Fiscal Note & Local Impact Statement
125 th General Assembly of Ohio
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BILL: |
DATE: |
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STATUS: |
SPONSOR: |
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LOCAL IMPACT
STATEMENT REQUIRED: |
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CONTENTS: |
Permits
counties to include regulations in building codes to protect surface and
subsurface drainage and eliminates the Residential Construction Advisory
Committee |
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STATE FUND |
FY 2004 |
FY 2005 |
FUTURE YEARS |
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Department of Commerce –
Industrial Compliance Fund 556 |
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Revenues |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
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Expenditures |
Minimal savings |
Minimal savings |
Minimal savings |
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The
bill eliminates the Residential Construction Advisory Committee, the
administrative expenses for which are paid by the Department of Commerce. Over the last two years, the Department of
Commerce has not paid any expenses related to the Committee. Therefore, realized savings would likely be
minimal.
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LOCAL
GOVERNMENT |
FY 2003 |
FY 2004 |
FUTURE YEARS |
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Counties |
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Revenues |
Potential gain to offset
increase in expenditures |
Potential gain to offset
increase in expenditures |
Potential gain to offset
increase in expenditures |
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Expenditures |
Potential increase |
Potential increase |
Potential increase |
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Note: For most local governments, the fiscal year is the calendar year. The school district fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.
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The
authority granted to county boards of commissioners to include regulations
pertaining to drainage and subsurface drainage in county building codes is
permissive.
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If
a county opts to include these regulations, there may be increased expenses
associated with conducting meetings with building permit applicants and
contracting with a qualified person to conduct inspections and make evaluations
regarding modifications to building plans.
It is likely that these expenses will be passed on to the applicant
through increased building permit fees.
·
Assuming
that relatively few building permit appeals will be filed in any given court of
common pleas, the annual cost to the court to adjudicate such matters is
unlikely to exceed minimal. A
negligible amount of related court cost and filing fee revenue could be
collected annually as well.
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The bill permits county
boards of commissioners to include provisions in county building codes that
require a review of the specific effects of proposed new construction on
existing surface and subsurface drainage.
These provisions may apply to residential construction, which may be
regulated by the county, and to commercial and industrial construction, which
is regulated by the state. These
provisions must be consistent with, and no more stringent than or broader in
scope than, standards adopted by the Natural Resource Conservation Service in
the United States Department of Agriculture or rules adopted by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency.
If regulations are adopted, a board must lay out specific procedures for the review, some of which may require increased expenditures for a county. These procedures, their activities, and potential expenses are outlined below:
Potential Costs Associated with Drainage Regulations |
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Review Procedure |
Related Activity |
Potential Expense |
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Conduct a meeting to examine the effects of new
construction on drainage/mail notice of the meeting to applicant |
Board staff time, meeting space, postage |
Any increase in expenditures is likely to be
minimal |
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Board may contract with county engineer or other
qualified person to conduct inspections and evaluate what modifications to a
building plan are required to protect drainage |
Contractor’s time spent conducting inspections and
performing evaluations |
Any increase in county expenses is likely to be
passed to applicants through higher building permit fees |
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Applicant has the right to appeal the denial of a
building permit following a board’s review |
Administrative activities for county courts of
common pleas |
The annual cost to a court to adjudicate such
matters would probably be minimal |
Residential Building Permit Fees
Under Revised Code 307.37,
counties have the authority to regulate residential construction. Currently, 30 counties in Ohio have adopted
residential building codes, which they enforce through county residential building
departments.[1] Residential building permit fees are
typically established to cover the administrative expenses of county building
departments responsible for reviewing building plans and conducting home
inspections. Of the 30 counties that
currently regulate residential construction, several were surveyed in order to
determine a range of fees. These are
presented in the table below.
If
a board of county commissioners adopts new residential building code
regulations, the costs associated with implementation and enforcement of these
regulations are likely to be passed to building permit applicants in the form
of higher permit fees. The amount of
increase will largely depend on how county building codes are currently
structured, whether regulations protecting drainage and subsurface drainage can
easily be incorporated, whether a county chooses to contract with a county
engineer or other qualified person to conduct inspections, the compensation
agreement contained in that contract, and other related issues.
County Residential Building Permit Fees |
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County |
Area of Regulation |
Fee Structure |
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Ashtabula |
Structure |
$50
+ 2˘ per ft2 $63
+ (ft2*6*0025) |
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Clermont |
New
residence construction |
Between $100 and $140 depending on number of stories $50
+ 6˘ per ft2 $30
+ $4 per $1,000 construction cost |
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Stark |
New residence construction (includes addition and accessory
construction) Alterations/repairs Electrical Mechanical |
$25
+ $2 per 100 ft2 $25
+ $2 per 100 ft2 $25, then between 30˘ and $5 per electrical unit ($25 for a swimming pool) $15
first unit; $10 each additional unit |
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Hamilton |
New
residence construction Addition
to existing residence Accessory
structures (over 130 ft2) Alterations/repairs Mechanical
– heating or air Heating and air combined |
Building
Gross Area * $0.124 Building
Gross Area * $0.124 $134
each $67
each; $134 minimum $48
each $94
each |
As a result of the bill,
additional appeals may be filed with courts of common pleas. As of this writing, LSC fiscal staff has not
collected any evidence suggesting that the number of appeals that might be
filed annually in any given court of common pleas will be very large. One would assume that in the majority of
building permit situations potentially affected by the bill, an applicant and a
board of county commissioners would work to informally resolve any disagreements,
thus avoiding, if possible, the time and expense associated with an appeal
filed in a court of common pleas.
Assuming that were true, then relatively few additional building permit
appeals will be filed in any given court of common pleas, and the annual cost
to the court to adjudicate such matters seems unlikely to exceed minimal. A negligible amount of related court cost
and filing fee revenue could be collected annually as well.
Elimination of the Residential Construction
Advisory Committee
The Committee was created under H.B. 434 of the 123rd General Assembly. It consists of eight members who are appointed by the Director of the Department of Commerce. Members include three residential building contractors, a contractor who specializes in residential remodeling, an architect, two building inspectors, and a fire safety official. The Committee was charged with developing a new model residential construction building code and forwarding its recommendations to the Ohio Construction Industry Examining Board by June 2002. This report was never issued. The Committee’s last meeting was in May 2002.
The
members of the committee do not receive a salary for their work, but may be
reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses, which are paid by the Department
of Commerce from its Industrial Compliance Fund 556. Over the last two years, the Department of Commerce has not paid
any expenses related to the Committee.
The Committee’s meetings are held at offices within the Department of
Industrial Compliance at no additional expense. If any savings were to be realized from the elimination of the
Committee, they would be minimal.
LSC fiscal staff: Kerry Sullivan, Budget Analyst
[1] These counties are Ashtabula, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Delaware, Geauga, Greene, Hamilton, Lake, Licking, Lucas, Mahoning, Medina, Miami, Montgomery, Ottawa, Pickaway, Portage, Richland, Shelby, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Union, Warren, Wayne, and Wood.