Ohio § 5709.63

§ 5709.63.

(A) With the consent of the legislative authority of each affected municipal corporation

or of a board of township trustees, a board of county commissioners may, in the manner

set forth in section 5709.62 of the Revised Code , designate one or more areas in one or more municipal corporations or in unincorporated

areas of the county as proposed enterprise zones.  A board of county commissioners may designate no more than one area within a township,

or within adjacent townships, as a proposed enterprise zone.  The board shall petition the director of development services for certification

of the area as having the characteristics set forth in division (A)(1) or (2) of section

5709.61 of the Revised Code as amended by Substitute Senate Bill No. 19 of the 120th

general assembly.  Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this section, on and after July

1, 1994, boards of county commissioners shall not enter into agreements under this

section unless the board has petitioned the director and the director has certified

the zone under this section as amended by that act;  however, all agreements entered

into under this section as it existed prior to July 1, 1994, and the incentives granted

under those agreements shall remain in effect for the period agreed to under those

agreements.  The director shall make the determination in the manner provided under section 5709.62 of the Revised Code . Any enterprise wishing to enter into an agreement with the board under division (B)

or (D) of this section shall submit a proposal to the board on the form and accompanied

by the application fee prescribed under division (B) of section 5709.62 of the Revised Code .  The enterprise shall review and update the estimates and listings required by the

form in the manner required under that division.  The board may, on a separate form and at any time, require any additional information

necessary to determine whether an enterprise is in compliance with an agreement and

to collect the information required to be reported under section 5709.68 of the Revised Code . (B) If the board of county commissioners finds that an enterprise submitting a proposal

is qualified by financial responsibility and business experience to create and preserve

employment opportunities in the zone and to improve the economic climate of the municipal

corporation or municipal corporations or the unincorporated areas in which the zone

is located and to which the proposal applies, the board, with the consent of the legislative

authority of each affected municipal corporation or of the board of township trustees,

may do one of the following: (1) Enter into an agreement with the enterprise under which the enterprise agrees to

establish, expand, renovate, or occupy a facility in the zone and hire new employees,

or preserve employment opportunities for existing employees, in return for the following

incentives: (a) When the facility is located in a municipal corporation, the board may enter into

an agreement for one or more of the incentives provided in division (C) of section 5709.62 of the Revised Code , subject to division (D) of that section; (b) When the facility is located in an unincorporated area, the board may enter into

an agreement for one or more of the following incentives: (i) Exemption for a specified number of years, not to exceed fifteen, of a specified

portion, up to sixty per cent, of the assessed value of tangible personal property

first used in business at a project site as a result of the agreement.  If an exemption for inventory is specifically granted in the agreement pursuant

to this division, the exemption applies to inventory required to be listed pursuant

to sections 5711.15 and 5711.16 of the Revised Code , except, in the instance of an expansion or other situations in which an enterprise

was in business at the facility prior to the establishment of the zone, the inventory

that is exempt is that amount or value of inventory in excess of the amount or value

of inventory required to be listed in the personal property tax return of the enterprise

in the return for the tax year in which the agreement is entered into. (ii) Exemption for a specified number of years, not to exceed fifteen, of a specified

portion, up to sixty per cent, of the increase in the assessed valuation of real property

constituting the project site subsequent to formal approval of the agreement by the

board; (iii) Provision for a specified number of years, not to exceed fifteen, of any optional

services or assistance the board is authorized to provide with regard to the project

site; (iv) The incentive described in division (C)(2) of section 5709.62 of the Revised Code . (2) Enter into an agreement with an enterprise that plans to purchase and operate a large

manufacturing facility that has ceased operation or has announced its intention to

cease operation, in return for exemption for a specified number of years, not to exceed

fifteen, of a specified portion, up to one hundred per cent, of tangible personal

property used in business at the project site as a result of the agreement, or of

real property constituting the project site, or both; (3) Enter into an agreement with an enterprise that either is the owner of real property

constituting the site of a megaproject or is a megaproject supplier in return for

an exemption for a specified number of years, not to exceed thirty, of a specified

portion, up to one hundred per cent, of the increase in the assessed value of real

property constituting the site of a megaproject or real property owned and occupied

by the megaproject supplier, respectively, beginning after the tax year in which the

agreement is formally approved by the legislative authority. (C)(1)(a) Notwithstanding divisions (B)(1)(b)(i) and (ii) of this section, the portion of the

assessed value of tangible personal property or of the increase in the assessed valuation

of real property exempted from taxation under those divisions may exceed sixty per

cent in any year for which that portion is exempted if the average percentage exempted

for all years in which the agreement is in effect does not exceed fifty per cent,

or if the board of education of the city, local, or exempted village school district

within the territory of which the property is or will be located approves a percentage

in excess of sixty per cent. (b) Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, the exemptions

described in divisions (B)(1)(b)(i), (ii), (iii), and (iv) and (B)(2) of this section

may be for up to fifteen years and the exemption described in division (B)(3) of this

section may be for up to thirty years if the board of education of the city, local,

or exempted village school district within the territory of which the property is

or will be located approves a number of years in excess of ten. (c) For the purpose of obtaining the approval of a city, local, or exempted village school

district under division (C)(1)(a) or (b) of this section, the board of county commissioners

shall deliver to the board of education a notice not later than forty-five days prior

to approving the agreement, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays as defined

in section 1.14 of the Revised Code .  The notice shall state the percentage to be exempted, an estimate of the true value

of the property to be exempted, and the number of years the property is to be exempted.  The board of education, by resolution adopted by a majority of the board, shall

approve or disapprove the agreement and certify a copy of the resolution to the board

of county commissioners not later than fourteen days prior to the date stipulated

by the board of county commissioners as the date upon which approval of the agreement

is to be formally considered by the board of county commissioners.  The board of education may include in the resolution conditions under which the

board would approve the agreement, including the execution of an agreement to compensate

the school district under division (B) of section 5709.82 of the Revised Code .  The board of county commissioners may approve the agreement at any time after the

board of education certifies its resolution approving the agreement to the board of

county commissioners, or, if the board of education approves the agreement conditionally,

at any time after the conditions are agreed to by the board of education and the board

of county commissioners.  If an agreement is negotiated between the legislative authority and the board to

compensate the school district for all or part of the taxes exempted, the legislative

authority shall compensate the joint vocational school district within which the property

is located at the same rate and under the same terms received by the city, local,

or exempted village school district. If a board of education has adopted a resolution waiving its right to approve agreements

and the resolution remains in effect, approval of an agreement by the board of education

is not required under division (C) of this section.  If a board of education has adopted a resolution allowing a board of county commissioners

to deliver the notice required under this division fewer than forty-five business

days prior to approval of the agreement by the board of county commissioners, the

board of county commissioners shall deliver the notice to the board of education not

later than the number of days prior to such approval as prescribed by the board of

education in its resolution.  If a board of education adopts a resolution waiving its right to approve agreements

or shortening the notification period, the board of education shall certify a copy

of the resolution to the board of county commissioners.  If the board of education rescinds such a resolution, it shall certify notice of

the rescission to the board of county commissioners. (2) The board of county commissioners shall comply with section 5709.83 of the Revised Code unless the board of education has adopted a resolution under that section waiving

its right to receive such notice. (D) This division applies to zones certified by the director of development services

under this section prior to July 22, 1994. With the consent of the legislative authority of each affected municipal corporation

or board of township trustees of each affected township, the board of county commissioners

that designated a zone to which this division applies may enter into an agreement

with an enterprise if the board finds that the enterprise satisfies one of the criteria

described in divisions (D)(1) to (5) of this section: (1) The enterprise currently has no operations in this state and, subject to approval

of the agreement, intends to establish operations in the zone; (2) The enterprise currently has operations in this state and, subject to approval of

the agreement, intends to establish operations at a new location in the zone that

would not result in a reduction in the number of employee positions at any of the

enterprise's other locations in this state; (3) The enterprise, subject to approval of the agreement, intends to relocate operations,

currently located in another state, to the zone; (4) The enterprise, subject to approval of the agreement, intends to expand operations

at an existing site in the zone that the enterprise currently operates; (5) The enterprise, subject to approval of the agreement, intends to relocate operations,

currently located in this state, to the zone, and the director of development services

has issued a waiver for the enterprise under division (B) of section 5709.633 of the Revised Code . The agreement shall require the enterprise to agree to establish, expand, renovate,

or occupy a facility in the zone and hire new employees, or preserve employment opportunities

for existing employees, in return for one or more of the incentives described in division

(B) of this section. (E) All agreements entered into under this section shall be in the form prescribed under section 5709.631 of the Revised Code .  After an agreement under this section is entered into, if the board of county commissioners

revokes its designation of a zone, or if the director of development services revokes

a zone's certification, any entitlements granted under the agreement shall continue

for the number of years specified in the agreement. (F) Except as otherwise provided in this division, an agreement entered into under this

section shall require that the enterprise pay an annual fee equal to the greater of

one per cent of the dollar value of incentives offered under the agreement or five

hundred dollars;  provided, however, that if the value of the incentives exceeds two

hundred fifty thousand dollars, the fee shall not exceed two thousand five hundred

dollars.  The fee shall be payable to the board of county commissioners once per year for

each year the agreement is effective on the days and in the form specified in the

agreement.  Fees paid shall be deposited in a special fund created for such purpose by the board

and shall be used by the board exclusively for the purpose of complying with section 5709.68 of the Revised Code and by the tax incentive review council created under section 5709.85 of the Revised Code exclusively for the purposes of performing the duties prescribed under that section.  The board may waive or reduce the amount of the fee charged against an enterprise,

but such waiver or reduction does not affect the obligations of the board or the tax

incentive review council to comply with section 5709.68 or 5709.85 of the Revised Code , respectively. (G) With the approval of the legislative authority of a municipal corporation or the

board of township trustees of a township in which a zone is designated under division

(A) of this section, the board of county commissioners may delegate to that legislative

authority or board any powers and duties of the board of county commissioners to negotiate

and administer agreements with regard to that zone under this section. (H) When an agreement is entered into pursuant to this section, the board of county commissioners

authorizing the agreement or the legislative authority or board of township trustees

that negotiates and administers the agreement shall forward a copy of the agreement

to the director of development services and to the tax commissioner within fifteen

days after the agreement is entered into.  If any agreement includes terms not provided for in section 5709.631 of the Revised Code affecting the revenue of a city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school

district or causing revenue to be foregone by the district, including any compensation

to be paid to the school district pursuant to section 5709.82 of the Revised Code , those terms also shall be forwarded in writing to the director of development services

along with the copy of the agreement forwarded under this division. (I) After an agreement is entered into, the enterprise shall file with each personal

property tax return required to be filed, or annual report that is required to be

filed under section 5727.08 of the Revised Code , while the agreement is in effect, an informational return, on a form prescribed

by the tax commissioner for that purpose, setting forth separately the property, and

related costs and values, exempted from taxation under the agreement. (J) Enterprises may agree to give preference to residents of the zone within which the

agreement applies relative to residents of this state who do not reside in the zone

when hiring new employees under the agreement. (K) An agreement entered into under this section may include a provision requiring the

enterprise to create one or more temporary internship positions for students enrolled

in a course of study at a school or other educational institution in the vicinity,

and to create a scholarship or provide another form of educational financial assistance

for students holding such a position in exchange for the student's commitment to work

for the enterprise at the completion of the internship. (L) The tax commissioner's authority in determining the accuracy of any exemption granted

by an agreement entered into under this section is limited to divisions (B)(1)(b)(i)

and (ii), (B)(2) and (3), (C), and (I) of this section, division (B)(1)(b)(iv) of

this section as it pertains to divisions (C)(2)(a), (b), and (c) of section 5709.62

of the Revised Code, and divisions (B)(1) to (10) of section 5709.631 of the Revised

Code and, as authorized by law, to enforcing any modification to, or revocation of,

that agreement by the board of county commissioners or the director of development

services or, if the board's powers and duties are delegated under division (G) of

this section, by the legislative authority of a municipal corporation or board of

township trustees.