Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 731
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 731.01 (2026)

Members of legislative authority

✓ current as of May 2026
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Effective:
March 2, 1992
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 228 - 119th General Assembly
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(A) Except as provided in divisions (B) and (D) of this section, the legislative power of each city shall be vested in, and exercised by, a legislative authority, composed of not fewer than seven members, four of whom shall be elected by wards and three of whom shall be elected by electors of the city at large. For the first twenty thousand inhabitants in any city, in addition to the original five thousand, there shall be two additional members of such legislative authority, elected by wards, and for every fifteen thousand inhabitants thereafter there shall be one additional member similarly elected. The total number of members of such legislative authority shall not exceed seventeen.

(B) The legislative power of a city may be vested in, and exercised by, a legislative authority composed of not fewer than five nor more than seventeen members, to be determined in the manner provided in this division, and in lieu of the number required in division (A) of this section. Under the alternative plan for the composition of the legislative authority, the number of members shall be fixed in a resolution which may be submitted to the electors for their approval or rejection by a two-thirds vote of the members of the legislative authority, or by the people through an initiative petition in accordance with section 731.28 of the Revised Code. Such a resolution passed by the legislative authority shall not be subject to veto by the mayor, need not be published, and shall be immediately effective for purposes of placing such issue on the ballot. The resolution shall be submitted to the electors at the next general or primary election occurring not less than seventy-five days after its passage by the legislative authority, or the certification of the text of a resolution proposed by initiative petition to the board of elections. The resolution shall specify the total number of members, the number to be elected from the city at large, and the number to be elected from wards. Members may all be elected from the city at large or all elected from wards, or some may be elected from the city at large and the remainder elected from wards, as determined by the resolution. A resolution that changes the total number of members shall specify the method by which the change in number is to take effect, but no reduction in the number of members shall terminate the term of an incumbent. When the number of members elected from wards is changed, new ward boundaries shall be determined as provided in section 731.06 of the Revised Code.

(C) The number of members of the legislative authority determined under an alternative plan for the composition of the legislative authority under division (B) of this section may be changed or abandoned by a resolution submitted to the electors in the same manner as provided in division (B) of this section for a resolution to institute such an alternative plan. When the alternative plan for determining the number of members of the legislative authority under division (B) of this section is abandoned, the number of members of the legislative authority shall be determined by division (A) of this section.

(D) When a city has just been incorporated from township territory pursuant to Chapter 707. of the Revised Code, the legislative authority of the city initially shall be vested in and exercised by a legislative authority composed of not fewer than seven members elected by electors of the city at large. In all subsequent elections for the city legislative authority, the members shall be elected as provided in division (A) of this section.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1962–2019 · leading case: Mollette v. Portsmouth City Council, 902 N.E.2d 515 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008).
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Mollette v. Portsmouth City Council, 902 N.E.2d 515 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008). “” R.C. 731.01; R.C. 731.04; R.C. *472 731.05.”
State ex rel. Hasselbach v. Sandusky Cty. Bd. of Elections (Slip Opinion), 2019 Ohio 3751 (Ohio 2019). “See R.C. 731.01(A). There were only six council members at the June 6 meeting because one member had died on June 3.”
Rispo Inv. Co. v. City of Seven Hills, 629 N.E.2d 3 (Ohio Ct. App. 1993). “In their complaint, appellees stated that appellants had adopted charters pursuant to R.C. 731.01 et seq. In count one, appellees alleged that appellant city of Seven Hills (“Seven Hills”) had adopted a charter provision 2 (hereinafter, the “ward approval requirement”) which…”
City of Sidney v. Thompson, 196 N.E.2d 112 (Ohio Ct. App. 1962). · cites it 2× “The defendant, Janies Thompson, appellant herein, was tried without a jury and convicted in the Sidney Municipal Court for a violation of Section 731.01 of the ordinances of that city (driving while intoxicated).”
Ohio Rev. Code § 731.01(A): 1 case
State ex rel. Hasselbach v. Sandusky Cty. Bd. of Elections (Slip Opinion), 2019 Ohio 3751 (Ohio 2019). “See R.C. 731.01(A). There were only six council members at the June 6 meeting because one member had died on June 3.”
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