As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 118

2025-2026

A BILL

To amend sections 3742.01, 3742.03, 3742.39, 3742.50, 5747.08, 5747.26, 5747.50, 5747.502, 5747.51, 5747.53, and 5747.98 and to enact sections 3742.47 and 5747.504 of the Revised Code to revise the law governing lead testing, certification, and tax credits.

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

Section 1. That sections 3742.01, 3742.03, 3742.39, 3742.50, 5747.08, 5747.26, 5747.50, 5747.502, 5747.51, 5747.53, and 5747.98 be amended and sections 3742.47 and 5747.504 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 3742.01. As used in this chapter:

(A) "Board of health" means the board of health of a city or general health district or the authority having the duties of a board of health under section 3709.05 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Child care facility" means each area of any of the following in which child care, as defined in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code, is provided to children under six years of age:

(1) A child care center, type A family child care home, or type B family child care home as defined in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code;

(2) A preschool program or school child program as defined in section 3301.52 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Clearance examination" means an examination to determine whether the lead hazards in a residential unit, child care facility, or school have been sufficiently controlled. A clearance examination includes a visual assessment, collection, and analysis of environmental samples.

(D) "Clearance technician" means a person, other than a licensed lead inspector or licensed lead risk assessor, who performs a clearance examination.

(E) "Clinical laboratory" means a facility for the biological, microbiological, serological, chemical, immunohematological, hematological, biophysical, cytological, pathological, or other examination of substances derived from the human body for the purpose of providing information for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of any disease, or in the assessment or impairment of the health of human beings. "Clinical laboratory" does not include a facility that only collects or prepares specimens, or serves as a mailing service, and does not perform testing.

(F) "Encapsulation" means the coating and sealing of surfaces with durable surface coating specifically formulated to be elastic, able to withstand sharp and blunt impacts, long-lasting, and resilient, while also resistant to cracking, peeling, algae, fungus, and ultraviolet light, so as to prevent any part of lead-containing paint from becoming part of house dust or otherwise accessible to children.

(G) "Enclosure" means the resurfacing or covering of surfaces with durable materials such as wallboard or paneling, and the sealing or caulking of edges and joints, so as to prevent or control chalking, flaking, peeling, scaling, or loose lead-containing substances from becoming part of house dust or otherwise accessible to children.

(H) "Environmental lead analytical laboratory" means a facility that analyzes air, dust, soil, water, paint, film, or other substances, other than substances derived from the human body, for the presence and concentration of lead.

(I) "HEPA" means the designation given to a product, device, or system that has been equipped with a high-efficiency particulate air filter, which is a filter capable of removing particles of 0.3 microns or larger from air at 99.97 per cent or greater efficiency.

(J) "Interim controls" means a set of measures designed to reduce temporarily human exposure or likely human exposure to lead hazards. Interim controls include specialized cleaning, repairs, painting, temporary containment, ongoing lead hazard maintenance activities, and the establishment and operation of management and resident education programs.

(K)(1) "Lead abatement" means a measure or set of measures designed for the single purpose of permanently eliminating lead hazards. "Lead abatement" includes all of the following:

(a) Removal of lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust;

(b) Permanent enclosure or encapsulation of lead-based paint;

(d) Removal or permanent covering of lead-contaminated soil;

(e) Preparation, cleanup, and disposal activities associated with lead abatement.

(2) "Lead abatement" does not include any of the following:

(a) Residential rental unit lead-safe maintenance practices performed pursuant to sections 3742.41 and 3742.42 of the Revised Code;

(b) Implementation of interim controls;

(i) It is a freestanding single-family home used as the property owner's private residence.

(ii) No child under six years of age who has lead poisoning resides in the unit.

(L) "Lead abatement contractor" means any individual who engages in or intends to engage in lead abatement and employs or supervises one or more lead abatement workers, including on-site supervision of lead abatement projects, or prepares specifications, plans, or documents for a lead abatement project.

(M) "Lead abatement project" means one or more lead abatement activities that are conducted by a lead abatement contractor and are reasonably related to each other.

(N) "Lead abatement project designer" means a person who is responsible for designing lead abatement projects and preparing a pre-abatement plan for all designed projects.

(O) "Lead abatement worker" means an individual who is responsible in a nonsupervisory capacity for the performance of lead abatement.

(P) "Lead-based paint" means any paint or other similar surface-coating substance containing lead at or in excess of the level that is hazardous to human health, as that level is established in rules adopted under section 3742.45 of the Revised Code.

(Q) "Lead-contaminated dust" means dust that contains an area or mass concentration of lead at or in excess of the level that is hazardous to human health, as that level is established in rules adopted under section 3742.45 of the Revised Code.

(R) "Lead-contaminated soil" means soil that contains lead at or in excess of the level that is hazardous to human health, as that level is established in rules adopted under section 3742.45 of the Revised Code.

(S) "Lead free" means no lead-based paint is present in any area referenced in division (B) of section 3742.42 of the Revised Code.

(T) "Lead hazard" means material that is likely to cause lead exposure and endanger an individual's health as determined by the director of health in rules adopted under section 3742.45 of the Revised Code. "Lead hazard" includes lead-based paint, lead-contaminated dust, lead-contaminated soil, and lead-contaminated water pipes.

(U) "Lead inspection" means a surface-by-surface investigation to determine the presence of lead-based paint. The inspection shall use a sampling or testing technique approved by the director in rules adopted under section 3742.03 of the Revised Code. A licensed lead inspector or laboratory approved under section 3742.09 of the Revised Code shall certify in writing the precise results of the inspection.

(V) "Lead inspector" means any individual who conducts a lead inspection, provides professional advice regarding a lead inspection, or prepares a report explaining the results of a lead inspection.

(W) "Lead poisoning" means the level of lead in human blood that is hazardous to human health, as specified in rules adopted under section 3742.45 of the Revised Code.

(X) "Lead risk assessment" means an on-site investigation to determine and report the existence, nature, severity, and location of lead hazards in a residential unit, child care facility, or school, including information gathering from the unit, facility, or school's current owner's knowledge regarding the age and painting history of the unit, facility, or school and occupancy by children under six years of age, visual inspection, limited wipe sampling or other environmental sampling techniques, and any other activity as may be appropriate.

(Y) "Lead risk assessor" means a person who is responsible for developing a written inspection, risk assessment, and analysis plan; conducting inspections for lead hazards in a residential unit, child care facility, or school; interpreting results of inspections and risk assessments; identifying hazard control strategies to reduce or eliminate lead exposures; and completing a risk assessment report.

(Z) "Lead-safe residential rental unit" means a residential rental unit that has undergone the residential rental unit lead-safe maintenance practices described in section 3742.42 of the Revised Code, including post-maintenance dust sampling or are registered pursuant to division (D) of section 3742.41 of the Revised Code.

(AA) "Manager" means a person, who may be the same person as the owner, responsible for the daily operation of a residential unit, child care facility, or school.

(BB) "Permanent" means an expected design life of at least twenty years.

(CC) "Pre-cleaning" means cleaning techniques conducted pursuant to regulations or guidelines established by the United States department of housing and urban development to capture and eliminate lead contaminants prior to testing for possible lead contamination at a residential unit, child care facility, or school. "Pre-cleaning" includes wet wiping, mopping, or vacuuming.

(DD) "Replacement" means an activity that entails removing components such as windows, doors, and trim that have lead hazards on their surfaces and installing components free of lead hazards.

~~(DD)~~ (EE) "Residential unit" means a dwelling or any part of a building being used as an individual's private residence. "Residential unit" includes a residential rental unit.

~~(EE)~~ (FF) "Residential rental unit" means a rental property containing a dwelling or any part of a building being used as an individual's private residence.

~~(FF)~~ (GG) "School" means a public or nonpublic school in which children under six years of age receive education.

Sec. 3742.03. The director of health shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for the administration and enforcement of sections 3742.01 to 3742.19 and 3742.99 of the Revised Code. The rules shall specify all of the following:

(A) Procedures to be followed by a lead abatement contractor, lead abatement project designer, lead abatement worker, lead inspector, or lead risk assessor licensed under section 3742.05 of the Revised Code for undertaking lead abatement activities and procedures to be followed by a clearance technician, lead inspector, or lead risk assessor in performing a clearance examination;

(B)(1) Requirements for training and licensure, in addition to those established under section 3742.08 of the Revised Code, to include levels of training and periodic refresher training for each class of worker, and to be used for licensure under section 3742.05 of the Revised Code. Except in the case of clearance technicians, these requirements shall include at least twenty-four classroom hours of training based on the Occupational Safety and Health Act training program for lead set forth in 29 C.F.R. 1926.62. For clearance technicians, the training requirements to obtain an initial license shall not exceed six hours and the requirements for refresher training shall not exceed two hours every four years. In establishing the training and licensure requirements, the director shall consider the core of information that is needed by all licensed persons, and establish the training requirements so that persons who would seek licenses in more than one area would not have to take duplicative course work.

(2) Persons certified by the American board of industrial hygiene as a certified industrial hygienist or as an industrial hygienist-in-training, and persons registered as a an environmental health specialist or environmental health specialist in training under Chapter 3776. of the Revised Code, shall be exempt from any training requirements for initial licensure established under this chapter, but shall be required to take any examinations for licensure required under section 3742.05 of the Revised Code.

(D) Procedures to be followed by lead inspectors, lead abatement contractors, environmental lead analytical laboratories, lead risk assessors, lead abatement project designers, and lead abatement workers to prevent public exposure to lead hazards and ensure worker protection during lead abatement projects;

(E)(1) Record-keeping and reporting requirements for clinical laboratories, environmental lead analytical laboratories, lead inspectors, lead abatement contractors, lead risk assessors, lead abatement project designers, and lead abatement workers for lead abatement projects and record-keeping and reporting requirements for clinical laboratories, environmental lead analytical laboratories, and clearance technicians for clearance examinations;

(2) Record-keeping and reporting requirements regarding lead poisoning for physicians;

(3) Information that is required to be reported under rules based on divisions (E)(1) and (2) of this section and that is a medical record is not a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code and shall not be released, except in aggregate statistical form.

(F) Environmental sampling techniques for use in collecting samples of air, water, dust, paint, and other materials;

(G) Requirements for a respiratory protection plan prepared in accordance with section 3742.07 of the Revised Code;

(H) Requirements under which a manufacturer of encapsulants must demonstrate evidence of the safety and durability of its encapsulants by providing results of testing from an independent laboratory indicating that the encapsulants meet the standards developed by the "E06.23.30 task group on encapsulants," which is the task group of the lead hazards associated with buildings subcommittee of the performance of buildings committee of the American society for testing and materials.

(I) A certification process for authorizing the use of software in lead abatement and lead testing conducted by persons and laboratories licensed under this chapter. Notwithstanding any provision of section 121.95 of the Revised Code to the contrary, a regulatory restriction contained in a rule adopted under this division is not subject to sections 121.95 to 121.953 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3742.39. (A) A residential unit, child care facility, or school remains subject to a lead hazard control order issued under section 3742.37 of the Revised Code until the unit, facility, or school passes a clearance examination. After the unit, facility, or school passes the clearance examination, the director of health or board of health that issued the order shall provide the owner and manager of the unit, facility, or school with information on methods of maintaining control of each lead hazard specified in the order. In the case of a residential unit in which an individual who is not the owner or manager resides, the director or board also shall provide the information to the individual residing in the unit.

(B) Prior to a clearance examination conducted under this chapter, a clearance technician, lead inspector, or lead risk assessor may conduct pre-cleaning at a residential unit, child care facility, or school. A clearance technician, lead inspector, or lead risk assessor may charge a fee for the performance of pre-cleaning.

Sec. 3742.47. (A) Any county, township, or municipal corporation that requires a person to obtain a certification that indicates that a property is safe from lead hazards for purposes of rental registration under the authority of section 5321.19 of the Revised Code shall issue or deny that certification not later than thirty days after the receipt of an application for such certification. If a certification is denied, the county, township, or municipal corporation shall notify the person who is denied such certification of the denial and of the specific components of the property that were determined to include an unsafe lead hazard.

(B) Any person who is denied a certification specified under division (A) of this section may resubmit an application for certification by resubmitting lead test results for the specific components of the property that were previously determined to include an unsafe lead hazard. The person may resubmit the application up to one hundred eighty days after the county, township, or municipal corporation denies certification.

Sec. 3742.50. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Lead abatement costs" means costs incurred by a taxpayer or pass-through entity for either of the following:

(a) A lead abatement specialist to conduct a lead risk assessment, a lead abatement project, or a clearance examination, provided the specialist is authorized under this chapter to conduct the respective task;

(b) Relocation costs incurred in the relocation of occupants of an eligible dwelling to achieve occupant protection, as described in 24 C.F.R. 35.1345(a).

"Lead abatement costs" do not include such costs for which the taxpayer is reimbursed or such costs the taxpayer deducts or excludes in computing the taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income for federal income tax purposes or Ohio adjusted gross income as determined under section 5747.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Eligible dwelling" means a residential unit, including a single unit in a multi-unit building, constructed in this state before 1978.

(3) "Lead abatement specialist" means an individual who holds a valid license issued under section 3742.05 of the Revised Code or, as used in divisions (B) to (E) of this section, a pass-through entity that employs such an individual or is owned, directly or indirectly, by such an individual.

(4) "Taxable ~~year" and "taxpayer"~~ year," "taxpayer," and "pass-through entity" have the same meanings as in section 5747.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) A taxpayer ~~who~~ or pass-through entity that incurs lead abatement costs on an eligible dwelling during a taxable year may apply to the director of health for a lead abatement tax credit certificate. The ~~applicant~~taxpayer or entity may also assign the right to apply for a lead abatement tax credit certificate to a lead abatement specialist in exchange for a discount in the lead abatement costs charged by the specialist, up to ten thousand dollars. The taxpayer or entity retains the right to apply for a lead abatement tax certificate in the amount by which the discount is less than ten thousand dollars.

If the taxpayer or entity who incurs lead abatement costs is the applicant, the applicant shall list on the application the amount of lead abatement costs the applicant incurred for the eligible dwelling during the taxable year. ~~The~~ If a lead abatement specialist is the applicant by assignment, the application shall include the approval of the assignment by the taxpayer or pass-through entity that incurred the lead abatement costs, the amount of lead abatement costs charged to that taxpayer or entity for the specialist's services, and the amount of the discount in lead abatement costs provided in exchange for the assignment.

The director, in consultation with the tax commissioner, shall prescribe the form of a lead abatement tax credit certificate, the manner by which an applicant shall apply for the certificate, and requirements for the submission of any record or other information an applicant must furnish with the application to verify the lead abatement costs.

(C)(1) Upon receipt of an application under division (B) of this section, the director of health shall verify all of the following:

(a) The residential unit that is the subject of the application is an eligible dwelling. ;

(b) The taxpayer or pass-through entity incurred lead abatement costs during the taxable year related to the eligible dwelling. ;

(c) If the application is filed by the lead abatement specialist, the amount by which the specialist reduced the lead abatement costs charged to the taxpayer or entity in exchange for the right to file the application;

(d) The eligible dwelling has passed a clearance examination in accordance with standards prescribed in rules adopted by the director under section 3742.03 or 3742.45 of the Revised Code.

(2) After verifying the conditions described in division (C)(1) of this section, the director shall issue a lead abatement tax credit certificate to the applicant equal to the lesser of ~~(a) the~~ :

(a) The lead abatement costs incurred by the taxpayer or pass-through entity on the eligible dwelling during the taxable year, ~~(b) the~~ if the taxpayer or entity is the applicant, or the amount of the discount in lead abatement costs charged to the taxpayer, if the lead abatement specialist is the applicant;

(b) The amount of lead abatement costs or discount listed on the application~~, or (c) ten~~ ;

The amount of credit awarded on the basis of an eligible dwelling may not exceed ten thousand dollars for any taxable year.

(3) ~~The~~ In any fiscal year, the director may not issue more than five million dollars, plus the amount of funds transferred to the general revenue fund in the previous fiscal year pursuant to division (F) of section 5747.504 of the Revised Code, in lead abatement tax credit certificates ~~in any fiscal year~~.

(D) The director of health, in consultation with the tax commissioner, may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code as necessary for the administration of this section.

(E) Assignment of the right to apply for a lead abatement tax credit certificate under division (B) of this section is a consumer transaction for the purposes of sections 1345.01 to 1345.13 of the Revised Code. The lead abatement specialist is the supplier and the taxpayer or pass-through entity is the consumer for purposes of those sections.

Sec. 5747.08. An annual return with respect to the tax imposed by section 5747.02 of the Revised Code and each tax imposed under Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code shall be made by every taxpayer for any taxable year for which the taxpayer is liable for the tax imposed by that section or under that chapter, unless the total credits allowed under division (E) of section 5747.05 and divisions (F) and (G) of section 5747.055 of the Revised Code for the year are equal to or exceed the tax imposed by section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, in which case no return shall be required unless the taxpayer is liable for a tax imposed pursuant to Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code.

(A) If an individual is deceased, any return or notice required of that individual under this chapter shall be made and filed by that decedent's executor, administrator, or other person charged with the property of that decedent.

(B) If an individual is unable to make a return or notice required by this chapter, the return or notice required of that individual shall be made and filed by the individual's duly authorized agent, guardian, conservator, fiduciary, or other person charged with the care of the person or property of that individual.

(D)(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(1)(b) of this section, any pass-through entity may file a single return on behalf of one or more of the entity's investors other than an investor that is a person subject to the tax imposed under section 5733.06 of the Revised Code. The single return shall set forth the name, address, and social security number or other identifying number of each of those pass-through entity investors and shall indicate the distributive share of each of those pass-through entity investor's income taxable in this state in accordance with sections 5747.20 to 5747.231 of the Revised Code. Such pass-through entity investors for whom the pass-through entity elects to file a single return are not entitled to the exemption or credit provided for by sections 5747.02 and 5747.022 of the Revised Code; shall calculate the tax before business credits at the highest rate of tax set forth in section 5747.02 of the Revised Code for the taxable year for which the return is filed; and are entitled to only their distributive share of the business credits as defined in division (D)(2) of this section. A single check drawn by the pass-through entity shall accompany the return in full payment of the tax due, as shown on the single return, for such investors, other than investors who are persons subject to the tax imposed under section 5733.06 of the Revised Code.

(b)(i) A pass-through entity shall not include in such a single return any investor that is a trust to the extent that any direct or indirect current, future, or contingent beneficiary of the trust is a person subject to the tax imposed under section 5733.06 of the Revised Code.

(ii) A pass-through entity shall not include in such a single return any investor that is itself a pass-through entity to the extent that any direct or indirect investor in the second pass-through entity is a person subject to the tax imposed under section 5733.06 of the Revised Code.

(c) Except as provided by division (L) of this section, nothing in division (D) of this section precludes the tax commissioner from requiring such investors to file the return and make the payment of taxes and related interest, penalty, and interest penalty required by this section or section 5747.02, 5747.09, or 5747.15 of the Revised Code. Nothing in division (D) of this section precludes such an investor from filing the annual return under this section, utilizing the refundable credit equal to the investor's proportionate share of the tax paid by the pass-through entity on behalf of the investor under division (I) of this section, and making the payment of taxes imposed under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code. Nothing in division (D) of this section shall be construed to provide to such an investor or pass-through entity any additional deduction or credit, other than the credit provided by division (I) of this section, solely on account of the entity's filing a return in accordance with this section. Such a pass-through entity also shall make the filing and payment of estimated taxes on behalf of the pass-through entity investors other than an investor that is a person subject to the tax imposed under section 5733.06 of the Revised Code.

(2) For the purposes of this section, "business credits" means the credits listed in section 5747.98 of the Revised Code excluding the following credits:

(a) The retirement income credit under division (B) of section 5747.055 of the Revised Code;

(b) The senior citizen credit under division (F) of section 5747.055 of the Revised Code;

(d) The dependent care credit under section 5747.054 of the Revised Code;

(e) The lump sum retirement income credit under division (C) of section 5747.055 of the Revised Code;

(f) The lump sum retirement income credit under division (D) of section 5747.055 of the Revised Code;

(g) The lump sum retirement income credit under division (E) of section 5747.055 of the Revised Code;

(h) The credit for displaced workers who pay for job training under section 5747.27 of the Revised Code;

(i) The twenty-dollar personal exemption credit under section 5747.022 of the Revised Code;

(j) The joint filing credit under division (E) of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

(k) The nonresident credit under division (A) of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

(l) The credit for a resident's out-of-state income under division (B) of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

(m) The earned income tax credit under section 5747.71 of the Revised Code;

(n) ~~The lead abatement credit under section 5747.26 of the Revised Code;~~

~~(o)~~ The credit for education expenses under section 5747.72 of the Revised Code;

~~(p)~~ (o) The credit for tuition paid to a nonchartered nonpublic school under section 5747.75 of the Revised Code.

(3) The election provided for under division (D) of this section applies only to the taxable year for which the election is made by the pass-through entity. Unless the tax commissioner provides otherwise, this election, once made, is binding and irrevocable for the taxable year for which the election is made. Nothing in this division shall be construed to provide for any deduction or credit that would not be allowable if a nonresident pass-through entity investor were to file an annual return.

(4) If a pass-through entity makes the election provided for under division (D) of this section, the pass-through entity shall be liable for any additional taxes, interest, interest penalty, or penalties imposed by this chapter if the tax commissioner finds that the single return does not reflect the correct tax due by the pass-through entity investors covered by that return. Nothing in this division shall be construed to limit or alter the liability, if any, imposed on pass-through entity investors for unpaid or underpaid taxes, interest, interest penalty, or penalties as a result of the pass-through entity's making the election provided for under division (D) of this section. For the purposes of division (D) of this section, "correct tax due" means the tax that would have been paid by the pass-through entity had the single return been filed in a manner reflecting the commissioner's findings. Nothing in division (D) of this section shall be construed to make or hold a pass-through entity liable for tax attributable to a pass-through entity investor's income from a source other than the pass-through entity electing to file the single return.

(E) If a husband and wife file a joint federal income tax return for a taxable year, they shall file a joint return under this section for that taxable year, and their liabilities are joint and several, but, if the federal income tax liability of either spouse is determined on a separate federal income tax return, they shall file separate returns under this section.

If either spouse is not required to file a federal income tax return and either or both are required to file a return pursuant to this chapter, they may elect to file separate or joint returns, and, pursuant to that election, their liabilities are separate or joint and several. If a husband and wife file separate returns pursuant to this chapter, each must claim the taxpayer's own exemption, but not both, as authorized under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code on the taxpayer's own return.

(F) Each return or notice required to be filed under this section shall contain the signature of the taxpayer or the taxpayer's duly authorized agent and of the person who prepared the return for the taxpayer, and shall include the taxpayer's social security number. Each return shall be verified by a declaration under the penalties of perjury. The tax commissioner shall prescribe the form that the signature and declaration shall take.

(G) Each return or notice required to be filed under this section shall be made and filed as required by section 5747.04 of the Revised Code, on or before the fifteenth day of April of each year, on forms that the tax commissioner shall prescribe, together with remittance made payable to the treasurer of state in the combined amount of the state and all school district income taxes shown to be due on the form.

Upon good cause shown, the commissioner may extend the period for filing any notice or return required to be filed under this section and may adopt rules relating to extensions. If the extension results in an extension of time for the payment of any state or school district income tax liability with respect to which the return is filed, the taxpayer shall pay at the time the tax liability is paid an amount of interest computed at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47 of the Revised Code on that liability from the time that payment is due without extension to the time of actual payment. Except as provided in section 5747.132 of the Revised Code, in addition to all other interest charges and penalties, all taxes imposed under this chapter or Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code and remaining unpaid after they become due, except combined amounts due of one dollar or less, bear interest at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47 of the Revised Code until paid or until the day an assessment is issued under section 5747.13 of the Revised Code, whichever occurs first.

If the commissioner considers it necessary in order to ensure the payment of the tax imposed by section 5747.02 of the Revised Code or any tax imposed under Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code, the commissioner may require returns and payments to be made otherwise than as provided in this section.

To the extent that any provision in this division conflicts with any provision in section 5747.026 of the Revised Code, the provision in that section prevails.

(H) The amounts withheld pursuant to section 5747.06, 5747.062, 5747.063, 5747.064, 5747.065, or 5747.071 of the Revised Code shall be allowed to the ultimate recipient of the income as credits against payment of the appropriate taxes imposed on the ultimate recipient by section 5747.02 and under Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code. As used in this division, "ultimate recipient" means the person who is required to report income from which amounts are withheld pursuant to section 5747.06, 5747.062, 5747.063, 5747.064, 5747.065, or 5747.071 of the Revised Code on the annual return required to be filed under this section.

(I) If a pass-through entity elects to file a single return under division (D) of this section and if any investor is required to file the annual return and make the payment of taxes required by this chapter on account of the investor's other income that is not included in a single return filed by a pass-through entity or any other investor elects to file the annual return, the investor is entitled to a refundable credit equal to the investor's proportionate share of the tax paid by the pass-through entity on behalf of the investor. The investor shall claim the credit for the investor's taxable year in which or with which ends the taxable year of the pass-through entity. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to allow any credit provided in this chapter to be claimed more than once. For the purpose of computing any interest, penalty, or interest penalty, the investor shall be deemed to have paid the refundable credit provided by this division on the day that the pass-through entity paid the estimated tax or the tax giving rise to the credit.

(J) The tax commissioner shall ensure that each return required to be filed under this section includes a box that the taxpayer may check to authorize a paid tax preparer who prepared the return to communicate with the department of taxation about matters pertaining to the return. The return or instructions accompanying the return shall indicate that by checking the box the taxpayer authorizes the department of taxation to contact the preparer concerning questions that arise during the processing of the return and authorizes the preparer only to provide the department with information that is missing from the return, to contact the department for information about the processing of the return or the status of the taxpayer's refund or payments, and to respond to notices about mathematical errors, offsets, or return preparation that the taxpayer has received from the department and has shown to the preparer.

(K) The tax commissioner shall permit individual taxpayers to instruct the department of taxation to cause any refund of overpaid taxes to be deposited directly into a checking account, savings account, or an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity, or preexisting college savings plan or program account offered by the Ohio tuition trust authority under Chapter 3334. of the Revised Code, as designated by the taxpayer, when the taxpayer files the annual return required by this section electronically.

(L) If, for the taxable year, a nonresident or trust that is the owner of an electing pass-through entity, as defined in section 5747.38 of the Revised Code, does not have Ohio adjusted gross income or, in the case of a trust, modified Ohio taxable income other than from one or more electing pass-through entities, the nonresident or trust shall not be required to file an annual return under this section. Nothing in this division precludes such an owner from filing the annual return under this section, utilizing the refundable credit under section 5747.39 of the Revised Code equal to the owner's proportionate share of the tax levied under section 5747.38 of the Revised Code and paid by the electing pass-through entity, and making the payment of taxes imposed under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code.

(M) The tax commissioner may adopt rules to administer this section.

Sec. 5747.26. (A) Terms used in this section have the same meanings as in section 3742.50 of the Revised Code.

(B) There is hereby allowed a ~~nonrefundable~~ refundable credit against a taxpayer's aggregate tax liability under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code for a taxpayer to whom a lead abatement tax credit certificate was issued under section 3742.50 of the Revised Code. The credit equals the amount listed on the certificate and shall be claimed for the taxable year in which the certificate was issued.

The credit shall be claimed in the order required under section 5747.98 of the Revised Code. If the credit exceeds the taxpayer's aggregate tax due under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code for that taxable year after allowing for credits that precede the credit under this section in that order, such excess shall be allowed as a credit in each of the ensuing seven taxable years, but the amount of any excess credit allowed in any such taxable year shall be deducted from the balance carried forward to the ensuing taxable yearrefunded to the taxpayer.

(C) ~~The~~ If a lead abatement tax credit certificate is issued under section 3742.50 of the Revised Code to a pass-through entity, a taxpayer that is a direct or indirect investor in the entity may claim the taxpayer's proportionate or distributive share of the credit authorized under division (B) of this section.

(D) A taxpayer shall provide, upon request of the tax commissioner, any documentation necessary to verify the taxpayer is entitled to the credit under this section.

Sec. 5747.50. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "County's proportionate share of the calendar year 2007 LGF and LGRAF distributions" means the percentage computed for the county under division (B)(1)(a) of section 5747.501 of the Revised Code.

(2) "County's proportionate share of the total amount of the local government fund additional revenue formula" means each county's proportionate share of the state's population as determined for and certified to the county for distributions to be made during the current calendar year under division (B)(2)(a) of section 5747.501 of the Revised Code. If prior to the first day of January of the current calendar year the federal government has issued a revision to the population figures reflected in the estimate produced pursuant to division (B)(2)(a) of section 5747.501 of the Revised Code, such revised population figures shall be used for making the distributions during the current calendar year.

(3) "2007 LGF and LGRAF county distribution base available in that month" means the lesser of the amounts described in division (A)(3)(a) and (b) of this section, provided that the amount shall not be less than zero:

(a) The total amount available for distribution to counties from the local government fund during the current month.

(b) The total amount distributed to counties from the local government fund and the local government revenue assistance fund to counties in calendar year 2007 less the total amount distributed to counties under division (B)(1) of this section during previous months of the current calendar year.

(4) "Local government fund additional revenue distribution base available during that month" means the total amount available for distribution to counties during the month from the local government fund, less any amounts to be distributed in that month from the local government fund under division (B)(1) of this section, provided that the local government fund additional revenue distribution base available during that month shall not be less than zero.

(5) "Total amount available for distribution to counties" means the total amount available for distribution from the local government fund during the current month less the total amount available for distribution to municipal corporations during the current month under division (C) of this section.

(B) On or before the tenth day of each month, the tax commissioner shall provide for payment to each county an amount equal to the sum of:

(1) The county's proportionate share of the calendar year 2007 LGF and LGRAF distributions multiplied by the 2007 LGF and LGRAF county distribution base available in that month, provided that if the 2007 LGF and LGRAF county distribution base available in that month is zero, no payment shall be made under division (B)(1) of this section for the month or the remainder of the calendar year; and

(2) The county's proportionate share of the total amount of the local government fund additional revenue formula multiplied by the local government fund additional revenue distribution base available during that month.

Money received into the treasury of a county under this division shall be credited to the undivided local government fund in the treasury of the county on or before the fifteenth day of each month. On or before the twentieth day of each month, the county auditor shall issue warrants against all of the undivided local government fund in the county treasury in the respective amounts allowed as provided in section 5747.51 of the Revised Code, and the treasurer shall distribute and pay such sums to the subdivision therein.

(C)(1) As used in division (C) of this section:

(a) "Total amount available for distribution to municipalities during the current month" means the difference obtained by subtracting one million dollars from the product obtained by multiplying the total amount available for distribution from the local government fund during the current month by the aggregate municipal share.

(b) "Aggregate municipal share" means the quotient obtained by dividing the total amount distributed directly from the local government fund to municipal corporations during calendar year 2007 by the total distributions from the local government fund and local government revenue assistance fund during calendar year 2007.

(i) For municipal corporations with a population of more than fifty thousand, fifty thousand;

(ii) For municipal corporations with a population of less than one thousand, zero;

(iii) For all other municipal corporations, the municipal corporation's population.

(d) A municipal corporation's "distribution percentage" equals the percentage that a municipal corporation's distribution share is of the total of all municipal corporations' distribution shares.

(2) On or before the tenth day of each month, the tax commissioner shall provide for payment from the local government fund to each municipal corporation an amount equal to the product derived by multiplying the municipal corporation's distribution percentage by the total amount available for distribution to municipal corporations during the current month.

(3) Payments received by a municipal corporation under this division shall be paid into its general fund and may be used for any lawful purpose.

(4) The amount distributed to municipal corporations under this division during any calendar year shall not exceed the amount distributed directly from the local government fund to municipal corporations during calendar year 2007. If that maximum amount is reached during any month, distributions to municipal corporations in that month shall be as provided in divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section, but no further distributions shall be made to municipal corporations under division (C) of this section during the remainder of the calendar year.

(5) Upon being informed of a municipal corporation's dissolution, the tax commissioner shall cease providing for payments to that municipal corporation under division (C) of this section. The proportionate shares of the total amount available for distribution to each of the remaining municipal corporations under this division shall be increased on a pro rata basis.

The tax commissioner shall reduce payments under division (C) of this section to municipal corporations for which reduced payments are required under section 5747.502 or 5747.504 of the Revised Code.

(D) Each municipal corporation which has in effect a tax imposed under Chapter 718. of the Revised Code shall, no later than the thirty-first day of August of each year, certify to the tax commissioner, on a form prescribed by the commissioner, the amount of income tax revenue collected and refunded by such municipal corporation pursuant to such chapter during the preceding calendar year, arranged, when possible, by the type of income from which the revenue was collected or the refund was issued. The municipal corporation shall also report the amount of income tax revenue collected and refunded on behalf of a joint economic development district or a joint economic development zone that levies an income tax administered by the municipal corporation and the amount of such revenue distributed to contracting parties during the preceding calendar year. The tax commissioner may withhold payment of local government fund moneys pursuant to division (C) of this section from any municipal corporation for failure to comply with this reporting requirement.

(E)(1) For the purposes of division (E) of this section:

(a) "Eligible taxing district" means a township, township fire district, or joint fire district for which the total taxable value of eligible power plants for tax year 2017 is at least thirty per cent less than the total taxable value of eligible power plants for tax year 2016.

(b) "Eligible power plant" means a power plant that is subject to the requirements of 10 C.F.R. part 73.

(c) "Total taxable value of eligible power plants" of an eligible taxing district means the total taxable value of the taxable property of eligible power plants apportioned to the district as shown in a preliminary assessment or amended preliminary assessment and listed on the tax list of real and public utility property.

(d) "Taxable property" has the same meaning as in section 5727.01 of the Revised Code.

(e) "Tax rate" of an eligible taxing district means one of the following:

(i) For townships, the sum of the rates of levies imposed under section 505.39, 505.51, or division (I), (J), (U), or (JJ) of section 5705.19 of the Revised Code and extended on the tax list of real and public utility property for tax year 2017, excluding any levy imposed at whatever rate is required to raise a fixed sum of money;

(ii) For township fire districts and joint fire districts, the sum of the rates of levies extended on the tax list of real and public utility property for tax year 2017, excluding any levy imposed at whatever rate is required to raise a fixed sum of money.

(2) Each fiscal year from fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2028, the tax commissioner shall compute the following amount for each eligible taxing district:

(a) For fiscal years 2018 and 2019, the amount obtained by multiplying the eligible taxing district's tax rate by the difference obtained by subtracting (i) the total taxable value of eligible power plants of the district for tax year 2017 from (ii) the total taxable value of eligible power plants of the district for tax year 2016;

(b) For fiscal years 2020 through 2028, ninety per cent of the amount calculated for the district under division (E)(2)(a) or (b) of this section for the preceding fiscal year.

The commissioner shall certify the sum of the amounts calculated for all eligible taxing districts under this division for a fiscal year to the director of budget and management who, on or before the seventh day of each month of that fiscal year, shall transfer from the general revenue fund to the local government fund one-twelfth of the amount certified.

(3) On or before the tenth day of each month, the tax commissioner shall provide for payment to each county treasury in which an eligible taxing district is located an amount equal to one-twelfth of the amount computed for the district for that fiscal year under division (E)(2) of this section.

Money received into the treasury of a county under division (E) of this section shall be credited to the undivided local government fund in the treasury of the county on or before the fifteenth day of each month. On or before the twentieth day of each month, the county auditor shall issue warrants against the undivided local government fund for the amounts attributable to each eligible taxing district, and the treasurer shall distribute and pay such amounts to each eligible taxing district. Money received by a township fire district or joint fire district under this division shall be credited to the district's general fund and may be used for any lawful purpose of the district. Money received by a township under this division shall be credited to the township's general fund and shall be used for the purpose of funding fire, police, emergency medical, or ambulance services.

Sec. 5747.502. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Local authority" and "traffic law photo-monitoring device" have the same meanings as in section 4511.092 of the Revised Code.

(2) "School zone" has the same meaning as in section 4511.21 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Transportation district" means a territorial district established by the director of transportation under section 5501.14 of the Revised Code.

(4) "District deputy director" means the person appointed and assigned by the director of transportation under section 5501.14 of the Revised Code to administer the activities of a transportation district.

(5) "Gross amount" means the entire amount of traffic camera fines and fees paid by a driver.

(6) "~~Local government fund adjustment" or "LGF~~ Traffic camera adjustment" means the sum of:

(a) The gross amount of all traffic camera fines collected by a local authority during the preceding fiscal year, as reported under division (B)(1) of this section, if such a report is required; plus

(b) The residual traffic camera adjustment computed for the local authority under division (B)(4) of this section, if such an adjustment applies.

(7) "Local government fund payments" or "LGF payments" means the payments a local authority would receive under sections ~~5747.502~~5747.503, 5747.51, and 5747.53, and division (C) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code, as applicable, if not for the reductions required by divisions (C) and (D) of this section.

(8) "Residual traffic camera adjustment" means the most recent ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment computed for a local authority under division (B)(2) or (3) of this section minus the sum of the reductions applied after that computation under division (C) of this section to the local authority's LGF payments.

(9) "Traffic camera fines" means civil fines for any violation of any local ordinance or resolution that are based upon evidence recorded by a traffic law photo-monitoring device.

(10) "Qualifying village" has the same meaning as in section 5747.503 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) Annually, on or before the thirty-first day of July, any local authority that directly or indirectly collected traffic camera fines during the preceding fiscal year shall file a report with the tax commissioner that includes a detailed statement of the gross amount of all traffic camera fines the local authority collected during that period and the gross amount of such fines that the local authority collected for violations that occurred within a school zone.

(2) Annually, on or before the tenth day of August, the commissioner shall compute a ~~local government fund~~ traffic camera adjustment for each local authority that files a report under division (B)(1) of this section or with respect to which a residual traffic camera adjustment applies. Subject to division (B)(3) of this section, the ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment shall be used by the commissioner to determine the amount of the reductions required under division (C) of this section for each of the next twelve months, starting with the month in which the ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment is computed. After those twelve months, the ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment ceases to apply and, if ~~an LGF~~ a traffic camera adjustment continues to be required, the amount of the reductions required under division (C) of this section shall be determined based on an updated ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment computed under this division.

(3) Upon receipt of a report described by division (B)(1) of this section that is not timely filed, the commissioner shall do both of the following:

(a) If one or more payments to the local authority has been withheld under division (D) of this section because of the local authority's failure to file the report, notify the county auditor and county treasurer of the appropriate county that the report has been received and that, subject to division (C) of this section, payments to the local authority from the undivided local government fund are to resume.

(b) Compute the local authority's ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment using the information in the report. ~~An LGF~~ A traffic camera adjustment computed under this division shall be used by the commissioner to determine the amount of the reductions required under division (C) of this section starting with the next required reduction. The ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment ceases to apply on the thirty-first day of the ensuing July, following which, if ~~an LGF~~ a traffic camera adjustment continues to be required, the amount of the reductions required under division (C) of this section shall be determined based on an updated ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment computed under division (B)(2) of this section.

(4) Annually, on or before the tenth day of August, the commissioner shall compute a residual traffic camera adjustment for each local authority whose ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment for the preceding year exceeds the amount by which the local authority's LGF payments were reduced during that year under division (C) of this section. The residual traffic camera adjustment shall be used to compute the ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment for the ensuing year under division (B)(2) of this section.

(C) The commissioner shall do the following, as applicable, respecting any local authority to which ~~an LGF~~ a traffic camera adjustment ~~computed under division (B) of this section~~ applies:

(1) If the local authority is a municipal corporation with a population of one thousand or more, reduce payments to the municipal corporation under division (C) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by one-twelfth of the ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment. If one-twelfth of the ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment exceeds the amount of money the municipal corporation would otherwise receive under division (C) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code, the commissioner also shall reduce payments to the appropriate county undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by an amount equal to the lesser of (a) one-twelfth of the excess, or (b) the amount of the payment the municipal corporation would otherwise receive from the fund under section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised Code.

(2) If the local authority is a township or qualifying village, reduce the supplemental payments to the appropriate county undivided local government fund under section 5747.503 of the Revised Code by the lesser of one-twelfth of the ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment, or the amount of money the township or qualifying village would otherwise receive under that section. If one-twelfth of the ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment exceeds the amount of money the township or qualifying village would otherwise receive under section 5747.503 of the Revised Code, the commissioner also shall reduce payments to the appropriate county undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by an amount equal to the lesser of (a) one-twelfth of the excess, or (b) the amount of the payment the township or qualifying village would otherwise receive from the fund under section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised Code.

(3) If the local authority is a county, reduce payments to the appropriate county undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by an amount equal to the lesser of (a) one-twelfth of the ~~LGF~~ traffic camera adjustment, or (b) the amount of the payment the county would otherwise receive from the fund under section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised Code.

(4) For any local authority, on or before the tenth day of each month a reduction is made under division (C)(1), (2), or (3) of this section, make a payment to the local authority in an amount equal to the lesser of (a) one-twelfth of the gross amount of traffic camera fines the local authority collected in the preceding fiscal year for violations that occurred within a school zone, as indicated on the report filed by the local authority pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section, or (b) the amount by which the local authority's LGF payments were reduced that month pursuant to division (C)(1), (2), or (3) of this section. Payments received by a local authority under this division shall be used by the local authority for school safety purposes.

(D) Upon discovery, based on information in the commissioner's possession, that a local authority required to file a report under division (B)(1) of this section has failed to do so, the commissioner shall do the following, as applicable:

(1) If the local authority is a municipal corporation with a population of one thousand or more, cease providing for payments to the municipal corporation under section 5747.50 of the Revised Code beginning with the next required payment and until such time as the report is received by the commissioner;

(2) If the local authority is a township or qualifying village, reduce the supplemental payments to the appropriate county undivided local government fund under section 5747.503 of the Revised Code by an amount equal to the amount of such payments the local authority would otherwise receive under that section, beginning with the next required payment and until such time as the report is received by the commissioner;

(3) For any local authority, reduce payments to the appropriate county undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by an amount equal to the amount of such payments the local authority would otherwise receive under section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised Code, beginning with the next required payment and until such time as the report is received by the commissioner;

(4) For any local authority, notify the county auditor and county treasurer that such payments are to cease until the commissioner notifies the auditor and treasurer under division (E) of this section that the payments are to resume.

(E) The commissioner shall notify the county auditor and county treasurer on or before the day the commissioner first reduces a county undivided local government fund payment to that county under division (C) of this section. The notice shall include the full amount of the reduction, a list of the local authorities to which the reduction applies, and the amount of reduction attributed to each such local authority. The commissioner shall send an updated notice to the county auditor and county treasurer any time the amount the reduction attributed to any local authority changes.

A county treasurer that receives a notice from the commissioner under this division or division (B)(3)(a) or (D)(4) of this section shall reduce, cease, or resume payments from the undivided local government fund to the local authority that is the subject of the notice as specified by the commissioner in the notice. Unless otherwise specified in the notice, the payments shall be reduced, ceased, or resumed beginning with the next required payment.

(F) There is hereby created in the state treasury the Ohio highway and transportation safety fund. On or before the tenth day of each month, the commissioner shall deposit in the fund an amount equal to the total amount by which payments to local authorities were reduced or ceased under division (C) or (D) of this section minus the total amount of payments made under division (C)(4) of this section. The amount deposited with respect to a local authority shall be credited to an account to be created in the fund for the transportation district in which that local authority is located. If the local authority is located within more than one transportation district, the amount credited to the account of each such transportation district shall be prorated on the basis of the number of centerline miles of public roads and highways in both the local authority and the respective districts. Amounts credited to a transportation district's account shall be used by the department of transportation and the district deputy director exclusively to enhance public safety on public roads and highways within that transportation district.

Sec. 5747.504. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Lead certification delay adjustment" means ten per cent of a local authority's local government fund payment for a month.

(2) "Local authority" has the same meaning as in section 5747.502 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Local government fund payments" or "LGF payments" means the payments a local authority would receive each month under sections 5747.503, 5747.51, and 5747.53, and division (C) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code, as applicable, if not for the reductions required by this section, but subject to any reduction under section 5747.502 of the Revised Code for that month.

(4) "Qualifying village" has the same meaning as in section 5747.503 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) On or before the tenth day of each month that begins after the effective date of this section, the tax commissioner shall compute a lead certification delay adjustment for each local authority to which both of the following apply on or after that effective date:

(a) The legislative authority of the local authority adopts or has in effect an ordinance or resolution that requires a person to obtain a certification that indicates that a property is safe from lead hazards for purposes of rental registration under the authority of section 5321.19 of the Revised Code;

(b) In the current fiscal year, the tax commissioner has received and verified fifty or more notices, on forms prescribed by the commissioner, describing individual instances in which the local authority failed to comply with division (A) of section 3742.47 of the Revised Code.

(2) On or before the tenth day of each month that begins after the effective date of this section, the tax commissioner shall compute an additional lead certification delay adjustment for each local authority for which an adjustment has been calculated pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section and for which the tax commissioner receives and verifies an additional four hundred fifty notices above the fifty notices of the type described in that division during the same fiscal year the initial adjustment was calculated.

The commissioner shall subtract the lead certification delay adjustment or adjustments from the local authority's LGF payments as described in divisions (C) and (D) of this section.

(C)(1) If the local authority is a municipal corporation with a population of one thousand or more, the commissioner shall first reduce payments to the municipal corporation under division (C) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by the lesser of any lead certification delay adjustment amounts or the amount the municipal corporation would otherwise receive under that division. If the amount of any lead certification delay adjustments exceeds the amount of money the municipal corporation would otherwise receive under division (C) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code, the commissioner also shall reduce payments to the appropriate county undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by the excess lead certification delay adjustments.

(2) If the local authority is a qualifying village, the commissioner shall first reduce supplemental payments to the appropriate county undivided local government fund under section 5747.503 of the Revised Code by the lesser of any lead certification delay adjustments, or the amount of money the qualifying village would otherwise receive under that section. If the amount of any lead certification delay adjustments exceeds the amount of money the qualifying village would otherwise receive under section 5747.503 of the Revised Code, the commissioner also shall reduce payments to the appropriate county undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by the excess lead certification delay adjustments.

(3) If the local authority is a county or township, the commissioner shall reduce payments to the appropriate county undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by the amount of all lead certification delay adjustments.

(D) A reduction under division (C) of this section shall begin to apply for the first LGF payment the local authority receives after the commissioner computes a lead certification delay adjustment and continue until and include the last LGF payment in the fiscal year in which the the adjustment was computed.

A county treasurer that receives a notice from the commissioner under this division shall reduce, cease, or resume payments from the undivided local government fund to the local authority that is the subject of the notice as specified by the commissioner in the notice. Unless otherwise specified in the notice, the payments shall be reduced, ceased, or resumed beginning with the next required payment.

(F) On or before the tenth day of each month, the commissioner shall transfer from the local government fund to the general revenue fund the sum of the payments withheld that month under division (C) of this section.

Sec. 5747.51. (A) On or before the twenty-fifth day of July of each year, the tax commissioner shall make and certify to the county auditor of each county an estimate of the amount of the local government fund to be allocated to the undivided local government fund of each county for the ensuing calendar year, adjusting the total as required to account for subdivisions receiving local government funds under section 5747.502 of the Revised Code.

(B) At each annual regular session of the county budget commission convened pursuant to section 5705.27 of the Revised Code, each auditor shall present to the commission the certificate of the commissioner, the annual tax budget and estimates, and the records showing the action of the commission in its last preceding regular session. The commission, after extending to the representatives of each subdivision an opportunity to be heard, under oath administered by any member of the commission, and considering all the facts and information presented to it by the auditor, shall determine the amount of the undivided local government fund needed by and to be apportioned to each subdivision for current operating expenses, as shown in the tax budget of the subdivision. This determination shall be made pursuant to divisions (C) to (I) of this section, unless the commission has provided for a formula pursuant to section 5747.53 of the Revised Code. The commissioner shall reduce the amount of funds from the undivided local government fund to a subdivision required to receive reduced funds under section 5747.502 or 5747.504 of the Revised Code.

Nothing in this section prevents the budget commission, for the purpose of apportioning the undivided local government fund, from inquiring into the claimed needs of any subdivision as stated in its tax budget, or from adjusting claimed needs to reflect actual needs. For the purposes of this section, "current operating expenses" means the lawful expenditures of a subdivision, except those for permanent improvements and except payments for interest, sinking fund, and retirement of bonds, notes, and certificates of indebtedness of the subdivision.

(C) The commission shall determine the combined total of the estimated expenditures, including transfers, from the general fund and any special funds other than special funds established for road and bridge; street construction, maintenance, and repair; state highway improvement; and gas, water, sewer, and electric public utilities operated by a subdivision, as shown in the subdivision's tax budget for the ensuing calendar year.

(D) From the combined total of expenditures calculated pursuant to division (C) of this section, the commission shall deduct the following expenditures, if included in these funds in the tax budget:

(1) Expenditures for permanent improvements as defined in division (E) of section 5705.01 of the Revised Code;

(2) In the case of counties and townships, transfers to the road and bridge fund, and in the case of municipalities, transfers to the street construction, maintenance, and repair fund and the state highway improvement fund;

(3) Expenditures for the payment of debt charges;

(4) Expenditures for the payment of judgments.

(E) In addition to the deductions made pursuant to division (D) of this section, revenues accruing to the general fund and any special fund considered under division (C) of this section from the following sources shall be deducted from the combined total of expenditures calculated pursuant to division (C) of this section:

(1) Taxes levied within the ten-mill limitation, as defined in section 5705.02 of the Revised Code;

(2) The budget commission allocation of estimated county public library fund revenues to be distributed pursuant to section 5747.48 of the Revised Code;

(3) Estimated unencumbered balances as shown on the tax budget as of the thirty-first day of December of the current year in the general fund, but not any estimated balance in any special fund considered in division (C) of this section;

(4) Revenue, including transfers, shown in the general fund and any special funds other than special funds established for road and bridge; street construction, maintenance, and repair; state highway improvement; and gas, water, sewer, and electric public utilities, from all other sources except those that a subdivision receives from an additional tax or service charge voted by its electorate or receives from special assessment or revenue bond collection. For the purposes of this division, where the charter of a municipal corporation prohibits the levy of an income tax, an income tax levied by the legislative authority of such municipal corporation pursuant to an amendment of the charter of that municipal corporation to authorize such a levy represents an additional tax voted by the electorate of that municipal corporation. For the purposes of this division, any measure adopted by a board of county commissioners pursuant to section 322.02, 4504.02, or 5739.021 of the Revised Code, including those measures upheld by the electorate in a referendum conducted pursuant to section 322.021, 4504.021, or 5739.022 of the Revised Code, shall not be considered an additional tax voted by the electorate.

Subject to division (F) of section 5705.29 of the Revised Code, money in a reserve balance account established by a county, township, or municipal corporation under section 5705.13 of the Revised Code shall not be considered an unencumbered balance or revenue under division (E)(3) or (4) of this section. Money in a reserve balance account established by a township under section 5705.132 of the Revised Code shall not be considered an unencumbered balance or revenue under division (E)(3) or (4) of this section.

If a county, township, or municipal corporation has created and maintains a nonexpendable trust fund under section 5705.131 of the Revised Code, the principal of the fund, and any additions to the principal arising from sources other than the reinvestment of investment earnings arising from such a fund, shall not be considered an unencumbered balance or revenue under division (E)(3) or (4) of this section. Only investment earnings arising from investment of the principal or investment of such additions to principal may be considered an unencumbered balance or revenue under those divisions.

(F) The total expenditures calculated pursuant to division (C) of this section, less the deductions authorized in divisions (D) and (E) of this section, shall be known as the "relative need" of the subdivision, for the purposes of this section.

(G) The budget commission shall total the relative need of all participating subdivisions in the county, and shall compute a relative need factor by dividing the total estimate of the undivided local government fund by the total relative need of all participating subdivisions.

(H) The relative need of each subdivision shall be multiplied by the relative need factor to determine the proportionate share of the subdivision in the undivided local government fund of the county; provided, that the maximum proportionate share of a county shall not exceed the following maximum percentages of the total estimate of the undivided local government fund governed by the relationship of the percentage of the population of the county that resides within municipal corporations within the county to the total population of the county as reported in the reports on population in Ohio by the department of development as of the twentieth day of July of the year in which the tax budget is filed with the budget commission:

	1	2
A	Percentage of municipal population within the county:	Percentage share of the county shall not exceed:
B	Less than forty-one per cent	Sixty per cent
C	Forty-one per cent or more but less than eighty-one per cent	Fifty per cent
D	Eighty-one per cent or more	Thirty per cent

Where the proportionate share of the county exceeds the limitations established in this division, the budget commission shall adjust the proportionate shares determined pursuant to this division so that the proportionate share of the county does not exceed these limitations, and it shall increase the proportionate shares of all other subdivisions on a pro rata basis. In counties having a population of less than one hundred thousand, not less than ten per cent shall be distributed to the townships therein.

(I) The proportionate share of each subdivision in the undivided local government fund determined pursuant to division (H) of this section for any calendar year shall not be less than the product of the average of the percentages of the undivided local government fund of the county as apportioned to that subdivision for the calendar years 1968, 1969, and 1970, multiplied by the total amount of the undivided local government fund of the county apportioned pursuant to former section 5739.23 of the Revised Code for the calendar year 1970. For the purposes of this division, the total apportioned amount for the calendar year 1970 shall be the amount actually allocated to the county in 1970 from the state collected intangible tax as levied by section 5707.03 of the Revised Code and distributed pursuant to section 5725.24 of the Revised Code, plus the amount received by the county in the calendar year 1970 pursuant to division (B)(1) of former section 5739.21 of the Revised Code, and distributed pursuant to former section 5739.22 of the Revised Code. If the total amount of the undivided local government fund for any calendar year is less than the amount of the undivided local government fund apportioned pursuant to former section 5739.23 of the Revised Code for the calendar year 1970, the minimum amount guaranteed to each subdivision for that calendar year pursuant to this division shall be reduced on a basis proportionate to the amount by which the amount of the undivided local government fund for that calendar year is less than the amount of the undivided local government fund apportioned for the calendar year 1970.

(J) On the basis of such apportionment, the county auditor shall compute the percentage share of each such subdivision in the undivided local government fund and shall at the same time certify to the tax commissioner the percentage share of the county as a subdivision. No payment shall be made from the undivided local government fund, except in accordance with such percentage shares.

Within ten days after the budget commission has made its apportionment, whether conducted pursuant to section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised Code, the auditor shall publish a list of the subdivisions and the amount each is to receive from the undivided local government fund and the percentage share of each subdivision, in a newspaper or newspapers of countywide circulation, and send a copy of such allocation to the tax commissioner.

The county auditor shall also send a copy of such allocation by ordinary or electronic mail to the fiscal officer of each subdivision entitled to participate in the allocation of the undivided local government fund of the county. This copy shall constitute the official notice of the commission action referred to in section 5705.37 of the Revised Code.

All money received into the treasury of a subdivision from the undivided local government fund in a county treasury shall be paid into the general fund and used for the current operating expenses of the subdivision.

If a municipal corporation maintains a municipal university, such municipal university, when the board of trustees so requests the legislative authority of the municipal corporation, shall participate in the money apportioned to such municipal corporation from the total local government fund, however created and constituted, in such amount as requested by the board of trustees, provided such sum does not exceed nine per cent of the total amount paid to the municipal corporation.

If any public official fails to maintain the records required by sections 5747.50 to 5747.55 of the Revised Code or by the rules issued by the tax commissioner, the auditor of state, or the treasurer of state pursuant to such sections, or fails to comply with any law relating to the enforcement of such sections, the local government fund money allocated to the county may be withheld until such time as the public official has complied with such sections or such law or the rules issued pursuant thereto.

Sec. 5747.53. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "City, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population" means the city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population residing in the county; however, if the county budget commission on or before January 1, 1998, adopted an alternative method of apportionment that was approved by the legislative authority of the city, located partially in the county, with the greatest population but not the greatest population residing in the county, "city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population" means the city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population whether residing in the county or not, if this alternative meaning is adopted by action of the board of county commissioners and a majority of the boards of township trustees and legislative authorities of municipal corporations located wholly or partially in the county.

(2) "Participating political subdivision" means a municipal corporation or township that satisfies all of the following:

(a) It is located wholly or partially in the county.

(b) It is not the city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population.

(c) Undivided local government fund moneys are apportioned to it under the county's alternative method or formula of apportionment in the current calendar year.

(B) In lieu of the method of apportionment of the undivided local government fund of the county provided by section 5747.51 of the Revised Code, the county budget commission may provide for the apportionment of the fund under an alternative method or on a formula basis as authorized by this section. The commissioner shall reduce the amount of funds from the undivided local government fund to a subdivision required to receive reduced funds under section 5747.502 or 5747.504 of the Revised Code.

Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section, the alternative method of apportionment shall have first been approved by all of the following governmental units: the board of county commissioners; the legislative authority of the city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population; and a majority of the boards of township trustees and legislative authorities of municipal corporations, located wholly or partially in the county, excluding the legislative authority of the city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population. In granting or denying approval for an alternative method of apportionment, the board of county commissioners, boards of township trustees, and legislative authorities of municipal corporations shall act by motion. A motion to approve shall be passed upon a majority vote of the members of a board of county commissioners, board of township trustees, or legislative authority of a municipal corporation, shall take effect immediately, and need not be published.

Any alternative method of apportionment adopted and approved under this division shall be reviewed by the county budget commission at a public hearing held at least once in the year following ~~the effective date of this amendment~~ October 3, 2023, and in every fifth year thereafter. The county budget commission shall provide reasonable advance notice of the hearing to all political subdivisions eligible to participate in the fund and shall take public testimony from any such political subdivision that wishes to testify.

Any alternative method of apportionment adopted and approved under this division may be revised, amended, or repealed in the same manner as it may be adopted and approved. If an alternative method of apportionment adopted and approved under this division is repealed, the undivided local government fund of the county shall be apportioned among the subdivisions eligible to participate in the fund, commencing in the ensuing calendar year, under the apportionment provided in section 5747.52 of the Revised Code, unless the repeal occurs by operation of division (C) of this section or a new method for apportionment of the fund is provided in the action of repeal.

(C) This division applies only in counties in which the city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population has a population of twenty thousand or less and a population that is less than fifteen per cent of the total population of the county. In such a county, the legislative authorities or boards of township trustees of two or more participating political subdivisions, which together have a population residing in the county that is a majority of the total population of the county, each may adopt a resolution to exclude the approval otherwise required of the legislative authority of the city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population. All of the resolutions to exclude that approval shall be adopted not later than the first Monday of August of the year preceding the calendar year in which distributions are to be made under an alternative method of apportionment.

A motion granting or denying approval of an alternative method of apportionment under this division shall be adopted by a majority vote of the members of the board of county commissioners and by a majority vote of a majority of the boards of township trustees and legislative authorities of the municipal corporations located wholly or partially in the county, other than the city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population, shall take effect immediately, and need not be published. The alternative method of apportionment under this division shall be adopted and approved annually, not later than the first Monday of August of the year preceding the calendar year in which distributions are to be made under it. A motion granting approval of an alternative method of apportionment under this division repeals any existing alternative method of apportionment, effective with distributions to be made from the fund in the ensuing calendar year. An alternative method of apportionment under this division shall not be revised or amended after the first Monday of August of the year preceding the calendar year in which distributions are to be made under it.

(D) In determining an alternative method of apportionment authorized by this section, the county budget commission may include in the method any factor considered to be appropriate and reliable, in the sole discretion of the county budget commission.

(E) The limitations set forth in section 5747.51 of the Revised Code, stating the maximum amount that the county may receive from the undivided local government fund and the minimum amount the townships in counties having a population of less than one hundred thousand may receive from the fund, are applicable to any alternative method of apportionment authorized under this section.

(F) On the basis of any alternative method of apportionment adopted and approved as authorized by this section, as certified by the auditor to the county treasurer, the county treasurer shall make distribution of the money in the undivided local government fund to each subdivision eligible to participate in the fund, and the auditor, when the amount of those shares is in the custody of the treasurer in the amounts so computed to be due the respective subdivisions, shall at the same time certify to the tax commissioner the percentage share of the county as a subdivision. All money received into the treasury of a subdivision from the undivided local government fund in a county treasury shall be paid into the general fund and used for the current operating expenses of the subdivision. If a municipal corporation maintains a municipal university, the university, when the board of trustees so requests the legislative authority of the municipal corporation, shall participate in the money apportioned to the municipal corporation from the total local government fund, however created and constituted, in the amount requested by the board of trustees, provided that amount does not exceed nine per cent of the total amount paid to the municipal corporation.

(G) The actions of the county budget commission taken pursuant to this section are final and may not be appealed to the board of tax appeals, except on the issues of abuse of discretion and failure to comply with the formula.

Sec. 5747.98. (A) To provide a uniform procedure for calculating a taxpayer's aggregate tax liability under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, a taxpayer shall claim any credits to which the taxpayer is entitled in the following order:

Either the retirement income credit under division (B) of section 5747.055 of the Revised Code or the lump sum retirement income credits under divisions (C), (D), and (E) of that section;

Either the senior citizen credit under division (F) of section 5747.055 of the Revised Code or the lump sum distribution credit under division (G) of that section;

The dependent care credit under section 5747.054 of the Revised Code;

The credit for displaced workers who pay for job training under section 5747.27 of the Revised Code;

The campaign contribution credit under section 5747.29 of the Revised Code;

The twenty-dollar personal exemption credit under section 5747.022 of the Revised Code;

The joint filing credit under division ~~(G)~~(E) of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

The earned income credit under section 5747.71 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable credit for education expenses under section 5747.72 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable credit for donations to scholarship granting organizations under section 5747.73 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable credit for tuition paid to a nonchartered nonpublic school under section 5747.75 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable vocational job credit under section 5747.057 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable job retention credit under division (B) of section 5747.058 of the Revised Code;

The enterprise zone credit under section 5709.66 of the Revised Code;

The credit for beginning farmers who participate in a financial management program under division (B) of section 5747.77 of the Revised Code;

The credit for commercial vehicle operator training expenses under section 5747.82 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable welcome home Ohio (WHO) program credit under section 122.633 of the Revised Code;

The credit for selling or renting agricultural assets to beginning farmers under division (A) of section 5747.77 of the Revised Code;

The credit for purchases of qualifying grape production property under section 5747.28 of the Revised Code;

The small business investment credit under section 5747.81 of the Revised Code;

~~The nonrefundable lead abatement credit under section 5747.26 of the Revised Code;~~

The opportunity zone investment credit under section 5747.86 of the Revised Code;

The enterprise zone credits under section 5709.65 of the Revised Code;

The research and development credit under section 5747.331 of the Revised Code;

The credit for rehabilitating a historic building under section 5747.76 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable Ohio low-income housing tax credit under section 5747.83 of the Revised Code;

The nonrefundable affordable single-family home credit under section 5747.84 of the Revised Code;

The nonresident credit under division (A) of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

The credit for a resident's out-of-state income under division (B) of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

The refundable motion picture and broadway theatrical production credit under section 5747.66 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credit for film and theater capital improvement projects under section 5747.67 of the Revised Code;

The refundable jobs creation credit or job retention credit under division (A) of section 5747.058 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credit for taxes paid by a qualifying entity granted under section 5747.059 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credits for taxes paid by a qualifying pass-through entity granted under division (I) of section 5747.08 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credit under section 5747.80 of the Revised Code for losses on loans made to the Ohio venture capital program under sections 150.01 to 150.10 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credit for rehabilitating a historic building under section 5747.76 of the Revised Code;

The refundable credit under section 5747.39 of the Revised Code for taxes levied under section 5747.38 of the Revised Code paid by an electing pass-through entity;

The refundable lead abatement credit under section 5747.26 of the Revised Code.

(B) For any credit, except the refundable credits enumerated in this section and the credit granted under division (H) of section 5747.08 of the Revised Code, the amount of the credit for a taxable year shall not exceed the taxpayer's aggregate amount of tax due under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, after allowing for any other credit that precedes it in the order required under this section. Any excess amount of a particular credit may be carried forward if authorized under the section creating that credit. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to allow a taxpayer to claim, directly or indirectly, a credit more than once for a taxable year.

Section 2. That existing sections 3742.01, 3742.03, 3742.39, 3742.50, 5747.08, 5747.26, 5747.50, 5747.502, 5747.51, 5747.53, and 5747.98 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. Section 5747.53 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by H.B. 33 of the 135th General Assembly and H.B. 62 of the 133rd General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.