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Sponsor Testimony on HB 65 — Sarah Fowler Arthur, State Representative, 99th House District

Summary

Sponsor testimony on HB 65 from Sarah Fowler Arthur, State Representative for the 99th House District, to Chairman Johnson, Vice-Chair Manchester, Ranking Member McNally and members of the committee. The testimony says HB 65 observes the same interpretation of outdoor patio spaces that was generally accepted by the state during Covid-19 closures, namely that being outdoors does not count towards the indoor capacity rating of a facility. It says the bill would codify patios as non-building facilities for the purposes of fire code, and describes the effect on local wineries and tourism. It urges support of HB65.

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“Sponsor Testimony on HB 65 — Sarah Fowler Arthur, State Representative, 99th House District.” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2023-03-28-commerce-labor-testimony-sponsor-testimony-hb-65-fa-3a519fdbf8/, SHA-256 ee98465d057ef994167b402a73b6425175f0ca719e726bfa1d6adf1e220c8416.

Full text

                                                                                                        Committees
99th House District
    Ashtabula County
                                                                                                    Aviation and Aerospace
  Columbus Office                                                                                      Behavioral Health
    Vern Riffe Center                                                                                  Families and Aging
    77 S. High Street                                                                           Primary and Secondary Education
       12th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111
     (614) 466-1405
     (800) 282-0253
  (614) 719-0000 (Fax)
 Rep99@ohiohouse.gov
                                             Sarah Fowler Arthur
   www.ohiohouse.gov                          State Representative


         Chairman Johnson, Vice-Chair Manchester, Ranking Member McNally, and members of the
         committee,

         HB 65 observes the same interpretation of outdoor patio spaces that was generally accepted by
         the state during Covid-19 closures… namely that being outdoors doesn’t count towards the
         indoor capacity rating of a facility.

         This interpretation enabled many small wineries and businesses to continue to operate in a safe
         and healthy manner during a challenging period of time. It is common sense to continue this
         interpretation when it comes to state fire codes for facilities with outdoor patios with three sides
         of safe egress.

         Last summer, my husband and I joined some friends at a local winery. There was an open yard at
         the back of the facility with a local band playing and many people stayed to enjoy the sun and
         music. We happened to be in a jurisdiction where the guests in the patio and yard didn’t count
         toward the total capacity of the facility.

         If we had been just five miles down the road, however, this same gathering would have been
         considered subject to the total capacity of the building’s fire codes. This restrictive interpretation
         severely limits the number of guests who can safely enjoy our local wineries, harming our local
         businesses and tourism.

         I urge your support of HB65 to codify patios as non-building facilities for the purposes of fire
         code. Thank you.




         Sarah Fowler Arthur

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