This Act is known as Amended Substitute Senate Bill No. 193
To enact sections 4582.01, 4582.02, 4582.03, 4582.04, 4582.05, 4582.06, 4582.07, 4582.08, 4582.09, 4582.10, 4582.11, 4582.12, 4582.13, 4582.14, 4582.15, and 4582.16 of the Revised Code providing statutory authority for the creation of port authorities by political subdivisions, and to declare an emergency.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
Section 1. That sections 4582.01, 4582.02, 4582.03, 4582.04, 4582.05, 4582.06, 4582.07, 4582.08, 4582.09, 4582.10, 4582.11, 4582.12, 4582.13, 4582.14, 4582.15, and 4582.16 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 4582.01. As used in sections 4582.02 to 4582.16 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Port authority" means a port authority created pursuant to authority of section 4582.02 of the Revised Code.
(B) "Submerged lands" means the lands presently underlying the waters of Lake Erie or formerly underlying the waters of Lake Erie and now artificially filled between the natural shoreline and the harbor line or the line of commercial navigation where no harbor line has been established.
(C) "Uplands" means lands contiguous to or fronting upon any submerged lands in this state.
(D) "Publication" means publication once a week on the same day of the week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties wherein such publication is required to be made. Publication shall be complete on the date of the last publication.
Sec. 4582.02. Any municipal corporation, county, or any combination of a municipal corporation, municipal corporations, county, or counties may create a port authority. A municipal corporation shall act by ordinance, and a county shall act by resolution of the county commissioners, in authorizing the creation of a port authority. A port authority created hereunder shall be a body corporate and politic which may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, and shall have the powers and jurisdiction enumerated in sections 4582.01 to 4582.16, inclusive, of the Revised Code. The exercise by such port authority of the powers conferred upon it shall be deemed to be essential governmental functions of the state of Ohio, but no port authority shall be immune from liability by reason thereof.
Sec. 4582.021. Any county, which seeks to create a port authority shall, prior to such creation of a port authority, and prior to the exercising of the hereinafter described rights, compensate in full the municipal corporations included in the territory of such county, in an amount of money equal to the waterfront investment of such municipal corporations in the territory or adjoining lands, including but not limited to appropriations, expenditures, charges for materials used or labor performed by public officials or employees of said municipal corporation in the placing, construction, development, or improvement of land fills; waterfront shoreways or highways; bulkheads, connecting ways; tracks; breakwaters; soil erosion projects; harbor improvements; public beaches; boat harbor facilities; drainage systems; docks; wharves; piers; places; ways; buildings and appurtenances; sewers; public utility facilities for power, light, heat or water; dredging or channel improvement projects; communications systems; and lakefront improvements. Such municipal corporations may decline to demand compensation for any of the foregoing components of its waterfront investment and thereby retain its possession, custody, control, and property interest in the component for which no compensation is demanded.
Such compensation paid to the municipal corporation may not be derived or take origin directly or indirectly from levies, taxes, assessments, fees, or charges of any kind or nature which were imposed or will be imposed upon the citizens, electors or taxpayers of the municipal corporation which receives such compensation.
Sec. 4582.022. The provisions of Sec. 4582.021 shall apply only to the counties affected by the provisions of section 307.65 of the Revised Code and to those counties containing municipal corporations affected by sections 721.04 to 721.11, inclusive, of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4582.023. Any municipal corporation or county creating or participating in the creation of a port authority in accordance with section 4582.02 of the Revised Code may expend funds not otherwise appropriated to defray the expense of surveys and examinations incidental to the purposes of the port authority so created.
Subject to making due provisions for payment and performance of its obligations, a port authority may be dissolved by the subdivision or subdivisions creating it, and in such event the properties of the port authority shall be transferred to the subdivision creating it, or if created by more than one subdivision, to the subdivisions creating it in such manner as may be agreed upon between such subdivisions.
Sec. 4582.03. A port authority created in accordance with section 4582.02 of the Revised Code shall be governed by a board of directors. Members of a board of directors of a port authority created by the exclusive action of a municipal corporation shall consist of the number of members it deems necessary and be appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. Members of a board of directors of a port authority created by the exclusive action of a county shall consist of such members as it deems necessary and be appointed by the county commissioners of such county. Members of a board of directors of a port authority created by a combination of political subdivisions shall be divided among such political subdivisions in such proportions as such political subdivisions may agree and appointed in the same manner as this section provides for their appointment when such political subdivision creates its own port authority. When a port authority is created by a combination of political subdivisions, the number of directors composing the board shall be determined by agreement between such political subdivisions. The appointing body may at any time remove a director appointed by it for misfeasance, nonfeasance, or malfeasance in office.
Each director shall have been a qualified elector in the political subdivision from which he is appointed for a period of at least three years next preceding his appointment.
The directors of any port authority first appointed shall serve staggered terms. Thereafter each successor shall serve for a term of four years, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall be appointed to only the unexpired term and any director shall be eligible for reappointment.
The directors shall elect one of their membership as chairman, and another as vice chairman, and shall designate their terms of office, and shall appoint a secretary who need not be a director. A majority of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum, the affirmative vote of which shall be necessary for any action taken by the port authority. No vacancy in the membership of the board shall impair the rights of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the port authority.
Each member of the board of directors of a port authority shall be entitled to receive from the port authority such sum of money as the board of directors may determine as compensation for his service as director and reimbursement for his reasonable expenses in the performance of his duties.
Sec. 4582.04. A port authority created in accordance with section 4582.02 of the Revised Code shall employ and fix the qualifications, duties, and compensation of such employees and professional help as it may require to conduct the business of the port and may appoint an advisory board which shall serve without compensation. Any employee may be suspended or dismissed, and the services of professional help may be terminated at any time by the port authority.
Sec. 4582.05. The area of jurisdiction of a port authority created in accordance with section 4582.02 of the Revised Code shall include all of the territory of the political subdivision or subdivisions creating it, provided that in no case shall the same area be included in more than one port authority.
Sec. 4582.06. A port authority created in accordance with section 4582.02 of the Revised Code shall have full power and authority to:
(A) Purchase, construct, sell, lease, and operate docks, wharves, warehouses, piers, and other port, terminal, or transportation facilities within its jurisdiction consistent with the purposes of the port authority, and to make charges for the use thereof, which shall be not less than the charges established for the same services furnished by a public utility or common carrier in the particular port authority area.
(B) Straighten, deepen, and improve any canal, channel, river, stream, or other water course or way which may be necessary or proper in the development of the facilities of such port.
(C) Acquire, own, hold, sell, lease, or operate real or personal property for the authorized purposes of the port authority.
(D) Issue bonds or notes for the acquisition or construction of any permanent improvement which a port authority is authorized to acquire or construct, in compliance with sections 133.01 to 133.46, inclusive, of the Revised Code, except that such bonds or notes may only be issued pursuant to a vote of the electors residing within the territory of the port authority. The net indebtedness incurred by a port authority shall never exceed two per cent of the total value of all property within the territory comprising such authority as listed and assessed for taxation.
(E) Issue revenue bonds beyond the limit of bonded indebtedness prescribed by law which shall be secured only by a pledge of, and lien upon the revenues of such port authority derived from net rentals, fees, or other revenues of the facility and improvements to be acquired or constructed, and the covenant of the port authority to maintain sufficient rates and charges to produce adequate revenues to meet the interest and principal requirements of such bonds. Such bonds shall be negotiable instruments, but shall not constitute general obligations of the port authority, and the general credit and taxing power of the port authority shall not be pledged to the payment of any part thereof.
Such bonds shall bear interest at not to exceed six percent per annum, payable semiannually, shall mature in annual or semiannual installments within thirty years commencing not later than five years, the amount of annual interest plus the amount of annually maturing principal to be substantially equal, shall be signed and sealed as provided in sections 133.01 to 133.48 of the Revised Code, and may be sold as provided in such sections, or at private sale at the option of the board. Such bonds may be sold in the manner and for the price the board of directors determines to be for the best interest of the port authority, but no such sale shall be made at a price so low as to require the payment of interest on the money received therefor at more than six per cent per annum, computed with relation to the absolute maturity of the bonds in accordance with standard tables of bond values excluding from such computation the amount of any premium to be paid on redemption of any bonds prior to maturity. Such bonds may be made callable, and if so issued may be refunded.
If revenues prove insufficient to pay maturing bonds, bonds which have matured or are about to mature may be refunded provided the bonds so issued shall mature in not more than fifteen years after their issuance.
The board of directors shall execute the necessary documents to provide for the pledge, protection, and disposition of the revenues from which said bonds are to be paid. As long as such bonds, either in original or refunded form, remain outstanding, except as otherwise provided in such documents, all of such facilities, the revenues of which are pledge, shall remain under the exclusive control of the board, and the revenues therefrom shall be and remain subject to such pledge, and the properties served by such facilities shall be and remain subject to the power and duty of the board to fix and collect reasonable rates or charges of rents for the use of such facilities.
(F) Apply to the proper authorities of the United States pursuant to appropriate law for the right to establish, operate, and maintain foreign trade zones within the limits of the port authority and to establish, operate and maintain such foreign trade zones.
(G) Exercise the right of eminent domain to appropriate any land, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, or other property, necessary or proper for the construction or the efficient operation of any facility of the port authority and included in its official plan, pursuant to the procedure provided in sections 719.04 to 719.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, with respect to municipal corporations, if funds equal to the appraised value of the property to be acquired as the result of such proceedings, shall be on hand and available for such purposes, except that:
(1) Upon written application of any property owner affected any municipal corporation, or, as to areas outside the boundaries of a municipal corporation, any county, participating in the creation of a port authority, after ten days written notice to the port authority and public hearing had thereon, may revoke the right of eminent domain to be exercised by the port authority over lands, property, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, or easements inside its boundaries within sixty days after the port authority has by resolution announced the lands, rights, rights-of-ways, franchises, easements or other property to be taken. If any municipal corporation or county shall revoke the right of eminent domain as herein provided, the port authority may nevertheless proceed to appropriate any such property pursuant to the procedure provided in Chapter 2709 of the Revised Code with respect to a private corporation. If any municipal corporation or county shall refuse to revoke the right of eminent domain, as herein provided, the property owner affected may within ten days thereafter notify the port authority in writing of his insistence that the port authority proceed to appropriate any such property pursuant to Chapter 2709 of the Revised Code in which case the port authority shall so proceed.
(2) Nothing contained in sections 4582.01 to 4582.16, inclusive, of the Revised Code shall authorize a port authority to take or disturb property or facilities belonging to any public corporation, public utility, or common carrier, which property or facilities are necessary and convenient in the operation of such public corporation, public utility or common carrier, unless provision is made for the restoration, relocating, or duplication of such property or facilities, or upon the election of such public corporation, public utility, or common carrier, for the payment of compensation, if any, at the sole cost of the port authority; provided that:
(a) if any restoration or duplication proposed to be made hereunder shall involve a relocation of such property or facilities, the new facilities and location shall be of at least comparable utilitarian value and effectiveness and such relocation shall not impair the ability of the public utility or common carrier to compete in its original area of operation;
(b) if any restoration or duplication made hereunder shall involve a relocation of such property or facilities, the port authority shall acquire no interest or right in or to the appropriated property or facilities, except as provided in division (J) of section 4582.06 of the Revised Code, until the relocated property or facilities are available for use and until marketable title thereto has been transferred to the public utility or common carrier;
(c) provisions for restoration or duplication shall be described in detail in the resolution for appropriation passed by the port authority;
(H) Enjoy and possess the same rights, privileges, and powers granted municipal corporations under sections 721.04 to 721.11, inclusive, of the Revised Code, provided that leases of any part of the territory in front of uplands within the area of the port authority may, notwithstanding the provisions of section 4582.12 of the Revised Code, be entered into only as follows:
(1) Whenever the state, acting through the governor upon the recommendation of the director of public works, shall, upon application of any owner of uplands fronting on Lake Erie within the territory of a port authority, and after notice as hereinafter provided, determine that any part of the territory in front of said uplands can be developed and improved or the waters thereof used as specified in said application without impairment of the public right of navigation, water commerce, and fishery, a lease of all or any part of the state's interest therein may be entered into with said owner, subject to the powers of the United States Government, and without prejudice to the littoral rights of said upland owner, provided the board of directors of a port authority with respect to such part of the territory included in the jurisdiction of the port authority, shall have enacted a resolution finding and determining that such part of the territory, described by metes and bounds, is not necessary or required by the port authority for the construction, maintenance, or operation by the port authority of breakwaters, piers, docks, wharves, bulkheads, connecting ways, water terminal facilities and improvements and marginal highways, in aid of navigation and water commerce, and that the land uses specified in said application comply with a plan of the port authority adopted pursuant to section 4582.07 of the Revised Code.
(2) Upon the filing of the application of such upland owner in the office of the director of public works in Columbus, Ohio, such director shall hold a public hearing thereon and cause written notice of such filing to be given to the port authority in which such part of the territory is located and also public notice of such filing by advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation within the locality where such part of the territory is located, once a week for four consecutive weeks prior to the date of the initial hearing. All hearings shall be before the director of public works and shall be open to the public and a record shall be made of the proceeding. Parties thereto shall be entitled to be heard, to be represented by counsel, and to have process to compel the attendance of witnesses. The findings and order of the director of public works shall be in writing. All costs of the hearings, including publication costs, shall be paid by the applicant.
In the event the director of public works finds that a lease may properly be entered into with the applicant he shall recommend to the governor the terms and conditions of such lease, and shall determine the consideration to be paid by the applicant, which consideration shall exclude the value of the upland owner's littoral rights and improvements made or paid for by the upland owner or his predecessor in title. Such lease may be for such periods of time, whether limited or perpetual, as the director of public works shall recommend. The rentals received under the terms of such a lease shall be paid into the port authority.
If the governor concurs in the findings of the director of public works, and approves the terms and conditions of said lease agreement, he shall issue a certificate to that effect and deliver the same to the auditor of state for the drafting of the lease agreement. All leases made hereunder shall be executed in the manner provided by section 5301.13 of the Revised Code and shall contain, in addition to the provisions required herein, a reservation to the state of all mineral rights as required by section 155.01 of the Revised Code, except that the removal of such minerals shall be conducted in such manner as not to damage any improvements placed by the littoral owner or lessee on such leased lands. No lease of the lands herein defined shall express or imply any control of fisheries or aquatic wildlife now vested in the division of wildlife of the department of natural resources.
(3) Upland owners who have, prior to the effective date of section 4582.06 of the Revised Code, erected, developed, or maintained structures, facilities, buildings, improvements, or made use of waters in the part of the territory in front of such uplands, shall be granted a lease by the state acting through the governor, as set forth in this section, upon the presentation of a certification issued pursuant to a resolution of the board of directors of the port authority establishing that such structures, facilities, buildings, improvements, or uses, do not constitute an unlawful encroachment on navigation and water commerce. Such lease, upon its issuance, shall specifically enumerate the structures, facilities, buildings, improvements, or uses, so included.
(4) Upland owners having secured a lease pursuant to this section shall be entitled to just compensation for the taking, whether for navigation, water commerce, or otherwise, by any governmental authority having the power of eminent domain, of structures, facilities, buildings, improvements, or uses, erected or placed upon the territory, pursuant to the provisions of such lease or the littoral rights of such upland owner, and such leasehold and the littoral right of the upland owner, pursuant to the procedure provided in division (G) of section 4582.06 of the Revised Code. Such compensation shall not include any compensation for the site in the territory except to the extent of any interest in the site theretofore acquired by the upland owner under this section or by prior acts of the general assembly or grants from the United States. The failure of any owner of uplands to apply for or obtain a lease under section 4582.06 of the Revised Code shall not prejudice any right said owner may have to compensation for a taking of littoral rights and improvements made in the exercise thereof.
(I) Maintain such funds as it deems necessary.
(J) Direct its agents or employees, when properly identified in writing, and after at least five days written notice, to enter upon lands within the confines of its jurisdiction in order to make surveys and examinations preliminary to location and construction of works for the purposes of the port authority, without liability of the port authority or its agents or employees except for actual damage done.
(K) Sell or lease real and personal property not needed for the operation of the port authority and grant easements or rights-of-way over property of the port authority.
(L) Promote, advertise, and publicize the port and its facilities; provide traffic information and rate information to shippers and shipping interests; appear before rate making authorities to represent and promote the interests of the port.
Sec. 4582.07. The board of directors of a port authority shall prepare or cause to be prepared a plan for the future development, construction, and improvement of the port and its facilities, including such maps, profiles, and other data and descriptions as may be necessary to set forth the location and character of the work to be undertaken by the port authority. Upon the completion of such plan the board of directors shall cause notice by publication as provided in section 4582.01 of the Revised Code to be given in each county in which there is a political subdivision participating in the creation of the port authority, and shall likewise cause notice to be served upon the owners of the uplands contiguous to any submerged lands affected by such plan in the manner provided by law for service of notice in the levy of special assessments by municipal corporations, and shall permit the inspection thereof at their office by all persons interested. Said notice shall fix the time and place for the hearing of all objections to said plan, which shall be not less than thirty or more than sixty days after the last publication of said notice and after service of notice upon the owners of such uplands. Any interested person may file written objections to such plan, provided such objections are filed with the secretary of the board of directors at his office not less than five days prior to the date fixed for said hearing. After said hearing the board of directors may adopt such plan with any modifications or amendments thereto as the official plan of the port authority.
Sec. 4582.08. The board of directors shall, from time to time after the adoption of said official plan, have the power to modify, amend or extend the same, provided that upon the making of any such modification, amendment or extension thereof, the board of directors shall cause notice to be given and shall conduct a hearing, all as provided in section 4582.07 of the Revised Code, and shall not adopt any modification, amendment, or extension until the notice has been given and the hearing held as herein provided.
Sec. 4582.09. The plan and any modification, amendment or extension thereof, when adopted by the board of directors after notice and hearing, shall be final and conclusive and its validity shall be conclusively presumed.
Sec. 4582.10. The port authority shall foster and encourage the participation of private enterprise in the development of the port facilities to the fullest extent it deems practicable in the interest of limiting the necessity of construction and operation of such facilities by the port authority. For this purpose the port authority shall upon a written request by any person, partnership, or corporation, filed with the secretary of the board of directors within thirty days following the journalization of the order of the adoption of an official plan as provided in sections 4582.07 and 4582.08 of the Revised Code, submit a proposal to provide, operate, and maintain any facility included in such plan, by publication of and invitation for bids therefor based upon specifications prepared by the board of directors.
The board of directors may accept the bid of the person, partnership, or corporation it deems best qualified by financial responsibility and business experience to construct and operate such facility or facilities in accordance with its official plan.
Sec. 4582.11. Nothing contained in sections 4582.01 to 4582.16, inclusive, of the Revised Code shall:
(A) Impair the provisions of law or ordinance directing the payment of revenues derived from public property into sinking funds or dedicating such revenues to specific purposes;
(B) Impair the powers of any county, township, or municipal corporation to develop or improve port and terminal facilities except as restricted by section 4582.16 of the Revised Code;
(C) Enlarge, alter, diminish, or affect in any way, any lease or conveyance made, or action taken prior to the creation of a port authority in accordance with section 4582.02 of the Revised Code by any municipal corporation under the provisions of sections 721.04 to 721.11, inclusive of the Revised Code, or by any county under the provisions of section 307.65 of the Revised Code;
(D) Impair or interfere with the exercise of any permit for the removal of sand or gravel, or other similar permits issued by this state or the United States.
Sec. 4582.12. No contract for the creation, construction, alteration, or repair of any building, structure, or other improvement undertaken by a port authority created in accordance with section 4582.02 of the Revised Code and involving an expenditure exceeding one thousand dollars shall be let and no lease or sale of any lands or property shall be made by the port authority unless notice calling for bids for the same shall have been given by publication as provided by section 4582.01 of the Revised Code. No such contract shall be let except to the lowest and best bidder and no such lease or sale shall be made, except to the highest and best bidder. In the case of any lease or sale of land by the port authority, specifications for the bids for such lease or sale shall be in such form and detail as shall be determined by the port authority. Every contract let shall be in writing and if the same involves work or construction, it shall be accompanied by or shall refer to plans and specifications for the work to be done, prepared for and approved by the port authority, signed by the chairman of the port authority and by the contractor, and shall be executed in triplicate.
Sec. 4582.13. The board of directors of a port authority created in accordance with section 4582.02 of the Revised Code shall annually prepare a budget for the port authority.
Rents and charges received by the port authority shall be used for the general expenses of the port authority and to pay interest, amortization, and retirement charges on money borrowed. If there remains, at the end of any calendar year, any surplus of such funds after providing for the above uses, the board of directors may pay such surplus into the general funds of the political subdivisions creating and comprising the port authority in proportion to the taxable value of all property within the port authority which shall be listed on the general tax lists for the respective subdivisions.
Sec. 4582.14. Upon the affirmative vote of at least fifty-five per cent of the qualified electors within the port authority voting at an election held for the purpose of authorizing same, the port authority shall have the power to levy upon the property within its jurisdiction a tax, for all purposes including bond debt charges, not in excess of fifty-five one hundredths of one mill annually on the total value of all property as listed and assessed for taxation for any period not exceeding five years, except that when the tax is for the payment of bond debt charges, such tax shall be for the life of the bond indebtedness.
The board of directors of a port authority shall be the taxing authority within the provisions of section 5705.01 of the Revised Code.
Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, during the period from the effective date of this act until September 25, 1956, the resolution required to be passed by the board of directors of a port authority and certified to the board of elections, submitting the question of a tax levy at the next general election, may be passed and certified at any time prior to September 25 of that year, and in the event the levying of such tax would exceed the limits provided by section 2, article XII of the Constitution of Ohio, said resolution shall so state.
Such tax shall be for the purpose of providing funds necessary for the port authority budget and shall be certified annually to the taxing authorities of the political subdivision or subdivisions within the port authority. The collection of such tax levy shall conform in all matters to the provisions of the Revised Code governing the collection of taxes and assessments levied by local taxing districts and the same provisions concerning the nonpayment of taxes shall apply to taxes levied pursuant to this section.
Sec. 4582.15. Before receiving any moneys, the secretary of a port authority created in accordance with section 4582.02 of the Revised Code shall furnish bond in such amount as shall be determined by the port authority, with sureties satisfactory to it, and all funds coming into the hands of said secretary shall be deposited by him to the account of the port authority in one or more such depositories as shall be qualified to receive deposits of county funds, which deposits shall be secured in the same manner as county funds are required to be secured. No disbursements shall be made from such funds except in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the port authority.
Sec. 4582.16. No municipal corporation or county, respectively, creating or participating in the creation of a port authority in accordance with section 4582.02 of the Revised Code shall during the time said port authority is in existence have the right to exercise the rights and powers as provided in sections 721.04 to 721.11, inclusive, or section 307.65 of the Revised Code, respectively.
Section 2. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity lies in the fact that the provisions of this act should become effective immediately in order to permit the prompt organization of port authorities to take advantage of the St. Lawrence Seaway project authorized by the National Congress, thereby advancing the interests and the welfare of the state of Ohio and its citizens. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.
ROGER CLOUD,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
JOHN W. BROWN,
President of the Senate.
Passed June 21, 1955.
Approved June 30, 11:19 A.M., 1955.
FRANK J. LAUSCHE,
Governor.
The sectional numbers herein are in conformity with the Revised Code.
OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
John A. Skipton, Director
Filed in the office of the Secretary of State at Columbus, Ohio on the 30th day of June, A.D. 1955.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the engrossed bill.
TED W. BROWN,
Secretary of State.
Effective June 30, 1955 at 11:19 A.M.
File No. 129