Revise the lead testing, certification, and tax credit law

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 118

2025-2026

Representatives Demetriou, Thomas, J.

A
BILL

To
amend sections 3742.01, 3742.03, 3742.39, 3742.50, 5747.08, 5747.26,
5747.50, 5747.502, 5747.51, 5747.53, and 5747.98 and to enact
sections 3742.47 and 5747.504 of the Revised Code
to
revise the law governing lead testing, certification, and tax
credits.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
sections 3742.01, 3742.03, 3742.39, 3742.50, 5747.08, 5747.26,
5747.50, 5747.502, 5747.51, 5747.53, and 5747.98 be amended and
sections 3742.47 and 5747.504 of the Revised Code be enacted to read
as follows:

Sec.
3742.01.
As
used in this chapter:

(A)
"Board of health" means the board of health of a city or
general health district or the authority having the duties of a board
of health under section 3709.05 of the Revised Code.

(B)
"Child care facility" means each area of any of the
following in which child care, as defined in section 5104.01 of the
Revised Code, is provided to children under six years of age:

(1)
A child care center, type A family child care home, or type B family
child care home as defined in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code;

(2)
A preschool program or school child program as defined in section
3301.52 of the Revised Code.

(C)
"Clearance examination" means an examination to determine
whether the lead hazards in a residential unit, child care facility,
or school have been sufficiently controlled. A clearance examination
includes a visual assessment, collection, and analysis of
environmental samples.

(D)
"Clearance technician" means a person, other than a
licensed lead inspector or licensed lead risk assessor, who performs
a clearance examination.

(E)
"Clinical laboratory" means a facility for the biological,
microbiological, serological, chemical, immunohematological,
hematological, biophysical, cytological, pathological, or other
examination of substances derived from the human body for the purpose
of providing information for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment
of any disease, or in the assessment or impairment of the health of
human beings. "Clinical laboratory" does not include a
facility that only collects or prepares specimens, or serves as a
mailing service, and does not perform testing.

(F)
"Encapsulation" means the coating and sealing of surfaces
with durable surface coating specifically formulated to be elastic,
able to withstand sharp and blunt impacts, long-lasting, and
resilient, while also resistant to cracking, peeling, algae, fungus,
and ultraviolet light, so as to prevent any part of lead-containing
paint from becoming part of house dust or otherwise accessible to
children.

(G)
"Enclosure" means the resurfacing or covering of surfaces
with durable materials such as wallboard or paneling, and the sealing
or caulking of edges and joints, so as to prevent or control
chalking, flaking, peeling, scaling, or loose lead-containing
substances from becoming part of house dust or otherwise accessible
to children.

(H)
"Environmental lead analytical laboratory" means a facility
that analyzes air, dust, soil, water, paint, film, or other
substances, other than substances derived from the human body, for
the presence and concentration of lead.

(I)
"HEPA" means the designation given to a product, device, or
system that has been equipped with a high-efficiency particulate air
filter, which is a filter capable of removing particles of 0.3
microns or larger from air at 99.97 per cent or greater efficiency.

(J)
"Interim controls" means a set of measures designed to
reduce temporarily human exposure or likely human exposure to lead
hazards. Interim controls include specialized cleaning, repairs,
painting, temporary containment, ongoing lead hazard maintenance
activities, and the establishment and operation of management and
resident education programs.

(K)(1)
"Lead abatement" means a measure or set of measures
designed for the single purpose of permanently eliminating lead
hazards. "Lead abatement" includes all of the following:

(a)
Removal of lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust;

(b)
Permanent enclosure or encapsulation of lead-based paint;

(c)
Replacement of surfaces or fixtures painted with lead-based paint;

(d)
Removal or permanent covering of lead-contaminated soil;

(e)
Preparation, cleanup, and disposal activities associated with lead
abatement.

(2)
"Lead abatement" does not include any of the following:

(a)
Residential rental unit lead-safe maintenance practices performed
pursuant to sections 3742.41 and 3742.42 of the Revised Code;

(b)
Implementation of interim controls;

(c)
Activities performed by a property owner on a residential unit to
which both of the following apply:

(i)
It is a freestanding single-family home used as the property owner's
private residence.

(ii)
No child under six years of age who has lead poisoning resides in the
unit.

(L)
"Lead abatement contractor" means any individual who
engages in or intends to engage in lead abatement and employs or
supervises one or more lead abatement workers, including on-site
supervision of lead abatement projects, or prepares specifications,
plans, or documents for a lead abatement project.

(M)
"Lead abatement project" means one or more lead abatement
activities that are conducted by a lead abatement contractor and are
reasonably related to each other.

(N)
"Lead abatement project designer" means a person who is
responsible for designing lead abatement projects and preparing a
pre-abatement plan for all designed projects.

(O)
"Lead abatement worker" means an individual who is
responsible in a nonsupervisory capacity for the performance of lead
abatement.

(P)
"Lead-based paint" means any paint or other similar
surface-coating substance containing lead at or in excess of the
level that is hazardous to human health, as that level is established
in rules adopted under section 3742.45 of the Revised Code.

(Q)
"Lead-contaminated dust" means dust that contains an area
or mass concentration of lead at or in excess of the level that is
hazardous to human health, as that level is established in rules
adopted under section 3742.45 of the Revised Code.

(R)
"Lead-contaminated soil" means soil that contains lead at
or in excess of the level that is hazardous to human health, as that
level is established in rules adopted under section 3742.45 of the
Revised Code.

(S)
"Lead free" means no lead-based paint is present in any
area referenced in division (B) of section 3742.42 of the Revised
Code.

(T)
"Lead hazard" means material that is likely to cause lead
exposure and endanger an individual's health as determined by the
director of health in rules adopted under section 3742.45 of the
Revised Code. "Lead hazard" includes lead-based paint,
lead-contaminated dust, lead-contaminated soil, and lead-contaminated
water pipes.

(U)
"Lead inspection" means a surface-by-surface investigation
to determine the presence of lead-based paint. The inspection shall
use a sampling or testing technique approved by the director in rules
adopted under section 3742.03 of the Revised Code. A licensed lead
inspector or laboratory approved under section 3742.09 of the Revised
Code shall certify in writing the precise results of the inspection.

(V)
"Lead inspector" means any individual who conducts a lead
inspection, provides professional advice regarding a lead inspection,
or prepares a report explaining the results of a lead inspection.

(W)
"Lead poisoning" means the level of lead in human blood
that is hazardous to human health, as specified in rules adopted
under section 3742.45 of the Revised Code.

(X)
"Lead risk assessment" means an on-site investigation to
determine and report the existence, nature, severity, and location of
lead hazards in a residential unit, child care facility, or school,
including information gathering from the unit, facility, or school's
current owner's knowledge regarding the age and painting history of
the unit, facility, or school and occupancy by children under six
years of age, visual inspection, limited wipe sampling or other
environmental sampling techniques, and any other activity as may be
appropriate.

(Y)
"Lead risk assessor" means a person who is responsible for
developing a written inspection, risk assessment, and analysis plan;
conducting inspections for lead hazards in a residential unit, child
care facility, or school; interpreting results of inspections and
risk assessments; identifying hazard control strategies to reduce or
eliminate lead exposures; and completing a risk assessment report.

(Z)
"Lead-safe residential rental unit" means a residential
rental unit that has undergone the residential rental unit lead-safe
maintenance practices described in section 3742.42 of the Revised
Code, including post-maintenance dust sampling or are registered
pursuant to division (D) of section 3742.41 of the Revised Code.

(AA)
"Manager" means a person, who may be the same person as the
owner, responsible for the daily operation of a residential unit,
child care facility, or school.

(BB)
"Permanent" means an expected design life of at least
twenty years.

(CC)

"Pre-cleaning"
means cleaning techniques conducted pursuant to regulations or
guidelines established by the United States department of housing and
urban development to capture and eliminate lead contaminants prior to
testing for possible lead contamination at a residential unit, child
care facility, or school. "Pre-cleaning" includes wet
wiping, mopping, or vacuuming.

(DD)

"Replacement"
means an activity that entails removing components such as windows,
doors, and trim that have lead hazards on their surfaces and
installing components free of lead hazards.

(DD)

(EE)

"Residential
unit" means a dwelling or any part of a building being used as
an individual's private residence. "Residential unit"
includes a residential rental unit.

(EE)

(FF)

"Residential
rental unit" means a rental property containing a dwelling or
any part of a building being used as an individual's private
residence.

(FF)

(GG)

"School"
means a public or nonpublic school in which children under six years
of age receive education.

Sec.
3742.03.
The
director of health shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119.
of the Revised Code for the administration and enforcement of
sections 3742.01 to 3742.19 and 3742.99 of the Revised Code. The
rules shall specify all of the following:

(A)
Procedures to be followed by a lead abatement contractor, lead
abatement project designer, lead abatement worker, lead inspector, or
lead risk assessor licensed under section 3742.05 of the Revised Code
for undertaking lead abatement activities and procedures to be
followed by a clearance technician, lead inspector, or lead risk
assessor in performing a clearance examination;

(B)(1)
Requirements for training and licensure, in addition to those
established under section 3742.08 of the Revised Code, to include
levels of training and periodic refresher training for each class of
worker, and to be used for licensure under section 3742.05 of the
Revised Code. Except in the case of clearance technicians, these
requirements shall include at least twenty-four classroom hours of
training based on the Occupational Safety and Health Act training
program for lead set forth in 29 C.F.R. 1926.62. For clearance
technicians, the training requirements to obtain an initial license
shall not exceed six hours and the requirements for refresher
training shall not exceed two hours every four years. In establishing
the training and licensure requirements, the director shall consider
the core of information that is needed by all licensed persons, and
establish the training requirements so that persons who would seek
licenses in more than one area would not have to take duplicative
course work.

(2)
Persons certified by the American board of industrial hygiene as a
certified industrial hygienist or as an industrial
hygienist-in-training, and persons registered as
a

an

environmental
health specialist or environmental health specialist in training
under Chapter 3776. of the Revised Code, shall be exempt from any
training requirements for initial licensure established under this
chapter, but shall be required to take any examinations for licensure
required under section 3742.05 of the Revised Code.

(C)
Fees for licenses issued under section 3742.05 of the Revised Code
and for their renewal;

(D)
Procedures to be followed by lead inspectors, lead abatement
contractors, environmental lead analytical laboratories, lead risk
assessors, lead abatement project designers, and lead abatement
workers to prevent public exposure to lead hazards and ensure worker
protection during lead abatement projects;

(E)(1)
Record-keeping and reporting requirements for clinical laboratories,
environmental lead analytical laboratories, lead inspectors, lead
abatement contractors, lead risk assessors, lead abatement project
designers, and lead abatement workers for lead abatement projects and
record-keeping and reporting requirements for clinical laboratories,
environmental lead analytical laboratories, and clearance technicians
for clearance examinations;

(2)
Record-keeping and reporting requirements regarding lead poisoning
for physicians;

(3)
Information that is required to be reported under rules based on
divisions (E)(1) and (2) of this section and that is a medical record
is not a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code and
shall not be released, except in aggregate statistical form.

(F)
Environmental sampling techniques for use in collecting samples of
air, water, dust, paint, and other materials;

(G)
Requirements for a respiratory protection plan prepared in accordance
with section 3742.07 of the Revised Code;

(H)
Requirements under which a manufacturer of encapsulants must
demonstrate evidence of the safety and durability of its encapsulants
by providing results of testing from an independent laboratory
indicating that the encapsulants meet the standards developed by the
"E06.23.30 task group on encapsulants," which is the task
group of the lead hazards associated with buildings subcommittee of
the performance of buildings committee of the American society for
testing and materials.

(I)
A certification process for authorizing the use of software in lead
abatement and lead testing conducted by persons and laboratories
licensed under this chapter. Notwithstanding any provision of section
121.95 of the Revised Code to the contrary, a regulatory restriction
contained in a rule adopted under this division is not subject to
sections 121.95 to 121.953 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
3742.39.
(A)

A
residential unit, child care facility, or school remains subject to a
lead hazard control order issued under section 3742.37 of the Revised
Code until the unit, facility, or school passes a clearance
examination. After the unit, facility, or school passes the clearance
examination, the director of health or board of health that issued
the order shall provide the owner and manager of the unit, facility,
or school with information on methods of maintaining control of each
lead hazard specified in the order. In the case of a residential unit
in which an individual who is not the owner or manager resides, the
director or board also shall provide the information to the
individual residing in the unit.

(B)
Prior to a clearance examination conducted under this chapter, a
clearance technician, lead inspector, or lead risk assessor may
conduct pre-cleaning at a residential unit, child care facility, or
school. A clearance technician, lead inspector, or lead risk assessor
may charge a fee for the performance of pre-cleaning.

Sec.
3742.47.
(A)
Any county, township, or municipal corporation that requires a person
to obtain a certification that indicates that a property is safe from
lead hazards for purposes of rental registration under the authority
of section 5321.19 of the Revised Code shall issue or deny that
certification not later than thirty days after the receipt of an
application for such certification. If a certification is denied, the
county, township, or municipal corporation shall notify the person
who is denied such certification of the denial and of the specific
components of the property that were determined to include an unsafe
lead hazard.

(B)
Any person who is denied a certification specified under division (A)
of this section may resubmit an application for certification by
resubmitting lead test results for the specific components of the
property that were previously determined to include an unsafe lead
hazard. The person may resubmit the application up to one hundred
eighty days after the county, township, or municipal corporation
denies certification.

Sec.
3742.50.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Lead abatement costs" means costs incurred by a taxpayer

or
pass-through entity
for
either of the following:

(a)
A lead abatement specialist to conduct a lead risk assessment, a lead
abatement project, or a clearance examination, provided the
specialist is authorized under this chapter to conduct the respective
task;

(b)
Relocation costs incurred in the relocation of occupants of an
eligible dwelling to achieve occupant protection, as described in 24
C.F.R. 35.1345(a).

"Lead
abatement costs" do not include such costs for which the
taxpayer is reimbursed or such costs the taxpayer deducts or excludes
in computing the taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income for federal
income tax purposes or Ohio adjusted gross income as determined under
section 5747.01 of the Revised Code.

(2)
"Eligible dwelling" means a residential unit
,
including a single unit in a multi-unit building,

constructed in this state before 1978.

(3)
"Lead abatement specialist" means an individual who holds a
valid license issued under section 3742.05 of the Revised Code

or, as used in divisions (B) to (E) of this section, a pass-through
entity that employs such an individual or is owned, directly or
indirectly, by such an individual
.

(4)
"Taxable
year"
and "taxpayer"
year,"
"taxpayer," and "pass-through entity"
have
the same meanings as in section 5747.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)
A taxpayer
who

or
pass-through entity that
incurs
lead abatement costs on an eligible dwelling during a taxable year
may apply to the director of health for a lead abatement tax credit
certificate. The
applicant
taxpayer
or entity may also assign the right to apply for a lead abatement tax
credit certificate to a lead abatement specialist in exchange for a
discount in the lead abatement costs charged by the specialist, up to
ten thousand dollars. The taxpayer or entity retains the right to
apply for a lead abatement tax certificate in the amount by which the
discount is less than ten thousand dollars.

If
the taxpayer or entity who incurs lead abatement costs is the
applicant, the

applicant

shall
list on the application the amount of lead abatement costs the
applicant incurred for the eligible dwelling during the taxable year.

The

If
a lead abatement specialist is the applicant by assignment, the
application shall include the approval of the assignment by the
taxpayer or pass-through entity that incurred the lead abatement
costs, the amount of lead abatement costs charged to that taxpayer or
entity for the specialist's services, and the amount of the discount
in lead abatement costs provided in exchange for the assignment.

The

director,
in consultation with the tax commissioner, shall prescribe the form
of a lead abatement tax credit certificate, the manner by which an
applicant shall apply for the certificate, and requirements for the
submission of any record or other information an applicant must
furnish with the application to verify the lead abatement costs.

(C)(1)
Upon receipt of an application under division (B) of this section,
the director of health shall verify all of the following:

(a)
The residential unit that is the subject of the application is an
eligible dwelling
.

;

(b)
The taxpayer
or
pass-through entity
incurred
lead abatement costs during the taxable year related to the eligible
dwelling
.

;

(c)

If
the application is filed by the lead abatement specialist, the amount
by which the specialist reduced the lead abatement costs charged to
the taxpayer or entity in exchange for the right to file the
application;

(d)

The
eligible dwelling has passed a clearance examination in accordance
with standards prescribed in rules adopted by the director under
section 3742.03 or 3742.45 of the Revised Code.

(2)
After verifying the conditions described in division (C)(1) of this
section, the director shall issue a lead abatement tax credit
certificate to the applicant equal to the lesser of

(a) the
:

(a)
The
lead
abatement costs incurred by the taxpayer
or
pass-through entity
on
the eligible dwelling during the taxable year,
(b)
the
if
the taxpayer or entity is the applicant, or the amount of the
discount in lead abatement costs charged to the taxpayer, if the lead
abatement specialist is the applicant;

(b)
The
amount
of lead abatement costs
or
discount
listed
on the application
,
or (c) ten
;

(c)
Ten
thousand
dollars, subject to the limitation in division (C)(3) of this
section.

The
amount of credit awarded on the basis of an eligible dwelling may not
exceed ten thousand dollars for any taxable year.

(3)

The

In
any fiscal year, the
director
may not issue more than five million dollars
,
plus the amount of funds transferred to the general revenue fund in
the previous fiscal year pursuant to division (F) of section 5747.504
of the Revised Code,

in lead abatement tax credit certificates

in any fiscal year
.

(D)
The director of health, in consultation with the tax commissioner,
may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code
as necessary for the administration of this section.

(E)
Assignment of the right to apply for a lead abatement tax credit
certificate under division (B) of this section is a consumer
transaction for the purposes of sections 1345.01 to 1345.13 of the
Revised Code. The lead abatement specialist is the supplier and the
taxpayer or pass-through entity is the consumer for purposes of those
sections.

Sec.
5747.08.
An
annual return with respect to the tax imposed by section 5747.02 of
the Revised Code and each tax imposed under Chapter 5748. of the
Revised Code shall be made by every taxpayer for any taxable year for
which the taxpayer is liable for the tax imposed by that section or
under that chapter, unless the total credits allowed under division
(E) of section 5747.05 and divisions (F) and (G) of section 5747.055
of the Revised Code for the year are equal to or exceed the tax
imposed by section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, in which case no
return shall be required unless the taxpayer is liable for a tax
imposed pursuant to Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code.

(A)
If an individual is deceased, any return or notice required of that
individual under this chapter shall be made and filed by that
decedent's executor, administrator, or other person charged with the
property of that decedent.

(B)
If an individual is unable to make a return or notice required by
this chapter, the return or notice required of that individual shall
be made and filed by the individual's duly authorized agent,
guardian, conservator, fiduciary, or other person charged with the
care of the person or property of that individual.

(C)
Returns or notices required of an estate or a trust shall be made and
filed by the fiduciary of the estate or trust.

(D)(1)(a)
Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(1)(b) of this section,
any pass-through entity may file a single return on behalf of one or
more of the entity's investors other than an investor that is a
person subject to the tax imposed under section 5733.06 of the
Revised Code. The single return shall set forth the name, address,
and social security number or other identifying number of each of
those pass-through entity investors and shall indicate the
distributive share of each of those pass-through entity investor's
income taxable in this state in accordance with sections 5747.20 to
5747.231 of the Revised Code. Such pass-through entity investors for
whom the pass-through entity elects to file a single return are not
entitled to the exemption or credit provided for by sections 5747.02
and 5747.022 of the Revised Code; shall calculate the tax before
business credits at the highest rate of tax set forth in section
5747.02 of the Revised Code for the taxable year for which the return
is filed; and are entitled to only their distributive share of the
business credits as defined in division (D)(2) of this section. A
single check drawn by the pass-through entity shall accompany the
return in full payment of the tax due, as shown on the single return,
for such investors, other than investors who are persons subject to
the tax imposed under section 5733.06 of the Revised Code.

(b)(i)
A pass-through entity shall not include in such a single return any
investor that is a trust to the extent that any direct or indirect
current, future, or contingent beneficiary of the trust is a person
subject to the tax imposed under section 5733.06 of the Revised Code.

(ii)
A pass-through entity shall not include in such a single return any
investor that is itself a pass-through entity to the extent that any
direct or indirect investor in the second pass-through entity is a
person subject to the tax imposed under section 5733.06 of the
Revised Code.

(c)
Except as provided by division (L) of this section, nothing in
division (D) of this section precludes the tax commissioner from
requiring such investors to file the return and make the payment of
taxes and related interest, penalty, and interest penalty required by
this section or section 5747.02, 5747.09, or 5747.15 of the Revised
Code. Nothing in division (D) of this section precludes such an
investor from filing the annual return under this section, utilizing
the refundable credit equal to the investor's proportionate share of
the tax paid by the pass-through entity on behalf of the investor
under division (I) of this section, and making the payment of taxes
imposed under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code. Nothing in
division (D) of this section shall be construed to provide to such an
investor or pass-through entity any additional deduction or credit,
other than the credit provided by division (I) of this section,
solely on account of the entity's filing a return in accordance with
this section. Such a pass-through entity also shall make the filing
and payment of estimated taxes on behalf of the pass-through entity
investors other than an investor that is a person subject to the tax
imposed under section 5733.06 of the Revised Code.

(2)
For the purposes of this section, "business credits" means
the credits listed in section 5747.98 of the Revised Code excluding
the following credits:

(a)
The retirement income credit under division (B) of section 5747.055
of the Revised Code;

(b)
The senior citizen credit under division (F) of section 5747.055 of
the Revised Code;

(c)
The lump sum distribution credit under division (G) of section
5747.055 of the Revised Code;

(d)
The dependent care credit under section 5747.054 of the Revised Code;

(e)
The lump sum retirement income credit under division (C) of section
5747.055 of the Revised Code;

(f)
The lump sum retirement income credit under division (D) of section
5747.055 of the Revised Code;

(g)
The lump sum retirement income credit under division (E) of section
5747.055 of the Revised Code;

(h)
The credit for displaced workers who pay for job training under
section 5747.27 of the Revised Code;

(i)
The twenty-dollar personal exemption credit under section 5747.022 of
the Revised Code;

(j)
The joint filing credit under division (E) of section 5747.05 of the
Revised Code;

(k)
The nonresident credit under division (A) of section 5747.05 of the
Revised Code;

(l)
The credit for a resident's out-of-state income under division (B) of
section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

(m)
The earned income tax credit under section 5747.71 of the Revised
Code;

(n)

The
lead abatement credit under section 5747.26 of the Revised Code;

(o)

The
credit for education expenses under section 5747.72 of the Revised
Code;

(p)

(o)

The
credit for tuition paid to a nonchartered nonpublic school under
section 5747.75 of the Revised Code.

(3)
The election provided for under division (D) of this section applies
only to the taxable year for which the election is made by the
pass-through entity. Unless the tax commissioner provides otherwise,
this election, once made, is binding and irrevocable for the taxable
year for which the election is made. Nothing in this division shall
be construed to provide for any deduction or credit that would not be
allowable if a nonresident pass-through entity investor were to file
an annual return.

(4)
If a pass-through entity makes the election provided for under
division (D) of this section, the pass-through entity shall be liable
for any additional taxes, interest, interest penalty, or penalties
imposed by this chapter if the tax commissioner finds that the single
return does not reflect the correct tax due by the pass-through
entity investors covered by that return. Nothing in this division
shall be construed to limit or alter the liability, if any, imposed
on pass-through entity investors for unpaid or underpaid taxes,
interest, interest penalty, or penalties as a result of the
pass-through entity's making the election provided for under division
(D) of this section. For the purposes of division (D) of this
section, "correct tax due" means the tax that would have
been paid by the pass-through entity had the single return been filed
in a manner reflecting the commissioner's findings. Nothing in
division (D) of this section shall be construed to make or hold a
pass-through entity liable for tax attributable to a pass-through
entity investor's income from a source other than the pass-through
entity electing to file the single return.

(E)
If a husband and wife file a joint federal income tax return for a
taxable year, they shall file a joint return under this section for
that taxable year, and their liabilities are joint and several, but,
if the federal income tax liability of either spouse is determined on
a separate federal income tax return, they shall file separate
returns under this section.

If
either spouse is not required to file a federal income tax return and
either or both are required to file a return pursuant to this
chapter, they may elect to file separate or joint returns, and,
pursuant to that election, their liabilities are separate or joint
and several. If a husband and wife file separate returns pursuant to
this chapter, each must claim the taxpayer's own exemption, but not
both, as authorized under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code on the
taxpayer's own return.

(F)
Each return or notice required to be filed under this section shall
contain the signature of the taxpayer or the taxpayer's duly
authorized agent and of the person who prepared the return for the
taxpayer, and shall include the taxpayer's social security number.
Each return shall be verified by a declaration under the penalties of
perjury. The tax commissioner shall prescribe the form that the
signature and declaration shall take.

(G)
Each return or notice required to be filed under this section shall
be made and filed as required by section 5747.04 of the Revised Code,
on or before the fifteenth day of April of each year, on forms that
the tax commissioner shall prescribe, together with remittance made
payable to the treasurer of state in the combined amount of the state
and all school district income taxes shown to be due on the form.

Upon
good cause shown, the commissioner may extend the period for filing
any notice or return required to be filed under this section and may
adopt rules relating to extensions. If the extension results in an
extension of time for the payment of any state or school district
income tax liability with respect to which the return is filed, the
taxpayer shall pay at the time the tax liability is paid an amount of
interest computed at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47
of the Revised Code on that liability from the time that payment is
due without extension to the time of actual payment. Except as
provided in section 5747.132 of the Revised Code, in addition to all
other interest charges and penalties, all taxes imposed under this
chapter or Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code and remaining unpaid
after they become due, except combined amounts due of one dollar or
less, bear interest at the rate per annum prescribed by section
5703.47 of the Revised Code until paid or until the day an assessment
is issued under section 5747.13 of the Revised Code, whichever occurs
first.

If
the commissioner considers it necessary in order to ensure the
payment of the tax imposed by section 5747.02 of the Revised Code or
any tax imposed under Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code, the
commissioner may require returns and payments to be made otherwise
than as provided in this section.

To
the extent that any provision in this division conflicts with any
provision in section 5747.026 of the Revised Code, the provision in
that section prevails.

(H)
The amounts withheld pursuant to section 5747.06, 5747.062, 5747.063,
5747.064, 5747.065, or 5747.071 of the Revised Code shall be allowed
to the ultimate recipient of the income as credits against payment of
the appropriate taxes imposed on the ultimate recipient by section
5747.02 and under Chapter 5748. of the Revised Code. As used in this
division, "ultimate recipient" means the person who is
required to report income from which amounts are withheld pursuant to
section 5747.06, 5747.062, 5747.063, 5747.064, 5747.065, or 5747.071
of the Revised Code on the annual return required to be filed under
this section.

(I)
If a pass-through entity elects to file a single return under
division (D) of this section and if any investor is required to file
the annual return and make the payment of taxes required by this
chapter on account of the investor's other income that is not
included in a single return filed by a pass-through entity or any
other investor elects to file the annual return, the investor is
entitled to a refundable credit equal to the investor's proportionate
share of the tax paid by the pass-through entity on behalf of the
investor. The investor shall claim the credit for the investor's
taxable year in which or with which ends the taxable year of the
pass-through entity. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to
allow any credit provided in this chapter to be claimed more than
once. For the purpose of computing any interest, penalty, or interest
penalty, the investor shall be deemed to have paid the refundable
credit provided by this division on the day that the pass-through
entity paid the estimated tax or the tax giving rise to the credit.

(J)
The tax commissioner shall ensure that each return required to be
filed under this section includes a box that the taxpayer may check
to authorize a paid tax preparer who prepared the return to
communicate with the department of taxation about matters pertaining
to the return. The return or instructions accompanying the return
shall indicate that by checking the box the taxpayer authorizes the
department of taxation to contact the preparer concerning questions
that arise during the processing of the return and authorizes the
preparer only to provide the department with information that is
missing from the return, to contact the department for information
about the processing of the return or the status of the taxpayer's
refund or payments, and to respond to notices about mathematical
errors, offsets, or return preparation that the taxpayer has received
from the department and has shown to the preparer.

(K)
The tax commissioner shall permit individual taxpayers to instruct
the department of taxation to cause any refund of overpaid taxes to
be deposited directly into a checking account, savings account, or an
individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity, or
preexisting college savings plan or program account offered by the
Ohio tuition trust authority under Chapter 3334. of the Revised Code,
as designated by the taxpayer, when the taxpayer files the annual
return required by this section electronically.

(L)
If, for the taxable year, a nonresident or trust that is the owner of
an electing pass-through entity, as defined in section 5747.38 of the
Revised Code, does not have Ohio adjusted gross income or, in the
case of a trust, modified Ohio taxable income other than from one or
more electing pass-through entities, the nonresident or trust shall
not be required to file an annual return under this section. Nothing
in this division precludes such an owner from filing the annual
return under this section, utilizing the refundable credit under
section 5747.39 of the Revised Code equal to the owner's
proportionate share of the tax levied under section 5747.38 of the
Revised Code and paid by the electing pass-through entity, and making
the payment of taxes imposed under section 5747.02 of the Revised
Code.

(M)
The tax commissioner may adopt rules to administer this section.

Sec.
5747.26.
(A)
Terms used in this section have the same meanings as in section
3742.50 of the Revised Code.

(B)
There is hereby allowed a
nonrefundable

refundable

credit
against a taxpayer's aggregate tax liability under section 5747.02 of
the Revised Code for a taxpayer to whom a lead abatement tax credit
certificate was issued under section 3742.50 of the Revised Code. The
credit equals the amount listed on the certificate and shall be
claimed for the taxable year in which the certificate was issued.

The
credit shall be claimed in the order required under section 5747.98
of the Revised Code. If the credit exceeds the taxpayer's aggregate
tax due under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code for that taxable
year after allowing for credits that precede the credit under this
section in that order, such excess shall be
allowed
as a credit in each of the ensuing seven taxable years, but the
amount of any excess credit allowed in any such taxable year shall be
deducted from the balance carried forward to the ensuing taxable
year
refunded
to the taxpayer
.

(C)

The

If
a lead abatement tax credit certificate is issued under section
3742.50 of the Revised Code to a pass-through entity, a taxpayer that
is a direct or indirect investor in the entity may claim the
taxpayer's proportionate or distributive share of the credit
authorized under division (B) of this section.

(D)
A
taxpayer
shall provide, upon request of the tax commissioner, any
documentation necessary to verify the taxpayer is entitled to the
credit under this section.

Sec.
5747.50.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"County's proportionate share of the calendar year 2007 LGF and
LGRAF distributions" means the percentage computed for the
county under division (B)(1)(a) of section 5747.501 of the Revised
Code.

(2)
"County's proportionate share of the total amount of the local
government fund additional revenue formula" means each county's
proportionate share of the state's population as determined for and
certified to the county for distributions to be made during the
current calendar year under division (B)(2)(a) of section 5747.501 of
the Revised Code. If prior to the first day of January of the current
calendar year the federal government has issued a revision to the
population figures reflected in the estimate produced pursuant to
division (B)(2)(a) of section 5747.501 of the Revised Code, such
revised population figures shall be used for making the distributions
during the current calendar year.

(3)
"2007 LGF and LGRAF county distribution base available in that
month" means the lesser of the amounts described in division
(A)(3)(a) and (b) of this section, provided that the amount shall not
be less than zero:

(a)
The total amount available for distribution to counties from the
local government fund during the current month.

(b)
The total amount distributed to counties from the local government
fund and the local government revenue assistance fund to counties in
calendar year 2007 less the total amount distributed to counties
under division (B)(1) of this section during previous months of the
current calendar year.

(4)
"Local government fund additional revenue distribution base
available during that month" means the total amount available
for distribution to counties during the month from the local
government fund, less any amounts to be distributed in that month
from the local government fund under division (B)(1) of this section,
provided that the local government fund additional revenue
distribution base available during that month shall not be less than
zero.

(5)
"Total amount available for distribution to counties" means
the total amount available for distribution from the local government
fund during the current month less the total amount available for
distribution to municipal corporations during the current month under
division (C) of this section.

(B)
On or before the tenth day of each month, the tax commissioner shall
provide for payment to each county an amount equal to the sum of:

(1)
The county's proportionate share of the calendar year 2007 LGF and
LGRAF distributions multiplied by the 2007 LGF and LGRAF county
distribution base available in that month, provided that if the 2007
LGF and LGRAF county distribution base available in that month is
zero, no payment shall be made under division (B)(1) of this section
for the month or the remainder of the calendar year; and

(2)
The county's proportionate share of the total amount of the local
government fund additional revenue formula multiplied by the local
government fund additional revenue distribution base available during
that month.

Money
received into the treasury of a county under this division shall be
credited to the undivided local government fund in the treasury of
the county on or before the fifteenth day of each month. On or before
the twentieth day of each month, the county auditor shall issue
warrants against all of the undivided local government fund in the
county treasury in the respective amounts allowed as provided in
section 5747.51 of the Revised Code, and the treasurer shall
distribute and pay such sums to the subdivision therein.

(C)(1)
As used in division (C) of this section:

(a)
"Total amount available for distribution to municipalities
during the current month" means the difference obtained by
subtracting one million dollars from the product obtained by
multiplying the total amount available for distribution from the
local government fund during the current month by the aggregate
municipal share.

(b)
"Aggregate municipal share" means the quotient obtained by
dividing the total amount distributed directly from the local
government fund to municipal corporations during calendar year 2007
by the total distributions from the local government fund and local
government revenue assistance fund during calendar year 2007.

(c)
A municipal corporation's "distribution share" equals one
of the following:

(i)
For municipal corporations with a population of more than fifty
thousand, fifty thousand;

(ii)
For municipal corporations with a population of less than one
thousand, zero;

(iii)
For all other municipal corporations, the municipal corporation's
population.

(d)
A municipal corporation's "distribution percentage" equals
the percentage that a municipal corporation's distribution share is
of the total of all municipal corporations' distribution shares.

(2)
On or before the tenth day of each month, the tax commissioner shall
provide for payment from the local government fund to each municipal
corporation an amount equal to the product derived by multiplying the
municipal corporation's distribution percentage by the total amount
available for distribution to municipal corporations during the
current month.

(3)
Payments received by a municipal corporation under this division
shall be paid into its general fund and may be used for any lawful
purpose.

(4)
The amount distributed to municipal corporations under this division
during any calendar year shall not exceed the amount distributed
directly from the local government fund to municipal corporations
during calendar year 2007. If that maximum amount is reached during
any month, distributions to municipal corporations in that month
shall be as provided in divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section, but
no further distributions shall be made to municipal corporations
under division (C) of this section during the remainder of the
calendar year.

(5)
Upon being informed of a municipal corporation's dissolution, the tax
commissioner shall cease providing for payments to that municipal
corporation under division (C) of this section. The proportionate
shares of the total amount available for distribution to each of the
remaining municipal corporations under this division shall be
increased on a pro rata basis.

The
tax commissioner shall reduce payments under division (C) of this
section to municipal corporations for which reduced payments are
required under section 5747.502
or
5747.504
of
the Revised Code.

(D)
Each municipal corporation which has in effect a tax imposed under
Chapter 718. of the Revised Code shall, no later than the
thirty-first day of August of each year, certify to the tax
commissioner, on a form prescribed by the commissioner, the amount of
income tax revenue collected and refunded by such municipal
corporation pursuant to such chapter during the preceding calendar
year, arranged, when possible, by the type of income from which the
revenue was collected or the refund was issued. The municipal
corporation shall also report the amount of income tax revenue
collected and refunded on behalf of a joint economic development
district or a joint economic development zone that levies an income
tax administered by the municipal corporation and the amount of such
revenue distributed to contracting parties during the preceding
calendar year. The tax commissioner may withhold payment of local
government fund moneys pursuant to division (C) of this section from
any municipal corporation for failure to comply with this reporting
requirement.

(E)(1)
For the purposes of division (E) of this section:

(a)
"Eligible taxing district" means a township, township fire
district, or joint fire district for which the total taxable value of
eligible power plants for tax year 2017 is at least thirty per cent
less than the total taxable value of eligible power plants for tax
year 2016.

(b)
"Eligible power plant" means a power plant that is subject
to the requirements of 10 C.F.R. part 73.

(c)
"Total taxable value of eligible power plants" of an
eligible taxing district means the total taxable value of the taxable
property of eligible power plants apportioned to the district as
shown in a preliminary assessment or amended preliminary assessment
and listed on the tax list of real and public utility property.

(d)
"Taxable property" has the same meaning as in section
5727.01 of the Revised Code.

(e)
"Tax rate" of an eligible taxing district means one of the
following:

(i)
For townships, the sum of the rates of levies imposed under section
505.39, 505.51, or division (I), (J), (U), or (JJ) of section 5705.19
of the Revised Code and extended on the tax list of real and public
utility property for tax year 2017, excluding any levy imposed at
whatever rate is required to raise a fixed sum of money;

(ii)
For township fire districts and joint fire districts, the sum of the
rates of levies extended on the tax list of real and public utility
property for tax year 2017, excluding any levy imposed at whatever
rate is required to raise a fixed sum of money.

(2)
Each fiscal year from fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2028, the
tax commissioner shall compute the following amount for each eligible
taxing district:

(a)
For fiscal years 2018 and 2019, the amount obtained by multiplying
the eligible taxing district's tax rate by the difference obtained by
subtracting (i) the total taxable value of eligible power plants of
the district for tax year 2017 from (ii) the total taxable value of
eligible power plants of the district for tax year 2016;

(b)
For fiscal years 2020 through 2028, ninety per cent of the amount
calculated for the district under division (E)(2)(a) or (b) of this
section for the preceding fiscal year.

The
commissioner shall certify the sum of the amounts calculated for all
eligible taxing districts under this division for a fiscal year to
the director of budget and management who, on or before the seventh
day of each month of that fiscal year, shall transfer from the
general revenue fund to the local government fund one-twelfth of the
amount certified.

(3)
On or before the tenth day of each month, the tax commissioner shall
provide for payment to each county treasury in which an eligible
taxing district is located an amount equal to one-twelfth of the
amount computed for the district for that fiscal year under division
(E)(2) of this section.

Money
received into the treasury of a county under division (E) of this
section shall be credited to the undivided local government fund in
the treasury of the county on or before the fifteenth day of each
month. On or before the twentieth day of each month, the county
auditor shall issue warrants against the undivided local government
fund for the amounts attributable to each eligible taxing district,
and the treasurer shall distribute and pay such amounts to each
eligible taxing district. Money received by a township fire district
or joint fire district under this division shall be credited to the
district's general fund and may be used for any lawful purpose of the
district. Money received by a township under this division shall be
credited to the township's general fund and shall be used for the
purpose of funding fire, police, emergency medical, or ambulance
services.

Sec.
5747.502.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Local authority" and "traffic law photo-monitoring
device" have the same meanings as in section 4511.092 of the
Revised Code.

(2)
"School zone" has the same meaning as in section 4511.21 of
the Revised Code.

(3)
"Transportation district" means a territorial district
established by the director of transportation under section 5501.14
of the Revised Code.

(4)
"District deputy director" means the person appointed and
assigned by the director of transportation under section 5501.14 of
the Revised Code to administer the activities of a transportation
district.

(5)
"Gross amount" means the entire amount of traffic camera
fines and fees paid by a driver.

(6)
"
Local
government fund adjustment" or "LGF
Traffic
camera
adjustment"
means the sum of:

(a)
The gross amount of all traffic camera fines collected by a local
authority during the preceding fiscal year, as reported under
division (B)(1) of this section, if such a report is required; plus

(b)
The residual
traffic
camera
adjustment
computed for the local authority under division (B)(4) of this
section, if such an adjustment applies.

(7)
"Local government fund payments" or "LGF payments"
means the payments a local authority would receive under sections

5747.502
5747.503
,
5747.51, and 5747.53, and division (C) of section 5747.50 of the
Revised Code, as applicable, if not for the reductions required by
divisions (C) and (D) of this section.

(8)
"Residual
traffic
camera
adjustment"
means the most recent
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
computed for a local authority under division (B)(2) or (3) of this
section minus the sum of the reductions applied after that
computation under division (C) of this section to the local
authority's LGF payments.

(9)
"Traffic camera fines" means civil fines for any violation
of any local ordinance or resolution that are based upon evidence
recorded by a traffic law photo-monitoring device.

(10)
"Qualifying village" has the same meaning as in section
5747.503 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1)
Annually, on or before the thirty-first day of July, any local
authority that directly or indirectly collected traffic camera fines
during the preceding fiscal year shall file a report with the tax
commissioner that includes a detailed statement of the gross amount
of all traffic camera fines the local authority collected during that
period and the gross amount of such fines that the local authority
collected for violations that occurred within a school zone.

(2)
Annually, on or before the tenth day of August, the commissioner
shall compute a
local
government fund
traffic
camera
adjustment
for each local authority that files a report under division (B)(1) of
this section or with respect to which a residual
traffic
camera
adjustment
applies. Subject to division (B)(3) of this section, the
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
shall be used by the commissioner to determine the amount of the
reductions required under division (C) of this section for each of
the next twelve months, starting with the month in which the
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
is computed. After those twelve months, the
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
ceases to apply and, if
an
LGF
a
traffic camera
adjustment
continues to be required, the amount of the reductions required under
division (C) of this section shall be determined based on an updated

LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
computed under this division.

(3)
Upon receipt of a report described by division (B)(1) of this section
that is not timely filed, the commissioner shall do both of the
following:

(a)
If one or more payments to the local authority has been withheld
under division (D) of this section because of the local authority's
failure to file the report, notify the county auditor and county
treasurer of the appropriate county that the report has been received
and that, subject to division (C) of this section, payments to the
local authority from the undivided local government fund are to
resume.

(b)
Compute the local authority's
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
using the information in the report.
An
LGF
A
traffic camera
adjustment
computed under this division shall be used by the commissioner to
determine the amount of the reductions required under division (C) of
this section starting with the next required reduction. The
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
ceases to apply on the thirty-first day of the ensuing July,
following which, if
an
LGF
a
traffic camera
adjustment
continues to be required, the amount of the reductions required under
division (C) of this section shall be determined based on an updated

LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
computed under division (B)(2) of this section.

(4)
Annually, on or before the tenth day of August, the commissioner
shall compute a residual
traffic
camera
adjustment
for each local authority whose
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
for the preceding year exceeds the amount by which the local
authority's LGF payments were reduced during that year under division
(C) of this section. The residual
traffic
camera
adjustment
shall be used to compute the
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
for the ensuing year under division (B)(2) of this section.

(C)
The commissioner shall do the following, as applicable, respecting
any local authority to which
an
LGF
a
traffic camera
adjustment

computed
under division (B) of this section
applies:

(1)
If the local authority is a municipal corporation with a population
of one thousand or more, reduce payments to the municipal corporation
under division (C) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by
one-twelfth of the
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment.
If one-twelfth of the
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
exceeds the amount of money the municipal corporation would otherwise
receive under division (C) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code,
the commissioner also shall reduce payments to the appropriate county
undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50
of the Revised Code by an amount equal to the lesser of (a)
one-twelfth of the excess, or (b) the amount of the payment the
municipal corporation would otherwise receive from the fund under
section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised Code.

(2)
If the local authority is a township or qualifying village, reduce
the supplemental payments to the appropriate county undivided local
government fund under section 5747.503 of the Revised Code by the
lesser of one-twelfth of the
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment,
or the amount of money the township or qualifying village would
otherwise receive under that section. If one-twelfth of the
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment
exceeds the amount of money the township or qualifying village would
otherwise receive under section 5747.503 of the Revised Code, the
commissioner also shall reduce payments to the appropriate county
undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50
of the Revised Code by an amount equal to the lesser of (a)
one-twelfth of the excess, or (b) the amount of the payment the
township or qualifying village would otherwise receive from the fund
under section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised Code.

(3)
If the local authority is a county, reduce payments to the
appropriate county undivided local government fund under division (B)
of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by an amount equal to the
lesser of (a) one-twelfth of the
LGF

traffic
camera
adjustment,
or (b) the amount of the payment the county would otherwise receive
from the fund under section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised Code.

(4)
For any local authority, on or before the tenth day of each month a
reduction is made under division (C)(1), (2), or (3) of this section,
make a payment to the local authority in an amount equal to the
lesser of (a) one-twelfth of the gross amount of traffic camera fines
the local authority collected in the preceding fiscal year for
violations that occurred within a school zone, as indicated on the
report filed by the local authority pursuant to division (B)(1) of
this section, or (b) the amount by which the local authority's LGF
payments were reduced that month pursuant to division (C)(1), (2), or
(3) of this section. Payments received by a local authority under
this division shall be used by the local authority for school safety
purposes.

(D)
Upon discovery, based on information in the commissioner's
possession, that a local authority required to file a report under
division (B)(1) of this section has failed to do so, the commissioner
shall do the following, as applicable:

(1)
If the local authority is a municipal corporation with a population
of one thousand or more, cease providing for payments to the
municipal corporation under section 5747.50 of the Revised Code
beginning with the next required payment and until such time as the
report is received by the commissioner;

(2)
If the local authority is a township or qualifying village, reduce
the supplemental payments to the appropriate county undivided local
government fund under section 5747.503 of the Revised Code by an
amount equal to the amount of such payments the local authority would
otherwise receive under that section, beginning with the next
required payment and until such time as the report is received by the
commissioner;

(3)
For any local authority, reduce payments to the appropriate county
undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50
of the Revised Code by an amount equal to the amount of such payments
the local authority would otherwise receive under section 5747.51 or
5747.53 of the Revised Code, beginning with the next required payment
and until such time as the report is received by the commissioner;

(4)
For any local authority, notify the county auditor and county
treasurer that such payments are to cease until the commissioner
notifies the auditor and treasurer under division (E) of this section
that the payments are to resume.

(E)
The commissioner shall notify the county auditor and county treasurer
on or before the day the commissioner first reduces a county
undivided local government fund payment to that county under division
(C) of this section. The notice shall include the full amount of the
reduction, a list of the local authorities to which the reduction
applies, and the amount of reduction attributed to each such local
authority. The commissioner shall send an updated notice to the
county auditor and county treasurer any time the amount the reduction
attributed to any local authority changes.

A
county treasurer that receives a notice from the commissioner under
this division or division (B)(3)(a) or (D)(4) of this section shall
reduce, cease, or resume payments from the undivided local government
fund to the local authority that is the subject of the notice as
specified by the commissioner in the notice. Unless otherwise
specified in the notice, the payments shall be reduced, ceased, or
resumed beginning with the next required payment.

(F)
There is hereby created in the state treasury the Ohio highway and
transportation safety fund. On or before the tenth day of each month,
the commissioner shall deposit in the fund an amount equal to the
total amount by which payments to local authorities were reduced or
ceased under division (C) or (D) of this section minus the total
amount of payments made under division (C)(4) of this section. The
amount deposited with respect to a local authority shall be credited
to an account to be created in the fund for the transportation
district in which that local authority is located. If the local
authority is located within more than one transportation district,
the amount credited to the account of each such transportation
district shall be prorated on the basis of the number of centerline
miles of public roads and highways in both the local authority and
the respective districts. Amounts credited to a transportation
district's account shall be used by the department of transportation
and the district deputy director exclusively to enhance public safety
on public roads and highways within that transportation district.

Sec.
5747.504.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Lead certification delay adjustment" means ten per cent of
a local authority's local government fund payment for a month.

(2)
"Local authority" has the same meaning as in section
5747.502 of the Revised Code.

(3)
"Local government fund payments" or "LGF payments"
means the payments a local authority would receive each month under
sections 5747.503, 5747.51, and 5747.53, and division (C) of section
5747.50 of the Revised Code, as applicable, if not for the reductions
required by this section, but subject to any reduction under section
5747.502 of the Revised Code for that month.

(4)
"Qualifying village" has the same meaning as in section
5747.503 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1)
On or before the tenth day of each month that begins after the
effective date of this section, the tax commissioner shall compute a
lead certification delay adjustment for each local authority to which
both of the following apply on or after that effective date:

(a)
The legislative authority of the local authority adopts or has in
effect an ordinance or resolution that requires a person to obtain a
certification that indicates that a property is safe from lead
hazards for purposes of rental registration under the authority of
section 5321.19 of the Revised Code;

(b)
In the current fiscal year, the tax commissioner has received and
verified fifty or more notices, on forms prescribed by the
commissioner, describing individual instances in which the local
authority failed to comply with division (A) of section 3742.47 of
the Revised Code.

(2)
On or before the tenth day of each month that begins after the
effective date of this section, the tax commissioner shall compute an
additional lead certification delay adjustment for each local
authority for which an adjustment has been calculated pursuant to
division (B)(1) of this section and for which the tax commissioner
receives and verifies an additional four hundred fifty notices above
the fifty notices of the type described in that division during the
same fiscal year the initial adjustment was calculated.

The
commissioner shall subtract the lead certification delay adjustment
or adjustments from the local authority's LGF payments as described
in divisions (C) and (D) of this section.

(C)(1)
If the local authority is a municipal corporation with a population
of one thousand or more, the commissioner shall first reduce payments
to the municipal corporation under division (C) of section 5747.50 of
the Revised Code by the lesser of any lead certification delay
adjustment amounts or the amount the municipal corporation would
otherwise receive under that division. If the amount of any lead
certification delay adjustments exceeds the amount of money the
municipal corporation would otherwise receive under division (C) of
section 5747.50 of the Revised Code, the commissioner also shall
reduce payments to the appropriate county undivided local government
fund under division (B) of section 5747.50 of the Revised Code by the
excess lead certification delay adjustments.

(2)
If the local authority is a qualifying village, the commissioner
shall first reduce supplemental payments to the appropriate county
undivided local government fund under section 5747.503 of the Revised
Code by the lesser of any lead certification delay adjustments, or
the amount of money the qualifying village would otherwise receive
under that section. If the amount of any lead certification delay
adjustments exceeds the amount of money the qualifying village would
otherwise receive under section 5747.503 of the Revised Code, the
commissioner also shall reduce payments to the appropriate county
undivided local government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50
of the Revised Code by the excess lead certification delay
adjustments.

(3)
If the local authority is a county or township, the commissioner
shall reduce payments to the appropriate county undivided local
government fund under division (B) of section 5747.50 of the Revised
Code by the amount of all lead certification delay adjustments.

(D)
A reduction under division (C) of this section shall begin to apply
for the first LGF payment the local authority receives after the
commissioner computes a lead certification delay adjustment and
continue until and include the last LGF payment in the fiscal year in
which the the adjustment was computed.

(E)
The commissioner shall notify the county auditor and county treasurer
on or before the day the commissioner first reduces a county
undivided local government fund payment to that county under division
(C) of this section. The notice shall include the full amount of the
reduction, a list of the local authorities to which the reduction
applies, and the amount of reduction attributed to each such local
authority. The commissioner shall send an updated notice to the
county auditor and county treasurer any time the amount the reduction
attributed to any local authority changes or ceases.

A
county treasurer that receives a notice from the commissioner under
this division shall reduce, cease, or resume payments from the
undivided local government fund to the local authority that is the
subject of the notice as specified by the commissioner in the notice.
Unless otherwise specified in the notice, the payments shall be
reduced, ceased, or resumed beginning with the next required payment.

(F)
On or before the tenth day of each month, the commissioner shall
transfer from the local government fund to the general revenue fund
the sum of the payments withheld that month under division (C) of
this section.

Sec.
5747.51.
(A)
On or before the twenty-fifth day of July of each year, the tax
commissioner shall make and certify to the county auditor of each
county an estimate of the amount of the local government fund to be
allocated to the undivided local government fund of each county for
the ensuing calendar year, adjusting the total as required to account
for subdivisions receiving local government funds under section
5747.502 of the Revised Code.

(B)
At each annual regular session of the county budget commission
convened pursuant to section 5705.27 of the Revised Code, each
auditor shall present to the commission the certificate of the
commissioner, the annual tax budget and estimates, and the records
showing the action of the commission in its last preceding regular
session. The commission, after extending to the representatives of
each subdivision an opportunity to be heard, under oath administered
by any member of the commission, and considering all the facts and
information presented to it by the auditor, shall determine the
amount of the undivided local government fund needed by and to be
apportioned to each subdivision for current operating expenses, as
shown in the tax budget of the subdivision. This determination shall
be made pursuant to divisions (C) to (I) of this section, unless the
commission has provided for a formula pursuant to section 5747.53 of
the Revised Code. The commissioner shall reduce the amount of funds
from the undivided local government fund to a subdivision required to
receive reduced funds under section 5747.502
or
5747.504
of
the Revised Code.

Nothing
in this section prevents the budget commission, for the purpose of
apportioning the undivided local government fund, from inquiring into
the claimed needs of any subdivision as stated in its tax budget, or
from adjusting claimed needs to reflect actual needs. For the
purposes of this section, "current operating expenses"
means the lawful expenditures of a subdivision, except those for
permanent improvements and except payments for interest, sinking
fund, and retirement of bonds, notes, and certificates of
indebtedness of the subdivision.

(C)
The commission shall determine the combined total of the estimated
expenditures, including transfers, from the general fund and any
special funds other than special funds established for road and
bridge; street construction, maintenance, and repair; state highway
improvement; and gas, water, sewer, and electric public utilities
operated by a subdivision, as shown in the subdivision's tax budget
for the ensuing calendar year.

(D)
From the combined total of expenditures calculated pursuant to
division (C) of this section, the commission shall deduct the
following expenditures, if included in these funds in the tax budget:

(1)
Expenditures for permanent improvements as defined in division (E) of
section 5705.01 of the Revised Code;

(2)
In the case of counties and townships, transfers to the road and
bridge fund, and in the case of municipalities, transfers to the
street construction, maintenance, and repair fund and the state
highway improvement fund;

(3)
Expenditures for the payment of debt charges;

(4)
Expenditures for the payment of judgments.

(E)
In addition to the deductions made pursuant to division (D) of this
section, revenues accruing to the general fund and any special fund
considered under division (C) of this section from the following
sources shall be deducted from the combined total of expenditures
calculated pursuant to division (C) of this section:

(1)
Taxes levied within the ten-mill limitation, as defined in section
5705.02 of the Revised Code;

(2)
The budget commission allocation of estimated county public library
fund revenues to be distributed pursuant to section 5747.48 of the
Revised Code;

(3)
Estimated unencumbered balances as shown on the tax budget as of the
thirty-first day of December of the current year in the general fund,
but not any estimated balance in any special fund considered in
division (C) of this section;

(4)
Revenue, including transfers, shown in the general fund and any
special funds other than special funds established for road and
bridge; street construction, maintenance, and repair; state highway
improvement; and gas, water, sewer, and electric public utilities,
from all other sources except those that a subdivision receives from
an additional tax or service charge voted by its electorate or
receives from special assessment or revenue bond collection. For the
purposes of this division, where the charter of a municipal
corporation prohibits the levy of an income tax, an income tax levied
by the legislative authority of such municipal corporation pursuant
to an amendment of the charter of that municipal corporation to
authorize such a levy represents an additional tax voted by the
electorate of that municipal corporation. For the purposes of this
division, any measure adopted by a board of county commissioners
pursuant to section 322.02, 4504.02, or 5739.021 of the Revised Code,
including those measures upheld by the electorate in a referendum
conducted pursuant to section 322.021, 4504.021, or 5739.022 of the
Revised Code, shall not be considered an additional tax voted by the
electorate.

Subject
to division (F) of section 5705.29 of the Revised Code, money in a
reserve balance account established by a county, township, or
municipal corporation under section 5705.13 of the Revised Code shall
not be considered an unencumbered balance or revenue under division
(E)(3) or (4) of this section. Money in a reserve balance account
established by a township under section 5705.132 of the Revised Code
shall not be considered an unencumbered balance or revenue under
division (E)(3) or (4) of this section.

If
a county, township, or municipal corporation has created and
maintains a nonexpendable trust fund under section 5705.131 of the
Revised Code, the principal of the fund, and any additions to the
principal arising from sources other than the reinvestment of
investment earnings arising from such a fund, shall not be considered
an unencumbered balance or revenue under division (E)(3) or (4) of
this section. Only investment earnings arising from investment of the
principal or investment of such additions to principal may be
considered an unencumbered balance or revenue under those divisions.

(F)
The total expenditures calculated pursuant to division (C) of this
section, less the deductions authorized in divisions (D) and (E) of
this section, shall be known as the "relative need" of the
subdivision, for the purposes of this section.

(G)
The budget commission shall total the relative need of all
participating subdivisions in the county, and shall compute a
relative need factor by dividing the total estimate of the undivided
local government fund by the total relative need of all participating
subdivisions.

(H)
The relative need of each subdivision shall be multiplied by the
relative need factor to determine the proportionate share of the
subdivision in the undivided local government fund of the county;
provided, that the maximum proportionate share of a county shall not
exceed the following maximum percentages of the total estimate of the
undivided local government fund governed by the relationship of the
percentage of the population of the county that resides within
municipal corporations within the county to the total population of
the county as reported in the reports on population in Ohio by the
department of development as of the twentieth day of July of the year
in which the tax budget is filed with the budget commission:

1

2

A

Percentage
of municipal population within the county:

Percentage
share of the county shall not exceed:

B

Less
than forty-one per cent

Sixty
per cent

C

Forty-one
per cent or more but less than eighty-one per cent

Fifty
per cent

D

Eighty-one
per cent or more

Thirty
per cent

Where
the proportionate share of the county exceeds the limitations
established in this division, the budget commission shall adjust the
proportionate shares determined pursuant to this division so that the
proportionate share of the county does not exceed these limitations,
and it shall increase the proportionate shares of all other
subdivisions on a pro rata basis. In counties having a population of
less than one hundred thousand, not less than ten per cent shall be
distributed to the townships therein.

(I)
The proportionate share of each subdivision in the undivided local
government fund determined pursuant to division (H) of this section
for any calendar year shall not be less than the product of the
average of the percentages of the undivided local government fund of
the county as apportioned to that subdivision for the calendar years
1968, 1969, and 1970, multiplied by the total amount of the undivided
local government fund of the county apportioned pursuant to former
section 5739.23 of the Revised Code for the calendar year 1970. For
the purposes of this division, the total apportioned amount for the
calendar year 1970 shall be the amount actually allocated to the
county in 1970 from the state collected intangible tax as levied by
section 5707.03 of the Revised Code and distributed pursuant to
section 5725.24 of the Revised Code, plus the amount received by the
county in the calendar year 1970 pursuant to division (B)(1) of
former section 5739.21 of the Revised Code, and distributed pursuant
to former section 5739.22 of the Revised Code. If the total amount of
the undivided local government fund for any calendar year is less
than the amount of the undivided local government fund apportioned
pursuant to former section 5739.23 of the Revised Code for the
calendar year 1970, the minimum amount guaranteed to each subdivision
for that calendar year pursuant to this division shall be reduced on
a basis proportionate to the amount by which the amount of the
undivided local government fund for that calendar year is less than
the amount of the undivided local government fund apportioned for the
calendar year 1970.

(J)
On the basis of such apportionment, the county auditor shall compute
the percentage share of each such subdivision in the undivided local
government fund and shall at the same time certify to the tax
commissioner the percentage share of the county as a subdivision. No
payment shall be made from the undivided local government fund,
except in accordance with such percentage shares.

Within
ten days after the budget commission has made its apportionment,
whether conducted pursuant to section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the
Revised Code, the auditor shall publish a list of the subdivisions
and the amount each is to receive from the undivided local government
fund and the percentage share of each subdivision, in a newspaper or
newspapers of countywide circulation, and send a copy of such
allocation to the tax commissioner.

The
county auditor shall also send a copy of such allocation by ordinary
or electronic mail to the fiscal officer of each subdivision entitled
to participate in the allocation of the undivided local government
fund of the county. This copy shall constitute the official notice of
the commission action referred to in section 5705.37 of the Revised
Code.

All
money received into the treasury of a subdivision from the undivided
local government fund in a county treasury shall be paid into the
general fund and used for the current operating expenses of the
subdivision.

If
a municipal corporation maintains a municipal university, such
municipal university, when the board of trustees so requests the
legislative authority of the municipal corporation, shall participate
in the money apportioned to such municipal corporation from the total
local government fund, however created and constituted, in such
amount as requested by the board of trustees, provided such sum does
not exceed nine per cent of the total amount paid to the municipal
corporation.

If
any public official fails to maintain the records required by
sections 5747.50 to 5747.55 of the Revised Code or by the rules
issued by the tax commissioner, the auditor of state, or the
treasurer of state pursuant to such sections, or fails to comply with
any law relating to the enforcement of such sections, the local
government fund money allocated to the county may be withheld until
such time as the public official has complied with such sections or
such law or the rules issued pursuant thereto.

Sec.
5747.53.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"City, located wholly or partially in the county, with the
greatest population" means the city, located wholly or partially
in the county, with the greatest population residing in the county;
however, if the county budget commission on or before January 1,
1998, adopted an alternative method of apportionment that was
approved by the legislative authority of the city, located partially
in the county, with the greatest population but not the greatest
population residing in the county, "city, located wholly or
partially in the county, with the greatest population" means the
city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest
population whether residing in the county or not, if this alternative
meaning is adopted by action of the board of county commissioners and
a majority of the boards of township trustees and legislative
authorities of municipal corporations located wholly or partially in
the county.

(2)
"Participating political subdivision" means a municipal
corporation or township that satisfies all of the following:

(a)
It is located wholly or partially in the county.

(b)
It is not the city, located wholly or partially in the county, with
the greatest population.

(c)
Undivided local government fund moneys are apportioned to it under
the county's alternative method or formula of apportionment in the
current calendar year.

(B)
In lieu of the method of apportionment of the undivided local
government fund of the county provided by section 5747.51 of the
Revised Code, the county budget commission may provide for the
apportionment of the fund under an alternative method or on a formula
basis as authorized by this section. The commissioner shall reduce
the amount of funds from the undivided local government fund to a
subdivision required to receive reduced funds under section 5747.502

or
5747.504
of
the Revised Code.

Except
as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section, the
alternative method of apportionment shall have first been approved by
all of the following governmental units: the board of county
commissioners; the legislative authority of the city, located wholly
or partially in the county, with the greatest population; and a
majority of the boards of township trustees and legislative
authorities of municipal corporations, located wholly or partially in
the county, excluding the legislative authority of the city, located
wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population. In
granting or denying approval for an alternative method of
apportionment, the board of county commissioners, boards of township
trustees, and legislative authorities of municipal corporations shall
act by motion. A motion to approve shall be passed upon a majority
vote of the members of a board of county commissioners, board of
township trustees, or legislative authority of a municipal
corporation, shall take effect immediately, and need not be
published.

Any
alternative method of apportionment adopted and approved under this
division shall be reviewed by the county budget commission at a
public hearing held at least once in the year following

the effective date of this amendment

October
3, 2023,
and
in every fifth year thereafter. The county budget commission shall
provide reasonable advance notice of the hearing to all political
subdivisions eligible to participate in the fund and shall take
public testimony from any such political subdivision that wishes to
testify.

Any
alternative method of apportionment adopted and approved under this
division may be revised, amended, or repealed in the same manner as
it may be adopted and approved. If an alternative method of
apportionment adopted and approved under this division is repealed,
the undivided local government fund of the county shall be
apportioned among the subdivisions eligible to participate in the
fund, commencing in the ensuing calendar year, under the
apportionment provided in section 5747.52 of the Revised Code, unless
the repeal occurs by operation of division (C) of this section or a
new method for apportionment of the fund is provided in the action of
repeal.

(C)
This division applies only in counties in which the city, located
wholly or partially in the county, with the greatest population has a
population of twenty thousand or less and a population that is less
than fifteen per cent of the total population of the county. In such
a county, the legislative authorities or boards of township trustees
of two or more participating political subdivisions, which together
have a population residing in the county that is a majority of the
total population of the county, each may adopt a resolution to
exclude the approval otherwise required of the legislative authority
of the city, located wholly or partially in the county, with the
greatest population. All of the resolutions to exclude that approval
shall be adopted not later than the first Monday of August of the
year preceding the calendar year in which distributions are to be
made under an alternative method of apportionment.

A
motion granting or denying approval of an alternative method of
apportionment under this division shall be adopted by a majority vote
of the members of the board of county commissioners and by a majority
vote of a majority of the boards of township trustees and legislative
authorities of the municipal corporations located wholly or partially
in the county, other than the city, located wholly or partially in
the county, with the greatest population, shall take effect
immediately, and need not be published. The alternative method of
apportionment under this division shall be adopted and approved
annually, not later than the first Monday of August of the year
preceding the calendar year in which distributions are to be made
under it. A motion granting approval of an alternative method of
apportionment under this division repeals any existing alternative
method of apportionment, effective with distributions to be made from
the fund in the ensuing calendar year. An alternative method of
apportionment under this division shall not be revised or amended
after the first Monday of August of the year preceding the calendar
year in which distributions are to be made under it.

(D)
In determining an alternative method of apportionment authorized by
this section, the county budget commission may include in the method
any factor considered to be appropriate and reliable, in the sole
discretion of the county budget commission.

(E)
The limitations set forth in section 5747.51 of the Revised Code,
stating the maximum amount that the county may receive from the
undivided local government fund and the minimum amount the townships
in counties having a population of less than one hundred thousand may
receive from the fund, are applicable to any alternative method of
apportionment authorized under this section.

(F)
On the basis of any alternative method of apportionment adopted and
approved as authorized by this section, as certified by the auditor
to the county treasurer, the county treasurer shall make distribution
of the money in the undivided local government fund to each
subdivision eligible to participate in the fund, and the auditor,
when the amount of those shares is in the custody of the treasurer in
the amounts so computed to be due the respective subdivisions, shall
at the same time certify to the tax commissioner the percentage share
of the county as a subdivision. All money received into the treasury
of a subdivision from the undivided local government fund in a county
treasury shall be paid into the general fund and used for the current
operating expenses of the subdivision. If a municipal corporation
maintains a municipal university, the university, when the board of
trustees so requests the legislative authority of the municipal
corporation, shall participate in the money apportioned to the
municipal corporation from the total local government fund, however
created and constituted, in the amount requested by the board of
trustees, provided that amount does not exceed nine per cent of the
total amount paid to the municipal corporation.

(G)
The actions of the county budget commission taken pursuant to this
section are final and may not be appealed to the board of tax
appeals, except on the issues of abuse of discretion and failure to
comply with the formula.

Sec.
5747.98.
(A)
To provide a uniform procedure for calculating a taxpayer's aggregate
tax liability under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, a taxpayer
shall claim any credits to which the taxpayer is entitled in the
following order:

Either
the retirement income credit under division (B) of section 5747.055
of the Revised Code or the lump sum retirement income credits under
divisions (C), (D), and (E) of that section;

Either
the senior citizen credit under division (F) of section 5747.055 of
the Revised Code or the lump sum distribution credit under division
(G) of that section;

The
dependent care credit under section 5747.054 of the Revised Code;

The
credit for displaced workers who pay for job training under section
5747.27 of the Revised Code;

The
campaign contribution credit under section 5747.29 of the Revised
Code;

The
twenty-dollar personal exemption credit under section 5747.022 of the
Revised Code;

The
joint filing credit under division
(G)
(E)

of section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

The
earned income credit under section 5747.71 of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable credit for education expenses under section 5747.72 of
the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable credit for donations to scholarship granting
organizations under section 5747.73 of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable credit for tuition paid to a nonchartered nonpublic
school under section 5747.75 of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable vocational job credit under section 5747.057 of the
Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable job retention credit under division (B) of section
5747.058 of the Revised Code;

The
enterprise zone credit under section 5709.66 of the Revised Code;

The
credit for beginning farmers who participate in a financial
management program under division (B) of section 5747.77 of the
Revised Code;

The
credit for commercial vehicle operator training expenses under
section 5747.82 of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable welcome home Ohio (WHO) program credit under section
122.633 of the Revised Code;

The
credit for selling or renting agricultural assets to beginning
farmers under division (A) of section 5747.77 of the Revised Code;

The
credit for purchases of qualifying grape production property under
section 5747.28 of the Revised Code;

The
small business investment credit under section 5747.81 of the Revised
Code;

The
nonrefundable lead abatement credit under section 5747.26 of the
Revised Code;

The
opportunity zone investment credit under section 5747.86 of the
Revised Code;

The
enterprise zone credits under section 5709.65 of the Revised Code;

The
research and development credit under section 5747.331 of the Revised
Code;

The
credit for rehabilitating a historic building under section 5747.76
of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable Ohio low-income housing tax credit under section
5747.83 of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable affordable single-family home credit under section
5747.84 of the Revised Code;

The
nonresident credit under division (A) of section 5747.05 of the
Revised Code;

The
credit for a resident's out-of-state income under division (B) of
section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable motion picture and broadway theatrical production credit
under section 5747.66 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credit for film and theater capital improvement projects
under section 5747.67 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable jobs creation credit or job retention credit under
division (A) of section 5747.058 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credit for taxes paid by a qualifying entity granted under
section 5747.059 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credits for taxes paid by a qualifying pass-through entity
granted under division (I) of section 5747.08 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credit under section 5747.80 of the Revised Code for
losses on loans made to the Ohio venture capital program under
sections 150.01 to 150.10 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credit for rehabilitating a historic building under
section 5747.76 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credit under section 5747.39 of the Revised Code for taxes
levied under section 5747.38 of the Revised Code paid by an electing
pass-through entity
;

The
refundable lead abatement credit under section 5747.26 of the Revised
Code
.

(B)
For any credit, except the refundable credits enumerated in this
section and the credit granted under division (H) of section 5747.08
of the Revised Code, the amount of the credit for a taxable year
shall not exceed the taxpayer's aggregate amount of tax due under
section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, after allowing for any other
credit that precedes it in the order required under this section. Any
excess amount of a particular credit may be carried forward if
authorized under the section creating that credit. Nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to allow a taxpayer to claim, directly or
indirectly, a credit more than once for a taxable year.

Section
2.
That
existing sections 3742.01, 3742.03, 3742.39, 3742.50, 5747.08,
5747.26, 5747.50, 5747.502, 5747.51, 5747.53, and 5747.98 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section
3.
Section
5747.53 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite
of the section as amended by H.B. 33 of the 135th General Assembly
and H.B. 62 of the 133rd General Assembly. The General Assembly,
applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the
Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably
capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the
resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective
date of the section as presented in this act.