As Introduced

129th General Assembly
Regular Session
2011-2012
H. B. No. 490


Representatives Dovilla, Landis 



A BILL
To amend sections 149.01, 317.24, 3333.31, and 1
5902.02 of the Revised Code to change the law 2
regarding a County Recorder's release of a 3
veteran's record of discharge, to modify the 4
duties of the Director of Veterans Services with 5
respect to publishing information about Veterans 6
Services offices, to modify the composition of the 7
Veterans Advisory Committee, and to grant in-state 8
tuition for nonresident spouses and dependents of 9
veterans who served on active duty and are 10
deceased.11


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

       Section 1. That sections 149.01, 317.24, 3333.31, and 5902.02 12
of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:13

       Sec. 149.01.  Each elective state officer, the adjutant 14
general, the adult parole authority, the department of 15
agriculture, the director of administrative services, the public 16
utilities commission, the superintendent of insurance, the 17
superintendent of financial institutions, the superintendent of 18
purchases and printing, the state commissioner of soldiers' 19
claims, the fire marshal, the industrial commission, the 20
administrator of workers' compensation, the state department of 21
transportation, the department of health, the state medical board, 22
the state dental board, the board of embalmers and funeral 23
directors, the Ohio commission for the blind, the accountancy 24
board of Ohio, the state council of uniform state laws, the board 25
of commissioners of the sinking fund, the department of taxation, 26
the board of tax appeals, the division of liquor control, the 27
director of state armories, the trustees of the Ohio state 28
university, and every private or quasi-public institution, 29
association, board, or corporation receiving state money for its 30
use and purpose shall make annually, at the end of each fiscal 31
year, in quadruplicate, a report of the transactions and 32
proceedings of that office or department for that fiscal year, 33
excepting receipts and disbursements unless otherwise specifically 34
required by law. The report shall contain a summary of the 35
official acts of the officer, board, council, commission, 36
institution, association, or corporation and any suggestions and 37
recommendations that are proper. On the first day of August of 38
each year, one of the reports shall be filed with the governor, 39
one with the secretary of state, and one with the state library, 40
and one shall be kept on file in the office of the officer, board, 41
council, commission, institution, association, or corporation.42

       Sec. 317.24.  (A) As used in this section:43

       (1) "Authorized party" means any of the following:44

       (a) The person who is the subject of the record of discharge;45

       (b) A county veterans service officer, or anwho is certified 46
by the department of veterans services;47

       (c) An attorney-in-fact, agent, or other representative of 48
the person who is the subject of the record of discharge, if 49
authorized to inspect or copy the record of discharge by that 50
person in a power of attorney or other document;51

       (c)(d) A person authorized, for good cause shown, by a court 52
of record to inspect or copy the record of discharge;53

       (d)(e) If the person who is the subject of the record of 54
discharge is deceased, the executor or administrator, or an heir, 55
legatee, or devisee, of the person's estate or a funeral director 56
who is to perform the funeral for the deceased person.57

       (2) "Separation code" or "separation program number" means 58
the coded number or numbers used to specify the reasons for a 59
person's separation from active duty, as contained in one of the 60
following:61

        (a) Regarding a separation code, as contained in line 23 or 62
26 of a veteran's discharge paper, United States department of 63
defense form DD-214;64

        (b) Regarding a separation program number, as contained in 65
line 9(c) or line 11(c) of a veteran's discharge paper, under 66
prior versions of United States department of defense form DD-214.67

       (3) "Service-related document" means any United States 68
department of defense form DD-215 or DD-220, or any National Guard 69
Bureau form NGB-22 or NGB-22A.70

        (B)(1) Upon request of any discharged member of the armed 71
forces of the United States and presentation of the member's 72
discharge, the county recorder shall record the discharge in a 73
book to be furnished by the board of county commissioners for that 74
purpose. There shall be no fee for the recording. The record of 75
discharge, or a certified copy of the record, shall be received in 76
evidence in all cases where the original discharge would be 77
received.78

       (2)(a) A discharge recorded under division (B)(1) or (D) of 79
this section is not a public record under section 149.43 of the 80
Revised Code for a period of seventy-five years after the date of 81
the recording. During that period, the county recorder's office 82
shall make the record of discharge available only to an authorized 83
party or to a person other than an authorized party as provided by 84
division (B)(2)(b) of this section. Except as provided in section 85
317.27 of the Revised Code, the authorized party shall pay the 86
reasonable costs of copying the record of discharge.87

       (b) A person other than an authorized party may request to 88
view or receive a copy of a discharge record recorded under 89
division (B)(1) or (D) of this section. Upon such a person's 90
request, the county recorder's office shall provide a copy of the 91
discharged record to the person that shall be redacted to contain 92
only the name, rank, date of birth, date of discharge, and type of 93
discharge of the person who is the subject of the discharge 94
record. Except as provided in section 317.27 of the Revised Code, 95
a person other than an authorized party shall pay the reasonable 96
costs of copying the record of discharge.97

       (3) A county veterans service officer, who is an authorized 98
party, may request to receive, from a county recorder's office, a 99
record of discharge if the veterans service officer has a need for 100
access to the record of discharge for the purpose of supporting a 101
veteran's claim for benefits, and the county recorder's office 102
shall make the record available to the county veterans service 103
officer.104

       (C) Upon application by a person whose discharge has been 105
recorded pursuant to this section, the county recorder shall, 106
without fee, expunge the person's record of discharge, expunge the 107
person's separation program number or separation code from the 108
person's record of discharge and from any of the person's other 109
service-related documents that have been recorded, or expunge the 110
person's social security number from the person's record of 111
discharge and from any of the person's other service-related 112
documents that have been recorded. The application shall be in the 113
following form:114

"APPLICATION FOR EXPUNGEMENT
115

OF DISCHARGE RECORD OR OTHER INFORMATION
116

       I, ................ (Name of Applicant), the undersigned, 117
hereby request the County Recorder of the County of ............ 118
(Name of County), state of Ohio, to expunge my .......... (Insert 119
Record of Discharge, Separation Program Number or Separation Code 120
from my Record of Discharge and other service-related documents, 121
or Social Security Number from my Record of Discharge and other 122
service-related documents).123

       Dated this .......... day of .........., .....124

.................................

(Signature of Applicant)      

       Sworn to and subscribed before me by ............ (Name of 125
Applicant) on .........., .....126

........................................

Notary 127
Public                      

My commission expires .........., 128
....."

       (D) Upon the request of any person who served during World 129
War I or World War II as a member of any armed force of the 130
government of Poland or Czechoslovakia and participated while so 131
serving in armed conflict with an enemy of the United States and 132
who has been a citizen of the United States for at least ten 133
years, and the presentation of the person's discharge, the county 134
recorder shall record the person's discharge in a book to be 135
furnished by the board of county commissioners for that purpose. 136
No fee shall be charged for the recording. The record, or a 137
certified copy of it, shall be received in evidence in all cases 138
where the original would be received.139

       Sec. 3333.31.  (A) For state subsidy and tuition surcharge 140
purposes, status as a resident of Ohio shall be defined by the 141
chancellor of the Ohio board of regents by rule promulgated 142
pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. No adjudication as 143
to the status of any person under such rule, however, shall be 144
required to be made pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. 145
The term "resident" for these purposes shall not be equated with 146
the definition of that term as it is employed elsewhere under the 147
laws of this state and other states, and shall not carry with it 148
any of the legal connotations appurtenant thereto. Rather, except 149
as provided in divisions (B) and (D) of this section, for such 150
purposes, the rule promulgated under this section shall have the 151
objective of excluding from treatment as residents those who are 152
present in the state primarily for the purpose of attending a 153
state-supported or state-assisted institution of higher education, 154
and may prescribe presumptive rules, rebuttable or conclusive, as 155
to such purpose based upon the source or sources of support of the 156
student, residence prior to first enrollment, evidence of 157
intention to remain in the state after completion of studies, or 158
such other factors as the chancellor deems relevant.159

       (B) The rules of the chancellor for determining student 160
residency shall grant residency status to a veteran and to the 161
veteran's spouse and any dependent of the veteran, if both of the 162
following conditions are met:163

       (1) The veteran either:164

       (a) Served one or more years on active military duty and was 165
honorably discharged or received a medical discharge that was 166
related to the military service;167

       (b) Was killed while serving on active military duty or has 168
been declared to be missing in action or a prisoner of war.169

        (2) If the veteran seeks residency status for tuition 170
surcharge purposes, the veteran has established domicile in this 171
state as of the first day of a term of enrollment in an 172
institution of higher education. If the spouse or a dependent of 173
the veteran seeks residency status for tuition surcharge purposes, 174
the veteran and the spouse or dependent seeking residency status 175
have established domicile in this state as of the first day of a 176
term of enrollment in an institution of higher education, except 177
that if the veteran was killed while serving on active military 178
duty or, has been declared to be missing in action or a prisoner 179
of war, or is deceased after discharge, only the spouse or 180
dependent seeking residency status shall be required to have 181
established domicile in accordance with this division.182

        (C) The rules of the chancellor for determining student 183
residency shall not deny residency status to a student who is 184
either a dependent child of a parent, or the spouse of a person 185
who, as of the first day of a term of enrollment in an institution 186
of higher education, has accepted full-time employment and 187
established domicile in this state for reasons other than gaining 188
the benefit of favorable tuition rates.189

       Documentation of full-time employment and domicile shall 190
include both of the following documents:191

       (1) A sworn statement from the employer or the employer's 192
representative on the letterhead of the employer or the employer's 193
representative certifying that the parent or spouse of the student 194
is employed full-time in Ohio;195

       (2) A copy of the lease under which the parent or spouse is 196
the lessee and occupant of rented residential property in the 197
state, a copy of the closing statement on residential real 198
property of which the parent or spouse is the owner and occupant 199
in this state or, if the parent or spouse is not the lessee or 200
owner of the residence in which the parent or spouse has 201
established domicile, a letter from the owner of the residence 202
certifying that the parent or spouse resides at that residence.203

Residency officers may also evaluate, in accordance with the 204
chancellor's rule, requests for immediate residency status from 205
dependent students whose parents are not living and whose domicile 206
follows that of a legal guardian who has accepted full-time 207
employment and established domicile in the state for reasons other 208
than gaining the benefit of favorable tuition rates.209

       (D)(1) The rules of the chancellor for determining student 210
residency shall grant residency status to a person who, while a 211
resident of this state for state subsidy and tuition surcharge 212
purposes, graduated from a high school in this state or completed 213
the final year of instruction at home as authorized under section 214
3321.04 of the Revised Code, if the person enrolls in an 215
institution of higher education and establishes domicile in this 216
state, regardless of the student's residence prior to that 217
enrollment.218

       (2) The rules of the chancellor for determining student 219
residency shall not grant residency status to an alien if the 220
alien is not also an immigrant or a nonimmigrant.221

       (E) As used in this section:222

       (1) "Dependent," "domicile," "institution of higher 223
education," and "residency officer" have the meanings ascribed in 224
the chancellor's rules adopted under this section.225

       (2) "Alien" means a person who is not a United States citizen 226
or a United States national.227

       (3) "Immigrant" means an alien who has been granted the right 228
by the United States bureau of citizenship and immigration 229
services to reside permanently in the United States and to work 230
without restrictions in the United States.231

       (4) "Nonimmigrant" means an alien who has been granted the 232
right by the United States bureau of citizenship and immigration 233
services to reside temporarily in the United States.234

       Sec. 5902.02.  The duties of the director of veterans 235
services shall include the following: 236

       (A) Furnishing the veterans service commissions of all 237
counties of the state copies of the state laws, rules, and 238
legislation relating to the operation of the commissions and their 239
offices; 240

       (B) Upon application, assisting the general public in 241
obtaining records of vital statistics pertaining to veterans or 242
their dependents; 243

       (C) Adopting rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised 244
Code pertaining to minimum qualifications for hiring, certifying, 245
and accrediting county veterans service officers, pertaining to 246
their required duties, and pertaining to revocation of the 247
certification of county veterans service officers; 248

       (D) Adopting rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised 249
Code for the education, training, certification, and duties of 250
veterans service commissioners and for the revocation of the 251
certification of a veterans service commissioner; 252

       (E) Developing and monitoring programs and agreements 253
enhancing employment and training for veterans in single or 254
multiple county areas; 255

       (F) Developing and monitoring programs and agreements to 256
enable county veterans service commissions to address 257
homelessness, indigency, and other veteran-related issues 258
individually or jointly; 259

       (G) Developing and monitoring programs and agreements to 260
enable state agencies, individually or jointly, that provide 261
services to veterans, including the veterans' homes operated under 262
Chapter 5907. of the Revised Code and the director of job and 263
family services, to address homelessness, indigency, employment, 264
and other veteran-related issues; 265

       (H) Establishing and providing statistical reporting formats 266
and procedures for county veterans service commissions; 267

       (I) Publishing annually, promulgating change notices for, and 268
distributingelectronically a listing of county veterans service 269
officers,offices and county veterans service commissioners, state 270
directors of veterans affairs, and national and state service 271
officers of accredited veterans organizations and their state 272
headquarters. The listing shall include the expiration dates of 273
commission members' terms of office and the organizations they 274
represent; the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of county 275
veterans service officers and state directors of veterans affairs276
offices; and the addresses and telephone numbers of the Ohio 277
offices and headquarters of state and national veterans service 278
organizations. 279

       (J) Establishing a veterans advisory committee to advise and 280
assist the department of veterans services in its duties. Members 281
shall include a member of the national guard association of the 282
United States who is a resident of this state, a member of the 283
military officers association of America who is a resident of this 284
state, a state representative of congressionally chartered 285
veterans organizations referred to in section 5901.02 of the 286
Revised Code, a representative of any other congressionally 287
chartered state veterans organization that has at least one 288
veterans service commissioner in the state, three representatives 289
of the Ohio state association of county veterans service 290
commissioners, who shall have a combined vote of one, three 291
representatives of the state association of county veterans 292
service officers, who shall have a combined vote of one, one 293
representative of the county commissioners association of Ohio, 294
who shall be a county commissioner not from the same county as any 295
of the other county representatives, a representative of the 296
advisory committee on women veterans, a representative of a labor 297
organization, and a representative of the office of the attorney 298
general. The department of veterans services shall submit to the 299
advisory committee proposed rules for the committee's operation. 300
The committee may review and revise these proposed rules prior to 301
submitting them to the joint committee on agency rule review. 302

       (K) Adopting, with the advice and assistance of the veterans 303
advisory committee, policy and procedural guidelines that the 304
veterans service commissions shall adhere to in the development 305
and implementation of rules, policies, procedures, and guidelines 306
for the administration of Chapter 5901. of the Revised Code. The 307
department of veterans services shall adopt no guidelines or rules 308
regulating the purposes, scope, duration, or amounts of financial 309
assistance provided to applicants pursuant to sections 5901.01 to 310
5901.15 of the Revised Code. The director of veterans services may 311
obtain opinions from the office of the attorney general regarding 312
rules, policies, procedures, and guidelines of the veterans 313
service commissions and may enforce compliance with Chapter 5901. 314
of the Revised Code. 315

       (L) Receiving copies of form DD214 filed in accordance with 316
the director's guidelines adopted under division (L) of this 317
section from members of veterans service commissions appointed 318
under section 5901.02 and from county veterans service officers 319
employed under section 5901.07 of the Revised Code; 320

       (M) Developing and maintaining and improving a resource, such 321
as a telephone answering point or a web site, by means of which 322
veterans and their dependents, through a single portal, can access 323
multiple sources of information and interaction with regard to the 324
rights of, and the benefits available to, veterans and their 325
dependents. The director of veterans services may enter into 326
agreements with state and federal agencies, with agencies of 327
political subdivisions, with state and local instrumentalities, 328
and with private entities as necessary to make the resource as 329
complete as is possible. 330

       (N) Planning, organizing, advertising, and conducting 331
outreach efforts, such as conferences and fairs, at which veterans 332
and their dependents may meet, learn about the organization and 333
operation of the department of veterans services and of veterans 334
service commissions, and obtain information about the rights of, 335
and the benefits and services available to, veterans and their 336
dependents; 337

       (O) Advertising, in print, on radio and television, and 338
otherwise, the rights of, and the benefits and services available 339
to, veterans and their dependents; 340

       (P) Developing and advocating improved benefits and services 341
for, and improved delivery of benefits and services to, veterans 342
and their dependents; 343

       (Q) Searching for, identifying, and reviewing statutory and 344
administrative policies that relate to veterans and their 345
dependents and reporting to the general assembly statutory and 346
administrative policies that should be consolidated in whole or in 347
part within the organization of the department of veterans 348
services to unify funding, delivery, and accounting of statutory 349
and administrative policy expressions that relate particularly to 350
veterans and their dependents; 351

       (R) Encouraging veterans service commissions to innovate and 352
otherwise to improve efficiency in delivering benefits and 353
services to veterans and their dependents and to report successful 354
innovations and efficiencies to the director of veterans services; 355

       (S) Publishing and encouraging adoption of successful 356
innovations and efficiencies veterans service commissions have 357
achieved in delivering benefits and services to veterans and their 358
dependents; 359

       (T) Establishing advisory committees, in addition to the 360
veterans advisory committee established under division (K) of this 361
section, on veterans issues;362

       (U) Developing and maintaining a relationship with the United 363
States department of veterans affairs, seeking optimal federal 364
benefits and services for Ohio veterans and their dependents, and 365
encouraging veterans service commissions to maximize the federal 366
benefits and services to which veterans and their dependents are 367
entitled; 368

       (V) Developing and maintaining relationships with the several 369
veterans organizations, encouraging the organizations in their 370
efforts at assisting veterans and their dependents, and advocating 371
for adequate state subsidization of the organizations; 372

       (W) Requiring the several veterans organizations that receive 373
funding from the state annually to report to the director of 374
veterans services and prescribing the form and content of the 375
report;376

       (X) Investigating complaints against county veterans services 377
commissioners and county veterans service officers if the director 378
reasonably believes the investigation to be appropriate and 379
necessary;380

       (Y) Taking any other actions required by this chapter.381

       Section 2. That existing sections 149.01, 317.24, 3333.31, 382
and 5902.02 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.383