As used in sections 122.19 to 122.22 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Distressed area" means either a municipal corporation that has a population of at least fifty thousand or a county, that meets at least two of the following criteria of economic distress:

(1) Its average rate of unemployment, during the most recent five-year period for which data are available, is equal to at least one hundred twenty-five per cent of the average rate of unemployment for the United States for the same period.

(2) It has a per capita income equal to or below eighty per cent of the median county per capita income of the United States as determined by the most recently available figures from the United States census bureau.

(3)

(a) In the case of a municipal corporation, at least twenty per cent of the residents have a total income for the most recent census year that is below the official poverty line.

(b) In the case of a county, in intercensal years, the county has a ratio of transfer payment income to total county income equal to or greater than twenty-five per cent.

(B) "Eligible applicant" means any of the following that are designated by the legislative authority of a county, township, or municipal corporation as provided in division (B)(1) of section 122.22 of the Revised Code:

(1) A port authority as defined in division (A) of section 4582.01 or division (A) of section 4582.21 of the Revised Code;

(2) A community improvement corporation as described in section 1724.01 of the Revised Code;

(3) A community-based organization or action group that provides social services and has experience in economic development;

(4) Any other nonprofit economic development entity;

(5) A county, township, or municipal corporation if it designates itself.

(C) "Eligible area" means a distressed area, a labor surplus area, an inner city area, or a situational distress area, as designated annually by the director of development under division (A) of section 122.21 of the Revised Code.

(D) "Governing body" means, in the case of a county, the board of county commissioners; in the case of a municipal corporation, the legislative authority; and in the case of a township, the board of township trustees.

(E) "Infrastructure improvements" includes site preparation, including building demolition and removal; retention ponds and flood and drainage improvements; streets, roads, bridges, and traffic control devices; parking lots and facilities; water and sewer lines and treatment plants; gas, electric, and telecommunications hook-ups; and waterway and railway access improvements.

(F) "Inner city area" means, in a municipal corporation that has a population of at least one hundred thousand and does not meet the criteria of a labor surplus area or a distressed area, targeted investment areas established by the municipal corporation within its boundaries that are comprised of the most recent census block tracts that individually have at least twenty per cent of their population at or below the state poverty level, or other census block tracts contiguous to such census block tracts.

(G) "Labor surplus area" means an area designated as a labor surplus area by the United States department of labor.

(H) "Official poverty line" has the same meaning as in division (A) of section 3923.51 of the Revised Code.

(I) "Redevelopment plan" means a plan that includes all of the following: a plat; a land use description; identification of all utilities and infrastructure needed to develop the property, including street connections; highway, rail, air, or water access; utility connections; water and sewer treatment facilities; storm drainage; and parking, and any other elements required by a rule adopted by the director of development under division (B) of section 122.21 of the Revised Code.

(J) "Situational distress area" means a county or a municipal corporation that has experienced or is experiencing a closing or downsizing of a major employer that will adversely affect the county's or municipal corporation's economy. In order to be designated as a situational distress area for a period not to exceed thirty-six months, the county or municipal corporation may petition the director of development. The petition shall include documentation that demonstrates all of the following:

(1) The number of jobs lost by the closing or downsizing;

(2) The impact that the job loss has on the county's or municipal corporation's unemployment rate as measured by the Ohio department of job and family services;

(3) The annual payroll associated with the job loss;

(4) The amount of state and local taxes associated with the job loss;

(5) The impact that the closing or downsizing has on the suppliers located in the county or municipal corporation.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000.