Ohio committee adopts amendments to Senate Bill 147 after hours of testimony over Seneca County landfill

The House Community Revitalization Committee on Oct. 27 advanced amendments to Senate Bill 147 after hearing more than three hours of testimony on proposed changes to Ohio's solid‑waste fee structure and local oversight.

Chairman Click moved, and the committee approved by voice consent, three amendments that (1) clarify how a county can withdraw from a joint solid waste management district and leave the regional authority to operate under its existing bylaws; (2) allow counties that are parties to a memorandum of understanding, or a court overseeing such an MOU, to allocate planning funds for newly formed solid‑waste districts; and (3) harmonize a phased‑in construction and demolition debris (CNDD) disposal fee so the new fee during the first two years can be charged only at an “authorized county” — language the amendment ties to a county population threshold and, as amended, applies to Seneca County. The chair said there were “no objections,” and each amendment was added to the bill by unanimous voice consent.

The committee then took testimony on the amended bill. Katie Rafferty Evans, testifying for the National Waste and Recycling Association as an interested party, described the private sector's role in waste collection and said the industry prefers not to be a “tax collector” but recognizes a need to fund…