As Reported by the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee

127th General Assembly
Regular Session
2007-2008
Am. H. B. No. 392


Representative McGregor, J. 

Cosponsors: Representatives Peterson, Evans, Hughes, Wagoner, Gibbs, Chandler, Stewart, J., Stewart, D., Bacon, Zehringer, McGregor, R., Wolpert, Combs, Okey, Bubp, Collier, Stebelton, Batchelder, Strahorn, Adams, Latta, Daniels, Hite, Book, Brown, Carmichael, Domenick, Flowers, Lundy, Reinhard, Schlichter, Skindell, Sykes, Beatty, Brady, Coley, DeGeeter, Driehaus, Fende, Foley, Hottinger, Oelslager, Patton, Sayre, Schindel, Setzer, Uecker 

Senators Austria, Cafaro, Buehrer, Miller, D., Padgett 



A BILL
To enact section 4501.81 of the Revised Code to 1
establish a next of kin database within the Bureau 2
of Motor Vehicles.3


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

       Section 1. That section 4501.81 of the Revised Code be 4
enacted to read as follows:5

       Sec. 4501.81. (A) The bureau of motor vehicles shall 6
establish a database of the next of kin of persons who are issued 7
and driver's licenses, commercial driver's licenses, temporary 8
instruction permits, and identification cards. Information in 9
the database shall be accessible only to employees of the bureau 10
and to criminal justice agencies and is not a public record for 11
purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.12

       (B) An individual holding a valid Ohio driver's license, 13
commercial driver's license, temporary instruction permit, or 14
identification card shall be afforded the opportunity to list the 15
name, address, telephone number, and relationship to the 16
individual of at least one contact person whom the individual 17
wishes to be contacted if the individual is involved in a motor 18
vehicle accident or emergency situation and the individual dies 19
or is seriously injured or rendered unconscious and is unable 20
to communicate with the contact person. The contact person may 21
or may not be the next of kin of the applicant, except that if 22
the applicant is under eighteen years of age and is not 23
emancipated, the contact person shall include the parent, 24
guardian, or custodian of the applicant.25

       (C) The bureau, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the 26
Revised Code, shall adopt rules to implement this section. The 27
rules shall address both of the following:28

       (1) The methods whereby a person who has submitted the name 29
of a contact person for inclusion in the database may make changes 30
to that entry;31

       (2) Any other aspect of the database or its operation that 32
the registrar of motor vehicles determines is necessary in order 33
to implement this section.34

       (D) In the event of a motor vehicle accident or emergency 35
situation in which a person dies or is seriously injured or 36
rendered unconscious and is unable to communicate with the contact 37
person specified in the database, an employee of a criminal 38
justice agency shall make a good faith effort to notify the 39
contact person of the situation, but neither the bureau of motor 40
vehicles nor the employee nor the criminal justice agency that 41
employs that employee incurs any liability if the employee is 42
not able to make contact with the contact person.43

       Section 2. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles shall adopt rules 44
establishing the next of kin database described in Section 1 of 45
this act, and the database shall be operational, not later than 46
one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this section.47

       Section 3. This act shall be known as the "Money-Burge Act."48