Read the full stored bill text
As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 76
2025-2026
Representatives Lorenz, Baker
Cosponsors: Representatives Daniels,
Brennan, McNally
A
BILL
To
amend sections 505.01 and 505.82 and to enact section 505.013 of the
Revised Code
to
allow the electors of certain townships to increase the membership of
their boards of township trustees.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 505.01 and 505.82 be amended and section 505.013 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
505.01.
In
(A)
Except as otherwise provided in section 505.013 of the Revised Code,
in
each
township there shall be a board of township trustees consisting of
three members.
Two
of such
Trustees
shall be elected as follows:
(1)
Two
trustees
shall be elected at the general election in nineteen forty-nine and
quadrennially thereafter, in each township, who shall hold office for
a term of four years, commencing on the first day of January next
after their election.
The
(2)
The
third
trustee shall be elected at the general election in nineteen
fifty-one and quadrennially thereafter, in each township, who shall
hold office for a term of four years, commencing on the first day of
January next after the person's election.
At
(B)(1)
If the membership of a township's board of trustees is five members,
as permitted under section 505.013 of the Revised Code, two
additional trustees shall be elected at each general election
described in division (A)(2) of this section for terms of four years,
commencing on the first day of January after the election.
(2)
Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, all of the following
apply to a board of township trustees that has five members:
(a)
Any action that, under applicable law or rule, requires a two-thirds
vote of a board of township trustees instead requires a three-fifths
vote of the board.
(b)
Any action that, under applicable law or rule, must be performed by
at least two trustees of a township instead must be performed by at
least three trustees of the township.
(c)
If the township is included in a district or other entity whose
governing body, under applicable law or rule, includes all of the
members of the board of trustees, only three trustees of the township
shall be voting members of the governing body, and the remaining two
trustees shall be nonvoting members of the governing body. The board
of township trustees shall elect the three trustees who are voting
members of the governing body from among its members.
(C)
At
the
first meeting of the board each
calender
calendar
year,
the board shall select one of its members to serve as chairperson for
a term of one year. If the position of chairperson becomes vacant,
the board shall select one of its members to preside.
Sec.
505.013.
(A)
The electors of a township that has a population of twenty thousand
or more, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census,
may increase the membership of the township's board of trustees to
five members as follows:
(1)
Electors of the township shall file with the board of elections a
petition proposing to submit to the electors of the township the
question of whether to increase the membership of the township's
board of trustees to five members. The petition shall be signed by a
number of electors of the township equal to ten per cent of the total
votes cast for the office of governor at the most recent election for
that office in the township.
(2)
After receiving a valid petition submitted under division (A)(1) of
this section, the board of elections shall submit the following
question to the electors of the township at the next general election
in an even-numbered year occurring at least ninety days after the day
the petition is submitted to the board of elections:
"Shall
the membership of the Board of Trustees of ________ (name of
township) in the county of ________ (name of county) be increased
from three members to five members?
____
Yes
____
No"
(3)
If a majority of electors voting on the question vote in the
affirmative, then thereafter, two additional trustees shall be
elected under division (B)(1) of section 505.01 of the Revised Code,
except as otherwise provided in divisions (B) and (C) of this
section.
(B)
The electors of a township that has a population of twenty thousand
or more, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census,
and whose board of trustees has five members, may decrease the
membership of the township's board of trustees to three members as
follows:
(1)
Electors of the township shall file with the board of elections a
petition proposing to submit to the electors of the township the
question of whether to decrease the membership of the township's
board of trustees to three members. The petition shall be signed by a
number of electors of the township equal to ten per cent of the total
votes cast for the office of governor at the most recent election for
that office in the township.
(2)
Upon receiving a valid petition submitted under division (B)(1) of
this section, the board of elections shall submit the following
question to the electors of the township at the next general election
in an even-numbered year occurring at least ninety days after the day
the petition is submitted to the board of elections:
"Shall
the membership of the Board of Trustees of ________ (name of
township) in the county of ________ (name of county) be decreased
from five members to three members?
____
Yes
____
No"
(3)
If a majority of electors voting on the question vote in the
affirmative, then thereafter, only one trustee shall be elected at
each general election described in division (A)(2) of section 505.01
of the Revised Code, unless and until the electors of the township
again increase the membership of the board of trustees under division
(A) of this section. The two additional trustees previously elected
under division (B)(1) of section 505.01 of the Revised Code shall
serve the remainders of their terms. If a vacancy occurs in the
office of an additional trustee who is serving the remainder of a
term under this division, the vacancy shall be filled for the
remainder of the unexpired term as provided in section 503.24 of the
Revised Code.
(C)
If the population of a township with a board of trustees that has
five members ceases to be twenty thousand or more, as determined by
the most recent federal decennial census, both of the following
apply:
(1)
Thereafter, only one trustee shall be elected at each general
election described in division (A)(2) of section 505.01 of the
Revised Code, unless and until the population of the township becomes
twenty thousand or more, as determined by the most recent federal
decennial census, and the electors of the township again increase the
membership of the board of trustees under division (A) of this
section.
(2)
The two additional trustees previously elected under division (B)(1)
of section 505.01 of the Revised Code shall serve the remainders of
their terms. If a vacancy occurs in the office of an additional
trustee who is serving the remainder of a term under this division,
the vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term
as provided in section 503.24 of the Revised Code.
Sec.
505.82.
(A)
If a board of township trustees by a unanimous vote or, in the event
of the unavoidable absence of one trustee, by an affirmative vote of
two trustees
in
the case of a township that has three trustees, or by an affirmative
vote of four trustees in the case of a township that has five
trustees,
adopts
a resolution declaring that an emergency exists that threatens life
or property within the unincorporated territory of the township or
that such an emergency is imminent, the board may exercise the powers
described in divisions (A)(1) and (2) and (B) of this section during
the emergency for a period of time not exceeding six months following
the adoption of the resolution. The resolution shall state the
specific time period for which the emergency powers are in effect.
(1)
If an owner of an undedicated road or stream bank in the
unincorporated territory of the township has not provided for the
removal of snow, ice, debris, or other obstructions from the road or
bank, the board may provide for that removal. Prior to providing for
the removal, the board shall give, or make a good faith attempt to
give, oral notice to the owner or owners of the road or bank of the
board's intent to clear the road or bank and to impose a service
charge for doing so. The board shall establish just and equitable
service charges for the removal to be paid, except as provided in
division (B) of this section, by the owners of the road or bank.
The
board shall keep a record of the costs incurred by the township in
removing snow, ice, debris, or other obstructions from the road or
bank. The service charges shall be based on these costs and shall be
in an amount sufficient to recover these costs. If there is more than
one owner of the road or bank, the board, except as provided in
division (B) of this section, shall allocate the service charges
among the owners on an equitable basis. The board shall notify, in
writing, each owner of the road or bank of the amount of the service
charges and shall certify the charges to the county auditor. The
service charges shall constitute a lien upon the property. The
auditor shall place the service charges on a special duplicate to be
collected as other taxes and returned to the township general fund.
(2)
The board may contract for the immediate acquisition, replacement, or
repair of equipment needed for the emergency situation, without
following the competitive bidding requirements of section 5549.21 or
any other section of the Revised Code.
(B)
In lieu of collecting service charges from owners for the removal of
snow or ice from an undedicated road by the board of township
trustees as provided in division (A)(1) of this section, the board
may enter into a contract with a developer whereby the developer
agrees to pay the service charges for the snow and ice removal
instead of the owners.
(C)
The removal of snow, ice, debris, or other obstructions from an
undedicated road by a board of township trustees acting pursuant to a
resolution adopted under division (A) of this section does not
constitute approval or acceptance of the undedicated road.
(D)
As used in this section, "undedicated road" means a road
that has not been approved and accepted by the board of county
commissioners and is not a part of the state, county, or township
road systems as provided in section 5535.01 of the Revised Code.
(E)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive the requirement
under section 1517.15 of the Revised Code that approval of plans be
obtained from the director of natural resources or the director's
representative prior to modifying or causing the modification of the
channel of any watercourse that is a wild, scenic, or recreational
river outside the limits of a municipal corporation.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 505.01 and 505.82 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.