Section 3735.31. Metropolitan housing authority - powers and duties

A metropolitan housing authority created under sections 3735.27 to 3735.50 of the Revised Code constitutes a body corporate and politic. Nothing in this chapter shall limit the authority of a metropolitan housing authority, or a nonprofit corporation formed by a metropolitan housing authority to carry out its functions, to compete for and perform federal housing contracts or grants within or outside this state. To clear, plan, and rebuild slum areas within the district in which the authority is created, to provide safe and sanitary housing accommodations to families of low income within that district, or to accomplish any combination of the foregoing purposes, the authority may do any of the following:

(A) Sue and be sued; have a seal; have corporate succession; receive grants from state, federal, or other governments, or from private sources; conduct investigations into housing and living conditions; enter any buildings or property in order to conduct its investigations; conduct examinations, subpoena, and require the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers; issue commissions for the examination of witnesses who are out of the state or unable to attend before the authority or excused from attendance; and in connection with these powers, any member of the authority may administer oaths, take affidavits, and issue subpoenas;

(B) Determine what areas constitute slum areas, and prepare plans for housing projects in those areas; purchase, lease, sell, exchange, transfer, assign, or mortgage any property, real or personal, or any interest in that property, or acquire the same by gift, bequest, or eminent domain; own, hold, clear, and improve property; provide and set aside housing projects, or dwelling units comprising portions of housing projects, designed especially for the use of families, the head of which or the spouse of which is sixty-five years of age or older; engage in, or contract for, the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or repair, or both, of any housing project or part of any housing project; include in any contract let in connection with a project, stipulations requiring that the contractor and any subcontractors comply with requirements as to minimum wages and maximum hours of labor, and comply with any conditions that the federal government has attached to its financial aid of the project; lease or operate, or both, any project, and establish or revise schedules of rents for any projects or part of any project; arrange with the county or municipal corporations, or both, for the planning and replanning of streets, alleys, and other public places or facilities in connection with any area or project; borrow money upon its notes, debentures, or other evidences of indebtedness, and secure the same by mortgages upon property held or to be held by it, or by pledge of its revenues, or in any other manner; invest any funds held in reserves or sinking funds or not required for immediate disbursements; execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers granted in this section; make, amend, and repeal bylaws and rules to carry into effect its powers and purposes;

(C) Borrow money or accept grants or other financial assistance from the federal government for or in aid of any housing project within its territorial limits; take over or lease or manage any housing project or undertaking constructed or owned by the federal government; comply with any conditions and enter into any mortgages, trust indentures, leases, or agreements that are necessary, convenient, or desirable;

(D) Subject to section 3735.311 of the Revised Code, employ a police force to protect the lives and property of the residents of housing projects within the district, to preserve the peace in the housing projects, and to enforce the laws, ordinances, and regulations of this state and its political subdivisions in the housing projects and, when authorized by law, outside the limits of the housing projects.

(E) Enter into an agreement with a county, municipal corporation, or township in whose jurisdiction the metropolitan housing authority is located that permits metropolitan housing authority police officers employed under division (D) of this section to exercise full arrest powers as provided in section 2935.03 of the Revised Code, perform any police function, exercise any police power, or render any police service within specified areas of the county, municipal corporation, or township for the purpose of preserving the peace and enforcing all laws of the state, ordinances of the municipal corporation, or regulations of the township.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 483, §101.01, eff. 9/15/2014.

Effective Date: 03-09-1999