OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.B. 52 Bill Analysis
134th General Assembly
Click here for S.B. 52’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Passed by the Senate
Primary Sponsors: Sens. Reineke and McColley
Effective Date:
J.R. Lallo, Research Analyst
SUMMARY
Energy development districts
 Allows a board of county commissioners to designate all or part of the unincorporated
area of the county as an energy development district (EDD) to allow for the construction
of any or all of the following (collectively, known as “utility facilities”):
 Economically significant wind farms;
 Large wind farms;
 Large solar facilities.
 Prohibits the construction of utility facilities outside of an EDD designated for the
construction of that type of facility in a county in which one or more EDDs have been
established.
 Establishes a referendum and related requirements for the approval or rejection of the
designation of an EDD by a board of county commissioners.
County bans on solar and wind facilities
 Allows a board of county commissioners to prohibit the construction of any or all of the
following:
 Economically significant wind farms;
 Large wind farms;
 Large solar facilities.
County approval regarding utility facilities
 Requires a person, before applying for a Power Siting Board (PSB) certificate, or existing
certificate amendment, for placement of a utility facility in the unincorporated area of a
county, to hold a public meeting in the county where the facility is to be located.
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 Requires the prospective applicant to provide certain information at the public meeting
and to the board of county commissioners regarding the utility facility that is the subject
of the application.
 Allows a board of county commissioners, after receiving information about the utility
facility, to adopt a resolution prohibiting its construction or limiting its geographic size.
PSB membership regarding utility facilities
 Requires that, for all applications pertaining to an application for a certificate or for an
amendment to an existing certificate for a utility facility, the power siting board must
include two ad hoc members to represent the interests of the residents of the area in
which the utility facility is to be located.
 Provides that the ad hoc members are to be the chairperson of the board of township
trustees and the president of the board of county commissioners of the township and
county in which the utility facility is to be located, or their designees.
 Provides that, if the utility facility is to be located in multiple townships or counties, a
single ad hoc member will be chosen by a majority vote of all the boards of township
trustees to represent those boards and a single ad hoc member will be chosen by a
majority vote of all the boards of county commissioners to represent those boards.
 Prevents any person with a conflict of interest from serving as an ad hoc commissioner.
PSB certification process
 Requires PSB to notify boards of township trustees and the boards of county
commissioners that an application has been filed for a certificate, or an amendment to
an existing certificate, to construct a utility facility in their county or township.
 Provides that PSB cannot grant a certificate or amendment for a utility facility if the
prospective applicant provided to the board of county commissioners for the public
meeting different information regarding nameplate capacity, geographic area, and
generation type than what PSB possesses.
 Provides that PSB cannot grant a certificate or an amendment, if the utility facility
exceeds the limited boundaries set by the board of county commissioners by resolution.
 Provides for PSB to take certain actions regarding a certificate or amendment following
a county action to prohibit, or limit the area of placement of, a utility facility.
Applicability
 Provides that the bill applies to any application that has been filed with, but has not
been determined to be complete and accepted by PSB, as of the effective date of the
bill.
 Provides that any application not determined to be complete and accepted by the
power siting board prior to the effective date of the bill is subject to review and
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approval by the board of county commissioners of the county in which the utility facility
is to be located.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Energy development districts
The bill creates a process in which a board of county commissioners may designate an
Energy Development District (EDD) to allow for the construction of a utility facility, which is any
or all of the following:1
 “Economically significant wind farm” defined as wind turbines and associated facilities
with a single interconnection to the electrical grid and designed for, or capable of,
operation at an aggregate capacity of five or more megawatts but less than fifty
megawatts. The term excludes any such wind farm in operation on June 24, 2008. The
term also excludes one or more wind turbines and associated facilities that are primarily
dedicated to providing electricity to a single customer at a single location and that are
designed for, or capable of, operation at an aggregate capacity of less than twenty
megawatts, as measured at the customer’s point of interconnection to the electrical
grid.
 “Large solar facility” means an electric generating plant that consists of solar panels and
associated facilities with a single interconnection to the electrical grid that is a “major
utility facility” (which is an electric generating facility and associated facilities designed
for, or capable of, operation at fifty megawatts or more).
 “Large wind farm” means an electric generating plant that consists of wind turbines and
associated facilities with a single interconnection to the electrical grid that is also a
major utility facility.
Build within EDDs
The bill prohibits the construction of any utility facility within the unincorporated area of
a county outside of an EDD, if that county’s board of county commissioners has designated one
or more EDDs.2
The bill prohibits the Power Siting Board (PSB) from granting a certificate, or an
amendment to an existing certificate, for the construction, operation, and maintenance of any
utility facility to be located outside of an EDD in a county where one or more EDDs have been
designated by the board of county commissioners. PSB may only grant a certificate or
1 R.C. 303.57, 303.59, and 4906.01; R.C. 4906.32, not in the bill.
2 R.C. 303.58.
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amendment if the utility facility is of the type permitted within the EDD and if the utility will not
extend beyond the boundaries of the district.3
Procedure to designate an EDD
A board of county commissioners may adopt a resolution designating an EDD at a
regular meeting of a special meeting called for the purpose for adopting such a resolution. Any
resolution designating an EDD shall fix the boundaries of the district within the unincorporated
area of the county and must include a map of the EDD, as well as texts sufficient to identify the
boundaries of the EDD.4
Within five days of adopting the resolution, the board of county commissioners must file
the resolution and all accompanying maps and texts with the county recorder and with the
county of regional planning office, if one exists. However, the failure to file the resolution,
maps, and texts, will not invalidate the resolution.5
Referendum re: designation of an EDD
The bill conditions the designation of an EDD upon the right of referendum the bill
grants county voters. A resolution designating an EDD becomes effective 30 days from the day
it is adopted, unless a referendum petition is filed with the board of county commissioners.
Referendum process
When petition is received
If a timely referendum petition regarding the designation of an EDD is filed with the
board of county commissioners, it must certify the petition to the county board of elections
(1) within two weeks after receiving it and (2) not less than 90 days before the election at which
the EDD designation will be held. If the board of elections determines the petition is sufficient
and valid, it will submit the EDD designation question for a vote at a special election held during
either the next primary or general election held at least 120 days after the petition is filed. At
least 120 days must pass between the board of elections receiving the petition and the vote.
Petition requirements
The referendum petition must be signed by the number of qualified voters residing in
the county equal to at least 8% of the total votes cast for all candidates for governor in that
county at the most recent general election at which a governor was elected. Each petition must
contain a brief summary of the contents of the resolution designating the EDD. The petition
must contain the number and the full and correct title, if any, of the resolution designating the
EDD. These requirements are in addition to current Ohio law governing petitions.
3 R.C. 4906.101.
4 R.C. 303.59(B) to (C).
5 R.C. 303.59 (D) and 303.60.
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The bill also sets forth the basic form for a “Petition for Referendum on the Designation
of an Energy Development District,” that includes, for example, the name or number of the
resolution, if any, the county name, a statement by the petition circulator, and the statement
that election falsification is a fifth degree felony. The form actually used must substantially
follow this basic form.
Voter action
The resolution designating the EDD will not take effect unless it is approved by a
majority of voters voting on it. If a majority of the voters approve the certificate or amendment,
it will take effect immediately.6
County bans on solar and wind facilities
The bill allows a board of county commissioners to adopt a resolution prohibiting the
construction of any or all of the following:7
 An economically significant wind farm;
 A large solar facility;
 A large wind farm.
If a board of county commissioners adopts such a resolution, no person can file an
application for a certificate, or an amendment to an existing certificate, from PSB to construct,
operate, or maintain any utility facility prohibited by the resolution.8
County approval regarding utility facilities
Pre-PSB application public meeting and notice
At least 90 days, but no more than nine months, before applying for a certificate, or an
amendment to an existing certificate, from PSB for a utility facility to be located (in whole or in
part) in the unincorporated area of a county, the person intending to apply for the certificate or
amendment must hold a public meeting in that county. The prospective applicant must provide
written notice regarding the meeting to the board of county commissioners, as well as the
boards of trustees of every township within the county in which the utility facility is to be
located at least 14 days before the meeting is held.9
6 R.C. 303.60.
7 R.C. 303.61(A).
8 R.C. 303.61(B).
9 R.C. 303.62(A) and (B).
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Information provided at meeting
At the public meeting, the prospective applicant must provide the following
information, and also must provide it in written form to the board of county commissioners:10
 Whether the utility facility is:
 An economically significant wind farm;
 A large wind farm; or
 A large solar facility.
 The maximum nameplate capacity of the utility facility;
 A map of the proposed geographic boundaries of the project with that county.
Further, at the public meeting, the prospective applicant intending to apply for an
amendment that makes any change or modification to an existing certificate must comply with
the above requirements for the pre-PSB application public meeting and notice when providing
information regarding that change or modification to the board of county commissioners.
Board of county commissioners’ rejection or modification of project
Not later than 90 days after the public meeting regarding the proposed application for a
PSB certificate, or an amendment to an existing certificate, for a utility facility, a board of
county commissioners may adopt a resolution that does either of the following:11
 Prohibits the construction of the proposed utility facility;
 Limits the boundaries of the proposed utility facility to a smaller geographic area of the
county, completely within the area proposed by the applicant.
A resolution to prohibit or limit a utility facility does not prevent a prospective applicant
from filing another proposal for consideration by the board of county commissioners at a later
date.12
PSB membership regarding utility facilities
Ad hoc PSB members
The bill provides that, in all cases involving an application for a certificate, or an
amendment to an existing certificate, for a utility facility, PSB shall include two ad hoc members
to represent the interests of the residents of the area in which the utility facility is to be
located. The ad hoc members shall be:13
10 R.C. 303.62(C).
11 R.C. 303.63(A).
12 R.C. 303.63(B).
13 R.C. 4906.021(B) to (C).
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 The chairperson of the board of township trustees of the township where the utility
facility is to be located or the chairperson’s designee; and
 The president of the board of county commissioners of the county where the utility
facility is to be located or the president’s designee.
If the utility facility is to be located in multiple townships, a single ad hoc member to
represent the townships shall be chosen by a majority vote of all of the boards of township
trustees of the townships in which the utility facility is to be located. Likewise, if a utility facility
is to be located in multiple counties, a single ad hoc member to represent the counties shall be
chosen by a majority vote of all of the boards of county commissioners of the counties in which
the utility facility is to be located.
The bill provides that no person shall serve as an ad hoc PSB member if the person:14
 Is party to a lease agreement with, or has granted an easement to, the developer of a
utility facility;
 Holds any other beneficial interest in a utility facility;
 Has an immediate family member who is party to a lease agreement with, or has
granted an easement to, the developer of the utility facility;
 Has an immediate family member who holds any beneficial interest in a utility facility.
If an individual has a conflict of interest, as just described, the individual cannot serve as an
ad hoc member of PSB and a new ad hoc member must be appointed as provided above.15
The bill defines an “immediate family member” to mean a person’s:16
 Spouse;
 Brother or sister, of the whole of the half, blood, or by marriage;
 Children, including adopted children; and
 Parents.
PSB certification process
Copies of PSB certificate applications for townships and counties