The bill amends section 1503.35 and enacts section 131.52 of the Revised Code to establish a framework for handling federal mineral royalty payments in Ohio. It defines "federal mineral royalty" as the state's share of payments received from oil, gas, or other mineral production on federal lands, including national forest system lands. The bill mandates that the treasurer of state deposit all federal mineral royalties received into a newly established federal mineral royalty clearing fund, which is separate from the state treasury. Within thirty days of each deposit, the director of the office of budget and management is required to transfer the royalties attributable to each county of origin to those respective counties.

Additionally, the bill specifies that funds received by counties from federal mineral royalties can only be appropriated for planning, construction and maintenance of public facilities, or provision of public services. It also clarifies that federal mineral royalties are not considered forest products and therefore are not subject to the distribution rules outlined in the amended section 1503.35. The existing section 1503.35 is repealed, streamlining the process for managing these federal payments.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 1503.35