(A) The Ohio turnpike and infrastructure commission may do any of the following:
(1) Adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;
(2) Adopt an official seal, which shall not be the great seal of the state and which need not be in compliance with section5.10of the Revised Code;
(3) Maintain a principal office and suboffices at such places within the state as it designates;
(4) With respect to the Ohio turnpike system and turnpike projects, sue and be sued in its own name, plead and be impleaded, provided any actions against the commission shall be brought in the court of common pleas of the county in which the principal office of the commission is located, or in the court of common pleas of the county in which the cause of action arose if that county is located within this state, and all summonses, exceptions, and notices of every kind shall be served on the commission by leaving a copy thereof at its principal office with the secretary-treasurer or executive director of the commission;
(5) With respect to infrastructure projects only, sue and be sued in its own name, plead and be impleaded, provided any actions against the commission shall be brought in the court of common pleas of Franklin county, and all summonses, exceptions, and notices of every kind shall be served on the commission by leaving a copy thereof at its principal office with the secretary-treasurer or executive director of the commission.
(6) Construct, maintain, repair, police, and operate the turnpike system, and establish rules for the use of any turnpike project;
(7) Issue revenue bonds of the state, payable solely from pledged revenues, as provided in this chapter, for the purpose of paying any part of the cost of constructing any one or more turnpike projects or infrastructure projects;
(8) Fix, and revise from time to time, and charge and collect tolls by any method approved by the commission, including, but not limited to, manual methods or through electronic technology accepted within the tolling industry;
(9) Acquire, hold, and dispose of property in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under this chapter;
(10) Designate the locations and establish, limit, and control such points of ingress to and egress from each turnpike project as are necessary or desirable in the judgment of the commission and of the director of transportation to ensure the proper operation and maintenance of that turnpike project, and prohibit entrance to such a turnpike project from any point not so designated;
(11) Make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this chapter, including participation in a multi-jurisdiction electronic toll collection agreement and collection or remittance of tolls, fees, or other charges to or from entities or agencies that participate in such an agreement; the commission also may enter into agreements with retail locations, including deputy registrars, to allow the general public to acquire electronic toll collection devices, commonly known as transponders, from the retail locations for such reasonable fees as are established by the commission;
(12) Employ or retain or contract for the services of consulting engineers, superintendents, managers, and any other engineers, construction and accounting experts, financial advisers, trustees, marketing, remarketing, and administrative agents, attorneys, and other employees, independent contractors, or agents that are necessary in its judgment and fix their compensation, provided all such expenses shall be payable solely from the proceeds of bonds or from revenues of the Ohio turnpike system;
(13) Receive and accept from any federal agency, subject to the approval of the governor, and from any other governmental agency grants for or in aid of the construction, reconstruction, repair, renovation, maintenance, or operation of any turnpike project, and receive and accept aid or contributions from any source or person of money, property, labor, or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied only for the purposes for which such grants and contributions are made;
(14) Provide coverage for its employees under Chapters 4123. and 4141. of the Revised Code;
(15) Fix and revise by rule, from time to time, such permit fees, processing fees, or administrative charges for the prepayment, deferred payment, or nonpayment of tolls and use of electronic tolling equipment or other commission property;
(16) Adopt rules for all of the following:
(a) The issuance of citations by a policing authority, the issuance of citations through administrative means, and the issuance of invoices by the commission to any person that fails to pay the tolls or fees established for the use of any turnpike project;
(b) The issuance of a second invoice to any person who fails to remit payment of a toll or fee to the commission for more than thirty days after issuance of the first invoice and for the imposition of associated late fees;
(c) The implementation of procedures whereby a person may dispute an invoice with the commission through an administrative hearing at the commission's principal office as authorized under section5537.041of the Revised Code;
(d) The implementation of procedures whereby a person may appeal the decision of an administrative hearing in the manner described in section5537.041of the Revised Code.
(17) Approve funding and authorize agreements with the department of transportation for the funding of infrastructure projects recommended by the director of transportation pursuant to the criteria established by rule under section5537.18of the Revised Code.
(B) The commission may do all acts necessary or proper to carry out the powers expressly granted in this chapter.
(C) As used in this section and section5537.041of the Revised Code, "person" has the same meaning as in section1745.05of the Revised Code.
Last updated January 19, 2022 at 1:11 PM