(127th General Assembly)
(Substitute House Bill Number 79)



AN ACT
To amend sections 101.532, 101.82, 127.14, 4121.03, 4121.121, 4121.75, 4121.76, 4121.77, 4121.79, 4123.29, 4123.341, 4123.342, and 4123.35 of the Revised Code to make changes to the law governing the Workers' Compensation Council, to specify that an employer group is considered one employer for purposes of workers' compensation group rating, and to make an appropriation.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:

SECTION 1. That sections 101.532, 101.82, 127.14, 4121.03, 4121.121, 4121.75, 4121.76, 4121.77, 4121.79, 4123.29, 4123.341, 4123.342, and 4123.35 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 101.532.  The main operating appropriations bill shall not contain appropriations for the industrial commission, the workers' compensation council, or the bureau of workers' compensation. Appropriations for these two agencies the bureau and the council shall be enacted in one bill, and appropriations for the industrial commission shall be enacted in a separate bills bill.

Sec. 101.82.  As used in sections 101.82 to 101.87 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Agency" means any board, commission, committee, or council, or any other similar state public body required to be established pursuant to state statutes for the exercise of any function of state government and to which members are appointed or elected. "Agency" does not include the following:

(1) The general assembly, or any commission, committee, or other body composed entirely of members of the general assembly;

(2) Any court;

(3) Any public body created by or directly pursuant to the constitution of this state;

(4) The board of trustees of any institution of higher education financially supported in whole or in part by the state;

(5) Any public body that has the authority to issue bonds or notes or that has issued bonds or notes that have not been fully repaid;

(6) The public utilities commission of Ohio;

(7) The consumers' council governing board;

(8) The Ohio board of regents;

(9) Any state board or commission that has the authority to issue any final adjudicatory order that may be appealed to the court of common pleas under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code;

(10) Any board of elections;

(11) The board of directors of the Ohio insurance guaranty association and the board of governors of the Ohio fair plan underwriting association;

(12) The Ohio public employees deferred compensation board;

(13) The Ohio retirement study council;

(14) The board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund, public employees retirement board, school employees retirement board, state highway patrol retirement board, and state teachers retirement board;

(15) The industrial commission;

(16) The parole board;

(17) The board of tax appeals;

(18) The controlling board;

(19) The release authority of department of youth services;

(20) The environmental review appeals commission;

(21) The Ohio ethics commission;

(22) The Ohio public works commission;

(23) The self-insuring employers evaluation board;

(24) The state board of deposit;

(25) The state employment relations board;

(26) The workers' compensation council.

(B) "Abolish" means to repeal the statutes creating and empowering an agency, remove its personnel, and transfer its records to the department of administrative services pursuant to division (E) of section 149.331 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Terminate" means to amend or repeal the statutes creating and empowering an agency, remove its personnel, and reassign its functions and records to another agency or officer designated by the general assembly.

(D) "Transfer" means to amend the statutes creating and empowering an agency so that its functions, records, and personnel are conveyed to another agency or officer.

(E) "Renew" means to continue an agency, and may include amendment of the statutes creating and empowering the agency, or recommendations for changes in agency operation or personnel.

Sec. 127.14.  The controlling board may, at the request of any state agency or the director of budget and management, authorize, with respect to the provisions of any appropriation act:

(A) Transfers of all or part of an appropriation within but not between state agencies, except such transfers as the director of budget and management is authorized by law to make, provided that no transfer shall be made by the director for the purpose of effecting new or changed levels of program service not authorized by the general assembly;

(B) Transfers of all or part of an appropriation from one fiscal year to another;

(C) Transfers of all or part of an appropriation within or between state agencies made necessary by administrative reorganization or by the abolition of an agency or part of an agency;

(D) Transfers of all or part of cash balances in excess of needs from any fund of the state to the general revenue fund or to such other fund of the state to which the money would have been credited in the absence of the fund from which the transfers are authorized to be made, except that the controlling board may not authorize such transfers from the accrued leave liability fund, auto registration distribution fund, budget stabilization fund, development bond retirement fund, facilities establishment fund, gasoline excise tax fund, general revenue fund, higher education improvement fund, highway improvement bond retirement fund, highway obligations bond retirement fund, highway capital improvement fund, highway operating fund, horse racing tax fund, improvements bond retirement fund, public library fund, liquor control fund, local government fund, local transportation improvement program fund, mental health facilities improvement fund, Ohio fairs fund, parks and recreation improvement fund, public improvements bond retirement fund, school district income tax fund, state agency facilities improvement fund, state and local government highway distribution fund, state highway safety fund, state lottery fund, undivided liquor permit fund, Vietnam conflict compensation bond retirement fund, volunteer fire fighters' dependents fund, waterways safety fund, wildlife fund, workers' compensation fund, workers' compensation council remuneration fund, or any fund not specified in this division that the director of budget and management determines to be a bond fund or bond retirement fund;

(E) Transfers of all or part of those appropriations included in the emergency purposes account of the controlling board;

(F) Temporary transfers of all or part of an appropriation or other moneys into and between existing funds, or new funds, as may be established by law when needed for capital outlays for which notes or bonds will be issued;

(G) Transfer or release of all or part of an appropriation to a state agency requiring controlling board approval of such transfer or release as provided by law;

(H) Temporary transfer of funds included in the emergency purposes appropriation of the controlling board. Such temporary transfers may be made subject to conditions specified by the controlling board at the time temporary transfers are authorized. No transfers shall be made under this division for the purpose of effecting new or changed levels of program service not authorized by the general assembly.

As used in this section, "request" means an application by a state agency or the director of budget and management seeking some action by the controlling board.

When authorizing the transfer of all or part of an appropriation under this section, the controlling board may authorize the transfer to an existing appropriation item and the creation of and transfer to a new appropriation item.

Whenever there is a transfer of all or part of funds included in the emergency purposes appropriation by the controlling board, pursuant to division (E) of this section, the state agency or the director of budget and management receiving such transfer shall keep a detailed record of the use of the transferred funds. At the earliest scheduled meeting of the controlling board following the accomplishment of the purposes specified in the request originally seeking the transfer, or following the total expenditure of the transferred funds for the specified purposes, the state agency or the director of budget and management shall submit a report on the expenditure of such funds to the board. The portion of any appropriation so transferred which is not required to accomplish the purposes designated in the original request to the controlling board shall be returned to the proper appropriation of the controlling board at this time.

Notwithstanding any provisions of law providing for the deposit of revenues received by a state agency to the credit of a particular fund in the state treasury, whenever there is a temporary transfer of funds included in the emergency purposes appropriation of the controlling board pursuant to division (H) of this section, revenues received by any state agency receiving such a temporary transfer of funds shall, as directed by the controlling board, be transferred back to the emergency purposes appropriation.

The board may delegate to the director of budget and management authority to approve transfers among items of appropriation under division (A) of this section.

Sec. 4121.03.  (A) The governor shall appoint from among the members of the industrial commission the chairperson of the industrial commission. The chairperson shall serve as chairperson at the pleasure of the governor. The chairperson is the head of the commission and its chief executive officer.

(B) The chairperson shall appoint, after consultation with other commission members and obtaining the approval of at least one other commission member, an executive director of the commission. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the chairperson. The executive director, under the direction of the chairperson, shall perform all of the following duties:

(1) Act as chief administrative officer for the commission;

(2) Ensure that all commission personnel follow the rules of the commission;

(3) Ensure that all orders, awards, and determinations are properly heard and signed, prior to attesting to the documents;

(4) Coordinate, to the fullest extent possible, commission activities with the bureau of workers' compensation activities;

(5) Do all things necessary for the efficient and effective implementation of the duties of the commission.

The responsibilities assigned to the executive director of the commission do not relieve the chairperson from final responsibility for the proper performance of the acts specified in this division.

(C) The chairperson shall do all of the following:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, employ, promote, supervise, remove, and establish the compensation of all employees as needed in connection with the performance of the commission's duties under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code and may assign to them their duties to the extent necessary to achieve the most efficient performance of its functions, and to that end may establish, change, or abolish positions, and assign and reassign duties and responsibilities of every employee of the commission. The civil service status of any person employed by the commission prior to November 3, 1989, is not affected by this section. Personnel employed by the bureau or the commission who are subject to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code shall retain all of their rights and benefits conferred pursuant to that chapter as it presently exists or is hereafter amended and nothing in this chapter or Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code shall be construed as eliminating or interfering with Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code or the rights and benefits conferred under that chapter to public employees or to any bargaining unit.

(2) Hire district and staff hearing officers after consultation with other commission members and obtaining the approval of at least one other commission member;

(3) Fire staff and district hearing officers when the chairperson finds appropriate after obtaining the approval of at least one other commission member;

(4) Maintain the office for the commission in Columbus;

(5) To the maximum extent possible, use electronic data processing equipment for the issuance of orders immediately following a hearing, scheduling of hearings and medical examinations, tracking of claims, retrieval of information, and any other matter within the commission's jurisdiction, and shall provide and input information into the electronic data processing equipment as necessary to effect the success of the claims tracking system established pursuant to division (B)(15) of section 4121.121 of the Revised Code;

(6) Exercise all administrative and nonadjudicatory powers and duties conferred upon the commission by Chapters 4121., 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code;

(7) Approve all contracts for special services.

(D) The chairperson is responsible for all administrative matters and may secure for the commission facilities, equipment, and supplies necessary to house the commission, any employees, and files and records under the commission's control and to discharge any duty imposed upon the commission by law, the expense thereof to be audited and paid in the same manner as other state expenses. For that purpose, the chairperson, separately from the budget prepared by the administrator of workers' compensation and the budget prepared by the director of the workers' compensation council, shall prepare and submit to the office of budget and management a budget for each biennium according to sections 101.532 and 107.03 of the Revised Code. The budget submitted shall cover the costs of the commission and staff and district hearing officers in the discharge of any duty imposed upon the chairperson, the commission, and hearing officers by law.

(E) A majority of the commission constitutes a quorum to transact business. No vacancy impairs the rights of the remaining members to exercise all of the powers of the commission, so long as a majority remains. Any investigation, inquiry, or hearing that the commission may hold or undertake may be held or undertaken by or before any one member of the commission, or before one of the deputies of the commission, except as otherwise provided in this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code. Every order made by a member, or by a deputy, when approved and confirmed by a majority of the members, and so shown on its record of proceedings, is the order of the commission. The commission may hold sessions at any place within the state. The commission is responsible for all of the following:

(1) Establishing the overall adjudicatory policy and management of the commission under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code, except for those administrative matters within the jurisdiction of the chairperson, bureau of workers' compensation, and the administrator of workers' compensation under those chapters;

(2) Hearing appeals and reconsiderations under this chapter and chapters Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code;

(3) Engaging in rulemaking where required by this chapter or Chapter 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4121.121.  (A) There is hereby created the bureau of workers' compensation, which shall be administered by the administrator of workers' compensation. A person appointed to the position of administrator shall possess significant management experience in effectively managing an organization or organizations of substantial size and complexity. A person appointed to the position of administrator also shall possess a minimum of five years of experience in the field of workers' compensation insurance or in another insurance industry, except as otherwise provided when the conditions specified in division (C) of this section are satisfied. The governor shall appoint the administrator as provided in section 121.03 of the Revised Code, and the administrator shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. The governor shall fix the administrator's salary on the basis of the administrator's experience and the administrator's responsibilities and duties under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4125., 4127., 4131., and 4167. of the Revised Code. The governor shall not appoint to the position of administrator any person who has, or whose spouse has, given a contribution to the campaign committee of the governor in an amount greater than one thousand dollars during the two-year period immediately preceding the date of the appointment of the administrator.

The administrator shall hold no other public office and shall devote full time to the duties of administrator. Before entering upon the duties of the office, the administrator shall take an oath of office as required by sections 3.22 and 3.23 of the Revised Code, and shall file in the office of the secretary of state, a bond signed by the administrator and by surety approved by the governor, for the sum of fifty thousand dollars payable to the state, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the administrator's duties.

(B) The administrator is responsible for the management of the bureau and for the discharge of all administrative duties imposed upon the administrator in this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4125., 4127., 4131., and 4167. of the Revised Code, and in the discharge thereof shall do all of the following:

(1) Perform all acts and exercise all authorities and powers, discretionary and otherwise that are required of or vested in the bureau or any of its employees in this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4125., 4127., 4131., and 4167. of the Revised Code, except the acts and the exercise of authority and power that is required of and vested in the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors or the industrial commission pursuant to those chapters. The treasurer of state shall honor all warrants signed by the administrator, or by one or more of the administrator's employees, authorized by the administrator in writing, or bearing the facsimile signature of the administrator or such employee under sections 4123.42 and 4123.44 of the Revised Code.

(2) Employ, direct, and supervise all employees required in connection with the performance of the duties assigned to the bureau by this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4125., 4127., 4131., and 4167. of the Revised Code, including an actuary, and may establish job classification plans and compensation for all employees of the bureau provided that this grant of authority shall not be construed as affecting any employee for whom the state employment relations board has established an appropriate bargaining unit under section 4117.06 of the Revised Code. All positions of employment in the bureau are in the classified civil service except those employees the administrator may appoint to serve at the administrator's pleasure in the unclassified civil service pursuant to section 124.11 of the Revised Code. The administrator shall fix the salaries of employees the administrator appoints to serve at the administrator's pleasure, including the chief operating officer, staff physicians, and other senior management personnel of the bureau and shall establish the compensation of staff attorneys of the bureau's legal section and their immediate supervisors, and take whatever steps are necessary to provide adequate compensation for other staff attorneys.

The administrator may appoint a person who holds a certified position in the classified service within the bureau to a position in the unclassified service within the bureau. A person appointed pursuant to this division to a position in the unclassified service shall retain the right to resume the position and status held by the person in the classified service immediately prior to the person's appointment in the unclassified service, regardless of the number of positions the person held in the unclassified service. An employee's right to resume a position in the classified service may only be exercised when the administrator demotes the employee to a pay range lower than the employee's current pay range or revokes the employee's appointment to the unclassified service. An employee forfeits the right to resume a position in the classified service when the employee is removed from the position in the unclassified service due to incompetence, inefficiency, dishonesty, drunkenness, immoral conduct, insubordination, discourteous treatment of the public, neglect of duty, violation of this chapter or Chapter 124., 4123., 4125., 4127., 4131., or 4167. of the Revised Code, violation of the rules of the director of administrative services or the administrator, any other failure of good behavior, any other acts of misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, or conviction of a felony. An employee also forfeits the right to resume a position in the classified service upon transfer to a different agency.

Reinstatement to a position in the classified service shall be to a position substantially equal to that position in the classified service held previously, as certified by the department of administrative services. If the position the person previously held in the classified service has been placed in the unclassified service or is otherwise unavailable, the person shall be appointed to a position in the classified service within the bureau that the director of administrative services certifies is comparable in compensation to the position the person previously held in the classified service. Service in the position in the unclassified service shall be counted as service in the position in the classified service held by the person immediately prior to the person's appointment in the unclassified service. When a person is reinstated to a position in the classified service as provided in this division, the person is entitled to all rights, status, and benefits accruing to the position during the person's time of service in the position in the unclassified service.

(3) Reorganize the work of the bureau, its sections, departments, and offices to the extent necessary to achieve the most efficient performance of its functions and to that end may establish, change, or abolish positions and assign and reassign duties and responsibilities of every employee of the bureau. All persons employed by the commission in positions that, after November 3, 1989, are supervised and directed by the administrator under this section are transferred to the bureau in their respective classifications but subject to reassignment and reclassification of position and compensation as the administrator determines to be in the interest of efficient administration. The civil service status of any person employed by the commission is not affected by this section. Personnel employed by the bureau or the commission who are subject to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code shall retain all of their rights and benefits conferred pursuant to that chapter as it presently exists or is hereafter amended and nothing in this chapter or Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code shall be construed as eliminating or interfering with Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code or the rights and benefits conferred under that chapter to public employees or to any bargaining unit.

(4) Provide offices, equipment, supplies, and other facilities for the bureau.

(5) Prepare and submit to the board information the administrator considers pertinent or the board requires, together with the administrator's recommendations, in the form of administrative rules, for the advice and consent of the board, for classifications of occupations or industries, for premium rates and contributions, for the amount to be credited to the surplus fund, for rules and systems of rating, rate revisions, and merit rating. The administrator shall obtain, prepare, and submit any other information the board requires for the prompt and efficient discharge of its duties.

(6) Keep the accounts required by division (A) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code and all other accounts and records necessary to the collection, administration, and distribution of the workers' compensation funds and shall obtain the statistical and other information required by section 4123.19 of the Revised Code.

(7) Exercise the investment powers vested in the administrator by section 4123.44 of the Revised Code in accordance with the investment policy approved by the board pursuant to section 4121.12 of the Revised Code and in consultation with the chief investment officer of the bureau of workers' compensation. The administrator shall not engage in any prohibited investment activity specified by the board pursuant to division (F)(9) of section 4121.12 of the Revised Code and shall not invest in any type of investment specified in divisions (B)(1) to (10) of section 4123.442 of the Revised Code. All business shall be transacted, all funds invested, all warrants for money drawn and payments made, and all cash and securities and other property held, in the name of the bureau, or in the name of its nominee, provided that nominees are authorized by the administrator solely for the purpose of facilitating the transfer of securities, and restricted to the administrator and designated employees.

(8) Make contracts for and supervise the construction of any project or improvement or the construction or repair of buildings under the control of the bureau.

(9) Purchase supplies, materials, equipment, and services; make contracts for, operate, and superintend the telephone, other telecommunication, and computer services for the use of the bureau; and make contracts in connection with office reproduction, forms management, printing, and other services. Notwithstanding sections 125.12 to 125.14 of the Revised Code, the administrator may transfer surplus computers and computer equipment directly to an accredited public school within the state. The computers and computer equipment may be repaired or refurbished prior to the transfer.

(10) Prepare and submit to the board an annual budget for internal operating purposes for the board's approval. The administrator also shall, separately from the budget the industrial commission submits and from the budget the director of the workers' compensation council submits, prepare and submit to the director of budget and management a budget for each biennium. The budgets submitted to the board and the director shall include estimates of the costs and necessary expenditures of the bureau in the discharge of any duty imposed by law.

(11) As promptly as possible in the course of efficient administration, decentralize and relocate such of the personnel and activities of the bureau as is appropriate to the end that the receipt, investigation, determination, and payment of claims may be undertaken at or near the place of injury or the residence of the claimant and for that purpose establish regional offices, in such places as the administrator considers proper, capable of discharging as many of the functions of the bureau as is practicable so as to promote prompt and efficient administration in the processing of claims. All active and inactive lost-time claims files shall be held at the service office responsible for the claim. A claimant, at the claimant's request, shall be provided with information by telephone as to the location of the file pertaining to the claimant's claim. The administrator shall ensure that all service office employees report directly to the director for their service office.

(12) Provide a written binder on new coverage where the administrator considers it to be in the best interest of the risk. The administrator, or any other person authorized by the administrator, shall grant the binder upon submission of a request for coverage by the employer. A binder is effective for a period of thirty days from date of issuance and is nonrenewable. Payroll reports and premium charges shall coincide with the effective date of the binder.

(13) Set standards for the reasonable and maximum handling time of claims payment functions, ensure, by rules, the impartial and prompt treatment of all claims and employer risk accounts, and establish a secure, accurate method of time stamping all incoming mail and documents hand delivered to bureau employees.

(14) Ensure that all employees of the bureau follow the orders and rules of the commission as such orders and rules relate to the commission's overall adjudicatory policy-making and management duties under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code.

(15) Manage and operate a data processing system with a common data base for the use of both the bureau and the commission and, in consultation with the commission, using electronic data processing equipment, shall develop a claims tracking system that is sufficient to monitor the status of a claim at any time and that lists appeals that have been filed and orders or determinations that have been issued pursuant to section 4123.511 or 4123.512 of the Revised Code, including the dates of such filings and issuances.

(16) Establish and maintain a medical section within the bureau. The medical section shall do all of the following:

(a) Assist the administrator in establishing standard medical fees, approving medical procedures, and determining eligibility and reasonableness of the compensation payments for medical, hospital, and nursing services, and in establishing guidelines for payment policies which recognize usual, customary, and reasonable methods of payment for covered services;

(b) Provide a resource to respond to questions from claims examiners for employees of the bureau;

(c) Audit fee bill payments;

(d) Implement a program to utilize, to the maximum extent possible, electronic data processing equipment for storage of information to facilitate authorizations of compensation payments for medical, hospital, drug, and nursing services;

(e) Perform other duties assigned to it by the administrator.

(17) Appoint, as the administrator determines necessary, panels to review and advise the administrator on disputes arising over a determination that a health care service or supply provided to a claimant is not covered under this chapter or Chapter 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code or is medically unnecessary. If an individual health care provider is involved in the dispute, the panel shall consist of individuals licensed pursuant to the same section of the Revised Code as such health care provider.

(18) Pursuant to section 4123.65 of the Revised Code, approve applications for the final settlement of claims for compensation or benefits under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code as the administrator determines appropriate, except in regard to the applications of self-insuring employers and their employees.

(19) Comply with section 3517.13 of the Revised Code, and except in regard to contracts entered into pursuant to the authority contained in section 4121.44 of the Revised Code, comply with the competitive bidding procedures set forth in the Revised Code for all contracts into which the administrator enters provided that those contracts fall within the type of contracts and dollar amounts specified in the Revised Code for competitive bidding and further provided that those contracts are not otherwise specifically exempt from the competitive bidding procedures contained in the Revised Code.

(20) Adopt, with the advice and consent of the board, rules for the operation of the bureau.

(21) Prepare and submit to the board information the administrator considers pertinent or the board requires, together with the administrator's recommendations, in the form of administrative rules, for the advice and consent of the board, for the health partnership program and the qualified health plan system, as provided in sections 4121.44, 4121.441, and 4121.442 of the Revised Code.

(C) The administrator, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint a chief operating officer who has a minimum of five years of experience in the field of workers' compensation insurance or in another similar insurance industry if the administrator does not possess such experience. The chief operating officer shall not commence the chief operating officer's duties until after the senate consents to the chief operating officer's appointment. The chief operating officer shall serve in the unclassified civil service of the state.

Sec. 4121.75.  (A) There is hereby created in the legislative branch of government the workers' compensation council, which is created for the purpose of reviewing the soundness of the workers' compensation system and legislation involving or affecting the workers' compensation system. The council shall not be involved in the daily operations and oversight of the bureau of workers' compensation or the industrial commission. Members of the council shall be appointed as follows:

(1) Three members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate, not more than two of whom may be members of the same political party;

(2) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, not more than two of whom may be members of the same political party;

(3) Five members jointly appointed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, not more than three of whom shall be members of the same political party, one of whom shall represent employers who employ one hundred or more employees, one of whom shall represent employers who employ less than one hundred employees, one of whom shall represent employees, one of whom shall represent injured workers, and one of whom shall represent the public and also be an individual who, on account of the individual's previous vocation, employment, or affiliations, cannot be classed as either predominantly representative of employees or of employers. Of these five members, at least one shall be a person with investment expertise.

(B) The council also shall consist of the chairperson of the industrial commission and the administrator of workers' compensation, who shall be nonvoting ex officio members of the council.

(C) The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall make the initial appointments required under divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section September 10, 2007. The members of the council who are appointed from the membership of the senate and the house of representatives shall serve during their terms as members of the general assembly. Notwithstanding the adjournment of the general assembly of which the member is a member or the expiration of the member's term as a member of such general assembly, a member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term on the council until the member's successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

(D) The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall make the initial appointments required under division (A)(3) of this section not later than ninety days after the effective date of this section September 10, 2007. Of these initial appointments to the council, one member shall be appointed for a term ending one year after the effective date of this section September 10, 2007, two members shall be appointed for terms ending two years after the effective date of this section September 10, 2007, and two members shall be appointed for terms ending three years after the effective date of this section September 10, 2007. Thereafter, terms shall be for three years, with each term ending on the same day of the same month as did the term that it succeeds. Each member appointed under division (A)(3) of this section shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the appointment was made. Members may be reappointed. Any member appointed pursuant to division (A)(3) of this section to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of that term. Each member appointed pursuant to division (A)(3) of this section shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

(E) Vacancies shall be filled in the manner prescribed for original appointments.

Sec. 4121.76.  Meetings of the workers' compensation council shall be called in the manner and at the times prescribed by rules adopted by the council. A majority of the voting members of the council constitutes a quorum and no action shall be taken by the council unless approved by at least five six voting members. The council shall organize by selecting a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and any other officers as it determines are necessary. The council shall select the chairperson and vice-chairperson from the members of the council who also are members of the general assembly, and each of those members shall serve as chairperson or vice-chairperson during their terms as members of the general assembly. The council shall rotate the selection of the chairperson and vice-chairperson between the two houses. The council shall adopt rules for the conduct of its business and the election of its officers. Each member of the council, before entering upon the member's official duties shall take and subscribe to an oath of office, to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States and this state and to perform the duties of the office honestly, faithfully, and impartially. Members of the council appointed pursuant to division (A)(3) of section 4121.75 of the Revised Code shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties. Legislative members shall not receive compensation or expenses.

Sec. 4121.77.  The workers' compensation council may do any of the following:

(A) Appoint shall appoint a director to manage and direct the duties of the staff of the council. The director shall serve at the pleasure of the council. The director shall be a person who has had training and experience in areas related to the duties of the council.

(B) Appoint The council may authorize the director to employ professional, technical, and clerical employees staff as necessary, and employ or hire on a consulting basis persons to provide actuarial, legal, investment, or other technical services required for the performance of the council's duties. All employees of the council are in the unclassified civil service as described in section 124.11 of the Revised Code and the staff serve at the pleasure of the director. For purposes of section sections 718.04 and 4117.01 of the Revised Code, employees of the council shall be considered employees of the general assembly.

(C) Fix The council shall fix the compensation of the director and. The director shall fix the compensation of all other employees of the council;

(D) and, notwithstanding section 124.18 of the Revised Code, shall adopt policies relating to payment for overtime, granting of compensatory time off, utilizing flexible hours, and working on holidays and compensation for holiday work.

The council may do any of the following:

(A) Require the members of the industrial commission, bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, workers' compensation audit committee, workers' compensation actuarial committee, and workers' compensation investment committee, the administrator of workers' compensation, and employees of the industrial commission and the bureau of workers' compensation, and any agency or official of this state or its political subdivisions to provide the council with any information necessary to carry out its duties;

(E)(B) Administer oaths and hold public hearings at times and places within the state as necessary to accomplish the purposes of sections 4121.75 to 4121.79 of the Revised Code;

(F)(C) Establish regular reporting requirements for any report that the chairperson of the industrial commission, chairperson of the board, members of the committees specified in division (D)(A) of this section, and the administrator are required to submit to the council;

(G)(D) Request that the auditor of state perform or contract for the performance of a financial or special audit of the bureau;

(H)(E) Request that the auditor of state perform or contract for the performance of a special or fiduciary audit of the workers' compensation system.

Sec. 4121.79.  (A) The compensation of all employees director of the workers' compensation council and other expenses of the council shall be paid upon vouchers approved by the director and the chairperson of the council.

The administrator of workers' compensation shall pay the annual expenses of the council. The council shall prepare and submit to the administrator on or before the thirtieth day of June of each year council, for its approval, a biennial budget that includes an itemized estimate of the amounts necessary to pay the expenses of the council during the following year succeeding biennium. The director may request and the council may approve, anytime during that biennium, additional amounts to cover costs for audits or other necessary expenses that were not included in that budget. After the budget is approved, the director of the council shall separate from the budget the portion covering the costs of compensation and benefits for the employees of the council and submit only that portion to the director of budget and management as the council's budget request for purposes of section 126.02 of the Revised Code.

(B) The council shall establish policies and procedures for purchasing goods and services on a competitive basis and maintaining tangible personal property. The policies and procedures shall be designed to safeguard the use of funds received by the council. An audit performed under Chapter 117. of the Revised Code shall include a determination of the council's compliance with those policies and procedures.

The council is not subject to the requirements specified in Chapter 123., 124., or 125., 126., or 127. of the Revised Code and those chapters do not apply to the council. However, the council may request the department of administrative services, and the department may agree, to perform for the council any of the services the department is authorized to perform under those chapters. The council may enter into an agreement with the director of administrative services for the performance of those requested services.

(C) There is hereby created the workers' compensation council fund, which shall be in the custody of the treasurer of state but shall not be a part of the state treasury. The fund shall consist of all moneys transferred into it by the administrator of workers' compensation pursuant to section 4123.342 of the Revised Code. The council shall use the fund to pay the expenses incurred by the council. Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this section, the treasurer of state shall disburse moneys from the fund upon instruments authorized by the council and signed by the director.

The council is the trustee of the workers' compensation council fund. At the request of the director of the council, the treasurer of state shall select and contract with one or more investment managers to invest all money credited to the fund that is not currently needed for carrying out the functions of the council. The treasurer of state shall contract with an investment manager for whom the administrator requested a criminal records check pursuant to section 4123.444 of the Revised Code and who has not been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a financial or investment crime as defined in that section. The eligible list of investments shall be the same as those specified in the investment policy for the state insurance fund approved by the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors pursuant to section 4121.12 of the Revised Code. All investments are subject to the same limitations and requirements as specified for the state insurance fund under sections 4121.12, 4121.126, 4121.127, 4123.44, and 4123.442 of the Revised Code. All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund.

(D) There is hereby created in the state treasury the workers' compensation council remuneration fund. The treasurer of state periodically shall pay into that fund, from the workers' compensation council fund created in division (C) of this section, amounts requested by the director of the council to pay the compensation and benefits of the employees of the council. Amounts credited to the remuneration fund shall be used by the director of the council solely to pay the compensation and benefits of all employees of the council. All investment earnings of the remuneration fund shall be credited to that fund.

Sec. 4123.29.  (A) The administrator of workers' compensation, subject to the approval of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, shall do all of the following:

(1) Classify occupations or industries with respect to their degree of hazard and determine the risks of the different classes according to the categories the national council on compensation insurance establishes that are applicable to employers in this state;

(2)(a) Fix the rates of premium of the risks of the classes based upon the total payroll in each of the classes of occupation or industry sufficiently large to provide a fund for the compensation provided for in this chapter and to maintain a state insurance fund from year to year. The administrator shall set the rates at a level that assures the solvency of the fund. Where the payroll cannot be obtained or, in the opinion of the administrator, is not an adequate measure for determining the premium to be paid for the degree of hazard, the administrator may determine the rates of premium upon such other basis, consistent with insurance principles, as is equitable in view of the degree of hazard, and whenever in this chapter reference is made to payroll or expenditure of wages with reference to fixing premiums, the reference shall be construed to have been made also to such other basis for fixing the rates of premium as the administrator may determine under this section.

(b) If an employer elects to obtain other-states' coverage pursuant to section 4123.292 of the Revised Code through either the administrator, if the administrator elects to offer such coverage, or an other-states' insurer, calculate the employer's premium for the state insurance fund in the same manner as otherwise required under division (A) of this section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, except that when the administrator determines the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both upon which to base the employer's premium, the administrator shall use only the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both attributable to the labor performed and services provided by that employer's employees when those employees performed labor and provided services in this state only and to which the other-states' coverage does not apply.

(c) The administrator in setting or revising rates shall furnish to employers an adequate explanation of the basis for the rates set.

(3) Develop and make available to employers who are paying premiums to the state insurance fund alternative premium plans. Alternative premium plans shall include retrospective rating plans. The administrator may make available plans under which an advanced deposit may be applied against a specified deductible amount per claim.

(4)(a) Offer to insure the obligations of employers under this chapter under a plan that groups, for rating purposes, employers, and pools the risk of the employers within the group provided that the employers meet all of the following conditions:

(i) All of the employers within the group are members of an organization that has been in existence for at least two years prior to the date of application for group coverage;

(ii) The organization was formed for purposes other than that of obtaining group workers' compensation under this division;

(iii) The employers' business in the organization is substantially similar such that the risks which are grouped are substantially homogeneous;

(iv) The group of employers consists of at least one hundred members or the aggregate workers' compensation premiums of the members, as determined by the administrator, are expected to exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars during the coverage period;

(v) The formation and operation of the group program in the organization will substantially improve accident prevention and claims handling for the employers in the group;

(vi) Each employer seeking to enroll in a group for workers' compensation coverage has an industrial insurance account in good standing with the bureau of workers' compensation such that at the time the agreement is processed no outstanding premiums, penalties, or assessments are due from any of the employers.

(b) If an organization sponsors more than one employer group to participate in group plans established under this section, that organization may submit a single application that supplies all of the information necessary for each group of employers that the organization wishes to sponsor.

(c) In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4) of this section, the administrator shall consider an employer group as a single employing entity for purposes of retrospective group rating. No employer may be a member of more than one group for the purpose of obtaining workers' compensation coverage under this division.

(d) At the time the administrator revises premium rates pursuant to this section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, if the premium rate of an employer who participates in a group plan established under this section changes from the rate established for the previous year, the administrator, in addition to sending the invoice with the rate revision to that employer, shall send a copy of that invoice to the third-party administrator that administers the group plan for that employer's group.

(e) In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4) of this section, the administrator shall establish a program designed to mitigate the impact of a significant claim that would come into the experience of a private, state fund group-rated employer for the first time and be a contributing factor in that employer being excluded from a group-rated plan. The administrator shall establish eligibility criteria and requirements that such employers must satisfy in order to participate in this program. For purposes of this program, the administrator shall establish a discount on premium rates applicable to employers who qualify for the program.

(f) In no event shall division (A)(4) of this section be construed as granting to an employer status as a self-insuring employer.

(g) The administrator shall develop classifications of occupations or industries that are sufficiently distinct so as not to group employers in classifications that unfairly represent the risks of employment with the employer.

(5) Generally promote employer participation in the state insurance fund through the regular dissemination of information to all classes of employers describing the advantages and benefits of opting to make premium payments to the fund. To that end, the administrator shall regularly make employers aware of the various workers' compensation premium packages developed and offered pursuant to this section.

(6) Make available to every employer who is paying premiums to the state insurance fund a program whereby the employer or the employer's agent pays to the claimant or on behalf of the claimant the first fifteen thousand dollars of a compensable workers' compensation medical-only claim filed by that claimant that is related to the same injury or occupational disease. No formal application is required; however, an employer must elect to participate by telephoning the bureau after July 1, 1995. Once an employer has elected to participate in the program, the employer will be responsible for all bills in all medical-only claims with a date of injury the same or later than the election date, unless the employer notifies the bureau within fourteen days of receipt of the notification of a claim being filed that it does not wish to pay the bills in that claim, or the employer notifies the bureau that the fifteen thousand dollar maximum has been paid, or the employer notifies the bureau of the last day of service on which it will be responsible for the bills in a particular medical-only claim. If an employer elects to enter the program, the administrator shall not reimburse the employer for such amounts paid and shall not charge the first fifteen thousand dollars of any medical-only claim paid by an employer to the employer's experience or otherwise use it in merit rating or determining the risks of any employer for the purpose of payment of premiums under this chapter. If an employer elects to enter the program and the employer fails to pay a bill for a medical-only claim included in the program, the employer shall be liable for that bill and the employee for whom the employer failed to pay the bill shall not be liable for that bill. The administrator shall adopt rules to implement and administer division (A)(6) of this section. Upon written request from the bureau, the employer shall provide documentation to the bureau of all medical-only bills that they are paying directly. Such requests from the bureau may not be made more frequently than on a semiannual basis. Failure to provide such documentation to the bureau within thirty days of receipt of the request may result in the employer's forfeiture of participation in the program for such injury. The provisions of this section shall not apply to claims in which an employer with knowledge of a claimed compensable injury or occupational disease, has paid wages in lieu of compensation or total disability.

(B) The administrator, with the advice and consent of the board, by rule, may do both of the following:

(1) Grant an employer who makes the employer's semiannual premium payment at least one month prior to the last day on which the payment may be made without penalty, a discount as the administrator fixes from time to time;

(2) Levy a minimum annual administrative charge upon risks where semiannual premium reports develop a charge less than the administrator considers adequate to offset administrative costs of processing.

Sec. 4123.341.  The administrative costs of the industrial commission, the workers' compensation council, the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, and the bureau of workers' compensation shall be those costs and expenses that are incident to the discharge of the duties and performance of the activities of the industrial commission, the council, the board, and the bureau under this chapter and Chapters 4121., 4125., 4127., 4131., and 4167. of the Revised Code, and all such costs shall be borne by the state and by other employers amenable to this chapter as follows:

(A) In addition to the contribution required of the state under sections 4123.39 and 4123.40 of the Revised Code, the state shall contribute the sum determined to be necessary under section 4123.342 of the Revised Code.

(B) The director of budget and management may allocate the state's share of contributions in the manner the director finds most equitably apportions the costs.

(C) The counties and taxing districts therein shall contribute such sum as may be required under section 4123.342 of the Revised Code.

(D) The private employers shall contribute the sum required under section 4123.342 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4123.342.  (A) The administrator of workers' compensation shall allocate among counties and taxing districts therein as a class, the state and its instrumentalities as a class, private employers who are insured under the private fund as a class, and self-insuring employers as a class their fair shares of the administrative costs which are to be borne by such employers under division (D) of section 4123.341 of the Revised Code, separately allocating to each class those costs solely attributable to the activities of the industrial commission, those costs solely attributable to the activities of the workers' compensation council, and those costs solely attributable to the activities of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, and the bureau of workers' compensation in respect of the class, allocating to any combination of classes those costs attributable to the activities of the industrial commission, council, board, or bureau in respect of the classes, and allocating to all four classes those costs attributable to the activities of the industrial commission, council, board, and bureau in respect of all classes. The administrator shall separately calculate each employer's assessment in the class, except self-insuring employers, on the basis of the following three factors: payroll, paid compensation, and paid medical costs of the employer for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the board and the bureau. The administrator shall separately calculate each employer's assessment in the class, except self-insuring employers, on the basis of the following three factors: payroll, paid compensation, and paid medical costs of the employer for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the industrial commission. The administrator shall separately calculate each employer's assessment in the class, except self-insuring employers, on the basis of the following three factors: payroll, paid compensation, and paid medical costs of the employer for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the council. The administrator shall separately calculate each self-insuring employer's assessment in accordance with section 4123.35 of the Revised Code for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the board and the bureau. The administrator shall separately calculate each self-insuring employer's assessment in accordance with section 4123.35 of the Revised Code for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the industrial commission. The administrator shall separately calculate each self-insuring employer's assessment in accordance with section 4123.35 of the Revised Code for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the council. In a timely manner, the industrial commission shall provide to the administrator, the information necessary for the administrator to allocate and calculate, with the approval of the chairperson of the industrial commission, for each class of employer as described in this division, the costs solely attributable to the activities of the industrial commission. In a timely manner, the director of the workers' compensation council shall submit to the administrator the information necessary for the administrator to allocate and calculate, with the approval of the director, for each class of employer as described in this division, the costs solely attributable to the activities of the council.

(B) The administrator shall divide the administrative cost assessments collected by the administrator into two three administrative assessment accounts within the state insurance fund. One of the administrative assessment accounts shall consist of the administrative cost assessment collected by the administrator for the industrial commission. The other One of the administrative assessment accounts shall consist of the administrative cost assessment collected by the administrator for the council. One of the administrative assessment account accounts shall consist of the administrative cost assessments collected by the administrator for the bureau and the board. The administrator may invest the administrative cost assessments in these accounts on behalf of the bureau, the council, and the industrial commission as authorized in section 4123.44 of the Revised Code. In a timely manner, the administrator shall provide to the industrial commission and the council the information and reports the commission or council, as applicable, deems necessary for the commission or the council, as applicable, to monitor the receipts and the disbursements from the administrative assessment account for the industrial commission or the administrative assessment account for the council, as applicable.

(C) The administrator or the administrator's designee shall transfer moneys as necessary from the administrative assessment account identified for the bureau and the board to the workers' compensation fund for the use of the bureau and the board. As necessary and upon the authorization of the industrial commission, the administrator or the administrator's designee shall transfer moneys from the administrative assessment account identified for the industrial commission to the industrial commission operating fund created under section 4121.021 of the Revised Code. To the extent that the moneys collected by the administrator in any fiscal biennium of the state equal the sum appropriated by the general assembly for administrative costs of the industrial commission, board, and bureau for the biennium and the administrative costs approved by the workers' compensation council, the moneys shall be paid into the workers' compensation fund and, the industrial commission operating fund of the state, the workers' compensation council fund, and the workers' compensation council remuneration fund, as appropriate, and any remainder shall be retained in the state insurance fund those funds and applied to reduce the amount collected during the next biennium. Sections

(D) As necessary and upon authorization of the director of the council, the administrator or the administrator's designee shall transfer moneys from the administrative assessment account identified for the council to the workers' compensation council fund created in division (C) of section 4121.79 of the Revised Code.

(E) Sections 4123.41, 4123.35, and 4123.37 of the Revised Code apply to the collection of assessments from public and private employers respectively, except that for boards of county hospital trustees that are self-insuring employers, only those provisions applicable to the collection of assessments for private employers apply.

Sec. 4123.35.  (A) Except as provided in this section, every employer mentioned in division (B)(2) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, and every publicly owned utility shall pay semiannually in the months of January and July into the state insurance fund the amount of annual premium the administrator of workers' compensation fixes for the employment or occupation of the employer, the amount of which premium to be paid by each employer to be determined by the classifications, rules, and rates made and published by the administrator. The employer shall pay semiannually a further sum of money into the state insurance fund as may be ascertained to be due from the employer by applying the rules of the administrator, and a receipt or certificate certifying that payment has been made, along with a written notice as is required in section 4123.54 of the Revised Code, shall be mailed immediately to the employer by the bureau of workers' compensation. The receipt or certificate is prima-facie evidence of the payment of the premium, and the proper posting of the notice constitutes the employer's compliance with the notice requirement mandated in section 4123.54 of the Revised Code.

The bureau of workers' compensation shall verify with the secretary of state the existence of all corporations and organizations making application for workers' compensation coverage and shall require every such application to include the employer's federal identification number.

An employer as defined in division (B)(2) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code who has contracted with a subcontractor is liable for the unpaid premium due from any subcontractor with respect to that part of the payroll of the subcontractor that is for work performed pursuant to the contract with the employer.

Division (A) of this section providing for the payment of premiums semiannually does not apply to any employer who was a subscriber to the state insurance fund prior to January 1, 1914, or who may first become a subscriber to the fund in any month other than January or July. Instead, the semiannual premiums shall be paid by those employers from time to time upon the expiration of the respective periods for which payments into the fund have been made by them.

The administrator shall adopt rules to permit employers to make periodic payments of the semiannual premium due under this division. The rules shall include provisions for the assessment of interest charges, where appropriate, and for the assessment of penalties when an employer fails to make timely premium payments. An employer who timely pays the amounts due under this division is entitled to all of the benefits and protections of this chapter. Upon receipt of payment, the bureau immediately shall mail a receipt or certificate to the employer certifying that payment has been made, which receipt is prima-facie evidence of payment. Workers' compensation coverage under this chapter continues uninterrupted upon timely receipt of payment under this division.

Every public employer, except public employers that are self-insuring employers under this section, shall comply with sections 4123.38 to 4123.41, and 4123.48 of the Revised Code in regard to the contribution of moneys to the public insurance fund.

(B) Employers who will abide by the rules of the administrator and who may be of sufficient financial ability to render certain the payment of compensation to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, and the furnishing of medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital attention and services and medicines, and funeral expenses, equal to or greater than is provided for in sections 4123.52, 4123.55 to 4123.62, and 4123.64 to 4123.67 of the Revised Code, and who do not desire to insure the payment thereof or indemnify themselves against loss sustained by the direct payment thereof, upon a finding of such facts by the administrator, may be granted the privilege to pay individually compensation, and furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital services and attention and funeral expenses directly to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, thereby being granted status as a self-insuring employer. The administrator may charge employers who apply for the status as a self-insuring employer a reasonable application fee to cover the bureau's costs in connection with processing and making a determination with respect to an application.

All employers granted status as self-insuring employers shall demonstrate sufficient financial and administrative ability to assure that all obligations under this section are promptly met. The administrator shall deny the privilege where the employer is unable to demonstrate the employer's ability to promptly meet all the obligations imposed on the employer by this section.

(1) The administrator shall consider, but is not limited to, the following factors, where applicable, in determining the employer's ability to meet all of the obligations imposed on the employer by this section:

(a) The employer employs a minimum of five hundred employees in this state;

(b) The employer has operated in this state for a minimum of two years, provided that an employer who has purchased, acquired, or otherwise succeeded to the operation of a business, or any part thereof, situated in this state that has operated for at least two years in this state, also shall qualify;

(c) Where the employer previously contributed to the state insurance fund or is a successor employer as defined by bureau rules, the amount of the buyout, as defined by bureau rules;

(d) The sufficiency of the employer's assets located in this state to insure the employer's solvency in paying compensation directly;

(e) The financial records, documents, and data, certified by a certified public accountant, necessary to provide the employer's full financial disclosure. The records, documents, and data include, but are not limited to, balance sheets and profit and loss history for the current year and previous four years.

(f) The employer's organizational plan for the administration of the workers' compensation law;

(g) The employer's proposed plan to inform employees of the change from a state fund insurer to a self-insuring employer, the procedures the employer will follow as a self-insuring employer, and the employees' rights to compensation and benefits; and

(h) The employer has either an account in a financial institution in this state, or if the employer maintains an account with a financial institution outside this state, ensures that workers' compensation checks are drawn from the same account as payroll checks or the employer clearly indicates that payment will be honored by a financial institution in this state.

The administrator may waive the requirements of divisions (B)(1)(a) and (b) of this section and the requirement of division (B)(1)(e) of this section that the financial records, documents, and data be certified by a certified public accountant. The administrator shall adopt rules establishing the criteria that an employer shall meet in order for the administrator to waive the requirement of division (B)(1)(e) of this section. Such rules may require additional security of that employer pursuant to division (E) of section 4123.351 of the Revised Code.

The administrator shall not grant the status of self-insuring employer to the state, except that the administrator may grant the status of self-insuring employer to a state institution of higher education, excluding its hospitals, that meets the requirements of division (B)(2) of this section.

(2) When considering the application of a public employer, except for a board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, a board of a county hospital, or a publicly owned utility, the administrator shall verify that the public employer satisfies all of the following requirements as the requirements apply to that public employer:

(a) For the two-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer has maintained an unvoted debt capacity equal to at least two times the amount of the current annual premium established by the administrator under this chapter for that public employer for the year immediately preceding the year in which the public employer makes application under this section.

(b) For each of the two fiscal years preceding application under this section, the unreserved and undesignated year-end fund balance in the public employer's general fund is equal to at least five per cent of the public employer's general fund revenues for the fiscal year computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(c) For the five-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer, to the extent applicable, has complied fully with the continuing disclosure requirements established in rules adopted by the United States securities and exchange commission under 17 C.F.R. 240.15c 2-12.

(d) For the five-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer has not had its local government fund distribution withheld on account of the public employer being indebted or otherwise obligated to the state.

(e) For the five-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer has not been under a fiscal watch or fiscal emergency pursuant to section 118.023, 118.04, or 3316.03 of the Revised Code.

(f) For the public employer's fiscal year preceding application under this section, the public employer has obtained an annual financial audit as required under section 117.10 of the Revised Code, which has been released by the auditor of state within seven months after the end of the public employer's fiscal year.

(g) On the date of application, the public employer holds a debt rating of Aa3 or higher according to Moody's investors service, inc., or a comparable rating by an independent rating agency similar to Moody's investors service, inc.

(h) The public employer agrees to generate an annual accumulating book reserve in its financial statements reflecting an actuarially generated reserve adequate to pay projected claims under this chapter for the applicable period of time, as determined by the administrator.

(i) For a public employer that is a hospital, the public employer shall submit audited financial statements showing the hospital's overall liquidity characteristics, and the administrator shall determine, on an individual basis, whether the public employer satisfies liquidity standards equivalent to the liquidity standards of other public employers.

(j) Any additional criteria that the administrator adopts by rule pursuant to division (E) of this section.

The administrator shall not approve the application of a public employer, except for a board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, a board of a county hospital, or publicly owned utility, who does not satisfy all of the requirements listed in division (B)(2) of this section.

(C) A board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, as an employer, that will abide by the rules of the administrator and that may be of sufficient financial ability to render certain the payment of compensation to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, and the furnishing of medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital attention and services and medicines, and funeral expenses, equal to or greater than is provided for in sections 4123.52, 4123.55 to 4123.62, and 4123.64 to 4123.67 of the Revised Code, and that does not desire to insure the payment thereof or indemnify itself against loss sustained by the direct payment thereof, upon a finding of such facts by the administrator, may be granted the privilege to pay individually compensation, and furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital services and attention and funeral expenses directly to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, thereby being granted status as a self-insuring employer. The administrator may charge a board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code that applies for the status as a self-insuring employer a reasonable application fee to cover the bureau's costs in connection with processing and making a determination with respect to an application. All employers granted such status shall demonstrate sufficient financial and administrative ability to assure that all obligations under this section are promptly met. The administrator shall deny the privilege where the employer is unable to demonstrate the employer's ability to promptly meet all the obligations imposed on the employer by this section. The administrator shall consider, but is not limited to, the following factors, where applicable, in determining the employer's ability to meet all of the obligations imposed on the board as an employer by this section:

(1) The board as an employer employs a minimum of five hundred employees in this state;

(2) The board has operated in this state for a minimum of two years;

(3) Where the board previously contributed to the state insurance fund or is a successor employer as defined by bureau rules, the amount of the buyout, as defined by bureau rules;

(4) The sufficiency of the board's assets located in this state to insure the board's solvency in paying compensation directly;

(5) The financial records, documents, and data, certified by a certified public accountant, necessary to provide the board's full financial disclosure. The records, documents, and data include, but are not limited to, balance sheets and profit and loss history for the current year and previous four years.

(6) The board's organizational plan for the administration of the workers' compensation law;

(7) The board's proposed plan to inform employees of the proposed self-insurance, the procedures the board will follow as a self-insuring employer, and the employees' rights to compensation and benefits;

(8) The board has either an account in a financial institution in this state, or if the board maintains an account with a financial institution outside this state, ensures that workers' compensation checks are drawn from the same account as payroll checks or the board clearly indicates that payment will be honored by a financial institution in this state;

(9) The board shall provide the administrator a surety bond in an amount equal to one hundred twenty-five per cent of the projected losses as determined by the administrator.

(D) The administrator shall require a surety bond from all self-insuring employers, issued pursuant to section 4123.351 of the Revised Code, that is sufficient to compel, or secure to injured employees, or to the dependents of employees killed, the payment of compensation and expenses, which shall in no event be less than that paid or furnished out of the state insurance fund in similar cases to injured employees or to dependents of killed employees whose employers contribute to the fund, except when an employee of the employer, who has suffered the loss of a hand, arm, foot, leg, or eye prior to the injury for which compensation is to be paid, and thereafter suffers the loss of any other of the members as the result of any injury sustained in the course of and arising out of the employee's employment, the compensation to be paid by the self-insuring employer is limited to the disability suffered in the subsequent injury, additional compensation, if any, to be paid by the bureau out of the surplus created by section 4123.34 of the Revised Code.

(E) In addition to the requirements of this section, the administrator shall make and publish rules governing the manner of making application and the nature and extent of the proof required to justify a finding of fact by the administrator as to granting the status of a self-insuring employer, which rules shall be general in their application, one of which rules shall provide that all self-insuring employers shall pay into the state insurance fund such amounts as are required to be credited to the surplus fund in division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code. The administrator may adopt rules establishing requirements in addition to the requirements described in division (B)(2) of this section that a public employer shall meet in order to qualify for self-insuring status.

Employers shall secure directly from the bureau central offices application forms upon which the bureau shall stamp a designating number. Prior to submission of an application, an employer shall make available to the bureau, and the bureau shall review, the information described in division (B)(1) of this section, and public employers shall make available, and the bureau shall review, the information necessary to verify whether the public employer meets the requirements listed in division (B)(2) of this section. An employer shall file the completed application forms with an application fee, which shall cover the costs of processing the application, as established by the administrator, by rule, with the bureau at least ninety days prior to the effective date of the employer's new status as a self-insuring employer. The application form is not deemed complete until all the required information is attached thereto. The bureau shall only accept applications that contain the required information.

(F) The bureau shall review completed applications within a reasonable time. If the bureau determines to grant an employer the status as a self-insuring employer, the bureau shall issue a statement, containing its findings of fact, that is prepared by the bureau and signed by the administrator. If the bureau determines not to grant the status as a self-insuring employer, the bureau shall notify the employer of the determination and require the employer to continue to pay its full premium into the state insurance fund. The administrator also shall adopt rules establishing a minimum level of performance as a criterion for granting and maintaining the status as a self-insuring employer and fixing time limits beyond which failure of the self-insuring employer to provide for the necessary medical examinations and evaluations may not delay a decision on a claim.

(G) The administrator shall adopt rules setting forth procedures for auditing the program of self-insuring employers. The bureau shall conduct the audit upon a random basis or whenever the bureau has grounds for believing that a self-insuring employer is not in full compliance with bureau rules or this chapter.

The administrator shall monitor the programs conducted by self-insuring employers, to ensure compliance with bureau requirements and for that purpose, shall develop and issue to self-insuring employers standardized forms for use by the self-insuring employer in all aspects of the self-insuring employers' direct compensation program and for reporting of information to the bureau.

The bureau shall receive and transmit to the self-insuring employer all complaints concerning any self-insuring employer. In the case of a complaint against a self-insuring employer, the administrator shall handle the complaint through the self-insurance division of the bureau. The bureau shall maintain a file by employer of all complaints received that relate to the employer. The bureau shall evaluate each complaint and take appropriate action.

The administrator shall adopt as a rule a prohibition against any self-insuring employer from harassing, dismissing, or otherwise disciplining any employee making a complaint, which rule shall provide for a financial penalty to be levied by the administrator payable by the offending self-insuring employer.

(H) For the purpose of making determinations as to whether to grant status as a self-insuring employer, the administrator may subscribe to and pay for a credit reporting service that offers financial and other business information about individual employers. The costs in connection with the bureau's subscription or individual reports from the service about an applicant may be included in the application fee charged employers under this section.

(I) The administrator, notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, may permit a self-insuring employer to resume payment of premiums to the state insurance fund with appropriate credit modifications to the employer's basic premium rate as such rate is determined pursuant to section 4123.29 of the Revised Code.

(J) On the first day of July of each year, the administrator shall calculate separately each self-insuring employer's assessments for the safety and hygiene fund, administrative costs pursuant to section 4123.342 of the Revised Code, and for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that is not used for handicapped reimbursement, on the basis of the paid compensation attributable to the individual self-insuring employer according to the following calculation:

(1) The total assessment against all self-insuring employers as a class for each fund and for the administrative costs for the year that the assessment is being made, as determined by the administrator, divided by the total amount of paid compensation for the previous calendar year attributable to all amenable self-insuring employers;

(2) Multiply the quotient in division (J)(1) of this section by the total amount of paid compensation for the previous calendar year that is attributable to the individual self-insuring employer for whom the assessment is being determined. Each self-insuring employer shall pay the assessment that results from this calculation, unless the assessment resulting from this calculation falls below a minimum assessment, which minimum assessment the administrator shall determine on the first day of July of each year with the advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, in which event, the self-insuring employer shall pay the minimum assessment.

In determining the total amount due for the total assessment against all self-insuring employers as a class for each fund and the administrative assessment, the administrator shall reduce proportionately the total for each fund and assessment by the amount of money in the self-insurance assessment fund as of the date of the computation of the assessment.

The administrator shall calculate the assessment for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that is used for handicapped reimbursement in the same manner as set forth in divisions (J)(1) and (2) of this section except that the administrator shall calculate the total assessment for this portion of the surplus fund only on the basis of those self-insuring employers that retain participation in the handicapped reimbursement program and the individual self-insuring employer's proportion of paid compensation shall be calculated only for those self-insuring employers who retain participation in the handicapped reimbursement program. The administrator, as the administrator determines appropriate, may determine the total assessment for the handicapped portion of the surplus fund in accordance with sound actuarial principles.

The administrator shall calculate the assessment for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that under division (D) of section 4121.66 of the Revised Code is used for rehabilitation costs in the same manner as set forth in divisions (J)(1) and (2) of this section, except that the administrator shall calculate the total assessment for this portion of the surplus fund only on the basis of those self-insuring employers who have not made the election to make payments directly under division (D) of section 4121.66 of the Revised Code and an individual self-insuring employer's proportion of paid compensation only for those self-insuring employers who have not made that election.

The administrator shall calculate the assessment for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that is used for reimbursement to a self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of the Revised Code in the same manner as set forth in divisions (J)(1) and (2) of this section except that the administrator shall calculate the total assessment for this portion of the surplus fund only on the basis of those self-insuring employers that retain participation in reimbursement to the self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of the Revised Code and the individual self-insuring employer's proportion of paid compensation shall be calculated only for those self-insuring employers who retain participation in reimbursement to the self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of the Revised Code.

An employer who no longer is a self-insuring employer in this state or who no longer is operating in this state, shall continue to pay assessments for administrative costs and for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that is not used for handicapped reimbursement, based upon paid compensation attributable to claims that occurred while the employer was a self-insuring employer within this state.

(K) The administrator shall deposit any moneys received from a self-insuring employer for the self-insuring employer's assessment to pay the costs solely attributable to the workers' compensation council into the administrative assessment account described in division (B) of section 4123.342 of the Revised Code for the administrative cost assessment collected by the administrator for the council. There is hereby created in the state treasury the self-insurance assessment fund. All investment earnings of the fund shall be deposited in the fund. The administrator shall use the money in the self-insurance assessment fund only for administrative costs as specified in section 4123.341 of the Revised Code.

(L) Every self-insuring employer shall certify, in affidavit form subject to the penalty for perjury, to the bureau the amount of the self-insuring employer's paid compensation for the previous calendar year. In reporting paid compensation paid for the previous year, a self-insuring employer shall exclude from the total amount of paid compensation any reimbursement the self-insuring employer receives in the previous calendar year from the surplus fund pursuant to section 4123.512 of the Revised Code for any paid compensation. The self-insuring employer also shall exclude from the paid compensation reported any amount recovered under section 4123.931 of the Revised Code and any amount that is determined not to have been payable to or on behalf of a claimant in any final administrative or judicial proceeding. The self-insuring employer shall exclude such amounts from the paid compensation reported in the reporting period subsequent to the date the determination is made. The administrator shall adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, that provide for all of the following:

(1) Establishing the date by which self-insuring employers must submit such information and the amount of the assessments provided for in division (J) of this section for employers who have been granted self-insuring status within the last calendar year;

(2) If an employer fails to pay the assessment when due, the administrator may add a late fee penalty of not more than five hundred dollars to the assessment plus an additional penalty amount as follows:

(a) For an assessment from sixty-one to ninety days past due, the prime interest rate, multiplied by the assessment due;

(b) For an assessment from ninety-one to one hundred twenty days past due, the prime interest rate plus two per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(c) For an assessment from one hundred twenty-one to one hundred fifty days past due, the prime interest rate plus four per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(d) For an assessment from one hundred fifty-one to one hundred eighty days past due, the prime interest rate plus six per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(e) For an assessment from one hundred eighty-one to two hundred ten days past due, the prime interest rate plus eight per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(f) For each additional thirty-day period or portion thereof that an assessment remains past due after it has remained past due for more than two hundred ten days, the prime interest rate plus eight per cent, multiplied by the assessment due.

(3) An employer may appeal a late fee penalty and penalty assessment to the administrator.

For purposes of division (L)(2) of this section, "prime interest rate" means the average bank prime rate, and the administrator shall determine the prime interest rate in the same manner as a county auditor determines the average bank prime rate under section 929.02 of the Revised Code.

The administrator shall include any assessment and penalties that remain unpaid for previous assessment periods in the calculation and collection of any assessments due under this division or division (J) of this section.

(M) As used in this section, "paid compensation" means all amounts paid by a self-insuring employer for living maintenance benefits, all amounts for compensation paid pursuant to sections 4121.63, 4121.67, 4123.56, 4123.57, 4123.58, 4123.59, 4123.60, and 4123.64 of the Revised Code, all amounts paid as wages in lieu of such compensation, all amounts paid in lieu of such compensation under a nonoccupational accident and sickness program fully funded by the self-insuring employer, and all amounts paid by a self-insuring employer for a violation of a specific safety standard pursuant to Section 35 of Article II, Ohio Constitution and section 4121.47 of the Revised Code.

(N) Should any section of this chapter or Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code providing for self-insuring employers' assessments based upon compensation paid be declared unconstitutional by a final decision of any court, then that section of the Revised Code declared unconstitutional shall revert back to the section in existence prior to November 3, 1989, providing for assessments based upon payroll.

(O) The administrator may grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to self-insure a construction project entered into by the self-insuring employer that is scheduled for completion within six years after the date the project begins, and the total cost of which is estimated to exceed one hundred million dollars or, for employers described in division (R) of this section, if the construction project is estimated to exceed twenty-five million dollars. The administrator may waive such cost and time criteria and grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to self-insure a construction project regardless of the time needed to complete the construction project and provided that the cost of the construction project is estimated to exceed fifty million dollars. A self-insuring employer who desires to self-insure a construction project shall submit to the administrator an application listing the dates the construction project is scheduled to begin and end, the estimated cost of the construction project, the contractors and subcontractors whose employees are to be self-insured by the self-insuring employer, the provisions of a safety program that is specifically designed for the construction project, and a statement as to whether a collective bargaining agreement governing the rights, duties, and obligations of each of the parties to the agreement with respect to the construction project exists between the self-insuring employer and a labor organization.

A self-insuring employer may apply to self-insure the employees of either of the following:

(1) All contractors and subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide materials for the construction project;

(2) All contractors and, at the administrator's discretion, a substantial number of all the subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide materials for the construction project.

Upon approval of the application, the administrator shall mail a certificate granting the privilege to self-insure the construction project to the self-insuring employer. The certificate shall contain the name of the self-insuring employer and the name, address, and telephone number of the self-insuring employer's representatives who are responsible for administering workers' compensation claims for the construction project. The self-insuring employer shall post the certificate in a conspicuous place at the site of the construction project.

The administrator shall maintain a record of the contractors and subcontractors whose employees are covered under the certificate issued to the self-insured employer. A self-insuring employer immediately shall notify the administrator when any contractor or subcontractor is added or eliminated from inclusion under the certificate.

Upon approval of the application, the self-insuring employer is responsible for the administration and payment of all claims under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code for the employees of the contractor and subcontractors covered under the certificate who receive injuries or are killed in the course of and arising out of employment on the construction project, or who contract an occupational disease in the course of employment on the construction project. For purposes of this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, a claim that is administered and paid in accordance with this division is considered a claim against the self-insuring employer listed in the certificate. A contractor or subcontractor included under the certificate shall report to the self-insuring employer listed in the certificate, all claims that arise under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code in connection with the construction project for which the certificate is issued.

A self-insuring employer who complies with this division is entitled to the protections provided under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code with respect to the employees of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate issued under this division for death or injuries that arise out of, or death, injuries, or occupational diseases that arise in the course of, those employees' employment on that construction project, as if the employees were employees of the self-insuring employer, provided that the self-insuring employer also complies with this section. No employee of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate issued under this division shall be considered the employee of the self-insuring employer listed in that certificate for any purposes other than this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code. Nothing in this division gives a self-insuring employer authority to control the means, manner, or method of employment of the employees of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate issued under this division.

The contractors and subcontractors included under a certificate issued under this division are entitled to the protections provided under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code with respect to the contractor's or subcontractor's employees who are employed on the construction project which is the subject of the certificate, for death or injuries that arise out of, or death, injuries, or occupational diseases that arise in the course of, those employees' employment on that construction project.

The contractors and subcontractors included under a certificate issued under this division shall identify in their payroll records the employees who are considered the employees of the self-insuring employer listed in that certificate for purposes of this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, and the amount that those employees earned for employment on the construction project that is the subject of that certificate. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, the administrator shall exclude the payroll that is reported for employees who are considered the employees of the self-insuring employer listed in that certificate, and that the employees earned for employment on the construction project that is the subject of that certificate, when determining those contractors' or subcontractors' premiums or assessments required under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code. A self-insuring employer issued a certificate under this division shall include in the amount of paid compensation it reports pursuant to division (L) of this section, the amount of paid compensation the self-insuring employer paid pursuant to this division for the previous calendar year.

Nothing in this division shall be construed as altering the rights of employees under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code as those rights existed prior to September 17, 1996. Nothing in this division shall be construed as altering the rights devolved under sections 2305.31 and 4123.82 of the Revised Code as those rights existed prior to September 17, 1996.

As used in this division, "privilege to self-insure a construction project" means privilege to pay individually compensation, and to furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital services and attention and funeral expenses directly to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees.

(P) A self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division (O) of this section shall designate a safety professional to be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the safety program that is specifically designed for the construction project that is the subject of the application.

A self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division (O) of this section shall employ an ombudsperson for the construction project that is the subject of the application. The ombudsperson shall have experience in workers' compensation or the construction industry, or both. The ombudsperson shall perform all of the following duties:

(1) Communicate with and provide information to employees who are injured in the course of, or whose injury arises out of employment on the construction project, or who contract an occupational disease in the course of employment on the construction project;

(2) Investigate the status of a claim upon the request of an employee to do so;

(3) Provide information to claimants, third party administrators, employers, and other persons to assist those persons in protecting their rights under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code.

A self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division (O) of this section shall post the name of the safety professional and the ombudsperson and instructions for contacting the safety professional and the ombudsperson in a conspicuous place at the site of the construction project.

(Q) The administrator may consider all of the following when deciding whether to grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to self-insure a construction project as provided under division (O) of this section:

(1) Whether the self-insuring employer has an organizational plan for the administration of the workers' compensation law;

(2) Whether the safety program that is specifically designed for the construction project provides for the safety of employees employed on the construction project, is applicable to all contractors and subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide materials for the construction project, and has as a component, a safety training program that complies with standards adopted pursuant to the "Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970," 84 Stat. 1590, 29 U.S.C.A. 651, and provides for continuing management and employee involvement;

(3) Whether granting the privilege to self-insure the construction project will reduce the costs of the construction project;

(4) Whether the self-insuring employer has employed an ombudsperson as required under division (P) of this section;

(5) Whether the self-insuring employer has sufficient surety to secure the payment of claims for which the self-insuring employer would be responsible pursuant to the granting of the privilege to self-insure a construction project under division (O) of this section.

(R) As used in divisions (O), (P), and (Q), "self-insuring employer" includes the following employers, whether or not they have been granted the status of being a self-insuring employer under division (B) of this section:

(1) A state institution of higher education;

(2) A school district;

(3) A county school financing district;

(4) An educational service center;

(5) A community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code.

(S) As used in this section:

(1) "Unvoted debt capacity" means the amount of money that a public employer may borrow without voter approval of a tax levy;

(2) "State institution of higher education" means the state universities listed in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, community colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3354. of the Revised Code, university branches created pursuant to Chapter 3355. of the Revised Code, technical colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3357. of the Revised Code, and state community colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3358. of the Revised Code.

SECTION 2. That existing sections 101.532, 101.82, 127.14, 4121.03, 4121.121, 4121.75, 4121.76, 4121.77, 4121.79, 4123.29, 4123.341, 4123.342, and 4123.35 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

SECTION 3. This act is not subject to division (A) of section 4121.78 of the Revised Code.

SECTION 4. All items in this section are hereby appropriated as designated out of any moneys in the state treasury to the credit of the Workers' Compensation Council Fund Group. For all appropriations made in this act, those in the first column are for fiscal year 2008 and those in the second column are for fiscal year 2009. The appropriations made in this act are in addition to any other appropriations made for the FY 2008-2009 biennium.

WCC WORKERS' COMPENSATION COUNCIL

Workers' Compensation Council


5FV0 321600 Remuneration Expenses $ 0 $ 315,000
TOTAL 5FV0 Workers' Compensation Council Remuneration Fund $ 0 $ 315,000
TOTAL ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS $ 0 $ 315,000

WORKERS' COMPENSATION COUNCIL

The foregoing appropriation item 321600, Remuneration Expenses, shall be used to pay for the payroll and fringe benefit costs for employees of the Workers' Compensation Council.

Between December 15, 2008, and June 30, 2009, the Administrator of Workers' Compensation shall direct the Treasurer of State to transfer $475,000 cash from the Workers' Compensation Fund (Fund 7023) to the Workers' Compensation Council Fund, created in division (C) of section 4121.79 of the Revised Code, in three installments. The installments shall be made according to a schedule agreed to by the Director of the Workers' Compensation Council and the Administrator of Workers' Compensation.

Upon the request of the Director of the Workers' Compensation Council, the Director of Budget and Management shall transfer a cash amount designated by the Director of the Workers' Compensation Council from the Workers' Compensation Council Fund (Fund 5DR0), created by the Controlling Board in August of 2008, to the Workers' Compensation Council Remuneration Fund (Fund 5FV0). On or before January 31, 2009, the Director of the Workers' Compensation Council shall request that the Director of Budget and Management transfer any remaining balance in the Workers' Compensation Council Fund (Fund 5DR0) to the Workers' Compensation Council Fund, created by division (C) of section 4121.79 of the Revised Code as amended by this act. The Treasurer of State, at the request of the Director of Budget and Management, shall execute this transfer. After this transfer has occurred, the Workers' Compensation Council Fund (Fund 5DR0) is abolished.

SECTION 5. Within the limits set forth in this act, the Director of Budget and Management shall establish accounts indicating the source and amount of funds for each appropriation made in this act, and shall determine the form and manner in which appropriation accounts shall be maintained. Expenditures from appropriations contained in this act shall be accounted for as though made in Am. Sub. H.B. 119 of the 127th General Assembly.

The appropriations made in this act are subject to all provisions of Am. Sub. H.B. 119 of the 127th General Assembly that are generally applicable to such appropriations.

SECTION 6. The Administrator of Workers' Compensation shall examine the group rating program and make a plan to address the equity and adequacy of workers' compensation premiums for Ohio employers. The Administrator of Workers' Compensation shall provide such report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the chairperson of any standing committee of the Ohio General Assembly that regularly considers workers' compensation bills, and the Workers' Compensation Council by September 15, 2009.

SECTION 7. It is not the intent of the General Assembly, in amending section 101.82 of the Revised Code in Section 1 of this act, to supersede the repeal and delayed effective date of that repeal established in Section 6 of Am. Sub. H.B. 516 of the 125th General Assembly.

SECTION 8. The sections of law contained in this act are not subject to the referendum. Therefore, under Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1d and section 1.471 of the Revised Code, the sections go into immediate effect when this act becomes law.