Section 306.55. Withdrawal from regional transit authority

Beginning July 1, 2011 and until November 5, 2013, the legislative authority of any municipal corporation or the board of township trustees of any township that has created or joined a regional transit authority that levies a property tax and that includes in its membership political subdivisions that are located in a county having a population of at least four hundred thousand according to the most recent federal census, may withdraw the municipal corporation or the unincorporated territory of the township from the regional transit authority in the manner provided in this section. The legislative authority or board of township trustees proposing to withdraw shall adopt a resolution to submit the question of withdrawing from the regional transit authority to the electors of the municipal corporation or the unincorporated area of the township to be withdrawn and shall certify the proposal to the board of elections for the purpose of having the proposal placed on the ballot at the next general election or at a special election conducted on the day of the next primary election that occurs not less than ninety days after the resolution is certified to the board of elections.

Upon certification of a proposal to the board of elections pursuant to this section, the board of elections shall make the necessary arrangements for the submission of the question to the electors of the territory to be withdrawn from the regional transit authority qualified to vote on the question . For a municipal corporation, the election shall be held, canvassed, and certified in the same manner as regular elections for the election of officers of the municipal corporation proposing to withdraw from the regional transit authority, except that the question appearing on the ballot of a municipal corporation shall read:

"Shall the territory within the ......................... ( name of municipal corporation to be withdrawn) be withdrawn from ......................... ......... ( name of) regional transit authority)?"

For the unincorporated area of a township, the election shall be held, canvassed, and certified in the same manner as regular elections for the election of officers of the township, except that question shall only be presented to electors of the unincorporated area of the township and the question appearing on the ballot of the unincorporated area of the township shall read:

"Shall the territory of the unincorporated area of ...... (name of township to be withdrawn) be withdrawn from ...... (name of regional transit authority)?"

The legislative authority of a municipal corporation or board of trustees of a township, by vote of two-thirds of all members of the legislative authority or board, may adopt a resolution and certify that resolution to the board of elections for the combined purpose of withdrawing from a regional transit authority as provided in this section and levying a property tax pursuant to division (XX) of section 5705.19 of the Revised Code for a municipal corporation and section 5705.72 of the Revised Code for a township. If the questions are combined, the question appearing on the ballot shall be as provided in section 5705.252 of the Revised Code.

The board of elections to which the resolution was certified shall certify the results of the election to the board or legislative authority of the subdivision that submitted the resolution to withdraw and to the board of trustees of the regional transit authority from which the subdivision proposed to withdraw. If the question is approved by at least a majority of the electors voting on the question, the municipal corporation's or unincorporated area of the township's membership in the regional transit authority terminates on the thirty-first day of December of the calendar year in which the election is held.

If the question of withdrawing from the regional transit authority is approved, the power of the regional transit authority to levy a tax on taxable property in the affected area of the withdrawing subdivision terminates beginning with the tax year in which the election is held, and no taxes from the levy may be charged for collection against such property for that tax year.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.127, HB 487, §101.01, eff. 9/10/2012.

Added by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.