( CINCINNATI, OH ) -- Cincinnati City Council voted to vote their opposition to House Bill 49, which is currently before the Ohio Senate. House Bill 49 would remove the authority of local governments to abate lead hazards. The city solicitor's office says that HB49 was added to the state budget after the Association of Realtors opposed the inspection of 55,000 housing units in Toledo for lead-based paint violations.
Mayor John Cranley says that the bill is very broad, in that it not only prevents local governments from doing anything to prevent lead-based paint violations, but would also prevent them from removing or preventing the use of lead pipes that could be hazardous.
City Councilman PG Sittenfeld says this is part of a larger, "troubling pattern" of the state to strip away the power of local governments. He was one of the votes on council that will oppose HB49 from becoming law.