(A) The board of county commissioners of any county may do both of the following without following the competitive bidding requirements of section 307.86 of the Revised Code:

(1) Enter into a lease, including a lease with an option to purchase, of correctional facilities for a term not in excess of forty years. Before entering into the lease, the board shall publish, once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or as provided in section 7.16 of the Revised Code, a notice that the board is accepting proposals for a lease pursuant to this division. The notice shall state the date before which the proposals are required to be submitted in order to be considered by the board.

(2) Subject to compliance with this section, grant leases, easements, and licenses with respect to, or sell, real property owned by the county if the real property is to be leased back by the county for use as correctional facilities.

The lease under division (A)(1) of this section shall require the county to contract, in accordance with Chapter 153., sections 307.86 to 307.92, and Chapter 4115. of the Revised Code, for the construction, improvement, furnishing, and equipping of correctional facilities to be leased pursuant to this section. Prior to the board's execution of the lease, it may require the lessor under the lease to cause sufficient money to be made available to the county to enable the county to comply with the certification requirements of division (D) of section 5705.41 of the Revised Code.

A lease entered into pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section by a board may provide for the county to maintain and repair the correctional facility during the term of the leasehold, may provide for the county to make rental payments prior to or after occupation of the correctional facilities by the county, and may provide for the board to obtain and maintain any insurance that the lessor may require, including, but not limited to, public liability, casualty, builder's risk, and business interruption insurance. The obligations incurred under a lease entered into pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section shall not be considered to be within the debt limitations of section 133.07 of the Revised Code.

(B) The correctional facilities leased under division (A)(1) of this section may include any or all of the following:

(1) Facilities in which one or more other governmental entities are participating or in which other facilities of the county are included;

(2) Facilities acquired, constructed, or renovated by or on behalf of the department of rehabilitation and correction or the department of administrative services, or financed by the treasurer of state, and leased to the county pursuant to section 307.021 of the Revised Code;

(3) Correctional facilities that are under construction or have been completed and for which no permanent financing has been arranged.

(C) As used in this section:

(1) "Correctional facilities" includes, but is not limited to, jails, detention facilities, workhouses, community-based correctional facilities, and family court centers.

(2) "Construction" has the same meaning as in division (B) of section 4115.03 of the Revised Code.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 497, §101.01, eff. 7/1/2014.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.

Effective Date: 01-01-2002 .