Effective: October 1, 2020
Latest Legislation: House Bill 66 - 133rd General Assembly
(A) There is hereby created in the legislative branch of government the capitol square review and advisory board, consisting of twelve members as follows:
(1) Two members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate, both of whom shall not be members of the same political party;
(2) Two members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, both of whom shall not be members of the same political party;
(3) Four members appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, not more than three of whom shall be members of the same political party, one of whom shall be the chief of staff of the governor's office, one of whom shall represent the Ohio arts council, one of whom shall represent the Ohio history connection, and one of whom shall represent the public at large;
(4) One member, who shall be a former president of the senate, appointed by the current president of the senate. If the current president of the senate, in the current president's discretion, decides for any reason not to make the appointment or if no person is eligible or available to serve, the seat shall remain vacant.
(5) One member, who shall be a former speaker of the house of representatives, appointed by the current speaker of the house of representatives. If the current speaker of the house of representatives, in the current speaker's discretion, decides for any reason not to make the appointment or if no person is eligible or available to serve, the seat shall remain vacant.
(6) The clerk of the senate and the clerk of the house of representatives.
(B) All appointed members of the board serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and may be discharged from the board, by the appointing authority, without cause. Terms of office of each member appointed under divisions (A)(3), (4), and (5) of this section shall be for three years unless discharged by the appointing authority before the end of the term. Members of the general assembly appointed to the board may be members of the board only so long as they are members of the general assembly and the chief of staff of the governor's office may be a member of the board only so long as the appointing governor remains in office. In case of a vacancy occurring on the board, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, or the governor, as the case may be, shall in the same manner prescribed for the regular appointment to the commission, fill the vacancy by appointing a member. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the term. Any appointed member may be reappointed, provided the member continues to meet all other eligibility requirements.
(C) The board shall hold meetings in a manner and at times prescribed by the rules adopted by the board. A majority of the board constitutes a quorum, and no action shall be taken by the board unless approved by at least six members or by at least seven members if a person is appointed under division (A)(4) or (5) of this section. At its first meeting, the board shall adopt rules for the conduct of its business and the election of its officers, and shall organize by selecting officers other than a chairperson as it considers necessary. In odd-numbered years, the majority member from the senate shall serve as chairperson; in even-numbered years, the majority member from the house of representatives shall serve as chairperson. Board members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(D) The board may do any of the following:
(1) Employ or hire on a consulting basis professional, technical, and clerical employees as are necessary for the performance of its duties. All employees of the board are in the unclassified service and serve at the pleasure of the board. For purposes of section 4117.01 of the Revised Code, employees of the board shall be considered employees of the general assembly, except that employees who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement on September 29, 2011, shall remain subject to the agreement until the agreement expires on its terms, and the agreement shall not be extended or renewed. Upon expiration of the agreement, the employees are considered employees of the general assembly for purposes of section 4117.01 of the Revised Code and are in the unclassified service and serve at the pleasure of the board.
(2) Hold public hearings at times and places as determined by the board;
(3) Adopt, amend, or rescind rules necessary to accomplish the duties of the board as set forth in this section;
(4) Sponsor, conduct, and support such social events as the board may authorize and consider appropriate for the employees of the board, employees and members of the general assembly, employees of persons under contract with the board or otherwise engaged to perform services on the premises of capitol square, or other persons as the board may consider appropriate. Subject to the requirements of Chapter 4303. of the Revised Code, the board may provide beer, wine, and intoxicating liquor, with or without charge, for those events and may use funds only from the sale of goods and services fund to purchase the beer, wine, and intoxicating liquor the board provides;
(5) Purchase a warehouse in which to store items of the capitol collection trust and, whenever necessary, equipment or other property of the board.
(E) The board shall do all of the following:
(1) Have sole authority to coordinate and approve any improvements, additions, and renovations that are made to the capitol square. The improvements shall include, but not be limited to, the placement of monuments and sculpture on the capitol grounds.
(2) Operate the capitol square, and have sole authority to regulate all uses of the capitol square. The uses shall include, but not be limited to, the casual and recreational use of the capitol square.
(3) Employ, fix the compensation of, and prescribe the duties of the executive director of the board and other employees the board considers necessary for the performance of its powers and duties;
(4) Establish and maintain the capitol collection trust. The capitol collection trust shall consist of furniture, antiques, and other items of personal property that the board shall store in suitable facilities until they are ready to be displayed in the capitol square.
(5) Perform repair, construction, contracting, purchasing, maintenance, supervisory, and operating activities the board determines are necessary for the operation and maintenance of the capitol square;
(6) Maintain and preserve the capitol square, in accordance with guidelines issued by the United States secretary of the interior for application of the secretary's standards for rehabilitation adopted in 36 C.F.R. part 67;
(7) Plan and develop a center at the capitol building for the purpose of educating visitors about the history of Ohio, including its political, economic, and social development and the design and erection of the capitol building and its grounds.
(F)(1) The board shall lease capital facilities improved by the department of administrative services or financed by the treasurer of state pursuant to Chapter 154. of the Revised Code for the use of the board, and may enter into any other agreements with the department, the Ohio public facilities commission, or any other authorized governmental agency ancillary to improvement, financing, or leasing of those capital facilities, including, but not limited to, any agreement required by the applicable bond proceedings authorized by Chapter 154. of the Revised Code. Any lease of capital facilities authorized by this section shall be governed by Chapter 154. of the Revised Code.
(2) Fees, receipts, and revenues received by the board from the state underground parking garage constitute available receipts as defined in section 154.24 of the Revised Code, and may be pledged to the payment of bond service charges on obligations issued by the treasurer of state pursuant to Chapter 154. of the Revised Code to improve, finance, or purchase capital facilities useful to the board. The treasurer of state may, with the consent of the board, provide in the bond proceedings for a pledge of all or a portion of those fees, receipts, and revenues as the treasurer of state determines. The treasurer of state may provide in the bond proceedings or by separate agreement with the board for the transfer of those fees, receipts, and revenues to the appropriate bond service fund or bond service reserve fund as required to pay the bond service charges when due, and any such provision for the transfer of those fees, receipts, and revenues shall be controlling notwithstanding any other provision of law pertaining to those fees, receipts, and revenues.
(3) All moneys received by the treasurer of state on account of the board and required by the applicable bond proceedings or by separate agreement with the board to be deposited, transferred, or credited to the bond service fund or bond service reserve fund established by the bond proceedings shall be transferred by the treasurer of state to such fund, whether or not it is in the custody of the treasurer of state, without necessity for further appropriation.
(G)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (G)(2) of this section, all fees, receipts, and revenues received by the board from the state underground parking garage shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the underground parking garage operating fund, which is hereby created, to be used for the purposes specified in division (F) of this section and for the operation and maintenance of the garage. All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund.
(2) There is hereby created the parking garage automated equipment fund, which shall be in the custody of the treasurer of state but shall not be part of the state treasury. Money in the fund shall be used to purchase the automated teller machine quality dollar bills needed for operation of the parking garage automated equipment. The fund shall consist of fees, receipts, or revenues received by the board from the state underground parking garage; provided, however, that the total amount deposited into the fund at any one time shall not exceed ten thousand dollars. All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund.
(H) All donations received by the board shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the capitol square renovation gift fund, which is hereby created. The fund shall be used by the board as follows:
(1) To provide part or all of the funding related to construction, goods, or services for the renovation of the capitol square;
(2) To purchase art, antiques, and artifacts for display at the capitol square;
(3) To award contracts or make grants to organizations for educating the public regarding the historical background and governmental functions of the capitol square. Chapters 125., 127., and 153. and section 3517.13 of the Revised Code do not apply to purchases made exclusively from the fund, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in those chapters or that section. All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund.
(I) Except as provided in divisions (G), (H), and (J) of this section, all fees, receipts, and revenues received by the board shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the sale of goods and services fund, which is hereby created. Money credited to the fund shall be used solely to pay costs of the board other than those specified in divisions (F) and (G) of this section. All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund.
(J) There is hereby created in the state treasury the capitol square improvement fund, to be used by the board to pay construction, renovation, and other costs related to the capitol square for which money is not otherwise available to the board. Whenever the board determines that there is a need to incur those costs and that the unencumbered, unobligated balance to the credit of the underground parking garage operating fund exceeds the amount needed for the purposes specified in division (F) of this section and for the operation and maintenance of the garage, the board may request the director of budget and management to transfer from the underground parking garage operating fund to the capitol square improvement fund the amount needed to pay such construction, renovation, or other costs. The director then shall transfer the amount needed from the excess balance of the underground parking garage operating fund.
(K) As the operation and maintenance of the capitol square constitute essential government functions of a public purpose, the board shall not be required to pay taxes or assessments upon the square, upon any property acquired or used by the board under this section, or upon any income generated by the operation of the square.
(L) As used in this section, "capitol square" means the capitol building, senate building, capitol atrium, capitol grounds, the state underground parking garage, and the warehouse owned by the board.
(M) The capitol annex shall be known as the senate building.
(N) Any person may possess a firearm in a motor vehicle in the state underground parking garage at the state capitol building, if the person's possession of the firearm in the motor vehicle is not in violation of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code or any other provision of the Revised Code. Any person may store or leave a firearm in a locked motor vehicle that is parked in the state underground parking garage at the state capitol building, if the person's transportation and possession of the firearm in the motor vehicle while traveling to the garage was not in violation of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code or any other provision of the Revised Code.