As Reported by the Senate State and Local Government 1
and Veterans Affairs Committee 2
123rd General Assembly 5
Regular Session Sub. H. B. No. 204 6
1999-2000 7
REPRESENTATIVES SCHULER-WINKLER-TAYLOR-VAN VYVEN-EVANS-VESPER- 8
OLMAN-JAMES-TERWILLEGER-CLANCY-ROMAN-CAREY-VERICH-SULZER- 10
SENATORS SCHAFRATH-SPADA-GARDNER
_________________________________________________________________ 12
A B I L L
To amend sections 505.371 and 505.391 of the Revised 14
Code and to amend Section 165 of Am. Sub. H.B. 15
215 of the 122nd General Assembly to permit the
political subdivisions that comprise a joint fire 16
district to pay the district's charges for 17
ambulance or emergency medical services provided
to their respective residents under certain 18
circumstances, to permit two or more municipal
corporations to form a joint fire district, to 19
permit a fee to be charged for false fire alarms 20
from residential buildings in townships or fire
districts, and to extend to December 15, 2002, 21
the general moratorium on the issuance of new 22
licenses to manufacturers or wholesalers of
fireworks and on approvals of the transfer of 23
their licenses to other locations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 25
Section 1. That sections 505.371 and 505.391 of the 27
Revised Code be amended to read as follows: 29
Sec. 505.371. (A) The boards of township trustees of one 38
or more townships and the legislative authorities of any one or 39
more municipal corporations, OR THE LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITIES OF 40
TWO OR MORE MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS, or the boards of township 42
2
trustees of two or more townships, may, by adoption of a joint 43
resolution by a majority of the members of each board of township 44
trustees and by a majority of the members of the legislative 45
authority of each municipal corporation, create a joint fire 46
district comprising the municipal corporations and all or any 47
portions of the townships as are mutually agreed upon. A joint 48
fire district so created shall be given a name different from the 49
name of any participating township or municipal corporation. 50
(B) The governing body of the joint fire district shall be 52
a board of fire district trustees, which shall include one 53
representative from each board of township trustees and one 54
representative from the legislative authority of each municipal 55
corporation in the district. The board of fire district trustees 56
may exercise the same powers as are granted to a board of 57
township trustees in sections 505.37 to 505.45 of the Revised 58
Code, including, but not limited to, the power to levy a tax upon 59
all taxable property in the fire district as provided in section 60
505.39 of the Revised Code. The board of fire district trustees 61
may be compensated at a rate not to exceed thirty dollars per 62
meeting, not to exceed fifteen meetings per year, and may be 63
reimbursed for all necessary expenses incurred. The board shall 64
employ a clerk of the board of fire district trustees. 65
(C)(1) The board of fire district trustees may establish 67
reasonable charges for the use of ambulance or emergency medical 69
services. The board may establish different charges for 70
residents and nonresidents of the district, and may WAIVE, at its 72
discretion, waive all or part of the charge for any resident of
the district. The charge for nonresidents shall be an amount not 73
less than the authorized medicare reimbursement rate, except that 74
if, prior to the effective date of this amendment FEBRUARY 4, 76
1998, the board had different charges for residents and 77
nonresidents and the charge for nonresidents was less than the 78
authorized medicare reimbursement rate, the board may charge 79
nonresidents less than the authorized medicare reimbursement 80
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rate. Charges
(2) IN THE RESOLUTION CREATING THE JOINT FIRE DISTRICT, 82
THE POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS THAT CREATE THE DISTRICT MAY PROVIDE 83
THAT ANY OF THOSE POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS MAY AGREE TO PAY ANY 84
CHARGES FOR THE USE OF AMBULANCE OR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES 85
THAT THE BOARD OF FIRE DISTRICT TRUSTEES ESTABLISHES UNDER 86
DIVISION (C)(1) OF THIS SECTION AND THAT ARE INCURRED BY THE 87
RESIDENTS OF THE PARTICULAR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION. UNLESS THE
BOARD ELECTS PURSUANT TO THAT DIVISION TO WAIVE ALL OR PART OF 88
THE CHARGES FOR THE USE OF AMBULANCE OR EMERGENCY MEDICAL 89
SERVICES THAT ANY RESIDENT OF THE DISTRICT INCURS, THE RESIDENTS 90
OF A PARTICULAR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION THAT HAS NOT SO AGREED TO 91
PAY THE CHARGES FOR THE USE OF AMBULANCE OR EMERGENCY MEDICAL
SERVICES INCURRED BY ITS RESIDENTS SHALL PAY THOSE CHARGES. 92
(3) CHARGES collected under DIVISION (C) OF this paragraph 95
SECTION shall be kept in a separate fund designated as "the 96
ambulance and emergency medical services fund," and shall be 98
appropriated and administered by the board. These funds THE FUND 101
shall be used for the payment of the costs of the management, 102
maintenance, and operation of ambulance and emergency medical 103
services in the district. As 104
(4) AS used in DIVISION (C) OF this paragraph SECTION, 107
"authorized medicare reimbursement rate" has the same meaning as 108
in section 505.84 of the Revised Code. 109
(D) Any municipal corporation or township, or parts of 111
them, may join an existing joint fire district by the adoption of 113
a resolution requesting such membership and upon approval of the 114
board of fire district trustees. Any municipal corporation or 115
township may withdraw from a joint fire district created under 116
this section, by the adoption of a resolution ordering 117
withdrawal. On or after the first day of January of the year 118
following the adoption of the resolution of withdrawal, the 119
municipal corporation or township withdrawing ceases to be a part 120
of such district, and the power of the joint fire district to 121
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levy a tax upon taxable property in the withdrawing township or 123
municipal corporation terminates, except that the joint fire 124
district shall continue to levy and collect taxes for the payment 125
of indebtedness within the territory of the joint fire district 126
as it was comprised at the time the indebtedness was incurred. 127
Upon the withdrawal of any township or municipal 129
corporation from a joint fire district created under this 130
section, the county auditor shall ascertain, apportion, and order 131
a division of the funds on hand, including funds in the ambulance 132
and emergency medical services fund, moneys and taxes in the 133
process of collection, except for taxes levied for the payment of 134
indebtedness, credits, and real and personal property, either in 135
money or in kind, on the basis of the valuation of the respective 136
tax duplicates of the withdrawing municipal corporation or 137
township and the remaining territory of the joint fire district. 138
When the number of townships and municipal corporations 140
comprising a joint fire district is reduced to one, the joint 141
fire district ceases to exist by operation of law, and the funds, 142
credits, and property remaining after apportionments to 143
withdrawing municipal corporations or townships, shall be assumed 144
by the one remaining township or municipal corporation. When a 145
joint fire district ceases to exist and an indebtedness remains 146
unpaid, the board of county commissioners shall continue to levy 147
and collect taxes for the payment of such indebtedness within the 148
territory of the joint fire district as it was comprised at the 149
time the indebtedness was incurred. 150
Sec. 505.391. If, after the fire department of a township, 159
township fire district, or joint fire district, or a private fire 160
company with which the fire department of a township, township 161
fire district, or joint fire district contracts for fire 162
protection, responds to a false alarm from an automatic fire 163
alarm system at a commercial establishment OR RESIDENTIAL 164
BUILDING, the board of township trustees gives written notice by 166
certified mail to the owner and the lessee, if any, of the 167
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building in which the system is installed that the board IT may 168
assess a charge of up to three hundred dollars for each 170
subsequent false alarm within a period of thirty days after any 171
false alarm by that system, the board of township trustees may 172
assess such a THAT charge. THIS NOTICE SHALL BE MAILED TO THE 173
OWNER AND THE LESSEE, IF ANY, OF THE BUILDING IN WHICH THE SYSTEM 174
IS INSTALLED. After the board gives written THIS notice by 175
certified mail once to an owner and lessee, if any, the board 177
need not give any additional written notices before assessing a 178
charge for a false alarm as provided by this section. If not 179
paid within sixty days after the owner OR LESSEE receives A 180
written notice by certified mail that a charge has been assessed, 182
such charges THE CHARGE shall be entered upon the real property 183
tax list and tax duplicate and, shall be a lien upon the property 185
served, and shall be collected as other taxes. Charges collected 186
under this section shall be returned to the township general 187
fund. 188
As used in this section, "commercial establishment" means a 190
building or buildings in an area used primarily for 191
nonresidential, commercial purposes. 192
Section 2. That existing sections 505.371 and 505.391 of 194
the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 196
Section 3. For those joint fire districts created prior to 198
and in existence on the effective date of this act, the joint 199
resolution creating the district may be amended to permit, on and 200
after the amendment's effective date, any of the political 201
subdivisions involved to agree to pay any charges for the use of
ambulance or emergency medical services incurred by the residents 202
of the particular political subdivision in accordance with 203
section 505.371 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act. 204
Section 4. That Section 165 of Am. Sub. H.B. 215 of the 206
122nd General Assembly be amended to read as follows: 207
"Sec. 165. During the period beginning on the effective 209
date of this section AMENDMENT and ending on December 15, 1999 210
6
2002, the State Fire Marshal shall not do either ANY of the 212
following:
(A) Issue a license as a manufacturer of fireworks under 214
sections 3743.02 and 3743.03 of the Revised Code to a person for 215
a particular fireworks plant unless that person possessed such a 216
license for that fireworks plant immediately prior to the 217
effective date of this section JUNE 30, 1997; 218
(B) Issue a license as a wholesaler of fireworks under 220
sections 3743.15 and 3743.16 of the Revised Code to a person for 221
a particular location unless that person possessed such a license 222
for that location immediately prior to the effective date of this 223
section JUNE 30, 1997;
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this 225
section, approve the transfer of a license as a manufacturer or 226
wholesaler of fireworks under Chapter 3743. of the Revised Code 227
to any location other than a location for which a license was 228
issued under that chapter immediately prior to the effective date 229
of this section JUNE 30, 1997. 230
(2) Division (C)(1) of this section does not apply to a 232
transfer that the Fire Marshal approves pursuant to division 233
(D)(2) of section 3743.17 of the Revised Code." 234
Section 5. That existing Section 165 of Am. Sub. H.B. 215 236
of the 122nd General Assembly is hereby repealed. 237