Architypes Spring 2024 – Government Affairs Update

The Ohio General Assembly is scheduled for only six more floor sessions before adjourning for the summer by June 30, 2024. Neither chamber has scheduled session past July 1, 2024, when legislators return to their districts for re-election campaigns.

The Ohio Constitution requires that the legislature pass a biennial Capital funding bill before July 1^st. That funding is stalled over politics between House and Senate leadership.

House Bill 27 passed both the House and the Senate, with construction appropriations totaling $1.37 billion.  The legislation also includes a requirement that state colleges and universities provide a financial cost and aid disclosure form to full-time students as part of the student’s initial financial aid packet.

House Bill 2 passed the House with local earmarks, only to be rejected by Senate leadership. Controversy surrounds the “One Time Strategic Community Investment Fund” to spend $700 million on earmarked projects in 88 counties.  The legislature set aside the funding in last year’s Operating Budget, but Republican leadership disagree on how to select the projects across the state.

This will be the last biennium for the 10-year Ohio Public Works Commission program, requiring a subsequent Constitutional amendment vote for future bond financing of local infrastructure projects.

Other pending bills which affect the Construction Industry include House Bill 203, establishing “prompt payment” penalties for the untimely payment of contractors in the private sector.  The legislation passed the House, and is likely to pass the Senate yet this Spring.

Finally, after a decade of attempts, House Bill 129 passed the House and awaits Senate action to require a commercial roofing contractor to hold a state license.