As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 465
2025-2026
Senator Schaffer
To amend, for the purpose of adopting new section numbers as indicated in parentheses, sections 157.04 (157.06), 157.05 (157.07), 157.07 (157.08), 157.08 (157.09), and 157.09 (157.10); to enact new sections 157.01, 157.02, 157.03, 157.04, 157.05, and 157.11 and section 157.021; and to repeal sections 157.01, 157.02, 157.03, 157.04, 157.05, 157.06, 157.07, 157.08, 157.09, 157.10, and 157.11 of the Revised Code to update the Ohio Coordinate System to adhere to the National Spatial Reference System.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 157.04 (157.06), 157.05 (157.07), 157.07 (157.08), 157.08 (157.09), and 157.09 (157.10) be amended for the purpose of adopting new section numbers as indicated in parentheses and new sections 157.01, 157.02, 157.03, 157.04, 157.05, and 157.11 and section 157.021 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 157.01. As used in this chapter:
(A)
"Conversions" means the relationship between metric units and foot units:
(1) "International foot" means a distance equal to exactly 0.3048 meters.
(2) "U.S. survey foot" means a distance equal to 1200/3937 meters.
(B) "Height" means the coordinate value of the vertical elements of the NSRS expressed as feet or meters and identified as ellipsoid height, orthometric height, or dynamic height:
(1) "Dynamic height" means the vertical distance of a point proportional to the value of geopotential energy along a surface.
(2) "Ellopsoid height" means the distance from a point on the earth's surface to a reference ellipsoid, measured along a line perpendicular to the ellipsoid's surface, derived directly from global navigation satellite system receivers, which use the ellipsoid as a simple mathematical model to approximate the earth's shape.
(3) "Orthometric height" means the vertical distance of a point above the geoid, which is the irregular surface of mean sea level extended under the continents, measured along a plumb line, perpendicular to the geoid, which is approximately equivalent to the height above mean sea level.
(C) "Metadata" means a set of data that describes and gives information about other data. "Metadata" includes the geodetic reference system utilized, applicable epoch, statement of positional accuracy of coordinates, methodology, and date of observation.
(D) "National geodetic survey" means the agency located within the national ocean service of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration under the United States department of commerce or its successor agency.
(E) "NSRS" means the national spatial reference system or its successor.
Sec. 157.02. The system of plane coordinates known as the state plane coordinate system 2022, or its successors, that has been established by the national geodetic survey for defining and stating the horizontal positions or locations of points on, above, or below the surface of the earth within this state shall be known as the Ohio coordinate system.
(A) The Ohio coordinate system shall consist of the following two layers of zones as defined by the national geodetic survey as part of the NSRS:
(1) A single, statewide zone with full coverage of this state;
(2) A set of smaller low-distortion projection zones based on county boundaries, that together provide the same coverage as the single statewide zone.
(B) The defining parameters of the Ohio coordinate system, including zone definitions, are defined and published by the national geodetic survey or its successors as part of the NSRS.
Sec. 157.021. Geodetic coordinates include latitude, longitude, and ellipsoid height. The official geodetic datums to which geodetic coordinates are referenced within this state shall be defined by the NSRS, including latitude, longitude, ellipsoid height, orthometric height, and dynamic height.
Sec. 157.03. (A) Pursuant to applicable geodetic standards and in alignment with the directives of the national geodetic survey, the North American Pacific geopotential datum 2022, or the most current official vertical datum established by the national geodetic survey, shall be utilized for the determination of orthometric heights of terrestrial points within this state.
(B) Legacy vertical datums, including the North American vertical datum of 1988 and the national geodetic vertical datum of 1929, may be retained solely for the purpose of maintaining historical or legacy datasets. In such cases, the responsible data custodian shall provide accurate and documented conversions from the legacy datum to the currently adopted vertical datum.
Sec. 157.04. (A) The plane coordinates of a point on the earth's surface, to be used in expressing the position or location of the point in the appropriate zone of the Ohio coordinate system, shall consist of the following two distances, expressed in feet and decimals of a foot or meters and decimals of a meter, along with the metadata of the observations used to determine the coordinates:
(1) The east or x-coordinate shall give the distance east of the Y axis. The Y axis of any zone shall be parallel with the central meridian of that zone.
(2) The north or y-coordinate shall give the distance north of the X axis. The X axis of any zone shall be at right angles to the central meridian of that zone.
(B) The international foot shall be used for all foot distance and coordinate conversions utilizing horizontal coordinate systems tied to the state plane coordinate system 2022 or later datums or adjustments.
(C) The U.S. survey foot shall be used for all foot distance and coordinate conversions utilizing horizontal coordinate systems tied to datums previous to the state plane coordinate system 2022 datum.
(D) The international foot shall be used for all foot distance and coordinate conversions utilizing orthometric heights tied to the North American Pacific geopotential datums 2022 or later datums or adjustments.
(E) The U.S. survey foot shall be used for all foot distance and coordinate conversions utilizing orthometric heights tied to legacy vertical datums or adjustments.
Sec. 157.05. (A) All of the following shall be named in any land description, plat, map, report of survey, or other document in which coordinates based on the Ohio coordinate system are used:
(1) The name of the zone as provided by the national geodetic survey;
(2) The source geodetic datum, the adjustment date, and the decimal-year epoch date of the survey or coordinate derivation or calculation;
(3) The metadata.
(B) All of the following shall be named in any land description, plat, map, report of survey, or other document in which orthometric heights are used:
(1) The vertical datum and adjustment used;
(2) The source of the orthometric height and date of the survey;
(3) The metadata.
Sec.
157.04
157.06.
Plane
co-ordinatescoordinates,
used to reference and describe land boundary corners and made a part
of the recorded description of such corners, shall be considered
adequate evidence of the location of such corners in the absence of
original physical monuments or other acceptable controlling evidence
of original corner locations. In all instances where reference has
been made to such co-ordinates
plane
coordinates in
land surveys, the scale, sea level, and grid factors must also be
stated for the survey lines used in computing ground distances and
areas.
Nothing
in this chapter shall be construed to require a purchaser or
mortgagee of real property to rely wholly on a land description, any
part of which depends exclusively upon either
the
Ohio
co-ordinate
coordinate
system.
Sec.
157.05
157.07.
When
any tract of land extends from one zone into the
other
the
co-ordinate coordinate
zones
established by section 157.01
157.02
of
the Revised Code, the positions of all points on its boundaries may
be referenced to either
one
of
the two
zones.
Sec.
157.07
157.08.
Co-ordinates
based on either Ohio co-ordinate system and used to describe and
locate positions of land boundary corners shall be surveyed and
determined within a maximum positional error of plus or minus 0.05
metres, except that it may be less than 0.05 metres if local land
survey standards of practice for positional errors so dictate, with
respect to the nearest horizontal control station established in
conformity with the standards of accuracy and specifications for
first and second-order geodetic surveying as prepared and published
by the federal geodetic control committee of the United States
department of commerce. The
standards and specifications issued by the federal geodetic control
committee in force on the date of such
a
survey
conducted to describe and locate positions of land boundary corners
shall apply. The publication by the United States department of
commerce of existing control stations or the acceptance by the
department of newly established control stations with intent to
publish them shall constitute evidence of adherence to federal
geodetic control committee specifications. These limitations may be
modified by a duly authorized state
government
agency
to comply with local conditions.
Sec.
157.08
157.09.
Extension
of co-ordinate
coordinate
control
by qualified surveyors for local co-ordinate
coordinate
control
densification shall be executed in conformity with standards of
accuracy and specifications for first or second-order geodetic
surveys as prepared and published by the federal geodetic control
committee of the United States department of commerce pursuant to
section 157.07
157.08
of
the Revised Code. Control monumentation for analysis of land
boundaries, construction control, engineering design and planning,
and photogrammetric survey control for such purposes shall be
executed in conformity with the standards of accuracy and
specifications for first, second, or third-order geodetic surveys as
prepared and published by the federal geodetic control committee in
force on the date of such survey.
Sec.
157.09
157.10.
Distances,
bearings, and areas computed indirectly from co-ordinates
coordinates
shall
be considered acceptable measurement evidence for land and other
surveys if such co-ordinates
coordinates
have
been determined in accordance with sections 157.04157.06,
157.07157.08,
and 157.08
157.09
of
the Revised Code.
Sec. 157.11. In accordance with sections 157.01 to 157.10 of the Revised Code, legacy coordinate systems including the Ohio coordinate system of 1983 and the Ohio coordinate system of 1927 shall not be used after December 31, 2033, and the Ohio coordinate system shall be used after that date. Nothing in sections 157.01 to 157.10 of the Revised Code shall be construed to require that land descriptions using the Ohio coordinate system of 1983 and recorded before January 1, 2034, be conformed to the Ohio coordinate system.
Section 2. That sections 157.01, 157.02, 157.03, 157.04, 157.05, 157.06, 157.07, 157.08, 157.09, 157.10, and 157.11 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.