Legislative News

The Ohio House State Government Committee took testimony April 5 regarding HB 169 which would

 revise the laws governing issuance of certain professional licenses including the license to practice architecture.

In sponsor testimony, Rep. Williams said HB169 would prohibit boards and commissions from denying a license to

an individual convicted of certain crimes unless their crime is directly related to the occupation. She said, “HB169

will help reduce the [34 percent within three years] recidivism rate by allowing offenders to increase their chances

of gaining employment or to become entrepreneurs.”

Williams said there are 7,025 inmates currently participating in approximately 100 Ohio Department of

Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC) vocational programs and 198 participating in apprenticeship programs.

ODRC programs include college-level courses and Ohio Penal Industries (OPI) jobs. She said, “The state of Ohio

trains and certifies offenders in various areas; however, despite the education and experience many released

offenders are unable to translate the education and experience into gainful employment in their chosen career

because of the current law governing issuance of certain professional licenses.”

In response to Chairman Mecklenborg, Williams acknowledged that boards and commissions have for the most part

opposed similar legislation in the past. She said they want to retain the ability to turn down any applicant on the

basis of “moral turpitude.”

Asking for additional research, Rep. Gerberry noted that a change in legislation was required to force the Ohio

State Barber Board to license prison-trained barbers; all of whom now are licensed within three months of release.

Williams told Rep. Clyde she has asked for data on denials, but that current law does not require boards and

commissions to keep data on applicants and denials.

Noting that background checks now include expunged convictions, Mecklenborg asked if the bill deals with

expungements. Williams replied, “Not at all.”

In response to Rep. Young, Williams suggested an alternative of requiring boards to show their rational for any

denial. Huffman offered an alternative of allowing appeals of any denial to a common pleas judge.

Rep. Lundy said, “Prison reform needs to step up on this issue – it’s important.” Williams told him vocational

training is not specifically addressed in prison privatization proposals, and that ODRC is looking at revamping their

vocational programs.

During his testimony April 29 regarding OSFC’s Budget Request, Executive Director Richard Hickman said that since the commission was created at the end of 1997, OSFC has worked with school districts to provide 789 new or renovated schools in 253 districts. In 193 of those districts, all of the construction or renovations are complete, serving more than 439,000 school children.

He said they are currently working with 155 districts in the planning phase and an additional 108 districts have

raised their local share and are actively involved in project design and construction.

In answer to a question from Carey, he said they have worked their way up the list of eligible schools to the point

that projects are now approximately 60 percent district funded and 40 percent state funded. He added that 100

districts have deferred entry into the program or the time has lapsed due to an inability to raise the local share.

He said their budget request is $8.95 million in FY12 and $8.55 million in FY13. “The source of funding for these

operating expenses is interest earnings and transfer from the commission’s capital funds — not the General

Revenue Fund.” He said the budget is less than one percent of the capital funding it oversees.

Hickman said they will have completed disbursing the tobacco securitization funds by September 2011.

Again, in answer to a question from Carey, he confirmed that their funding normally comes from the capital bill but

there hasn’t been one. He agreed that the tobacco money was intended to be supplemental not replacement for

the capital appropriation funding.

Carey also asked if the commission had any language changes in the budget with Hickman highlighting the major

changes including giving districts 13 months instead of 12 months to raise local funding; and a correction action

plan change.

Rep. Phillips asked about the impact of the TPPT changes on the equity list and state share and Hickman said they

were still studying that. Phillips also questioned changing the corrective action grants availability from five years

after closeout to three years after occupancy. Hickman said they are trying to spur the local districts to do better

maintenance and to stay on top of potential problems, noting that the longer a problem is allowed to go, the more

expensive it is to fix.

Phillips also asked about what they are doing about projects that have already been bid including PLAs. He said

they are looking at them on a case-by-case basis and that a recent one was allowed to proceed. This applies to

prevailing wage and to model responsibility provisions.

Lundy asked why a community school loan guarantee program was zeroed out with Hickman saying OBM did that.

Lundy added “it’s fine with me if it stays at zero.”

There were also questions about transparency and the ability for more local businesses to bid on items for schools,

such as furniture.

Hickman also said that the construction is underway on the dorms at the schools for the blind and deaf and he

hopes construction is underway by year’s end on the schools.

Rep. Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland) has introduced House Bill 169, which would change License revocation for criminal convictions to be limited only to crimes related to the particular profession, including Engineering (RC 4733,) Architecture (RC 4703,) and Construction Industry Licensing Board trades (MEP, RC 1321.)

During its March 7 meeting the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) approved new AIA-Ohio endorsed commercial standards under the International Building Code (IBC).  

The long list of regular agenda items passed without comment save for 126 separate rule amendments to adopt new standards proposed under the International Building Code (IBC).

Steve Tugend, director of government relations for Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter and past vice president for government

relations at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, led off testimony on new building standards, which cover everything

from structural elements to plumbing and mechanical codes. He noted the chamber’s work with the Columbus Partnership

Columbus 20/20 in reviewing proposed building changes and zeroed in on Rule 4101-1-10-01, which reduces the overall

size of warehouse space from 800 feet in width to 500 feet. New language restricting the distance of any point in the

warehouse to within 250 feet of the exit would effectively limit a facility’s overall capacity, Tugend explained.

“Since the rule was submitted, we have communicated with the state Board of Building Standards, the governor’s office and

the lieutenant governor’s office,” he told JCARR. “We believe this will make Ohio uncompetitive in the area of distribution

and warehousing.”

Tugend said, however, that the governor and lieutenant governor’s offices had assured him that the rule could be amended

before its effective date of September 2011 to restore Ohio’s current language on an egress distance of 400 feet. “We are

withdrawing our request that the rule be disapproved,” he concluded.

Outside the hearing, he said interested parties are still working on the language of the warehouse amendment for 4101-1-

10-01. “This rule was promulgated under the previous administration, and the current [Kasich] administration wants to work with us to make it more business friendly,” Tugend said adding that proposed changes by the International Code Council (ICC) do not reflect the state of the logistics industry. “The cutting-edge warehouses of today would not be built if it

were to remain unchanged.”

Back in the hearing room, Tugend was followed by Merle McBride of the Atlanta-based American Society of Heating,

Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), who spoke in support of IBC’s energy-efficient building mandates.

Jack Pounds of the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council concluded testimony, addressing the impact of JCARR’s building

code agenda on the issue of global warming.

“While our organization opposes the current efforts by the U.S. EPA to regulate so-called ‘greenhouse gases’ as pollutants

under the Clean Air Act, we believe that Ohio must make use of the so-called ‘Tailoring Rule’ promulgated by the federal

agency to minimize the hardships of major source permitting on thousands of facilities in Ohio, including small businesses,

fast food restaurants, hospitals, colleges and the like,” said Pounds. “The rules before you will do just that.”

Without adoption of U.S. EPA rules, he said, Ohio law would require the state to impose “much more stringent permit

thresholds” in Ohio’s Air Pollution Control Act.

Under that standard, said Pound, the state would be required to regulate “the very smallest sources of greenhouse gases.”

He added that EPA language will eliminate the entire federal rule package should federal courts or Congress remove the

U.S. EPA’s ability to regulate targeted pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

After the hearing, the Sierra Club published a statement on the energy-efficiency requirements of IBC.

“This is a clear victory for Ohio’s environment and economy,” said Jen Miller of the Sierra Club Ohio Chapter. “Requiring

commercial buildings to include cost-effective measures like more insulation, more efficient lighting and other efficiency

measures is just common sense. With energy cost on the rise, integrating energy efficiency in all buildings will create jobs

in manufacturing and construction, reduce our reliance on dirty fossil fuels, and provide cost savings for years to come.”

Miller pointed to the many letters of support received by JCARR on new energy standards from environmental

organizations, code officials, trade associations, fire officials, electrical inspectors, consumer advocates, engineers,

architects and businesses.

She also included a statement from ICC:  “The International Code Council is pleased to have the support of a diverse coalition of stakeholders, (including AIA-Ohio) that share a collective interest in the public safety of the citizens of Ohio,” said Corey Roblee of ICC. “The adoption of these codes will provide Ohioans with safer and sustainable buildings, schools and structures where they live, work and play. It is our hope that Ohio follow suit and adopt the remainder of the most up-to-date building and fire safety codes, including the residential and energy codes, in order to provide our citizens with the safest and energy-efficient residential homes.”

The House Commerce and Labor Committee took testimony, March 2 on HB102 which would prohibit state agencies from requiring or prohibiting certain labor requirements as a condition of performing public works and prohibit appropriations of state funds for public works when political subdivisions require labor requirements. A Substitute Bill, which was accepted by the Committee, does the following:

– Removes provisions related to state agencies issuing grants in cooperative agreements.

– Explicitly includes universities.

– Prohibits discrimination based on an entity’s electing to enter an agreement with union labor.

– Adds a severability clause.

– Modifies the definition of construction and public improvement in the bill to address inconsistencies.

Testifying in favor of the bill were Bryan Williams, government affairs director for Associated Builders and

Contractors of Ohio, and Jonathan Howard of Jess Howard Electric Co.

Williams said use of project-labor agreements (PLAs) is discriminatory and effectively excludes non-union shops

from bidding because such agreements create hurdles that make it too burdensome for them to be able to

complete the project. He also said studies consistently show PLAs can drive up costs 20 to 30 percent, pointing

specifically to the Ohio School Facilities Commission’s experience bidding out the School for the Blind/School for the

Deaf work first with a PLA and then without, with lower costs for the latter.

He said PLAs don’t necessarily meet the goals their proponents say they do, such as improved construction quality,

use of local labor and increased take-home pay for workers.

Williams said his understanding of the bill is that it does not ban PLAs on public projects, but prohibits state funding

from going to any project where the bid specifications either prohibit or require use of a PLA.

Rep. Wachtmann remarked that PLAs are one of the “most severe discriminatory pieces of law left in America.”

Rep. Antonio asked how ABC contractors deal with training and safety. Williams said ABC Ohio offers

apprenticeship programs in a variety of trades. Antonio also asked about the problem of changes orders. Williams said there’s always talk of contractors’ submitting aggressively low bids and then earning their profit by submitting change orders that boost costs, and ABC investigates reports of that happening, but he said it’s often hard to nail down.

Rep. Adams asked what the administrative costs to a non-union shop would be of carrying out a contract requiring

a PLA. Williams said he couldn’t even get to the point of answering that question because various rules and hurdles

effectively make it untenable to carry out such a contract for a non-union shop.

Williams and Rep. Szollozi went back and forth for a significant period of time on whether PLAs truly do drive up

the costs of projects. Szollozi said there are numerous examples of PLA project bids coming in under estimates.

Williams said engineers compiling estimates will often increase the estimates if they know a PLA will be used

because of the increased labor costs.

Howard related his company’s experience of bidding on the School for the Deaf/School for the Blind project and

being the low bidder on two phases but being unable to do the project because of a PLA. He said to do a PLA

project he would have to send all his workers to the union hall and then they would have to work their way up the

list of people assigned to jobs. Also, he said they might not be able to come back to work for him once the project

is done.

He said his company employs 160 full-time employees, offers them benefits and keeps them working year-round.

He said he favors HB102 because it would prohibit discrimination.

Chris Ferruso, legislative director for the National Federation of Business/Ohio, submitted written testimony in favor

of the bill. He wrote that the bill “supports free enterprise and the ability of all capable individuals to have a fair

shake in the bidding process with the added goal of ensuring an equal opportunity for all interested parties to be

eligible to submit bids on public works projects.

He said project-labor agreements often exclude small businesses that aren’t unionized and can’t afford to be. He

said suggestions that non-union shops have workers who aren’t trained as well is “an affront” to hard-working

tradesmen and women.

Also submitting written testimony in favor of the bill was Tony Seegers, director of labor and human resources

policy for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. He said state government should use its resources to assure a robust,

competitive economic climate. He said requiring PLAs forces contractors either to use union-only labor or have their

workers join unions and pay dues.

With money for Ohio Public Works Commission infrastructure projects set to expire this year, members of a House panel are considering adding capital appropriations for the agency’s bond-backed programs.

Public Works Commission Director Michael Miller told the House Finance & Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee Monday evening that projects seeking funding through the State Capital Improvement program would stall unless the legislature includes new capital appropriations in the transportation budget.

The commission has received project applications and recommendations from District Integrating Committees, he said in response to a question from Chairman Rep. Ross McGregor (R-Springfield). “I would be dishonest if I said we didn’t have a few projects in jeopardy.”

The Kasich Administration’s transportation budget proposal, HB 14, does not include sufficient funding to sustain the program through the upcoming biennium, he said.

“All of these local projects – none of them will move forward in the absence of a capital appropriation,” he said.

Last year the legislature declined to pass a capital appropriations bill – the typical source of OPWC funding – after the governor-elect asked lawmakers to hold off. 

Director Miller told members that project planning, construction inflation, and timing issues made the transportation budget the “best opportunity” to ensure projects slated to start this season are able to move forward.

Speaking in an interview, Chairman McGregor said he found the director’s argument convincing.

“It didn’t come out in the executive version of the budget, but I think its something we’ll want to talk about,” he said about funding for the commission’s programs. 

“This is a bipartisan issue, it affect everyone’s district. So if there were a way to do something, and there were the will, and the administration were amenable, I think this would be a good vehicle,” he said.

“We’re talking about construction season, projects in cue and keeping that process going,” he said, noting the April 1 deadline for the governor to sign the transportation budget would ensure funding by July 1. But members need to ensure plenty of room within the state’s constitutional debt limit before making any decision on the issue.

Chairman McGregor acknowledged that there was a general concern that adding capital appropriations for OPWC could increase pressure on lawmakers to fund other capital requests from local communities.

However, funding for the local infrastructure program has an urgency that other local community projects lack, he said, adding there would eventually be another capital appropriations bill that will be more appropriate for other capital requests.

“I see a clear difference between this a regular community project,” he said. “This is something, I think, that directly relates to our economy and our ability to get some of these local projects done.”

The Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee took testimony Feb. 23 on HB 102 that would  prohibit state agencies from requiring or prohibiting certain labor

requirements as a condition of performing public works and prohibit appropriations of state funds for public works when political subdivisions require labor requirements.

Rep. Young described the bill as a “simple, commonsense approach to expanding competition for public construction projects”: for state agencies it “neither prohibits nor requires” union only agreements.

For local political subdivisions, he said it is not as straightforward but the bill provides that if the local government either prohibits or requires union only agreements, then state funding is not available. “In other words,” Young said, “anyone can bid on the projects.” He said prevailing wage would still apply.

Rep. Szollosi asked how this differs from a bill Young sponsored when he was in the General Assembly before — HB101 — which was struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court. Young responded that that earlier bill “attempted to regulate the actions of local authorities.” This bill does not go that far. Szollosi also had a number of questions around whether project labor agreements (PLAs) are affected with Young saying this affects the bidding of a project. Questions that were not answered and left for Legislative Service Commission or Young to research include whether this applies to institutions of higher education, whether this a private company’s project if it is paid in part by a state grant, whether there is legal precedent indicating this approach would hold up in court, which other states have passed similar language, and what “cooperative agreement” refers to.

Asked by Rep. Yuko about what prompted the bill, Young referred to the Ohio School Facilities Commission bidding on the Ohio State School for the Deaf which came in over budget when it was targeted to unions only and how the number of bids tripled and came in under budget when it was opened up. affects

In a Statehouse room packed with union opponents of a bill that would re-write and possibly eliminate Ohio’s 27 year-old public employee collective bargaining law, State Senator Shannon Jones (R) Springboro, outlined why she was championing SB 5.  “Simply put, I am doing this because I want to give government the flexibility and control over its workforce so that it can continue to provide taxpayers with the services needed in a way that is sustainable over time,” said Sen. Jones, the Senate majority whip.

Sen. Jones’ bill would, among other things:

• Eliminate collective bargaining for state employees and employees of state institutions of higher education. Existing contracts would continue until scheduled expiration dates.
• Provide that pay for state employees in the future was based on merit.
• Eliminate statutory salary schedules and step increases.
• Allow local public employers in fiscal emergencies to terminate, modify, or negotiate a contract.
• Eliminate a requirement that deadlocked safety forces submit disputes to binding arbitration, or final offer settlement.
• Provide that if local parties could not reach agreement, provisions of the last contract in effect would continue for one year, or allow the employer to implement any of the recommendations of a fact-finding panel while bargaining continued.
• Allow a public employer, in the case of workers who have a right to strike, to implement any fact-finding recommendation that the employer’s legislative body approves if the employee organization rejects the recommendation. Bargaining may continue, and employees continue to have a right to strike in the event agreement could not be reached.
• Allow a public employer to hire permanent replacement workers during a strike. Current law does not address the issue.
• Provide that only matters pertaining to wages, hours, or terms and conditions of employment were mandatory subjects of bargaining.
• Prohibit length of service from being the only factor used to determine the order of layoffs.
• Prohibit public employers from paying an employee’s required pension contribution.
• Provide that healthcare plan terms and plan design were not subject to collective bargaining, resulting in uniform benefit packages negotiated on behalf of all employees.
• Eliminate new continuing contracts for teachers.
• Eliminate teacher leave policies from state law, and require local boards of education to establish such policies for workers not covered under a contract.

Sen. Jones said other provisions in the bill would “increase transparency” of the process, requiring public employers to publish an online report describing provisions of a contract that affect any compensation including wages, food and clothing allowances, length of service payments, and insurance coverage.

Sen. Jones said she was not intimidated at the unusually large labor turnout. “It’s just democracy in action. This is why we do this job,” she said.

An estimated 1,000 public employees and their union officials crowded the statehouse to voice their opposition the bill while others marched around the statehouse carrying anti-S.B. 5 signs.

At one point, Governor Kasich dropped by the hearing to express is support for Sen. Jones’ efforts, according to his press secretary.

The Ohio House Economic Small Business Committee took testimony Feb. 10 on HB 61 which would give private employers the option to offer and employees the option to accrue and use compensatory time off in lieu of monetary overtime compensation.

Support for the provisions that would allow private employers to offer their employees the option to accrue and use

compensatory time off in lieu of monetary overtime compensation, was presented by the National Federation of

Independent Business (NFIB), the Automotive Service Association of Ohio (ASA), Inc., and the Ohio Chamber of

Commerce.

Greg Saul, member benefits program director for the NFIB, said, “For years, small business owners have sought less regulation in the workplace and more flexibility in how they meet their employees’ needs,” said Saul. “They are strapped by endless regulations designed with big business in mind, including current wage and hour laws, which fail to reflect the difference among business size and demographics.”  He said an NFIB survey revealed an overwhelming support for changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act that would

allow employers more flexibility when dealing with wage and hour laws, specifically those related to compensatory

and flex-time benefits.

“A key tenant to this legislation is that an employee must initiate a request to receive compensatory time in lieu of

overtime if it is offered by an employer,” said Tom Seegers, Esq., director of labor and human resources policy for

the Ohio Chamber. “The bill also prohibits employers that offer compensatory time from coercing employees to make

that election.”

Seeger said this bill recognizes the changes in today’s workforce from that of 1938, when the current wage and hour

laws were originally enacted, and provides the option of a more flexible work schedule to help retain and attract

qualified employees.

The Ohio House State Government Committee took testimony April 5 regarding HB 169 which would

 revise the laws governing issuance of certain professional licenses including the license to practice architecture.

In sponsor testimony, Rep. Williams said HB169 would prohibit boards and commissions from denying a license to

an individual convicted of certain crimes unless their crime is directly related to the occupation. She said, “HB169

will help reduce the [34 percent within three years] recidivism rate by allowing offenders to increase their chances

of gaining employment or to become entrepreneurs.”

Williams said there are 7,025 inmates currently participating in approximately 100 Ohio Department of

Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC) vocational programs and 198 participating in apprenticeship programs.

ODRC programs include college-level courses and Ohio Penal Industries (OPI) jobs. She said, “The state of Ohio

trains and certifies offenders in various areas; however, despite the education and experience many released

offenders are unable to translate the education and experience into gainful employment in their chosen career

because of the current law governing issuance of certain professional licenses.”

In response to Chairman Mecklenborg, Williams acknowledged that boards and commissions have for the most part

opposed similar legislation in the past. She said they want to retain the ability to turn down any applicant on the

basis of “moral turpitude.”

Asking for additional research, Rep. Gerberry noted that a change in legislation was required to force the Ohio

State Barber Board to license prison-trained barbers; all of whom now are licensed within three months of release.

Williams told Rep. Clyde she has asked for data on denials, but that current law does not require boards and

commissions to keep data on applicants and denials.

Noting that background checks now include expunged convictions, Mecklenborg asked if the bill deals with

expungements. Williams replied, “Not at all.”

In response to Rep. Young, Williams suggested an alternative of requiring boards to show their rational for any

denial. Huffman offered an alternative of allowing appeals of any denial to a common pleas judge.

Rep. Lundy said, “Prison reform needs to step up on this issue – it’s important.” Williams told him vocational

training is not specifically addressed in prison privatization proposals, and that ODRC is looking at revamping their

vocational programs.

During his testimony April 29 regarding OSFC’s Budget Request, Executive Director Richard Hickman said that since the commission was created at the end of 1997, OSFC has worked with school districts to provide 789 new or renovated schools in 253 districts. In 193 of those districts, all of the construction or renovations are complete, serving more than 439,000 school children.

He said they are currently working with 155 districts in the planning phase and an additional 108 districts have

raised their local share and are actively involved in project design and construction.

In answer to a question from Carey, he said they have worked their way up the list of eligible schools to the point

that projects are now approximately 60 percent district funded and 40 percent state funded. He added that 100

districts have deferred entry into the program or the time has lapsed due to an inability to raise the local share.

He said their budget request is $8.95 million in FY12 and $8.55 million in FY13. “The source of funding for these

operating expenses is interest earnings and transfer from the commission’s capital funds — not the General

Revenue Fund.” He said the budget is less than one percent of the capital funding it oversees.

Hickman said they will have completed disbursing the tobacco securitization funds by September 2011.

Again, in answer to a question from Carey, he confirmed that their funding normally comes from the capital bill but

there hasn’t been one. He agreed that the tobacco money was intended to be supplemental not replacement for

the capital appropriation funding.

Carey also asked if the commission had any language changes in the budget with Hickman highlighting the major

changes including giving districts 13 months instead of 12 months to raise local funding; and a correction action

plan change.

Rep. Phillips asked about the impact of the TPPT changes on the equity list and state share and Hickman said they

were still studying that. Phillips also questioned changing the corrective action grants availability from five years

after closeout to three years after occupancy. Hickman said they are trying to spur the local districts to do better

maintenance and to stay on top of potential problems, noting that the longer a problem is allowed to go, the more

expensive it is to fix.

Phillips also asked about what they are doing about projects that have already been bid including PLAs. He said

they are looking at them on a case-by-case basis and that a recent one was allowed to proceed. This applies to

prevailing wage and to model responsibility provisions.

Lundy asked why a community school loan guarantee program was zeroed out with Hickman saying OBM did that.

Lundy added “it’s fine with me if it stays at zero.”

There were also questions about transparency and the ability for more local businesses to bid on items for schools,

such as furniture.

Hickman also said that the construction is underway on the dorms at the schools for the blind and deaf and he

hopes construction is underway by year’s end on the schools.

Rep. Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland) has introduced House Bill 169, which would change License revocation for criminal convictions to be limited only to crimes related to the particular profession, including Engineering (RC 4733,) Architecture (RC 4703,) and Construction Industry Licensing Board trades (MEP, RC 1321.)

During its March 7 meeting the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) approved new AIA-Ohio endorsed commercial standards under the International Building Code (IBC).  

The long list of regular agenda items passed without comment save for 126 separate rule amendments to adopt new standards proposed under the International Building Code (IBC).

Steve Tugend, director of government relations for Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter and past vice president for government

relations at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, led off testimony on new building standards, which cover everything

from structural elements to plumbing and mechanical codes. He noted the chamber’s work with the Columbus Partnership

Columbus 20/20 in reviewing proposed building changes and zeroed in on Rule 4101-1-10-01, which reduces the overall

size of warehouse space from 800 feet in width to 500 feet. New language restricting the distance of any point in the

warehouse to within 250 feet of the exit would effectively limit a facility’s overall capacity, Tugend explained.

“Since the rule was submitted, we have communicated with the state Board of Building Standards, the governor’s office and

the lieutenant governor’s office,” he told JCARR. “We believe this will make Ohio uncompetitive in the area of distribution

and warehousing.”

Tugend said, however, that the governor and lieutenant governor’s offices had assured him that the rule could be amended

before its effective date of September 2011 to restore Ohio’s current language on an egress distance of 400 feet. “We are

withdrawing our request that the rule be disapproved,” he concluded.

Outside the hearing, he said interested parties are still working on the language of the warehouse amendment for 4101-1-

10-01. “This rule was promulgated under the previous administration, and the current [Kasich] administration wants to work with us to make it more business friendly,” Tugend said adding that proposed changes by the International Code Council (ICC) do not reflect the state of the logistics industry. “The cutting-edge warehouses of today would not be built if it

were to remain unchanged.”

Back in the hearing room, Tugend was followed by Merle McBride of the Atlanta-based American Society of Heating,

Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), who spoke in support of IBC’s energy-efficient building mandates.

Jack Pounds of the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council concluded testimony, addressing the impact of JCARR’s building

code agenda on the issue of global warming.

“While our organization opposes the current efforts by the U.S. EPA to regulate so-called ‘greenhouse gases’ as pollutants

under the Clean Air Act, we believe that Ohio must make use of the so-called ‘Tailoring Rule’ promulgated by the federal

agency to minimize the hardships of major source permitting on thousands of facilities in Ohio, including small businesses,

fast food restaurants, hospitals, colleges and the like,” said Pounds. “The rules before you will do just that.”

Without adoption of U.S. EPA rules, he said, Ohio law would require the state to impose “much more stringent permit

thresholds” in Ohio’s Air Pollution Control Act.

Under that standard, said Pound, the state would be required to regulate “the very smallest sources of greenhouse gases.”

He added that EPA language will eliminate the entire federal rule package should federal courts or Congress remove the

U.S. EPA’s ability to regulate targeted pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

After the hearing, the Sierra Club published a statement on the energy-efficiency requirements of IBC.

“This is a clear victory for Ohio’s environment and economy,” said Jen Miller of the Sierra Club Ohio Chapter. “Requiring

commercial buildings to include cost-effective measures like more insulation, more efficient lighting and other efficiency

measures is just common sense. With energy cost on the rise, integrating energy efficiency in all buildings will create jobs

in manufacturing and construction, reduce our reliance on dirty fossil fuels, and provide cost savings for years to come.”

Miller pointed to the many letters of support received by JCARR on new energy standards from environmental

organizations, code officials, trade associations, fire officials, electrical inspectors, consumer advocates, engineers,

architects and businesses.

She also included a statement from ICC:  “The International Code Council is pleased to have the support of a diverse coalition of stakeholders, (including AIA-Ohio) that share a collective interest in the public safety of the citizens of Ohio,” said Corey Roblee of ICC. “The adoption of these codes will provide Ohioans with safer and sustainable buildings, schools and structures where they live, work and play. It is our hope that Ohio follow suit and adopt the remainder of the most up-to-date building and fire safety codes, including the residential and energy codes, in order to provide our citizens with the safest and energy-efficient residential homes.”

The House Commerce and Labor Committee took testimony, March 2 on HB102 which would prohibit state agencies from requiring or prohibiting certain labor requirements as a condition of performing public works and prohibit appropriations of state funds for public works when political subdivisions require labor requirements. A Substitute Bill, which was accepted by the Committee, does the following:

– Removes provisions related to state agencies issuing grants in cooperative agreements.

– Explicitly includes universities.

– Prohibits discrimination based on an entity’s electing to enter an agreement with union labor.

– Adds a severability clause.

– Modifies the definition of construction and public improvement in the bill to address inconsistencies.

Testifying in favor of the bill were Bryan Williams, government affairs director for Associated Builders and

Contractors of Ohio, and Jonathan Howard of Jess Howard Electric Co.

Williams said use of project-labor agreements (PLAs) is discriminatory and effectively excludes non-union shops

from bidding because such agreements create hurdles that make it too burdensome for them to be able to

complete the project. He also said studies consistently show PLAs can drive up costs 20 to 30 percent, pointing

specifically to the Ohio School Facilities Commission’s experience bidding out the School for the Blind/School for the

Deaf work first with a PLA and then without, with lower costs for the latter.

He said PLAs don’t necessarily meet the goals their proponents say they do, such as improved construction quality,

use of local labor and increased take-home pay for workers.

Williams said his understanding of the bill is that it does not ban PLAs on public projects, but prohibits state funding

from going to any project where the bid specifications either prohibit or require use of a PLA.

Rep. Wachtmann remarked that PLAs are one of the “most severe discriminatory pieces of law left in America.”

Rep. Antonio asked how ABC contractors deal with training and safety. Williams said ABC Ohio offers

apprenticeship programs in a variety of trades. Antonio also asked about the problem of changes orders. Williams said there’s always talk of contractors’ submitting aggressively low bids and then earning their profit by submitting change orders that boost costs, and ABC investigates reports of that happening, but he said it’s often hard to nail down.

Rep. Adams asked what the administrative costs to a non-union shop would be of carrying out a contract requiring

a PLA. Williams said he couldn’t even get to the point of answering that question because various rules and hurdles

effectively make it untenable to carry out such a contract for a non-union shop.

Williams and Rep. Szollozi went back and forth for a significant period of time on whether PLAs truly do drive up

the costs of projects. Szollozi said there are numerous examples of PLA project bids coming in under estimates.

Williams said engineers compiling estimates will often increase the estimates if they know a PLA will be used

because of the increased labor costs.

Howard related his company’s experience of bidding on the School for the Deaf/School for the Blind project and

being the low bidder on two phases but being unable to do the project because of a PLA. He said to do a PLA

project he would have to send all his workers to the union hall and then they would have to work their way up the

list of people assigned to jobs. Also, he said they might not be able to come back to work for him once the project

is done.

He said his company employs 160 full-time employees, offers them benefits and keeps them working year-round.

He said he favors HB102 because it would prohibit discrimination.

Chris Ferruso, legislative director for the National Federation of Business/Ohio, submitted written testimony in favor

of the bill. He wrote that the bill “supports free enterprise and the ability of all capable individuals to have a fair

shake in the bidding process with the added goal of ensuring an equal opportunity for all interested parties to be

eligible to submit bids on public works projects.

He said project-labor agreements often exclude small businesses that aren’t unionized and can’t afford to be. He

said suggestions that non-union shops have workers who aren’t trained as well is “an affront” to hard-working

tradesmen and women.

Also submitting written testimony in favor of the bill was Tony Seegers, director of labor and human resources

policy for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. He said state government should use its resources to assure a robust,

competitive economic climate. He said requiring PLAs forces contractors either to use union-only labor or have their

workers join unions and pay dues.

With money for Ohio Public Works Commission infrastructure projects set to expire this year, members of a House panel are considering adding capital appropriations for the agency’s bond-backed programs.

Public Works Commission Director Michael Miller told the House Finance & Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee Monday evening that projects seeking funding through the State Capital Improvement program would stall unless the legislature includes new capital appropriations in the transportation budget.

The commission has received project applications and recommendations from District Integrating Committees, he said in response to a question from Chairman Rep. Ross McGregor (R-Springfield). “I would be dishonest if I said we didn’t have a few projects in jeopardy.”

The Kasich Administration’s transportation budget proposal, HB 14, does not include sufficient funding to sustain the program through the upcoming biennium, he said.

“All of these local projects – none of them will move forward in the absence of a capital appropriation,” he said.

Last year the legislature declined to pass a capital appropriations bill – the typical source of OPWC funding – after the governor-elect asked lawmakers to hold off. 

Director Miller told members that project planning, construction inflation, and timing issues made the transportation budget the “best opportunity” to ensure projects slated to start this season are able to move forward.

Speaking in an interview, Chairman McGregor said he found the director’s argument convincing.

“It didn’t come out in the executive version of the budget, but I think its something we’ll want to talk about,” he said about funding for the commission’s programs. 

“This is a bipartisan issue, it affect everyone’s district. So if there were a way to do something, and there were the will, and the administration were amenable, I think this would be a good vehicle,” he said.

“We’re talking about construction season, projects in cue and keeping that process going,” he said, noting the April 1 deadline for the governor to sign the transportation budget would ensure funding by July 1. But members need to ensure plenty of room within the state’s constitutional debt limit before making any decision on the issue.

Chairman McGregor acknowledged that there was a general concern that adding capital appropriations for OPWC could increase pressure on lawmakers to fund other capital requests from local communities.

However, funding for the local infrastructure program has an urgency that other local community projects lack, he said, adding there would eventually be another capital appropriations bill that will be more appropriate for other capital requests.

“I see a clear difference between this a regular community project,” he said. “This is something, I think, that directly relates to our economy and our ability to get some of these local projects done.”

The Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee took testimony Feb. 23 on HB 102 that would  prohibit state agencies from requiring or prohibiting certain labor

requirements as a condition of performing public works and prohibit appropriations of state funds for public works when political subdivisions require labor requirements.

Rep. Young described the bill as a “simple, commonsense approach to expanding competition for public construction projects”: for state agencies it “neither prohibits nor requires” union only agreements.

For local political subdivisions, he said it is not as straightforward but the bill provides that if the local government either prohibits or requires union only agreements, then state funding is not available. “In other words,” Young said, “anyone can bid on the projects.” He said prevailing wage would still apply.

Rep. Szollosi asked how this differs from a bill Young sponsored when he was in the General Assembly before — HB101 — which was struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court. Young responded that that earlier bill “attempted to regulate the actions of local authorities.” This bill does not go that far. Szollosi also had a number of questions around whether project labor agreements (PLAs) are affected with Young saying this affects the bidding of a project. Questions that were not answered and left for Legislative Service Commission or Young to research include whether this applies to institutions of higher education, whether this a private company’s project if it is paid in part by a state grant, whether there is legal precedent indicating this approach would hold up in court, which other states have passed similar language, and what “cooperative agreement” refers to.

Asked by Rep. Yuko about what prompted the bill, Young referred to the Ohio School Facilities Commission bidding on the Ohio State School for the Deaf which came in over budget when it was targeted to unions only and how the number of bids tripled and came in under budget when it was opened up. affects

In a Statehouse room packed with union opponents of a bill that would re-write and possibly eliminate Ohio’s 27 year-old public employee collective bargaining law, State Senator Shannon Jones (R) Springboro, outlined why she was championing SB 5.  “Simply put, I am doing this because I want to give government the flexibility and control over its workforce so that it can continue to provide taxpayers with the services needed in a way that is sustainable over time,” said Sen. Jones, the Senate majority whip.

Sen. Jones’ bill would, among other things:

• Eliminate collective bargaining for state employees and employees of state institutions of higher education. Existing contracts would continue until scheduled expiration dates.
• Provide that pay for state employees in the future was based on merit.
• Eliminate statutory salary schedules and step increases.
• Allow local public employers in fiscal emergencies to terminate, modify, or negotiate a contract.
• Eliminate a requirement that deadlocked safety forces submit disputes to binding arbitration, or final offer settlement.
• Provide that if local parties could not reach agreement, provisions of the last contract in effect would continue for one year, or allow the employer to implement any of the recommendations of a fact-finding panel while bargaining continued.
• Allow a public employer, in the case of workers who have a right to strike, to implement any fact-finding recommendation that the employer’s legislative body approves if the employee organization rejects the recommendation. Bargaining may continue, and employees continue to have a right to strike in the event agreement could not be reached.
• Allow a public employer to hire permanent replacement workers during a strike. Current law does not address the issue.
• Provide that only matters pertaining to wages, hours, or terms and conditions of employment were mandatory subjects of bargaining.
• Prohibit length of service from being the only factor used to determine the order of layoffs.
• Prohibit public employers from paying an employee’s required pension contribution.
• Provide that healthcare plan terms and plan design were not subject to collective bargaining, resulting in uniform benefit packages negotiated on behalf of all employees.
• Eliminate new continuing contracts for teachers.
• Eliminate teacher leave policies from state law, and require local boards of education to establish such policies for workers not covered under a contract.

Sen. Jones said other provisions in the bill would “increase transparency” of the process, requiring public employers to publish an online report describing provisions of a contract that affect any compensation including wages, food and clothing allowances, length of service payments, and insurance coverage.

Sen. Jones said she was not intimidated at the unusually large labor turnout. “It’s just democracy in action. This is why we do this job,” she said.

An estimated 1,000 public employees and their union officials crowded the statehouse to voice their opposition the bill while others marched around the statehouse carrying anti-S.B. 5 signs.

At one point, Governor Kasich dropped by the hearing to express is support for Sen. Jones’ efforts, according to his press secretary.

The Ohio House Economic Small Business Committee took testimony Feb. 10 on HB 61 which would give private employers the option to offer and employees the option to accrue and use compensatory time off in lieu of monetary overtime compensation.

Support for the provisions that would allow private employers to offer their employees the option to accrue and use

compensatory time off in lieu of monetary overtime compensation, was presented by the National Federation of

Independent Business (NFIB), the Automotive Service Association of Ohio (ASA), Inc., and the Ohio Chamber of

Commerce.

Greg Saul, member benefits program director for the NFIB, said, “For years, small business owners have sought less regulation in the workplace and more flexibility in how they meet their employees’ needs,” said Saul. “They are strapped by endless regulations designed with big business in mind, including current wage and hour laws, which fail to reflect the difference among business size and demographics.”  He said an NFIB survey revealed an overwhelming support for changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act that would

allow employers more flexibility when dealing with wage and hour laws, specifically those related to compensatory

and flex-time benefits.

“A key tenant to this legislation is that an employee must initiate a request to receive compensatory time in lieu of

overtime if it is offered by an employer,” said Tom Seegers, Esq., director of labor and human resources policy for

the Ohio Chamber. “The bill also prohibits employers that offer compensatory time from coercing employees to make

that election.”

Seeger said this bill recognizes the changes in today’s workforce from that of 1938, when the current wage and hour

laws were originally enacted, and provides the option of a more flexible work schedule to help retain and attract

qualified employees.