The newly created Ohio Self Storage Association, which began last year as a charter organization of the national Self Storage Association (SSA), is working with a lobbyist to update the states current self-storage lien law. Rep. Jim Butler (R-Dayton) has agreed to attach self-storage-related language to House Bill 247 (HB 247), a bill originally designed to establish a new process for collecting unpaid debts owed to state courts.
According to this weeks SSA newsletter, The Monday Morning Globe, the revisions to Ohio's self-storage lien process are similar to those that have been lobbied for and successfully implemented in several other states, including changing the delinquency-notification method to include means other than certified mail. However, the changes and self-storage-related language have not yet been inserted into the bill, which can be tracked at www.legislature.state.oh.us/search.cfm. Interested parties should type "247" into the field and select "House" and "129th General Assembly.
The measure has already passed the House and is currently being considered in the Senate. If passed in the Senate, the bill with the new language can be approved through amendments in the House, a common legislative option in many states. Ohio's legislative session runs through the end of the year.
The current Ohio self-storage lien statute can be read in its entirety at www.insideselfstorage.com/lien-laws.aspx.
According to the SSA, Ohio has the fourth largest number of self-storage facilities in the country. Ohio also has a self-storage sales tax, which the state enacted in 2003.
Sources:
- Self Storage Association: The Monday Morning Globe, May 7, 2012