CHAPTER 306: COUNTY TRANSIT SYSTEM; REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY; REGIONAL TRANSIT COMMISSION

(A) Whenever the county commissioners of any county declare, by resolution, that it is essential to the best interests of the county that a county transit system be established, the commissioners shall either appoint a county transit board, with powers and duties as specified by sections 306.01 to 306.13 and section 306.99 of the Revised Code, or state in the resolution that the board of county commissioners itself shall operate the county transit system and assume all the powers and duties assigned to a board of county commissioners in sections 306.04, 306.06, 306.08, 306.09, 306.10, 306.12, and 306.13 of the Revised Code; except that no county transit board shall be appointed nor any county transit system established in any county which is included in whole or in part in a regional transit authority established pursuant to sections 306.30 to 306.53 of the Revised Code.

(B) Once a county transit system has been established, the board of county commissioners may, by resolution, change the governing board for the system from the board of county commissioners to a county transit board, or from a county transit board to the board of county commissioners. If the resolution transfers the governing authority from the county transit board to the board of county commissioners, the transfer shall not occur for six months after the date of the resolution. On the date of transfer, the transit board shall be dissolved, the board of county commissioners shall assume all contracts, property, and debts of the transit board, and all transit employees shall be transferred to the control of the board of county commissioners. the board of county commissioners shall collect all taxes levied by the transit board for the county transit system.

If the resolution transfers the governing authority to a county transit board, the board of county commissioners shall appoint a board under section 306.02 of the Revised Code. All transit employees except the executive director of the system shall be transferred to the control of the county transit board. The board of county commissioners shall transfer to the transit board, and the transit board shall assume, all contracts, property, and debts of the county relative to the transit system. The county shall continue to collect any taxes it levies for the transit system, but the proceeds shall be deposited in the funds of the transit board for the transit purposes for which they were levied.

(C) Any county that has a county transit system operated by the board of county commissioners shall create within the county general fund an account for the county transit system.

Effective Date: 10-25-1995

A county transit board authorized by section 306.01 of the Revised Code shall consist of seven members. All members shall be electors of the county, shall be appointed by the board of county commissioners, and shall have such qualifications as the board of county commissioners may establish in its resolution under section 306.01 of the Revised Code. The appointments shall be for overlapping three-year terms, provided that of the initial terms, two shall be for one year, two for two years, and three for three years. Appointments thereafter shall be for the full term of three years except that any vacancy which occurs during a term shall be filled for the unexpired term. The county commissioners shall fill any vacancy which occurs in the board within ninety days after the occurrence of the vacancy.

The members of the board shall not be interested financially in any contract, work, or service for the county.

The county commissioners shall designate a chairman for the term of his office or for the term of three years, whichever is shorter and shall fill any vacancy in such position. The compensation of the members of the board shall be determined by the county commissioners. The county commissioners may fix the chairman’s salary above those of the other board members. No more than four members of the board shall belong to the same political party.

A member of the board may be removed for cause by the county commissioners, but only after opportunity has been afforded for a public hearing before the county commissioners within ten days after written charges have been given such member. Such member shall be heard in person or by counsel and action by the county commissioners shall be final.

Effective Date: 10-25-1995

As soon as possible after the appointment of the initial members, a county transit board shall organize for the transaction of business, elect a vice-chairman and secretary and prescribe their duties, designate a fiscal officer who need not be a member of the board, and adopt bylaws, rules, and regulations to govern its proceedings. Thereafter the board shall hold regular meetings at least once every month. Special meetings may be called by the chairman, or at the request of any two members. All meetings shall be open to the public and the board shall keep full and accurate minutes of its proceedings, and minutes of its proceedings shall be maintained as a public record.

A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for the contract of business at its meetings. The board shall act by resolution and a concurrence of four members shall be sufficient for action by the board.

Effective Date: 10-25-1995

(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, employees of a county transit board or a board of county commissioners operating a transit system are employees of the county. If the system is operated by the board of county commissioners, the board shall appoint an executive director, who shall be in the unclassified service.

(B) Any county transit board that established its own civil service organization and procedure prior to the effective date of this amendment shall continue to operate under that organization. Appointments and promotions in that system shall be made, as far as practicable, by competitive examination.

A board that established its own civil service organization prior to the effective date of this amendment shall establish by rule the seniority provisions relating to street railway and motor bus employees in effect at the time of the acquisition of the transit system by the county. The vacation, holiday, and sick leave privileges shall not be regulated by other provisions of law relating to public employees of the state or county, except that the transit board, its officers and employees, shall be subject to the public employees retirement system of the state and the transit board shall assume any pension obligations which have been assumed by any publicly owned transit system which the county may acquire.

(C) A county transit board or board of county commissioners operating a transit system may:

(1) Acquire in its name by gift, grant, purchase, or condemnation and hold and operate real estate and interests therein and personal property suitable for its purposes;

(2) In its name purchase, acquire, construct, enlarge, improve, equip, repair, maintain, sell, exchange, lease as lessee or lessor, receive a right of use of, and manage, control, and operate, in or out of the county, a county transit system consisting of all real estate and interests therein, personal property, and a combination thereof, for or related to the movement of persons including but not limited to street railway, tramline, subways, rapid transits, monorails, and passenger bus systems but excluding therefrom trucks, the movement of property by truck, and facilities designed for use in the movement of property by truck for hire;

(3) Issue, with the approval of the county commissioners when the issuance is made by the transit board, revenue bonds of the county as provided in division (B) of section 306.09 of the Revised Code, to secure funds to accomplish its purposes. The principal of and interest on such bonds, together with all other payments required to be made by the trust agreement or indenture securing such bonds, shall be paid solely from revenues or other income accruing to the board from facilities of the county transit system designated in said agreement or indenture.

(4) Enter into contracts in the exercise of the rights, powers, and duties conferred upon it, and execute all instruments necessary in the conduct of its business;

(5) Fix, alter, and charge rates and other charges for the use of its real estate and interests therein, personal property, and combinations thereof;

(6) Employ such financial consultants, accountants, appraisers, consulting engineers, architects, construction experts, attorneys-at-law, managers and other supervisory personnel, and other officers, employees, and agents as it determines necessary to conduct its business, and fix their compensation and duties;

(7) Pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber its revenues and other income as security for its obligations and enter into trust agreements or indentures for the benefit of revenue bondholders;

(8) Borrow money or accept or contract to accept advances, loans, gifts, grants, devises, or bequests from and enter into contracts or agreements with any federal, state, or other governmental or private source and hold and apply advances, loans, gifts, grants, devises, or bequests according to the terms thereof including provisions which are required by such federal, state, or other governmental or private source to protect the interest of employees affected by such advances, loans, gifts, grants, devises, or bequests. Such advances, loans, gifts, grants, or devises may be subject to any reasonable reservation and any gift, grant, or devise or real estate may be in fee simple or any lesser estate. Any advances or loans received from any federal, state, or other governmental or private source may be repaid in accordance with the terms of such advance or loan.

(9) Conduct investigations and surveys into the needs of the public within or without the county for transportation services to provide for the movement of persons within, into, or from the area serviced or to be serviced by the county transit system;

(10) Enter into lawful arrangements with the appropriate federal or state department or agency, county, township, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision or public agency for the planning and installation of any public facilities which are determined necessary in the conduct of its business;

(11) Purchase fire, extended coverage, and liability insurance for the real estate and interests therein, personal property and any combination thereof, used by or in connection with the county transit system and insurance covering the board and the county transit system and its officers and employees for liability for damage or injury to persons or property;

(12) Procure and pay all or any part of the cost of group hospitalization, surgical, major medical, or sickness and accident insurance, or a combination thereof, for the officers and employees of the county transit system and their immediate dependents, issued by an insurance company, duly authorized to do business in this state;

(13) Sell, lease, release, or otherwise dispose of real estate or interests therein or personal property owned by it and grant such easements across its real estate and interests therein as will not interfere with its use by the county transit system;

(14) Establish rules for the use and operation of the county transit system including the real estate or interests therein, personal property or a combination of the foregoing used by or in connection with such system;

(15) Exercise the power of eminent domain to appropriate any real estate or interests therein, personal property, franchises, or any combination thereof, within or without the county, necessary or proper in the exercise of its powers provided in sections 306.01 to 306.13 of the Revised Code, as provided in sections 163.01 to 163.22 of the Revised Code, and subject to divisions (15)(a), (b), and (c) of this section, provided that a county transit board or a board of county commissioners operating a transit system shall not proceed to so appropriate real property outside its territorial boundaries, until it has served at the office of the county commissioners of the county in which it is proposed to appropriate real property, a notice describing the real property to be taken and the purpose for which it is proposed to be taken, and such county commissioners have entered on their journal within thirty days after such service a resolution approving such appropriation;

(a) Nothing contained in this division authorizes a county transit board or a board of county commissioners to appropriate any land, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, or easements belonging to the state or to a municipal corporation without the consent of the state or of the municipal corporation, and no county transit board or board of county commissioners shall exercise the right of eminent domain to acquire any certificate of public convenience and necessity, or any part thereof, issued to a motor transportation company by the public utilities commission of Ohio or by the interstate commerce commission of the United States, or to take or disturb other real estate or interests therein, personal property, or any combination thereof belonging to any municipal corporation without the consent of the legislative authority of such municipal corporation, or take or disturb real estate or interests therein, personal property, or any combination thereof belonging to any other political subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or common carrier, which is necessary and convenient in the operation of such political subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or common carrier unless provision is made for the restoration, relocation, or duplication of that taken or upon the election of such political subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or common carrier for the payment of compensation, if any, at the sole cost of the county transit system.

(b) If any restoration or duplication proposed to be made under this division involves a relocation, the new location shall have 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.

(c) If such restoration or duplication proposed to be made under this division involves a relocation, the county transit board or board of county commissioners shall acquire no interest or right in or to the appropriated property or facility until the relocated property or facility is available for use and until marketable title thereto has been transferred to the political subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or common carrier. Nothing in this division shall require any board of county commissioners or county transit board operating a county transit system to so restore, relocate, or duplicate, if all of the real estate and interests therein, personal property, and any combination of the foregoing which is owned by a public utility or common carrier and used by it or in connection with the movement of persons, is acquired by exercise of the power of eminent domain.

(16) When real property is acquired that is located outside the county and is removed from the tax duplicate, the county transit board or board of county commissioners operating a transit system shall pay annually to the county treasurer of the county in which that property is located, commencing with the first tax year in which that property is removed from the tax duplicate, an amount of money in lieu of taxes equal to the smaller of the following:

(a) The last annual installment of taxes due from the acquired property before removal from the tax duplicate;

(b) An amount equal to the difference between the combined revenue from real estate taxes of all the taxing districts in which the property is located in the tax year immediately prior to the removal of the acquired property from the tax duplicate, and either:

(i) The total revenue which would be produced by the tax rate of each such taxing district in the tax year immediately prior to the removal of the acquired property from the tax duplicate, applied to the real estate tax duplicate of each of such taxing districts in each tax year subsequent to the year of removal; or

(ii) The combined revenue from real estate taxes of all such taxing districts in each tax year subsequent to the year of removal, whichever is the greater.

The county transit board or board of county commissioners may be exempted from such payment by agreement of the affected taxing district or districts in the county in which the property is located.

The county auditor of the county in which that property is located shall apportion each such annual payment to each taxing district as if the annual payment had been levied and collected as a tax.

Those annual payments shall never again be made after they have ceased.

(17) Sue or be sued, plead or be impleaded, and be held liable in any court of proper jurisdiction for damages received by reason of negligence, in the same manner and to the same extent as if the county transit system were privately operated, provided, that no funds of a county other than those of the county transit board or, if the transit system is operated by the board of county commissioners, other than those in the account for the county transit system created under division (C) of section 306.01 of the Revised Code, shall be available for the satisfaction of judgments rendered against that system;

(18) Annually prepare and make available for public inspection a report in condensed form showing the financial results of the operation of the county transit system. For systems operated by a county transit board, copies of this report shall be furnished to the county commissioners as well as a monthly summary statement of revenues and expenses for the preceding month sufficient to show the exact financial condition of the county transit system as of the last day of the preceding month.

(19) With the approval of the county commissioners when the action is taken by the transit board, and without competitive bidding, sell, lease, or grant the right of use of all or a portion of the county transit system to any other political subdivision, taxing district, or other public body or agency having the power to operate a transit system;

(20) Enter into and supervise franchise agreements for the operation of a county transit system;

(21) Accept the assignment of and then supervise an existing franchise agreement for the operation of a county transit system.

Effective Date: 10-25-1995

The county commissioners may advance funds from any available fund of the county for purchase or acquisition of a transit system, surveys, planning, and mass transportation studies. The amount advanced may be reimbursed from any funds of the county transit board including the proceeds of the sale of bonds for the purchase, acquisition, construction, enlargement, improvement, or equipment of the county transit system.

Effective Date: 08-31-1970

The county transit board or board of county commissioners operating a transit system may enter into an agreement with any municipal corporation, township, or other county, whereby the board undertakes to provide transportation service for the movement of persons within, from, or to that municipal corporation, township, or county, to make payments or transfer real estate or interests therein or a combination thereof, as therein provided, in consideration of the board providing those transportation services. Any moneys so paid to the board shall be received by it and used solely for the purposes specified in the agreement. Moneys so paid may include all or a part of the cost of permanent improvements to be used by the county transit system under the agreement and to that extent may include the proceeds of bonds issued in accordance with Chapter 133. of the Revised Code, by such municipal corporation, township, or county for the purpose of paying all or a part of the cost of those permanent improvements.

Any municipal corporation, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision or taxing district may convey or lease to or exchange with any county transit board or board of county commissioners operating a transit system and any county transit board or board of county commissioners operating a transit system may convey or lease to or exchange with any state, municipal corporation, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision or taxing district without competitive bidding and on mutually agreeable terms any personal property, real estate, or interests therein.

Effective Date: 10-25-1995

The operations, revenues, and property of the county transit system and all obligations secured by the real estate or interests therein or revenues of the system, or the income derived therefrom, are exempt from the levy of any excise or other tax by the county or any political subdivision of the state, unless and to the extent such exemption is prohibited by the constitution or other laws of this state.

Effective Date: 08-31-1970

Any county transit board or board of county commissioners operating a transit system, that acquires, leases as lessee, or receives a right to use a publicly or privately owned transit system may enter into an agreement with the operator thereof transferring that transit system, and that operator may enter into an agreement with the county transit board or board of county commissioners operating a transit system providing for the transfer or grant of the use to the county transit board or board of county commissioners of all or any part of the real estate or interests therein, personal property, or any combination thereof, and of the funds under the control of or held for the use or benefit of such transit system being transferred, whether held in trust or otherwise, and any such agreement may make further provision for any one or more of the following:

(A) Continuation of any transportation services then provided by that operator;

(B) Contribution to the county transit board or board of county commissioners of moneys or other real state or interests therein, personal property, and any combination thereof, by a municipal corporation or county which was the operator, to assist in the payment of costs of providing transportation services for the movement of persons within, from, or to such municipal corporation or county;

(C) Assumption, funding, or refunding of outstanding revenue bonds of a municipal corporation or county issued in connection with the transit system being transferred or provision for making payment of the principal and interest as well as other charges in connection with the revenue bonds of such municipal corporation or county;

(D) Assumption by the county transit board or board of county commissioners of any contractual obligations, trusts, commitments and duties incurred or assumed by such operator, provided that no contract not specifically assumed by the board in the agreement or in a separate agreement with a contracting party shall be binding on the board;

(E) Continuation and the assignment and assumption of obligations, including, but not limited to, existing pension rights, plans, and benefits, under contracts or other agreements of the operator, provided that such assignment of any such obligation is not binding upon the other party to the contract or agreement with that operator unless so provided in the contract or agreement or duly approved by that party;

(F) Continuation of, including modification or expansion of the scope of, any contracts or other agreements of the operator providing for transportation services;

(G) Retention by the county transit board or board of county commissioners of the status and salaries of officers and employees of the transit system being transferred;

(H) The same or similar terms and conditions of employment as were provided by the operator under section 306.12 of the Revised Code;

(I) The time when such agreement or parts thereof are to take effect and the period during which they are to remain in effect;

(J) Procedures for the amendment of the agreement, including designation of parties to execute or approve such amendments;

(K) Such other provisions as may be determined necessary or appropriate.

Effective Date: 10-25-1995

(A) The board of county commissioners, on its own initiative if it operates a county transit system or at the request of the county transit board if one is appointed, may issue bonds of the county pursuant to Chapter 133. of the Revised Code, for the purpose of purchasing, acquiring, constructing, enlarging, and improving the county transit system.

(B) The board of county commissioners operating a transit system or a county transit board, with the approval of the county commissioners, may issue revenue bonds of the county for the purpose of purchasing, acquiring, constructing, enlarging, and improving the county transit system. The issuing board shall provide by resolution for the issuance of such bonds. The principal, interest, and all other payments required to be made by any trust agreement or indenture securing such bonds shall be payable, as provided in such resolution, solely from the revenues or other income of the county transit system. Bonds may be issued at one time or from time to time and each issue shall be dated, bear interest, mature at such time or times not exceeding forty years from the date of issue, and be redeemable before maturity at the option of the board at such price or prices and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by the board in its resolution. The board shall determine the form of the bonds and any coupons pertaining thereto, fix their denominations, and establish within or without this state the place or places of payment of principal and interest. The resolution shall determine the method of execution of such bonds, provide for sale of the bonds at public or private sale as the board determines most advantageous and for such prices, above or below the par value thereof, as the board determines or within such limit or limits as it may fix.

Where a transit board is appointed, if any member of the county transit board or officer of the county transit system who has signed bonds or coupons pertaining thereto or caused the member’s or officer’s facsimile signature to be affixed thereto ceases to be a member or officer before such bonds or coupons have been delivered, such bonds or coupons may be issued and delivered as though the person who had signed the bonds or coupons or caused the person’s facsimile signature to be affixed thereto had not ceased to be a member or officer. Bonds or coupons may be executed on behalf of the county by a member of the county transit board or officer of the county transit system who is a member or officer on the date of execution, although such person was not a member or officer on the date of such bonds or coupons.

All bonds issued under authority of this section have all qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments, subject to provisions for registration, and may be issued in coupon or fully registered form, or both, as the board provides. Provision may be made for the registration of any coupon bonds as to principal alone or as to both principal and interest and for the conversion into fully registered bonds of coupon bonds, and into coupon bonds of any fully registered bond or bonds registered as to both principal and interest.

(C) The proceedings authorizing issuance of revenue bonds pursuant to division (B) of this section may contain provisions that shall be a part of the contract with the bondholders as to:

(1) Pledging the rates, revenues, and other income, charges, and moneys therein designated for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds and all other payments required to be made by the bond proceedings;

(2) Provisions regarding the purposes to which the proceeds of the bonds may be applied;

(3) Terms of the bonds;

(4) Maintenance, collection, use, and disposition of rates, revenues, and other income, charges, and moneys received from the operation or disposition of the county transit system;

(5) Terms and conditions under which additional bonds may be issued secured by a pledge of rates, revenues, and other income, charges, and moneys received from the operation or disposition of the county transit system;

(6) Terms of any trust agreement or indenture of mortgage securing the bonds, including authorization for the county transit board to enter into such agreement or indenture on behalf of the county and with a corporate trustee which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without this state;

(7) The deposit, application, safeguarding, and investment of funds of the county transit board or board of county commissioners received or held under such trust agreement or indenture to which the provisions of Chapters 131. and 135. of the Revised Code are not applicable;

(8) Any other appropriate agreements with the bondholders with respect to the rates, revenues, and other income, charges, and moneys received from the operation or disposition of the county transit system;

(9) Other provisions that are customary or appropriate in an agreement or indenture of such type, including but not limited to:

(a) Mortgage or any real estate or interest therein acquired from the proceeds of such bonds;

(b) Covenant to maintain each pledge, trust agreement, and indenture of mortgage made for the security of any bonds until the principal of and interest on the bonds has been fully paid, or provision therefor has been made, for the security of which the pledge has been made and the trust agreement or the indenture of mortgage has been given;

(c) In the event of default in any payments required to be made or any other agreement made as a part of the contract under which the bonds are issued, enforcement of such payments or agreement by mandamus, the appointment of a receiver in equity, or, if a mortgage has been given, the foreclosure of such mortgage, or any combination of the foregoing;

(d) The rights and remedies of the bondholders and of the trustee and provisions for protecting and enforcing them, including limitations on rights of individual bondholders;

(e) Such other provisions as the trustee, the original purchaser of the bonds, and the board of county commissioners or county transit board agree upon.

(D) Any holder of bonds issued pursuant to division (B) of this section or a trustee under a trust agreement or indenture of mortgage entered into pursuant to division (C)(6) of this section, except to the extent that their rights are restricted by the bond proceedings or the terms of the bonds, may by any suitable form of legal proceedings, protect and enforce any rights under the laws of this state or granted by the bond proceedings. Such rights include the right:

(1) To compel the performance of all duties of the county transit board or board of county commissioners required by sections 306.01 to 306.13 of the Revised Code, or the bond proceedings;

(2) To enjoin unlawful activities;

(3) In the event of default in the payment of any principal or interest on any bond or in the performance of any covenant or agreement on the part of the county transit board or board of county commissioners in the resolution, trust agreement, or indenture, to apply to a court to appoint a receiver to administer and operate the county transit system, the rates, revenues, and other income, charges, and moneys of which are pledged to the payment of and interest on such bonds, or which are the subject of the covenant or agreement, with full power to pay and to provide for payment of principal and interest on such bonds, and with such powers subject to the direction of the court as are accorded receivers in general equity cases, excluding any power to pledge additional rates, revenues, or other income, charges, or moneys of the county, including those derived from taxation, to the payment of such principal and interest;

(4) To foreclose the mortgage on any real estate or interest therein which has been mortgaged, in the same manner as real estate of private corporations.

(E) Bonds issued pursuant to division (B) of section 306.09 and to section 306.10 of the Revised Code are lawful investments of banks, societies for savings, savings and loan associations, deposit guaranty associations, trust companies, trustees, fiduciaries, insurance companies, including domestic for life and domestic not for life, trustees or other officers having charge of sinking and bond retirement or other special funds of political subdivisions and taxing districts of this state, the commissioners of the sinking fund of the state, the administrator of workers’ compensation, the state teachers retirement system, the public employees retirement system, the school employees retirement system, and the Ohio police and fire pension fund, and are acceptable as security for the deposit of public moneys.

Effective Date: 11-02-1999

The county transit board or a board of county commissioners operating a transit system may issue refunding bonds of the county to refund any bonds previously issued under division (B) of section 306.09 of the Revised Code for any of the following purposes:

(A) Refunding bonds which have matured or are about to mature when the rentals, revenues, and other income, charges, and moneys pledged for the payment of such bonds are insufficient to pay bonds which have matured or are about to mature or to make payments to other funds required by the bond proceedings;

(B) Refunding any bonds as an incidence to providing funds for reconstructing, enlarging, improving and equipping the county transit system;

(C) Refunding all of the outstanding bonds of any issue both matured and unmatured when the rates, revenues, or other income, charges, or moneys pledged for the payment of such bonds are insufficient to pay bonds which have matured or are about to mature or to make payments to other funds required by the bond proceedings, if such outstanding bonds can be retired by call, at maturity, or with the consent of the holders thereof, whether from the proceeds of the sale of the refunding bonds or by exchange for the refunding bonds, provided that the principal amount of the refunding bonds shall not exceed the aggregate of the par value of the bonds to be retired, any redemption premium, past-due and future interest to the date of maturity or proposed redemption that cannot otherwise be paid, and funds, if any, to reconstruct, enlarge, improve, and equip, or any combination thereof, the county transit system;

(D) Refunding any bonds of any issue previously issued and outstanding when the refunding bonds will bear interest at a lower rate than the bonds to be refunded or when the interest cost of the refunding bonds computed to the absolute maturity will be less than the interest of the bonds to be refunded.

Except as provided in this section the terms of the issuance and sale of refunding bonds shall be as provided in sections 306.01 to 306.11 of the Revised Code, for an original issue of bonds.

Effective Date: 10-25-1995

In counties that have a county transit board, that transit board shall have exclusive control over the county transit system’s budgets, appropriations, collections, custody, and application of its revenues or other funds received by it and shall have jurisdiction of all purchases and contracts entered into in connection with the county transit system pursuant to sections 307.86 to 307.92 of the Revised Code. In those counties, the officers and employees of the county transit system shall be under the sole control of the county transit board and are not subject to supervision of other county officers.

Effective Date: 10-25-1995

Any board of county commissioners operating a transit system or any county transit board shall, if it acquires any existing transit system, assume all the employer’s obligations under any existing labor contract between the employees and management of the system. The board shall, if it acquires, constructs, controls, or operates any such facilities, negotiate arrangements to protect the interests of employees affected by such acquisition, construction, control, or operation. Such arrangements shall include, but are not limited to:

(A) The preservation of rights, privileges, and benefits under existing collective bargaining agreements or otherwise, the preservation of rights and benefits under any existing pension plans covering prior service, and continued participation in social security, in addition to participation in the public employees retirement system as required in Chapter 145. of the Revised Code;

(B) The continuation of collective bargaining rights;

(C) The protection of individual employees against a worsening of their positions with respect to their employment;

(D) Assurances of employment to employees of such transit systems and priority of re-employment of employees terminated or laid off;

(E) Paid training or retraining programs;

(F) Signed written labor agreements.

Such arrangements may include provisions for the submission of labor disputes to final and binding arbitration.

Effective Date: 10-25-1995

A board of county commissioners operating a transit system or a county transit board created under sections 306.01 to 306.13 of the Revised Code shall be exempt from and shall not be required to pay any taxes on property, both real and personal, belonging to the board, which is used exclusively for any public purpose; provided, such exemption shall not apply to any property belonging to the board while a private enterprise is a lessee of such property under written lease providing tenancy for longer than one year.

Effective Date: 10-25-1995

As used in sections 306.30 to 306.53, inclusive, of the Revised Code, “transit facility” means any:

(A) Street railway, motor bus, tramline, subway, monorail, rapid transit, aeroplane, helicopter, ferry, or other ground or water transportation system having as its primary purpose the regularly scheduled mass movement of passengers between locations within the territorial boundaries of a regional transit authority, including all right-of-way, power lines, rolling stock, equipment, machinery, terminals, buildings, administration and maintenance and repair facilities, and supporting parking facilities, and franchise rights attendant thereto, but excluding therefrom trucks and facilities designed for use in the movement of property by truck;

(B) Docks, wharves, warehouses, piers, and other port, terminal, or transportation facilities and marinas;

(C) Facilities used, available for use, or designed for use to aid in the safe taking off or landing of aircraft, for the safety, storage, and maintenance of aircraft, for the comfort and accommodation of users of air transportation, including persons, property, and mail, or for the safe and efficient operation and maintenance of an airport; and buildings and facilities as are reasonably necessary for the comfort and accommodation of the users of transit facilities; or

(D) Any combination of the foregoing.

Effective Date: 08-25-1970

(A) As used in sections 306.30 to 306.71 of the Revised Code, “township” means either of the following:

(1) An entire township;

(2) Township territory that is designated as a township under division (B) of this section for the purpose of joining a regional transit authority.

(B) A board of township trustees may adopt a resolution designating as a township, for the purpose of joining a regional transit authority, territory consisting of contiguous whole election precincts that make up less than the entire unincorporated area of the township, provided that none of the territory is already part of a regional transit authority. The resolution shall specify the precinct numbers of the precincts that make up the territory. Upon adopting such a resolution, the board of township trustees shall take appropriate action under section 306.32 or 306.321 of the Revised Code to enable the territory consisting of those precincts to become part of a contiguous regional transit authority.

(C) The right to initiate proceedings to join a regional transit authority in accordance with this section shall terminate after June 30, 1986, except that nothing in this section shall be construed to deprive any portion of a township that has acted under this section prior to that date of the power to take any action necessary to continue in the regional transit authority.

Effective Date: 01-03-1985

A regional transit authority may be created in the manner provided in section 306.32 of the Revised Code, for any one or more of the following purposes: acquiring, constructing, operating, maintaining, replacing, improving, and extending transit facilities; controlling and administering the public utilities franchise of such transit facilities; entering into and supervising franchise agreements; accepting assignment of and then supervising an existing franchise agreement; and accepting assignment of and exercising a right to purchase a transit system in accordance with the acquisition terms of an existing franchise agreement. A regional transit authority so created is a political subdivision of the state and a body corporate with all the powers of a corporation, comprised of the territory of one, or two or more counties, municipal corporations, townships, or any combination thereof, provided, that each county, municipal corporation, or township included within a regional transit authority shall be a county which is, or be located in a county which is or is contiguous to a county which is, or in which a municipal corporation or township is located which is, included in such regional transit authority.

Effective Date: 08-25-1970

Any county, or any two or more counties, municipal corporations, or townships, or any combination of these, may create a regional transit authority by the adoption of a resolution or ordinance by the board of county commissioners of each county, the legislative authority of each municipal corporation, and the board of township trustees of each township which is to create or to join in the creation of the regional transit authority. The resolution or ordinance shall state:

(A) The necessity for the creation of a regional transit authority;

(B) The counties, municipal corporations, or townships which are to create or to join in the creation of the regional transit authority;

(C) The official name by which the regional transit authority shall be known;

(D) The place in which the principal office of the regional transit authority will be located or the manner in which it may be selected;

(E) The number, term, and compensation, or method for establishing compensation, of the members of the board of trustees of the regional transit authority. Compensation shall not exceed fifty dollars for each board and committee meeting attended by a member, except that if compensation is provided annually it shall not exceed six thousand dollars for the president of the board or four thousand eight hundred dollars for each other board member.

(F) The manner in which vacancies on the board of trustees of the regional transit authority shall be filled;

(G) The manner and to what extent the expenses of the regional transit authority shall be apportioned among the counties, municipal corporations, and townships creating it;

(H) The purposes, including the kinds of transit facilities, for which the regional transit authority is organized.

The regional transit authority provided for in the resolution or ordinance shall be deemed to be created upon the adoption of the resolution or ordinance by the board of county commissioners of each county, the legislative authority of each municipal corporation, and the board of township trustees of each township enumerated in the resolution or ordinance.

The resolution or ordinance creating a regional transit authority may be amended to include additional counties, municipal corporations, or townships or for any other purpose, by the adoption of the amendment by the board of county commissioners of each county, the legislative authority of each municipal corporation, and the board of township trustees of each township which has created or joined or proposes to join the regional transit authority.

After each county, municipal corporation, and township which has created or joined or proposes to join the regional transit authority has adopted its resolution or ordinance approving inclusion of additional counties, municipal corporations, or townships in the regional transit authority, a copy of each resolution or ordinance shall be filed with the clerk of the board of the county commissioners of each county, the clerk of the legislative authority of each municipal corporation, and the fiscal officer of the board of trustees of each township proposed to be included in the regional transit authority. The inclusion is effective when all such filing has been completed, unless the regional transit authority to which territory is to be added has authority to levy an ad valorem tax on property, or a sales tax, within its territorial boundaries, in which event the inclusion shall become effective on the sixtieth day after the last such filing is accomplished, unless, prior to the expiration of the sixty-day period, qualified electors residing in the area proposed to be added to the regional transit authority, equal in number to at least ten per cent of the qualified electors from the area who voted for governor at the last gubernatorial election, file a petition of referendum against the inclusion. Any petition of referendum filed under this section shall be filed at the office of the secretary of the board of trustees of the regional transit authority. The person presenting the petition shall be given a receipt containing on it the time of the day, the date, and the purpose of the petition. The secretary of the board of trustees of the regional transit authority shall cause the appropriate board or boards of elections to check the sufficiency of signatures on any petition of referendum filed under this section and, if found to be sufficient, shall present the petition to the board of trustees at a meeting of said board which occurs not later than thirty days following the filing of said petition. Upon presentation to the board of trustees of a petition of referendum against the proposed inclusion, the board of trustees shall promptly certify the proposal to the board or boards of elections for the purpose of having the proposal placed on the ballot at the next general or primary election which occurs not less than seventy-five days after the date of the meeting of said board, or at a special election, the date of which shall be specified in the certification, which date shall be not less than seventy-five days after the date of such meeting of the board. Signatures on a petition of referendum may be withdrawn up to and including the meeting of the board of trustees certifying the proposal to the appropriate board or boards of elections. If territory of more than one county, municipal corporation, or township is to be added to the regional transit authority, the electors of the territories of the counties, municipal corporations, or townships which are to be added shall vote as a district, and the majority affirmative vote shall be determined by the vote cast in the district as a whole. Upon certification of a proposal to the appropriate board or boards of elections pursuant to this section, the board or boards of election shall make the necessary arrangements for the submission of the question to the electors of the territory to be added to the regional transit authority qualified to vote on the question, and the election shall be held, canvassed, and certified in the manner provided for the submission of tax levies under section 5705.191 of the Revised Code, except that the question appearing on the ballot shall read:

“Shall the territory within the …...................... (Name or names of political subdivisions to be joined) be added to …............................... (Name) regional transit authority?” and shall a(n) .......... (here insert type of tax or taxes) at a rate of taxation not to exceed ….. (here insert maximum tax rate or rates) be levied for all transit purposes?”

If the question is approved by at least a majority of the electors voting on the question, the joinder is immediately effective, and the regional transit authority may extend the levy of the tax against all the taxable property within the territory which has been added. If the question is approved at a general election or at a special election occurring prior to the general election but after the fifteenth day of July, the regional transit authority may amend its budget and resolution adopted pursuant to section 5705.34 of the Revised Code, and the levy shall be placed on the current tax list and duplicate and collected as other taxes are collected from all taxable property within the territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority, including the territory within each political subdivision added as a result of the election.

The territorial boundaries of a regional transit authority shall be coextensive with the territorial boundaries of the counties, municipal corporations, and townships included within the regional transit authority, provided that the same area may be included in more than one regional transit authority so long as the regional transit authorities are not organized for purposes as provided for in the resolutions or ordinances creating the same, and any amendments to them, relating to the same kinds of transit facilities; and provided further, that if a regional transit authority includes only a portion of an entire county, a regional transit authority for the same purposes may be created in the remaining portion of the same county by resolution of the board of county commissioners acting alone or in conjunction with municipal corporations and townships as provided in this section.

No regional transit authority shall be organized after January 1, 1975, to include any area already included in a regional transit authority, except that any regional transit authority organized after June 29, 1974, and having territorial boundaries entirely within a single county shall, upon adoption by the board of county commissioners of the county of a resolution creating a regional transit authority including within its territorial jurisdiction the existing regional transit authority and for purposes including the purposes for which the existing regional transit authority was created, be dissolved and its territory included in such new regional transit authority. Any resolution creating such a new regional transit authority shall make adequate provision for satisfaction of the obligations of the dissolved regional transit authority.

Effective Date: 09-13-1989; 12-20-2005

The resolution or ordinance creating a regional transit authority may be amended to include additional counties, municipal corporations, or townships by the adoption of an amendment by the board of county commissioners of each county, the legislative authority of each municipal corporation, and the board of township trustees of each township which has created or , prior to the adoption of the amendment, joined or proposes to join the regional transit authority.

After each county, municipal corporation, and township which has created or , prior to the adoption of the amendment, joined or proposes to join the regional transit authority has adopted its resolution or ordinance approving inclusion of additional counties, municipal corporations, or townships in the regional transit authority, a copy of each resolution or ordinance shall be filed with the clerk of the board of the county commissioners of each county, the clerk of the legislative authority of each municipal corporation, and the fiscal officer of the board of trustees of each township proposed to be included in the regional transit authority.

Any ordinances or resolutions adopted pursuant to this section approving inclusion of additional counties, municipal corporations, or townships in the regional transit authority shall provide that the board of trustees of the regional transit authority must, not later than the tenth day following the day on which the filing of the ordinances or resolutions, as required by the immediately preceding paragraph, is completed, adopt its resolution providing for submission to the electors of the regional transit authority as enlarged, of the question pursuant to section 306.49 of the Revised Code, of the renewal, the renewal and increase, or the increase of, or the imposition of an additional, ad valorem tax, or of the question pursuant to section 306.70 of the Revised Code, of the renewal, the renewal and increase, or the increase of, or the imposition of an additional, sales and use tax. The resolution submitting the question of the tax shall specify the date of the election, which shall be not less than seventy-five days after certification of the resolution to the board of elections and which shall be consistent with the requirements of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code. The inclusion of the territory of the additional counties, municipal corporations, or townships in the regional transit authority shall be effective as of the date on which the resolution of the board of trustees of the regional transit authority is adopted submitting the question to the electors, provided that until the question is approved, existing contracts providing payment for transit services within the added territory shall remain in effect and transit services shall not be affected by the inclusion of the additional territory. The resolution shall be certified to the board of elections and the election shall be held, canvassed, and certified as provided in section 306.49 of the Revised Code in the case of an ad valorem tax or in section 306.70 of the Revised Code in the case of a sales and use tax.

If the question of the tax which is submitted is not approved by a majority of the electors of the enlarged regional transit authority voting on the question, as of the day following the day on which the results of the election become conclusive, the additional counties, municipal corporations, or townships, which had been included in the regional transit authority as of the date of the adoption of the resolution submitting to the electors the question, shall be removed from the territory of the regional transit authority and shall no longer be a part of that authority without any further action by either the political subdivisions which were included in the authority prior to the adoption of the resolution submitting the question to the electors or of the political subdivisions added to the authority as a result of the adoption of the resolution. The regional transit authority reduced to its territory as it existed prior to the inclusion of the additional counties, municipal corporations, or townships, shall be entitled to levy and collect any ad valorem or sales and use taxes which it was authorized to levy and collect prior to the enlargement of its territory and for which authorization has not expired, as if the enlargement had not occurred.

If the question of the tax which is submitted provides for a sales and use tax to be imposed and the question is approved, and the regional transit authority had previously been authorized pursuant to section 306.49 of the Revised Code to levy an ad valorem tax, the regional transit authority shall appropriate from the first moneys received from the sales and use tax in each year, the full amount required in order to pay the principal of and interest on any notes of the regional transit authority issued pursuant to section 306.49 of the Revised Code, in anticipation of the collection of the ad valorem tax; and shall not thereafter levy and collect the ad valorem tax previously approved unless the levy and collection is necessary to pay the principal of and interest on notes issued in anticipation of the tax in order to avoid impairing the obligation of the contract between the regional transit authority and the note holders.

If the question of the additional or renewal tax levy is approved, the tax may be levied and collected as is otherwise provided for an ad valorem tax or a sales and use tax imposed by a regional transit authority, provided that if a question relating to an ad valorem tax is approved at the general election or at a special election occurring prior to a general election, but after the fifteenth day of July, the regional transit authority may amend its budget for its next fiscal year and its resolution adopted pursuant to section 5705.34 of the Revised Code or adopt such resolution, and the levy shall be placed on the current tax list and duplicate and collected as all other taxes are collected from all taxable property within the enlarged territory of the regional transit authority including the territory within each political subdivision which has been added to the regional transit authority pursuant to this section, provided further that if a question relating to sales and use tax is approved after the fifteenth day of July in any calendar year, the regional transit authority may amend its budget for the current and next fiscal year and any resolution adopted pursuant to section 5705.34 of the Revised Code, to reflect the imposition of the sales and use tax and shall amend its budget for the next fiscal year and any resolution adopted pursuant to section 5705.34 of the Revised Code to comply with the immediately preceding paragraph. If the budget of the regional transit authority is amended pursuant to this paragraph, the county auditor shall prepare and deliver an amended certificate of estimated resources to reflect the change in anticipated revenues of the regional transit authority.

The procedures of this section are in addition to and an alternative to those established in section 306.32 of the Revised Code for joining to a regional transit authority additional counties, municipal corporations, or townships.

Effective Date: 01-01-1982; 12-20-2005

Within sixty days after a regional transit authority has been created under section 306.32 of the Revised Code, the board of trustees for such regional transit authority shall be appointed as provided in this section.

Members of a board of trustees of an authority created by the exclusive action of a county shall be appointed by the county commissioners of such county. A board of trustees of an authority created by two or more political subdivisions shall consist of such number of members, who shall have such qualifications and who shall be appointed by such public officers as shall be provided in the resolutions or ordinances creating such authority, or any amendments thereto. If the resolutions or ordinances creating such authority, or any amendments thereto, so provide, then the government shall appoint such members of the board of a regional transit authority as provided in such resolutions and ordinances. The appointing authority may at any time remove a trustee for misfeasance, nonfeasance, or malfeasance in office.

The trustees of any authority first appointed shall serve staggered terms. Thereafter each successor shall serve terms of three years, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall be appointed to only the unexpired term. Any appointed trustee is eligible for reappointment.

A majority of the board of trustees constitute a quorum, the affirmative vote of which is necessary for any action taken by the authority. No vacancy in the board shall impair the rights of a quorum to exercise all rights and perform all the duties of the authority.

Each member of the board of trustees, before entering upon his official duties, shall take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation that he will honestly, faithfully, and impartially perform the duties of his office, and that he will not be personally interested directly or indirectly in any contract let by the regional transit authority.

After each member of the board has taken the oath as prescribed by this section the board shall meet and organize by electing one of its members as president and another as vice-president, who shall hold their respective offices until the next annual meeting of the board as provided in its bylaws. At each annual meeting thereafter the board shall elect from its membership a president and a vice-president who shall serve for a term of one year.

The board shall appoint and fix the compensation of a secretary-treasurer, who shall be the fiscal officer and shall not be a member of the board and who shall serve at the pleasure of the board. Each member of the board of trustees is entitled to receive from the regional transit authority reimbursement for his reasonable expenses in the performance of his duties.

Effective Date: 06-29-1974

Notwithstanding section 306.33 of the Revised Code, the board of trustees of any regional transit authority created by one county and two municipal corporations, with the county having a population of at least five hundred thousand according to the most recent federal census, shall be appointed and governed as provided in this section.

The board of trustees of such a regional transit authority shall consist of nine members, six of whom shall be appointed by the board of county commissioners, two of whom shall be appointed by the most populous municipal corporation that is included in the regional transit authority, and one of whom shall be appointed by the second most populous municipal corporation in the county, regardless of whether the second most populous municipal corporation in the county is a member of the regional transit authority. A trustee appointed under this section shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority.

The trustees of any authority first appointed under this section shall serve staggered terms. Thereafter each successor shall serve a term of three years, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall be appointed to only the unexpired term. The resolutions or ordinances creating the regional transit authority may determine whether an appointed trustee is eligible for reappointment.

A majority of the board of trustees constitutes a quorum, the affirmative vote of which is necessary for any action taken by the authority. No vacancy in the board shall impair the rights of a quorum to exercise all rights and perform all the duties of the authority.

Each member of the board of trustees, before entering upon the trustee’s official duties, shall take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation that the trustee will honestly, faithfully, and impartially perform the duties of office and that the trustee will not be personally interested directly or indirectly in any contract let by the regional transit authority.

After each member of the board has taken the oath as prescribed by this section, the board shall meet and organize by electing one of its members as president and another as vice-president, who shall hold their respective offices until the next annual meeting of the board as provided in its bylaws. At each annual meeting thereafter, the board shall elect from its membership a president and a vice-president who shall serve for a term of one year. The board shall hold regular and special meetings in a time, place, and manner established in its bylaws, provided that all meetings shall be open to the public except executive sessions as set forth in section 122.22 of the Revised Code.

The board shall appoint and fix the compensation of a secretary-treasurer, who shall be the fiscal officer. The secretary-treasurer shall not be a member of the board and shall serve at the pleasure of the board. Each member of the board of trustees is entitled to receive from the regional transit authority reimbursement for reasonable expenses in the performance of the trustee’s duties.

Effective Date: 09-29-2005

All the power and authority granted to a regional transit authority shall be vested in and exercised by its board of trustees which shall manage and conduct its affairs. The board shall, within the limitations of sections 306.30 to 306.47, inclusive, of the Revised Code, by its rules and regulations provide the procedure for its actions, the manner of selection of its president, vice-president, secretary-treasurer, and other officers and employees, their titles, terms of office, compensation, duties, number, and qualifications, and any other lawful subject necessary to the operation of the regional transit authority and the exercise of the powers granted to it.

Effective Date: 11-01-1965

Upon the creation of a regional transit authority as provided by section 306.32 of the Revised Code, and upon the qualifying of its board of trustees and the election of a president and a vice-president, the authority shall exercise in its own name all the rights, powers, and duties vested in and conferred upon it by sections 306.30 to 306.53 of the Revised Code. Subject to any reservations, limitations, and qualifications that are set forth in those sections, the regional transit authority:

(A) May sue or be sued in its corporate name;

(B) May make contracts in the exercise of the rights, powers, and duties conferred upon it;

(C) May adopt and at will alter a seal and use such seal by causing it to be impressed, affixed, reproduced, or otherwise used, but failure to affix the seal shall not affect the validity of any instrument;

(D)(1) May adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws for the administration of its affairs and rules for the control of the administration and operation of transit facilities under its jurisdiction, and for the exercise of all of its rights of ownership in those transit facilities;

(2) The regional transit authority also may adopt bylaws and rules for the following purposes:

(a) To prohibit selling, giving away, or using any beer or intoxicating liquor on transit vehicles or transit property;

(b) For the preservation of good order within or on transit vehicles or transit property;

(c) To provide for the protection and preservation of all property and life within or on transit vehicles or transit property;

(d) To regulate and enforce the collection of fares.

(3) Before a bylaw or rule adopted under division (D)(2) of this section takes effect, the regional transit authority shall provide for a notice of its adoption to be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority.

(4) No person shall violate any bylaw or rule of a regional transit authority adopted under division (D)(2) of this section.

(E) May fix, alter, and collect fares, rates, and rentals and other charges for the use of transit facilities under its jurisdiction to be determined exclusively by it for the purpose of providing for the payment of the expenses of the regional transit authority, the acquisition, construction, improvement, extension, repair, maintenance, and operation of transit facilities under its jurisdiction, the payment of principal and interest on its obligations, and to fulfill the terms of any agreements made with purchasers or holders of any such obligations, or with any person or political subdivision;

(F) Shall have jurisdiction, control, possession, and supervision of all property, rights, easements, licenses, moneys, contracts, accounts, liens, books, records, maps, or other property rights and interests conveyed, delivered, transferred, or assigned to it;

(G) May acquire, construct, improve, extend, repair, lease, operate, maintain, or manage transit facilities within or without its territorial boundaries, considered necessary to accomplish the purposes of its organization and make charges for the use of transit facilities;

(H) May levy and collect taxes as provided in sections 306.40 and 306.49 of the Revised Code;

(I) May issue bonds secured by its general credit as provided in section 306.40 of the Revised Code;

(J) May hold, encumber, control, acquire by donation, by purchase for cash or by installment payments, by lease-purchase agreement, by lease with option to purchase, or by condemnation, and may construct, own, lease as lessee or lessor, use, and sell, real and personal property, or any interest or right in real and personal property, within or without its territorial boundaries, for the location or protection of transit facilities and improvements and access to transit facilities and improvements, the relocation of buildings, structures, and improvements situated on lands acquired by the regional transit authority, or for any other necessary purpose, or for obtaining or storing materials to be used in constructing, maintaining, and improving transit facilities under its jurisdiction;

(K) May exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire property or any interest in property, within or without its territorial boundaries, that is necessary or proper for the construction or efficient operation of any transit facility or access to any transit facility under its jurisdiction in accordance with section 306.36 of the Revised Code;

(L) May provide by agreement with any county, including the counties within its territorial boundaries, or any municipal corporation or any combination of counties or municipal corporations for the making of necessary surveys, appraisals, and examinations preliminary to the acquisition or construction of any transit facility and the amount of the expense for the surveys, appraisals, and examinations to be paid by each such county or municipal corporation;

(M) May provide by agreement with any county, including the counties within its territorial boundaries, or any municipal corporation or any combination of those counties or municipal corporations for the acquisition, construction, improvement, extension, maintenance, or operation of any transit facility owned or to be owned and operated by it or owned or to be owned and operated by any such county or municipal corporation and the terms on which it shall be acquired, leased, constructed, maintained, or operated, and the amount of the cost and expense of the acquisition, lease, construction, maintenance, or operation to be paid by each such county or municipal corporation;

(N) May issue revenue bonds for the purpose of acquiring, replacing, improving, extending, enlarging, or constructing any facility or permanent improvement that it is authorized to acquire, replace, improve, extend, enlarge, or construct, including all costs in connection with and incidental to the acquisition, replacement, improvement, extension, enlargement, or construction, and their financing, as provided by section 306.37 of the Revised Code;

(O) May enter into and supervise franchise agreements for the operation of a transit system;

(P) May accept the assignment of and supervise an existing franchise agreement for the operation of a transit system;

(Q) May exercise a right to purchase a transit system in accordance with the acquisition terms of an existing franchise agreement; and in connection with the purchase the regional transit authority may issue revenue bonds as provided by section 306.37 of the Revised Code or issue bonds secured by its general credit as provided in section 306.40 of the Revised Code;

(R) May apply for and accept grants or loans from the United States, the state, or any other public body for the purpose of providing for the development or improvement of transit facilities, mass transportation facilities, equipment, techniques, methods, or services, and grants or loans needed to exercise a right to purchase a transit system pursuant to agreement with the owner of those transit facilities, or for providing lawful financial assistance to existing transit systems; and may provide any consideration that may be required in order to obtain those grants or loans from the United States, the state, or other public body, either of which grants or loans may be evidenced by the issuance of revenue bonds as provided by section 306.37 of the Revised Code or general obligation bonds as provided by section 306.40 of the Revised Code;

(S) May employ and fix the compensation of consulting engineers, superintendents, managers, and such other engineering, construction, accounting and financial experts, attorneys, and other employees and agents necessary for the accomplishment of its purposes;

(T) May procure insurance against loss to it by reason of damages to its properties resulting from fire, theft, accident, or other casualties or by reason of its liability for any damages to persons or property occurring in the construction or operation of transit facilities under its jurisdiction or the conduct of its activities;

(U) May maintain funds that it considers necessary for the efficient performance of its duties;

(V) May direct its agents or employees, when properly identified in writing, after at least five days’ written notice, to enter upon lands within or without its territorial boundaries in order to make surveys and examinations preliminary to the location and construction of transit facilities, without liability to it or its agents or employees except for actual damage done;

(W) On its own motion, may request the appropriate zoning board, as defined in section 4563.03 of the Revised Code, to establish and enforce zoning regulations pertaining to any transit facility under its jurisdiction in the manner prescribed by sections 4563.01 to 4563.21 of the Revised Code;

(X) If it acquires any existing transit system, shall assume all the employer’s obligations under any existing labor contract between the employees and management of the system. If the board acquires, constructs, controls, or operates any such facilities, it shall negotiate arrangements to protect the interests of employees affected by the acquisition, construction, control, or operation. The arrangements shall include, but are not limited to:

(1) The preservation of rights, privileges, and benefits under existing collective bargaining agreements or otherwise, the preservation of rights and benefits under any existing pension plans covering prior service, and continued participation in social security in addition to participation in the public employees retirement system as required in Chapter 145. of the Revised Code;

(2) The continuation of collective bargaining rights;

(3) The protection of individual employees against a worsening of their positions with respect to their employment;

(4) Assurances of employment to employees of those transit systems and priority reemployment of employees terminated or laid off;

(5) Paid training or retraining programs;

(6) Signed written labor agreements.

The arrangements may include provisions for the submission of labor disputes to final and binding arbitration.

(Y) May provide for and maintain security operations, including a transit police department, subject to section 306.352 of the Revised Code. Regional transit authority police officers shall have the power and duty to act as peace officers within transit facilities owned, operated, or leased by the transit authority to protect the transit authority’s property and the person and property of passengers, to preserve the peace, and to enforce all laws of the state and ordinances and regulations of political subdivisions in which the transit authority operates. Regional transit authority police officers also shall have the power and duty to act as peace officers when they render emergency assistance outside their jurisdiction to any other peace officer who is not a regional transit authority police officer and who has arrest authority under section 2935.03 of the Revised Code. Regional transit authority police officers may render emergency assistance if there is a threat of imminent physical danger to the peace officer, a threat of physical harm to another person, or any other serious emergency situation and if either the peace officer who is assisted requests emergency assistance or it appears that the peace officer who is assisted is unable to request emergency assistance and the circumstances observed by the regional transit authority police officer reasonably indicate that emergency assistance is appropriate.

Before exercising powers of arrest and the other powers and duties of a peace officer, each regional transit authority police officer shall take an oath and give bond to the state in a sum that the board of trustees prescribes for the proper performance of the officer’s duties.

Persons employed as regional transit authority police officers shall complete training for the position to which they have been appointed as required by the Ohio peace officer training commission as authorized in section 109.77 of the Revised Code, or be otherwise qualified. The cost of the training shall be provided by the regional transit authority.

(Z) May procure a policy or policies insuring members of its board of trustees against liability on account of damages or injury to persons and property resulting from any act or omission of a member in the member’s official capacity as a member of the board or resulting solely out of the member’s membership on the board;

(AA) May enter into any agreement for the sale and leaseback or lease and leaseback of transit facilities, which agreement may contain all necessary covenants for the security and protection of any lessor or the regional transit authority including, but not limited to, indemnification of the lessor against the loss of anticipated tax benefits arising from acts, omissions, or misrepresentations of the regional transit authority. In connection with that transaction, the regional transit authority may contract for insurance and letters of credit and pay any premiums or other charges for the insurance and letters of credit. The fiscal officer shall not be required to furnish any certificate under section 5705.41 of the Revised Code in connection with the execution of any such agreement.

(BB) In regard to any contract entered into on or after March 19, 1993, for the rendering of services or the supplying of materials or for the construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or reconstruction of transit facilities in which a bond is required for the faithful performance of the contract, may permit the person awarded the contract to utilize a letter of credit issued by a bank or other financial institution in lieu of the bond;

(CC) May enter into agreements with municipal corporations located within the territorial jurisdiction of the regional transit authority permitting regional transit authority police officers employed under division (Y) of this section to exercise full arrest powers, as provided in section 2935.03 of the Revised Code, for the purpose of preserving the peace and enforcing all laws of the state and ordinances and regulations of the municipal corporation within the areas that may be agreed to by the regional transit authority and the municipal corporation.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003

A regional transit authority may purchase an articulated bus only if the regional transit authority establishes and follows a preference system for buses that are manufactured or assembled within this state, or, if none, within the United States.

Effective Date: 06-30-1993; 09-16-2004

(A) As used in this section, “felony” has the same meaning as in section 109.511 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) In the exercise of its authority under division (Y) of section 306.35 of the Revised Code, a regional transit authority shall not employ a person as a regional transit authority police officer on a permanent basis, on a temporary basis, for a probationary term, or on other than a permanent basis if the person previously has been convicted of or has pleaded guilty to a felony.

(2)(a) The transit authority shall terminate the employment of a person as a regional transit authority police officer if the person does either of the following:

(i) Pleads guilty to a felony;

(ii) Pleads guilty to a misdemeanor pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement as provided in division (D) of section 2929.43 of the Revised Code in which the police officer agrees to surrender the certificate awarded to that police officer under section 109.77 of the Revised Code.

(b) The transit authority shall suspend from employment a person designated as a regional transit authority police officer if that person is convicted, after trial, of a felony. If the police officer files an appeal from that conviction and the conviction is upheld by the highest court to which the appeal is taken or if the police officer does not file a timely appeal, the transit authority shall terminate the employment of that police officer. If the police officer files an appeal that results in the police officer’s acquittal of the felony or conviction of a misdemeanor, or in the dismissal of the felony charge against the police officer, the transit authority shall reinstate that police officer. A police officer who is reinstated under division (B)(2)(b) of this section shall not receive any back pay unless that officer’s conviction of the felony was reversed on appeal, or the felony charge was dismissed, because the court found insufficient evidence to convict the police officer of the felony.

(3) Division (B) of this section does not apply regarding an offense that was committed prior to January 1, 1997.

(4) The suspension from employment, or the termination of the employment, of a regional transit authority police officer under division (B)(2) of this section shall be in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 01-01-2004

(A) The board of trustees of a regional transit authority may exercise the power of eminent domain to appropriate any land, rights, rights-of-way, franchise, power lines, easements, or other property, within or without the territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority, necessary or proper for the construction or efficient operation of any transit facility or access thereto under its jurisdiction pursuant to the procedure provided in sections 163.01 to 163.22, inclusive, of the Revised Code, and subject to division (B) of this section, provided that a regional transit authority shall not proceed to so appropriate real property outside its territorial boundaries, until it has served at the office of the county commissioners of the county in which it is proposed to appropriate real property, a notice describing the real property to be taken and the purpose for which it is proposed to be taken, and such county commissioners have entered on their journal within thirty days after such service a resolution approving such appropriation.

(B) Nothing contained in sections 306.30 to 306.53, inclusive, of the Revised Code authorizes a regional transit authority to appropriate any land, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, or easements belonging to the state or a municipal corporation without the consent of the state or municipal corporation, and no regional transit authority shall exercise the right of eminent domain to acquire any certificate of public convenience and necessity, or any part thereof, issued to a motor transportation company by the public utilities commission of Ohio or by the interstate commerce commission of the United States, or to take or disturb other property or facilities belonging to any political subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or common carrier, which property or facility is necessary and convenient in the operation of such political subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or common carrier, unless provision is made for the restoration, relocation, or duplication of such property or facility, or upon the election of such political subdivision, public corporation, public utility, or common carrier, for the payment of compensation, if any, at the sole cost of the regional transit authority, provided:

(1) If any restoration or duplication of any property or facility proposed to be made under this division involves a relocation of such property or facility the new facility and location thereof 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.

(2) If any restoration or duplication of any property or facility proposed to be made under this division involves a relocation of such property or facility, the regional transit authority shall acquire no interest or right in or to the appropriated property or facility until the relocated property or facility is available for use and until marketable title thereto has been transferred to the public utility or common carrier.

(C) When real property is acquired which is located outside the territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority and which is removed from the tax duplicate, the regional transit authority shall pay annually to the county treasurer of the county in which such property is located, commencing with the first tax year in which such property is removed from the tax duplicate, an amount of money in lieu of taxes equal to the smaller of the following:

(1) The last annual installment of taxes due from the acquired property before removal from the tax duplicate;

(2) An amount equal to the difference between the combined revenue from real estate taxes of all the taxing districts in which such property is located in the tax year immediately prior to the removal of such acquired property from the tax duplicate, and either:

(a) The total revenue which would be produced by the tax rate of each such taxing district in the tax year immediately prior to the removal of such acquired property from the tax duplicate, applied to the real estate tax duplicate of each of such taxing districts in each tax year subsequent to the year of removal; or

(b) The combined revenue from real estate taxes of all such taxing districts in each tax year subsequent to the year of removal, whichever is the greater.

The county auditor of each county in which such property is located shall apportion each such annual payment to each taxing district as if such annual payment has been levied and collected as a tax.

Such annual payments shall never again be made after they have ceased.

The regional transit authority may be exempted from such payment by agreement of the affected taxing district or districts in the county in which such property is located.

Effective Date: 08-25-1970

(A) As used in division (B)(3) of this section, “proposed new construction” means a proposal to erect, construct, repair, alter, redevelop, or maintain a single-family, two-family, or three-family dwelling or any structure that is regulated by the Ohio building code.

(B)(1)(a) The board of county commissioners may adopt local residential building regulations governing residential buildings as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code, to be enforced within the unincorporated area of the county or within districts the board establishes in any part of the unincorporated area. No local residential building regulation shall differ from the state residential building code the board of building standards establishes pursuant to Chapter 3781. of the Revised Code unless the regulation addresses subject matter not addressed by the state residential building code or is adopted pursuant to section 3781.01 of the Revised Code.

(b) The board of county commissioners may, by resolution, adopt, administer, and enforce within the unincorporated area of the county, or within districts the board establishes in the unincorporated area, an existing structures code pertaining to the repair and continued maintenance of structures and the premises of those structures provided that the existing structures code governs subject matter not addressed by, and is not in conflict with, the state residential building code adopted pursuant to Chapter 3781. of the Revised Code. The board may adopt by incorporation by reference a model or standard code prepared and promulgated by the state, any agency of this state, or any private organization that publishes a recognized or standard existing structures code.

(c) The board shall assign the duties of administering and enforcing any local residential building regulations or existing structures code to a county officer or employee who is trained and qualified for those duties and shall establish by resolution the minimum qualifications necessary to perform those duties.

(2) The board may adopt regulations for participation in the national flood insurance program established in the “Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973,” 87 Stat. 975, 42 U.S.C.A. 4002, as amended, and regulations adopted for the purposes of section 1506.04 or 1506.07 of the Revised Code governing the prohibition, location, erection, construction, redevelopment, or floodproofing of new buildings or structures, substantial improvements to existing buildings or structures, or other development in unincorporated territory within flood hazard areas identified under the “Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973,” 87 Stat. 975, 42 U.S.C.A. 4002, as amended, or within Lake Erie coastal erosion areas identified under section 1506.06 of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial buildings or structures or other permanent structures, as defined in section 1506.01 of the Revised Code. Rules adopted under division (B)(2) of this section shall not conflict with the state residential and nonresidential building codes adopted pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code.

(3)(a) A board may adopt regulations that provide for a review of the specific effects of a proposed new construction on existing surface or subsurface drainage. The regulations may require reasonable drainage mitigation and reasonable alteration of a proposed new construction before a building permit is issued in order to prevent or correct any adverse effects that the proposed new construction may have on existing surface or subsurface drainage. The regulations shall not be inconsistent with, more stringent than, or broader in scope than standards adopted by the natural resource conservation service in the United States department of agriculture concerning drainage or rules adopted by the environmental protection agency for reducing, controlling, or mitigating storm water runoff from construction sites, where applicable. The regulations shall allow a person who is registered under Chapter 4703. or 4733. of the Revised Code to prepare and submit relevant plans and other documents for review, provided that the person is authorized to prepare the plans and other documents pursuant to the person’s registration.

(b) If regulations are adopted under division (B)(3) of this section, the board shall specify in the regulations a procedure for the review of the specific effects of a proposed new construction on existing surface or subsurface drainage. The procedure shall include at a minimum all of the following:

(i) A meeting at which the proposed new construction shall be examined for those specific effects. The meeting shall be held within thirty days after an application for a building permit is filed or a review is requested unless the applicant agrees in writing to extend that time period or to postpone the meeting to another date, time, or place. The meeting shall be scheduled within five days after an application for a building permit is filed or a review is requested.

(ii) Written notice of the date, time, and place of that meeting, sent by regular mail to the applicant. The written notice shall be mailed at least seven days before the scheduled meeting date.

(iii) Completion of the review by the board of county commissioners not later than thirty days after the application for a building permit is filed or a review is requested unless the applicant has agreed in writing to extend that time period or postpone the meeting to a later time, in which case the review shall be completed not later than two days after the date of the meeting. A complete review shall include the issuance of any order of the board of county commissioners regarding necessary reasonable drainage mitigation and necessary reasonable alterations to the proposed new construction to prevent or correct any adverse effects on existing surface or subsurface drainage so long as those alterations comply with the state residential and nonresidential building codes adopted pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code. If the review is not completed within the thirty-day period or an extended or postponed period that the applicant has agreed to, the proposed new construction shall be deemed to have no adverse effects on existing surface or subsurface drainage, and those effects shall not be a valid basis for the denial of a building permit.

(iv) A written statement, provided to the applicant at the meeting or in an order for alterations to a proposed new construction, informing the applicant of the right to seek appellate review of the denial of a building permit under division (B)(3)(b)(iii) of this section by filing a petition in accordance with Chapter 2506. of the Revised Code.

(c) The regulations may authorize the board, after obtaining the advice of the county engineer, to enter into an agreement with the county engineer or another qualified person or entity to carry out any necessary inspections and make evaluations about what, if any, alterations are necessary to prevent or correct any adverse effects that a proposed new construction may have on existing surface or subsurface drainage.

(d) Regulations adopted pursuant to division (B)(3) of this section shall not apply to any property that a platting authority has approved under section 711.05, 711.09, or 711.10 of the Revised Code and shall not govern the same subject matter as the state residential or nonresidential building codes adopted pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code.

(e) As used in division (B)(3) of this section, “subsurface drainage” does not include a household sewage treatment system as defined in section 3709.091 of the Revised Code.

(C)(1) Any regulation, code, or amendment may be adopted under this section only after a public hearing at not fewer than two regular or special sessions of the board. The board shall cause notice of any public hearing to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county once a week for the two consecutive weeks immediately preceding the hearing, except that if the board posts the hearing notice on the board’s internet site on the world wide web, the board need publish only one notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation if that newspaper notice includes the board’s internet site and a statement that the notice is also posted on the internet site. Any notice of a public hearing shall include the time, date, and place of the hearing.

(2) Any proposed regulation, code, or amendment shall be made available to the public at the board office. The regulations or amendments shall take effect on the thirty-first day following the date of their adoption.

(D)(1) No person shall violate any regulation, code, or amendment the board adopts under sections 307.37 to 307.40 of the Revised Code.

(2) Each day during which an illegal location, erection, construction, floodproofing, repair, alteration, development, redevelopment, or maintenance continues may be considered a separate offense.

(E) Regulations or amendments the board adopts pursuant to this section, with the exception of an existing structures code, do not affect buildings or structures that exist or on which construction has begun on or before the date the board adopts the regulation or amendment.

(F)(1) The board may create a building department and employ the personnel it determines necessary to administer and enforce any local residential building regulations or existing structures code the board adopts pursuant to this section. The building department may enforce the state residential and nonresidential building codes adopted pursuant to Chapter 3781. of the Revised Code if the building department is certified pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code to enforce those codes.

(2) The board may direct the building department, upon certification, to exercise enforcement authority and to accept and approve plans pursuant to sections 3781.03 and 3791.04 of the Revised Code for the class of building for which the department and personnel are certified.

Effective Date: 02-20-1986; 09-29-2005

At the discretion of the board of trustees of a regional transit authority, the revenue bonds of the regional transit authority may be secured by a trust agreement between the board of trustees on behalf of the regional transit authority and a corporate trustee, which trustee may be any trust company or bank having powers of a trust company, within or without the state.

Such trust agreement may provide for the pledge or assignment of the revenues to be received, shall not pledge the general credit of the regional transit authority, but may include a mortgage on any real property or interests therein acquired from the proceeds of such revenue bonds. The trust agreement or the resolution providing for the issuance of revenue bonds may set forth the rights and remedies of the bond holders and trustees, including, in the event of a default, appointment of a receiver to administer and operate transit facilities, and may contain such other provisions for protecting and enforcing their rights and remedies as are, in the discretion of the board of trustees, reasonable and proper. Such agreement or resolution may provide for the custody, investment, and disbursement of all moneys derived from the sale of such bonds or from the revenues of the regional transit authority pledged to pay the interest and principal on such bonds and may provide for the deposit of such funds without regard to section 306.42 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 08-25-1970

Revenue bonds issued by a regional transit authority shall bear interest at the rate or rates approved by the board of trustees, shall mature within forty years following the date of issuance, and in such amount, at such times, and in such number of installments as may be provided in the resolution authorizing their issuance. Such resolution shall also provide for the execution and sealing of the bonds and the use of facsimile signatures and facsimile of the seal, the manner of sale of the bonds, and such other terms and conditions relative to the issuance, sale, and retirement of said bonds as the board of trustees in their discretion believe reasonable and proper.

If such bonds are callable, bonds called may be refunded. If revenues prove insufficient to pay maturing bonds, bonds which have matured or are about to mature may be refunded.

Effective Date: 08-25-1970

The regional transit authority may submit to the electors within its territorial boundaries the question of issuing bonds of such authority and also the necessity of a tax outside the limitation imposed by section 2 of Article XII, Ohio Constitution, to pay the interest on and to retire the bonds. Such bonds when so approved by the electors may be issued by the regional transit authority to purchase, acquire, construct, replace, improve, extend, and enlarge any transit facility which serves or will serve an area within the territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority, or to make an indemnification payment pursuant to an agreement for the sale and leaseback of qualified mass commuting vehicles as provided in division (AA) of section 306.35 of the Revised Code, or to pay a final judgment or judgments rendered against the regional transit authority, including settlement of a claim approved by a court, in an action for personal injuries or based on any other noncontractual obligation, provided that the net indebtedness, as defined for a municipal corporation in section 133.05 of the Revised Code, incurred by a regional transit authority shall never exceed five per cent of the total value of all property within the territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority as listed and assessed for taxation, and that no part of the proceeds of such bonds shall at any time be used to meet or defray any of the normal operating expenses of any transit facility or part thereof and provided also, that bonds issued to make an indemnification payment pursuant to an agreement for the sale and leaseback of qualified mass commuting vehicles as provided in division (AA) of section 306.35 of the Revised Code shall have a maturing of not more than five years. The proceedings for such election and for the issuance and sale of such bonds shall be as provided by Chapter 133. of the Revised Code, provided that such a bond issue may be submitted to the electors and such bonds may be issued for any one or more of the purposes set forth in this section. If a majority of those voting upon the proposition vote in favor thereof, the board of trustees of the regional transit authority may proceed with the issue of such bonds and the levy of a tax outside the ten-mill limitation, sufficient in amount to pay the interest on and retire such bonds at maturity. Notes may be issued in anticipation of such bonds as provided in section 133.22 of the Revised Code. The board of trustees shall be the taxing authority or bond issuing authority of the regional transit authority.

The regional transit authority may also issue bonds and notes in anticipation of such bonds for any one or more of the purposes set forth in this section and as provided in Chapter 133. of the Revised Code, without a vote of the electors residing within the territorial boundaries of the authority. Prior to the issuance of such bonds or notes, the fiscal officer of the authority shall file with the board of trustees a certificate showing that the estimated revenues of the authority from sources other than ad valorem taxes on property, after first meeting from all available resources the estimated operation and maintenance expenses of the authority as they become due, are sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on such bonds as they become due, and that the maximum aggregate amount of principal and interest to become payable in any one calendar year on all of the bonds of the authority issued pursuant to this section without a vote of the electors does not exceed one-tenth of one per cent of the total value of all the property within the territory of the authority as listed and assessed for taxation. To the extent that revenues of the authority from sources other than ad valorem taxes on property, after paying the operation and maintenance expenses of the facilities financed from the proceeds of bonds and notes issued pursuant to this section and any moneys required for the payment of the principal of and interest and any premium on revenue bonds issued by the regional transit authority pursuant to section 306.37 of the Revised Code, are sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on bonds issued pursuant to this section as they become due, such bonds shall not be considered within the five per cent limitation on indebtedness imposed by this section.

Effective Date: 10-30-1989

Bonds issued under sections 306.37 to 306.40, inclusive, of the Revised Code, their transfer, and the income therefrom, including any profit made on the sale thereof, shall at all times be free from taxation within the state.

Effective Date: 11-01-1965

(A) The secretary-treasurer of the regional transit authority shall be the fiscal officer of the regional transit authority and the custodian of its funds and records and shall assist the board of directors in such particulars as it directs in the performance of its duties.

(B) Before receiving any moneys, the secretary-treasurer shall furnish bond in such amount as is determined by the board of trustees of the regional transit authority with surety satisfactory to it. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, all funds coming into the hands of the secretary-treasurer shall be deposited by the secretary-treasurer to the account of the regional transit authority in one or more such depositories as are 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 board of trustees of the regional transit authority.

(C) Funds received by the secretary-treasurer pursuant to an agreement under division (AA) of section 306.35 of the Revised Code shall be deposited to an account of the regional transit authority as designated in the agreement and shall be invested as provided in the agreement. Such funds are not subject to Chapter 135. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 06-30-1999

(A) The board of trustees of a regional transit authority or any officer or employee designated by such board may make any contract for the purchase of goods or services, the cost of which does not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars. When an expenditure, other than for the acquisition of real estate, the discharge of claims, or the acquisition of goods or services under the circumstances described in division (H) of this section, is expected to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars, such expenditure shall be made through full and open competition by the use of competitive procedures. The regional transit authority shall use the competitive procedure, as set forth in divisions (B), (C), (D), and (E) of this section, that is most appropriate under the circumstances of the procurement.

(B) Competitive sealed bidding is the preferred method of procurement and a regional transit authority shall use that method if all of the following conditions exist:

(1) A clear, complete and adequate description of the goods, services, or work is available;

(2) Time permits the solicitation, submission, and evaluation of sealed bids;

(3) The award will be made on the basis of price and other price-related factors;

(4) It is not necessary to conduct discussions with responding offerors about their bids;

(5) There is a reasonable expectation of receiving more than one sealed bid.

A regional transit authority shall publish a notice calling for bids once a week for no less than two consecutive weeks in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority. A regional transit authority may require that a bidder for any contract other than a construction contract provide a bid guaranty in the form, quality, and amount considered appropriate by the regional transit authority. The board may let the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Where fewer than two responsive bids are received, a regional transit authority may negotiate price with the sole responsive bidder or may rescind the solicitation and procure under division (H)(2) of this section.

(C) A regional transit authority may use two-step competitive bidding, consisting of a technical proposal and a separate, subsequent sealed price bid from those submitting acceptable technical proposals, if both of the following conditions exist:

(1) A clear, complete, and adequate description of the goods, services, or work is not available, but definite criteria exist for the evaluation of technical proposals;

(2) It is necessary to conduct discussions with responding offerors.

A regional transit authority shall publish a notice calling for technical proposals once a week for no less than two consecutive weeks in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority. A regional transit authority may require a bid guaranty in the form, quality, and amount the regional transit authority considers appropriate. The board may let the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Where fewer than two responsive and responsible bids are received, a regional transit authority may negotiate price with the sole responsive and responsible bidder or may rescind the solicitation and procure under division (H)(2) of this section.

(D) A regional transit authority shall make a procurement by competitive proposals if competitive sealed bidding or two-step competitive bidding is not appropriate.

A regional transit authority shall publish a notice calling for proposals once a week for no less than two consecutive weeks in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority. A regional transit authority may require a proposal guaranty in the form, quality, and amount considered appropriate by the regional transit authority. The board may let the contract to the proposer making the offer considered most advantageous to the authority. Where fewer than two competent proposals are received, a regional transit authority may negotiate price and terms with the sole proposer or may rescind the solicitation and procure under division (H)(2) of this section.

(E)(1) A regional transit authority shall procure the services of an architect or engineer in the manner prescribed by the “Federal Mass Transportation Act of 1987,” Public Law No. 100-17, section 316, 101 Stat. 227, 232-234, 49 U.S.C.A. app. 1608 and the services of a construction manager in the manner prescribed by sections 9.33 to 9.332 of the Revised Code.

(2) A regional transit authority may procure revenue rolling stock in the manner prescribed by division (B), (C), or (D) of this section.

(3) All contracts for construction in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars shall be made only after the regional transit authority has published a notice calling for bids once a week for two consecutive weeks in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority. The board may award a contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Where only one responsive and responsible bid is received, the regional transit authority may negotiate price with the sole responsive bidder or may rescind the solicitation. The regional transit authority shall award construction contracts in accordance with sections 153.12 to 153.14 and 153.54 of the Revised Code. Divisions (B) and (C) of this section shall not apply to the award of contracts for construction.

(F) All contracts involving expenditures in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by or shall refer to plans and specifications for the work to be done. The plans and specifications shall at all times be made and considered part of the contract. For all contracts other than construction contracts, a regional transit authority may require performance, payment, or maintenance guaranties or any combination of such guaranties in the form, quality, and amount it considers appropriate. The contract shall be approved by the board and signed on behalf of the regional transit authority and by the contractor.

(G) In making a contract, a regional transit authority may give preference to goods produced in the United States in accordance with the Buy America requirements in the “Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982,” Public Law No. 97-424, section 165, 96 Stat. 2097, 23 U.S.C.A. 101 note, as amended, and the rules adopted thereunder. The regional transit authority also may give preference to providers of goods produced in and services provided in labor surplus areas as defined by the United States department of labor in 41 U.S.C.A. 401 note, Executive Order No. 12073, August 16, 1978, 43 Fed. Reg. 36873, as amended.

(H) Competitive procedures under this section are not required in any of the following circumstances:

(1) The board of trustees of a regional transit authority, by a two-thirds affirmative vote of its members, determines that a real and present emergency exists under any of the following conditions, and the board enters its determination and the reasons for it in its proceedings:

(a) Affecting safety, welfare, or the ability to deliver transportation services;

(b) Arising out of an interruption of contracts essential to the provision of daily transit services;

(c) Involving actual physical damage to structures, supplies, equipment, or property.

(2) The purchase consists of goods or services, or any combination thereof, and after reasonable inquiry the board or any officer or employee the board designates finds that only one source of supply is reasonably available.

(3) The expenditure is for a renewal or renegotiation of a lease or license for telecommunications or electronic data processing equipment, services, or systems, or for the upgrade of such equipment, services, or systems, or for the maintenance thereof as supplied by the original source or its successors or assigns.

(4) The purchase of goods or services is made from another political subdivision, public agency, public transit system, regional transit authority, the state, or the federal government, or as a third-party beneficiary under a state or federal procurement contract, or as a participant in a department of administrative services contract under division (B) of section 125.04 of the Revised Code.

(5) The sale and leaseback or lease and leaseback of transit facilities is made as provided in division (AA) of section 306.35 of the Revised Code.

(6) The purchase substantially involves services of a personal, professional, highly technical, or scientific nature, including but not limited to the services of an attorney, physician, surveyor, appraiser, investigator, court reporter, adjuster, advertising consultant, or licensed broker, or involves the special skills or proprietary knowledge required for the servicing of specialized equipment owned by the regional transit authority.

(7) Services or supplies are available from a qualified nonprofit agency pursuant to sections 4115.31 to 4115.35 of the Revised Code.

(8) The purchase consists of the product or services of a public utility.

(9) The purchase is for the services of individuals with disabilities to work in the authority’s commissaries or cafeterias, and those individuals are supplied by a nonprofit corporation or association whose purpose is to assist individuals with disabilities, whether or not that corporation or association is funded entirely or in part by the federal government, or the purchase is for services provided by a nonprofit corporation or association whose purpose is to assist individuals with disabilities, whether or not that corporation or association is funded entirely or in part by the federal government. For purposes of division (H)(9) of this section, “disability” has the same meaning as in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code.

(I) A regional transit authority may enter into blanket purchase agreements for purchases of maintenance, operating, or repair goods or services where the item cost does not exceed five hundred dollars and the annual expenditure does not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars.

(J) Nothing contained in this section prohibits a regional transit authority from participating in intergovernmental cooperative purchasing arrangements.

(K) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a regional transit authority shall make a sale or other disposition of property through full and open competition. Except as provided in division (L) of this section, all dispositions of personal property and all grants of real property for terms exceeding five years shall be made by public auction or competitive procedure.

(L) The competitive procedures required by division (K) of this section are not required in any of the following circumstances:

(1) The grant is a component of a joint development between public and private entities and is intended to enhance or benefit public transit.

(2) The grant of a limited use or of a license affecting land is made to an owner of abutting real property.

(3) The grant of a limited use is made to a public utility.

(4) The grant or disposition is to a department of the federal or state government, to a political subdivision of the state, or to any other governmental entity.

(5) Used equipment is traded on the purchase of equipment and the value of the used equipment is a price-related factor in the basis for award for the purchase.

(6) The value of the personal property is such that competitive procedures are not appropriate and the property either is sold at its fair market value or is disposed of by gift to a nonprofit entity having the general welfare or education of the public as one of its principal objects.

(M) The board of trustees of a regional transit authority, when making a contract funded exclusively by state or local moneys or any combination thereof, shall make a good faith effort to use disadvantaged business enterprise participation to the same extent required under Section 105(f) of the “Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982,” Public Law No. 97-424, 96 Stat. 2100, and Section 106(c) of the “Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987,” Public Law No. 100-17, 101 Stat. 145, and the rules adopted thereunder.

(N) As used in this section:

(1) “Goods” means all things, including specially manufactured goods, that are movable at the time of identification to the contract for sale other than the money in which the price is to be paid, investment securities, and things in action. “Goods” also includes other identified things attached to realty as described in section 1302.03 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Services” means the furnishing of labor, time, or effort by a contractor, not involving the delivery of goods or reports other than goods or reports that are merely incidental to the required performance, including but not limited to insurance, bonding, or routine operation, routine repair, or routine maintenance of existing structures, buildings, real property, or equipment, but does not include employment agreements