As Introduced
135th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 342
2023-2024
Senators Blessing, Smith
A BILL
To amend sections 122.175, 131.44, 131.51, 319.30, 1
319.301, 321.24, 323.08, 323.152, 323.155, 2
323.158, 351.01, 351.021, 353.06, 718.83, 3
1509.01, 1509.02, 1509.11, 1509.34, 1513.08, 4
1513.182, 3301.91, 3313.819, 3354.24, 3354.25, 5
4503.06, 4503.065, 5703.021, 5703.052, 5703.19, 6
5703.80, 5709.92, 5709.93, 5715.19, 5715.30, 7
5739.01, 5739.02, 5739.03, 5739.05, 5739.08, 8
5739.09, 5739.091, 5741.01, 5747.01, 5747.02, 9
5747.03, 5747.031, 5747.08, 5747.38, 5747.41, 10
5747.71, 5747.98, 5749.01, 5749.02, 5749.04, 11
5749.06, 5749.07, 5749.08, 5749.10, 5749.11, 12
5749.12, 5749.13, 5749.14, 5749.15, 5751.01, and 13
5751.20; to enact section 5747.86; and to repeal 14
sections 319.302, 1509.50, 5739.41, and 5751.40 15
of the Revised Code and to amend Section 259.30 16
of H.B. 33 of the 135th General Assembly to 17
modify the law governing property, income, sales 18
and use, severance, and lodging taxes; to 19
provide breakfast and lunch at no cost to public 20
and chartered nonpublic school students; to 21
increase the Local Government Fund; to modify 22
funding for the Low- and Moderate-income Housing 23
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As Introduced
Trust Fund; and to name this act A Good Deal for 24
Ohio. 25
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 122.175, 131.44, 131.51, 319.30, 26
319.301, 321.24, 323.08, 323.152, 323.155, 323.158, 351.01, 27
351.021, 353.06, 718.83, 1509.01, 1509.02, 1509.11, 1509.34, 28
1513.08, 1513.182, 3301.91, 3313.819, 3354.24, 3354.25, 4503.06, 29
4503.065, 5703.021, 5703.052, 5703.19, 5703.80, 5709.92, 30
5709.93, 5715.19, 5715.30, 5739.01, 5739.02, 5739.03, 5739.05, 31
5739.08, 5739.09, 5739.091, 5741.01, 5747.01, 5747.02, 5747.03, 32
5747.031, 5747.08, 5747.38, 5747.41, 5747.71, 5747.98, 5749.01, 33
5749.02, 5749.04, 5749.06, 5749.07, 5749.08, 5749.10, 5749.11, 34
5749.12, 5749.13, 5749.14, 5749.15, 5751.01, and 5751.20 be 35
amended and section 5747.86 of the Revised Code be enacted to 36
read as follows: 37
Sec. 122.175. (A) As used in this section: 38
(1) "Capital investment project" means a plan of 39
investment at a project site for the acquisition, construction, 40
renovation, expansion, replacement, or repair of a computer data 41
center or of computer data center equipment, but does not 42
include any of the following: 43
(a) Project costs paid before a date determined by the tax 44
credit authority for each capital investment project; 45
(b) Payments made to a related member as defined in 46
section 5733.042 of the Revised Code or to a consolidated 47
elected taxpayer or a combined taxpayer as defined in section 48
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As Introduced
5751.01 of the Revised Code. 49
(2) "Computer data center" means a facility used or to be 50
used primarily to house computer data center equipment used or 51
to be used in conducting one or more computer data center 52
businesses, as determined by the tax credit authority. 53
(3) "Computer data center business" means, as may be 54
further determined by the tax credit authority, a business that 55
provides electronic information services as defined in division 56
(Y)(1)(c) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code, or that leases 57
a facility to one or more such businesses. "Computer data center 58
business" does not include providing electronic publishing as 59
defined in that section. 60
(4) "Computer data center equipment" means tangible 61
personal property used or to be used for any of the following: 62
(a) To conduct a computer data center business, including 63
equipment cooling systems to manage the performance of computer 64
data center equipment; 65
(b) To generate, transform, transmit, distribute, or 66
manage electricity necessary to operate the tangible personal 67
property used or to be used in conducting a computer data center 68
business; 69
(c) As building and construction materials sold to 70
construction contractors for incorporation into a computer data 71
center. 72
(5) "Eligible computer data center" means a computer data 73
center that satisfies all of the following requirements: 74
(a) One or more taxpayers operating a computer data center 75
business at the project site will, in the aggregate, make 76
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payments for a capital investment project of at least one 77
hundred million dollars at the project site during one of the 78
following cumulative periods: 79
(i) For projects beginning in 2013, six consecutive 80
calendar years; 81
(ii) For projects beginning in 2014, four consecutive 82
calendar years; 83
(iii) For projects beginning in or after 2015, three 84
consecutive calendar years. 85
(b) One or more taxpayers operating a computer data center 86
business at the project site will, in the aggregate, pay annual 87
compensation that is subject to the withholding obligation 88
imposed under section 5747.06 of the Revised Code of at least 89
one million five hundred thousand dollars to employees employed 90
at the project site for each year of the agreement beginning on 91
or after the first day of the twenty-fifth month after the 92
agreement was entered into under this section. 93
(6) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 5701.01 of 94
the Revised Code. 95
(7) "Project site," "related member," and "tax credit 96
authority" have the same meanings as in sections 122.17 and 97
122.171 of the Revised Code. 98
(8) "Taxpayer" means any person subject to the taxes 99
imposed under Chapters 5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code. 100
(B) The tax credit authority may completely or partially 101
exempt from the taxes levied under Chapters 5739. and 5741. of 102
the Revised Code the sale, storage, use, or other consumption of 103
computer data center equipment used or to be used at an eligible 104
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As Introduced
computer data center. Any such exemption shall extend to charges 105
for the delivery, installation, or repair of the computer data 106
center equipment subject to the exemption under this section. 107
(C) A taxpayer that proposes a capital improvement project 108
for an eligible computer data center in this state may apply to 109
the tax credit authority to enter into an agreement under this 110
section authorizing a complete or partial exemption from the 111
taxes imposed under Chapters 5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code 112
on computer data center equipment purchased by the applicant or 113
any other taxpayer that operates a computer data center business 114
at the project site and used or to be used at the eligible 115
computer data center. The director of development services shall 116
prescribe the form of the application. After receipt of an 117
application, the authority shall forward copies of the 118
application to the director of budget and management and the tax 119
commissioner, each of whom shall review the application to 120
determine the economic impact that the proposed eligible 121
computer data center would have on the state and any affected 122
political subdivisions and submit to the authority a summary of 123
their determinations. The authority shall also forward a copy of 124
the application to the director of development services who 125
shall review the application to determine the economic impact 126
that the proposed eligible computer data center would have on 127
the state and the affected political subdivisions and shall 128
submit a summary of their determinations and recommendations to 129
the authority. 130
(D) Upon review and consideration of such determinations 131
and recommendations, the tax credit authority, before the 132
effective date of this amendment, may enter into an agreement 133
with the applicant and any other taxpayer that operates a 134
computer data center business at the project site for a complete 135
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As Introduced
or partial exemption from the taxes imposed under Chapters 5739. 136
and 5741. of the Revised Code on computer data center equipment 137
used or to be used at an eligible computer data center if the 138
authority determines all of the following: 139
(1) The capital investment project for the eligible 140
computer data center will increase payroll and the amount of 141
income taxes to be withheld from employee compensation pursuant 142
to section 5747.06 of the Revised Code. 143
(2) The applicant is economically sound and has the 144
ability to complete or effect the completion of the proposed 145
capital investment project. 146
(3) The applicant intends to and has the ability to 147
maintain operations at the project site for the term of the 148
agreement. 149
(4) Receiving the exemption is a major factor in the 150
applicant's decision to begin, continue with, or complete the 151
capital investment project. 152
(E) An agreement entered into under this section shall 153
include all of the following: 154
(1) A detailed description of the capital investment 155
project that is the subject of the agreement, including the 156
amount of the investment, the period over which the investment 157
has been or is being made, the annual compensation to be paid by 158
each taxpayer subject to the agreement to its employees at the 159
project site, and the anticipated amount of income taxes to be 160
withheld from employee compensation pursuant to section 5747.06 161
of the Revised Code. 162
(2) The percentage of the exemption from the taxes imposed 163
under Chapters 5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code for the 164
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computer data center equipment used or to be used at the 165
eligible computer data center, the length of time the computer 166
data center equipment will be exempted, and the first date on 167
which the exemption applies. 168
(3) A requirement that the computer data center remain an 169
eligible computer data center during the term of the agreement 170
and that the applicant maintain operations at the eligible 171
computer data center during that term. An applicant does not 172
violate the requirement described in division (E)(3) of this 173
section if the applicant ceases operations at the eligible 174
computer data center during the term of the agreement but 175
resumes those operations within eighteen months after the date 176
of cessation. The agreement shall provide that, in such a case, 177
the applicant and any other taxpayer that operates a computer 178
data center business at the project site shall not claim the tax 179
exemption authorized in the agreement for any purchase of 180
computer data center equipment made during the period in which 181
the applicant did not maintain operations at the eligible 182
computer data center. 183
(4) A requirement that, for each year of the term of the 184
agreement beginning on or after the first day of the twenty- 185
fifth month after the date the agreement was entered into, one 186
or more taxpayers operating a computer data center business at 187
the project site will, in the aggregate, pay annual compensation 188
that is subject to the withholding obligation imposed under 189
section 5747.06 of the Revised Code of at least one million five 190
hundred thousand dollars to employees at the eligible computer 191
data center. 192
(5) A requirement that each taxpayer subject to the 193
agreement annually report to the director of development 194
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services employment, tax withholding, capital investment, and 195
other information required by the director to perform the 196
director's duties under this section. 197
(6) A requirement that the director of development 198
services annually review the annual reports of each taxpayer 199
subject to the agreement to verify the information reported 200
under division (E)(5) of this section and compliance with the 201
agreement. Upon verification, the director shall issue a 202
certificate to each such taxpayer stating that the information 203
has been verified and that the taxpayer remains eligible for the 204
exemption specified in the agreement. 205
(7) A provision providing that the taxpayers subject to 206
the agreement may not relocate a substantial number of 207
employment positions from elsewhere in this state to the project 208
site unless the director of development services determines that 209
the appropriate taxpayer notified the legislative authority of 210
the county, township, or municipal corporation from which the 211
employment positions would be relocated. For purposes of this 212
paragraph, the movement of an employment position from one 213
political subdivision to another political subdivision shall be 214
considered a relocation of an employment position unless the 215
movement is confined to the project site. The transfer of an 216
employment position from one political subdivision to another 217
political subdivision shall not be considered a relocation of an 218
employment position if the employment position in the first 219
political subdivision is replaced by another employment 220
position. 221
(8) A waiver by each taxpayer subject