Explanation
On September 21, 2020, City Council passed Ordinance 1802-2020, creating a new chapter of the Columbus City Codes, Chapter 377, Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement. Chapter 377 sets forth various provisions designed to ensure that entities who commit wage theft or payroll fraud do not do business with, or otherwise benefit from, contracts with the City of Columbus. To that end, Ordinance 1802-2020 created a Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement Commission, and set forth the procedures by which members of the Commission are to be appointed. Division (d) of Section 377.02 currently provides that all initial appointments of members shall occur no later than January 15, 2021. It is necessary to amend Section 377.02(d) to allow additional time for the initial members of the Wage Theft Prevention and Enforcement Commission to be appointed and seated.
The remedies for violations of Chapter 377 are set forth in Section 377.12. Section 377.12 currently contemplates that financial incentive agreements, including tax increment financing agreements, may be subject to termination for violations of Chapter 377. Tax increment financing agreements, unlike many other financial incentive agreements, provide funding for public infrastructure improvements and other improvements designed to facilitate urban redevelopment within the City of Columbus. These improvements often require bond financing or other front-end financing, which in turn is serviced by the service payments generated by the tax increment financing. Feedback from the community has made clear that rendering tax increment financing agreements subject to termination for violations of Chapter 377 could undermine the ability of entities and the City to secure such front-end financing for such improvements. It is, therefore, necessary to amend Section 377.12 to make clear that tax increment financing agreements which pledge service payments for the repayment of bond or other financing will not be su...
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