OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 377 Final Analysis
134th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 377’s Fiscal Note
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Hall and Swearingen
Effective date: September 27, 2022; appropriations effective June 28, 2022
Effective Date:
Megan Cummiskey, ORD Assistant Director UPDATED VERSION
SUMMARY
Appropriations
 Appropriates the following amounts, all in FY 2022:
 An additional $422 million to the Office of Budget and Management (OBM) to
disburse to certain local governments in accordance with the federal American
Rescue Plan Act and reappropriates unused funds at the end of FY 2022 for FY 2023;
 $500 million to the Department of Development, for the new Appalachian
Community Grant Program;
 $20 million to the Secretary of State, to provide financial assistance for the second
2022 primary election;
 An additional $750,000 to the Department of Natural Resources for weed harvesting
operations at Indian Lake.
 Reappropriates the unexpended, unencumbered balance of these appropriations at the
end of FY 2022 to FY 2023.
 Makes conforming changes to prior legislation in the 134th General Assembly
appropriating funds to the Secretary of State.
Appalachian Community Grant Program
 Establishes the Appalachian Community Grant Program, to be administered by the
Department of Development, in consultation with local development districts.
 This version updates the effective date.
June 1, 2022
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 Establishes two categories of grants to be made available within the 32-county
Appalachian region of Ohio – Appalachian Planning Grants and Appalachian
Development Grants – and prescribes eligibility and application guidelines for each.
Election workers excluded from PERS
 Specifies that a person employed as an election worker in a calendar year when more
than one primary election and one general election are held is not a PERS member if the
person is paid $1,000 for that service.
Health coverage for township first responders
 Increases the hours that certain township first responders must be hired with the
expectation of working to be considered full-time employees for health care coverage
purposes, thus potentially limiting the number of township first responders to whom
health care coverage must be provided under certain circumstances.
OBM Director warrants
 Corrects an outdated reference to specify the OBM Director, rather than the Auditor of
State, draws warrants from the state treasury for payment of state employee salaries.
Land conveyances
 Authorizes the conveyance of, or easements over, state-owned real estate.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Appropriations ................................................................................................................................ 3
Appalachian Community Grant Program ........................................................................................ 4
Available grants ........................................................................................................................... 5
Required project components .................................................................................................... 5
Eligibility and application review ................................................................................................ 5
Assistance from other agencies .................................................................................................. 6
Controlling Board approval of grants; administrative expenses................................................. 6
Timeline for grants ...................................................................................................................... 6
Election workers excluded from PERS membership ....................................................................... 6
Health coverage for township first responders .............................................................................. 6
Townships that are not applicable large employers under federal law ..................................... 7
Applicable large employer........................................................................................................... 7
OBM warrant .................................................................................................................................. 8
Land conveyances ........................................................................................................................... 8
Authority to sell ........................................................................................................................... 8
Expiration of authority ................................................................................................................ 8
Conditions.................................................................................................................................... 8
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Consideration and where the proceeds go ................................................................................. 9
Costs of the conveyance.............................................................................................................. 9
Preparation of the deed .............................................................................................................. 9
Department of the Adjutant General (ADJ) .............................................................................. 10
Department of Administrative Services (DAS) .......................................................................... 10
Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) .................................................................... 12
Department of Public Safety (DPS) ........................................................................................... 13
Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) ................................................................ 14
Department of Job and Family Services (JFS)............................................................................ 16
Ohio State University (OSU) ...................................................................................................... 17
Ohio University (OU) ................................................................................................................. 19
University of Akron (UA) ........................................................................................................... 23
University of Toledo (UT) .......................................................................................................... 25
Ohio Expositions Commission (EXP) .......................................................................................... 28
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Appropriations
The act appropriates funds to several agencies in FY 2022, as follows:
Sub. H.B. 377 appropriations
Agency Amount Purpose
Development $500 million To award grants under the new Appalachian Community
Grant Program. See the Detailed Analysis below and LSC’s
Fiscal Note for H.B. 377, available on the General Assembly’s
website, legislature.ohio.gov, for more information on
disbursement of grant funds.
Reappropriates any unused funds remaining at the end of
FY 2022 to FY 2023.1
Budget and $422 million To disburse additional funds to nonentitlement units of local
Management government in accordance with the American Rescue Plan Act
(ARPA) and subsequent guidance issued by the U.S.
Department of the Treasury.2 “Nonentitlement units of local
1 Section 5.
2 Section 12, amending Section 220.11 of H.B. 168 of the 134th General Assembly.
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Sub. H.B. 377 appropriations
Agency Amount Purpose
government” are those units that did not receive ARPA funds
directly from the federal government and include cities,
villages, and townships.3
Reappropriates any unused funds remaining at the end of
FY 2022 to FY 2023.
Note: In June 2021, the General Assembly enacted H.B. 168,
which appropriated the initial $422 million to OBM in FY 2022
for the same purposes. Information about that act may be
found on the General Assembly’s website:
legislature.ohio.gov.
Secretary of $20 million To provide financial assistance to county boards of elections
State to conduct the second 2022 primary election.
Requires the OBM Director, by December 31, 2022 (or as soon
as possible after), to transfer the unexpended, unencumbered
balance to the General Revenue Fund.4
Natural $750,000 To provide additional funds for weed harvesting operations at
Resources Indian Lake.5
The act also makes conforming changes to S.B. 9 and S.B. 11, both of the 134th General
Assembly, to align certain cash transfer deadlines for the OBM Director with the cash transfer
deadline in this act.6 Both of the prior acts are available on the Ohio General Assembly’s
website: legislature.ohio.gov.
Appalachian Community Grant Program
The act establishes the Appalachian Community Grant Program. Under the direction of
the Department of Development, and in consultation with local development districts, the
program’s goal is to invest in sustainable, transformational projects in Ohio’s 32-county
3 U.S. Department of the Treasury, Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for Non-
entitlement Units of Local Government, ARPA Guidelines (PDF), which may be accessed by conducting a
keyword search “non-entitlement units” on the Department’s website: home.treasury.gov.
4 Section 6.
5 Section 14, amending Section 5 of H.B. 175 of the 134th General Assembly.
6Section 8, amending Section 7 of S.B. 9 of the 134th General Assembly; Section 10, amending Section 7
of S.B. 11 of the 134th General Assembly.
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Appalachian region. All grant funds awarded under the program must comply with
requirements under the federal ARPA, as well as requirements laid out in the act.7
Available grants
The act directs the Department to make two types of grants available to applicants
operating exclusively in Ohio’s Appalachian region:8
 Appalachian Planning Grants, to defray costs associated with research, planning, and
writing a formal project development proposal; and
 Appalachian Development Grants, to fund project implementation, based on the
applicant’s independently-developed project proposal or a proposal developed with
help from a Planning Grant.
The Department must determine the dollar amount of each type of grant. Also, the act directs
the Department to develop an application process for both types of grants. Each type of grant
application must address how the project relates to the components discussed immediately
below.
Required project components
In addition to any other requirements the Department includes as part of the
application process, each Planning Grant or Development Grant application must address how
the proposed project will incorporate any of the following components:9
 An infrastructure component, such as downtown redevelopment;
 A workforce component, such as public-private partnerships to build workforce
infrastructure; or
 A healthcare component, such as investments in school or community-based services
for children’s health.
Eligibility and application review
The act requires the Department to establish grant eligibility requirements to be used
when it evaluates grant applications. The requirements must include:10
 Scoring criteria for both grants, developed by the Department and published prior to the
grant application period; and
 A minimum threshold score for awarding funds.
7 Sections 3 and 5.
8 Section 3(A), (B), and (C).
9 Section 3(C).
10 Section 3(D).
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The Department must prioritize awarding grants for projects that include the following
characteristics:11
 Has region-wide scale or impact;
 Is evidence-based;
 Includes a public-private partnership;
 Is economically sustainable;
 Will prove transformative to the region, in the Department’s assessment.
Assistance from other agencies
The act permits the Department to consult with other state agencies when evaluating
grant applications, to ensure the proposed projects are beneficial to the community based on
the act’s guidelines.12
Controlling Board approval of grants; administrative expenses
The act requires Controlling Board approval for all grants awarded under the program. It
also prohibits grant recipients from using more than 3% of grant awards for administrative
expenses.13
Timeline for grants
The act prohibits the approval of new grant recipients after December 31, 2024, and
requires all grant funds to be spent by December 31, 2026. After that date, the program is
terminated.14
Election workers excluded from PERS membership
Under continuing law, a person employed as an election worker who is paid less than
$600 during a calendar year is excluded from PERS membership. The act adds, for a calendar
year in which more than one primary election and one general election are held, that an
election worker who is paid $600 plus an amount not to exceed $400 (essentially, up to $1,000
total) is not a PERS member.15
Health coverage for township first responders
Ohio law does not require a township to provide health care coverage to its employees.
But if a township does so, it must provide uniform coverage to township officers, full-time
11 Section 3(E).
12 Section 3(F).
13 Section 5.
14 Section 3(G).
15 R.C. 145.012.
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employees, and their dependents. A township may, but is not required to, provide health care
coverage to part-time employees.16
The act increases the number of hours that certain township first responders must be
hired with the expectation of working to be considered full-time employees for health care
coverage.17 Thus, it potentially limits the number of township first responders to whom health
care coverage must be provided if the township otherwise p