COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio House has passed a bill that would establish a state tourism advisory board and also fine tune elements of the state's new private job creation entity called JobsOhio.
The measure was approved Wednesday evening on a 91-5 vote and gives the Ohio Department of Development a new name called the Ohio Development Services Agency. The change comes as part of the transfer of economic development duties from the department to JobsOhio. The bill now heads to the Senate.
The privatization effort has left the Development Department smaller than it was a year ago.
The bill would create the TourismOhio Advisory Board to advise the agency's director on state tourism. It also would establish a pilot program to test a new funding mechanism for Ohio's travel and tourism marketing.