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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 313
2025-2026
Representatives Mathews, A.,
Isaacsohn
To
enact section
122.635
of the Revised Code
to
create a grant program for townships and municipalities that adopt
pro-housing policies and to make an appropriation.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section
122.635
of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
122.635.
(A)
As used in this section, "major workforce housing project"
means a project that reserves at least twenty units, designed for
residential occupancy by at least twenty individuals or families
living independently from each other, for households earning between
sixty and one hundred per cent of the median income for the county
where the project is located, as determined by the director of
development pursuant to section 174.04 of the Revised Code.
(B)
The department of development shall provide grants to townships and
municipal corporations that adopt and implement at least three
pro-housing policies in accordance with this section. A township or
municipal corporation may apply for such a grant in the form and
manner prescribed by the department. The application shall, at
minimum, include both of the following:
(1)
Documentation or other evidence that shows the township or municipal
corporation has adopted and implemented at least three of the
pro-housing policies described in division (D) of this section;
(2)
A description of how the township or municipal corporation intends to
utilize the grant funds received.
(C)
The department shall review applications and award grants under this
section annually, to the extent that funds are available, provided
that no township or municipal corporation may receive more than
fifteen per cent of the total funds available, regardless of the
number of applicants.
(D)
The department shall apportion all of the available funds among the
first fifty townships and municipal corporations that submit an
application each fiscal year and that demonstrate, to the
satisfaction of the department, that the township or municipal
corporation has adopted and implemented at least three pro-housing
policies, including at least one pro-housing policy from each of
divisions (F)(1), (2), and (3) of this section.
(E)(1)
Each of the townships and municipal corporations described in
division (D) of this section shall receive a portion of the available
funds.
(2)
Subject to division (C) of this section, the department shall reserve
at least twenty-five per cent of the available funds for townships
and municipal corporations that have adopted and implemented six or
more of the pro-housing policies described in division (F) of this
section.
(3)
The department shall determine the allocation of funds other than
those reserved under division (E)(2) of this section based on
population.
(F)
All of the following are pro-housing policies for purposes of this
section:
(1)(a)
Having no or minimal parking requirements for developments that
include residential units;
(b)
Allowing parcels to include four or more dwelling units that are
designed for residential occupancy by four or more individuals or
families living independently from each other in at least
seventy-five per cent of the territory of the township or municipal
corporation;
(c)
Repealing minimum lot size requirements for developers;
(d)
Having reduced, by at least fifty per cent, the portion of territory
within the township or municipal corporation that is zoned for
single-family use only, as compared to the portion of territory zoned
for that purpose ten years before the application date.
(2)(a)
Subsidizing or decreasing costs related to water or sewer connections
for major workforce housing projects;
(b)
Acquiring and readying sites that are ready to be financed and built
upon by housing developers;
(c)
Providing incentives related to increased density to developers that
provide low-income housing and workforce housing in census tracts
that are at or above the area median income;
(d)
Providing incentives for modular housing or manufactured homes;
(e)
Adopting road regulations and specifications for county roads
recommended by the department of transportation for all roads
constructed for the purpose of housing projects;
(f)
Adopting a building code that does not mandate a specific style of
exterior cladding or finish materials for residential buildings.
(3)(a)
Having a process in place to reduce the time it takes to review and
complete all regulatory approvals for housing developments by at
least thirty per cent or that reduces the time it takes to review and
grant permits to four months or less;
(b)
Having a pre-approval process in place to create an expedited review
and granting of permits for a diverse range of developers;
(c)
Having an expedited approval process for development plans sharing
ninety per cent of the elements of a development plan that was
previously approved;
(d)
Having a housing plan, adopted within the five years preceding that
application date, that tracks the needs, gaps, and potential
strategies for increasing housing across all income levels within the
township or municipal corporation for at least the next ten years and
identifies opportunities to reduce the regulatory burden on housing
development;
(e)
Having policies that preserve existing moderate and low-income
housing;
(f)
Allowing accessory dwelling units.
(G)
A township or municipal corporation that receives a grant under this
section shall use at least half of the funds for the following
purposes:
(1)
Providing capital for housing development through grants or loans;
(2)
Supporting first-time home buyers;
(3)
Providing funds for home repairs for low-income homeowners;
(4)
Providing funds for multi-family building improvements for low- and
middle-income landlords;
(5)
Enforcing zoning and residential building regulations;
(6)
Enforcing anti-discrimination housing regulations;
(7)
Providing funds for tenant protection and empowerment;
(8)
Acquiring and readying sites for housing development;
(9)
Funding a conversion under the rental assistance demonstration
program;
(10)
Providing long-term housing for difficult to house populations.
(H)
Townships and municipal corporations that receive a grant under this
section shall provide documentation sufficient to prove, to the
satisfaction of the department, that at least half of the funds are
used for the purposes specified in division (G) of this section. A
township or municipal corporation that does not expend at least half
of the funds for the purposes specified in division (G) of this
section shall not receive funds under this section for five years
following the date those funds were expended improperly.
(I)
The housing accelerator fund is created in the state treasury. Money
in the fund shall be used by the department to provide grants under
this section and section 175.42 of the Revised Code. All investment
earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund.
Section
2.
All
items in this act are hereby appropriated as designated out of any
moneys in the state treasury to the credit of the designated fund.
For all operating appropriations made in this act, those in the first
column are for fiscal year 2026 and those in the second column are
for fiscal year 2027. The operating appropriations made in this act
are in addition to any other operating appropriations made for these
fiscal years.
Section
3.
1
2
3
4
5
A
DEV
DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT
B
General
Revenue Fund
C
GRF
1954A6
Housing
Accelerator
$50,000,000
$50,000,000
D
TOTAL
General Revenue Fund
$50,000,000
$50,000,000
E
TOTAL
ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS
$50,000,000
$50,000,000
HOUSING
ACCELERATOR
The
foregoing appropriation item 1954A6, Housing Accelerator, shall be
used to support housing development incentive programs under section
122.635 of the Revised Code.
An
amount equal to the unexpended, unencumbered balance of appropriation
item 1954A6, Housing Accelerator, at the end of fiscal year 2026 is
hereby reappropriated to the same appropriation item for the same
purpose in fiscal year 2027.
Section
4.
Within
the limits set forth in this act, the Director of Budget and
Management shall establish accounts indicating the source and amount
of funds for each appropriation made in this act, and shall determine
the manner in which appropriation accounts shall be maintained.
Expenditures from operating appropriations contained in this act
shall be accounted for as though made in, and are subject to all
applicable provisions of, the main operating appropriations act of
the 136th General Assembly.