Hall's Bill Championing Townships and Municipalities Signed into Law

COLUMBUS — State Rep. Thomas Hall (R-Madison Twp.) spearheaded House Bill 377 as one of the primary sponsors, which was signed into law on Tuesday. The bill includes $422 million in funding to the Office of Budget and Management to disburse to local governments in accordance with the American Rescue Plan Act. 

Hall attended the bill signing ceremony earlier today.

“As a former Madison Township Trustee, I have seen firsthand the issues that have come up due to the pandemic,” Hall said. “This critical funding in the legislation is going to help townships recover from the effects of the pandemic and I am very excited to deliver these dollars to our local communities to support them moving forward.”

Hall notes that townships provide essential local government services to four million Ohioans, including police and fire protection, road maintenance and repair, waste disposal and other services. The purpose of this bill is to match the stated intent of Congress, providing recovery dollars to all local governments and to not exclude them from this crucial funding.

In addition to the $422 million for townships, the bill invests $500 million into Ohio’s 32-county Appalachian region. The Appalachian Community Grant Program provides funding for projects to revitalize the region and the Appalachian Planning Grants to assist developers with research, planning costs and to support project implementation.

Hall joint sponsored the legislation alongside State Rep. D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) and was approved by the General Assembly in June.