|
|
To enact sections 6302.01, 6302.02, 6302.03, 6302.04, | 1 |
and 6302.05 of the Revised Code to create the Ohio | 2 |
Works Progress Administration, and to require the | 3 |
General Revenue Fund surplus revenue to be used | 4 |
for operation of the Ohio Works Progress | 5 |
Administration. | 6 |
Section 1. That sections 6302.01, 6302.02, 6302.03, 6302.04, | 7 |
and 6302.05 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 8 |
Sec. 6302.01. The Ohio works progress administration (OWPA) | 9 |
shall perform work for the public good, improve public property, | 10 |
provide needed public services, and provide participants with work | 11 |
experience. Examples of these purposes include: | 12 |
(A) Planting, pruning, and cutting trees. | 13 |
(B) Litter removal. | 14 |
(C) Cleaning and repair of drainage ditches. | 15 |
(D) Roadway, waterway, and community beautification. | 16 |
(E) Demolition or renovation of foreclosed or abandoned | 17 |
homes, or other properties, in the possession of the state or of a | 18 |
political subdivision, for the purpose of preparing the property | 19 |
for use by the state or a political subdivision, or for sale. | 20 |
(F) Renovation of foreclosed or abandoned homes, or other | 21 |
properties, in the possession of the state or of a political | 22 |
subdivision, for the purpose of creating residential housing for | 23 |
OWPA field workers. | 24 |
(G) Assisting with an environmental remediation program | 25 |
managed by the Ohio environmental protection agency or the United | 26 |
States environmental protection agency. | 27 |
(H) Designing, installing, and maintaining public art | 28 |
projects. | 29 |
(I) Providing basic home maintenance and repair services to | 30 |
senior citizens. | 31 |
(J) Providing home weatherization services to citizens. | 32 |
(K) Maintaining the grounds and facilities of public | 33 |
cemeteries. | 34 |
(L) Maintaining the grounds and facilities of public parks. | 35 |
(M) Development and maintenance of community gardens. | 36 |
(N) Lead paint abatement. | 37 |
Sec. 6302.02. There is the Ohio works progress | 38 |
administration. The Ohio works progress administration may be | 39 |
referred to by its initials, OWPA. | 40 |
OWPA shall be administered by the director of OWPA, who shall | 41 |
be appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the | 42 |
senate. The director is entitled to a salary of seventy-five | 43 |
thousand dollars per year. | 44 |
The director shall appoint field workers under section | 45 |
6302.03 of the Revised Code and other professional, technical, | 46 |
clerical, and supervisory personnel as are necessary to achieve | 47 |
the purposes of OWPA. | 48 |
The director and the employees of OWPA are in the | 49 |
unclassified service. | 50 |
OWPA may apply for, and may receive and accept grants, and | 51 |
may receive and accept gifts and contributions, from public and | 52 |
private sources, including agencies and instrumentalities of the | 53 |
United States and of this state, and shall deposit the grants, | 54 |
gifts, or contributions into the Ohio works progress | 55 |
administration fund. | 56 |
Sec. 6302.03. (A) There shall be field worker positions in | 57 |
OWPA. Application for a field worker position shall be in writing | 58 |
and on a form prescribed by the director of OWPA. An individual | 59 |
may be employed as an OWPA field worker if the individual meets | 60 |
all the following qualifications: | 61 |
(1) The individual is a resident of this state; | 62 |
(2) The individual is at least eighteen years of age; | 63 |
(3) The individual is unemployed, as that term is defined in | 64 |
section 4141.01 of the Revised Code; and | 65 |
(4) The individual has been awarded a high school diploma or | 66 |
a certificate of high school equivalence issued for achievement of | 67 |
specified minimum scores on the general educational development | 68 |
test of the American council on education. | 69 |
An individual may obtain a three-month exemption from the | 70 |
educational requirement by providing a signed affidavit stating | 71 |
that the individual is preparing to take the general educational | 72 |
development test. | 73 |
An individual may be employed as an artist field worker if | 74 |
the director determines that the individual has skill and | 75 |
experience as a fine artist in one or more media, including | 76 |
painting, drawing, or sculpture. | 77 |
The director may not rely on a person's prior conviction of a | 78 |
felony as the sole reason for not employing a person as a field | 79 |
worker. | 80 |
(B)(1) A minimum of fifty field workers shall be employed in | 81 |
each county, at least two of whom are artists. The artists may | 82 |
engage in work projects to fulfill the public art purpose of OWPA. | 83 |
The director shall establish policies and procedures for | 84 |
assigning field workers to the several counties. The policies and | 85 |
procedures shall be designed to achieve a gender and racial | 86 |
demographic of OWPA field workers within a county that closely | 87 |
matches the gender and racial demographic of the county. | 88 |
(2) In addition to the field workers assigned to the several | 89 |
counties, the director shall employ and assign to each county | 90 |
supervisory personnel as are necessary to schedule, direct, and | 91 |
supervise field workers. The supervisory personnel shall be | 92 |
knowledgeable and experienced in the types of work projects that | 93 |
the field workers under their supervision will be engaged in. The | 94 |
supervisory personnel are responsible, under the director's | 95 |
guidance, for identifying, and assigning field workers to, work | 96 |
projects that fulfill the purposes of OWPA. | 97 |
(C) The director shall procure housing in each county and | 98 |
shall make the housing available to field workers. The housing | 99 |
shall include necessary utilities for heat, water, and cooking. | 100 |
Field workers residing in the housing are not obligated to pay | 101 |
rent or to pay for the utilities. Field workers shall provide | 102 |
their own food, necessities, and work clothing. Field workers who | 103 |
choose not to live in the housing are not entitled to a housing | 104 |
allowance. Field workers are responsible for their own | 105 |
transportation to and from the OWPA job site to which they are | 106 |
assigned. | 107 |
(D) OWPA field workers are entitled to a salary of twenty | 108 |
seven thousand five hundred dollars per year. | 109 |
Sec. 6302.04. The director of OWPA shall adopt rules under | 110 |
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code on the following subjects: | 111 |
(A) Standards to govern work assignments; | 112 |
(B) Job descriptions and responsibilities for professional, | 113 |
technical, and clerical employees of OWPA, and for supervisory | 114 |
personnel; | 115 |
(C) Field worker standards of conduct; | 116 |
(D) Eligibility standards for senior citizens to receive | 117 |
basic home maintenance and repair services from OWPA field | 118 |
workers; | 119 |
(E) Eligibility standards for citizens to receive home | 120 |
weatherization services from OWPA field workers; | 121 |
(F) Any other subjects that will help to achieve the purposes | 122 |
of OWPA. | 123 |
Sec. 6302.05. There is the Ohio works progress | 124 |
administration fund in the state treasury. The fund shall consist | 125 |
of general revenue fund surplus revenue transferred to the fund, | 126 |
and of gifts, grants, and contributions. Investment earnings of | 127 |
the fund shall be deposited into the fund. The director shall use | 128 |
money in the fund to operate OWPA. | 129 |
Section 2. As used in this section, "surplus revenue" and | 130 |
"required year-end balance" have the meanings defined in section | 131 |
131.44 of the Revised Code. | 132 |
Notwithstanding divisions (B) and (C) of section 131.44 of | 133 |
the Revised Code, the Director of Budget and Management shall | 134 |
determine the General Revenue Fund surplus revenue that existed on | 135 |
June 30, 2011, in excess of the required year-end balance, and | 136 |
transfer that amount from the General Revenue Fund to the Ohio | 137 |
Works Progress Administration Fund. | 138 |