From the Statehouse 2005 No. 33
by Jennifer Garrison
Dec. 19, 2005
FROM THE STATEHOUSE - ARTICLE 33
On Tuesday, December 14, 2005 the Ohio House voted to create an apprentice hunting license for youths age 16 and 17. The apprentice license allows youth to hunt with an adult hunter who can demonstrate hunting safety to the youth. This bill allows the Chief of the Division of Wildlife in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to adopt rules governing the issuance of the apprentice license. I voted "yes". The bill passed. The proponents of this legislation were the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, National Sportsmen's Alliance, League of Ohio Sportsmen, and National Wild Turkey Federation. There was no opponent testimony on this legislation.
Substitute House Bill 397, is the Construction and Demolition and Debris (C&DD) bill. Construction and demolition debris are materials that result from the alteration, construction, destruction, rehabilitation, or repair of any physical structure that is built by humans, including houses, buildings, industrial or commercial facilities or roadways. Currently there are 68 C&DD facilities operating within Ohio.
The bill requires a Permit to Install before establishing a new facility. Operational plans must include "best management practices" to ensure all accepted materials are disposed of safely and properly. The legislation strengthens required leachate testing. The legislation also requires a landfill setback of 500 feet from an occupied dwelling or national or state park, state nature preserve or state wild, scenic, or recreational river, lake, or recreation area. The bill requires a setback of 500 feet from a water supply. The bill requires a 100 foot setback from certain wetlands, perennial streams, or facility property lines.
Substitute House Bill 397, is better than the law we have in place today and a moratorium on permits for C&DD facilities expires at the end of the month. I was in favor of a number of amendments that increase the setback requirements from 500 feet to 1000 feet in places of public accommodation, and a change from 100 feet to 500 feet from the wetlands and perennial streams. These amendments were tabled and a vote was not allowed.
The C&DD industry had a lot of input into this legislation. Two (2) legislators from the Youngstown area fought in a bi-partisan manner to get these amendments passed because they were good for the state and in particular for their area of the state where many of the facilities exist. I voted for the legislation because it was better than we have and the moratorium on new C&DD permits expire before the next session. The bill passed. Voting against the amendments demonstrated a lack of foresight.
House Bill 421, designates December 1st as Rosa Parks day in Ohio. I voted "yes". The bill passed.
House Bill 145 gives townships and joint fire districts the ability to grant certain investigative and arrest powers to designated full-time fire department officers in cases of arson. These fire fighters would be trained at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. Today fire departments in cities are granted these powers. However, in smaller cities and in all townships the State Fire Marshall's office investigates arson. This bill was designed for very large townships who have large full-time fire departments. This bill is permissive, not required. I voted "yes". The bill passed.
You can reach Jennifer Garrison at her Columbus office at 614-644-8728 or in the district at 740-373-2414 or by e-mail at jennifer@jennifergarrison.com. Her website is <a href="/a>