The bill amends various sections of the Revised Code to enhance regulations surrounding financial disclosure forms and the annexation process for municipal corporations. It introduces new requirements for public officials, such as city managers and village administrators, to file disclosure statements with the Ohio ethics commission, detailing sources of income, investments, and gifts, while establishing deadlines for submission. The bill also allows the ethics commission to extend filing deadlines for good cause and mandates confidentiality for certain disclosure statements unless a conflict of interest arises. Additionally, it implements a new fee structure for filing, including a $35 fee for city managers, and specifies that late fees will apply for overdue statements.

In terms of annexation, the bill modifies existing procedures by reducing the maximum territory size for annexation from five hundred acres to two hundred acres and increasing the required contiguous boundary length from five percent to twenty percent. It establishes a special procedure for annexing land for significant economic development projects and outlines the responsibilities of the state board of education regarding the transfer of school district responsibilities when territory is annexed. The bill also requires school district approval for property tax exemptions in community reinvestment areas and includes provisions to ensure that annexed territories remain subject to township real property taxes unless specified otherwise. Overall, these amendments aim to streamline the annexation process while ensuring local governance and educational authorities have a voice in financial decisions affecting their communities.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 102.02, 709.022, 709.023, 709.024, 709.16, 3735.67