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As Passed by the Senate
123rd General Assembly
Regular Session
1999-2000 | Sub. H. B. No. 152 |
REPRESENTATIVES LOGAN-KRUPINSKI-
SENATORS BLESSING-DRAKE-
MUMPER-HERINGTON-McLIN-DiDONATO-CARNES-HAGAN-KEARNS-SCHAFRATH
A BILL
To amend sections 4931.40, 4931.44, 4931.49, 4931.50, and
4931.53; to amend, for the purpose of adopting a new section
number as shown in parentheses, section 4931.53 (4931.54); and to
enact new section 4931.53 of the Revised Code to provide for a
monthly charge not exceeding fifty cents on telephone access
lines to fund the operating and equipment costs of establishing
and maintaining no more than one public safety answering point
of a countywide 9-1-1 system that previously lacked funding.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4931.40, 4931.44, 4931.49, 4931.50, and
4931.53 be amended, section 4931.53 (4931.54) be amended for the
purpose of adopting a new section number as shown in
parentheses, and new section 4931.53 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 4931.40. As used in sections 4931.40 to 4931.53 4931.54
of
the Revised Code:
(A) "9-1-1 system" means a system through which
individuals can request emergency service using the telephone
number 9-1-1.
(B) "Basic 9-1-1" means a 9-1-1 system in which a caller
provides information on the nature of and the location of an
emergency, and the personnel receiving the call must determine
the appropriate emergency service provider to respond at that
location.
(C) "Enhanced 9-1-1" means a 9-1-1 system in which the
telephone network system automatically provides to personnel
receiving the call, immediately on answering the 9-1-1 call,
information on the location and the telephone number from which
the call is being made, and routes the call to emergency service
providers that serve the location from which the call is made.
(D) "Subdivision" means a county, municipal corporation,
township, township fire district, joint fire district, township
police district, joint ambulance district, or joint
emergency medical services district that provides
emergency service within its territory, or that contracts with
another municipal corporation, township, or district or with a
private entity to provide such service; and a state college or
university, port authority, or park district of any kind that
employs law enforcement officers that act as the primary police
force on the grounds of the college or university or port
authority or in the parks operated by the district.
(E) "Emergency service" means emergency police,
firefighting, ambulance, rescue, and medical service.
(F) "Emergency service provider" means the state highway
patrol and an emergency service department or unit of a
subdivision or that operates in a subdivision under contract with
the subdivision.
(G) "Public safety answering point" means a facility to
which 9-1-1 system calls for a specific territory are initially
routed for response and where subdivision personnel respond to
specific requests for emergency service by directly dispatching
the appropriate emergency service provider, relaying a message to
the appropriate provider, or transferring the call to the
appropriate provider.
(H) "Customer premises equipment" means telecommunications
equipment, including telephone instruments, on the premises of a
public safety answering point that is used in answering and
responding to 9-1-1 system calls.
(I) "Municipal corporation in the county" includes any
municipal corporation that is wholly contained in the county and
each municipal corporation located in more than one county that
has a greater proportion of its territory in the county to which
the term refers than in any other county.
(J) "Board of county commissioners" includes the
legislative authority of a county established under Section 3 of
Article X, Ohio Constitution, or Chapter 302. of the Revised
Code.
(K) "Final plan" means a final plan adopted under division
(B) of section 4931.44 of the Revised Code and, except as
otherwise expressly provided, an amended final plan adopted under
section 4931.45 of the Revised Code.
(L) "Subdivision served by a public safety answering
point" means a subdivision that provides emergency service for
any part of its territory that is located within the territory of
a public safety answering point whether the subdivision provides
the emergency service with its own employees or pursuant to a
contract.
(M) A township's population includes only population of
the unincorporated portion of the township.
(N) "Telephone company" means a company engaged in the
business of providing
local
exchange telephone service by making available or furnishing access and a dial
tone to persons within a local calling area for use in originating and
receiving voice grade communications over a switched network operated by the
provider of the service within the area and gaining access to other
telecommunications services.
Sec. 4931.44. (A) Within sixty days after receipt of the
final plan pursuant to division (C) of section 4931.43 of the
Revised Code, the board of county commissioners of the county and
the legislative authority of each municipal corporation in the
county and of each township whose territory is proposed to be
included in a countywide 9-1-1 system shall act by resolution to
approve or disapprove the plan, except that, with respect to a
final plan that provides for funding of the 9-1-1 system in part
through charges imposed under section 4931.51 of the Revised
Code, the board of county commissioners shall not act by
resolution to approve or disapprove the plan until after a
resolution adopted under section 4931.51 of the Revised Code has
become effective as provided in division (D) of that section. A
municipal corporation or township whose territory is proposed to
be included in the system includes any municipal corporation or
township in which a part of its territory is excluded pursuant to
division (A)(2) of section 4931.41 of the Revised Code. Each
such authority shall immmediately IMMEDIATELY notify the board
of county
commissioners in writing of its approval or disapproval of the
final plan. Failure by a board or legislative authority to
notify the board of county commissioners of approval or
disapproval within such sixty-day period shall be deemed
disapproval by such board or authority.
(B) As used in this division, "county's population"
excludes the population of any municipal corporation or township
that, under the plan, is completely excluded from 9-1-1 service
in the county's final plan. A countywide plan will become
effective if all of the following entities approve the plan in
accordance with this section:
(1) The board of county commissioners;
(2) The legislative authority of a municipal corporation
that contains at least thirty per cent of the county's
population, if any;
(3) The legislative authorities of municipal corporations
and townships that contain at least sixty per cent of the
county's population or, if the plan has been approved by a
municipal corporation that contains at least sixty per cent of
the county's population, by the legislative authorities of
municipal corporations and townships that contain at least
seventy-five per cent of the county's population.
(C) After a countywide plan approved in accordance with
this section is adopted, all of the telephone companies and
subdivisions included in the plan are subject to the specific
requirements of the plan and to sections 4931.40 to 4931.51
4931.54 of
the Revised Code.
Sec. 4931.49. (A) The state, the state highway patrol, or
a subdivision participating in a 9-1-1 system and any officer,
agent, or employee of the state, state highway patrol, or a
participating subdivision is not liable in damages in a civil
action for injuries, death, or loss to persons or property
arising from any act or omission, except willful or wanton
misconduct, in connection with developing, adopting, or approving
any final plan or any agreement made under section 4931.48 of the
Revised Code or otherwise bringing into operation a 9-1-1 system
pursuant to those provisions.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in sections 701.02 and
4765.49 of the Revised Code, an individual who gives emergency
instructions through a 9-1-1 system established under sections
4931.40 to 4931.51 4931.54 of the Revised Code, and the
principals for
whom the person acts, including both employers and independent
contractors, public and private, and an individual who follows
emergency instructions and the principals for whom that person
acts, including both employers and independent contractors,
public and private, are not liable in damages in a civil action
for injuries, death, or loss to persons or property arising from
the issuance or following of emergency instructions, except where
the issuance or following of the instructions constitutes willful
or wanton misconduct.
(C) A telephone company, and any other installer,
maintainer, or provider, through the sale or otherwise, of
customer premises equipment, and their respective officers,
directors, employees, agents, and suppliers are not liable in
damages in a civil action for injuries, death, or loss to persons
or property incurred by any person resulting from such an
entity's or its officers', directors', employees', agents', or
suppliers' participation in or acts or omissions in connection
with that participation in a 9-1-1 system whether that system is
established pursuant to sections 4931.40 to 4931.51 4931.54 of
the
Revised Code or otherwise in accordance with the telephone
company's schedules regarding 9-1-1 systems filed with the public
utilities commission pursuant to section 4905.30 of the Revised
Code.
(D) No person shall knowingly use the telephone number of
the 9-1-1 system to report an emergency if he THE PERSON knows
that no
emergency exists.
(E) No person shall disclose or use, for any purpose other
than for the 9-1-1 system, any information concerning telephone
numbers, addresses, or names obtained from the data base that
serves the public safety answering point of a 9-1-1 system
established under sections 4931.40 to 4931.51 4931.54 of the
Revised
Code, except that a telephone company may disclose or use such information to
assist a public utility or municipal utility in handling customer calls in
times of public emergency or service outages. The charge, terms, and
conditions for the disclosure or use of such information by the telephone
company shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the public utilities
commission. In no event shall such information be disclosed or used for any
purpose not permitted by this division.
Sec. 4931.50. The attorney general, upon request of the public utilities
commission or on his THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S own initiative,
shall begin proceedings against a
subdivision or telephone company to enforce compliance with sections 4931.40
to
4931.51 4931.54 of the Revised Code, or with the terms,
conditions, requirements, or
specifications of a final plan or of an agreement under section 4931.48 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 4931.53. (A) THIS SECTION APPLIES ONLY TO A COUNTY
THAT
HAS A FINAL PLAN FOR A COUNTYWIDE 9-1-1 SYSTEM THAT EITHER HAS
NOT BEEN APPROVED IN THE COUNTY UNDER SECTION 4931.44 OF THE
REVISED CODE OR HAS BEEN APPROVED BUT HAS NOT BEEN PUT INTO
OPERATION BECAUSE OF A LACK OF FUNDING.
(B) A BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MAY ADOPT A RESOLUTION
IMPOSING A MONTHLY CHARGE ON TELEPHONE ACCESS LINES TO PAY FOR
THE OPERATING AND EQUIPMENT COSTS OF ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING NO MORE THAN
ONE PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT OF A COUNTYWIDE 9-1-1
SYSTEM. THE RESOLUTION SHALL STATE THE AMOUNT OF THE CHARGE,
WHICH SHALL NOT EXCEED FIFTY CENTS PER MONTH, AND THE MONTH THE
CHARGE WILL FIRST BE IMPOSED, WHICH SHALL BE NO EARLIER THAN FOUR
MONTHS AFTER THE SPECIAL ELECTION HELD PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.
EACH RESIDENTIAL AND BUSINESS TELEPHONE COMPANY CUSTOMER WITHIN
THE AREA OF THE COUNTY SERVED BY THE 9-1-1 SYSTEM SHALL PAY THE MONTHLY CHARGE
FOR EACH OF ITS RESIDENTIAL OR BUSINESS CUSTOMER ACCESS LINES OR
THEIR EQUIVALENT.
BEFORE ADOPTING A RESOLUTION UNDER THIS DIVISION, THE BOARD
OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SHALL HOLD AT LEAST TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS
ON THE PROPOSED CHARGE. BEFORE THE FIRST HEARING, THE BOARD
SHALL PUBLISH NOTICE OF THE HEARINGS ONCE A WEEK FOR TWO
CONSECUTIVE WEEKS IN A NEWSPAPER OF GENERAL CIRCULATION IN THE
COUNTY. THE NOTICE SHALL STATE THE AMOUNT OF THE PROPOSED
CHARGE, AN EXPLANATION OF THE NECESSITY FOR THE CHARGE, AND THE
DATE, TIME, AND LOCATION OF EACH OF THE HEARINGS.
(C) A RESOLUTION ADOPTED UNDER DIVISION (B) OF THIS
SECTION SHALL DIRECT THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS TO SUBMIT THE
QUESTION OF IMPOSING THE CHARGE TO THE ELECTORS OF THE COUNTY AT
A SPECIAL ELECTION ON THE DAY OF THE NEXT PRIMARY OR GENERAL
ELECTION IN THE COUNTY. THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SHALL
CERTIFY A COPY OF THE RESOLUTION TO THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS NOT
LESS THAN SEVENTY-FIVE DAYS BEFORE THE DAY OF THE SPECIAL
ELECTION. NO RESOLUTION ADOPTED UNDER DIVISION (B) OF THIS
SECTION SHALL TAKE EFFECT UNLESS APPROVED BY A MAJORITY OF THE
ELECTORS VOTING UPON THE RESOLUTION AT AN ELECTION HELD PURSUANT
TO THIS SECTION.
IN ANY YEAR, THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MAY IMPOSE A
LESSER CHARGE THAN THE AMOUNT ORIGINALLY APPROVED BY THE
ELECTORS. THE BOARD MAY CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF THE CHARGE NO MORE
THAN ONCE A YEAR. THE BOARD SHALL NOT IMPOSE A CHARGE GREATER THAN
THE AMOUNT APPROVED BY THE ELECTORS WITHOUT FIRST HOLDING AN
ELECTION ON THE QUESTION OF THE GREATER CHARGE.
(D) MONEY RAISED FROM A MONTHLY CHARGE ON TELEPHONE ACCESS
LINES UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEPOSITED INTO A SPECIAL FUND
CREATED IN THE COUNTY TREASURY BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS PURSUANT TO SECTION 5705.12 OF THE REVISED
CODE, TO
BE USED ONLY FOR THE NECESSARY OPERATING AND EQUIPMENT COSTS OF ESTABLISHING
AND MAINTAINING NO MORE THAN ONE PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT
OF A COUNTYWIDE 9-1-1 SYSTEM PURSUANT TO A RESOLUTION ADOPTED
UNDER DIVISION (B) OF THIS SECTION. IN COMPLYING WITH THIS
DIVISION, ANY COUNTY MAY SEEK THE ASSISTANCE OF THE PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION WITH REGARD TO OPERATING AND MAINTAINING A
9-1-1 SYSTEM.
(E) NOTHING IN SECTIONS 4931.40 TO
4931.53 OF THE REVISED CODE PRECLUDES A FINAL PLAN ADOPTED
IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THOSE SECTIONS FROM BEING AMENDED TO PROVIDE THAT, BY
AGREEMENT INCLUDED IN THE PLAN, A PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING
POINT OF ANOTHER COUNTYWIDE 9-1-1 SYSTEM IS THE PUBLIC SAFETY
ANSWERING POINT OF A COUNTYWIDE 9-1-1 SYSTEM FUNDED THROUGH A
MONTHLY CHARGE IMPOSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS SECTION. IN THAT
EVENT, THE COUNTY FOR WHICH THE PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT IS
PROVIDED SHALL BE DEEMED THE SUBDIVISION OPERATING THE PUBLIC
SAFETY ANSWERING POINT FOR PURPOSES OF SECTIONS 4931.40 TO 4931.53
OF THE REVISED CODE, EXCEPT THAT, FOR THE PURPOSE OF
DIVISION (D)
OF SECTION 4931.41 OF THE REVISED CODE, THE COUNTY SHALL PAY
ONLY
SO MUCH OF THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ESTABLISHING, EQUIPPING, FURNISHING,
OPERATING, OR MAINTAINING THE PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING
POINT SPECIFIED IN THE AGREEMENT INCLUDED IN THE FINAL PLAN.
(F) PURSUANT TO THE VOTER APPROVAL REQUIRED BY DIVISION
(C) OF THIS SECTION, THE FINAL PLAN FOR A COUNTYWIDE 9-1-1 SYSTEM
THAT WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH A MONTHLY CHARGE IMPOSED IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THIS SECTION, OR THAT WILL BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE AN AGREEMENT
DESCRIBED IN DIVISION (E) OF THIS SECTION, SHALL BE AMENDED BY THE
EXISTING
9-1-1 PLANNING COMMITTEE, AND THE AMENDMENT OF SUCH A FINAL PLAN
IS NOT AN AMENDMENT OF A FINAL PLAN FOR THE PURPOSE OF DIVISION
(A) OF SECTION 4931.45 OF THE REVISED CODE.
Sec. 4931.53 4931.54. (A) As part of its normal monthly
billing
process, each telephone company with customers in the area served
by a 9-1-1 system shall bill and collect from those customers any
charge imposed under section 4931.52 OR 4931.53 of the Revised
Code. The
company may list the charge as a separate entry on each bill and
may indicate on the bill that the charge is made pursuant to
approval of a ballot issue by county voters. Any customer billed
by a company for a charge imposed under section 4931.52 OR
4931.53 of the
Revised Code is liable to the county for the amount billed. The
company shall apply any partial payment of a customer's bill
first to the amount the customer owes the company. The company
shall keep complete records of charges it bills and collects, and
such records shall be open during business hours for inspection
by the county commissioners or their agents or employees. If a
company fails to bill any customer for the charge, it is liable
to the county for the amount that was not billed.
(B) A telephone company that collects charges under this
section shall remit the money to the county on a quarterly basis.
The company may retain three per cent of any charge it collects
as compensation for the costs of such collection. If a company
collects charges under this section and fails to remit the money
to the county as prescribed, it is liable to the county for any
amount collected and not remitted.
Section 2. That existing sections 4931.40, 4931.44, 4931.49,
4931.50, and 4931.53 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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