From the Statehouse 2008 No. 01
by Jennifer Garrison
Jan. 19, 2008
From The Statehouse – January 17, 2008
Over the past 2 weeks the Ohio House passed two pieces of legislation, House Bill 332 and House Bill 295. Substitute House Bill 332 has Ohio adopting the Revised Uniform Partnership Act, known as RUPA. House Bill 332 updates Ohio’s partnership laws and puts us in parity with the laws of other business friendly jurisdictions, like Delaware, Florida, Maryland and California. Issues addressed in the Revised Uniform Partnership Act include continuing partnerships after withdrawal of a partner, and fiduciary duties of partners.
The bill is structured to achieve several goals. The first goal clarifies the relationship between a partnership agreement and the Ohio Revised Code. Under current law a partnership is regarded as a group of individuals that cease to exist upon a partner’s withdrawal, death, or bankruptcy. RUPA considers a partnership to be its own separate entity that can continue existing in the event a partner dies, becomes insolvent, or withdraws.
RUPA provides standards for partner conduct that would cover fiduciary duties, duties of care, duties of loyalty, and the obligation of good faith and fair dealing. Additionally, RUPA determines methods that a partnership could use to convey real property. Finally, people in a partnership who do not have a written partnership agreement would use RUPA as their default set of laws. This bill passed overwhelmingly and I voted “yes”.
House Bill 295 amends the definition of “energy conservation measure” to include central utility plants. By including central utility plants in the definition, counties can borrow money to pay for construction of or improvements to a central utility plant for the purpose of energy conservation.
Current law provides bond incentives to counties that meet certain requirements to adopt energy conservation measures. A county can perform an energy conservation report evaluating the conservation savings and the life of the energy conservation system. However, current law limits the finance terms to pay back the bonds to 10 years. This bill changes the maximum maturity of the bonds to 30 years or the average life of the project, whichever is less.
I supported this bill as it allows counties to realize energy savings for their buildings. The bill passed.
I wanted to share with you a scholarship opportunity for Ohio seniors. The Ohio Association of Career College’s and School’s are offering 186 scholarships through the cooperation of Ohio’s Business and Trade Schools. This is an excellent opportunity to obtain post secondary trade or business training. If you are pursuing a career opportunity at an Ohio career, business or technical college, this may be an opportunity for you. The primary objective of these selected programs is to prepare individuals for a job in one of Ohio’s businesses or industries. The application process requires a state representative or state senator to nominate the applicant. Please contact my office if you would like to be considered for a nomination.
To learn more please contact the Ohio Association of Career College and Schools, 1857 Northwest Boulevard- Annex, Columbus, OH 43212 or contact my Columbus office at 614-644-8728.
You can reach Jennifer Garrison at her Columbus office at (614) 644-8728 or in the district at 373-2414 or by e-mail at jennifer@jennifergarrison.com. Her Web site is Riffe Center | 77 South High Street | Columbus Ohio 43215-6111 | (800) 282-0253 | District93@ohr.state.oh.us
Web Site Design | FireBox Studios