To amend section 715.72 of the Revised Code to allow two or more municipalities to create a joint economic development district without involving a township.
SB 29 amends Ohio Revised Code section 715.72 governing joint economic development districts (JEDDs). The bill’s central change is to allow two or more municipal corporations to create a JEDD without requiring a township to be a contracting party. Under current law, JEDDs are generally formed by one or more municipalities and one or more townships, with certain county-related exceptions; SB 29 adds a pathway for all-municipality districts, provided the municipalities are in the same county and meet the bill’s contiguity and procedural requirements.
The bill retains the existing framework for creating, governing, and operating a JEDD, including public hearings, notice to affected property owners and businesses, petition requirements, board governance, income tax authority, annexation restrictions, and rules for district amendments. It also preserves protections for non-contracting municipalities near the proposed district and for areas covered by water or sewer service plans, including notice and infrastructure-planning requirements. In addition, the bill continues to regulate how district income taxes may be levied and administered, how excluded parcels are treated, and how district contracts interact with utility-service agreements and annexation proceedings.
SB 29 would expand the class of local governments eligible to form a JEDD by expressly authorizing municipality-to-municipality districts without township participation. This would amend section 715.72 of the Revised Code and alter the legal prerequisites for creating a JEDD, while leaving most of the existing procedural, tax, notice, and governance provisions intact. The bill could affect municipal corporations, townships, counties, property owners, businesses operating in proposed districts, and employees whose income or business profits may be subject to a district income tax.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to be a technical/local-government modernization bill rather than a highly controversial proposal. Its stated purpose is to give municipalities more flexibility to pursue economic development and redevelopment projects. The available context does not show formal opposition or support statements, but the structure of the bill suggests an intent to preserve existing safeguards while broadening formation options.
The main policy issue is whether municipalities should be allowed to create JEDDs without township involvement. Supporters would likely view this as a practical expansion of local economic development tools, especially where two municipalities share development interests but no township is involved. Potential concerns would center on the use of district income taxes, the reach of annexation restrictions, and the impact on nearby non-contracting municipalities, property owners, and businesses. The bill’s detailed notice, petition, and election provisions appear designed to address those concerns by preserving local consent and public participation.