Friday Bill Roundup: Traffic Cameras, Real Estate and More

If you have questions about these bills, or would like a whole list of legislation introduced this week, please contact Laura Dixon-Caldwell.

Abortion 

HB 214-Down Syndrome Abortion Ban

House bill 214 would prohibit a person from performing, inducing, or attempting to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman who is seeking the abortion because an unborn child has or may have Down Syndrome.

Real Estate 

HB 205-Senior Housing Relief Act

This bill would prohibit the sale of delinquent property tax certificates for homesteads owned for at least 20 years by a person aged 65 or older at the time of the sale and to prohibit tax foreclosure on such property when the senior homeowner has paid the current taxes in all but five or fewer taxable years.

HB 211-Ohio Home Inspector Board

House bill 211 would require the licensure of home inspectors and to create the Ohio Home Inspector Board to regulate the licensure and performance of home inspectors.

HB 213-Real Estate Appraisal Licensing Changes 

This bill would change the definition of "appraisal" for purposes of the Real Estate Appraiser Licensing Law, to make changes to certain procedures and the exceptions to licensure under that law, to regulate appraisal management companies, and to declare an emergency.

Traffic Cameras

The use of traffic cameras has been a contentious issue in Ohio. A flurry of bills on the subject were introduced this week.  The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a summary here. 

HB 207-Traffic Photo Restriction-Emergency Services

House bill 207 would prohibit a municipal corporation or township that does not operate either a fire department or an emergency medical services organization from utilizing traffic law photo-monitoring devices.

HB 208-Traffic Photo Restriction-Low Population 

This bill would prohibit a local authority with a population of 200 or fewer from utilizing traffic law photomonitoring devices.

HB 209-Traffic Photo Restriction-Ticket Limit 

House bill 209 would prohibit a local authority, in any year, from issuing a total number of traffic tickets based on the use of traffic law photo-monitoring devices that exceeds two times the population of the local authority.

HB 210-Traffic Photo Restriction-Revenue Limit

Finally, this bill would prohibit a local authority from deriving more than 30 per cent of the total annual revenue of the local authority from the issuance of tickets for traffic law violations based on evidence recorded by traffic law photo-monitoring devices.