HB 66 AND THE TASK FORCE
ON COUNTY LAW LIBRARIES
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03/06: The Senate passed amendments to another bill, HB 363, to further postpone cuts in funding for rent and utilities and extend the life of the Task Force on County Law Libraries. Twenty percent (20%) cuts to the compensation of county law librarians will still begin on 01/01/07, but twenty percent (20%) cuts to county funding for law library space were postponed until 01/01/08. In addition, the Task Force was given an additional year, until 10/31/07, to complete it's work. 06/30/05: The Governor signed HB 66 into law today. The Governor has vetoed parts of HB 66, see Veto Message. None of the Veto items concerned the law library provisions.
06/21/05: The House and Senate passed the Conference Committee's report. Click here to view a comparison table showing Conference Committee activity with regard to HB 66. Although the cuts are still slotted to begin in January of 2007, the Task Force has been given through October 31, 2006 to complete its work. 06/10/05: Click here to view the working comparison document that the Ohio Conference Committee used in considering HB 66 and the provisions that affect county law library funding. 06/02/05: On June 2, 2005, the Senate amended the Senate Finance Committee’s version of HB 66 to add the Task Force back into the legislation. The Task Force was also given additional time to complete its work and make recommendations about the future of County Law Libraries. However, HB 66 still contained cuts to county law library funding that would start in January of 2007. On approximately June 10, 2005, a Conference Committee composed of members of both the House and Senate Finance Committees began working on joint revisions to HB 66. Click here to read the sections of Am. Sub. H. B. No. 66, as passed by the Senate, pertaining to County Law Libraries. [§3375.48, §3375.49, §3375.54, §3375.55, §503.06 (A)] 05/31/05: On May 31, 2005, the Senate Finance Committee passed its version of HB 66. Unfortunately, that version continued to impose cuts to County Law Library funding beginning in January of 2007 and incredibly, deleted a County Law Library Task Force that was created in the House. Click here to read the sections of Sub. H. B. No. 66, as passed by the Senate Finance Committee, pertaining to County Law Libraries. [§3375.48, §3375.49, §3375.54, §3375.55, §503.06 (A)] 05/12/05 On May 12, 2005, the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee heard testimony related to local government issues, including county law library funding. At 5:15 on May 12, 2005, the Ohio State Bar Association Law Libraries & Legal Information Services Committee met to discuss HB 66 and its affect on Ohio’s county law libraries. 05/02/05 On May 2, 2005, three (3) county law librarians met with representatives of the Ohio Judicial Conference, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, and the Ohio State Bar Association to discuss Senate amendments to HB 66 as well as the status, funding and operation of Ohio’s county law libraries. April 2005: HB 66 was amended to 1) put the cuts to law libraries on hold until January of 2007 and 2) create a Task Force to study county law library funding and make recommendations by June of 2006. However, the cuts were still additive, with 20% increases per year until the counties would pay nothing toward county law library salaries, rent and overhead. To review these changes, please click the following link:
On April 8, 2005, the Court Administration Committee of the Ohio Judicial Conference convened a special meeting to discuss the issues in HB 66 that affect county law libraries. Five county law librarians attended the meeting and presented the Committee with information and statistics for their libraries and many of the other county law libraries in the state of Ohio. March 2005: On St. Patrick’s Day, the House Finance Committee entertained testimony on local government issues. Beforehand, the Ohio State Bar Association was successful in negotiating an agreement with the County Commissioners Association of Ohio to put the cuts to law libraries on hold until January of 2007 and amend HB 66 to provide for a Task Force to study county law library funding and make recommendations by the end of 2006. February 2005: Mid-February, Ohio House Finance Committee Chair Charles Calvert from Medina introduced HB 66, the Governor’s biennial budget bill. This bill slashed local government funds to Ohio’s Counties and cities, thus forcing them to find places to cut their own expenditures. Regrettably, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio (hereinafter “CCAO”) was able to insert language into the bill that would have dramatically cut county funding for Ohio’s County Law Libraries. Specifically, over the course of five (5) years, beginning in 2006, HB 66 would have rapidly eliminated Cuyahoga County’s current obligation to provide the CLLA with the salaries of our 3 County librarians, as well as free space, utilities, and shelving. |
TASK FORCE MEMBERS
STATUTORY RESPONSIBILITIES
TASK FORCE ACTIVITIES
SUB-COMMITTEES
REPORTS
| Created on: December 22, 2005 - |
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