As Introduced 1
123rd General Assembly 4
Regular Session H. B. No. 701 5
1999-2000 6
REPRESENTATIVES PETERSON-GOODMAN-AUSTRIA-TRAKAS-ALLEN- 8
HOLLISTER-BUEHRER-HOOPS-HARRIS-KRUPINSKI-PRINGLE-CLANCY- 9
FLANNERY-EVANS-TERWILLEGER-DAMSCHRODER-A. CORE-TAYLOR 10
_________________________________________________________________ 11
A B I L L
To amend section 301.28 and to enact section 955.013 13
of the Revised Code to authorize county auditors 14
to allow for the registration of dogs via the
Internet and to accept the payment of dog 15
registration fees by financial transaction 16
devices.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 18
Section 1. That section 301.28 be amended and section 20
955.013 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: 21
Sec. 301.28. (A) As used in this section: 30
(1) "Financial transaction device" includes a credit card, 33
debit card, charge card, or prepaid or stored value card.
(2) "County expenses" includes fees, costs, taxes, 35
assessments, fines, penalties, payments, or any other expense a 36
person owes to a county office under the authority of a county 37
elected official OTHER THAN DOG REGISTRATION FEES REQUIRED TO BE 38
PAID UNDER CHAPTER 955. OF THE REVISED CODE. 39
(3) "County elected official" includes the county auditor, 42
county treasurer, county engineer, county recorder, county 43
prosecuting attorney, county sheriff, and county coroner, and the
clerk of the court of common pleas, the clerk of a 44
county-operated municipal court, and the clerk of a county court. 46
(B) Notwithstanding any other section of the Revised Code 48
and except as provided in division (D) of this section, a board 50
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of county commissioners may adopt a resolution authorizing the 51
acceptance of payments by financial transaction devices for 52
county expenses. The resolution shall include the following: 53
(1) A specification of those county elected officials who 55
are authorized to accept payments by financial transaction 56
devices;
(2) A list of county expenses that may be paid for through 59
the use of a financial transaction device;
(3) Specific identification of financial transaction 61
devices that the board authorizes as acceptable means of payment 63
for county expenses. Uniform acceptance of financial transaction 64
devices among different types of county expenses is not required. 65
(4) The amount, if any, authorized as a surcharge or 67
convenience fee under division (E) of this section for persons 68
using a financial transaction device. Uniform application of 70
surcharges or convenience fees among different types of county 71
expenses is not required.
(5) A specific provision as provided in division (G) of 73
this section requiring the payment of a penalty if a payment made 74
by means of a financial transaction device is returned or 75
dishonored for any reason.
The board's resolution shall also designate the county 77
treasurer as an administrative agent to solicit proposals, within 78
guidelines established by the board in the resolution and in 79
compliance with the procedures provided in division (C) of this 80
section, from financial institutions, issuers of financial 81
transaction devices, and processors of financial transaction 82
devices, to make recommendations about those proposals to the 83
board, and to assist county offices in implementing the county's 84
financial transaction devices program. The county treasurer may 85
decline this responsibility within thirty days after receiving a 86
copy of the board's resolution by notifying the board in writing 87
within that period. If the treasurer so notifies the board, the 88
board shall perform the duties of the administrative agent.
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If the county treasurer is the administrative agent and 90
fails to administer the county financial transaction devices 91
program in accordance with the guidelines in the board's 92
resolution, the board shall notify the treasurer in writing of 93
the board's findings, explain the failures, and give the
treasurer six months to correct the failures. If the treasurer 94
fails to make the appropriate corrections within that six-month 95
period, the board may pass a resolution declaring the board to be 96
the administrative agent. The board may later rescind that 97
resolution at its discretion.
(C) The county shall follow the procedures provided in 99
this division whenever it plans to contract with financial 100
institutions, issuers of financial transaction devices, or 101
processors of financial transaction devices for the purposes of 102
this section. The administrative agent shall request proposals 103
from at least three financial institutions, issuers of financial 104
transaction devices, or processors of financial transaction 105
devices, as appropriate in accordance with the resolution adopted 107
under division (B) of this section. Prior to sending any
financial institution, issuer, or processor a copy of any such 108
request, the county shall advertise its intent to request 109
proposals in a newspaper of general circulation in the county 110
once a week for two consecutive weeks. The notice shall state 111
that the county intends to request proposals; specify the purpose 112
of the request; indicate the date, which shall be at least ten
days after the second publication, on which the request for 113
proposals will be mailed to financial institutions, issuers, or 115
processors; and require that any financial institution, issuer, 116
or processor, whichever is appropriate, interested in receiving 117
the request for proposals submit written notice of this interest 119
to the county not later than noon of the day on which the request
for proposals will be mailed. 120
Upon receiving the proposals, the administrative agent 122
shall review them and make a recommendation to the board of 123
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county commissioners on which proposals to accept. The board of 124
county commissioners shall consider the agent's recommendation 125
and review all proposals submitted, and then may choose to
contract with any or all of the entities submitting proposals, as 127
appropriate. The board shall provide any financial institution, 128
issuer, or processor that submitted a proposal, but with which 129
the board does not enter into a contract, notice that its 131
proposal is rejected. The notice shall state the reasons for the 132
rejection, indicate whose proposals were accepted, and provide a
copy of the terms and conditions of the successful bids. 133
(D) A board of county commissioners adopting a resolution 135
under this section shall send a copy of the resolution to each 137
county elected official in the county who is authorized by the 138
resolution to accept payments by financial transaction devices. 139
After receiving the resolution and before accepting payments by 140
financial transaction devices, a county elected official shall 141
provide written notification to the board of county commissioners 142
of the official's intent to implement the resolution within the 143
official's office. Each county office subject to the board's 145
resolution adopted under division (B) of this section may use
only the financial institutions, issuers of financial transaction 146
devices, and processors of financial transaction devices with 147
which the board of county commissioners contracts, and each such 148
office is subject to the terms of those contracts. 149
If a county office under the authority of a county elected 152
official is directly responsible for collecting one or more 153
county expenses and the county elected official determines not to 155
accept payments by financial transaction devices for one or more 156
of those expenses, the office shall not be required to accept 157
payments by financial transaction devices, notwithstanding the 158
adoption of a resolution by the board of county commissioners 159
under this section.
Any office of a clerk of the court of common pleas that 161
accepts financial transaction devices on or before July 1, 1999, 162
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and any other county office that accepted such devices before 163
January 1, 1998, may continue to accept such devices without 164
being subject to any resolution passed by the board of county 165
commissioners under division (B) of this section, or any other 166
oversight by the board of the office's financial transaction 167
devices program. Any such office may use surcharges or
convenience fees in any manner the county elected official in 168
charge of the office determines to be appropriate, and, if the 169
county treasurer consents, may appoint the county treasurer to be 170
the office's administrative agent for purposes of accepting 171
financial transaction devices. In order not to be subject to the 172
resolution of the board of county commissioners adopted under
division (B) of this section, a county office shall notify the 173
board in writing within thirty days after the effective date of 174
this section MARCH 30, 1999, that it accepted financial 176
transaction devices prior to January 1, 1998, or, in the case of 177
the office of a clerk of the court of common pleas, the clerk has 179
accepted or will accept such devices on or before July 1, 1999. 181
Each such notification shall explain how processing costs
associated with financial transaction devices are being paid and 182
shall indicate whether surcharge or convenience fees are being 183
passed on to consumers.
(E) A board of county commissioners may establish a 186
surcharge or convenience fee that may be imposed upon a person 187
making payment by a financial transaction device. The surcharge 188
or convenience fee shall not be imposed unless authorized or 189
otherwise permitted by the rules prescribed by an agreement 190
governing the use and acceptance of the financial transaction 191
device.
If a surcharge or convenience fee is imposed, every county 193
office accepting payment by a financial transaction device, 194
regardless of whether that office is subject to a resolution 195
adopted by a board of county commissioners, shall clearly post a 196
notice in that office and shall notify each person making a
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payment by such a device about the surcharge or fee. Notice to 197
each person making a payment shall be provided regardless of the 198
medium used to make the payment and in a manner appropriate to 199
that medium. Each notice shall include all of the following: 200
(1) A statement that there is a surcharge or convenience 202
fee for using a financial transaction device; 203
(2) The total amount of the charge or fee expressed in 205
dollars and cents for each transaction, or the rate of the charge 206
or fee expressed as a percentage of the total amount of the 207
transaction, whichever is applicable; 208
(3) A clear statement that the surcharge or convenience 210
fee is nonrefundable.
(F) If a person elects to make a payment to the county by 213
a financial transaction device and a surcharge or convenience fee 214
is imposed, the payment of the surcharge or fee shall be 215
considered voluntary and the surcharge or fee is not refundable. 216
(G) If a person makes payment by financial transaction 219
device and the payment is returned or dishonored for any reason, 220
the person is liable to the county for payment of a penalty over 221
and above the amount of the expense due. The board of county 222
commissioners shall determine the amount of the penalty, which 223
may be either a fee not to exceed twenty dollars or payment of 224
the amount necessary to reimburse the county for banking charges, 225
legal fees, or other expenses incurred by the county in 226
collecting the returned or dishonored payment. The remedies and 227
procedures provided in this section are in addition to any other 228
available civil or criminal remedies provided by law. 229
(H) No person making any payment by financial transaction 232
device to a county office shall be relieved from liability for 233
the underlying obligation except to the extent that the county 234
realizes final payment of the underlying obligation in cash or 235
its equivalent. If final payment is not made by the financial 236
transaction device issuer or other guarantor of payment in the 237
transaction, the underlying obligation shall survive and the 238
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county shall retain all remedies for enforcement that would have 239
applied if the transaction had not occurred. 240
(I) A county elected official or employee who accepts a 243
financial transaction device payment in accordance with this 244
section and any applicable state or local policies or rules is 245
immune from personal liability for the final collection of such 246
payments.
Sec. 955.013. (A) AS USED IN THIS SECTION: 248
(1) "FINANCIAL TRANSACTION DEVICE" HAS THE SAME MEANING AS 250
IN SECTION 301.28 OF THE REVISED CODE. 251
(2) "INTERNET" MEANS THE INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER NETWORK OF 253
BOTH FEDERAL AND NONFEDERAL INTEROPERABLE PACKET SWITCHED DATA 254
NETWORKS, INCLUDING THE GRAPHICAL SUBNETWORK CALLED THE WORLD 255
WIDE WEB.
(B) A COUNTY AUDITOR MAY ESTABLISH PROCEDURES AND TAKE 257
ACTIONS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO ALLOW FOR EITHER OR BOTH OF THE 258
FOLLOWING:
(1) THE REGISTRATION OF DOGS UNDER THIS CHAPTER VIA THE 260
INTERNET; 261
(2) THE PAYMENT OF DOG REGISTRATION FEES UNDER THIS 263
CHAPTER BY FINANCIAL TRANSACTION DEVICES, INCLUDING PAYMENT BY 264
FINANCIAL TRANSACTION DEVICES VIA THE INTERNET. THE PROCEDURES 265
ESTABLISHED UNDER DIVISION (B)(2) OF THIS SECTION MAY BE 266
SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO PROCEDURES ESTABLISHED BY THE APPLICABLE 267
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF PAYMENT OF 268
OTHER COUNTY EXPENSES BY FINANCIAL TRANSACTION DEVICES UNDER 269
SECTION 301.28 OF THE REVISED CODE. 270
Section 2. That existing section 301.28 of the Revised 272
Code is hereby repealed. 273