Toby Rittner. Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA). The House Ways & Means Committee recently introduced the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in the United States House of Representatives. The bill would eliminate all Private Activity Bonds, a move that would prove...

Members may recall last year’s SB235, which as introduced would have provided an automatic freeze on the value of real property slated for commercial development until certain triggers occurred. HB 371, introduced in the House October 4, is surprisingly similar to...

While 2018 promises to be a banner year for Ohio politics, activity at the Ohio Statehouse has already started to get interesting. This week, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives Cliff Rosenberger (R-Clarksville) confirmed rumors that he may be exploring a run for Ohio Auditor of State in 2018.

SB 3 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT (Beagle, B., Balderson, T.) Originally, introduced in January, a substitute bill was introduced in April that would revise the laws governing the state’s workforce development system, programs that may be offered by primary and secondary schools, certificates of qualification for employment, and the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Agency, and would designate the first week of May as In-Demand Jobs Week. Many of those provisions were adopted in the Biennial Budget Bill, so another substitute version has been introduced, which shifts the focus to an In-Demand Jobs Week in May and revises the training requirements for alternative resident educator licenses, allowing for-profit entities such as Teach for Tomorrow to provide training to prospective alternative educators. That substitute bill was adopted by the Senate Transportation, Commerce and Workforce Committee September 13 to make the bill identical to companion bill HB 166. On October 11, the committee reported the bill after accepting an amendment from Rep. Rick Perales (R-Beavercreek) that he said eliminates Resident Educator Summative Assessment language to ensure it mirrors House Bill 166.

HB 10 CROWDFUNDING (Arndt, S.) This bill was introduced in the House February 1 and would permit intrastate equity crowdfunding under certain circumstances. The bill would provide an exemption from registration under the Ohio Securities Law for certain crowdfunding initiatives. The bill passed in the House on June 21 and was referred in Senate (6/28/2017) to the Transportation, Commerce & Workforce Committee. The Committee held its first hearing with sponsor testimony September 6 and a second hearing October 11. Proponents of the bill testified that this legislation authorizes the use of intrastate crowdfunding as a means of purchasing a ‘stake’ or a ‘share’ of the business, creating uniformity and guidelines on the practice. The legislation would allow Ohioans to invest directly in startup businesses through an online portal, known as the OhioInvests Portal. This portal will provide the intermediaries with a means to offer and sell the securities to investors. Proponents also said that more than 30 states have adopted similar legislation and that Ohio, North Dakota and South Dakota are the only Midwestern states that lack an intrastate crowdfunding program.