Clermont Times

State Representatives Adam Bird and Johnathan Newman have put forward House Bill 113, aimed at updating community annexation provisions. The bill seeks to involve more community leaders in the annexation process.

House Bill 113 would give county commissioners the power to veto annexations they find not beneficial for the county or community, including expedited annexations, which currently cannot be vetoed by commissioners.

Representative Bird emphasized the importance of allowing "county elected officials like commissioners" to make decisions that serve the county's best interests. Representative Newman added that an unbalanced approach to annexation could lead to lasting negative impacts on communities. He stressed the need to protect schools from these potential consequences, stating, "House Bill 113 seeks to safeguard against those."

The legislation proposes additional updates: it allows school districts under certain conditions to prevent land from becoming a Community Reinvestment Area if it poses a hardship and requires municipality administrators or assistant administrators to file financial disclosure statements with the Ohio Ethics Commission.

House Bill 113 is currently awaiting its committee assignment.