Though enacted more than a month ago, the state budget continues to change. As reported previously, Governor Kasich signed a state operating budget bill (HB 49) into law on June 30. Before doing so, however, he line-item vetoed 47 items. The House then reconvened July 6 and overrode 11 of the vetoes. The Senate reconvened August 22 and voted to concur with the House on six veto overrides, as noted below in bold and italics.
JobsOhio, in partnership with various stakeholders, launched the SiteOhio program just over a year ago, and already eight properties have been designated as SiteOhio authenticated sites.
The SiteOhio authentication means these sites have undergone an exhaustive review and analysis and are ready for immediate development. It doesn’t just list what is or isn’t available on the site, but instead validates that:
Access to utilities is on site and there is excess capacity.
All due diligence studies have been performed and passed.
The property’s attributes are accurately detailed.
Any barriers to development have been identified and mitigated.
Ohio municipalities that use tax increment financing (TIF) to support economic development should be aware of significant legislation that was recently approved by the Ohio House of Representatives. Under Ohio House Bill 69 (H.B. 69), authored by Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima), municipalities would be required to compensate townships for tax revenue diverted through certain TIF incentive arrangements.
The City of Hamilton’s first comprehensive sustainability report, Sustainable Hamilton 2017, was released in late July. This report highlights an integrated approach to economic, social, and environmental responsibility in an effort to create a more sustainable community. More than a year in the making, Sustainable Hamilton 2017 was produced with extensive input from City staff across multiple departments, as well as from numerous external partners.
The Ohio Third Frontier Commission awarded NineSigma, Inc. (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County) $8 million to manage the Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge. The Challenge will focus on getting and advancing new ideas through competition, to find innovative solutions to address prevention, treatment and overdose response.