Section 3318.48. Certificate of Completion

(A) When all of the following have occurred, a project undertaken by a school district pursuant to this chapter shall be considered complete and the Ohio school facilities commission shall issue a certificate of completion to the district board of education:

(1) All facilities to be constructed under the project, as specified in the project agreement entered into under section 3318.08 of the Revised Code, have been completed and the board has received a permanent certificate of occupancy for each of those facilities.

(2) The commission has issued certificates of contract completion on all prime construction contracts entered into by the board under section 3318.10 of the Revised Code.

(3) The commission has completed a final accounting of the district's project construction fund and has determined that all payments from the fund were made in compliance with all policies of the commission.

(4) Any litigation concerning the project has been finally resolved with no chance of appeal.

(5) All construction management services typically provided by the commission to school districts have been delivered and the commission has canceled any remaining encumbrance of funds for those services.

(B) The commission may issue a certificate of completion to a district board prior to all of the conditions described in division (A) of this section being satisfied, if the commission determines that the circumstances preventing the conditions from being satisfied are so minor in nature that the project should be considered complete. When issuing a certificate of completion under this division, the commission may specify any of the following:

(1) Any construction or work that has yet to be completed and the manner in which the board shall oversee its completion, which may include procedures for reporting progress to the commission and for accounting of expenditures;

(2) Terms and conditions for the resolution of any pending litigation;

(3) Any remaining responsibilities of the construction manager regarding the project.

(C) The commission may issue a certificate of completion to a district board that does not voluntarily participate in the process of closing out the district's project, if the construction manager for the project verifies that all facilities to be constructed under the project, as specified in the project agreement entered into under section 3318.08 of the Revised Code, have been completed and the commission determines that those facilities have been occupied for at least one year. In that case, all funds due to the commission under division (C) of section 3318.12 of the Revised Code shall be returned to the commission not later than thirty days after receipt of the certificate of completion. If the funds due to the commission have not been returned within sixty days after receipt of the certificate of completion, the auditor of state shall issue a finding for recovery against the school district and shall request legal action under section 117.42 of the Revised Code.

(D) Upon issuance of a certificate of completion under this section, the commission's ownership of and interest in the project, as specified in division (F) of section 3318.08 of the Revised Code, shall cease. This cessation shall not alter or otherwise affect the state's or commission's interest in the project or any limitations on the use of the project as specified in the project agreement pursuant to divisions (G), (M), and (N) of that section or as specified in section 3318.16 of the Revised Code.

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

Effective Date: 06-30-2005; 2007 HB119 09-29-2007