Allow increase in membership of boards of township trustees
Legislative Analysis Report Allow increase in membership of boards of township trustees
1. Primary Purpose of the Bill
This bill allows voters in Ohio townships with a population of 20,000 or more to vote on whether to increase their board of township trustees from three members to five members. It also provides a process for voters to decrease the board back to three members, or for the board to shrink automatically if the township's population falls below 20,000.
Local GovernmentElections
2. Changes to Existing Law
ORC Sec. 505.01 Changes the default three-member board of trustees rule to allow for five-member boards. It outlines election cycles for the two additional trustees and adjusts voting rules for five-member boards, such as changing a two-thirds vote requirement to a three-fifths vote.
ORC Sec. 505.013 Creates a process for townships with 20,000 or more residents to increase their board size to five members, or decrease it back to three, through a public petition and voter approval. It also transitions the board back to three members if the population drops below 20,000.
ORC Sec. 505.82 Adjusts emergency declaration voting rules so that a five-member board of trustees requires at least four votes to declare an emergency, compared to a unanimous or two-trustee vote for a three-member board.
3. Key Information for Citizens
🗳️ What You Need to Know
- Townships with at least 20,000 residents can expand their board of trustees from three to five members if voters approve.
- To put the expansion on the ballot, residents must gather petition signatures equal to 10% of the votes cast in the township during the last governor's election.
- If a board expands to five members, voting rules change: a two-thirds vote requirement becomes a three-fifths vote, and declaring a local emergency requires four out of five votes.
- Voters can use the same petition process to shrink the board back to three members, and the board will automatically shrink back to three if the township's population falls below 20,000.
4. Entities Affected
- Townships with populations of 20,000 or more
- Township residents and voters
- Township trustees
- County boards of elections
5. Regulatory Impact & Enforcement
Agency Authority: County boards of elections are responsible for verifying petitions and placing the board expansion or reduction questions on local ballots.
Penalties & Mandates: Not applicable
Implementation Timeline: Not applicable
6. Estimated Fiscal Impact
State Revenue Impact
Not applicable
Local Government Impact
Not applicable
Implementation Costs
Not applicable
Net Annual Fiscal Effect
Not applicable
Policy doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Meet the representatives and senators who introduced this bill and are pushing it through the chamber. Click on any sponsor to see their district, party affiliation, and what other legislation they’ve championed this session.
Primary Sponsors
Rachel B. Baker
District
27
Chamber
House of Representatives
Party
Democrat
Brian Lorenz
District
60
Chamber
House of Representatives
Party
Republican
Co-Sponsors
Related Topics
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Elections & Voting
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Taxation & Finance
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Transportation
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Business & Commerce
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Local Government
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Most legislative decisions are made in committee rooms, not on the chamber floor. Here, you can track which committees have been assigned to review, amend, or report on this bill. Stay informed on where the bill is currently being debated and which chairpersons hold the power to move it forward.
Status Changes
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Senate |
Governor |
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Referred to committee
Feb 12 2025
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Documents
Access the primary source. This section hosts the full, unedited text of the legislation alongside every official document produced during its journey. From the initial draft to the final enrolled version, you can review the exact language being proposed for state law.
