COLUMBUS - Ohio lawmakers left the Capitol on Thursday without passing a bill that promised sweeping changes to the rules cities must obey to annex land.

        After 35 years of failed attempts to give townships more power to thwart city land grabs, lawmakers finally appeared close to passing a plan. But House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, R-Reynoldsburg, refused to grant a critical vote in her chamber that would have helped send it to Gov. Bob Taft.

        “My concern is that medium-sized cities and medium-sized developers really get closed out by this bill,” Ms. Davidson said Thursday.

        The measure appeared doomed, because lawmakers were expect ed to wrap up their work in the 2000 General Assembly this week.

        The House is expected to meet one last time Tuesday.

        The bill was an attempt to settle a decades-old fight over which government gets to control and tax property in fast-growing areas. Townships have long complained state law gives cities unfettered rights to gobble up their land.

        Under the proposal, county commissioners would be granted more leeway to consider township objections in annexation cases. The bill also would have given townships shares of the taxes from annexed properties to help ease the loss of land.

        Although it was given a 50-50 chance of becoming law, worried city officials and developers pushed a flurry of last-minute annexations in Warren County.

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