DevelopOhio

Toledo officials recently met with Ohio Senate officials to protest H.B. 289, which the Ohio House of Representatives passed in late February, The Blade reports (See our Feb 27, 2014, blog post for more information). The bill aims to phase out Joint Economic Development Zones (JEDZs), a statutory creature relied upon by many local communities to promote economic development by drawing upon municipal and township cooperation. Its sponsor, Rep. Kirk Schuring (R-North Canton), introduced the bill to "prohibit cities and townships from joining forces to 'cherry pick' large businesses and employers for income taxation while providing little or no new economic development." Rep. Schuring is considering a rewrite to create a grandfather clause for existing JEDZs that would "allow for future renewals that do not involve a geographic expansion or increased tax rate." Toledo officials argued that northwest Ohio has not experienced the abuse of JEDZs that the legislation seeks to end, and that H.B. 289 would remove a tremendously success tool "for townships and cities to work together to engender economic development," the article said. For more, read the full story.