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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 512
2025-2026
Representatives Claggett, Workman
To
amend sections 4116.01, 4116.02, 4116.03, and 4116.04; to enact
sections 4116.021, 4116.031, and 4116.05; and to repeal section
153.83 of the Revised Code
to
modify the law regarding project labor agreements in public
improvement contracts.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 4116.01, 4116.02, 4116.03, and 4116.04 be amended and
sections 4116.021, 4116.031, and 4116.05 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
4116.01.
As
used in sections 4116.01 to 4116.04 of the Revised Code:
(A)
"Public
(A)(1)
Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section "public
authority"
means any officer, board, or commission of the state,
or
any
political subdivision of the state, or any institution supported in
whole or in part by
public
state
funds,
authorized to enter into a contract for the construction of a public
improvement or to construct a public improvement by the direct
employment of labor.
"Public
(2)
"Public
authority"
shall not mean any municipal corporation
or
county
that
has adopted a charter under
sections
three and seven of article XVIII of the
Ohio
Constitution,
unless
the specific contract for a public improvement includes state funds
appropriated for the purposes of that public improvement
Article
X, Section 3
.
(B)
"Construction" means all of the following:
(1)
Any new construction of any public improvement performed by other
than full-time employees who have completed their probationary
periods in the classified service of a public authority;
(2)
Any reconstruction, enlargement, alteration, repair, remodeling,
renovation, or painting of any public improvement performed by other
than full-time employees who have completed their probationary period
in the classified civil service of a public authority;
(3)
Construction on any project, facility, or project facility to which
section 122.80, 166.02, or 1728.07 of the Revised Code applies;
(4)
Construction on any project as defined in section 122.39 of the
Revised Code, any project as defined in section 165.01 of the Revised
Code, any energy resource development facility as defined in section
1551.01 of the Revised Code, or any project as defined in section
3706.01 of the Revised Code.
(C)
"Public improvement" means all buildings, roads, streets,
alleys, sewers, ditches, sewage disposal plants, water works, and
other structures or works constructed by a public authority or by any
person who, pursuant to a contract with a public authority,
constructs any structure or work for a public authority. When a
public authority rents or leases a newly constructed structure within
six months after completion of its construction, all work performed
on that structure to suit it for occupancy by a public authority is a
"public improvement."
(D)
"Interested party," with respect to a particular public
improvement, means all of the following:
(1)
Any person who submits a bid for the purpose of securing the award of
a contract for the public improvement;
(2)
Any person acting as a subcontractor of a person mentioned in
division (D)(1) of this section;
(3)
Any association having as members any of the persons mentioned in
division (D)(1) or (2) of this section;
(4)
Any employee of a person mentioned in division (D)(1), (2), or (3) of
this section;
(5)
Any individual who is a resident of the jurisdiction of the public
authority for whom products or services for a public improvement are
being procured or for whom work on a public improvement is being
performed.
Sec.
4116.02.
A
public authority, when engaged in procuring products or services,
awarding contracts, or overseeing procurement or construction for
public improvements
undertaken by or on behalf of the public authority
,
shall ensure that bid specifications issued by the public authority
for the proposed public improvement, and any subsequent contract or
other agreement for the public improvement to which the public
authority and a contractor
or
,
subcontractor
,
or other entity
are direct parties, do not require
or
prohibit that
a
contractor or subcontractor
to
do
any of the following:
(A)
Enter into agreements with any labor organization on the public
improvement;
(B)
Enter into any agreement that requires the employees of that
contractor or subcontractor to do either of the following as a
condition of employment or continued employment:
(1)
Become members of or affiliated with a labor organization;
(2)
Pay dues or fees to a labor organization.
Sec.
4116.021.
No
state funds shall be distributed to a municipal corporation or county
that has adopted a charter under Ohio Constitution, Article X,
Section 3, for the purpose of the construction of a public
improvement by or on behalf of the municipal corporation or county,
if the municipal corporation or county, in procuring products or
services, awarding contracts, or overseeing procurement or
construction for the public improvement, requires in the bid
specifications a contractor or subcontractor to enter into, or
prohibits in the bid specifications a contractor or subcontractor
from entering into, an agreement described in division (A) or (B) of
section 4116.02 of the Revised Code.
Sec.
4116.03.
(A)
No
public authority shall do
any
either
of
the following:
(A)
(1)
Award
a contract for a public improvement
undertaken by or on behalf of the public authority
in violation of section 4116.02 of the Revised Code;
(2)
Otherwise violate section 4116.02 of the Revised Code.
(B)
Discriminate
No
public authority shall discriminate
against
any bidder, contractor, or subcontractor for refusing
or
electing
to
become a party to any agreement with any labor organization on the
public improvement that currently is under bid or on projects related
to that improvement
;
(C)
Otherwise violate section 4116.02 of the Revised Code
.
Sec.
4116.031.
A public authority may award a contract, grant, tax abatement, or tax
credit to a private owner, bidder, contractor, subcontractor, or
other person or entity who voluntarily chooses to enter into an
agreement described in division (A) or (B) of section 4116.02 of the
Revised Code, provided that entering into the agreement is not a
condition for the award.
Sec.
4116.04.
(A)
An interested party may file a complaint against a contracting public
authority
,
municipal corporation, or county that has adopted a charter under
Ohio Constitution, Article X, Section 3,
alleging
a violation of section 4116.02
or
,
4116.021,
4116.03
,
or 4116.031
of the Revised Code within two years after the date on which the
contract is signed for the public improvement in the court of common
pleas of the county in which the public improvement is performed. The
performance of the contract forms the basis of the allegation of a
violation. The court in which the complaint is filed shall hear and
decide the case and, upon a finding that a violation has occurred,
shall void the contract and make any orders that will prevent further
violations.
The
Rules of Civil Procedure govern all actions under this section. Any
determination of a court under this section is subject to appellate
review.
(B)
If, pursuant to this section, a court finds a violation of section
4116.02
or
,
4116.021,
4116.03
,
or 4116.031
of the Revised Code, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees,
court costs, and any other fees incurred in the course of the civil
action to the prevailing plaintiff.
Sec.
4116.05.
Sections
4116.01 to 4116.04 of the Revised Code do not do either of the
following:
(A)
Prohibit employers or other parties from entering into agreements or
engaging in any other activity protected by the "National Labor
Relations Act," 29 U.S.C. 151, et. seq.
(B)
Interfere with labor relations of parties that are left unregulated
under the "National Labor Relations Act," 29 U.S.C. 151,
et. seq.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 4116.01, 4116.02, 4116.03, and 4116.04 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section
3.
That
section 153.83 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.