Substitute House Bill 500 Summary

• Amends multiple sections of Ohio Revised Code governing township administration, including board trustee elections, zoning procedures, property taxation exemptions, and infrastructure improvements.

• Modifies terminology to use gender-neutral language (e.g., "chairperson" instead of "president") throughout township governance sections.

• Increases the threshold for township obligations requiring board authorization from $2,000 to $10,500 and adjusts monetary limits for various township authority provisions.

• Appropriates $100,000 to defray costs of ongoing Pike County capital case litigation and increases police and fire death benefit appropriations by $5.5 million.

• Allows boards of township trustees that own wells to participate in joint self-insurance pools to satisfy liability insurance requirements, and permits electronic certification of ballot questions to boards of elections.