As Passed by the House                        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            

 REPRESENTATIVES CLANCY-BENDER-DAMSCHRODER-PATTON-METTLER-OLMAN-   9            

    MEAD-BRITTON-A. CORE-TIBERI-SALERNO-SCHULER-TERWILLEGER-       10           

     WILSON-REDFERN-HARRIS-METZGER-VERICH-WIDENER-ROBINSON-        11           

    WINKLER-O'BRIEN-GARDNER-MYERS-BARRETT-AUSTRIA-KRUPINSKI-       12           

                       PERRY-BOYD-BRADING                          13           


_________________________________________________________________   14           

                          A   B I L L                                           

             To enact section 4501.80 of the Revised Code to       16           

                require every law enforcement agency whose law     17           

                enforcement officers investigate motor vehicle                  

                accidents to develop and adopt a written policy    18           

                governing the procedures for notifying the next    19           

                of kin of any person who is found dead or is                    

                pronounced dead at the scene of a motor vehicle    20           

                accident or who suffers  a serious,                             

                life-threatening injury in a motor vehicle         21           

                accident.                                                       




BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:        23           

      Section 1.  That section 4501.80 of the Revised Code be      25           

enacted to read as follows:                                        26           

      Sec. 4501.80.  (A)  EVERY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY WHOSE LAW   28           

ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS INVESTIGATE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS SHALL     29           

DEVELOP AND ADOPT A WRITTEN POLICY ESTABLISHING REASONABLE         30           

PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINING AND NOTIFYING THE NEXT OF KIN OF ANY    31           

PERSON WHO IS FOUND DEAD OR IS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE OF A   33           

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT OR WHO SUFFERS A SERIOUS, LIFE-THREATENING  34           

INJURY IN A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT AND WHO THE INVESTIGATING LAW   35           

ENFORCEMENT OFFICER REASONABLY DETERMINES IN ALL PROBABILITY WILL  36           

                                                          2      


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

REASONABLE TIME AFTER THE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT.                  37           

      AFTER A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY ADOPTS A WRITTEN POLICY AS    39           

REQUIRED BY THIS DIVISION, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS EMPLOYED   40           

BY THAT AGENCY SHALL MAKE A GOOD FAITH EFFORT TO FOLLOW THE        41           

PROCEDURES CONTAINED IN THE POLICY.                                             

      (B)  THE NOTIFICATION UNDER THIS SECTION OF THE NEXT OF KIN  43           

OF PERSONS WHO ARE KILLED OR INJURED IN MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS    44           

IS HEREBY DEEMED TO BE A GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTION FOR PURPOSES OF     45           

CHAPTER 2744. OF THE REVISED CODE.