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sb120_02_PS
As Passed by the Senate
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
Am. S. B. No. 120
2025-2026
Senator Hicks-Hudson
Cosponsors: Senators Blackshear,
Smith, DeMora, Weinstein, Schaffer, Brenner, Romanchuk, Cirino,
Craig, Cutrona, Gavarone, Johnson, Lang, Liston, Patton, Reineke,
Reynolds, Timken, Wilkin
To
amend sections 3781.06, 3781.061, and 5713.30 of the Revised Code
relating
to temporary greenhouses and building codes, to establish the Urban
Farmer Youth Initiative Pilot Program, to codify certain property tax
requirements for agricultural land, and to make an appropriation.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 3781.06, 3781.061, and 5713.30 of the Revised Code be
amended to read as follows:
Sec.
3781.06.
(A)(1)
Any building that may be used as a place of resort, assembly,
education, entertainment, lodging, dwelling, trade, manufacture,
repair, storage, traffic, or occupancy by the public, any residential
building, and all other buildings or parts and appurtenances of those
buildings erected within this state, shall be so constructed,
erected, equipped, and maintained that they shall be safe and
sanitary for their intended use and occupancy.
(2)
Nothing in sections 3781.06 to 3781.18, 3781.40, and 3791.04 of the
Revised Code shall be construed to limit the power of the division of
industrial compliance of the department of commerce to adopt rules of
uniform application governing manufactured home parks pursuant to
section 4781.26 of the Revised Code.
(B)
Sections 3781.06 to 3781.18, 3781.40, and 3791.04 of the Revised Code
do not apply to any of the following:
(1)
Either
of the following:
(a)
Buildings
or structures that are incident to the use for agricultural purposes
of the land on which the buildings or structures are located,
provided those buildings or structures are not used in the business
of retail trade. For purposes of this division, a building or
structure is not considered used in the business of retail trade if
fifty per cent or more of the gross income received from sales of
products in the building or structure by the owner or operator is
from sales of products produced or raised in a normal crop year on
farms owned or operated by the seller
;
(b)
Temporary greenhouses
.
(2)
Existing single-family, two-family, and three-family detached
dwelling houses for which applications have been submitted to the
director of children and youth pursuant to section 5104.03 of the
Revised Code for the purposes of operating type A family child care
homes as defined in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code;
(3)
A mobile computing unit. As used in this division, "mobile
computing unit" means an assembly that meets all of the
following criteria:
(a)
Its purpose is to house and operate computers as defined in section
2913.01 of the Revised Code.
(b)
Its exterior is integral to the protection or cooling, or both, of
the computers housed within it.
(c)
It is not attached to a permanent foundation.
(d)
It is not accessible to the public.
(e)
It is not designed for regular occupancy, but rather limited access
for service and maintenance.
(f)
It can be moved or transported as a single integrated unit.
(C)
As used in sections 3781.06 to 3781.18 and 3791.04 of the Revised
Code:
(1)
"Agricultural purposes" include agriculture, farming,
dairying, pasturage, apiculture, algaculture meaning the farming of
algae, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, ornamental
horticulture, olericulture, pomiculture, and animal and poultry
husbandry.
(2)
"Building" means any structure consisting of foundations,
walls, columns, girders, beams, floors, and roof, or a combination of
any number of these parts, with or without other parts or
appurtenances.
(3)
"Industrialized unit" means a building unit or assembly of
closed construction fabricated in an off-site facility, that is
substantially self-sufficient as a unit or as part of a greater
structure, and that requires transportation to the site of intended
use. "Industrialized unit" includes units installed on the
site as independent units, as part of a group of units, or
incorporated with standard construction methods to form a completed
structural entity. "Industrialized unit" does not include a
manufactured home as defined by division (C)(4) of this section or a
mobile home as defined by division (O) of section 4501.01 of the
Revised Code.
(4)
"Manufactured home" means a building unit or assembly of
closed construction that is fabricated in an off-site facility and
constructed in conformance with the federal construction and safety
standards established by the secretary of housing and urban
development pursuant to the "Manufactured Housing Construction
and Safety Standards Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 700, 42 U.S.C.A.
5401, 5403, and that has a permanent label or tag affixed to it, as
specified in 42 U.S.C.A. 5415, certifying compliance with all
applicable federal construction and safety standards.
(5)
"Permanent foundation" means permanent masonry, concrete,
or a footing or foundation approved by the division of industrial
compliance of the department of commerce pursuant to Chapter 4781. of
the Revised Code, to which a manufactured or mobile home may be
affixed.
(6)
"Permanently sited manufactured home" means a manufactured
home that meets all of the following criteria:
(a)
The structure is affixed to a permanent foundation and is connected
to appropriate facilities;
(b)
The structure, excluding any addition, has a width of at least
twenty-two feet at one point, a length of at least twenty-two feet at
one point, and a total living area, excluding garages, porches, or
attachments, of at least nine hundred square feet;
(c)
The structure has a minimum 3:12 residential roof pitch, conventional
residential siding, and a six-inch minimum eave overhang, including
appropriate guttering;
(d)
The structure was manufactured after January 1, 1995;
(e)
The structure is not located in a manufactured home park as defined
by section 4781.01 of the Revised Code.
(7)
"Safe," with respect to a building, means it is free from
danger or hazard to the life, safety, health, or welfare of persons
occupying or frequenting it, or of the public and from danger of
settlement, movement, disintegration, or collapse, whether such
danger arises from the methods or materials of its construction or
from equipment installed therein, for the purpose of lighting,
heating, the transmission or utilization of electric current, or from
its location or otherwise.
(8)
"Sanitary," with respect to a building, means it is free
from danger or hazard to the health of persons occupying or
frequenting it or to that of the public, if such danger arises from
the method or materials of its construction or from any equipment
installed therein, for the purpose of lighting, heating, ventilating,
or plumbing.
(9)
"Residential building" means a one-family, two-family, or
three-family dwelling house, and any accessory structure incidental
to that dwelling house. "Residential building" includes a
one-family, two-family, or three-family dwelling house that is used
as a model to promote the sale of a similar dwelling house.
"Residential building" does not include an industrialized
unit as defined by division (C)(3) of this section, a manufactured
home as defined by division (C)(4) of this section, or a mobile home
as defined by division (O) of section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.
(10)
"Nonresidential building" means any building that is not a
residential building or a manufactured or mobile home.
(11)
"Accessory structure" means a structure that is attached to
a residential building and serves the principal use of the
residential building. "Accessory structure" includes, but
is not limited to, a garage, porch, or screened-in patio.
(12)
"Temporary greenhouse" means a structure covered with
transparent or translucent materials for the purpose of admitting
natural light and controlling the atmosphere for growing agricultural
products, and in which both of the following conditions apply:
(a)
There is little to no ground preparation;
(b)
There is no foundation.
Sec.
3781.061.
(A)
Whenever
a county zoning inspector under section 303.16 of the Revised Code,
or a township zoning inspector under section 519.16 of the Revised
Code, issues a zoning certificate that declares a specific building
or structure is to be used in agriculture, such building is not
subject to sections 3781.06 to 3781.20, 3781.40, or 3791.04 of the
Revised Code.
(B)
The exception to sections 3781.06 to 3781.20, 3781.40, or 3791.04 of
the Revised Code, as described in division (A) of this section,
includes a temporary greenhouse as defined in section 3781.06 of the
Revised Code.
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 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 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, as
defined by section 3796.01 of the Revised Code, is cultivated or
processed is not land devoted exclusively to agricultural use.
For
purposes of divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section, the total
acreage of land described in those divisions may include tracts,
lots, and parcels that are not contiguous, provided that owner's use
of the tracts, lots, and parcels are part of a single operation
within the same county.
(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 3781.06, 3781.061, and 5713.30 of the Revised Code
are hereby repealed.
Section
3.
(A)
The Chancellor of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Ohio
State University Cooperative Extension Services and Central State
University Cooperative Extension Services, shall establish the Urban
Farmer Youth Initiative Pilot Program to provide relevant programming
and support with regard to farming and agriculture to young people
between the ages of six to eighteen living in urban areas.
(B)
The pilot program shall operate for fiscal year 2027 and offer
programming in at least two, but not more than four, counties.
(C)(1)
The Chancellor and the Ohio State University Cooperative Extension
Services and Central State University Cooperative Extension Services
may do both of the following:
(a)
Use up to fifteen per cent of the amount appropriated for fiscal year
2027 for the pilot program to develop and establish the pilot
program;
(b)
Partner with local entities to deliver programming for the pilot
program. The Chancellor and the extension services may pay entities
for services with funds appropriated for this program.
(2)
Any appropriated funds may also be used to support existing
agricultural organizations to help expand programming to include
young people living in urban areas.
(D)
Any garden or structure created or used under the pilot program shall
not be subject to any restriction on height for such gardens or
structures.
Section
4.
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 those
fiscal years.
Section
5.
1
2
3
4
5
A
BOR
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION
B
General
Revenue Fund
C
GRF
235589
Urban
Farmer Youth Initiative Pilot Program
$0
$500,000
D
TOTAL
GRF General Revenue Fund
$0
$500,000
E
TOTAL
ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS
$0
$500,000
URBAN
FARMER YOUTH INITIATIVE PILOT PROGRAM
The
foregoing appropriation item 235589, Urban Farmer Youth Initiative
Pilot Program, shall be used by the Chancellor of Higher Education,
in collaboration with the Ohio State University and Central State
University, to administer the Urban Farmer Youth Initiative Pilot
Program pursuant to Section 3 of this act.
Section
6.
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
provisions of, H.B. 96 of the 136th General Assembly.