To amend sections 103.73, 103.74, and 5120.55 of the Revised Code to permit the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to recruit certain licensed health professionals through a loan repayment program and to modify the procedures used by the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee to inspect correctional institutions.
SECTION 1. That sections 103.73, 103.74, and 5120.55 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 103.73. (A) The correctional institution inspection committee shall do all of the following:
(1) Subject to division (C) of this section, establish and maintain a continuing program of inspection of each state correctional institution used for the custody, control, training, and rehabilitation of persons convicted of crime and of each private correctional facility. Subject to division (C) of this section, the committee may inspect any local correctional institution used for the same purposes. Subject to division (C) of this section, the committee, and each member of the committee, for the purpose of making an inspection pursuant to this section, shall have access to any state or local correctional institution, to any private correctional facility, or to any part of the institution or facility and shall not be required to give advance notice of, or to make prior arrangements before conducting, an inspection.
(2) Evaluate and assist in the development of programs to improve the condition or operation of correctional institutions;
(3) Prepare a report for submission to the succeeding general assembly of the findings the committee makes in its inspections and of any programs that have been proposed or developed to improve the condition or operation of the correctional institutions in the state. The report shall contain a separate evaluation of the inmate grievance procedure at each state correctional institution. The committee shall submit the report to the succeeding general assembly within fifteen days after commencement of that general assembly's first regular session.
(B) Subject to division (C) of this section, the committee shall make an inspection of each state correctional institution each biennium and of each private correctional facility each biennium. The inspection shall include attendance at one general meal period and one rehabilitative or educational program.
(C) An inspection of a state correctional institution, a private correctional facility, or a local correctional institution under division (A) or (B) of this section or under section 103.74 of the Revised Code, or an inspection under section 103.76 of the Revised Code, is subject to and shall be conducted in accordance with all of the following:
(1) The inspection shall not be conducted unless the
chairperson of the committee grants prior approval
for the
inspection. The grant of prior approval shall specify whether the
inspection is to be
conducted by a subcommittee appointed under
section 103.74 of the
Revised Code
or is to be conducted other
than by a subcommittee appointed under that
section.
(2) The inspection shall not be conducted unless
one of the
following applies:
(a) If the inspection is to be conducted by a
subcommittee
appointed under section 103.74 of the Revised Code, at least
two
members appointed to the committee are present for the
inspection;
(b) If division (C)(2)(a) of this section
does not apply, at
least one member appointed to the committee and at least
one staff
member of the committee are present for the inspection by at least
one staff member of the committee and may include one or more of
the members appointed to the committee.
(3) Unless the chairperson of the committee determines that the inspection must be conducted outside of normal business hours for any reason, including emergency circumstances or a justifiable cause that perpetuates the mission of the committee, and the chairperson specifies in the grant of prior approval for the inspection that the chairperson has so determined, the inspection shall be conducted only during normal business hours. If the chairperson determines that the inspection must be conducted outside of normal business hours and the chairperson specifies in the grant of prior approval for the inspection that the chairperson has so determined, the inspection may be conducted outside of normal business hours.
(4) If the inspection is to be conducted by a subcommittee
appointed under
section 103.74 of the Revised Code, no staff
member of the committee may be
present on the
inspection unless
the chairperson of the committee, in the grant of prior
approval
for the inspection,
specifically authorizes staff members to be
present on the
inspection. If the inspection is to be conducted
other than by a subcommittee
appointed
under that section,
staff
members may be present on the inspection regardless of whether the
grant
of prior approval contains a specific authorization for
staff members to be
present on the inspection.
(D) As used in this section:
(1) "Local public entity," "out-of-state prisoner," and "private contractor" have the same meanings as in section 9.07 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Private correctional facility" means a correctional facility in this state that houses out-of-state prisoners and that is operated by a private contractor under a contract with a local public entity pursuant to section 9.07 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 103.74. Subject to division (C) of section 103.73 of
the Revised Code, the chairperson of the The correctional
institution
inspection committee may appoint subcommittees, each
to consist
of at least two members, for the purpose of conducting
inspections pursuant to section 103.73 or 103.76 of the Revised
Code.
The committee may employ a director and any other nonlegal
staff, who shall be in the unclassified service of the state,
that
are necessary for the committee to carry out its duties and
may
contract for the services of whatever nonlegal technical advisors
are necessary for the committee to carry out its duties. The
attorney general shall act as legal counsel to the committee.
The chairperson and vice-chairperson of the legislative service commission shall fix the compensation of the director. The director, with the approval of the director of the legislative service commission, shall fix the compensation of other staff of the committee in accordance with a salary schedule established by the director of the legislative service commission. Contracts for the services of necessary technical advisors shall be approved by the director of the legislative service commission.
The general assembly shall biennially appropriate to the correctional institution inspection committee an amount sufficient to enable the committee to perform its duties. Salaries and expenses incurred by the committee shall be paid from that appropriation upon vouchers approved by the chairperson of the committee.
Sec. 5120.55. (A) As used in this section, "physician"
"licensed health professional" means an individual any or all of
the following:
(1) A dentist who holds a current, valid license issued under Chapter 4715. of the Revised Code to practice dentistry;
(2) A licensed practical nurse who holds a current, valid license issued under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code that authorizes the practice of nursing as a licensed practical nurse;
(3) An optometrist who holds a current, valid certificate of licensure issued under Chapter 4725. of the Revised Code that authorizes the holder to engage in the practice of optometry;
(4) A physician who is authorized under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or podiatry;
(5) A psychologist who holds a current, valid license issued under Chapter 4732. of the Revised Code that authorizes the practice of psychology as a licensed psychologist;
(6) A registered nurse who holds a current, valid license issued under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code that authorizes the practice of nursing as a registered nurse regardless of whether the nurse is authorized to practice as an advanced practice nurse as defined in section 4723.01 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) The department of rehabilitation and correction may
establish a physician recruitment program under which the
department, by means of a contract entered into under
division
(C)
of this section, agrees to repay all or part of the
principal and
interest of a government or other educational loan
incurred by a
physician licensed health professional who agrees to provide
services to
inmates
of
correctional institutions under the
department's
administration.
To
(2)(a) For a physician to be eligible to participate in the
program, a the
physician must have attended a school that was,
during the time of attendance,
a medical school or osteopathic
medical school in this country accredited by
the liaison committee
on medical education or the American
osteopathic association, a
college of podiatry in this country recognized as
being in good
standing under section 4731.53 of the
Revised Code, or a medical
school,
osteopathic medical school, or
college of podiatry located
outside this country that was acknowledged by the
world health
organization and verified by a member state of that organization
as operating within that state's jurisdiction.
(b) For a nurse to be eligible to participate in the program, the nurse must have attended a school that was, during the time of attendance, a nursing school in this country accredited by the commission on collegiate nursing education or the national league for nursing accrediting commission or a nursing school located outside this country that was acknowledged by the world health organization and verified by a member state of that organization as operating within that state's jurisdiction.
(c) For a dentist to be eligible to participate in the program, the dentist must have attended a school that was, during the time of attendance, a dental college that enabled the dentist to meet the requirements specified in section 4715.10 of the Revised Code to be granted a license to practice dentistry.
(d) For an optometrist to be eligible to participate in the program, the optometrist must have attended a school of optometry that was, during the time of attendance, approved by the state board of optometry.
(e) For a psychologist to be eligible to participate in the program, the psychologist must have attended an educational institution that, during the time of attendance, maintained a specific degree program recognized by the state board of psychology as acceptable for fulfilling the requirement of division (B)(4) of section 4732.10 of the Revised Code.
(C) The department
shall enter into a contract with
each
physician licensed health professional it recruits under this
section. Each
contract
shall include at least the following
terms:
(1) The physician licensed health professional agrees to
provide a
specified
scope of
medical, osteopathic medical, or
podiatric, optometric, psychological,
nursing, or dental
services
to inmates of one or
more specified
state correctional
institutions for a specified
number of hours
per week for a
specified number of years.
(2) The department agrees to repay all or a specified
portion
of the principal and interest of a government or other
educational
loan taken by the physician licensed health professional for the
following
expenses
to
attend, for up to a maximum of four
years,
a school
that qualifies
the physician licensed health
professional to participate in
the program:
(a) Tuition;
(b) Other educational expenses for specific purposes, including fees, books, and laboratory expenses, in amounts determined to be reasonable in accordance with rules adopted under division (D) of this section;
(c) Room and board, in an amount determined to be reasonable in accordance with rules adopted under division (D) of this section.
(3) The physician licensed health professional agrees to pay
the
department a
specified
amount, which shall be no less than
the
amount already
paid by
the department pursuant to its
agreement,
as damages if
the physician licensed health
professional
fails to complete
the
service
obligation
agreed to
or fails to comply with other
specified terms of the
contract.
The contract may vary the amount
of damages based on
the
portion
of the physician's service
obligation that remains
uncompleted.
(4) Other terms agreed upon by the parties.
The physician's licensed health professional's lending
institution or the Ohio board of regents, may be a
party to the
contract. The
contract may
include an assignment to the department
of the physician's licensed health professional's duty
to
repay
the
principal and interest of the loan.
(D) If the department elects to implement the physician
recruitment program, it shall adopt rules in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that establish all of the
following:
(1) Criteria for designating institutions for which
physicians licensed health professionals will
be recruited;
(2) Criteria for selecting physicians licensed health
professionals for
participation in
the program;
(3) Criteria for determining the portion of a physician's
loan which the department will agree to repay;
(4) Criteria for determining reasonable amounts of the expenses described in divisions (C)(2)(b) and (c) of this section;
(5) Procedures for monitoring compliance by physicians
a
licensed health professional
with the terms of their contracts
the contract the licensed health professional enters into under
this section;
(6) Any other criteria or procedures necessary to implement the program.
SECTION 2. That existing sections 103.73, 103.74, and 5120.55 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.