Legislative News

The legislature’s lame duck session is looking more and more like a cooked goose.

Any plans for a capital appropriations measure appeared to officially die after Republican Governor-elect John Kasich said he was opposed to more debt being authorized in the short term for bricks-and-mortar projects until his team has time to fully gauge the state’s finances.

“Decisions made in a capital bill would have a significant impact on the budget Governor-elect Kasich will be putting together, and therefore he believes there should not be a capital bill in the lame duck session,” spokesman Rob Nichols said Tuesday.

“After he assumes office, and after he and his team can assess the overall financial condition of the state, he will then be able to make a determination about a capital bill.”

Tim Kelso, spokesman for Senate Republicans, said the chamber’s majority had the same opinion as the governor-elect.

“Our view on it is it would kind of be irresponsible to do the capital budget without considering it in the context of the next budget,” he said.

Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) said through spokesman Keary McCarthy, “The capital budget provides needed resources to local communities throughout Ohio. It would be a tremendous setback for our state if routine investments were being denied or delayed because of politics.”

Separately, House Minority Leader, Bill Batchelder (R-Medina), the presumed speaker-elect, said he saw no reason for a post-election session at all – especially given the results of last Tuesday’s elections, which saw Republicans take the House and governor’s office.

Ohio’s operating budget may face some serious realignment next year, but the supposedly precarious financial conditions have hardly put a dent in the number of local requests for capital project assistance in separate bricks-and-mortar legislation.

Documents submitted to the legislature over the last several months detail hundreds of millions in proposals for local community projects such as theaters, museums and parks.

Many of those requests have been collecting dust since the beginning of the year as the split and oftentimes-combative General Assembly has continued to put off action on the bill that mostly authorizes new debt to pay for state buildings over a two-year period.

That action could be further delayed depending on the outcome of the Nov. 2 elections, or in light of the state’s looming fiscal crunch.

Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) said no decision had yet been made on whether to take up a capital bill during lame duck session.

“If we didn’t pass the capital bill in the lame duck it wouldn’t be the first time that capital appropriations were done in the next fiscal year,” he told reporters this week.

Only twice in the last three decades has the biennial schedule for the capital bill been adjusted considerably. Policymakers refrained from issuing new debt in the financially strapped 1979-80 cycle (113^th General Assembly), and political differences pushed the processing of the 2004 capital measure into the next year HB16 (126^th General Assembly).

The 2004 delay occurred after then-Senate President Doug White dropped the gavel sine die earlier than expected amid legislative disagreements with former Speaker Larry Householder. By quickly passing the bill in 2005, the General Assembly avoided funding disruptions for major projects.

This year brings a new dynamic in the form of partisan uncertainty, with some Republicans advocating for a delay pending a change in the political winds.

Among those is Sen. Keith Faber (R-Celina), a member of the Senate Finance & Financial Institutions Committee, who said legislative action on a capital budget could depend on the outcome of the elections.

“I certainly would think that if the administration changes and, or the House changes, that all those are factors to be considered when we decide what to do about a capital budget,” he said in an interview.

Amanda Wurst, spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Strickland, said lawmakers should put politics aside when determining the best course for the capital budget.

“It is difficult to imagine a more cynical proposition than to let pure politics dictate these kinds of governing decisions, but the governor remains hopeful that, ultimately, legislative leaders will determine timing based on what is in the best interest of the state,” she said.

The Strickland administration has been planning for months on a $1.8 billion capital budget for fiscal years 2011-2012. In preparing for the successful Third Frontier ballot issue last spring, the administration said that total, which is in line with recent capital bill bond amounts, could be issued within the state’s 5% debt cap. 

Nevertheless, a capital appropriations bill has yet to be introduced, and Dave Isaacs, spokesman for Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beachwood), said the speaker and Senate president have only had “limited discussions” on the subject.

“It’s premature to speculate on what may or may not be taken up in lame duck,” he said.

Sen. Faber even questioned whether the legislature should take up a capital bill at all this session regardless of who wins on Nov. 2.

“I just don’t see the need to do it, unless there’s some pressing state need or pressing state requirement that has to be done because it’s time sensitive,” he said.

In any case, appropriation earmarks for community projects should definitely not be on the legislature’s lame duck agenda, he added.

“How do you explain to voters that we’re going to probably be looking at over a 15% budget hole, but yet we’re going to reward and do various community projects?” he said. “Capital dollars, no matter what the discussion is, are state tax dollars because you have to do the debt service.”

Funding for community projects in the capital budget has gone up and down over the years depending on the availability of extra general revenue fund money for the predominantly bond-backed legislation but has hovered around $100 million in recent biennia.

Per usual, this year’s requests are exponentially larger than what will be divvied up to the local communities, which historically have depended on the state to fund a portion of their major improvement projects.

The project types run the gamut – from $500,000 for an elephant exhibit at the Cleveland Zoo to $8.2 million for various city projects in Mansfield.

Among the larger requests submitted thus far is $10 million each for the Cleveland Museum of Art and the NCR research lab center at the University of Dayton.

Cleveland and Cuyahoga County jointly requested about $24 million, including $5.5 million for the Coast Guard Point project, $5 million for the Great Lakes Science Center-NASA Visiting Center in Cleveland, $4 million for park improvements to Malls B & C, $3 million for the Gordon Square Arts District and $2 million for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber asked for $27.52 million to fund “priority projects” such as Central Riverfront Park ($3 million), the Cincinnati street car line ($3 million), Hamilton County stadia ($2.5 million) and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden ($2 million).

The Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce is seeking more than $16 million for projects in Lucas and Wood counties. Those requests include: $7.2 million for the Lucas County Multi-Purpose Arena; $4.75 million for the Toledo Science Center; and $2 million for the port authority.

The City of Columbus/Franklin County is among the few major metropolitan areas in the state that has yet to submit a list of capital requests, however money has been requested separately for the Columbus Zoo ($1.15 million) and the Ohio to Lake Erie Trail ($2 million), among other area projects.

A sampling of other community project funding proposals submitted by regional consortiums and lobbyists:

 ·       $300,000 for the Eulett Center in Adams County.

• $2 million for the College of Nursing in Ashland County.
• $1 million for the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.
• $1 million for the Canton Symphony Orchestra.
• $3 million for Blossom Music Center.
• $1.575 million for The Wilds conservation park in Muskingum/Guernsey County.
• $2 million for Lighthouse Youth Center at Paint Creek in Ross County.

Governor Strickland signed SB 183 which moved a grandfather exemption within the requirements of the Architects Law granted to certain corporations.  The provision allows firms operating for many years to be passed to relatives of original founders without having to meet the strict ownership requirements.

SB183 moved the grandfathering provision to the section dealing specifically with ownership requirements.  This will narrow the grandfathering provision to make sure that an architectural firm can be passed from parents to children. However, the new location of the grandfathering provision will ensure that a company uses licensed architects to provide architecture services.

 SB 183 which would re-position a grandfather exemption from the requirements of the Architects Law granted to certain corporations was passed by the Ohio House of Representatives June 2 by a vote of 95-1.

The panel charged with overseeing the state’s multi-billion school construction program is pushing for more diverse business contractor participation on local projects and in the process rankling a lawmaker and school administrator.

The Ohio School Facilities Commission met Tuesday with a contractor on a Shelby County school district construction project after the commission raised questions last week over the contractor’s failure to meet a 5% Encouraging Diversity, Growth and Equity quota to hire small, socially and economically disadvantaged Ohio companies.

When Hardin-Houston Local School District Superintendent John Scheu heard from OSFC a week ago that his school building construction project was in question because Ferguson Construction, one of the contractors, allocated only 0.25% of their contract to EDGE companies, he said he was concerned the move might have been punishment for his overt questioning of the governor’s Evidence-Based Model for school funding.

Although Hardin-Houston’s project was the first to be scrutinized by the OSFC, it raised red flags only because of the project size – $23 million – and the low EDGE participation, commission spokeswoman Sue Meyer said.

The commission is putting forth an increased effort to ensure EDGE goals are met because of a provision in the biennial budget (HB 1) that enhanced oversight of the program, Ms. Meyer said.

Internal staff with OSFC had granted Ferguson Construction an EDGE waiver, but when the waiver went before the commission for approval it caught the attention of members, said Cheryl Lyman, OSFC chief of public affairs.

There has been some confusion among parties as to whether the EDGE participation goal is a requirement or just a goal.

“There is a statutory requirement to participate in the EDGE program, but basically contractors either have to meet or exceed that goal on the contract or have to demonstrate a good faith effort,” Ms. Lyman said. “For this contract it was a discussion of demonstrating a good faith effort.”

In its meeting with Ferguson, OSFC staff discovered the contractor had already made improvements to its EDGE participation, increasing it to 1.5%, Ms. Meyer said. Ferguson will continue to work on the project.

“OSFC has spoken with the contractor to help broaden his understanding of the EDGE process,” she said, and efforts to locate other EDGE vendors will be ongoing.

Superintendent Scheu said Ferguson Construction has made a good faith effort. The company hired the lowest responsible bidders as required in state statute. For Ferguson to select enough EDGE contractors to meet the quota, it, and thus the school district, would have to pay an additional $232,000 for work performed by EDGE companies.

Mr. Scheu said he took away from the meeting an understanding that OSFC still wants Ferguson to achieve the 5% participation rate. “Whether or not Ferguson is going to be able to make that 5% goal, I don’t know.”

He also said part of the conversation was about how late into the process this issue was raised. Ferguson has worked on the construction since March without being paid.

Mr. Scheu said during the meeting he requested OSFC provide the district with a letter indicating that Ferguson would be paid as soon as possible and the district would not be liable for any delay claims if the project is stopped because of the EDGE controversy, both of which were primary concerns when the district learned of the OSFC objection last week.

Ferguson Construction could potentially stop work because it has yet to be paid and without OSFC approval it would not be. OSFC scheduled the construction to be complete and the school ready to open in August 2011, Mr. Scheu said.

Ms. Lyman said OSFC has not developed a plan should Ferguson fail to meet EDGE expectations on this project.

“We just don’t see that we’re at the point of having to think of what Plan B would be,” she said, noting the commission does not have an established response for contractors that do not cooperate. “Because of timing on a number of different points, it would be very difficult to see where we would have these same set of circumstances happening again.”

And as far as Mr. Scheu’s concern that his outspokenness about the EBM might be the underlying reason for perceived roadblocks, that concern was not raised at the meeting.

“We were totally unaware of Mr. Scheu’s comments on that,” Ms. Lyman said. “That’s something that we don’t even track.”

Superintendent Scheu, said his suspicions were not fully quelled by the meeting. “I still feel that there are unresolved issues.”

Senator Keith Faber (R-Celina) said last week he was suspicious of OSFC motives given Mr. Scheu is the one superintendent on the School Funding Advisory Council who has raised questions about the EBM and is also the superintendent of the district whose project had been questioned over EDGE.

“To me that’s just more than odd,” he said, adding the commission’s action seemed to be about “political meddling.”

Rick Savors, spokesman for OSFC, denied the allegation. “We don’t operate like that,” he said.

The commission will meet June 22 to further consider Ferguson Construction’s participation, Mr. Scheu said.

The project to construct the new K-12, 126,000-square-foot school building, is funded through a 60-40% split with the state footing the majority of the bill. The school share is funded by a levy that passed after seven attempts by the district, Mr. Scheu said.

The legislature’s lame duck session is looking more and more like a cooked goose.

Any plans for a capital appropriations measure appeared to officially die after Republican Governor-elect John Kasich said he was opposed to more debt being authorized in the short term for bricks-and-mortar projects until his team has time to fully gauge the state’s finances.

“Decisions made in a capital bill would have a significant impact on the budget Governor-elect Kasich will be putting together, and therefore he believes there should not be a capital bill in the lame duck session,” spokesman Rob Nichols said Tuesday.

“After he assumes office, and after he and his team can assess the overall financial condition of the state, he will then be able to make a determination about a capital bill.”

Tim Kelso, spokesman for Senate Republicans, said the chamber’s majority had the same opinion as the governor-elect.

“Our view on it is it would kind of be irresponsible to do the capital budget without considering it in the context of the next budget,” he said.

Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) said through spokesman Keary McCarthy, “The capital budget provides needed resources to local communities throughout Ohio. It would be a tremendous setback for our state if routine investments were being denied or delayed because of politics.”

Separately, House Minority Leader, Bill Batchelder (R-Medina), the presumed speaker-elect, said he saw no reason for a post-election session at all – especially given the results of last Tuesday’s elections, which saw Republicans take the House and governor’s office.

Ohio’s operating budget may face some serious realignment next year, but the supposedly precarious financial conditions have hardly put a dent in the number of local requests for capital project assistance in separate bricks-and-mortar legislation.

Documents submitted to the legislature over the last several months detail hundreds of millions in proposals for local community projects such as theaters, museums and parks.

Many of those requests have been collecting dust since the beginning of the year as the split and oftentimes-combative General Assembly has continued to put off action on the bill that mostly authorizes new debt to pay for state buildings over a two-year period.

That action could be further delayed depending on the outcome of the Nov. 2 elections, or in light of the state’s looming fiscal crunch.

Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) said no decision had yet been made on whether to take up a capital bill during lame duck session.

“If we didn’t pass the capital bill in the lame duck it wouldn’t be the first time that capital appropriations were done in the next fiscal year,” he told reporters this week.

Only twice in the last three decades has the biennial schedule for the capital bill been adjusted considerably. Policymakers refrained from issuing new debt in the financially strapped 1979-80 cycle (113^th General Assembly), and political differences pushed the processing of the 2004 capital measure into the next year HB16 (126^th General Assembly).

The 2004 delay occurred after then-Senate President Doug White dropped the gavel sine die earlier than expected amid legislative disagreements with former Speaker Larry Householder. By quickly passing the bill in 2005, the General Assembly avoided funding disruptions for major projects.

This year brings a new dynamic in the form of partisan uncertainty, with some Republicans advocating for a delay pending a change in the political winds.

Among those is Sen. Keith Faber (R-Celina), a member of the Senate Finance & Financial Institutions Committee, who said legislative action on a capital budget could depend on the outcome of the elections.

“I certainly would think that if the administration changes and, or the House changes, that all those are factors to be considered when we decide what to do about a capital budget,” he said in an interview.

Amanda Wurst, spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Strickland, said lawmakers should put politics aside when determining the best course for the capital budget.

“It is difficult to imagine a more cynical proposition than to let pure politics dictate these kinds of governing decisions, but the governor remains hopeful that, ultimately, legislative leaders will determine timing based on what is in the best interest of the state,” she said.

The Strickland administration has been planning for months on a $1.8 billion capital budget for fiscal years 2011-2012. In preparing for the successful Third Frontier ballot issue last spring, the administration said that total, which is in line with recent capital bill bond amounts, could be issued within the state’s 5% debt cap. 

Nevertheless, a capital appropriations bill has yet to be introduced, and Dave Isaacs, spokesman for Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beachwood), said the speaker and Senate president have only had “limited discussions” on the subject.

“It’s premature to speculate on what may or may not be taken up in lame duck,” he said.

Sen. Faber even questioned whether the legislature should take up a capital bill at all this session regardless of who wins on Nov. 2.

“I just don’t see the need to do it, unless there’s some pressing state need or pressing state requirement that has to be done because it’s time sensitive,” he said.

In any case, appropriation earmarks for community projects should definitely not be on the legislature’s lame duck agenda, he added.

“How do you explain to voters that we’re going to probably be looking at over a 15% budget hole, but yet we’re going to reward and do various community projects?” he said. “Capital dollars, no matter what the discussion is, are state tax dollars because you have to do the debt service.”

Funding for community projects in the capital budget has gone up and down over the years depending on the availability of extra general revenue fund money for the predominantly bond-backed legislation but has hovered around $100 million in recent biennia.

Per usual, this year’s requests are exponentially larger than what will be divvied up to the local communities, which historically have depended on the state to fund a portion of their major improvement projects.

The project types run the gamut – from $500,000 for an elephant exhibit at the Cleveland Zoo to $8.2 million for various city projects in Mansfield.

Among the larger requests submitted thus far is $10 million each for the Cleveland Museum of Art and the NCR research lab center at the University of Dayton.

Cleveland and Cuyahoga County jointly requested about $24 million, including $5.5 million for the Coast Guard Point project, $5 million for the Great Lakes Science Center-NASA Visiting Center in Cleveland, $4 million for park improvements to Malls B & C, $3 million for the Gordon Square Arts District and $2 million for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber asked for $27.52 million to fund “priority projects” such as Central Riverfront Park ($3 million), the Cincinnati street car line ($3 million), Hamilton County stadia ($2.5 million) and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden ($2 million).

The Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce is seeking more than $16 million for projects in Lucas and Wood counties. Those requests include: $7.2 million for the Lucas County Multi-Purpose Arena; $4.75 million for the Toledo Science Center; and $2 million for the port authority.

The City of Columbus/Franklin County is among the few major metropolitan areas in the state that has yet to submit a list of capital requests, however money has been requested separately for the Columbus Zoo ($1.15 million) and the Ohio to Lake Erie Trail ($2 million), among other area projects.

A sampling of other community project funding proposals submitted by regional consortiums and lobbyists:

 ·       $300,000 for the Eulett Center in Adams County.

• $2 million for the College of Nursing in Ashland County.
• $1 million for the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.
• $1 million for the Canton Symphony Orchestra.
• $3 million for Blossom Music Center.
• $1.575 million for The Wilds conservation park in Muskingum/Guernsey County.
• $2 million for Lighthouse Youth Center at Paint Creek in Ross County.

Governor Strickland signed SB 183 which moved a grandfather exemption within the requirements of the Architects Law granted to certain corporations.  The provision allows firms operating for many years to be passed to relatives of original founders without having to meet the strict ownership requirements.

SB183 moved the grandfathering provision to the section dealing specifically with ownership requirements.  This will narrow the grandfathering provision to make sure that an architectural firm can be passed from parents to children. However, the new location of the grandfathering provision will ensure that a company uses licensed architects to provide architecture services.

 SB 183 which would re-position a grandfather exemption from the requirements of the Architects Law granted to certain corporations was passed by the Ohio House of Representatives June 2 by a vote of 95-1.

The panel charged with overseeing the state’s multi-billion school construction program is pushing for more diverse business contractor participation on local projects and in the process rankling a lawmaker and school administrator.

The Ohio School Facilities Commission met Tuesday with a contractor on a Shelby County school district construction project after the commission raised questions last week over the contractor’s failure to meet a 5% Encouraging Diversity, Growth and Equity quota to hire small, socially and economically disadvantaged Ohio companies.

When Hardin-Houston Local School District Superintendent John Scheu heard from OSFC a week ago that his school building construction project was in question because Ferguson Construction, one of the contractors, allocated only 0.25% of their contract to EDGE companies, he said he was concerned the move might have been punishment for his overt questioning of the governor’s Evidence-Based Model for school funding.

Although Hardin-Houston’s project was the first to be scrutinized by the OSFC, it raised red flags only because of the project size – $23 million – and the low EDGE participation, commission spokeswoman Sue Meyer said.

The commission is putting forth an increased effort to ensure EDGE goals are met because of a provision in the biennial budget (HB 1) that enhanced oversight of the program, Ms. Meyer said.

Internal staff with OSFC had granted Ferguson Construction an EDGE waiver, but when the waiver went before the commission for approval it caught the attention of members, said Cheryl Lyman, OSFC chief of public affairs.

There has been some confusion among parties as to whether the EDGE participation goal is a requirement or just a goal.

“There is a statutory requirement to participate in the EDGE program, but basically contractors either have to meet or exceed that goal on the contract or have to demonstrate a good faith effort,” Ms. Lyman said. “For this contract it was a discussion of demonstrating a good faith effort.”

In its meeting with Ferguson, OSFC staff discovered the contractor had already made improvements to its EDGE participation, increasing it to 1.5%, Ms. Meyer said. Ferguson will continue to work on the project.

“OSFC has spoken with the contractor to help broaden his understanding of the EDGE process,” she said, and efforts to locate other EDGE vendors will be ongoing.

Superintendent Scheu said Ferguson Construction has made a good faith effort. The company hired the lowest responsible bidders as required in state statute. For Ferguson to select enough EDGE contractors to meet the quota, it, and thus the school district, would have to pay an additional $232,000 for work performed by EDGE companies.

Mr. Scheu said he took away from the meeting an understanding that OSFC still wants Ferguson to achieve the 5% participation rate. “Whether or not Ferguson is going to be able to make that 5% goal, I don’t know.”

He also said part of the conversation was about how late into the process this issue was raised. Ferguson has worked on the construction since March without being paid.

Mr. Scheu said during the meeting he requested OSFC provide the district with a letter indicating that Ferguson would be paid as soon as possible and the district would not be liable for any delay claims if the project is stopped because of the EDGE controversy, both of which were primary concerns when the district learned of the OSFC objection last week.

Ferguson Construction could potentially stop work because it has yet to be paid and without OSFC approval it would not be. OSFC scheduled the construction to be complete and the school ready to open in August 2011, Mr. Scheu said.

Ms. Lyman said OSFC has not developed a plan should Ferguson fail to meet EDGE expectations on this project.

“We just don’t see that we’re at the point of having to think of what Plan B would be,” she said, noting the commission does not have an established response for contractors that do not cooperate. “Because of timing on a number of different points, it would be very difficult to see where we would have these same set of circumstances happening again.”

And as far as Mr. Scheu’s concern that his outspokenness about the EBM might be the underlying reason for perceived roadblocks, that concern was not raised at the meeting.

“We were totally unaware of Mr. Scheu’s comments on that,” Ms. Lyman said. “That’s something that we don’t even track.”

Superintendent Scheu, said his suspicions were not fully quelled by the meeting. “I still feel that there are unresolved issues.”

Senator Keith Faber (R-Celina) said last week he was suspicious of OSFC motives given Mr. Scheu is the one superintendent on the School Funding Advisory Council who has raised questions about the EBM and is also the superintendent of the district whose project had been questioned over EDGE.

“To me that’s just more than odd,” he said, adding the commission’s action seemed to be about “political meddling.”

Rick Savors, spokesman for OSFC, denied the allegation. “We don’t operate like that,” he said.

The commission will meet June 22 to further consider Ferguson Construction’s participation, Mr. Scheu said.

The project to construct the new K-12, 126,000-square-foot school building, is funded through a 60-40% split with the state footing the majority of the bill. The school share is funded by a levy that passed after seven attempts by the district, Mr. Scheu said.