay the fee required under division (E)(1) or (2) or (F) of this section.

(4) For any public official who is appointed to a nonelective office of the state and for any employee who holds a nonelective position in a public agency of the state, the state agency that is the primary employer of the state official or employee shall pay the fee required under division (E)(1) or (F) of this section.

(F) If a statement required to be filed under this section is not filed by the date on which it is required to be filed, the appropriate ethics commission shall assess the person required to file the statement a late filing fee of ten dollars for each day the statement is not filed, except that the total amount of the late filing fee shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars.

(G)(1) The appropriate ethics commission other than the Ohio ethics commission and the joint legislative ethics committee shall deposit all fees it receives under divisions (E) and (F) of this section into the general revenue fund of the state.

(2) The Ohio ethics commission shall deposit all receipts, including, but not limited to, fees it receives under divisions (E) and (F) of this section, investigative or other fees, costs, or other funds it receives as a result of court orders, and all moneys it receives from settlements under division (G) of section 102.06 of the Revised Code, into the Ohio ethics commission fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. All moneys credited to the fund shall be used solely for expenses related to the operation and statutory functions of the commission.

(3) The joint legislative ethics committee shall deposit all receipts it receives from the payment of financial disclosure statement filing fees under divisions (E) and (F) of this section into the joint legislative ethics committee investigative and financial disclosure fund.

(H) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a person elected or appointed to the office of precinct, ward, or district committee member under Chapter 3517. of the Revised Code; a presidential elector; a delegate to a national convention; village or township officials and employees except a village administrator or assistant village administrator; any physician or psychiatrist who is paid a salary or wage in accordance with schedule C of section 124.15 or schedule E-2 of section 124.152 of the Revised Code and whose primary duties do not require the exercise of administrative discretion; or any member of a board, commission, or bureau of any county or city who receives less than one thousand dollars per year for serving in that position.

Sec. 709.022. (A) A petition filed under section 709.021 of the Revised Code that requests to follow this section is for the special procedure of annexing land with the consent of all parties. The petition shall be accompanied by a certified copy of an annexation agreement provided for in section 709.192 of the Revised Code or of a cooperative economic development agreement provided for in section 701.07 of the Revised Code, that is entered into by the municipal corporation and each township any portion of which is included within the territory proposed for annexation. Upon the receipt of the petition and the applicable agreement, the board of county commissioners, at the board's next regular session, shall enter upon its journal a resolution granting the annexation, without holding a hearing, if the board finds that, on balance, the general good of the territory proposed to be annexed will be served, and the benefits to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area will outweigh the detriments to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area, if the annexation is granted. If the board finds the general good is not served, the board shall enter upon its journal a resolution denying the annexation. As used in this section, "surrounding area" has the same meaning as in section 709.033 of the Revised Code.

(B) Owners who sign a petition requesting that the special procedure in this section be followed expressly waive their right to appeal any action taken by the board of county commissioners under this section. There is no appeal from the board's decision under this section in law or in equity.

The petition circulated to collect signatures for the special procedure in this section shall contain in boldface capital letters immediately above the heading of the place for signatures on each part of the petition the following: "WHOEVER SIGNS THIS PETITION EXPRESSLY WAIVES THEIR RIGHT TO APPEAL ANY ACTION ON THE PETITION TAKEN BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. THERE ALSO IS NO APPEAL FROM THE BOARD'S DECISION IN THIS MATTER IN LAW OR IN EQUITY."

(C) After the board of county commissioners grants the petition for annexation, the clerk of the board shall deliver a certified copy of the entire record of the annexation proceedings, including all resolutions of the board, signed by a majority of the members of the board, the petition, map, and all other papers on file, and the recording of the proceedings, if a copy is available, to the auditor or clerk of the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed.

Sec. 709.023. (A) A petition filed under section 709.021 of the Revised Code that requests to follow this section is for the special procedure of annexing land into a municipal corporation when, subject to division (H) of this section, the land also is not to be excluded from the township under section 503.07 of the Revised Code. The owners who sign this petition by their signature expressly waive their right to appeal in law or equity from the board of county commissioners' entry of any resolution under this section, waive any rights they may have to sue on any issue relating to a municipal corporation requiring a buffer as provided in this section, and waive any rights to seek a variance that would relieve or exempt them from that buffer requirement.

The petition circulated to collect signatures for the special procedure in this section shall contain in boldface capital letters immediately above the heading of the place for signatures on each part of the petition the following: "WHOEVER SIGNS THIS PETITION EXPRESSLY WAIVES THEIR RIGHT TO APPEAL IN LAW OR EQUITY FROM THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' ENTRY OF ANY RESOLUTION PERTAINING TO THIS SPECIAL ANNEXATION PROCEDURE, ALTHOUGH A WRIT OF MANDAMUS MAY BE SOUGHT TO COMPEL THE BOARD TO PERFORM ITS DUTIES REQUIRED BY LAW FOR THIS SPECIAL ANNEXATION PROCEDURE."

(B) Upon the filing of the petition in the office of the clerk of the board of county commissioners, the clerk shall cause the petition to be entered upon the board's journal at its next regular session. This entry shall be the first official act of the board on the petition. Within five days after the filing of the petition, the agent for the petitioners shall notify in the manner and form specified in this division the clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed, the fiscal officer of each township any portion of which is included within the territory proposed for annexation, the clerk of the board of county commissioners of each county in which the territory proposed for annexation is located other than the county in which the petition is filed, and the owners of property adjacent to the territory proposed for annexation or adjacent to a road that is adjacent to that territory and located directly across that road from that territory. The notice shall refer to the time and date when the petition was filed and the county in which it was filed and shall have attached or shall be accompanied by a copy of the petition and any attachments or documents accompanying the petition as filed.

Notice to a property owner is sufficient if sent by regular United States mail to the tax mailing address listed on the county auditor's records. Notice to the appropriate government officer shall be given by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by causing the notice to be personally served on the officer, with proof of service by affidavit of the person who delivered the notice. Proof of service of the notice on each appropriate government officer shall be filed with the board of county commissioners with which the petition was filed.

(C) Within twenty days after the date that the petition is filed, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed shall adopt an ordinance or resolution stating what one of the following:

(1) The municipal corporation will not consider the annexation request.

(2) The municipal corporation will consider the annexation request and agrees to provide services the municipal corporation will provide, and by an approximate date by which it will provide them, to the territory proposed for annexation, upon annexation, which shall include all services generally available within the municipal corporation's existing boundaries. The municipal corporation is entitled in its sole discretion to provide to the territory proposed for annexation, upon annexation, services in addition to the services described in that ordinance or resolution.

If the territory proposed for annexation is subject to zoning regulations adopted under either Chapter 303. or 519. of the Revised Code at the time the petition is filed, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation also shall adopt an ordinance or resolution stating that, if the territory is annexed and becomes subject to zoning by the municipal corporation and that municipal zoning permits uses in the annexed territory that the municipal corporation determines are clearly incompatible with the uses permitted under current county or township zoning regulations in the adjacent land remaining within the township from which the territory was annexed, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation will require, in the zoning ordinance permitting the incompatible uses, the owner of the annexed territory to provide a buffer separating the use of the annexed territory and the adjacent land remaining within the township. For the purposes of this section, "buffer" includes open space, landscaping, fences, walls, and other structured elements; streets and street rights-of-way; and bicycle and pedestrian paths and sidewalks.

The clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed shall file the ordinances or resolutions adopted under this division with the board of county commissioners within twenty thirty days following the date that the petition is filed. The board shall make these ordinances or resolutions available for public inspection. Not later than five business days after filing with the board of county commissioners, the clerk of the legislative authority also shall file a certified copy of the resolutions or ordinances with the board of education of the city, local, or exempted village school district that serves the municipal territory adjacent to the territory proposed for annexation and with the board of education of the school district that currently serves the territory proposed for annexation.

(D) Within twenty-five thirty days after the date that the petition is filed, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed and board of township trustees of each township any portion of which is included within the territory proposed for annexation may adopt and file with the board of county commissioners an ordinance or a resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed annexation. An objection to the proposed annexation shall be based solely upon the petition's failure to meet the conditions specified in division (E) of this sectionstate the reasons for the board's opposition.

If the municipal corporation files a resolution under division (C)(1) of this section refusing to consider the annexation, the board of county commissioners shall enter upon its journal a resolution denying the petition. If the municipal corporation files a resolution under division (C)(2) agreeing to consider the annexation and each of those townships timely files an ordinance or a resolution consenting to the proposed annexation, the board at its next regular session shall enter upon its journal a resolution granting the proposed annexation, if the board finds that, on balance, the general good of the territory proposed to be annexed will be served, and the benefits to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area will outweigh the detriments to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area, if the proposed annexation is granted. If, instead the board finds the general good is not served, the board shall enter upon its journal a resolution denying the annexation. As used in this section, "surrounding area" has the same meaning as in section 709.033 of the Revised Code.

If, the municipal corporation or files a resolution under division (C)(2) agreeing to consider the annexation and any of those townships files an ordinance or a resolution that objects to the proposed annexation, the board of county commissioners shall proceed as provided in division (E) of this section. Failure of the municipal corporation to timely file its response under division (C) of this section or any failure of those townships to timely file an ordinance or a resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed annexation shall be deemed to constitute consent a refusal to consider by that municipal corporation or an objection by the township to the proposed annexation.

(E) Unless the petition is granted under division (D) of this section, not less than thirty or more than forty-five ninety days after the date that the petition is filed, the board of county commissioners shall review it to determine if each of the following conditions has been met:

(1) The petition meets all the requirements set forth in, and was filed in the manner provided in, section 709.021 of the Revised Code.

(2) The persons who signed the petition are owners of the real estate located in the territory proposed for annexation and constitute all of the owners of real estate in that territory.

(3) The territory proposed for annexation does not exceed five two hundred acres.

(4) The territory proposed for annexation shares a contiguous boundary with the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed for a continuous length of at least five twenty per cent of the perimeter of the territory proposed for annexation.

(5) The annexation will not create an unincorporated area of the township that is completely surrounded by the territory proposed for annexation.

(6) The municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed has agreed to provide to the territory proposed for annexation the services specified in the relevant ordinance or resolution adopted under division (C)(C)(2) of this section, including all services generally available within the municipal corporation's existing boundaries, or the municipal corporation has completed agreements with the county, township, or other political subdivision that demonstrate the ability to provide required services in the future.

(7) If a street or highway will be divided or segmented by the boundary line between the township and the municipal corporation as to create a road maintenance problem, the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed has agreed as a condition of the annexation to assume the maintenance of that street or highway or to otherwise correct the problem. As used in this section, "street" or "highway" has the same meaning as in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.

(8) On balance, the general good of the territory proposed to be annexed will be served, and the benefits to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area will outweigh the detriments to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area, if the proposed annexation is granted.

(F) Not less than thirty or more than forty-five ninety days after the date that the petition is filed, if the petition is not granted under division (D) of this section due to the objection of the municipal corporation or a township, the board of county commissioners, if it finds that each of the conditions specified in division (E) of this section has been met, shall enter upon its journal a resolution granting the annexation. If the board of county commissioners finds that one or more of the conditions specified in division (E) of this section have not been met, it shall enter upon its journal a resolution that states which of those conditions the board finds have not been met and that denies the petition.

(G) If a petition is granted under division (D) or (F) of this section, the clerk of the board of county commissioners shall proceed as provided in division (C)(1) of section 709.033 of the Revised Code, except that no recording or hearing exhibits would be involved. There is no appeal in law or equity from the board's entry of any resolution under this section, but any party may seek a writ of mandamus to compel the board of county commissioners to perform its duties under this section.

(H) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 503.07 of the Revised Code, and unless otherwise provided in an annexation agreement entered into pursuant to section 709.192 of the Revised Code or in a cooperative economic development agreement entered into pursuant to section 701.07 of the Revised Code, if township services continue to be provided within the annexed territory, territory annexed into a municipal corporation pursuant to this section shall not at any time be excluded from the township under section 503.07 of the Revised Code, and, thus, the territory remains subject to the township's real property taxes that support those services.

(I) Any owner of land that remains within a township and that is adjacent to territory annexed pursuant to this section who is directly affected by the failure of the annexing municipal corporation to enforce compliance with any zoning ordinance it adopts under division (C) of this section requiring the owner of the annexed territory to provide a buffer zone, may commence in the court of common pleas a civil action against that owner to enforce compliance with that buffer requirement whenever the required buffer is not in place before any development of the annexed territory begins.

(J) Division (C)(18) of section 718.01 of the Revised Code applies to the compensation paid to persons performing personal services for a political subdivision on property owned by the political subdivision after that property is annexed to a municipal corporation under this section.

Sec. 709.024. (A) A petition filed under section 709.021 of the Revised Code that requests to follow this section is for the special procedure of annexing land into a municipal corporation for the purpose of undertaking a significant economic development project. As used in this section, "significant economic development project" means one or more economic development projects that can be classified as industrial, distribution, high technology, research and development, or commercial, which projects may include ancillary residential and retail uses and which projects shall satisfy all of the following:

(1) Total private real and personal property investment in a project shall be in excess of ten million dollars through land and infrastructure, new construction, reconstruction, installation of fixtures and equipment, or the addition of inventory, excluding investment solely related to the ancillary residential and retail elements, if any, of the project. As used in this division, "private real and personal property investment" does not include payments in lieu of taxes, however characterized, under Chapter 725. or 1728. or sections 5709.40 to 5709.43, 5709.45 to 5709.47, 5709.73 to 5709.75, or 5709.78 to 5709.81 of the Revised Code.

(2) There shall be created by the project an additional annual payroll in excess of one million dollars, excluding payroll arising solely out of the retail elements, if any, of the project.

(3) The project has been certified by the state director of development as meeting the requirements of divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section.

(B) Upon the filing of the petition under section 709.021 of the Revised Code in the office of the clerk of the board of county commissioners, the clerk shall cause the petition to be entered upon the journal of the board at its next regular session. This entry shall be the first official act of the board on the petition. Within five days after the filing of the petition, the agent for the petitioners shall notify in the manner and form specified in this division the clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed, the fiscal officer of each township any portion of which is included within the territory proposed for annexation, the clerk of the board of county commissioners of each county in which the territory proposed for annexation is located other than the county in which the petition is filed, and the owners of property adjacent to the territory proposed for annexation or adjacent to a road that is adjacent to that territory and located directly across that road from that territory. The notice shall refer to the time and date when the petition was filed and the county in which it was filed and shall have attached or shall be accompanied by a copy of the petition and any attachments or documents accompanying the petition as filed.

Notice to a property owner is sufficient if sent by regular United States mail to the tax mailing address listed on the county auditor's records. Notice to the appropriate government officer shall be given by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by causing the notice to be personally served on the officer, with proof of service by affidavit of the person who delivered the notice. Proof of service of the notice on each appropriate government officer shall be filed with the board of county commissioners with which the petition was filed.

(C)(1) Within thirty days after the petition is filed, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed and each township any portion of which is included within the territory proposed for annexation may adopt and file with the board of county commissioners an ordinance or resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed annexation. An objection to the proposed annexation shall be based solely upon the petition's failure to meet the conditions specified in division (F) of this section. Failure of the municipal corporation or any of those townships to timely file an ordinance or resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed annexation shall be deemed to constitute consent by that municipal corporation or township to the proposed annexation.

(2) Within twenty days after receiving the notice required by division (B) of this section, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation shall adopt, by ordinance or resolution, a statement indicating what services the municipal corporation will provide or cause to be provided, and an approximate date by which it will provide or cause them to be provided, to the territory proposed for annexation, upon annexation. If a hearing is to be conducted under division (E) of this section, the legislative authority shall file the statement with the clerk of the board of county commissioners at least twenty days before the date of the hearing.

(D) If all parties to the annexation proceedings consent to the proposed annexation, a hearing shall not be held, and the board, at its next regular session, shall enter upon its journal a resolution granting the annexation, if the board finds that, on balance, the general good of the territory proposed to be annexed will be served, and the benefits to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area will outweigh the detriments to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area, if the proposed annexation is granted. If the board finds the general good is not served, the board shall enter upon its journal a resolution denying the annexation. As used in this section, "surrounding area" has the same meaning as in section 709.033 of the Revised Code. There is no appeal in law or in equity from the board's entry of a resolution under this division. The clerk of the board shall proceed as provided in division (C)(1) of section 709.033 of the Revised Code.

(E) Unless the petition is granted under division (D) of this sectionIf the municipal corporation or a township files an ordinance or resolution objecting to the proposed annexation, a hearing shall be held on the petition. The board of county commissioners shall hear the petition at its next regular session and shall notify the agent for the petitioners of the hearing's date, time, and place. The agent for the petitioners shall give, within five days after receipt of the notice of the hearing from the board, to the parties and property owners entitled to notice under division (B) of this section, notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing. Notice to a property owner is sufficient if sent by regular United States mail to the tax mailing address listed on the county auditor's records. At the hearing, the parties and any owner of real estate within the territory proposed to be annexed are entitled to appear for the purposes described in division (C) of section 709.032 of the Revised Code.

(F) Within thirty days after a hearing under division (E) of this section, the board of county commissioners shall enter upon its journal a resolution granting or denying the proposed annexation. The resolution shall include specific findings of fact as to whether or not each of the conditions listed in this division has been met. If the board grants the annexation, the clerk of the board shall proceed as provided in division (C)(1) of section 709.033 of the Revised Code.

The board shall enter a resolution granting the annexation if it finds, based upon a preponderance of the substantial, reliable, and probative evidence on the whole record, that each of the following conditions has been met:

(1) The petition meets all the requirements set forth in, and was filed in the manner provided in, section 709.021 of the Revised Code.

(2) The persons who signed the petition are owners of real estate located in the territory proposed to be annexed in the petition and constitute all of the owners of real estate in that territory.

(3) No street or highway will be divided or segmented by the boundary line between a township and the municipal corporation as to create a road maintenance problem, or if the street or highway will be so divided or segmented, the municipal corporation has agreed, as a condition of the annexation, that it will assume the maintenance of that street or highway. For the purposes of this division, "street" or "highway" has the same meaning as in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) The municipal corporation to which the territory is proposed to be annexed has adopted an ordinance or resolution as required by division (C)(2) of this section.

(5) The state director of development has certified that the project meets the requirements of divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section and thereby qualifies as a significant economic development project. The director's certification is binding on the board of county commissioners.

(6) On balance, the general good of the territory proposed to be annexed will be served, and the benefits to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area will outweigh the detriments to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area, if the proposed annexation is granted.

(G) An owner who signed the petition may appeal a decision of the board of county commissioners denying the proposed annexation under section 709.07 of the Revised Code. No other person has standing to appeal the board's decision in law or in equity. If the board grants the annexation, there shall be no appeal in law or in equity.

(H) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 503.07 of the Revised Code, unless otherwise provided in an annexation agreement entered into pursuant to section 709.192 of the Revised Code or in a cooperative economic development agreement entered into pursuant to section 701.07 of the Revised Code, territory annexed into a municipal corporation pursuant to this section shall not at any time be excluded from the township under section 503.07 of the Revised Code and, thus, remains subject to the township's real property taxes.

(I) A municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed is entitled in its sole discretion to provide to the territory proposed for annexation, upon annexation, services in addition to the services described in the ordinance or resolution adopted by the legislative authority of the municipal corporation under division (C)(2) of this section.

Sec. 709.16. (A) A municipal corporation may petition the board of county commissioners to annex contiguous territory owned only by the municipal corporation, a county, or the state. The clerk of the board shall cause the petition to be entered upon the board's journal at its next regular session. This entry shall be the first official act of the board upon the petition. Proceedings on the petition shall be conducted under this section to the exclusion of any other provisions of this chapter except for sections 709.014, 709.14, 709.15, 709.20, and 709.21 of the Revised Code.

(B) If the only territory to be annexed is contiguous territory owned by a municipal corporation or county, the board of county commissioners, by resolution, shall grant the annexation if the board finds that, on balance, the general good of the territory proposed to be annexed will be served, and the benefits to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area will outweigh the detriments to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area, if the annexation is granted. The annexation shall be complete upon the entry upon the journal of the board of the resolution granting the annexation.

(C) If the only territory to be annexed is contiguous territory owned by a county, the board of county commissioners, by resolution, may grant or deny the annexation. The annexation shall be complete upon the entry upon the journal of the board of a resolution granting the annexation.

(D) If the only territory to be annexed is contiguous territory owned by the state and the , the board shall grant the annexation if both of the following are satisfied:

(1) The board finds that, on balance, the general good of the territory proposed to be annexed will be served, and the benefits to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area will outweigh the detriments to the territory proposed to be annexed and the surrounding area, if the annexation is granted;

(2) The director of administrative services has filed a written consent to the granting of the annexation with the board of county commissioners, the board, by resolution, shall grant the annexation. The

(D) An annexation under this section shall be complete upon the entry upon the journal of the board of a resolution granting the annexation.

(E) The board of county commissioners shall act upon a petition for annexation filed under this section within thirty days after receipt of the petition.

(F) No appeal in law or in equity shall be allowed from the granting of an annexation under this section.

(G) When a municipal corporation purchases real property below an appraised fair market value and sells or agrees to sell the property back to the person that sold it to the municipal corporation, an annexation of that property completed under this section shall be void, and the annexed property shall become part of the township from which it was annexed, if it still exists. If the township no longer exists, the board of county commissioners shall attach the annexed territory to another township.

(H) Territory annexed under this section shall not be excluded from the township under section 503.07 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3311.222. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 3311.06 of the Revised Code, when a municipal corporation annexes territory under section 709.023 of the Revised Code, the state board of education shall transfer such territory to the city, local, or exempted village school district that primarily serves the annexing municipal corporation, if that school district is different than the school district that was serving the territory prior to the annexation, beginning on the first day of July that occurs at least one hundred eighty days after the effective date of the annexation.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 3313.98 or 3313.981 of the Revised Code, a city, local, or exempted village school district's policy adopted under section 3313.98 of the Revised Code shall require a school district from which territory is transferred under this section to permit any student who resides in the annexed territory and who was enrolled in the district in the ninth grade or higher prior to the annexation to re-enroll in the district until the student completes twelfth grade, regardless of whether the district has adopted a policy under division (B)(1)(a), (b), or (c) of section 3313.98 of the Revised Code. Such student shall be considered an adjacent district student for purposes of sections 3313.98 and 3313.981 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3735.67. (A) The owner of real property located in a community reinvestment area and eligible for exemption from taxation under a resolution adopted pursuant to section 3735.66 of the Revised Code may file an application for an exemption from real property taxation of a percentage of the assessed valuation of a new structure, or of the increased assessed valuation of an existing structure after remodeling began, if the new structure or remodeling is completed after the effective date of the resolution adopted pursuant to section 3735.66 of the Revised Code. The application shall be filed with the housing officer designated for the community reinvestment area in which the property is located. If any part of the new structure or remodeled structure that would be exempted is of real property to be used for commercial or industrial purposes, the legislative authority and the owner of the property shall enter into a written agreement pursuant to section 3735.671 of the Revised Code prior to commencement of construction or remodeling; if such an agreement is subject to approval by the board of education of the school district within the territory of which the property is or will be located, the agreement shall not be formally approved by the legislative authority until the board of education approves the agreement in the manner prescribed by that section.

(B) The housing officer shall verify the construction of the new structure or the cost of the remodeling of the existing structure and the facts asserted in the application. The housing officer shall determine whether the construction or remodeling meets the requirements for an exemption under this section. In cases involving a structure of historical or architectural significance, the housing officer shall not determine whether the remodeling meets the requirements for a tax exemption unless the appropriateness of the remodeling has been certified, in writing, by the society, association, agency, or legislative authority that has designated the structure or by any organization or person authorized, in writing, by such society, association, agency, or legislative authority to certify the appropriateness of the remodeling.

(C)(C)(1) If the construction or remodeling meets the requirements for exemption, the housing officer shall forward request approval of the application from the board of education of the city, local, or exempted village school district within the territory of which the property is or will be located.

For the purpose of obtaining such approval, the housing officer shall certify a copy of the application to the board of education. The board, by resolution adopted by a majority of the board, shall approve or disapprove the application and certify a copy of the resolution to the property owner and the housing officer not later than forty-five days after the application is certified to the board. The board may include in the resolution conditions under which the board would approve the application. The housing officer may approve an application at any time after the board certifies its resolution approving the application, or, if the board approves the application conditionally, at any time after the housing officer is notified that the conditions are agreed to by the board and the property owner.

(2) Approval of an application by a board of education is not required under division (C)(1) of this section if, for each tax year the dwelling is exempted from taxation, the sum of the following quantities, as estimated at or prior to the time the application is formally approved by the housing officer, equals or exceeds twenty-five per cent of the amount of taxes, as estimated at or prior to that time, that would have been charged and payable that year upon the dwelling had that dwelling not been exempted from taxation:

(a) The amount of taxes charged and payable on any portion of the assessed valuation of the new dwelling or of the increased assessed valuation of an existing dwelling after remodeling began that will not be exempted from taxation under the agreement;

(b) The amount of any cash payment by the owner of the dwelling to the school district and any payment by the legislative authority that designated the community reinvestment area to the school district pursuant to section 5709.82 of the Revised Code.

The estimates of quantities used for purposes of division (C)(2) of this section shall be estimated by the housing officer. Departures of the actual quantities from the estimates subsequent to approval of the application do not invalidate the application.

(3) If a board of education has adopted a resolution waiving its right to approve applications under this division and that resolution remains in effect, approval of an application by the board is not required under division (C)(1) of this section. If a board adopts a resolution waiving its right to approve applications, the board shall certify a copy of the resolution to the housing officer. If the board rescinds such a resolution, it shall certify notice of the rescission to the housing officer.

(4) If the owner of the dwelling agrees to make any payment to a school district as described in division (C)(2)(b) of this section, the owner shall agree to make payments to the joint vocational school district within which the property is located at the same rate or amount and under the same terms received by the city, local, or exempted village school district.

(5) Upon approval of an application, the housing officer shall forward the application to the county auditor with a certification as to the division of this section under which the exemption is granted, and the period and percentage of the exemption as determined by the legislative authority pursuant to that division. If the construction or remodeling is of commercial or industrial property and the legislative authority is not required to certify a copy of a resolution under section 3735.671 of the Revised Code, the housing officer shall comply with the notice requirements prescribed under section 5709.83 of the Revised Code, unless the board has adopted a resolution under that section waiving its right to receive such a notice.

(D) Except as provided in division (F) of this section, the tax exemption shall first apply in the year the construction or remodeling would first be taxable but for this section. In the case of remodeling that qualifies for exemption, a percentage, not to exceed one hundred per cent, of the increased assessed valuation of an existing structure after remodeling began shall be exempted from real property taxation. In the case of construction of a structure that qualifies for exemption, a percentage, not to exceed one hundred per cent, of the assessed value of the structure shall be exempted from real property taxation. In either case, the percentage shall be the percentage set forth in the agreement if the structure or remodeling is to be used for commercial or industrial purposes, or the percentage set forth in the resolution describing the community reinvestment area if the structure or remodeling is to be used for residential purposes.

The construction of new structures and the remodeling of existing structures are hereby declared to be a public purpose for which exemptions from real property taxation may be granted for the following periods:

(1) For every dwelling and commercial or industrial properties, located within the same community reinvestment area, upon which the cost of remodeling is at least two thousand five hundred dollars in the case of a dwelling containing not more than two family units or at least five thousand dollars in the case of all other property, a period to be determined by the legislative authority adopting the resolution, but not exceeding fifteen years. The period of exemption for a dwelling described in division (D)(1) of this section may be extended by a legislative authority for up to an additional ten years if the dwelling is a structure of historical or architectural significance, is a certified historic structure that has been subject to federal tax treatment under 26 U.S.C. 47 and 170(h), and units within the structure have been leased to individual tenants for five consecutive years;

(2) Except as provided in division (F) of this section, for construction of every dwelling, and commercial or industrial structure located within the same community reinvestment area, a period to be determined by the legislative authority adopting the resolution, but not exceeding one of the following:

(a) Thirty years, if the commercial or industrial structure is situated on the site of a megaproject and is owned and occupied by a megaproject operator as defined in division (A)(12) of section 122.17 of the Revised Code, or is not situated on the site of a megaproject but is owned and occupied by a megaproject supplier that meets the requirements described in division (A)(13)(b) of section 122.17 of the Revised Code;

(b) Fifteen years, for any other dwelling or commercial or industrial structure.

(E) Any person, board, or officer authorized by section 5715.19 of the Revised Code to file complaints with the county board of revision may file a complaint with the housing officer challenging the continued exemption of any property granted an exemption under this section. A complaint against exemption shall be filed prior to the thirty-first day of December of the tax year for which taxation of the property is requested. The housing officer shall determine whether the property continues to meet the requirements for exemption and shall certify the housing officer's findings to the complainant. If the housing officer determines that the property does not meet the requirements for exemption, the housing officer shall notify the county auditor, who shall correct the tax list and duplicate accordingly.

(F) The owner of a dwelling constructed in a community reinvestment area may file an application for an exemption after the year the construction first became subject to taxation. The application shall be processed in accordance with the procedures prescribed under this section and shall be granted if the construction that is the subject of the application otherwise meets the requirements for an exemption under this section. If approved, the exemption sought in the application first applies in the year the application is filed. An exemption approved pursuant to this division continues only for those years remaining in the period described in division (D)(2) of this section. No exemption may be claimed for any year in that period that precedes the year in which the application is filed.

Section 2. That existing sections 102.02, 709.022, 709.023, 709.024, 709.16, and 3735.67 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. The changes to annexation proceedings under sections 709.022, 709.023, 709.024, and 709.16 of the Revised Code as amended by this act apply only to an annexation for which the petition is filed on or after the effective date of this section.