County Charters in Ohio County Government Structural Options - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

County Charters in Ohio

County Government Structural Options Three Possible Forms of County Government Statutory Form — 86 of 88 counties Alternative Form — No counties Charter Form — Two Counties — Summit & Cuyahoga

Constitutional Basis For Statutory, Alternative & Charter Forms Of County Government – The General Assembly shall provide by general law for the organization and government of counties , and may provide by general law alternative forms of county government . ( Article X, Section 1) – The people of any county may frame and adopt or amend a charter as provided in this article ( Article X, Section 3) 3

Ohio Constitution Article X, Section 3 The people of any county may frame and adopt or amend a charter as provided in this article but the right of the initiative and referendum is reserved to the people of each county on all matters which such county may now or hereafter be authorized to control by legislative action. Every such charter shall provide the form of government of the county and shall determine which of its officers shall be elected and the manner of their election. It shall provide for the exercise of all powers vested in, and the performance of all duties imposed upon counties and countyofficers by law.

Mandatory Charter Provisions • The form of government of the county • The officers that will be elected and the manner of their election. • Provisions for – exercise of all power vested in counties – performance of duties imposed upon counties or county officials by general law.

Ohio Constitution Article X, Section 3 Any such charter may provide for the concurrent or exclusive exercise by the county, in all or in part of its area, of all or of any designated powers vested by the constitution or laws of Ohio in municipalities ; it may provide for the organization of the county as a municipal corporation ; and in any such case it may provide for the succession by the county to the rights, properties, and obligations of municipalities and townships therein incident to the municipal power so vested in the county, and for the division of the county into districts for purposes of administration or of taxation or of both .

Permissive Charter Provisions • The concurrent or exclusive exercise of all or of any designated powers given to municipalities by either the Constitution or statute. • The organization of the county as a municipal corporation . • If the charter provides for concurrent or exclusive exercise of municipal powers by the county or for organization of the county as a municipality, it may then have provisions relating to succession by the county to the rights, properties, and obligations of the municipalities and townships. • In addition, such a charter may divide the county into districts for purposes of administration, taxation, or both.

MULTIPLE MAJORITY REQUIREMENT Article X, Section 3 A charter (or amendment) providing for the exclusive exercise of municipal powers by the county or providing for the succession by the county to any property or obligation of any municipality or township without the consent of the legislative authority of such municipality or township shall become effective only when it shall have been approved by a majority of those voting thereon: (1) in the county (2) in the largestmunicipality (3) in the county outsideof such municipality (4) in counties having a population, based upon the latest preceding federal decennial census of 500,000 or less , in each of a majority of the combined total of municipalities and townships in the county (not included within any township any part of its area lying within a municipality).

Permissive Charter Provisions from Ohio Revised Code * • The establishment of a civil service commission or personnel office or department . If established, and if the charter provides that employees will be appointed on the basis of merit by competitive exam, Ohio’s civil service laws no longer apply. (ORC 301.23) • The establishment of a county department for the administration of public health services. If established it exercises all powers of city or general health districts and abolishes all health districts in the county. (ORC 301.24)

Procedures for Submitting Charter ORC 307.94 and .95 • Option to file either with the Board of Commissioners or the Board of Elections • In either case the Board of Elections is to: – determine whether the petition and the signatures on the petition meet the requirements of law, including ORC 3501.38 – report to the board of commissioners whether the petition is valid or invalid and, if invalid, the reasons for the invalidity, – whether there are sufficient valid signatures, and the number of valid and invalid signatures • If the petition is found valid the Board of Commissioners certifies the petition to the Board of Elections to have it placed on the next general election ballot

BOE review of a petition proposing a County Charter ORC 3501.38(M) The BOE is to determine: “Whether the petition falls within the scope of a county's authority to enact via initiative, including whether the petition conforms to the requirements set forth in Section 3 of Article X of the Ohio Constitution, including the exercise of only those powers that have vested in, and the performance of all duties imposed upon counties and county officers by law, and whether the petition satisfies the statutory prerequisites to place the issue on the ballot .”

Petition found Invalid • Petitioners can: – File a protest of the Board of Elections decision with the Secretary of State – Gather more signatures within ten days, if they are short the required number – File an action in the common pleas court

Law Dealing with “Validity” of County Charter Petitions changed in 2016 • In December 2016, the Ohio legislature included a new and controversial provisions in HB 463 which authorizes the Secretary of State and local Boards of Elections to determine based upon their opinion of the content that a proposed charter petition is invalid • This included ORC 3501.38(M) • This resulted from charter initiatives proposed in several counties and municipalities that appeared to exceed the authority of the county or municipality

Constitutional challenge to HB 463 ? • The bill's provisions concerning local initiative petitions might be vulnerable to a challenge under the Ohio Constitution on two grounds: (1) that the bill infringes on the people's right of initiative, and (2) that the bill violates the separation of powers doctrine. • While the Secretary of State or a board of elections has the authority to determine whether a petition meets the procedural requirements to appear on the ballot, it is not clear whether the Constitution would allow the Secretary of State or a board of elections to reject a petition on the basis that it proposes a law that, if adopted, would be unconstitutional. • A reviewing court might rule that the constitutional right of initiative includes the right to initiate a potentially unconstitutional statute. If the statute became law and was challenged on constitutional grounds, the courts would have the authority to prevent its enforcement. • A reviewing court also might rule that the bill violates the separation of powers doctrine of the Ohio Constitution by giving the Secretary of State or a board of elections the authority to decide the constitutionality of a proposed statute.