State Representative Louis Terhar (R-Cincinnati) has announced that the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 408, which changes the composition of certain metropolitan housing authorities.

House Bill 408 creates a new model for appointing members of the board of a metropolitan housing authority within a county that has a population greater than 700,000 but less than 900,000, which means that only Hamilton County and the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority would be affected by this change. The total number of board members would also be increased from five to seven.

“This is in line with the principle that the best government results when that government is closest to the people it affects,” said Representative Terhar.

For most housing authority boards, the five members include: one member appointed by the probate court, one by the court of common pleas, one by the board of county commissioners, and two by the chief executive officer of the most populous city in the district.

According to the new model under the bill, the probate court, court of common pleas, and county commissioners would still pick one board member each, but the bill would make two changes to the process by:

• Giving authority to the mayor, subject to approval by city council, of the most populous city in the district to appoint two members, as opposed to the chief executive officer
• Allowing both the township association and the municipal league of the respective county to nominate two additional members, subject to the approval of the board of county commissioners

House Bill 408 passed with bipartisan support and will now be sent to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.