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Written Opponent Testimony, House Bill 307 — Ohio House Development Committee (Oct. 8, 2025)

Summary

Written opponent testimony on House Bill 307 dated October 8, 2025 from Kent Scarrett, executive director of the Ohio Municipal League, to the Ohio House Development Committee. The league is described as a statewide association representing more than 730 of Ohio's cities and villages. The testimony opposes House Bill 307 because it would impose significant, unfunded costs on local governments and their residents without a sustainable funding mechanism. It states that the bill would require the replacement of all lead service lines in Ohio within 15 years and cites a Legislative Service Commission estimate of approximately $16.1 billion statewide.

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“Written Opponent Testimony, House Bill 307 — Ohio House Development Committee (Oct. 8, 2025).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2025-10-08-development-testimony-testimony-10883-da16562542/, SHA-256 26dd50a951c786472ab41488746d522f3560ccad00d1d3ccfade750d73b32ccb.

Full text

                         OHIO HOUSE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

                                          Oct. 8, 2025

                                 Written Opponent Testimony
                                        House Bill 307

Chair Hoops, Vice Chair Lorenz, Ranking Member Brownlee, and members of the Ohio House
Development Committee:
My name is Kent Scarrett, and I am the executive director of the Ohio Municipal League, a
statewide association representing more than 730 of Ohio’s cities and villages. On behalf of the
league, thank you for the opportunity to provide written opponent testimony on House Bill 307, a
bill that seeks to eliminate lead service lines across the state.
The league and our member municipalities share the goal of Ohioans having access to clean
drinking water free from the dangers of lead contamination. Ohio’s municipal leaders have long
worked with the Ohio EPA and local health departments to identify and replace lead service
lines, protect public health, and comply with federal and state drinking water standards.
However, we respectfully oppose House Bill 307 because it would impose significant, unfunded
costs on local governments and their residents without providing a sustainable funding
mechanism to achieve its ambitious goals.
House Bill 307 would require the replacement of all lead service lines in Ohio within 15 years of
its effective date — an undertaking that the Legislative Service Commission estimates would
cost approximately $16.1 billion statewide. Compliance would be significant for local
governments, even assuming the use of state and federal grants.
While the bill allows systems to recover costs through rates, rents, and charges, that authority
already exists — and in practice, it means passing costs directly to local residents and small
businesses. For most communities, that is not a viable or equitable solution.
We urge lawmakers to recognize that even the best-intentioned mandates can fail if local
governments are financially unable to implement them.
The Ohio Municipal League therefore urges this committee to oppose the bill. Thank you for the
opportunity to comment on this legislation.

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