City of Cleveland Files Suit Over State's Elimination of Residency Requirements

The City of Cleveland filed a declaratory judgment action, seeking to declare S.B. 82 unconstitutional. See City of Cleveland v. State of Ohio, Cuyahoga Common Pleas Case No. CV-06-590414. S.B. 82 prohibits cities from imposing residency requirements on city workers.  The City of Cleveland asserts that this Act violates the home rule provisions of the Ohio Constitution.  Firefighters Local 93 filed their own lawsuit, asking the court to strike down Cleveland's residency requirements as being contrary to state law. See Cities Sue over Residency Law Change by Jay Miller, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 1, 2006.  See our previous post Residency Requirements: Pitting Home Rule Amendment vs. Employee Welfare Amendment .