As Passed by the House

128th General Assembly
Regular Session
2009-2010
Sub. H. B. No. 449


Representative Ujvagi 

Cosponsors: Representatives Yuko, Goyal, Belcher, Boose, Boyd, Brown, Carney, Celeste, Chandler, DeBose, Domenick, Dyer, Evans, Fende, Foley, Garland, Hackett, Harris, Harwood, Heard, Letson, Luckie, Lundy, Mallory, Murray, Oelslager, Otterman, Patten, Pillich, Pryor, Reece, Schneider, Skindell, Stewart, Sykes, Szollosi, Weddington, Williams, B., Winburn 

A BILL
To amend sections 2108.72, 2108.73, 5902.02, and 1
5923.05 of the Revised Code to allow a DD Form 93, 2
Record of Emergency Data, to satisfy the written 3
declaration requirements for designating a person 4
authorized to direct disposition of human remains, 5
to modify the membership of the Veterans Advisory 6
Committee, and to provide publicly employed 7
firefighters and emergency medical technicians 8
with a minimum paid military leave of seventeen 9
24-hour days.10


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

       Section 1. That sections 2108.72, 2108.73, 5902.02, and 11
5923.05 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:12

       Sec. 2108.72.  (A) The written declaration described in 13
section 2108.70 of the Revised Code shall include all of the 14
following: 15

       (1) The declarant's legal name and present address;16

       (2) A statement that the declarant, an adult being of sound 17
mind, willfully and voluntarily appoints a representative to have 18
the declarant's right of disposition for the declarant's body upon 19
the declarant's death;20

       (3) A statement that all decisions made by the declarant's 21
representative with respect to the right of disposition are 22
binding;23

       (4) The name, last known address, and last known telephone 24
number of the representative or, if the representative is a group 25
of persons, the name, last known address, and last known telephone 26
number of each person in the group;27

       (5) If the declarant chooses to have a successor 28
representative, a statement that if any person or group of persons 29
named as the declarant's representative is disqualified from 30
serving in such position as described in section 2108.75 of the 31
Revised Code, the declarant appoints a successor representative;32

       (6) If applicable, the name, last known address, and last 33
known telephone number of the successor representative or, if the 34
successor representative is a group of persons, the name, last 35
known address, and last known telephone number of each person in 36
the group;37

       (7) A space where the declarant may indicate the declarant's 38
preferences regarding how the right of disposition should be 39
exercised, including any religious observances the declarant 40
wishes the person with the right of disposition to consider;41

       (8) A space where the declarant may indicate one or more 42
sources of funds that may be used to pay for goods and services 43
associated with the exercise of the right of disposition;44

       (9) A statement that the declarant's written declaration 45
becomes effective on the declarant's death;46

       (10) A statement that the declarant revokes any written 47
declaration that the declarant executed, in accordance with 48
section 2108.70 of the Revised Code, prior to the execution of the 49
present written declaration.;50

       (11) A space where the declarant can sign and date the 51
written declaration;52

       (12) A space where a notary public or two witnesses can sign 53
and date the written declaration as described in section 2108.73 54
of the Revised Code.55

       (B) A written declaration may take the following form:56

       APPOINTMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE FOR DISPOSITION OF BODILY 57
REMAINS, FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS, AND BURIAL OR CREMATION GOODS AND 58
SERVICES:59

       I, ................. (legal name and present address of 60
declarant), an adult being of sound mind, willfully and 61
voluntarily appoint my representative, named below, to have the 62
right of disposition, as defined in section 2108.70 of the Revised 63
Code, for my body upon my death. All decisions made by my 64
representative with respect to the right of disposition shall be 65
binding.66

       REPRESENTATIVE:67

       (If the representative is a group of persons, indicate the 68
name, last known address, and telephone number of each person in 69
the group.)70

Name(s): 71
Address(es): 72
Telephone Number(s): 73

       SUCCESSOR REPRESENTATIVE:74

       If my representative is disqualified from serving as my 75
representative as described in section 2108.75 of the Revised 76
Code, then I hereby appoint the following person or group of 77
persons to serve as my successor representative.78

       (If the successor representative is a group of persons, 79
indicate the name, last known address, and telephone number of 80
each person in the group.)81

Name(s): 82
Address(es): 83
Telephone Number(s): 84

       PREFERENCES REGARDING HOW THE RIGHT OF DISPOSITION SHOULD BE 85
EXERCISED, INCLUDING ANY RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES THE DECLARANT 86
WISHES A REPRESENTATIVE OR A SUCCESSOR REPRESENTATIVE TO CONSIDER:87

88
89
90
91

       ONE OR MORE SOURCES OF FUNDS THAT COULD BE USED TO PAY FOR 92
GOODS AND SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH AN EXERCISE OF THE RIGHT OF 93
DISPOSITION:94

95
96
97
98

       DURATION:99

       The appointment of my representative and, if applicable, 100
successor representative, becomes effective upon my death.101

       PRIOR APPOINTMENTS REVOKED:102

       I hereby revoke any written declaration that I executed in 103
accordance with section 2108.70 of the Ohio Revised Code prior to 104
the date of execution of this written declaration indicated below.105

       AUTHORIZATION TO ACT:106

       I hereby agree that any of the following that receives a copy 107
of this written declaration may act under it:108

       - Cemetery organization;109

       - Crematory operator;110

       - Business operating a columbarium;111

        - Funeral director;112

       - Embalmer;113

       - Funeral home;114

       - Any other person asked to assist with my funeral, burial, 115
cremation, or other manner of final disposition.116

       MODIFICATION AND REVOCATION - WHEN EFFECTIVE:117

       Any modification or revocation of this written declaration is 118
not effective as to any party until that party receives actual 119
notice of the modification or revocation. 120

       LIABILITY:121

       No person who acts in accordance with a properly executed 122
copy of this written declaration shall be liable for damages of 123
any kind associated with the person's reliance on this 124
declaration. 125

Signed this ...... day of ....... 126
127
(Signature of declarant) 128

       ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF ASSUMPTION OF OBLIGATIONS AND COSTS:129

       By signing below, the representative, or successor 130
representative, if applicable, acknowledges that he or she, as 131
representative or successor representative, assumes the right of 132
disposition as defined in section 2108.70 of the Revised Code, and 133
understands that he or she is liable for the reasonable costs of 134
exercising the right, including any goods and services that are 135
purchased.136

       ACCEPTANCE (OPTIONAL):137

       The undersigned hereby accepts this appointment as 138
representative or successor representative, as applicable, for the 139
right of disposition as defined in section 2108.70 of the Revised 140
Code.141

Signed this ...... day of ....... 142
143
Signature of representative (if representative is a group of persons, each person in the group shall sign) 144
Signed this ...... day of ....... 145
146
Signature of successor representative (if successor representative is a group of persons, each person in the group shall sign) 147

       WITNESSES:148

       I attest that the declarant signed or acknowledged this 149
assignment of the right of disposition under section 2108.70 of 150
the Revised Code in my presence and that the declarant is at least 151
eighteen years of age and appears to be of sound mind and not 152
under or subject to duress, fraud, or undue influence. I further 153
attest that I am not the declarant's representative or successor 154
representative, I am at least eighteen years of age, and I am not 155
related to the declarant by blood, marriage, or adoption.156

First witness: 157
Name (printed): 158
Residing at: 159
Signature: 160
161
Date: 162
163
Second witness: 164
Name (printed): 165
Residing at: 166
Signature: 167
168
Date: 169
170

OR171

       NOTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENT:172

       State of Ohio173

       County of ............. SS.174

       On ..............., before me, the undersigned notary public, 175
personally appeared ................., known to me or 176
satisfactorily proven to be the person whose name is subscribed as 177
the declarant, and who has acknowledged that he or she executed 178
this written declaration under section 2108.70 of the Revised Code 179
for the purposes expressed in that section. I attest that the 180
declarant is at least eighteen years of age and appears to be of 181
sound mind and not under or subject to duress, fraud, or undue 182
influence.183

Signature of notary public 184
185
My commission expires on: 186
187

       (C) Completion of a federal Record of Emergency Data form, DD 188
Form 93, or its successor form, by a member of the military, is 189
sufficient to constitute a written declaration under section 190
2108.70 of the Revised Code if section 13a of DD Form 93, entitled 191
"Person Authorized to Direct Disposition," has been properly 192
completed by the member of the military who has subsequently died 193
while under active duty orders as described in 10 U.S.C. 1481.194

       Sec. 2108.73.  A written declaration executed by a declarant 195
under section 2108.70 of the Revised Code shall be signed and 196
dated by the declarant in the presence of eitherone of the 197
following:198

       (A) A notary public who shall make the certification 199
described in section 147.53 of the Revised Code.200

       (B) Two witnesses who are adults and who are not related by 201
blood, marriage, or adoption to the declarant.202

       (C) If the written declaration is a DD Form 93, Record of 203
Emergency Data, by whomever the form requires.204

       Sec. 5902.02.  The duties of the director of veterans 205
services shall include the following: 206

       (A) Furnishing the veterans service commissions of all 207
counties of the state copies of the state laws, rules, and 208
legislation relating to the operation of the commissions and their 209
offices; 210

       (B) Upon application, assisting the general public in 211
obtaining records of vital statistics pertaining to veterans or 212
their dependents; 213

       (C) Adopting rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised 214
Code pertaining to minimum qualifications for hiring, certifying, 215
and accrediting county veterans service officers, pertaining to 216
their required duties, and pertaining to revocation of the 217
certification of county veterans service officers; 218

       (D) Adopting rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised 219
Code for the education, training, certification, and duties of 220
veterans service commissioners and for the revocation of the 221
certification of a veterans service commissioner; 222

       (E) Developing and monitoring programs and agreements 223
enhancing employment and training for veterans in single or 224
multiple county areas; 225

       (F) Developing and monitoring programs and agreements to 226
enable county veterans service commissions to address 227
homelessness, indigency, and other veteran-related issues 228
individually or jointly; 229

       (G) Developing and monitoring programs and agreements to 230
enable state agencies, individually or jointly, that provide 231
services to veterans, including the veterans' homes operated under 232
Chapter 5907. of the Revised Code and the director of job and 233
family services, to address homelessness, indigency, employment, 234
and other veteran-related issues; 235

       (H) Establishing and providing statistical reporting formats 236
and procedures for county veterans service commissions; 237

       (I) Publishing annually, promulgating change notices for, and 238
distributing a listing of county veterans service officers, county 239
veterans service commissioners, state directors of veterans 240
affairs, and national and state service officers of accredited 241
veterans organizations and their state headquarters. The listing 242
shall include the expiration dates of commission members' terms of 243
office and the organizations they represent; the names, addresses, 244
and telephone numbers of county veterans service officers and 245
state directors of veterans affairs; and the addresses and 246
telephone numbers of the Ohio offices and headquarters of state 247
and national veterans service organizations. 248

       (J) Publishing, by the first day of April of each 249
odd-numbered year, a directory of the laws of this state dealing 250
with veterans, as enacted through the conclusion of the previous 251
session of the general assembly, and distributing the publication 252
to each county veterans service office and the state headquarters 253
of each congressionally chartered veterans organization in the 254
state; 255

       (K) Establishing a veterans advisory committee to advise and 256
assist the department of veterans services in its duties. Members 257
shall include a member of the military officers association of 258
America who is a resident of this state, a state representative of 259
congressionally chartered veterans organizations referred to in 260
section 5901.02 of the Revised Code, a representative of any other 261
congressionally chartered state veterans organization that has at 262
least one veterans service commissioner in the state, three 263
representatives of the Ohio state association of county veterans 264
service commissioners, who shall have a combined vote of one, 265
three representatives of the state association of county veterans 266
service officers, who shall have a combined vote of one, one 267
representative of the county commissioners association of Ohio, 268
who shall be a county commissioner not from the same county as any 269
of the other county representatives, a representative of the 270
advisory committee on women veterans, a representative of a labor 271
organization, and a representative of the office of the attorney 272
general. The department of veterans services shall submit to the 273
advisory committee proposed rules for the committee's operation. 274
The committee may review and revise these proposed rules prior to 275
submitting them to the joint committee on agency rule review. 276

       (L) Adopting, with the advice and assistance of the veterans 277
advisory committee, policy and procedural guidelines that the 278
veterans service commissions shall adhere to in the development 279
and implementation of rules, policies, procedures, and guidelines 280
for the administration of Chapter 5901. of the Revised Code. The 281
department of veterans services shall adopt no guidelines or rules 282
regulating the purposes, scope, duration, or amounts of financial 283
assistance provided to applicants pursuant to sections 5901.01 to 284
5901.15 of the Revised Code. The director of veterans services may 285
obtain opinions from the office of the attorney general regarding 286
rules, policies, procedures, and guidelines of the veterans 287
service commissions and may enforce compliance with Chapter 5901. 288
of the Revised Code. 289

       (M) Receiving copies of form DD214 filed in accordance with 290
the director's guidelines adopted under division (L) of this 291
section from members of veterans service commissions appointed 292
under section 5901.02 and from county veterans service officers 293
employed under section 5901.07 of the Revised Code; 294

       (N) Developing and maintaining and improving a resource, such 295
as a telephone answering point or a web site, by means of which 296
veterans and their dependents, through a single portal, can access 297
multiple sources of information and interaction with regard to the 298
rights of, and the benefits available to, veterans and their 299
dependents. The director of veterans services may enter into 300
agreements with state and federal agencies, with agencies of 301
political subdivisions, with state and local instrumentalities, 302
and with private entities as necessary to make the resource as 303
complete as is possible. 304

       (O) Planning, organizing, advertising, and conducting 305
outreach efforts, such as conferences and fairs, at which veterans 306
and their dependents may meet, learn about the organization and 307
operation of the department of veterans services and of veterans 308
service commissions, and obtain information about the rights of, 309
and the benefits and services available to, veterans and their 310
dependents; 311

       (P) Advertising, in print, on radio and television, and 312
otherwise, the rights of, and the benefits and services available 313
to, veterans and their dependents; 314

       (Q) Developing and advocating improved benefits and services 315
for, and improved delivery of benefits and services to, veterans 316
and their dependents; 317

       (R) Searching for, identifying, and reviewing statutory and 318
administrative policies that relate to veterans and their 319
dependents and reporting to the general assembly statutory and 320
administrative policies that should be consolidated in whole or in 321
part within the organization of the department of veterans 322
services to unify funding, delivery, and accounting of statutory 323
and administrative policy expressions that relate particularly to 324
veterans and their dependents; 325

       (S) Encouraging veterans service commissions to innovate and 326
otherwise to improve efficiency in delivering benefits and 327
services to veterans and their dependents and to report successful 328
innovations and efficiencies to the director of veterans services; 329

       (T) Publishing and encouraging adoption of successful 330
innovations and efficiencies veterans service commissions have 331
achieved in delivering benefits and services to veterans and their 332
dependents; 333

       (U) Establishing advisory committees, in addition to the 334
veterans advisory committee established under division (K) of this 335
section, on veterans issues;336

       (V) Developing and maintaining a relationship with the United 337
States department of veterans affairs, seeking optimal federal 338
benefits and services for Ohio veterans and their dependents, and 339
encouraging veterans service commissions to maximize the federal 340
benefits and services to which veterans and their dependents are 341
entitled; 342

       (W) Developing and maintaining relationships with the several 343
veterans organizations, encouraging the organizations in their 344
efforts at assisting veterans and their dependents, and advocating 345
for adequate state subsidization of the organizations; 346

       (X) Requiring the several veterans organizations that receive 347
funding from the state annually to report to the director of 348
veterans services and prescribing the form and content of the 349
report;350

       (Y) Investigating complaints against county veterans services 351
commissioners and county veterans service officers if the director 352
reasonably believes the investigation to be appropriate and 353
necessary;354

       (Z) Taking any other actions required by this chapter.355

       Sec. 5923.05.  (A)(1) Permanent public employees who are 356
members of the Ohio organized militia or members of other reserve 357
components of the armed forces of the United States, including the 358
Ohio national guard, are entitled to a leave of absence from their 359
respective positions without loss of pay for the time they are 360
performing service in the uniformed services, for periods of up to 361
one month, for each calendar year in which they are performing 362
service in the uniformed services.363

       (2) As used in this section:364

       (a) "Calendar year" means the year beginning on the first day 365
of January and ending on the last day of December.366

       (b) "Month" means twenty-two eight-hour work days or one 367
hundred seventy-six hours, or for a public safety employee, 368
seventeen twenty-four-hour days or four hundred eight hours,369
within one calendar year.370

       (c) "Permanent public employee" means any person holding a 371
position in public employment that requires working a regular 372
schedule of twenty-six consecutive biweekly pay periods, or any 373
other regular schedule of comparable consecutive pay periods, 374
which is not limited to a specific season or duration. "Permanent 375
public employee" does not include student help; intermittent, 376
seasonal, or external interim employees; or individuals covered by 377
personal services contracts.378

       (d) "State agency" means any department, bureau, board, 379
commission, office, or other organized body established by the 380
constitution or laws of this state for the exercise of any 381
function of state government, the general assembly, all 382
legislative agencies, the supreme court, the court of claims, and 383
the state-supported institutions of higher education.384

       (e) "Service in the uniformed services" means the performance 385
of duty, on a voluntary or involuntary basis, in a uniformed 386
service, under competent authority, and includes active duty, 387
active duty for training, initial active duty for training, 388
inactive duty for training, full-time national guard duty, and 389
performance of duty or training by a member of the Ohio organized 390
militia pursuant to Chapter 5923. of the Revised Code. "Service in 391
the uniformed services" includes also the period of time for which 392
a person is absent from a position of public or private employment 393
for the purpose of an examination to determine the fitness of the 394
person to perform any duty described in this division.395

       (f) "Uniformed services" means the armed forces, the Ohio 396
organized militia when engaged in active duty for training, 397
inactive duty training, or full-time national guard duty, the 398
commissioned corps of the public health service, and any other 399
category of persons designated by the president of the United 400
States in time of war or emergency.401

       (g) "Public safety employee" means a permanent public 402
employee who is employed as a fire fighter or emergency medical 403
technician.404

       (B) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this 405
section, any permanent public employee who is employed by a 406
political subdivision, who is entitled to the leave provided under 407
division (A) of this section, and who is called or ordered to the 408
uniformed services for longer than a month, for each calendar year 409
in which the employee performed service in the uniformed services, 410
because of an executive order issued by the president of the 411
United States, because of an act of congress, or because of an 412
order to perform duty issued by the governor pursuant to section 413
5919.29 of the Revised Code is entitled, during the period 414
designated in the order or act, to a leave of absence and to be 415
paid, during each monthly pay period of that leave of absence, the 416
lesser of the following:417

       (1) The difference between the permanent public employee's 418
gross monthly wage or salary as a permanent public employee and 419
the sum of the permanent public employee's gross uniformed pay and 420
allowances received that month;421

       (2) Five hundred dollars.422

       (C) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this 423
section, any permanent public employee who is employed by a state 424
agency, who is entitled to the leave provided under division (A) 425
of this section, and who is called or ordered to the uniformed 426
services for longer than a month, for each calendar year in which 427
the employee performed service in the uniformed services, because 428
of an executive order issued by the president of the United 429
States, because of an act of congress, or because of an order to 430
perform duty issued by the governor pursuant to section 5919.29 or 431
5923.21 of the Revised Code is entitled, during the period 432
designated in the order or act, to a leave of absence and to be 433
paid, during each monthly pay period of that leave of absence, the 434
difference between the permanent public employee's gross monthly 435
wage or salary as a permanent public employee and the sum of the 436
permanent public employee's gross uniformed pay and allowances 437
received that month.438

       (D) No permanent public employee shall receive payments under 439
division (B) or (C) of this section if the sum of the permanent 440
public employee's gross uniformed pay and allowances received in a 441
pay period exceeds the employee's gross wage or salary as a 442
permanent public employee for that period or if the permanent 443
public employee is receiving pay under division (A) of this 444
section.445

       (E) Any political subdivision of the state, as defined in 446
section 2744.01 of the Revised Code, may elect to pay any of its 447
permanent public employees who are entitled to the leave provided 448
under division (A) of this section and who are called or ordered 449
to the uniformed services for longer than one month, for each 450
calendar year in which the employee performed service in the 451
uniformed services, because of an executive order issued by the 452
president or an act of congress, such payments, in addition to 453
those payments required by division (B) of this section, as may be 454
authorized by the legislative authority of the political 455
subdivision.456

       (F) Each permanent public employee who is entitled to leave 457
provided under division (A) of this section shall submit to the 458
permanent public employee's appointing authority the published 459
order authorizing the call or order to the uniformed services or a 460
written statement from the appropriate military commander 461
authorizing that service, prior to being credited with that leave.462

       (G) Any permanent public employee of a political subdivision 463
whose employment is governed by a collective bargaining agreement 464
with provision for the performance of service in the uniformed 465
services shall abide by the terms of that collective bargaining 466
agreement with respect to the performance of that service, except 467
that no collective bargaining agreement may afford fewer rights 468
and benefits than are conferred under this section.469

       Section 2. That existing sections 2108.72, 2108.73, 5902.02, 470
and 5923.05 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.471