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Legislative Bulletin
August 12, 2022

OML UPDATE AT A GLANCE

WEBINAR ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO TAKE PLACE AUG. 22
Join OML for a webinar 11 a.m.-12 p.m. on Aug. 22 titled, "Why the Popularity of Electric Vehicles is Surging and What Ohio Municipalities Should Do About It." We will discuss why EVs are surging in popularity, the benefits of EVs, and what elected officials in cities and villages should be thinking about in preparation for EV adoption. Register

BOOTCAMP TRAININGS TO HELP SMALL & MID-SIZED CITIES DEVELOPMENT COMPETITIVE INFRASTRUCTURE APPLICATIONS
This fall, the Local Infrastructure Hub and the National League of Cities are hosting a series of bootcamps to help small and mid-sized cities with populations up to 150,000 develop competitive funding applications for federal infrastructure grants. Registration will run through August 31. Register

FEDERAL INFLATION REDUCTION ACT WILL TOUCH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
The U.S. Senate passed a $700 billion-plus climate, tax, and health package called the Inflation Reduction Act on Sunday, and the U.S. House is expected to pass the legislation today. See more below.

CURRENT FISCAL YEAR REVENUE PROJECTIONS INCREASED, MORE STATE BUDGET PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY
The Ohio Office of Budget and Management said the state is now anticipating a $5.8 billion unencumbered balance for the fiscal year. Meanwhile the agency is focused on maintaining current services in the FY24-25 state operating budget while adjusting to inflation, supply-chain difficulties, and expected payroll increases. See more below.

COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY-POLICE ADVISORY BOARD DISCUSSES CRISIS INTERVENTION STANDARD
Members of Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board began work toward developing a standard on crisis intervention training. One speaker said people in mental health crises can be repeatedly traumatized through their interactions with law enforcement if officers are not adequately trained, but there are impediments to training, including the lack of instructors for the 40-hour course and, for small departments, freeing up officers to receive the training. It was suggested that CIT be part of the recruiting and hiring process.

$5.7 MILLION AWARDED TO SUPPORT LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
Gov. DeWine announced that 16 more local and state law enforcement agencies will receive a total of $5.7 million in grant funding to help prevent and solve instances of violent crime. The recipients include the police departments in Bellefontaine, Cincinnati, East Liverpool, Grandview Heights, Maple Heights, Owensville, Salem, and Wadsworth. More Info 

$2.6 MILLION AWARDED FOR WATER IMPROVEMENTS
Six communities are receiving $2.6 million in low-interest loans from the Ohio Water Quality Development Authority to make wastewater and drinking water improvements. They include the City of Lima and the villages of Adelphi, Lodi, and South Charleston. More Info
FEDERAL INFLATION REDUCTION ACT WILL TOUCH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

The U.S. Senate passed a $700 billion-plus climate, tax, and health package called the Inflation Reduction Act on Sunday, and the U.S. House is expected to pass the legislation today (8/12). The bill includes:

Climate and Clean Energy Provisions
  • $369 billion in spending (approx. $89 billion) and tax credits (approx. $271 billion) related to climate change and clean energy
  • Improving building stock through energy efficiency and zero-emission electricity generation, such as $1 billion for improving energy efficiency, water efficiency, or climate resilience of affordable housing
  • Reducing emissions in the transportation sector, such as $3 billion for loans to build new clean vehicle manufacturing facilities and $2 billion in grants to retool existing auto manufacturing facilities to manufacture clean vehicles
  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality, such as $3 billion for environmental and climate justice block grants for community led projects in disadvantaged communities and community capacity building centers to address disproportionate environmental and public health harms related to pollution and climate change
  • Natural resources, agriculture, and community resilience, such as $5 billion in grants to support healthy, fire-resilient forests, forest conservation and urban tree planting

Non-Climate Related Provisions
  • Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and ensuring that recipients pay a maximum of $2,000 in out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions annually
  • Extending Affordable Care Act premium subsidies for three years
  • Setting a corporate minimum tax rate of 15% on corporations that make $1 billion in profits
  • Increased IRS enforcement by hiring auditors to dissect complex partnership returns
  • $300 billion in deficit reduction ($100 billion of deficit reduction scored by the Congressional Budget Office and $200 billion of deficit reduction from the IRS enforcement piece) and a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks
CURRENT FISCAL YEAR REVENUE PROJECTIONS INCREASED, MORE STATE BUDGET PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY

Ohio opened the new fiscal year with a $5.7 billion unencumbered balance and is anticipating growing that slightly to $5.8 billion by the end of the year. The Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM) said the changed projections were based on a stronger level of economic activity now expected as compared to the projections made when the budget was enacted. The new FY23 estimates assume total General Revenue Fund tax revenues will total $27.9 billion, a 6.3% increase from the original forecast.

The projected unencumbered funds total for this fiscal year is even more historic considering the state's plans to spend a good chunk of the cash on hand to finance capital projects in lieu of debt issuances, although OMB has not yet dipped into the General Revenue Fund reserves it was authorized to use in lieu of borrowing for the state capital budget.

Meanwhile, OBM is departing from recent practice by not giving state agencies a specific spending level to aim for in their FY24-25 budget requests. In recent cycles, OBM has often directed agencies to fit their spending requests within a specified proportion of current fiscal year appropriations, sometimes giving them two scenarios to respond to – 100 percent of current spending and 90 percent, for example. This cycle, maintaining current services is the benchmark, without a percentage figure tied to prior spending.

The OBM guidance also directs agencies to account for inflationary pressures, supply-chain difficulties, expected payroll increases and any expected cuts to office space, among other factors.
UPCOMING EVENTS

Webinar: Why the Popularity of Electric Vehicles is Surging and What Ohio Municipalities Should Do About It
11 a.m. -12 p.m. | Aug. 22 | Virtual
This webinar will explain why EVs are surging in popularity, the benefits of EVs, and what elected officials in cities and villages should be thinking about in preparation for EV adoption in their areas of responsibility. The presentation will reference the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program plan and provide suggested action items for OML members. Register

OML Annual Conference
Oct. 12-14 | Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel
Save the date! This conference brings together mayors, council members, city managers, village administrators, departmental staff members, as well as additional stakeholders, civic leaders, and subject matter experts to discuss best practices and the most pressing issues being faced by Ohio’s cities and villages. Registration will open soon.

MEMBERSHIP INFO: OML-Affiliated Associations
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