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The state is planning to appeal the decision of a Cuyahoga County court that ruled 131-HB180 as unconstitutional because if violates home rule.

The city of Cleveland sued after Gov. John Kasich signed HB180 (Maag), which banned municipalities from requiring architects and contractors to hire to a certain percentage of local residents for the construction of public projects. Opponents of the law said the measures allow cities to make sure local workers are getting jobs on local construction projects, while supporters said such laws raise costs and hurt competition.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Michael Russo sided with Cleveland this week, granting a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the law. Russo wrote that the General Assembly did not have the authority to enact the law because it only seeks to dictate the terms by which municipalities may contract for workers within their region, not provide for the comfort, health, safety and welfare of employees. He also said the law violates home rule powers. 

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson praised the decision. “For 12 years the city of Cleveland has used the Cleveland Resident Employment Law (Fannie Lewis Law) as an effective tool to both stimulate the local economy and connect Clevelanders to employment. There are billions of dollars of development happening in our city; yet special interests in Columbus are attempting to prohibit our residents from seeing a financial impact from that development. Judge Russo’s decision is right and I thank him for correcting this wrong,” he said in a statement.

Legislative Democrats who voted against the bill also praised the decision.

“The state should partner with local communities to expand economic opportunities for everyone, not attack home rule authority and restrict residents from participating in their own communities’ economic development,” said Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron).

Added Rep. Greta Johnson (D-Akron), “Our constitution preserves and protects the right and responsibility of citizens to exercise self-governance in their community. The ruling in Cleveland not only upholds this fundamental tenet of American democracy in Ohio, but it also preserves the freedom of local communities to make decisions that increase economic stability and ensure equal employment opportunities for citizens.” 

A Cuyahoga County judge on Feb. 1  blocked a controversial measure banning local hiring quotas.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Russo granted the city of Cleveland’s request to permanently block the law from being enforced.

In blocking enforcement of the law, Judge Russo cited home rule authority.

“The court finds that HB180 was improperly enacted because it does not provide for the comfort, health, safety and welfare of employees; rather, HB180 seeks only to dictate the terms by which municipalities may contract for workers in construction projects within their realm,” he wrote in his ruling. “There are no protections afforded to employees under HB180, and no portion of the bill relates to the comfort, health, safety or general welfare of these contractors.”

Attorney General Mike DeWine‘s office declined to comment on the judge’s ruling, but did say an appeal is planned.

The city argued the law would override a 2003 ordinance, the Fannie Lewis law, which requires 20% of taxpayer-funded construction hours to go to city residents. The law also requires that 4% of those hours are worked by low-income residents.

Since 2013, according to the lawsuit, the law has allowed city residents to work 897,870 hours on taxpayer funded construction projects, generating more than $34 million in wages. More than 100,000 hours were worked by low-income city residents.

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The Ohio School Facilities Commission’s leader on Thursday laid out goals for the year, listing the automation of operations and the filling of vacant project manager roles as priorities.

All goals for the year revolve around the commission continuing to “support our growing customer list” and run as efficiently and effectively as possible, OSFC Executive Director David Williamson said.

One way to achieve those goals is to automate as many of the commission’s operations and activities as possible, freeing up staff time and making it easier to stay in communication with districts, he said. OSFC staff is currently investigating options in that regard.

Also among the 2017 focuses are implementation of the funding and policies in the next biennial budget and providing professional development opportunities to employees, he said.

Since its inception in 1997, the commission has served 380 districts, with 279 remaining eligible for funding, Mr. Williamson said. There are currently 39 projects in planning stages, 49 in design and 70 in construction.

Closing out projects is an area where the commission can improve this year and into the future, he said. There is currently a backlog of about 100 projects waiting to complete the long finalization process.

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The Ohio Development Services Agency (DSA) Tuesday announced the awarding of $22.8 million in Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits to 18 applicants planning to rehabilitate 33 historic buildings. Together, the projects are expected to bring approximately $225.6 million in private investment in 12 communities.

“A community’s historic buildings make it unique,” said David Goodman, DSA director. “Giving a building new life honors the history of the building, while creating construction jobs in the short term and opportunity for economic activity into the future.”

According to DSA, “The awards will assist private developers in rehabilitating historic buildings in downtowns and neighborhoods. The renovated buildings drive further investment and interest in adjacent property. Developers are not issued the tax credit until project construction is complete and all program requirements are verified.”

The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program is administered in partnership with the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office. The State Historic Preservation Office determines if a property qualifies as a historic building and that the rehabilitation plans comply with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. 

Round 17 Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit recipients include the following:

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AIA Ohio has closely monitored the possible consolidation of the Ohio Architects and Landscape Architects Boards.  The State Budget Bill (HB64)–introduced in February, 2015– proposed combining these two Boards which AIA Ohio opposed.  A compromise in the final Budget Bill mandated a Sunset Review Commission study of the issue as well as an investigation into which of Ohio’s many state boards and commissions should be abolished or combined.  Following many hearings, during which AIA opposed combining the Architect and Landscape Architect Boards, the Review Commission’s recommendations were included in HB 471. The recommendations proposed to abolish numerous boards and commissions and to combine most medical-related boards.  Culminating many House and Senate hearings on the bill, last night (Nov. 30) the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee recommended what likely will become the final version of the bill (Substitute HB 471).  It does not mention the Architect or Landscape Architect Boards. 

The bill will now goes to the Senate floor and, if approved, back to the House for its concurrence in Senate amendments before going to the Governor for his signature.

View Full Position Description

Established in 1913, AIA Columbus is the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, a three-tiered professional architectural association with national, state, and local components. AIA Columbus operates as a not-for-profit, 501c(6) professional association, representing and delivering programs and services to more than 600 architects and associate members across a 32-county region of Ohio.

SUMMARY OF POSITION:

The Executive Director serves as the strategic and hands-on leader for AIA Columbus and ensures the Chapter’s role as a constituent-friendly source of education, information, community involvement, business support and development, and as an advocate of the profession locally, state-wide, and nationally. This is a salaried/exempt position that reports to the President of the Chapter’s Board of Directors.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Organization-Wide Leadership

• Connect with the Local, State, Regional, and National components of AIA to maintain a timely flow of information and objectives from around the organization.
• Attend and actively engage in the State and National Conventions and National Grassroots events.
• Maintain relationships with Chapter vendors, supporters and strategic partners: The Center for Architecture and Design, The Knowlton School, Columbus State Community College, Columbus College of Art and Design, and other allied professional organizations.

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Gov. John Kasich‘s latest attempt to consolidate several boards and commissions – a plan the administration hopes to see enacted in the lame duck session – excludes the Architect’s Registration Board, but is triggering consternation among members of the medical professional groups that would be consolidated.

Past attempts to cull the number of boards have triggered extensive turf battles among the various groups, most of which successfully convinced lawmakers that their individual oversight panels serve the public and their professions well. But the new proposal to combine 16 medical related boards into eight could be the most ambitious to date and will likely reenergize the constituencies and result in significant pushback in upcoming legislative hearings.

The latest consolidation effort comes as lawmakers wrap up their “Sunset Review” process of deciding which boards and commissions are no longer necessary. 

Introduced earlier this week by Sen. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) and Rep. Sarah LaTourette (R-Bainbridge Twp.), the proposal ( SB 366, HB 617) follows last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found North Carolina’s Dental Board violated antitrust laws by having dentists in effect regulate themselves by having members of the profession serve on the panel.

“With the need to address the Supreme Court case ruling, the General Assembly currently going through the Sunset Review process, and considering our administration’s ongoing efforts to reform health care, it is important to look at these things in an interrelated way,” said administration spokesman Tom Hoyt, of the Department of Administrative Services. “We applaud Senator Seitz, as well as Representative LaTourette, for taking on this effort and we look forward to working with them to get this to the governor’s desk.”

Sen. Seitz said his main aim in sponsoring the bill was to deal with the antitrust issue and he agreed to include the board consolidations after discussing the issue with the administration.

The lawmaker, who along with cosponsor Sen. John Eklund (R-Chardon) is an anti-trust lawyer, said it was important to address the Supreme Court case so people would be willing to serve on the panels.

“If you face the prospect of antitrust liability, which could be substantial and expensive, you are going to say, ‘No thank you, I’m not going to serve my profession,'” he said.

As for the “admittedly contentious and thorny issue of board consolidation,” Sen. Seitz said the proposal was crafted after much thought and discussion and avoids involving some of the state’s largest regulatory panels.  He said the groupings “conceptually make sense” and pointed to consolidations of state agencies, such as Mental Health and Addiction Services, as examples of how such mergers could work.

The administration distributed a memorandum on its plan to the boards and their constituencies, and many are expected to oppose it. Their arguments harken to past debates over proposed consolidations, which include concerns over lack of sufficient oversight, sufficient representation on the panels, public safety and depleted knowledge of the various professions.

The new structure would retain the Chiropractic, Dental and Nursing boards in their current form and condense others into the following:

· State Medical Board of Ohio: Ohio Board of Dietetics, Ohio Respiratory Care Board, Medical Board.

· Ohio Board of Pharmacy: Home Medical Equipment Facility Licensing, Pharmacy Board.

· Physical Health Services Board: Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board, State Board of Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics.

· Behavioral Health Professionals Board: Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board, Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board, Ohio State Board of Psychology.

· Vision and Hearing Professionals Board: Ohio Board of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology, Ohio State Board of Optometry, Ohio Optical Dispensers Board, Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Licensing Board.

The representatives of other boards said they did not have a problem with the component of the proposal that directly addresses the court case.

Under that change, DAS would be involved in a third-party review process that “would be triggered when a board has the potential to violate state or federal antitrust law,” according to the administration’s fact sheet. “The addition of this review process is aimed squarely at shielding boards from potential legal action and specifically designed to prevent delays in important decisions made by the boards.”

ODOT Bond Projects – Round 2

December 2, 2016
8:30 am – 12:00 pm

Location: 

4200 Surface Road, Columbus Ohio
Willow Conference Room 

Registration: https://www.regonline.com/ODOTForum 

In anticipation of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) Round 2 Bond Projects, (Fiscal Years 2017-2018,) the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) and ODOT will initiate the acquisition of Professional Design Services in December 2016.  

The available funding is $100,000,000 for soft and hard costs over 14 projects. The projects include Full Service Maintenance Facilities and Outposts.

OFCC and ODOT anticipates inclusion of professional service providers geographically dispersed and new to state work.

The projects are anticipated to be in the following counties:

• Carroll
• Greene
• Medina
• Monroe
• Montgomery
• Perry
• Portage
• Stark
• Union
• Washington
• Wood

The selection process is anticipated to be completed by mid-January.  Professional Service Agreements will be executed as the projects are initiated.  The delivery of these projects necessitates a timely project initiation.  More information will be forthcoming at the forum.  Substantial Completion of each project is required to be prior to preparations for the 2019-2020 winter season, i.e. August 2019.

The Forum will discuss the following topics:

• Project Descriptions
  • Full Service Maintenance Facility
  • Outpost Facility
• The selection process
• Completing the 330 for best results
• Professional Service Agreement highlights
• ODOT Guidelines
• Delivery expectations
• Delivery schedules

Our intent is to use “lessons learned” and “continuous improvement concepts” as supplemental and supportive of the topics above.