As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session H. B. No. 76
2025-2026
Representatives Lorenz, Baker
Cosponsors: Representatives Daniels, Brennan, McNally
A B I L L
To amend sections 505.01 and 505.82 and to enact
section 505.013 of the Revised Code to allow the
electors of certain townships to increase the
membership of their boards of township trustees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 505.01 and 505.82 be amended and
section 505.013 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as
follows:
Sec. 505.01. In (A) Except as otherwise provided in
section 505.013 of the Revised Code, in each township there
shall be a board of township trustees consisting of three
members. Two of such Trustees shall be elected as follows:
(1) Two trustees shall be elected at the general election
in nineteen forty-nine and quadrennially thereafter, in each
township, who shall hold office for a term of four years,
commencing on the first day of January next after their
election. The
(2) The third trustee shall be elected at the general
election in nineteen fifty-one and quadrennially thereafter, in
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As Introduced
each township, who shall hold office for a term of four years,
commencing on the first day of January next after the person's
election.
At (B)(1) If the membership of a township's board of
trustees is five members, as permitted under section 505.013 of
the Revised Code, two additional trustees shall be elected at
each general election described in division (A)(2) of this
section for terms of four years, commencing on the first day of
January after the election.
(2) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, all of
the following apply to a board of township trustees that has
five members:
(a) Any action that, under applicable law or rule,
requires a two-thirds vote of a board of township trustees
instead requires a three-fifths vote of the board.
(b) Any action that, under applicable law or rule, must be
performed by at least two trustees of a township instead must be
performed by at least three trustees of the township.
(c) If the township is included in a district or other
entity whose governing body, under applicable law or rule,
includes all of the members of the board of trustees, only three
trustees of the township shall be voting members of the
governing body, and the remaining two trustees shall be
nonvoting members of the governing body. The board of township
trustees shall elect the three trustees who are voting members
of the governing body from among its members.
(C) At the first meeting of the board each calender
calendar year, the board shall select one of its members to
serve as chairperson for a term of one year. If the position of
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chairperson becomes vacant, the board shall select one of its
members to preside.
Sec. 505.013. (A) The electors of a township that has a
population of twenty thousand or more, as determined by the most
recent federal decennial census, may increase the membership of
the township's board of trustees to five members as follows:
(1) Electors of the township shall file with the board of
elections a petition proposing to submit to the electors of the
township the question of whether to increase the membership of
the township's board of trustees to five members. The petition
shall be signed by a number of electors of the township equal to
ten per cent of the total votes cast for the office of governor
at the most recent election for that office in the township.
(2) After receiving a valid petition submitted under
division (A)(1) of this section, the board of elections shall
submit the following question to the electors of the township at
the next general election in an even-numbered year occurring at
least ninety days after the day the petition is submitted to the
board of elections:
"Shall the membership of the Board of Trustees of ________
(name of township) in the county of ________ (name of county) be
increased from three members to five members?
____ Yes
____ No"
(3) If a majority of electors voting on the question vote
in the affirmative, then thereafter, two additional trustees
shall be elected under division (B)(1) of section 505.01 of the
Revised Code, except as otherwise provided in divisions (B) and
(C) of this section.
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(B) The electors of a township that has a population of
twenty thousand or more, as determined by the most recent
federal decennial census, and whose board of trustees has five
members, may decrease the membership of the township's board of
trustees to three members as follows:
(1) Electors of the township shall file with the board of
elections a petition proposing to submit to the electors of the
township the question of whether to decrease the membership of
the township's board of trustees to three members. The petition
shall be signed by a number of electors of the township equal to
ten per cent of the total votes cast for the office of governor
at the most recent election for that office in the township.
(2) Upon receiving a valid petition submitted under
division (B)(1) of this section, the board of elections shall
submit the following question to the electors of the township at
the next general election in an even-numbered year occurring at
least ninety days after the day the petition is submitted to the
board of elections:
"Shall the membership of the Board of Trustees of ________
(name of township) in the county of ________ (name of county) be
decreased from five members to three members?
____ Yes
____ No"
(3) If a majority of electors voting on the question vote
in the affirmative, then thereafter, only one trustee shall be
elected at each general election described in division (A)(2) of
section 505.01 of the Revised Code, unless and until the
electors of the township again increase the membership of the
board of trustees under division (A) of this section. The two
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additional trustees previously elected under division (B)(1) of
section 505.01 of the Revised Code shall serve the remainders of
their terms. If a vacancy occurs in the office of an additional
trustee who is serving the remainder of a term under this
division, the vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the
unexpired term as provided in section 503.24 of the Revised
Code.
(C) If the population of a township with a board of
trustees that has five members ceases to be twenty thousand or
more, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census,
both of the following apply:
(1) Thereafter, only one trustee shall be elected at each
general election described in division (A)(2) of section 505.01
of the Revised Code, unless and until the population of the
township becomes twenty thousand or more, as determined by the
most recent federal decennial census, and the electors of the
township again increase the membership of the board of trustees
under division (A) of this section.
(2) The two additional trustees previously elected under
division (B)(1) of section 505.01 of the Revised Code shall
serve the remainders of their terms. If a vacancy occurs in the
office of an additional trustee who is serving the remainder of
a term under this division, the vacancy shall be filled for the
remainder of the unexpired term as provided in section 503.24 of
the Revised Code.
Sec. 505.82. (A) If a board of township trustees by a
unanimous vote or, in the event of the unavoidable absence of
one trustee, by an affirmative vote of two trustees in the case
of a township that has three trustees, or by an affirmative vote
of four trustees in the case of a township that has five
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trustees, adopts a resolution declaring that an emergency exists
that threatens life or property within the unincorporated
territory of the township or that such an emergency is imminent,
the board may exercise the powers described in divisions (A)(1)
and (2) and (B) of this section during the emergency for a
period of time not exceeding six months following the adoption
of the resolution. The resolution shall state the specific time
period for which the emergency powers are in effect.
(1) If an owner of an undedicated road or stream bank in
the unincorporated territory of the township has not provided
for the removal of snow, ice, debris, or other obstructions from
the road or bank, the board may provide for that removal. Prior
to providing for the removal, the board shall give, or make a
good faith attempt to give, oral notice to the owner or owners
of the road or bank of the board's intent to clear the road or
bank and to impose a service charge for doing so. The board
shall establish just and equitable service charges for the
removal to be paid, except as provided in division (B) of this
section, by the owners of the road or bank.
The board shall keep a record of the costs incurred by the
township in removing snow, ice, debris, or other obstructions
from the road or bank. The service charges shall be based on
these costs and shall be in an amount sufficient to recover
these costs. If there is more than one owner of the road or
bank, the board, except as provided in division (B) of this
section, shall allocate the service charges among the owners on
an equitable basis. The board shall notify, in writing, each
owner of the road or bank of the amount of the service charges
and shall certify the charges to the county auditor. The service
charges shall constitute a lien upon the property. The auditor
shall place the service charges on a special duplicate to be
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collected as other taxes and returned to the township general
fund.
(2) The board may contract for the immediate acquisition,
replacement, or repair of equipment needed for the emergency
situation, without following the competitive bidding
requirements of section 5549.21 or any other section of the
Revised Code.
(B) In lieu of collecting service charges from owners for
the removal of snow or ice from an undedicated road by the board
of township trustees as provided in division (A)(1) of this
section, the board may enter into a contract with a developer
whereby the developer agrees to pay the service charges for the
snow and ice removal instead of the owners.
(C) The removal of snow, ice, debris, or other
obstructions from an undedicated road by a board of township
trustees acting pursuant to a resolution adopted under division
(A) of this section does not constitute approval or acceptance
of the undedicated road.
(D) As used in this section, "undedicated road" means a
road that has not been approved and accepted by the board of
county commissioners and is not a part of the state, county, or
township road systems as provided in section 5535.01 of the
Revised Code.
(E) Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive
the requirement under section 1517.15 of the Revised Code that
approval of plans be obtained from the director of natural
resources or the director's representative prior to modifying or
causing the modification of the channel of any watercourse that
is a wild, scenic, or recreational river outside the limits of a
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municipal corporation.
Section 2. That existing sections 505.01 and 505.82 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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