On Wednesday, June 1, the Ohio General Assembly passed HB 430 that, among other things, includes a statewide prohibition against local rent control ordinances and regulations. The bill has been sent to the governor for his signature.

Perhaps the most significant change in decades to Ohio real property tax valuation contests has been adopted by the Ohio General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor DeWine on April 21, 2022.

On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to Regulation S-K and Regulation S-X to require registrants to disclose climate-related information in registration statements, annual reports on Form 10-K and audited financial statements filed with the SEC. These proposed rules represent the SEC’s latest effort to advance the climate agenda of the Biden Administration, which describes climate change as “systematic to our economy and financial system.”

Covering real property taxation across the United States

Taxpayers seeking to contest real property tax values established by assessing jurisdictions across the country often have a short window of opportunity to contest their new valuation.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released a detailed guidance and brief fact sheet on March 8, 2022, providing details on how money from the new infrastructure law will be distributed to communities needing federal funds for local sewer and water projects.

The State of Ohio requires counties to reappraise real property tax values every six years. In the interim, the counties are required to update values in the middle of that cycle.

Vorys is a law firm, not an accounting firm. Nevertheless, because the topic addressed herein is important and timely for our economic development incentives clients, we decided to publish this client alert.

On December 7, 2021, Governor DeWine issued Executive Order 2021-16D authorizing the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) to adopt temporary rules for the Brownfield Remediation Fund (the “Brownfield Program”) and the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program (the “Demolition Program”).

On December 15, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) proposed amendments to the affirmative defense under Rule 10b5-1 and the Commission’s rules governing disclosure of share buybacks under Item 703 of Regulation S-K. The Commission also proposed new rules requiring disclosure of insider trading policies and practices and the creation of Form SR requiring accelerated disclosure relating to share buybacks. The proposed rules will be subject to a 45-day comment period following publication in the Federal Register.

The Ohio Senate recently passed, by a 24-7 vote, Amended House Bill 126 (“HB 126”) that will significantly change the administration of Ohio’s real property tax system if it is also passed by the House and signed by the Governor. It is unusual for us to report on pending legislation, but given the significance of the changes and the fact that it is already impacting pending matters this unusual step is warranted.

Vorys is a law firm, not an accounting firm. Nevertheless, because the topic addressed herein is important and timely for our economic development incentives clients, we decided to publish this client alert.

On November 17, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted final rules requiring parties in a contested election of directors to use “universal proxy cards” that include all duly-nominated director candidates presented for election at a shareholder meeting, whether nominated by the company or a dissident shareholder.

The No Surprises Act (NSA), part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, provides protections against certain types of surprise medical bills.

The USEPA's latest proposal for additional per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulation is currently under agency review for finalization after the comment period on the proposed rule closed last week.

The Supreme Court of Ohio recently agreed to consider an appeal challenging the constitutionality of Ohio’s statutory cap on noneconomic tort damages, Revised Code section 2315.18.