Fiscal Note & Local Impact Statement
127 th General Assembly of Ohio
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BILL: |
DATE: |
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STATUS: |
SPONSOR: |
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LOCAL IMPACT
STATEMENT REQUIRED: |
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STATE FUND |
FY 2008 |
FY 2009 |
FUTURE YEARS |
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Department of Natural
Resources – Various Funds |
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Revenues |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
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Expenditures |
Potential increase for
constructing preferred partition fences |
Potential increase for
constructing preferred partition fences |
Potential increase for
constructing preferred partition fences |
Note: The state
fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.
For example, FY 2007 is July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007.
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The
bill requires all fields and enclosures in which livestock are kept or placed
and that are bordered by a division line between adjoining properties of
different owners to be enclosed by a "preferred partition fence" as
defined in the bill. In instances where
no such fence exists, the Department of Natural Resources will be required to
pay the costs associated with fence construction and maintenance.
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LOCAL
GOVERNMENT |
FY 2008 |
FY 2009 |
FUTURE YEARS |
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Counties |
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Revenues |
Potential gain in fine
revenue from new court cases |
Potential gain in fine
revenue from new court cases |
Potential gain in fine
revenue from new court cases |
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Expenditures |
Potential minimal increase
in filing costs; potential increase for constructing preferred partition
fences; potential increase to county courts for new cases |
Potential minimal increase
in filing costs; potential increase for constructing preferred partition
fences potential increase to county courts for new cases |
Potential minimal increase
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Other local governments
and conservancy districts |
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Revenues |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
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Expenditures |
Potential increase for
constructing preferred partition fences |
Potential increase for
constructing preferred partition fences |
Potential increase for
constructing preferred partition fences |
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Note: For most local governments, the fiscal year is the calendar year. The school district fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.
·
Requires
all fields and enclosures in which livestock are kept or placed and that are
bordered by a division line between adjoining properties of different owners to
be enclosed by a preferred partition fence.
In instances where no such fence exists, the affected political
subdivision will be required to pay the costs associated with fence
construction and maintenance.
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Permits
property owners to file affidavits to county recorder offices detailing the
costs of building and maintaining a partition fence. County recorders are required to keep such filings in the
"partition fence record."
These additional filings may result in some minimal cost increases for
county recorders.
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Permits
property owners seeking reimbursement for partition fence building costs to
seek remedy in a county court of common pleas.
These new cases may result in additional court costs to counties.
·
Creates
criminal penalties for any person interfering with the awarding of a partition
fence contract, or interfering, threatening, or causing harm to any individual
attempting to build or maintain a partition fence. These new criminal offenses may result in additional costs to
county courts, as well as some fine revenues.
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Overview
The bill revises the Fences
Law, including establishing requirements for "preferred partition
fences," requirements regarding the construction and maintenance of
existing or previously existing partition fences, and requirements regarding
the construction and maintenance of new partition fences, and changing
requirements and procedures with respect to the assignment of responsibility by
a board of township trustees for constructing and maintaining partition
fences. Please consult the LSC bill
analysis for detailed explanations of the changes in the Fences Law.
Fiscal impact
Preferred partition fences
The bill requires all fields
and enclosures in which livestock are kept or placed and that are bordered by a
division line between adjoining properties of different owners to be enclosed
by a preferred partition fence, essentially a wire fence that meets certain
specifications explained in the bill.
This requirement would apply to the Department of Natural Resources,
conservancy districts organized under the Conservancy District Law, and
political subdivisions with a real property interest in recreational
trails. Presumably, most of these areas
already have fencing, and therefore, additional costs for any such fences would
be minimal.
Construction and maintenance
of partition fences
The bill requires that if a
partition fence exists between adjoining properties, the owners of the
adjoining properties must maintain the fence in good repair in equitable
shares. If a new fence is built, the
owners must do so in equitable shares unless they enter into an agreement as
specified in the bill. This agreement
must be filed with the county recorder.
If a partition fence does
not exist between two properties, and there is no evidence that any such fence
previously existed, and an owner wishes to build a partition fence, that owner
must bear the costs. That owner may
file an affidavit with the county recorder for any costs incurred for building
that fence, and the annual costs of maintenance. Current law requires county recorders to maintain a book known as
a "partition fence record."
County recorders are required under the bill to keep all of the
above-mentioned affidavits and property owner agreements in this book. This requirement may result in some
additional costs to county recorders for keeping and maintaining these
additional records. However, these
costs are likely minimal.
If an owner that did not
assist in bearing the costs of building and maintaining such a partition fence
subsequently uses the fence to keep livestock enclosed on the property within
30 years after the fence was built, the owner that built the fence may file a
claim for reimbursement of 50% of the total cost of building and maintaining
the fence, provided that an affidavit has been filed as in the paragraph
above. If an owner of the adjoining
property fails to pay the claim for reimbursement, the owner that built and
maintained the fence may file a claim in a county court of common pleas to
recover that 50% of costs. This
provision could potentially increase county court costs if more cases result
from these provisions of the bill.
However, the number of cases resulting from these provisions is unknown,
but likely to be minimal.
Penalties
Under the bill, a person
that obstructs or interferes with anyone who is lawfully engaged in the
construction or maintenance of a partition fence or with a member of a board of
township trustees who is awarding a contract for the construction or
maintenance of a partition fence is guilty of a third-degree misdemeanor. If, in committing the offense, the violator
threatened physical harm to the person building or maintaining a partition
fence, the violator is guilty of a second-degree misdemeanor. If, in committing the offense, the violator
caused physical harm to the person building or maintaining a partition fence,
the violator is guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor. If, in committing the offense, the violator caused serious
physical harm to the person building or maintaining a partition fence, the
violator is guilty of a fifth-degree felony.
Any new cases resulting from the above provisions could potentially
result in increased county court costs, as well as fine revenue from such
cases.
LSC fiscal staff: Terry Steele, Budget Analyst