As Reported by the Senate Highways and                 2            

                    Transportation Committee                       2            

123rd General Assembly                                             5            

   Regular Session                                  S. B. No. 244  6            

      1999-2000                                                    7            


                   SENATORS MUMPER-LATTA-SPADA                     9            


_________________________________________________________________   11           

                          A   B I L L                                           

             To enact section 4501.80 of the Revised Code to       13           

                require every law enforcement agency whose law     14           

                enforcement officers investigate motor vehicle                  

                accidents to develop and adopt a written policy    15           

                governing the procedures for notifying the next    16           

                of kin of any person who is found dead or is                    

                pronounced dead at the scene of a motor vehicle    17           

                accident or who suffers  a serious,                             

                life-threatening injury in a motor vehicle         18           

                accident.                                                       




BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:        20           

      Section 1.  That section 4501.80 of the Revised Code be      22           

enacted to read as follows:                                        23           

      Sec. 4501.80.  (A)  EVERY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY WHOSE LAW   25           

ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS INVESTIGATE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS SHALL     26           

DEVELOP AND ADOPT, AND, UPON THE ADOPTION, SHALL UTILIZE, A        27           

WRITTEN POLICY GOVERNING THE PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFYING THE NEXT OF  28           

KIN OF ANY PERSON WHO IS FOUND DEAD OR IS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE   29           

SCENE OF A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT OR WHO SUFFERS A SERIOUS,        30           

LIFE-THREATENING INJURY IN A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT AND WHO THE                 

INVESTIGATING LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER REASONABLY DETERMINES IN     31           

ALL PROBABILITY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO NOTIFY THE PERSON'S NEXT OF    32           

KIN WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME AFTER THE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT.     33           

      (B)  ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WITHIN A COUNTY THAT ARE   35           

REQUIRED BY DIVISION (A) OF THIS SECTION TO DEVELOP, ADOPT, AND    36           

                                                          2      


                                                                 
UTILIZE A WRITTEN POLICY SHALL CONFER PRIOR TO ADOPTING THEIR      37           

POLICIES AND SHALL MAKE EVERY REASONABLE ATTEMPT TO ENSURE THAT    38           

THE POLICIES THAT ARE ADOPTED ARE CONSISTENT WITH EACH OTHER.      39           

EVERY POLICY SHALL ADDRESS THE PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED IN THE     40           

CASE OF A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT AT WHICH MORE THAN ONE LAW        41           

ENFORCEMENT AGENCY RESPONDS, TO ENSURE THAT THE NOTIFICATION                    

REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION IS MADE.                                  42           

      (C)  THE NOTIFICATION UNDER THIS SECTION OF THE NEXT OF KIN  44           

OF PERSONS WHO ARE KILLED OR INJURED IN MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS    45           

IS HEREBY DEEMED TO BE A GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTION FOR PURPOSES OF     46           

CHAPTER 2744. OF THE REVISED CODE.