As Passed by the Senate                       1            

123rd General Assembly                                             4            

   Regular Session                              Am. S. B. No. 244  5            

      1999-2000                                                    6            


     SENATORS MUMPER-LATTA-SPADA-DRAKE-WATTS-GARDNER-LATELL        8            


_________________________________________________________________   10           

                          A   B I L L                                           

             To enact section 4501.80 of the Revised Code to       12           

                require every law enforcement agency whose law     13           

                enforcement officers investigate motor vehicle                  

                accidents to develop and adopt a written policy    14           

                governing the procedures for notifying the next    15           

                of kin of any person who is found dead or is                    

                pronounced dead at the scene of a motor vehicle    16           

                accident or who suffers  a serious,                             

                life-threatening injury in a motor vehicle         17           

                accident.                                                       




BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:        19           

      Section 1.  That section 4501.80 of the Revised Code be      21           

enacted to read as follows:                                        22           

      Sec. 4501.80.  (A)  EVERY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY WHOSE LAW   24           

ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS INVESTIGATE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS SHALL     25           

DEVELOP AND ADOPT A WRITTEN POLICY ESTABLISHING REASONABLE         26           

PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINING AND NOTIFYING THE NEXT OF KIN OF ANY    27           

PERSON WHO IS FOUND DEAD OR IS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE OF A   29           

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT OR WHO SUFFERS A SERIOUS, LIFE-THREATENING  30           

INJURY IN A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT AND WHO THE INVESTIGATING LAW   31           

ENFORCEMENT OFFICER REASONABLY DETERMINES IN ALL PROBABILITY WILL  32           

NOT BE ABLE TO NOTIFY THE PERSON'S NEXT OF KIN WITHIN A                         

REASONABLE TIME AFTER THE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT.                  33           

      AFTER A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY ADOPTS A WRITTEN POLICY AS    35           

REQUIRED BY THIS DIVISION, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS EMPLOYED   36           

BY THAT AGENCY SHALL MAKE A GOOD FAITH EFFORT TO FOLLOW THE        37           

                                                          2      


                                                                 
PROCEDURES CONTAINED IN THE POLICY.                                             

      (B)  THE NOTIFICATION UNDER THIS SECTION OF THE NEXT OF KIN  39           

OF PERSONS WHO ARE KILLED OR INJURED IN MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS    40           

IS HEREBY DEEMED TO BE A GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTION FOR PURPOSES OF     41           

CHAPTER 2744. OF THE REVISED CODE.