<b>By JANE HOUIN<br>
Ohio Correspondent</b> </p><p>

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Owners of junk vehicles beware: Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland recently signed legislation giving Ohio townships the authority to remove junk vehicles from driveways, lawns, farms and other private property while assessing owners fines and the cost of cleanup.</p><p>
House Bill 50 permits township trustees to remove what are considered “junk vehicles” from private properties after giving a 14-day notice to the owner. Any costs, plus interest, become the responsibility of the landowner. If not paid directly to the township, the fees then become attached to the landowner’s property tax.</p><p>
“Junk vehicles, high weeds, debris and refuse have all been issues that townships have struggled with in the past, and the OTA (Ohio Township Assoc.) appreciates any attempts to give townships more flexibility and control over these issues,” said Michael Cochran, OTA executive director, in a letter to HB 50’s sponsor, Rep. Clyde Evans. </p><p>
“This bill, like the current law pertaining to the removal of junk vehicles in townships, is permissive in nature. House Bill 50 will permit a township to pass a resolution in order to remove junk vehicles in the unincorporated area of the township.”</p><p>
Evans is in his third term in office as the state representative from Ohio’s 87th district. From Rio Grande, Ohio, and is a member of the Ohio Farm Bureau.</p><p>
“Persons who recruit professional talent for our area are frequently embarrassed by the junk that litters our beautiful landscape,” Evans said. “God has given us the most beautiful part of the state to live in, and he did not intend for it to be a junkyard.”</p><p>
The new legislation also authorizes townships to borrow money to pay for the removal of the junk vehicles as well as for the abatement, control or removal of nuisance debris when in either case the expenses are more than $500.</p><p>
Evans said this bill provides township trustees with the authority to remove junk automobiles that violate state law by working directly with the offender. This law will give local people who want to clean up their communities more direct access to the current law.</p><p>
“This bill does not change the definition of junk vehicles,” Evans said. “If a piece of farm equipment was not junk before this bill, it will not be junk after this bill. This bill does not give trustees any more authority than they had prior to this bill. It just removes superfluous bureaucracy and permits them to administer the law as it is now written.”</p><p>
In the new law, a junk vehicle is defined as a vehicle left uncovered in the open on private property for more than 72 hours with the permission of the person having the right to the property’s possession, is three years or older, is extensively damaged - including, but not limited to, missing wheels, tires, motor or transmission, appears inoperable and has a fair market value of less than $1,500.</p><p>
According to Niki Clum, director of constituent action for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, this definition does not include tractors or other farm equipment.</p><p>
“That issue was sorted out in the Senate Committee hearings, and Farm Bureau was assured time and time again that this legislation does not apply to farm equipment and tractors,” said Clum.</p><p>
Any junk vehicle violation is considered a minor misdemeanor and punishable by a $125 fine. The law excludes any classic car undergoing restoration, but trustees can still require the vehicle to be moved or put under cover.</p><p>
“If an antique car was a piece of junk placed in an area that causes it to violate the law before this bill, it will continue to be considered in violation,” Evans said. “The antique car owners in my part of the state have no problems with this bill because they keep their properties as neat as their antique automobiles.”</p><p>
The law goes into effect 90 days from the bill’s
signing.