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hb733_02_PH
As Passed by the House
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
Sub. H. B. No. 733
2025-2026
Representatives Fowler Arthur,
Thomas, D.
Cosponsors: Representatives Newman,
Schmidt, Abdullahi, Baker, Brennan, Brewer, Callender, Claggett,
Daniels, Deeter, Demetriou, Dovilla, Glassburn, Grim, Hoops, John,
Klopfenstein, Lorenz, Mathews, A., Mathews, T., Miller, J., Miller,
M., Mohamed, Oelslager, Peterson, Ray, Robb Blasdel, Roemer, Salvo,
Santucci, Sigrist, Sims, Thomas, C., Troy, White, E., Williams,
Willis, Young
To
amend sections 1.61, 303.01, 519.01, 901.511, 929.01, 1311.55,
1729.01, 5501.50
,
and 5713.30
of the Revised Code
to
expressly include the cultivation of trees to produce maple syrup and
maple products in the laws relating to agriculture.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 1.61, 303.01, 519.01, 901.511, 929.01, 1311.55, 1729.01,
5501.50
,
and 5713.30
of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec.
1.61.
As
used in any statute except section 303.01 or 519.01 of the Revised
Code, "agriculture" includes farming; ranching;
aquaculture; algaculture meaning the farming of algae; apiculture and
related apicultural activities, production of honey, beeswax,
honeycomb, and other related products; horticulture; viticulture,
winemaking, and related activities; animal husbandry, including, but
not limited to, the care and raising of livestock, equine, and
fur-bearing animals; poultry husbandry and the production of poultry
and poultry products; dairy production; the production of field
crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental shrubs,
ornamental trees, flowers, sod, or mushrooms;
the
cultivation of trees to produce maple syrup and maple products;
timber;
pasturage; any combination of the foregoing; the processing, drying,
storage, and marketing of agricultural products when those activities
are conducted in conjunction with, but are secondary to, such
husbandry or production; and any additions or modifications to the
foregoing made by the director of agriculture by rule adopted in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
Sec.
303.01.
As
used in sections 303.02 to 303.25 of the Revised Code, "agriculture"
includes farming; ranching; algaculture meaning the farming of algae;
aquaculture; apiculture; horticulture; viticulture; animal husbandry,
including, but not limited to, the care and raising of livestock,
equine, and fur-bearing animals; poultry husbandry and the production
of poultry and poultry products; dairy production; the production of
field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental
shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, sod, or mushrooms;
the
cultivation of trees to produce maple syrup and maple products;
timber;
pasturage; any combination of the foregoing; and the processing,
drying, storage, and marketing of agricultural products when those
activities are conducted in conjunction with, but are secondary to,
such husbandry or production.
Sec.
519.01.
As
used in sections 519.02 to 519.25 of the Revised Code, "agriculture"
includes farming; ranching; algaculture meaning the farming of algae;
aquaculture; apiculture; horticulture; viticulture; animal husbandry,
including, but not limited to, the care and raising of livestock,
equine, and fur-bearing animals; poultry husbandry and the production
of poultry and poultry products; dairy production; the production of
field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental
shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, sod, or mushrooms;
the
cultivation of trees to produce maple syrup and maple products;
timber;
pasturage; any combination of the foregoing; and the processing,
drying, storage, and marketing of agricultural products when those
activities are conducted in conjunction with, but are secondary to,
such husbandry or production.
Sec.
901.511.
(A)
As used in this section:
(1)
"Agricultural product" means any of the following items
that is produced for testing or research in the context of a product
development program in conjunction or coordination with a private
research facility, a university, or any federal, state, or local
governmental agency or that is produced for personal, commercial,
pharmaceutical, or educational purposes: field crop or field crop
product; timber or timber product; forestry product; livestock or
livestock product; meat or meat product; milk or dairy product;
poultry or poultry product; equine animal; wool; fruit or vegetable
crop; aquacultural product; algacultural product; horticultural crop,
including plant materials grown in a greenhouse, nursery stock grown
inside or outside of a container, ornamental grass, turf grass,
ornamental trees, ornamental shrubs, or flowers; sod; mushrooms;
viticultural product; apicultural product; tobacco; pasture;
maple syrup or maple product;
wild animal or domestic deer, as "wild animal" and
"domestic deer" are defined in section 1531.01 of the
Revised Code; monitored captive deer, captive deer with status, or
captive deer with certified chronic wasting disease status as defined
in section 943.01 of the Revised Code; or any combination of those
items.
(2)
"Algacultural product" means algal paste, algal powder, or
dried algae that is comprised primarily of algal biomass.
(3)
"Equipment" means any implement, machinery, real or
personal property, building, or structure that is used in the
production, growing, harvesting, or housing of any agricultural
product. "Equipment" also includes any laboratory,
research, product, samples, supplies, or fixed equipment that is used
to test, develop, or analyze the process of producing, growing, or
maintaining any agricultural product.
(4)
"Material support or resources" means currency, payment
instruments, other financial securities, financial services, lodging,
training, safehouses, false documentation or identification,
communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances,
explosives, personnel, transportation, and other physical assets,
except medicine or religious materials.
(5)
"Payment instrument" means a check, draft, money order,
traveler's check, cashier's check, teller's check, or other
instrument or order for the transmission or payment of money
regardless of whether the item in question is negotiable.
(6)
"Specified offense" means either of the following:
(a)
A violation of section 2909.02, 2909.03, 2909.05, 2909.06, 2909.07,
2911.13, 2911.21, 2913.02, 2913.04, or 2913.42 of the Revised Code;
(b)
An attempt to commit, complicity in committing, or a conspiracy to
commit an offense listed in division (A)(5)(a) of this section.
(B)
No person shall commit a specified offense involving any agricultural
product or equipment with the intent to do any of the following:
(1)
Intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(2)
Influence the policy of any government by intimidation or coercion;
(3)
Affect the conduct of any government;
(4)
Interrupt or interfere with agricultural production, agricultural
research, or equipment for purposes of disrupting or influencing,
through intimidation or other means, consumer confidence or
agricultural production methods.
Division
(B) of this section does not apply to the practice of veterinary
medicine by a person who has been issued a valid license, temporary
permit, or registration certificate to practice veterinary medicine
under Chapter 4741. of the Revised Code. As used in this division,
"practice of veterinary medicine" has the same meaning as
in section 4741.01 of the Revised Code.
(C)
No person shall raise, solicit, collect, donate, or provide any
material support or resources with the purpose that the material
support or resources will be used in whole or in part to plan,
prepare, carry out, or aid in either a violation of division (B) of
this section or in the concealment of, or an escape from, a violation
of that division.
(D)(1)
In addition to the penalties established in section 901.99 of the
Revised Code for a violation of this section, the court may require
any person who violates this section to pay the victim of the offense
an amount up to triple the value of the agricultural product or
equipment that was the subject of the violation.
(2)
In ordering restitution under division (D)(1) of this section, the
court shall consider as part of the value of the agricultural product
or equipment the market value of the agricultural product or
equipment prior to the violation and the production, research,
testing, replacement, and development costs directly related to the
agricultural product or equipment that was the subject of the
violation.
(E)
The enactment of this section is not intended to require the
prosecution exclusively under this section of an act, series of acts,
or course of behavior that could be prosecuted either under this
section or under another section of the Revised Code. One or more
acts, series of acts, or courses of behavior that may be prosecuted
either under this section or under another section of the Revised
Code may be prosecuted under this section, the other section, or both
sections.
Sec.
929.01.
As
used in this chapter:
(A)
"Agricultural production" means commercial aquaculture,
algaculture meaning the farming of algae, apiculture, animal
husbandry, or poultry husbandry;
the
cultivation of trees to produce maple syrup and maple products;
the
production for a commercial purpose of timber, field crops, tobacco,
fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental
trees, flowers, or sod; the growth of timber for a noncommercial
purpose if the land on which the timber is grown is contiguous to or
part of a parcel of land under common ownership that is otherwise
devoted exclusively to agricultural use; or any combination of such
husbandry, production, or growth; and includes the processing,
drying, storage, and marketing of agricultural products when those
activities are conducted in conjunction with such husbandry,
production, or growth.
"Agricultural
production" includes conservation practices, provided that the
tracts, lots, or parcels of land or portions thereof that are used
for conservation practices comprise not more than twenty-five per
cent of tracts, lots, or parcels of land that are otherwise devoted
exclusively to agricultural use and for which an application is filed
under section 929.02 of the Revised Code.
(B)
"Withdrawal from an agricultural district" includes the
explicit removal of land from an agricultural district, conversion of
land in an agricultural district to use for purposes other than
agricultural production, and withdrawal of land from a land
retirement or conservation program to use for purposes other than
agricultural production. Withdrawal from an agricultural district
does not include land described in division (A)(3) of section 5713.30
of the Revised Code.
(C)
"Conservation practice" has the same meaning as in section
5713.30 of the Revised Code.
Sec.
1311.55.
(A)
As used in this section:
(1)
"Agricultural product" means all fruit and vegetable crops,
maple
syrup and maple products,
meat
and meat products, milk and dairy products, poultry and poultry
products, wool, and all seeds harvested by a producer for sale,
except that it does not include any grain crop that is subject to the
fee that the director of agriculture may require to be remitted under
section 926.16 of the Revised Code. "Agricultural product"
also includes an algacultural product as defined in section 901.511
of the Revised Code.
(2)
"Agricultural product handling" means engaging in or
participating in the business of buying, selling, exchanging, or
negotiating or soliciting a purchase, sale, resale, exchange, or
transfer of an agricultural product.
(3)
"Agricultural product handler" or "handler" means
any person who is engaged in the business of agricultural product
handling, except that a person who sells only those agricultural
products that the person has produced, or buys agricultural products
for the person's own use, is not an agricultural product handler.
(4)
"Agricultural producer" or "producer" means any
person who grows, raises, or produces an agricultural product on land
that the person owns or leases.
(5)
"Proceeds" has the same meaning as in division (A)(64) of
section 1309.102 of the Revised Code.
(B)
An agricultural producer who delivers an agricultural product under
an express or implied contract to an agricultural product handler, or
an agricultural product handler who delivers an agricultural product
under an express or implied contract to another agricultural product
handler, has a lien to secure the payment for all of the agricultural
product delivered under that contract. The lien attaches to the
product, whether in a raw or processed condition, while in the
possession of the agricultural product handler, and to the proceeds
of the sale of the agricultural product. The lien attaches from the
date of delivery of the agricultural product to the handler, or if
there is a series of deliveries under the contract, from the date of
the first delivery. The lien is contingent until the producer or
handler complies with section 1311.56 of the Revised Code.
(C)
The lien on an agricultural product covers the contract price agreed
upon, or when there is no agreed price at the time of delivery, the
value of the agricultural product as determined by the "market
news service" of the Ohio department of agriculture on the date
the agricultural producer or handler files the affidavit permitted
under section 1311.56 of the Revised Code.
(D)
Any waiver by a producer or handler of the producer's or handler's
right to an agricultural product lien is void as being contrary to
public policy.
Sec.
1729.01.
As
used in this chapter:
(A)
"Agricultural cooperative" means a cooperative to which all
of the following apply:
(1)
The cooperative engages in any activity in connection with the
propagation, raising, producing, harvesting, storing, drying,
handling, processing, or marketing of agricultural products;
procuring equipment and supplies or providing services for producers
and others; bargaining; and any activity related to the foregoing.
(2)
Producers or agricultural cooperatives exercise more than fifty per
cent of the voting control of the cooperative.
(3)
The cooperative does at least fifty per cent of its business with
producers or agricultural cooperatives.
(B)
"Agricultural products" includes aquacultural,
horticultural, viticultural, forestry, dairy, livestock, poultry,
bee, and farm products, and the produce or byproducts of any of such
products. "Agricultural products" also includes
algacultural products as defined in section 901.511 of the Revised
Code
and maple syrup and maple products
.
(C)
"Association" means any corporation organized under this
chapter.
(D)
"Bargaining" means the mutual obligation of a handler and a
marketing cooperative to meet at reasonable times and confer and
negotiate in good faith. Negotiations may include all terms relative
to trading between handlers and producers. The obligation does not
require either party to agree upon price, terms of sale, or any other
marketing agreement, or to make a concession.
(E)
"Board" means the board of directors of an association.
(F)
"Cooperative" means an association or a foreign
association.
(G)
"Entity," except as otherwise provided, means a foreign
association, a foreign or domestic corporation other than a
cooperative, or a foreign or domestic limited liability company.
(H)
"Foreign association" means a corporation organized under
the cooperative laws of another state or the District of Columbia or
a foreign corporation organized under corporation laws of another
state, the District of Columbia, or the United States that operates
on a cooperative basis.
(I)
"Handler" means a person who acquires agricultural products
under a sales contract for the purpose of processing or reselling
agricultural products.
(J)
"Marketing agreement" means an agreement, contract, or
other arrangement between a cooperative and a member in which the
member agrees to market all or a part of the products or produce
produced by the member, or agrees to purchase all or a part of the
member's requirements for inputs, services, or supplies.
(K)
"Marketing cooperative" means any agricultural cooperative
meeting the requirements of the "Co-operative Marketing
Associations Act," 42 Stat. 388 (1922), 7 U.S.C.A. 291, that
negotiates sales contracts with handlers on behalf of its members and
is not in direct competition with any handler with which it
negotiates such contracts.
(L)
"Member" means a person who has been qualified and accepted
into membership in a cooperative.
(M)
"Membership stock" means any class of stock or other equity
interest in a cooperative, continuous ownership of which is required
for membership in the cooperative.
(N)
"Patron" means a person with which a cooperative has made
an enforceable agreement to allocate and distribute a per unit
retain, patronage dividend, or patronage refund with respect to
business conducted by the cooperative with or for the person.
(O)
"Patronage stock" means any stock or other equity interest
in a cooperative that was originally issued by the cooperative with
respect to patronage transactions.
(P)
"Person" includes a natural person, partnership,
corporation, cooperative, or other entity.
(Q)
"Processing" means changing the physical or chemical
characteristics of agricultural products.
(R)
"Producer" means a person engaged in the production of
agricultural products for the market, including a lessor of real or
personal property used for production of agricultural products for
the market that receives as rent part of the agricultural product.
(S)
"Sales contract" means a marketing agreement or other
similar arrangement between a handler and a producer, negotiated by
the producer or by an agricultural cooperative acting as agent for a
producer, under which the producer agrees to grow or produce
agricultural products for sale to the handler.
Sec.
5501.50.
(A)
As used in this section, "agricultural purposes" means
commercial animal or poultry husbandry,
the
cultivation of trees to produce maple syrup and maple products,
or
the production for a commercial purpose of field crops, tobacco,
fruits, or vegetables. "Agricultural purposes" also
includes algaculture meaning the farming of algae.
(B)
Whenever the director of transportation acquires real property as
provided in section 5501.32 of the Revised Code or otherwise acquires
real property in fee simple in the name of the state for highway
purposes and subsequently finds the property is not needed for such
purposes, or will not be needed for such purposes for a period of two
years or more following the date of acquisition of the property, and
the property is adjacent to or in the near vicinity of property used
for agricultural purposes, the director may, at the director's
discretion, offer to lease the property for agricultural purposes for
one year at a price consistent with rentals of adjacent agricultural
lands in the manner provided in divisions (C), (D), (E), (F), (G),
(H), and (I) of this section before conveying or transferring the fee
simple estate or any lesser estate or interest in the property, or
permitting its use by another.
(C)
Real property shall be offered for lease by mailing a notice, in
writing, to each person who owns or leases property being used for
agricultural purposes that adjoins or is in the near vicinity of the
property. The notice shall include a general description of the
property offered for lease, the cost of the lease, the manner in
which the lease will be made, the requirements of this section, a
statement that the person shall notify the director in writing within
no more than four weeks following mailing of the notice if the person
is interested in leasing the property, and such other information as
the director considers necessary.
(D)
If the director receives information in writing from two or more
persons who are interested in leasing the real property, one of whom
is the owner of real property that adjoins the property offered for
lease, the director may lease the property to that person. If the
director receives such information from two or more persons, two or
more of whom are owners of real property that adjoins the property
offered for lease, the director shall lease the property to the
person whose information is contained in the envelope bearing the
earliest postmark.
(E)
Any lease made under this section shall be conditioned upon the
lessee's written agreement to maintain weed control on the property.
If the director has reasonable cause to believe that such an
agreement is violated, the director, or any of the director's
authorized agents, may, at the director's or authorized agent's
discretion, do either of the following:
(1)
Provide necessary weed control. The expense of providing weed control
shall be paid by the director out of any appropriation to the
department of transportation available for the establishment, use,
maintenance, or repair of highways and the amount thereof shall be
reimbursed by the lessee to the department and if not reimbursed the
amount thereof shall be certified to the attorney general for
collection by civil action against the lessee of the property.
(2)
File a complaint by petition in the court of common pleas of the
county in which the property is located. Upon a finding by the court
that a violation of the agreement exists as alleged in the petition,
the court shall enter an order of abatement against the lessee of the
property.
(F)
If real property offered for lease as provided in this section is
located near a highway where the use of the property for crops such
as corn and wheat will obstruct the view of any part of the highway
from a person operating a vehicle on the highway or on an
intersecting highway or private road, or near an airport where such
use of the property may interfere with airport safety, any lease made
shall be conditioned upon the lessee's written agreement to use the
property for only crops that will not create such an obstruction of
the view of the highway or interference with airport safety. If the
director has reasonable cause to believe that such an agreement is
violated, the director, or any of the director's authorized agents,
may, at the director's or authorized agent's discretion, do either of
the following:
(1)
Remove the crop or such part thereof as may be necessary to ensure
that the view of the highway will not be obstructed, or that airport
safety will not be reduced. The expense of the removal shall be paid
by the director out of any appropriation to the department of
transportation available for the establishment, use, maintenance, or
repair of highways and the amount thereof shall be reimbursed by the
lessee to the department and if not reimbursed the amount thereof
shall be certified to the attorney general for collection by civil
action against the lessee of the property.
(2)
File a complaint by petition in the court of common pleas of the
county in which the property is located. Upon a finding by the court
that a violation of the agreement exists as alleged in the petition,
the court shall enter an order of abatement against the lessee of the
property.
(G)
The director may offer to renew annually any lease of real property
made under this section to the current lessee or may offer the
opportunity to lease to others in the manner and subject to the
requirements and limitations as provided for in this section.
(H)
The requirements of sections 5501.32, 5501.34, and 5501.45 of the
Revised Code relating to the appraisal, advertisement, manner of
sale, and minimum sale price of property not needed for highway
purposes and the requirements of sections 5501.34 and 5501.45 of the
Revised Code relating to the use of property not needed for highway
purposes for recreation purposes, do not apply to a lease or renewal
of a lease of real property made in accordance with this section.
(I)
Except as provided in divisions (E)(1) and (F)(1) of this section,
all expense incurred in the lease of real property under this section
shall be paid out of the proceeds of the lease and the balance shall
be deposited in the highway fund from which the purchase of the real
property giving rise to the proceeds was made.
(J)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the director to
acquire real property by appropriation for the purpose of leasing it
for agricultural purposes.
Sec.
5713.30.
As
used in sections 5713.31 to 5713.37 and 5715.01 of the Revised Code:
(A)
"Land devoted exclusively to agricultural use" means:
(1)
Tracts, lots, or parcels of land totaling not less than ten acres to
which, during the three calendar years prior to the year in which
application is filed under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code, and
through the last day of May of such year, one or more of the
following apply:
(a)
The tracts, lots, or parcels of land were devoted exclusively to
commercial animal or poultry husbandry, aquaculture, algaculture
meaning the farming of algae, apiculture, the cultivation of hemp by
a person issued a hemp cultivation license under section 928.02 of
the Revised Code,
the
cultivation of trees for the commercial production of maple syrup or
maple products,
the
production for a commercial purpose of timber, field crops, tobacco,
fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental trees, sod, or flowers,
or the growth of timber for a noncommercial purpose, if the land on
which the timber is grown is contiguous to or part of a parcel of
land under common ownership that is otherwise devoted exclusively to
agricultural use.
(b)
The tracts, lots, or parcels of land were devoted exclusively to
biodiesel production, biomass energy production, electric or heat
energy production, or biologically derived methane gas production if
the land on which the production facility is located is contiguous to
or part of a parcel of land under common ownership or leasehold that
is otherwise devoted exclusively to agricultural use, provided that
(i) at least fifty per cent of the feedstock used in the production
is agricultural feedstock, (ii) at least twenty per cent of the
agricultural feedstock used in the production is derived from parcels
of land under common ownership or leasehold, and (iii) none of the
feedstock used in the production consists of human waste. As used in
this division, "agricultural feedstock" means manure and
food waste, and "human waste" includes sludge as defined in
section 6111.01 of the Revised Code.
(c)
The tracts, lots, or parcels of land are eligible conservation land.
(2)
Tracts, lots, or parcels of land totaling less than ten acres that,
during the three calendar years prior to the year in which
application is filed under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code and
through the last day of May of such year, were devoted exclusively to
commercial animal or poultry husbandry, aquaculture, algaculture
meaning the farming of algae, apiculture, the cultivation of hemp by
a person issued a hemp cultivation license under section 928.02 of
the Revised Code,
the
cultivation of trees for the commercial production of maple syrup or
maple products,
the
production for a commercial purpose of field crops, tobacco, fruits,
vegetables, timber, nursery stock, ornamental trees, sod, or flowers
where such activities produced an average yearly gross income of at
least twenty-five hundred dollars during such three-year period or
where there is evidence of an anticipated gross income of such amount
from such activities during the tax year in which application is
made, or were eligible conservation land;
(3)
Tracts, lots, or parcels of land, or portions thereof that, during
the previous three consecutive calendar years have been designated as
land devoted exclusively to agricultural use, but such land has been
lying idle or fallow for up to one year and no action has occurred to
such land that is either inconsistent with the return of it to
agricultural production or converts the land devoted exclusively to
agricultural use as defined in this section. Such land shall remain
designated as land devoted exclusively to agricultural use provided
that beyond one year, but less than three years, the landowner proves
good cause as determined by the board of revision.
(4)
Tracts, lots, or parcels of land, or portions thereof that, during
the previous three consecutive calendar years have been designated as
land devoted exclusively to agricultural use, but such land has been
lying idle or fallow because of dredged material being stored or
deposited on such land pursuant to a contract between the land's
owner and the department of natural resources or the United States
army corps of engineers and no action has occurred to the land that
is either inconsistent with the return of it to agricultural
production or converts the land devoted exclusively to agricultural
use. Such land shall remain designated as land devoted exclusively to
agricultural use until the last year in which dredged material is
stored or deposited on the land pursuant to such a contract, but not
to exceed five years.
"Land
devoted exclusively to agricultural use" includes tracts, lots,
or parcels of land or portions thereof that are used for conservation
practices, provided that the tracts, lots, or parcels of land or
portions thereof comprise twenty-five per cent or less of the total
of the tracts, lots, or parcels of land that satisfy the criteria
established in division (A)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of this section
together with the tracts, lots, or parcels of land or portions
thereof that are used for conservation practices.
Notwithstanding
any other provision of law to the contrary, the existence of
agritourism on a tract, lot, or parcel of land that otherwise meets
the definition of "land devoted exclusively to agricultural use"
as defined in this division does not disqualify that tract, lot, or
parcel from valuation under sections 5713.30 to 5713.37 and 5715.01
of the Revised Code.
A
tract, lot, or parcel of land taxed under sections 5713.22 to 5713.26
of the Revised Code is not land devoted exclusively to agricultural
use.
A
tract, lot, parcel, or portion thereof on which medical marijuana or
adult-use marijuana, as those terms are defined by section 3796.01 of
the Revised Code, is cultivated or processed is not land devoted
exclusively to agricultural use.
(B)
"Conversion of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use"
means any of the following:
(1)
The failure of the owner of land devoted exclusively to agricultural
use during the next preceding calendar year to file a renewal
application under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code without good
cause as determined by the board of revision;
(2)
The failure of the new owner of such land to file an initial
application under that section without good cause as determined by
the board of revision;
(3)
The failure of such land or portion thereof to qualify as land
devoted exclusively to agricultural use for the current calendar year
as requested by an application filed under such section;
(4)
The failure of the owner of the land described in division (A)(3) or
(4) of this section to act on such land in a manner that is
consistent with the return of the land to agricultural production
after three years.
The
construction or installation of an energy facility, as defined in
section 5727.01 of the Revised Code, on a portion of a tract, lot, or
parcel of land devoted exclusively to agricultural use shall not
cause the remaining portion of the tract, lot, or parcel to be
regarded as a conversion of land devoted exclusively to agricultural
use if the remaining portion of the tract, lot, or parcel continues
to be devoted exclusively to agricultural use.
(C)
"Tax savings" means the difference between the dollar
amount of real property taxes levied in any year on land valued and
assessed in accordance with its current agricultural use value and
the dollar amount of real property taxes that would have been levied
upon such land if it had been valued and assessed for such year in
accordance with Section 2 of Article XII, Ohio Constitution.
(D)
"Owner" includes, but is not limited to, any person owning
a fee simple, fee tail, or life estate or a buyer on a land
installment contract.
(E)
"Conservation practices" are practices used to abate soil
erosion as required in the management of the farming operation, and
include, but are not limited to, the installation, construction,
development, planting, or use of grass waterways, terraces,
diversions, filter strips, field borders, windbreaks, riparian
buffers, wetlands, ponds, and cover crops for that purpose.
(F)
"Wetlands" has the same meaning as in section 6111.02 of
the Revised Code.
(G)
"Biodiesel" means a mono-alkyl ester combustible liquid
fuel that is derived from vegetable oils or animal fats or any
combination of those reagents and that meets the American society for
testing and materials specification D6751-03a for biodiesel fuel
(B100) blend stock distillate fuels.
(H)
"Biologically derived methane gas" means gas from the
anaerobic digestion of organic materials, including animal waste and
agricultural crops and residues.
(I)
"Biomass energy" means energy that is produced from organic
material derived from plants or animals and available on a renewable
basis, including, but not limited to, agricultural crops, tree crops,
crop by-products, and residues.
(J)
"Electric or heat energy" means electric or heat energy
generated from manure, cornstalks, soybean waste, or other
agricultural feedstocks.
(K)
"Dredged material" means material that is excavated or
dredged from waters of this state. "Dredged material" does
not include material resulting from normal farming, silviculture, and
ranching activities, such as plowing, cultivating, seeding, and
harvesting, for production of food, fiber, and forest products.
(L)
"Agritourism" has the same meaning as in section 901.80 of
the Revised Code.
(M)
"Eligible conservation land" means either of the following:
(1)
A tract, lot, or parcel devoted to and qualified for payments or
other compensation under a land retirement or conservation program
under an agreement with an agency of the federal government;
(2)
A tract, lot, or parcel that meets at least one of the conditions
described in divisions (M)(2)(a) to (c) of this section and the
condition described in division (M)(2)(d) of this section.
(a)
The land is subject to an agricultural water project or nature water
project that receives funding from the H2Ohio fund created in section
126.60 of the Revised Code.
(b)
The land was subject to such a project during the immediately
preceding calendar year.
(c)
The land is or was subject to such a project for the current or one
of the two immediately preceding tax years and, for the current tax
year, is subject to either a conservation easement held by the state
or an agency of the state or a conservation easement held by any
other person if such easement is a condition of a nature water
project that is funded through the H2Ohio fund.
(d)
For the tax year that includes or immediately precedes the year in
which the land became subject to the project described in division
(M)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section, as applicable, the land
qualified as land devoted exclusively to agricultural use pursuant to
other criteria in divisions (A)(1) to (4) of this section.
As
used in division (M)(2) of this section, "conservation easement"
has the same meaning as in section 5301.67 of the Revised Code.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 1.61, 303.01, 519.01, 901.511, 929.01, 1311.55,
1729.01, 5501.50
,
and 5713.30
of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section
3.
The
amendment by this act of section 5713.30 of the Revised Code applies
to tax years beginning on or after the effective date of this
section.
Section
4.
Section
901.511 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite
of the section as amended by both H.B. 276 and H.B. 389 of the 129th
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.