Legislative Committees approve Architects “Grandfather” and Capital Re appropriations Bills
SB 183 which would re-position a grandfather exemption from the requirements of the Architects Law granted to certain corporations was recommended for passage March 23 by the Ohio House Civil and Commercial Law Committee.
HB 462, the Capital Re appropriations Bill was recommended for passage by the Senate Finance Committee.
Both bills now head to the floors of the respective Houses.
The Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Statute Limiting Intentional Tort Claims Against Employers
In a favorable decision for Ohio employers, the Ohio Supreme Court today upheld a 2005 statute limiting the ability of employees who suffer workplace injuries from suing their employers for a “workplace intentional tort” in addition to receiving workers’ compensation benefits. In two separate decisions, the Court ruled that Ohio Revised Code Section 2745.01, which requires that injured employees prove that their employers acted “with a deliberate intent to cause…injury,” does not violate the Ohio Constitution.
Under the “deliberate intent” standard, an employer may no longer be held liable for the accidental injury of an employee, even if the injury is caused by the gross, wanton, willful, reckless, or malicious breach of its duty of care. An employer must instead act with “a conscious and deliberate…purpose of inflicting an injury.”
Although the statute generally limits the circumstances under which Ohio employees may bring intentional tort actions, it also outlines specific circumstances in which “deliberate intent” will be presumed. The law provides that the “deliberate removal by an employer of an equipment safety guard or deliberate misrepresentation of a toxic or hazardous substance creates a rebuttable presumption that the removal or misrepresentation was committed with intent to injure another if an injury or an occupational disease or condition occurs as a direct result.”
An overview of the Ohio Supreme Court’s decisions in Kaminski v. Metal & Wire Products Co. and Stetter v. R.J. Corman Derailment Services, as well as the text of the opinions, may be found by following this link:
www.sconet.state.oh.us/PIO/summaries/2010/0323/080857_080972.asp
Sen. Widener’s Renewable Energy Facilities Bill Heard (SB232
The Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee took additional testimony of Sen. Widener’s SB 232 which would exempt from taxation renewable energy facilities that are not financed through the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority and require a payment in lieu of taxes on the basis of each megawatt of production capacity in such facilities.
Larry Viterna, president and CEO of Nautica Windpower, LLC; and Jasson Clark, Ohio and Vicinity Regional Council of Carpenters testified in support of SB232. Written testimony in support of the bill was submitted by Phil McClure of the McClure Family Trust and Elaine Siler, a landowner in Van Wert County.
Viterna said the Federal Wind Energy Program that invented many of the technologies for large wind turbines was, unfortunately, ended in 1985, allowing “the Europeans to build on our technical investment and capture the dominant position in the multibillion dollar world market of wind turbine manufacturing. Fortunately for our wind industry,” he added, “at least a few U.S. system manufacturers such as General Electric are now back in production and have developed a significant market position.”
Viterna said his company is working with other Ohio companies to develop a new wind turbine “to open up the vast resource of offshore wind energy.” He said SB232’s proposal to provide a limited exemption from the personal property tax on renewable power production would be an important component to making Ohio competitive with surrounding states for investment at this time.
Viterna said Chairman Widener’s estimate of 8,000 parts in a wind turbine is probably accurate, and that Ohio suppliers may be capable of manufacturing 80 percent of them.
In response to Sen. Sawyer, Viterna said the Legislature should insist that SB232 address reactive power and decentralized power. He said, unlike early designs that placed a burden on power grids, current technologies in wind power generators and controls make them an asset to the power grid, reducing the potential for blackouts like the 2003 northeast blackout.
Although unclear about what work carpenters do on wind turbines, Clark said SB232 would “remove one of the last hurdles to wind turbine power,” providing “hundreds of good paying jobs for trained workers.” He told Widener Ohioans will be able to fill a majority of the jobs although some companies may bring in their own out-of-state forces.
McClure wrote, “… I strongly support this effort to lower the tax burdens threatening our chance of getting a renewable energy source being proposed for the counties of northwest Ohio… Current government taxation, both state and local, along with all the associated government regulation is simply killing any business or industry opportunities for our state.”
Siler wrote, “It is important to bring new industries to Ohio – and most importantly new technology, such as renewable energy… [SB232] is one of the most important means of encouragement to say ‘Welcome to Ohio; we are looking forward to your success and ours!'”
Prompted by Sen. Husted, Chairman Widener announced that amendments are due this Friday for a substitute bill expected at next week’s hearing when all testimony will be received, with a vote immediately thereafter.
The Capital Re-appropriations Bill Passed the House today by a vote of 77-18. Senate action coming this week.
The Capital Re-appropriations Bill Passed the House today by a vote of 77-18. Senate action coming this week.
Amstutz Looks to Pare Reappropriations Bill by Halting Some Projects
The lead Republican on the House Finance and Appropriations Committee proposed Friday to save money by not funding all the projects approved in previous state capital budgets.
Capital Reappropriations Bill Slated For Quick Action
By the time you read this on March 19, the Capital bill may already be on its way to the Governor’s desk. In a sign that it will be non-controversial, the Senate has set an expedited schedule for the capital reappropriations measure that could see the $3.2 billion bill clear both chambers the week of March 15.
The bill (HB 462
) is slated for a second hearing and vote on March 15 in the House Finance & Appropriations Committee, with a full chamber vote expected Tuesday.
The Senate Finance & Financial Institutions Committee has set hearings on the measure for Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning in eying a full Senate vote later that day, March 17.
The bill mostly reauthorizes spending for ongoing capital projects during fiscal; years 2011 and 2012 but also includes $525 million in new appropriations for bond-backed expenditures by the Ohio School Facilities Commission and $145 million for the Ohio Public Works Commission.
If the bill, which impacts some 1,200 projects, proceeds like the last capital appropriations measure, it will get enacted without any major changes or controversial provisions.
Indeed, Sen. John Carey (R-Wellston), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has said that was the gist of an agreement between the Senate president, House speaker and governor.
“They’ve all agreed to keep it a clean bill other than technical changes,” he said.
House Republicans questioned the state’s spending pace and debt load and raised other concerns during the first hearing on the bill this week, however Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) said he didn’t foresee any problems in processing it in short order.
Wind Energy Supporters Calls Widener’s Bill Urgent for Ohio Economy
House Hearings Open on Reappropriations Bill
Hearings opened Tuesday in the House Finance and Appropriations Committee on the administration’s capital re-appropriations bill, which, for the most part, re-ups funding for capital projects approved by previous General Assemblies – a generally a pretty routine process.
New way to build may save
While state leaders wait years to learn whether a revamped public-construction law saves millions of dollars on a trio of projects, scores of other building projects will continue under a 132-year-old law that university presidents say adds to their costs.
Ohio State University leaders hope to save $100 million or more on the $1billion medical center expansion. It will be one of three pilot construction projects to be completed under public-construction law changes approved as part of a state budget fix in December.
In the meantime, the university will spend about $200 million a year on other projects, including a $170 million renovation of five tower dorms and a $126 million chemistry and chemical engineering building.
Those and other undertakings across the state will continue to be built under Ohio’s current “multiple-prime contracting,” which hires separate contractors for general construction, plumbing and electrical work.
Ohio is the last state in the nation that solely uses that approach.
“The place we end up struggling is coordination among all those contractors,” said Lynn Readey, associate vice president of facilities, operations and development at Ohio State.
“All of the studies show that when you have a single point of contact it really makes a big difference, when a single construction management company can coordinate all of that work.”
The lack of coordination adds time to a construction project, she said. More time equals more money.
For that reason, some say state lawmakers should not wait long before expanding the construction-law overhaul to all public projects. Supporters have projected savings at 10 percent to 30percent.
Senate Republicans – who did not overhaul Ohio construction law while the GOP controlled all of state government for 14 years – in December pushed to get changes recommended by a governor-appointed council into the $851 million state budget fix. But House Democrats balked, and the two sides ended with a compromise allowing three pilot projects to proceed.
Sen. David Goodman, R-New Albany, said he would like another push for a full construction overhaul in the state capital budget, which likely will be considered later this year.
“I don’t know what kind of convincing (lawmakers) need,” he said. “If anybody is saying they are waiting for (pilot project data) to make a determination as to whether this is a good idea, I’m skeptical of that. We’re the last state not to do this. It’s a proven fact that this will save hundreds of millions of dollars.”
While a renewed push in the capital budget is not likely, Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, said he wants to move a separate construction overhaul bill this year.
“I don’t think having hearings on a bill would impact at all on the pilot projects,” he said. “The pilot projects will indicate that construction reform needs to go forward.”
The Ohio Board of Regents plans to pick the three pilot construction projects March 23, with hopes that the state Controlling Board will approve the selections April 5. From there, the regents plan to issue reports on the projects every six months, possibly starting in January.
The speed of data flow will depend on the size of the project, said Ohio’s higher-education chancellor, Eric D. Fingerhut. The Ohio State Medical Center, including construction of a 17-story hospital tower by 2014, will be the largest of the projects.
Savings might not materialize at the initial bidding but could come when one looks at the entire project, including change orders, litigation and cost overruns, Fingerhut said.
“Now we’re going to have some real data on which the General Assembly can make a decision, rather than impressions and conflicting testimony,” he said.
“I’ve never talked to a university president in my entire career in state government that hasn’t wanted this law to be changed. They want to get projects done faster and cheaper.”
Sen. John A. Carey Jr., a Wellston Republican and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said it’s a shame that only three projects can be completed under the new law, but that shouldn’t discount what is being done.
“We do lots of things incrementally in state government, so doing it this way, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” Carey said. “I think it will lead to complete construction reform.”
But barring major political changes, that reform is likely a few years away. Some unions have pressured Democrats to block the initiative, and Carey said he also heard opposition from architects and other subcontractors.
“When you do things more efficiently in government and save taxpayers money, it means someone else isn’t going to get the money,” he said.
Speaker Pro Tempore Matthew Szollosi, an Oregon Democrat, union attorney and leading opponent of placing construction changes in budget bills last year, said the issue is too complex to make a quick decision.
“It’s difficult to gauge how much data will be enough to trigger a conclusion,” he said. “I think it’s a difficult sell to conclude you’re going to get those types of savings early in the construction process.”
Legislative Committees approve Architects “Grandfather” and Capital Re appropriations Bills
SB 183 which would re-position a grandfather exemption from the requirements of the Architects Law granted to certain corporations was recommended for passage March 23 by the Ohio House Civil and Commercial Law Committee.
HB 462, the Capital Re appropriations Bill was recommended for passage by the Senate Finance Committee.
Both bills now head to the floors of the respective Houses.
The Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Statute Limiting Intentional Tort Claims Against Employers
In a favorable decision for Ohio employers, the Ohio Supreme Court today upheld a 2005 statute limiting the ability of employees who suffer workplace injuries from suing their employers for a “workplace intentional tort” in addition to receiving workers’ compensation benefits. In two separate decisions, the Court ruled that Ohio Revised Code Section 2745.01, which requires that injured employees prove that their employers acted “with a deliberate intent to cause…injury,” does not violate the Ohio Constitution.
Under the “deliberate intent” standard, an employer may no longer be held liable for the accidental injury of an employee, even if the injury is caused by the gross, wanton, willful, reckless, or malicious breach of its duty of care. An employer must instead act with “a conscious and deliberate…purpose of inflicting an injury.”
Although the statute generally limits the circumstances under which Ohio employees may bring intentional tort actions, it also outlines specific circumstances in which “deliberate intent” will be presumed. The law provides that the “deliberate removal by an employer of an equipment safety guard or deliberate misrepresentation of a toxic or hazardous substance creates a rebuttable presumption that the removal or misrepresentation was committed with intent to injure another if an injury or an occupational disease or condition occurs as a direct result.”
An overview of the Ohio Supreme Court’s decisions in Kaminski v. Metal & Wire Products Co. and Stetter v. R.J. Corman Derailment Services, as well as the text of the opinions, may be found by following this link:
www.sconet.state.oh.us/PIO/summaries/2010/0323/080857_080972.asp
Sen. Widener’s Renewable Energy Facilities Bill Heard (SB232
The Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee took additional testimony of Sen. Widener’s SB 232 which would exempt from taxation renewable energy facilities that are not financed through the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority and require a payment in lieu of taxes on the basis of each megawatt of production capacity in such facilities.
Larry Viterna, president and CEO of Nautica Windpower, LLC; and Jasson Clark, Ohio and Vicinity Regional Council of Carpenters testified in support of SB232. Written testimony in support of the bill was submitted by Phil McClure of the McClure Family Trust and Elaine Siler, a landowner in Van Wert County.
Viterna said the Federal Wind Energy Program that invented many of the technologies for large wind turbines was, unfortunately, ended in 1985, allowing “the Europeans to build on our technical investment and capture the dominant position in the multibillion dollar world market of wind turbine manufacturing. Fortunately for our wind industry,” he added, “at least a few U.S. system manufacturers such as General Electric are now back in production and have developed a significant market position.”
Viterna said his company is working with other Ohio companies to develop a new wind turbine “to open up the vast resource of offshore wind energy.” He said SB232’s proposal to provide a limited exemption from the personal property tax on renewable power production would be an important component to making Ohio competitive with surrounding states for investment at this time.
Viterna said Chairman Widener’s estimate of 8,000 parts in a wind turbine is probably accurate, and that Ohio suppliers may be capable of manufacturing 80 percent of them.
In response to Sen. Sawyer, Viterna said the Legislature should insist that SB232 address reactive power and decentralized power. He said, unlike early designs that placed a burden on power grids, current technologies in wind power generators and controls make them an asset to the power grid, reducing the potential for blackouts like the 2003 northeast blackout.
Although unclear about what work carpenters do on wind turbines, Clark said SB232 would “remove one of the last hurdles to wind turbine power,” providing “hundreds of good paying jobs for trained workers.” He told Widener Ohioans will be able to fill a majority of the jobs although some companies may bring in their own out-of-state forces.
McClure wrote, “… I strongly support this effort to lower the tax burdens threatening our chance of getting a renewable energy source being proposed for the counties of northwest Ohio… Current government taxation, both state and local, along with all the associated government regulation is simply killing any business or industry opportunities for our state.”
Siler wrote, “It is important to bring new industries to Ohio – and most importantly new technology, such as renewable energy… [SB232] is one of the most important means of encouragement to say ‘Welcome to Ohio; we are looking forward to your success and ours!'”
Prompted by Sen. Husted, Chairman Widener announced that amendments are due this Friday for a substitute bill expected at next week’s hearing when all testimony will be received, with a vote immediately thereafter.
The Capital Re-appropriations Bill Passed the House today by a vote of 77-18. Senate action coming this week.
The Capital Re-appropriations Bill Passed the House today by a vote of 77-18. Senate action coming this week.
Amstutz Looks to Pare Reappropriations Bill by Halting Some Projects
The lead Republican on the House Finance and Appropriations Committee proposed Friday to save money by not funding all the projects approved in previous state capital budgets.
Capital Reappropriations Bill Slated For Quick Action
By the time you read this on March 19, the Capital bill may already be on its way to the Governor’s desk. In a sign that it will be non-controversial, the Senate has set an expedited schedule for the capital reappropriations measure that could see the $3.2 billion bill clear both chambers the week of March 15.
The bill (HB 462) is slated for a second hearing and vote on March 15 in the House Finance & Appropriations Committee, with a full chamber vote expected Tuesday.
The Senate Finance & Financial Institutions Committee has set hearings on the measure for Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning in eying a full Senate vote later that day, March 17.
The bill mostly reauthorizes spending for ongoing capital projects during fiscal; years 2011 and 2012 but also includes $525 million in new appropriations for bond-backed expenditures by the Ohio School Facilities Commission and $145 million for the Ohio Public Works Commission.
If the bill, which impacts some 1,200 projects, proceeds like the last capital appropriations measure, it will get enacted without any major changes or controversial provisions.
Indeed, Sen. John Carey (R-Wellston), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has said that was the gist of an agreement between the Senate president, House speaker and governor.
“They’ve all agreed to keep it a clean bill other than technical changes,” he said.
House Republicans questioned the state’s spending pace and debt load and raised other concerns during the first hearing on the bill this week, however Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) said he didn’t foresee any problems in processing it in short order.
Wind Energy Supporters Calls Widener’s Bill Urgent for Ohio Economy
House Hearings Open on Reappropriations Bill
Hearings opened Tuesday in the House Finance and Appropriations Committee on the administration’s capital re-appropriations bill, which, for the most part, re-ups funding for capital projects approved by previous General Assemblies – a generally a pretty routine process.
New way to build may save
While state leaders wait years to learn whether a revamped public-construction law saves millions of dollars on a trio of projects, scores of other building projects will continue under a 132-year-old law that university presidents say adds to their costs.
Ohio State University leaders hope to save $100 million or more on the $1billion medical center expansion. It will be one of three pilot construction projects to be completed under public-construction law changes approved as part of a state budget fix in December.
In the meantime, the university will spend about $200 million a year on other projects, including a $170 million renovation of five tower dorms and a $126 million chemistry and chemical engineering building.
Those and other undertakings across the state will continue to be built under Ohio’s current “multiple-prime contracting,” which hires separate contractors for general construction, plumbing and electrical work.
Ohio is the last state in the nation that solely uses that approach.
“The place we end up struggling is coordination among all those contractors,” said Lynn Readey, associate vice president of facilities, operations and development at Ohio State.
“All of the studies show that when you have a single point of contact it really makes a big difference, when a single construction management company can coordinate all of that work.”
The lack of coordination adds time to a construction project, she said. More time equals more money.
For that reason, some say state lawmakers should not wait long before expanding the construction-law overhaul to all public projects. Supporters have projected savings at 10 percent to 30percent.
Senate Republicans – who did not overhaul Ohio construction law while the GOP controlled all of state government for 14 years – in December pushed to get changes recommended by a governor-appointed council into the $851 million state budget fix. But House Democrats balked, and the two sides ended with a compromise allowing three pilot projects to proceed.
Sen. David Goodman, R-New Albany, said he would like another push for a full construction overhaul in the state capital budget, which likely will be considered later this year.
“I don’t know what kind of convincing (lawmakers) need,” he said. “If anybody is saying they are waiting for (pilot project data) to make a determination as to whether this is a good idea, I’m skeptical of that. We’re the last state not to do this. It’s a proven fact that this will save hundreds of millions of dollars.”
While a renewed push in the capital budget is not likely, Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, said he wants to move a separate construction overhaul bill this year.
“I don’t think having hearings on a bill would impact at all on the pilot projects,” he said. “The pilot projects will indicate that construction reform needs to go forward.”
The Ohio Board of Regents plans to pick the three pilot construction projects March 23, with hopes that the state Controlling Board will approve the selections April 5. From there, the regents plan to issue reports on the projects every six months, possibly starting in January.
The speed of data flow will depend on the size of the project, said Ohio’s higher-education chancellor, Eric D. Fingerhut. The Ohio State Medical Center, including construction of a 17-story hospital tower by 2014, will be the largest of the projects.
Savings might not materialize at the initial bidding but could come when one looks at the entire project, including change orders, litigation and cost overruns, Fingerhut said.
“Now we’re going to have some real data on which the General Assembly can make a decision, rather than impressions and conflicting testimony,” he said.
“I’ve never talked to a university president in my entire career in state government that hasn’t wanted this law to be changed. They want to get projects done faster and cheaper.”
Sen. John A. Carey Jr., a Wellston Republican and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said it’s a shame that only three projects can be completed under the new law, but that shouldn’t discount what is being done.
“We do lots of things incrementally in state government, so doing it this way, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” Carey said. “I think it will lead to complete construction reform.”
But barring major political changes, that reform is likely a few years away. Some unions have pressured Democrats to block the initiative, and Carey said he also heard opposition from architects and other subcontractors.
“When you do things more efficiently in government and save taxpayers money, it means someone else isn’t going to get the money,” he said.
Speaker Pro Tempore Matthew Szollosi, an Oregon Democrat, union attorney and leading opponent of placing construction changes in budget bills last year, said the issue is too complex to make a quick decision.
“It’s difficult to gauge how much data will be enough to trigger a conclusion,” he said. “I think it’s a difficult sell to conclude you’re going to get those types of savings early in the construction process.”