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As Passed by the Senate
123rd General Assembly
Regular Session
1999-2000 | Sub. H. B. No. 180 |
REPRESENTATIVES CORBIN-THOMAS-VESPER-CATES-HOOPS-BUEHRER-
CORE-HARRIS-BRITTON-BARRETT-PATTON-OPFER-JONES-
SENATOR SNEIN-
RAY-DRAKE-MUMPER-SPADA-WHITE-GARDNER-WACHTMANN
A BILL
To amend sections 121.03, 3304.23, 3304.231, 4121.12, 4121.121, 4121.37,
4121.44, 4121.63,
4123.343, 4123.511, 4123.512, 4123.57, 4123.76, 4123.83, 4123.93, 5703.21, and
5747.18 and to
enact section 4123.591 of the Revised Code to make appropriations for the
Bureau of Workers' Compensation for the biennium beginning July 1, 1999, and
ending June 30, 2001, to provide authorization and conditions for the
operation of Bureau of Workers' Compensation programs, to rename the Head
Injury Program the Brain Injury Program, and to designate the Administrator of
Workers' Compensation as a member of the Brain Injury Advisory Committee in
place of the Industrial Commission Chairperson.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 121.03, 3304.23, 3304.231, 4121.12, 4121.121,
4121.37, 4121.44, 4121.63,
4123.343, 4123.511, 4123.512, 4123.57, 4123.76, 4123.83, 4123.93, 5703.21, and
5747.18 be
amended and section 4123.591 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as
follows:
Sec. 121.03. The following administrative department heads
shall be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent
of the senate, and shall hold their offices during the term of
the appointing governor, except as provided in division
(W) of this section, and are subject to removal at the
pleasure of the governor.
(A) The director of budget and management;
(B) The director of commerce;
(C) The director of transportation;
(D) The director of agriculture;
(E) The director of human services;
(F) Until July 1, 1997, the director of liquor control;
(G) The director of public safety;
(H) The superintendent of insurance;
(I) The director of development;
(J) The tax commissioner;
(K) The director of administrative services;
(L) The administrator of the bureau of employment
services;
(M) The director of natural resources;
(N) The director of mental health;
(O) The director of mental retardation and developmental
disabilities;
(P) The director of health;
(Q) The director of youth services;
(R) The director of rehabilitation and correction;
(S) The director of environmental protection;
(T) The director of aging;
(U) The director of alcohol and drug addiction services;
(W)(V) The administrator of workers' compensation who meets
the qualifications required under division (A) of section 4121.121 of the
Revised Code, who shall serve as administrator, subject to removal at the
pleasure of the governor, until the date the workers' compensation
oversight
commission appoints the administrator as provided in division
(F)(10) of
section 4121.12 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3304.23. (A) There is hereby created in the
rehabilitation services commission a head BRAIN injury program
consisting of a program director and at least one support staff
person.
(B) To the extent that funds are available, the head BRAIN
injury program may do the following:
(1) Identify existing services in this state to assist
survivors and families of survivors of head BRAIN injury;
(2) Promote the coordination of services for survivors and
families of survivors of head BRAIN injury;
(3) Explore options for delivery of services to survivors
and families of survivors of head BRAIN injury;
(4) Explore the establishment of a traumatic brain injury
incidence reporting system to collect information on the
incidence and character of traumatic brain injury in this state;
(5) Promote practices that will reduce the incidence of
head BRAIN injury;
(6) Develop training programs on dealing with head BRAIN injury
and the special needs of survivors of head BRAIN injury;
(7) Identify sources of available funds for services for
survivors and families of survivors of head BRAIN injury;
(8) Explore options for the delivery of case management
services to residents of this state who are survivors of head BRAIN
injury;
(9) Provide assistance to assure that services for
survivors and families of survivors of head BRAIN injury are all of the
following:
(a) Designed to enhance the survivor's ability to lead an
independent and productive life;
(b) Available within close proximity of the survivor's
home;
(c) Provided in the least restrictive environment;
(d) Appropriate to the unique needs of the survivor.
(C) The staff of the head BRAIN injury program shall prepare a
biennial report on the incidence of head BRAIN injury in this
state
that shall be submitted to the administrator of the
rehabilitation services commission on or before December 15,
1992, and every two years thereafter. A copy of the report shall
be submitted to the head BRAIN injury advisory committee created
under section 3304.231 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3304.231. There is hereby created a head BRAIN injury
advisory committee, which shall advise the
administrator of the
rehabilitation services commission and the head BRAIN injury
program
with regard to unmet needs of survivors of head BRAIN injury,
development of programs for survivors and their families,
establishment of training programs for health care professionals,
and any other matter within the province of the head BRAIN
injury
program. The committee shall consist of not less than
eighteen and
not more than twenty-one members as follows:
(A) Not less than ten and not more than twelve members
appointed by the administrator of the rehabilitation services
commission, including all of the following: a survivor of head
BRAIN
injury, a relative of a survivor of head BRAIN injury, a
licensed
physician recommended by the Ohio chapter of the American college
of emergency physicians, a licensed physician recommended by the
Ohio state medical association, one other health care
professional, a rehabilitation professional, an individual who
represents the national head BRAIN injury foundation/Ohio,
inc. ASSOCIATION OF OHIO, and
not less than three nor more than five individuals who shall
represent the public;
(B) The directors of the departments of health, alcohol
and drug addiction services, mental retardation and developmental
disabilities, mental health, human services, and highway safety;
the chairperson of the industrial commission ADMINISTRATOR OF
WORKERS' COMPENSATION; the
superintendent of
public instruction; and the administrator of the rehabilitation
services commission. Any of the officials specified in this
division may designate an individual to serve in the
official's place as a
member of the committee.
The director of health shall make initial appointments to
the committee by November 1, 1990. Appointments made
after July 26, 1991,
shall be made by
the administrator of the rehabilitation services commission.
Terms of office shall be two years. Members may be reappointed.
Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for original
appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring
prior to the expiration date of the term for which the
member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a member for the
remainder of that term.
Members of the committee shall serve without
compensation, but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties.
Sec. 4121.12. (A) There is hereby created the workers'
compensation oversight commission consisting of nine members, of
which members the governor shall appoint five with the advice and consent of
the senate. Of the five members the governor appoints, two shall be
individuals who, on
account of their previous vocation, employment, or affiliations,
can be classed as representative of employees, at least one of whom is
representative of employees who are members of an employee organization; two
shall be individuals who, on account of their previous vocation, employment,
or affiliations, can be classed as representative of employers, one of whom
represents self-insuring employers and one of whom has experience as an
employer in compliance with section 4123.35 of the Revised Code
other than a self-insuring employer, and one of those two representatives also
shall represent employers whose employees are not members of an employee
organization; and one 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. The
governor shall select the chairperson of the
commission who shall serve as chairperson at the pleasure of the
governor. No more than three members
appointed by the governor shall belong to or be affiliated with the same
political party.
Each of these five members shall have at least three years'
experience in the field of insurance, finance, workers'
compensation, law, accounting, actuarial, personnel, investments,
or data processing, or in the management of an organization whose
size is commensurate with that of the bureau of workers'
compensation. At least one of these five members shall be an
attorney licensed under Chapter 4705. of the Revised Code to practice
law in this state.
(B) Of the initial appointments made to the
commission, the governor shall appoint one member who represents
employees to a term ending one year after September 1,
1995, one member who
represents employers to a term ending two
years after September 1, 1995, the member who
represents the public to a term
ending three years after September 1, 1995, one member who represents
employees to a term ending four years after September 1,
1995, and one member who represents employers to a term
ending five years after September 1, 1995. Thereafter, terms of office shall
be for five years, with each term ending on the same day of the same
month as did the term that it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from
the date of the member's appointment until the end of the term for
which the
member was appointed.
The governor shall not appoint any person to more than two
full terms of office on the commission. This restriction does
not prevent the governor from appointing a person to fill a
vacancy caused by the death, resignation, or removal of a
commission member and also appointing that person twice to full
terms on the commission, or from appointing a person previously
appointed to fill less than a full term twice to full terms on
the commission. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring
prior to the expiration date of the term for which the
member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a member for the
remainder of that term. A member shall continue in office subsequent to the
expiration date of the member's term until a successor takes
office or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever
occurs first.
(C) In making appointments to the commission, the governor shall
select the members from the list of names
submitted by the workers' compensation oversight commission
nominating committee pursuant to this division. Within fourteen
days after the governor calls the initial meeting of the nominating committee
pursuant to division (C) of section 4121.123 of the Revised Code, the
nominating committee shall submit to the governor, for the initial
appointments, a list containing four separate names for each of the members on
the commission. Within
fourteen days after the submission of the list, the governor
shall appoint individuals from the list.
For the appointment of the member who is representative of employees who
are members of an employee organization, both for initial appointments and for
the filling of vacancies, the list of four names submitted by the nominating
committee shall be comprised of four individuals who are members of the
executive committee of the largest statewide labor federation.
Thereafter, within sixty days after a vacancy
occurring as a result of the expiration of a term and within
thirty days after other vacancies occurring on the commission, the nominating
committee shall submit a list containing four names for each vacancy. Within
fourteen days after the submission of the list, the governor shall appoint
individuals from the list. With respect to the filling of
vacancies, the nominating committee shall provide the governor with a list of
four individuals who are, in the judgment of the nominating committee, the
most fully qualified to accede to membership on the
commission. The nominating committee shall not include the name of
an individual upon the list for the filling of vacancies if the appointment of
that individual by the governor would result in more than three members of the
commission belonging to or being affiliated with the same political party.
The committee shall include on the list for the filling of vacancies only the
names of attorneys admitted to practice law in this state if, to fulfill the
requirement of division (A) of section 4121.12 of the Revised Code, the
vacancy must be filled by an attorney.
In order for the name of an individual to be submitted to the
governor under this division, the nominating committee shall approve the
individual by an affirmative vote of a majority of its members.
(D) The remaining four members of the commission
shall be the chairperson and ranking minority member of
the standing committees of the house of representatives and of the senate to
which legislation concerning this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131.
of the Revised Code normally are
referred, or a designee of the chairperson or ranking
minority member, provided
that the designee is a member of the standing committee. Legislative members
shall serve during the session of the general
assembly to which they are elected and for as long as they are members of the
general assembly. Legislative members shall serve in an advisory capacity to
the commission and shall have no voting rights on matters coming before the
commission. Membership on the commission by legislative members shall not be
deemed as holding a public office.
(E) All members of the commission shall receive
their reasonable
and necessary expenses pursuant to section 126.31 of the Revised Code while
engaged in the
performance of their duties as members. Legislative members
also shall receive fifty dollars per meeting that they attend. Members
appointed by the governor also shall receive an annual salary as follows:
(1) On and before August 31, 1998, not to exceed
six thousand dollars payable at
the rate of five hundred dollars per month. A member shall receive
the monthly five hundred dollar salary only if
the member has attended at least one
meeting of the commission during that month. A member may receive no more
than the monthly five hundred dollar salary regardless of the number of
meetings held by the commission during a month or the number of meetings
in excess of one within a month that the member attends.
(2) After August 31, 1998, not to exceed eighteen
thousand dollars payable on the following basis:
(a) Except as provided in division
(E)(2)(b) of this section, a member shall receive
two thousand
dollars during a month in which the
member attends one or
more meetings of the commission
and shall receive no payment during a month in which the member attends no
meeting of the commission.
(b) A member may receive no more than the annual eighteen
thousand dollar salary
regardless of the number of meetings held by the commission during a
year
or the number of meetings in excess of nine within a
year that the member
attends.
The chairperson of the commission shall set the meeting dates of the
commission as necessary to perform the duties of the commission under this
chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised
Code. The commission shall meet at least nine times during the
period commencing
on the first day of September and ending on the thirty-first day of
August of the following year. The administrator of
workers' compensation shall
provide professional and
clerical assistance to the commission, as the commission considers
appropriate.
(F) The commission shall:
(1) Review progress of the bureau in meeting its
cost and quality objectives and in complying with this chapter
and
Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code;
(2) Issue an annual report on the cost and quality objectives of the
bureau
to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives,
and the governor;
(3) Review all independent financial audits of the bureau. The
administrator shall provide access to records of the bureau to facilitate the
review required under this division.
(4) Study issues as requested by the administrator or the governor;
(5) Contract with an independent actuarial firm to assist the commission
in making recommendations to the administrator regarding premium rates;
(6) Establish objectives, policies, and
criteria for the
administration of the investment program that include
asset allocation targets and ranges, risk factors, asset class
benchmarks, time horizons, total return objectives, and
performance evaluation guidelines, and
monitor the administrator's progress in implementing the
objectives, policies, and criteria on a quarterly basis. The commission
shall
publish the objectives, policies, and criteria no less than
annually and shall make copies available to interested parties. The
commission shall prohibit, on a prospective basis,
specific investment activity it finds to be contrary to its investment
objectives, policies, and criteria.
The investment policy in existence on March 7, 1997,
shall continue until the commission approves objectives, policies, and
criteria for the administration of the investment program pursuant to this
section.
(7) Advise and consent on all of the following:
(a) Administrative rules the administrator submits
to it pursuant to division (B)(5) of section 4121.121 of the Revised Code for
the
classification 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;
(b) The overall
policy of the bureau of workers' compensation as set by the administrator;
(c) The duties and authority conferred upon the
administrator pursuant to section 4121.37 of the Revised Code;
(d) Rules the administrator adopts 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.
(8) Perform all duties required under section 4121.125 of the Revised
Code;
(9) After August 31, 2000, appoint an administrator who
meets
the qualifications required under section 4121.121 of the Revised Code and fix
the salary of the
administrator, the amount of which the commission shall base upon the
experience
of the administrator and the responsibilities and duties of the administrator
pursuant to this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised
Code.
(G) The commission may enter into an employment contract with an
administrator it appoints, provided that the contract does not exceed two
years in length.
(H) As used in this section, "employee organization" means
any
labor or bona fide organization in which employees participate and which
exists
for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning
grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, terms and other conditions of
employment.
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. 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 Chapter CHAPTERS 4123., 4127., and 4131. 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.
After August 31, 2000, the workers' compensation
oversight commission shall appoint the administrator as provided in division
(F)(9) of section 4121.12 of the Revised Code, and the administrator shall
serve at the pleasure of the
oversight commission. The oversight commission
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.,
4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code.
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 of workers'
compensation and for the discharge of all administrative duties
imposed upon the administrator in this chapter and Chapters
4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code, and in the discharge thereof
shall do all of the following:
(1) Establish the overall administrative policy
of the bureau for the purposes of this chapter and Chapters 4123.,
4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code, and 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., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code, except the acts and the
exercise of authority and power that is required of and
vested in the oversight commission 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., 4127., and 4131. of
the Revised Code, 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 holding a certified
position in the classified service to any state position in the
unclassified service of the bureau of workers' compensation. A
person so appointed 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. If the position the person previously
held has been filled or 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
department of administrative services certifies is comparable in compensation
to the position the person previously held. Reinstatement to a
position in the classified service shall be to a position
substantially equal to that held previously, as certified by the
department of administrative services. 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 WHEN a
person
is reinstated to a position in the classified
service as provided in this section, 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. The administrator also
shall provide suitable office space in the service offices for
the district hearing officers, the staff hearing officers, and
commission employees as requested by the commission.
(5) Prepare and submit to the oversight commission information the
administrator considers pertinent or the oversight commission
requires, together
with the administrator's recommendations, in the form of
administrative rules, for the advice and consent of
the oversight commission, 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 oversight commission 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 objectives, policies, and
criteria established by the oversight commission
pursuant to section 4121.12 of the Revised Code. The administrator shall not
engage in any
prohibited investment activity specified by the oversight commission pursuant
to division (F)(6) of section 4121.12 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) Separately from the budget the industrial
commission submits,
prepare and submit to the director of budget and management a
budget for each biennium. The budget submitted shall include
estimates of the costs and necessary expenditures of the bureau
in the discharge of any duty imposed by law as well as
the costs of furnishing office space to the district hearing
officers, staff hearing officers, and commission employees under
division (D) of this section.
(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 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. 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 oversight
commission, rules for the operation of the bureau.
(21) Prepare and submit to the oversight commission information the
administrator considers pertinent or the oversight commission requires,
together with the administrator's recommendations, in the form of
administrative rules, for the advice and consent of the oversight commission,
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 significant experience in the field of workers'
compensation insurance or other similar insurance industry experience 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. 4121.37. The administrator of workers' compensation having, by
virtue of Section 35 of Article II, Ohio Constitution, the
expenditure of the fund therein created for the investigation and
prevention of industrial accidents and diseases, shall, with the advice
and consent of the workers' compensation oversight commission, in the exercise
of the administrator's authority and in the performance of the administrator's
duty, employ a superintendent and the necessary experts, engineers,
investigators, clerks, and stenographers for the efficient
operation of a division of safety and hygiene of the bureau of
workers' compensation, which is hereby created.
The general assembly hereby declares that in furtherance of
the authority granted to the administrator pursuant to Section 35 of
Article II, Ohio Constitution, and to encourage public employers
to operate and maintain safe places of employment for public
employees of this state, the
administrator, with the advice and consent of the oversight commission, may
transfer funds, certified as provided in section
126.07
of the Revised Code, from the safety and hygiene fund
to the occupational
safety loan fund created in section 4121.48 of the Revised Code,
for the purposes of that
section.
The administrator of workers' compensation, with the
advice and consent of the oversight commission, shall pay into the safety and
hygiene
fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury, the portion
of the contributions paid by employers, calculated as though all
employers paid premiums based upon payroll, not to exceed
three-fourths of one ONE per cent thereof in any year, as is
necessary for the payment of the salary of the superintendent
of the division of safety and hygiene and the compensation of the
other employees of the division of safety and hygiene, and the expenses of
investigations and researches for the prevention of industrial
accidents and diseases. All investment earning of the fund shall be
credited to the fund. The administrator has the same powers to
invest any of the funds belonging to the fund as are delegated to
the administrator under section
4123.44 of the Revised Code with respect to the state
insurance fund. The superintendent,
under the direction of the administrator, with the advice and consent of
the oversight commission, shall conduct investigations and researches for the
prevention of industrial accidents and diseases, conduct loss
prevention programs and courses for employers, establish and
administrate cooperative programs with employers for the purchase
of individual safety equipment for employees, and print and
distribute information as may be of benefit to employers and
employees. The administrator shall pay from the safety and hygiene fund the
salary of the superintendent of the division of safety and
hygiene, the compensation
of the other employees of the division of safety and hygiene, the
expenses necessary or incidental to investigations and researches
for the prevention of industrial accidents and diseases,
and
the cost of printing and distributing such information.
The superintendent, under the direction of the administrator, shall prepare an
annual report, addressed to the governor, on the amount of the expenditures
and the purposes for
which they have been made, and the results of the investigations
and researches. The administrator shall include the
administrative costs, salaries, and other expenses of the
division of safety and hygiene as a part of the budget of the bureau of
workers' compensation that is submitted to the
director of budget and management and shall identify those expenditures
separately from other bureau expenditures.
The superintendent shall be a competent person with at
least five years' experience in industrial accident or disease
prevention work. The superintendent and up to six positions in
the division of safety and hygiene as the administrator, with the advice and
consent of the oversight commission, designates are in
the unclassified civil service of the state as long as the administrator, with
the advice and consent of the oversight commission, determines the positions
subordinate to the superintendent are
primarily and distinctively administrative, managerial, or
professional in character. All other full-time employees of the
division of safety and hygiene are in the classified civil
service of the state.
Sec. 4121.44. (A) The administrator of workers' compensation shall oversee
the implementation of the Ohio workers' compensation qualified health
plan system as established under section 4121.442 of the Revised
Code.
(B) The administrator shall direct the
implementation of the health partnership program administered by
the bureau as set forth in section 4121.441 of the Revised Code.
To implement the health partnership program, the bureau:
(1) Shall certify one or more external vendors, WHICH SHALL BE
KNOWN AS "MANAGED CARE ORGANIZATIONS," to provide
medical management and cost containment services in the health
partnership program for a period of two years beginning on
the date of certification, consistent with the
standards established under this section;
(2) May recertify external vendors for an
additional period PERIODS of two years upon the expiration of
the
certification set forth in division
(B)(1) of this section; and
(3) May integrate the certified vendors with bureau
staff and existing bureau services for purposes of operation and
training to allow the bureau to assume operation of the health
partnership program at the conclusion of the
certification periods set
forth in division (B)(1) or (2) of this section.
(C) Any vendor selected shall demonstrate all of the
following:
(1) Arrangements and reimbursement agreements with a
substantial number of the medical, professional and pharmacy
providers currently being utilized by claimants.
(2) Ability to accept a common format of medical bill data
in an electronic fashion from any provider who wishes to submit
medical bill data in that form.
(3) A computer system able to handle the volume of medical bills and
willingness to customize that system
to the bureau's needs and to be operated by the vendor's staff,
bureau staff, or some combination of both staffs.
(4) A prescription drug system where pharmacies on a
statewide basis have access to the eligibility and pricing, at a
discounted rate, of all prescription drugs.
(5) A tracking system to record all telephone calls from
claimants and providers regarding the status of
submitted medical bills so as to be able to track each inquiry.
(6) Data processing capacity to absorb all of the bureau's
medical bill processing or at least that part of the processing
which the bureau arranges to delegate.
(7) Capacity to store, retrieve, array, simulate, and
model in a relational mode all of the detailed medical bill data
so that analysis can be performed in a variety of ways and so
that the bureau and its governing authority can make informed
decisions.
(8) Wide variety of software programs which translate
medical terminology into standard codes, and which reveal if a
provider is manipulating the procedures codes, commonly
called "unbundling."
(9) Necessary professional staff to conduct, at a minimum,
authorizations for treatment, medical necessity, utilization
review, concurrent review, post-utilization review, and have the
attendant computer system which supports such activity and
measures the outcomes and the savings.
(10) Management experience and flexibility to be able to
react quickly to the needs of the bureau in the case of required
change in federal or state requirements.
(D)(1) INFORMATION CONTAINED IN A
VENDOR'S APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION IN THE HEALTH PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM, AND
OTHER INFORMATION
FURNISHED TO THE BUREAU BY A VENDOR FOR PURPOSES OF OBTAINING CERTIFICATION OR
TO COMPLY WITH PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL AUDITING REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED BY
THE
ADMINSTRATOR, IS FOR THE EXCLUSIVE USE AND INFORMATION
OF THE BUREAU IN THE
DISCHARGE OF ITS OFFICIAL DUTIES, AND SHALL NOT BE OPEN TO THE
PUBLIC OR BE USED IN ANY COURT IN ANY PROCEEDING PENDING THEREIN,
UNLESS THE BUREAU IS A PARTY TO THE ACTION OR PROCEEDING, BUT THE
INFORMATION MAY BE TABULATED AND PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU IN
STATISTICAL FORM FOR THE USE AND INFORMATION OF OTHER STATE
DEPARTMENTS AND THE PUBLIC. NO EMPLOYEE OF THE BUREAU, EXCEPT AS
OTHERWISE AUTHORIZED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR, SHALL DIVULGE ANY
INFORMATION SECURED BY THE EMPLOYEE WHILE IN THE EMPLOY OF THE
BUREAU IN RESPECT TO A VENDOR'S APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION OR
IN RESPECT TO THE BUSINESS OR OTHER TRADE PROCESSES OF ANY VENDOR
TO ANY PERSON OTHER THAN THE ADMINISTRATOR OR TO THE EMPLOYEE'S
SUPERIOR.
(2) NOTWITHSTANDING THE RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED BY DIVISION (D)(1)
OF THIS SECTION, THE GOVERNOR, MEMBERS OF SELECT OR STANDING COMMITTEES OF THE SENATE OR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE AUDITOR
OF STATE, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, OR THEIR DESIGNEES, PURSUANT TO THE
AUTHORITY GRANTED IN THIS CHAPTER AND CHAPTER 4123. OF THE
REVISED CODE, MAY EXAMINE ANY VENDOR APPLICATION
OR OTHER INFORMATION FURNISHED TO THE BUREAU BY THE VENDOR. NONE
OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS SHALL DIVULGE ANY INFORMATION SECURED IN THE
EXERCISE OF THAT AUTHORITY IN RESPECT TO A VENDOR'S APPLICATION
FOR CERTIFICATION OR IN RESPECT TO THE BUSINESS OR OTHER TRADE
PROCESSES OF ANY VENDOR TO ANY PERSON.
(E) ON AND AFTER JANUARY 1, 2001, A VENDOR SHALL
NOT BE ANY
INSURANCE COMPANY HOLDING A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY ISSUED PURSUANT TO
TITLE XXXIX OF THE REVISED CODE OR ANY
HEALTH INSURING
CORPORATION HOLDING A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY UNDER CHAPTER 1751.
OF THE REVISED CODE.
(F) The administrator may
limit freedom of choice of health care provider or supplier by
requiring, beginning with the period set forth in division
(B)(1) or (2) of this section, that claimants shall pay an
appropriate
out-of-plan co-pay COPAYMENT for selecting a medical provider
not within
the health partnership program as provided for in this section.
(E)(G) The administrator, six
months prior to the expiration of the bureau's
certification or recertification of the vendor or vendors as set forth
in division (B)(1) or (2) of this
section, may certify and provide evidence to the governor, the
speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the
senate that the existing bureau staff is able to match or exceed
the performance and outcomes of the external vendor or vendors
and that the bureau should be permitted to internally administer
the health partnership program upon the expiration of
the certification or recertification as set forth in
division (B)(1) or (2) of this section.
(F)(H) The administrator shall establish and operate a bureau
of workers'
compensation health care
data program. The administrator may contract with the Ohio
health care data center for such purposes. The
administrator shall develop reporting requirements from all
employees, employers and medical providers, medical vendors, and
plans that participate in the workers' compensation system. The
administrator shall do all of the following:
(1) Utilize the collected data to measure and perform
comparison analyses of costs, quality, appropriateness of medical
care, and effectiveness of medical care delivered by
all components of the workers' compensation system.
(2) Compile data to support activities of the selected
vendor or vendors and to measure the outcomes and savings of the
health partnership program.
(3) Publish and report compiled data to the governor, the
speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the
senate on the first day of
each January and July, the measures of
outcomes and savings of the health partnership program and the
qualified health plan system. The administrator shall protect
the confidentiality of all proprietary pricing data.
(G)(I) Any rehabilitation facility the bureau operates is
eligible for inclusion in the Ohio workers' compensation
qualified health plan system or the health partnership program
under the same terms as other providers within health care plans
or the program.
(H)(J) In areas outside the state or within the state where
no qualified health plan or an inadequate number of providers
within the health partnership program exist, the administrator
shall permit employees to use a nonplan or nonprogram health care
provider and shall pay the provider for the services or supplies
provided to or on behalf of an employee for an injury or
occupational disease that is compensable under this chapter or
Chapter 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code on a fee
schedule the administrator adopts.
(I)(K) No certified health care provider shall charge,
assess, or otherwise attempt to collect from an employee, employer, a managed
care organization, or the bureau any amount for covered
services or supplies that is in excess of the allowed
amount paid by a managed care organization, the bureau, or a qualified
health plan.
(J)(L) The administrator shall permit any employer or group
of employers who agree to abide by the rules adopted under this
section and sections 4121.441 and 4121.442 of the Revised Code to
provide services or supplies to or on behalf of an employee for
an injury or occupational disease that is compensable under this
chapter or Chapter 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code
through qualified health plans of the Ohio workers' compensation
qualified health plan system pursuant to section 4121.442 of the
Revised Code or through the health partnership program pursuant
to section 4121.441 of the Revised Code. No amount paid under
the qualified health plan system pursuant to section 4121.442 of
the Revised Code by an employer who is a state fund employer
shall be charged to the employer's experience or otherwise be
used in merit-rating or determining the risk of that employer for
the purpose of the payment of premiums under this chapter, and if
the employer is a self-insuring employer, the employer shall not
include that amount in the paid compensation the employer
reports under section 4123.35 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4121.63. Claimants who the administrator of workers'
compensation determines could probably be rehabilitated to
achieve the goals established by section 4121.61 of the Revised
Code and who agree to undergo rehabilitation shall be paid living
maintenance payments for a period or periods which do not exceed
six months in the aggregate, unless review by the administrator
or his THE ADMINISTRATOR'S designee reveals that the claimant
will be benefited by an extension of such payments.
Living maintenance payments shall be paid in weekly
amounts, not to exceed the amount the claimant would receive if
the claimant were being compensated for temporary total
disability, but not less than fifty per cent of the current state
average weekly wage. LIVING MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS SHALL COMMENCE AT THE
TIME THE CLAIMANT BEGINS TO PARTICIPATE IN AN APPROVED REHABILITATION PROGRAM.
A claimant receiving living maintenance payments shall be
deemed to be temporarily totally disabled and shall receive no
payment of any type of compensation except as provided by
division (B) of section 4123.57 of the Revised Code for the
periods during which the claimant is receiving living maintenance
payments.
Sec. 4123.343. This section shall be construed liberally
to the end that employers shall be encouraged to employ and
retain in their employment handicapped employees as defined in
this section.
(A) As used in this section, "handicapped employee" means
an employee who is afflicted with or subject to any physical or
mental impairment, or both, whether congenital or due to an
injury or disease of such character that the impairment
constitutes a handicap in obtaining employment or would
constitute a handicap in obtaining reemployment if the employee
should become unemployed and whose handicap is due to any of the
following diseases or conditions:
(1) Epilepsy;
(2) Diabetes;
(3) Cardiac disease;
(4) Arthritis;
(5) Amputated foot, leg, arm, or hand;
(6) Loss of sight of one or both eyes or a partial loss of
uncorrected vision of more than seventy-five per cent
bilaterally;
(7) Residual disability from poliomyelitis;
(8) Cerebral palsy;
(9) Multiple sclerosis;
(10) Parkinson's disease;
(11) Cerebral vascular accident;
(12) Tuberculosis;
(13) Silicosis;
(14) Psycho-neurotic disability following treatment in a
recognized medical or mental institution;
(15) Hemophilia;
(16) Chronic osteomyelitis;
(17) Ankylosis of joints;
(18) Hyper insulinism;
(19) Muscular dystrophies;
(20) Arterio-sclerosis;
(21) Thrombo-phlebitis;
(22) Varicose veins;
(23) Cardiovascular, pulmonary, or respiratory diseases of
a fire fighter FIREFIGHTER or police officer employed by a
municipal corporation or township as a regular member of a lawfully
constituted police department or fire department;
(24) Coal miners' pneumoconiosis, commonly referred to as
"black lung disease";
(25) Disability with respect to which an individual has
completed a rehabilitation program conducted pursuant to sections
4121.61 to 4121.69 of the Revised Code.
(B) Under the circumstances set forth in this section all
or such portion as the administrator determines of the
compensation and benefits paid in any claim arising hereafter
shall be charged to and paid from the statutory surplus fund
created under section 4123.34 of the Revised Code and only the
portion remaining shall be merit-rated or otherwise treated as
part of the accident or occupational disease experience of the
employer. If the employer is a self-insuring employer, the
proportion of such costs whether charged to the statutory surplus
fund in whole or in part shall be by way of direct payment to
such employee or his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents or by way of
reimbursement to the self-insuring employer as the circumstances indicate.
The provisions of this section apply only in cases of death, total disability,
whether temporary or permanent, and all disabilities compensated under
division (B) of section 4123.57 of the Revised
Code. The administrator shall adopt rules specifying the grounds
upon which charges to the statutory surplus fund are to be made.
The rules shall prohibit as a grounds any agreement between
employer and claimant as to the merits of a claim and the amount
of the charge.
(C) Any employer who advises the bureau of workers'
compensation prior to the occurrence of an injury or occupational
disease that it has in its employ a handicapped employee is
entitled, in the event the person is injured, to a determination
under this section. Any employer who fails to notify the bureau
but applies for a determination under this section is entitled to
a determination if the bureau finds that there was good cause for
the failure to give notice of the employment of the handicapped
employee. The bureau annually shall require employers to file an
inventory of current handicapped employees.
An employer shall file an application UNDER THIS SECTION for a
determination
with the bureau or commission in the same manner as other claims. An
application only may be made in cases where a
handicapped employee or his A HANDICAPPED EMPLOYEE'S dependents
claim or is receiving an award of compensation as a result of an injury
or occupational disease occurring or contracted on or after the date
on which division (A) of this section first included the handicap of such
employee.
(D) The circumstances under and the manner in which an
apportionment under this section shall be made are:
(1) Whenever a handicapped employee is injured or disabled
or dies as the result of an injury or occupational disease
sustained in the course of and arising out of his A HANDICAPPED
EMPLOYEE'S employment in this state and the administrator awards
compensation therefor and
when it appears to the satisfaction of the administrator that the
injury or occupational disease or the death resulting therefrom
would not have occurred but for the pre-existing physical or
mental impairment of the handicapped employee, all compensation
and benefits payable on account of the disability or death shall be paid from
the surplus fund.
(2) Whenever a handicapped employee is injured or disabled
or dies as a result of an injury or occupational disease and the
administrator finds that the injury or occupational disease would
have been sustained or suffered without regard to the employee's
pre-existing impairment but that the resulting disability or
death was caused at least in part through aggravation of the
employee's pre-existing disability, the administrator shall
determine in a manner that is equitable and reasonable and based
upon medical evidence the amount of disability or proportion of
the cost of the death award that is attributable to the
employee's pre-existing disability and the amount
found shall be charged to the statutory surplus fund.
(E) The benefits and provisions of this section apply only
to employers who have complied with this chapter either through
insurance with the state fund or as a self-insuring employer.
(F) No employer shall in any year receive credit under
this section in an amount greater than the premium he THE
EMPLOYER paid if a state fund employer or greater than his THE
EMPLOYER'S assessments if a self-insuring employer.
(G) Self-insuring employers may, for all claims made after
January 1, 1987, for compensation and benefits under this
section, pay the compensation and benefits directly to the
employee or the employee's dependents. If such an employer
chooses to pay compensation and benefits directly, he THE
EMPLOYER shall receive no money or credit from the surplus fund for the
payment under this section, nor shall he THE EMPLOYER be
required to pay any amounts into the surplus fund that otherwise would be
assessed for handicapped reimbursements for claims made after January 1,
1987. Where a self-insuring employer elects to pay for compensation and
benefits pursuant to this section, he THE EMPLOYER shall assume
responsibility for compensation and benefits arising out of claims made prior
to January 1, 1987, and shall not be required to pay any amounts into the
surplus fund and may not receive any money or credit
from that fund on account of this section. The election made
under this division is irrevocable.
(H) An order issued by the administrator pursuant to this
section is appealable under section 4123.511 of the Revised Code
but is not appealable to court under section 4123.512 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 4123.511. (A) Within seven days after receipt of
any claim under this chapter, the bureau of workers' compensation
shall notify the claimant and the employer of the claimant of the
receipt of the claim and of the facts alleged therein. If the
bureau receives from a person other than the claimant written or
telecommunicated information indicating that an injury or occupational disease
has occurred or been contracted with may be compensable under this chapter,
the bureau shall notify the
employee and the employer of the information. If the information
is provided by any method of telecommunication, the person
providing the information shall provide written verification of
the information to the bureau according to division (E) of
section 4123.84 of the Revised Code. The receipt of the
information in writing, or if by a method of telecommunications,
the written verification, and the notice by the bureau shall be
considered an application for compensation under section 4123.84
or 4123.85 of the Revised Code provided that the conditions of
division (E) of section 4123.84 of the Revised Code apply to
information provided by a method of telecommunication. Upon
receipt of a claim, the bureau shall advise the claimant of the
claim number assigned and the claimant's right to representation
in the processing of a claim or to elect no representation. If
the bureau determines that a claim is determined to be a
compensable lost-time claim, the bureau shall notify the claimant
and the employer of the availability of rehabilitation services.
No bureau or industrial commission employee shall directly or
indirectly convey any information in derogation of this right.
This section shall in no way abrogate the bureau's responsibility
to aid and assist a claimant in the filing of a claim and to
advise the claimant of the claimant's rights under the law.
The administrator of workers' compensation shall assign all
claims and investigations to the bureau service office from which
investigation and determination may be made most expeditiously.
The bureau shall investigate the facts concerning an injury or
occupational disease and ascertain such facts in whatever manner
is most appropriate and may obtain statements of the employee,
employer, attending physician, and witnesses in whatever manner
is most appropriate.
(B)(1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this
section, in claims other than those in which the employer is a
self-insuring employer, if the administrator determines under
division (A) of this section that a claimant is or is not
entitled to an award of compensation or benefits, the
administrator shall issue an order, no sooner than twenty-one days but
no
later than
twenty-eight days after the sending of the notice under division
(A) of this section, granting or denying the payment of the
compensation or benefits, or both as is appropriate to the
claimant. Notwithstanding the time limitation specified in this division for
the issuance of an order, if a medical examination of the claimant is required
by statute, the administrator promptly shall schedule the claimant for that
examination and shall issue an order no later than twenty-eight days after
receipt of the report of the examination. The administrator shall notify the
claimant and the
employer of the claimant and their respective representatives in
writing of the nature of the order and the amounts of
compensation and benefit payments involved. The employer or
claimant may appeal the order pursuant to division (C) of this
section within fourteen days after the date of the receipt of the
order. The employer and claimant may waive, in writing, their
rights to an appeal under this division.
(2) Notwithstanding the time limitation specified in
division (B)(1) of this section for the issuance of an order, if
the employer certifies a claim for payment of compensation or
benefits, or both, to a claimant, and the administrator has
completed the investigation of the claim, the payment of
benefits
or compensation, or both, as is appropriate, shall commence upon
the later of the date of the certification or completion of the
investigation and issuance of the order by the administrator,
provided that the administrator shall issue the order no later
than the time limitation specified in division (B)(1) of this
section.
(3) If an appeal is made under division (B)(1) or (2) of
this section, the administrator shall forward the claim file to
the appropriate district hearing officer within seven days of the
appeal. In contested claims other than state fund claims, the
administrator shall forward the claim within seven days of the administrator's
receipt of the claim to the commission,
which shall refer
the claim to an appropriate district hearing officer for a
hearing in accordance with division (C) of this section.
(C) If an employer or claimant timely appeals the order of
the administrator issued under division (B) of this section or in
the case of other contested claims other than state fund claims,
the commission shall refer the claim to an appropriate district
hearing officer according to rules the commission adopts under
section 4121.36 of the Revised Code. The district hearing
officer shall notify the parties and their respective
representatives of the time and place of the hearing.
The district hearing officer shall hold a hearing on a
disputed issue or claim within
forty-five days after the filing of the appeal under this division and
issue a decision within seven days after holding the hearing. The
district hearing officer shall notify the parties and their respective
representatives in writing of the order. Any party may
appeal an
order issued under this division pursuant to division (D) of this
section within fourteen days after receipt of the order under
this division.
(D) Upon the timely filing of an appeal of the order of
the district hearing officer issued under division (C) of this
section, the commission shall refer the claim file to an
appropriate staff hearing officer according to its rules adopted
under section 4121.36 of the Revised Code. The staff hearing
officer shall hold a hearing within forty-five days after the
filing of an appeal under this division and issue a decision
within seven days after holding the
hearing under this
division. The staff hearing officer shall notify the parties and
their respective representatives in writing his OF THE STAFF HEARING
OFFICER'S order. Any
party may appeal an order issued under this division pursuant to
division (E) of this section within fourteen days after receipt
of the order under this division.
(E) Upon the filing of a timely appeal of the order of the
staff hearing officer issued under division (D) of this section,
the commission or a designated staff hearing officer, on behalf of the
commission, shall determine whether the commission
will hear the appeal. If the commission or the designated staff
hearing officer decides to hear the appeal, the
commission or the designated staff hearing officer shall notify the
parties and their respective representatives in
writing of the time and place of the hearing. The commission
shall hold the hearing within forty-five days after the filing of
the notice of appeal and, within seven days after the conclusion
of the hearing, the commission shall issue its order affirming,
modifying, or reversing the order issued under division (D) of
this section. The commission shall notify the parties and their
respective representatives in writing of the order. If the
commission or the designated staff hearing officer determines not to
hear the appeal, within fourteen days after the filing of
the notice of appeal, the commission or the designated staff hearing
officer shall issue an order to that effect and notify the parties and
their respective representatives in writing of that order.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter and Chapters
4121., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code, any party may appeal
an order issued under this division to the court pursuant to
section 4123.512 of the Revised Code within sixty days after
receipt of the order, subject to the limitations contained in
that section.
(F) Every notice of an appeal from an order issued under
divisions (B), (C), (D), and (E) of this section shall state the
names of the claimant and employer, the number of the claim, the
date of the decision appealed from, and the fact that the
appellant appeals therefrom.
(G) All of the following apply to the proceedings under
divisions (C), (D), and (E) of this section:
(1) The parties shall proceed promptly and without
continuances except for good cause;
(2) The parties, in good faith, shall engage in the free
exchange of information relevant to the claim prior to the
conduct of a hearing according to the rules the commission adopts
under section 4121.36 of the Revised Code;
(3) The administrator is a party and may appear and participate at all
administrative proceedings on behalf of the state insurance fund.
However, in cases in which the employer is represented, the administrator
shall neither present arguments nor introduce testimony that is cumulative to
that presented or introduced by the employer or the employer's representative.
The administrator may file an appeal under this section on behalf of the
state insurance fund; however, except in cases arising under section 4123.343
of the Revised Code, the administrator only may appeal questions of law or
issues of fraud when the employer appears in person or by representative.
(H) Except as provided in SECTION 4121.63 of the Revised Code AND division (J) of
this section, payments of compensation to a claimant or on behalf of a
claimant as a result of any order issued under this chapter shall commence
upon the earlier of the following:
(1) Fourteen days after the date the administrator issues
an order under division (B) of this section, unless that order is
appealed;
(2) Twenty-one days after the THE date when the employer has
waived the right to
appeal a decision issued under division (B) of this section;
(3) If no appeal of an order has been filed under this
section or to a court under section 4123.512 of the Revised Code,
the expiration of the time limitations for the filing of an
appeal of an order;
(4) The date of receipt by the employer of an order of a district
hearing officer, a staff hearing officer, or
the industrial commission issued under division (C), (D),
or (E) of this section.
(I) No medical benefits payable under this chapter or
Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code are payable
until the earlier of the following:
(1) The date of the issuance of the staff hearing
officer's order under division (D) of this section;
(2) The date of the final administrative or judicial
determination.
(J) Upon the final administrative or judicial
determination under this section or section 4123.512 of the Revised Code of an
appeal of an order to pay compensation, if a claimant is found to have
received compensation pursuant to a prior order which is reversed upon
subsequent appeal, the claimant's
employer, if a self-insuring
employer, or the bureau, shall withhold from any
amount to which the claimant becomes entitled pursuant to any
claim, past, present, or future, under Chapter 4121., 4123.,
4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code, the amount of previously paid
compensation to the claimant which, due to
reversal upon appeal, the claimant is not entitled, pursuant to the
following criteria:
(1) No withholding for the first twelve weeks of temporary
total disability compensation pursuant to section 4123.56 of the
Revised Code shall be made;
(2) Forty per cent of all awards of compensation paid
pursuant to sections 4123.56 and 4123.57 of the Revised Code,
until the amount overpaid is refunded;
(3) Twenty-five per cent of any compensation paid pursuant
to section 4123.58 of the Revised Code until the amount overpaid
is refunded;
(4) If, pursuant to an appeal under section 4123.512 of
the Revised Code, the court of appeals or the supreme court
reverses the allowance of the claim, then no amount of any
compensation will be withheld.
The administrator and self-insuring employers, as appropriate, are subject
to the repayment schedule of this division only with respect to an order to pay
compensation that was properly paid under a previous order, but which is
subsequently reversed upon an administrative or judicial appeal. The
administrator and self-insuring employers are not subject to, but may utilize,
the repayment schedule of this division, or any other lawful means, to collect
payment of compensation made to a person who was not entitled to the
compensation due to fraud as determined by the administrator or the industrial
commission.
(K) If a staff hearing officer or the commission fails to
issue a decision or the commission fails to refuse to hear an
appeal within the time periods required by this section, payments
to a claimant shall cease until the staff hearing officer or
commission issues a decision or hears the appeal, unless the
failure was due to the fault or neglect of the employer or the
employer agrees that the payments should continue for a longer
period of time.
(L) Except as otherwise provided in this section or section 4123.522 of the
Revised Code, no appeal is timely filed under this section unless the
appeal is filed with the time limits set forth in this section.
(M) No person who is not an employee of the bureau or
commission or who is not by law given access to the contents of a
claims file shall have a file in the person's possession.
(N) Upon application of a party who resides in
an area in which an emergency or disaster is declared, the
industrial commission and hearing officers of the commission may
waive the time frame within which claims and appeals of claims
set forth in this section must be filed upon a finding that the
applicant was unable to comply with a filing deadline due to an
emergency or a disaster.
As used in this division:
(1) "Emergency" means any occasion or instance for which
the governor of Ohio or the president of the United
States
publicly declares an emergency and orders state or federal
assistance to save lives and protect property, the public health
and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe.
(2) "Disaster" means any natural catastrophe or fire,
flood, or explosion, regardless of the cause, that causes damage
of sufficient magnitude that the governor of Ohio or the
President of the United States, through a public
declaration,
orders state or federal assistance to alleviate damage, loss,
hardship, or suffering that results from the occurrence.
Sec. 4123.512. (A) The claimant or the employer may
appeal an order of the industrial commission made under division
(E) of section 4123.511 of the Revised Code in any injury or
occupational disease case, other than a decision as to the extent
of disability to the court of common pleas of the county in
which the injury was inflicted or in which the contract of
employment was made if the injury occurred outside the state, or
in which the contract of employment was made if the exposure
occurred outside the state. If no common pleas court has
jurisdiction for the purposes of an appeal by the use of the
jurisdictional requirements described in this division, the
appellant may use the venue provisions in the Rules of Civil
Procedure to vest jurisdiction in a court. If the claim is for
an occupational disease the appeal shall be to the court of
common pleas of the county in which the exposure which caused the
disease occurred. Like appeal may be taken from an order of a
staff hearing officer made under division (D) of section 4123.511
of the Revised Code from which the commission has refused to hear
an appeal. The appellant shall file the notice of appeal with a
court of common pleas within sixty days after the date of the
receipt of the order appealed from or the date of receipt of the
order of the commission refusing to hear an appeal of a staff
hearing officer's decision under division (D) of section 4123.511
of the Revised Code. The filing of the notice of the appeal with
the court is the only act required to perfect the appeal.
If an action has been commenced in a court of a county
other than a court of a county having jurisdiction over the
action, the court, upon notice by any party or upon its own
motion, shall transfer the action to a court of a county having
jurisdiction.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section,
if the commission determines under section 4123.522 of the
Revised Code that an employee, employer, or their respective
representatives have not received written notice of an order or
decision which is appealable to a court under this section and
which grants relief pursuant to section 4123.522 of the Revised
Code, the party granted the relief has sixty days from receipt of
the order under section 4123.522 of the Revised Code to file a
notice of appeal under this section.
(B) The notice of appeal shall state the names of the
claimant and the employer, the number of the claim, the date of
the order appealed from, and the fact that the appellant appeals
therefrom.
The administrator, the claimant, and the employer shall be
parties to the appeal and the court, upon the application of the
commission, shall make the commission a party. THE PARTY FILING THE APPEAL
SHALL SERVE A COPY OF THE NOTICE OF APPEAL ON THE ADMNISTRATOR OF WORKERS'
COMPENSATION AT THE CENTRAL OFFICE OF THE BUREAU OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION IN
COLUMBUS. The administrator
shall notify the employer that if the employer fails to
become an active
party to the appeal, then the administrator may act on behalf of
the employer and the results of the appeal could have an adverse
effect upon the employer's premium rates.
(C) The attorney general or one or more of the attorney
general's assistants
or special counsel designated by the attorney general shall
represent the administrator and the commission. In the event the attorney
general or the attorney general's designated assistants or
special counsel are
absent, the administrator or the commission shall select one or
more of the attorneys in the employ of the administrator or the
commission as the administrator's attorney or
the commission's attorney in the appeal. Any attorney so
employed shall continue the representation during the entire
period of the appeal and in all hearings thereof except where the
continued representation becomes impractical.
(D) Upon receipt of notice of appeal the clerk of courts
shall provide notice to all parties who are appellees and to the
commission.
The claimant shall, within thirty days after the filing of
the notice of appeal, file a petition containing a statement of
facts in ordinary and concise language showing a cause of action
to participate or to continue to participate in the fund and
setting forth the basis for the jurisdiction of the court over
the action. Further pleadings shall be had in accordance with
the Rules of Civil Procedure, provided that service of summons on
such petition shall not be required. The clerk of the court shall,
upon receipt thereof, transmit by certified mail a copy
thereof to each party named in the notice of appeal other than
the claimant. Any party may file with the clerk prior to the
trial of the action a deposition of any physician taken in
accordance with the provisions of the Revised Code, which
deposition may be read in the trial of the action even though the
physician is a resident of or subject to service in the county in
which the trial is had. The bureau of workers' compensation
shall pay the cost of the stenographic deposition filed in court and of
copies
of the stenographic deposition for each party from the surplus fund and
charge
the costs thereof against the unsuccessful party if the
claimant's right to participate or continue to participate is
finally sustained or established in the appeal. In the event the
deposition is taken and filed, the physician whose deposition is
taken is not required to respond to any subpoena issued in the
trial of the action. The court, or the jury under the
instructions of the court, if a jury is demanded, shall determine
the right of the claimant to participate or to continue to
participate in the fund upon the evidence adduced at the hearing
of the action.
(E) The court shall certify its decision to the commission
and the certificate shall be entered in the records of the court.
Appeals from the judgment are governed by the law applicable to
the appeal of civil actions.
(F) The cost of any legal proceedings authorized by this
section, including an attorney's fee to the claimant's attorney
to be fixed by the trial judge, based upon the effort expended,
in the event the claimant's right to participate or to continue
to participate in the fund is established upon the final
determination of an appeal, shall be taxed against the employer
or the commission if the commission or the administrator rather
than the employer contested the right of the claimant to
participate in the fund. The attorney's fee shall not exceed
twenty-five hundred dollars.
(G) If the finding of the court or the verdict of the jury
is in favor of the claimant's right to participate in the fund,
the commission and the administrator shall thereafter proceed in
the matter of the claim as if the judgment were the decision of
the commission, subject to the power of modification provided by
section 4123.52 of the Revised Code.
(H) An appeal from an order issued under division (E) of
section 4123.511 of the Revised Code or any action filed in court
in a case in which an award of compensation has been made shall
not stay the payment of compensation under the award or payment
of compensation for subsequent periods of total disability during
the pendency of the appeal. If, in a final administrative or
judicial action, it is determined that payments of compensation
or benefits, or both, made to or on behalf of a claimant should
not have been made, the amount thereof shall be charged to the
surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised
Code. In the event the employer is a state risk, the amount
shall not be charged to the employer's experience. In the event
the employer is a self-insuring employer, the self-insuring
employer shall deduct the amount from the paid compensation the
self-insuring employer
reports to the administrator under division (L) of section
4123.35 of the Revised Code. All actions and proceedings under
this section which are the subject of an appeal to the court of
common pleas or the court of appeals shall be preferred over all
other civil actions except election causes, irrespective of
position on the calendar.
This section applies to all decisions of the commission or
the administrator on November 2, 1959, and all claims filed
thereafter are governed by sections 4123.511 and 4123.512 of the
Revised Code.
Any action pending in common pleas court or any other court
on January 1, 1986, under this section is governed by former
sections 4123.514, 4123.515, 4123.516, and 4123.519 and section
4123.522 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4123.57. Partial disability compensation shall be paid as
follows.
Except as provided in this section, not earlier than forty
weeks after the date of termination of the latest period of
payments under section 4123.56 of the Revised Code, or not
earlier than forty weeks after the date of the injury or
contraction of an occupational disease in the absence of payments
under section 4123.56 of the Revised Code, the employee may
file an application with the bureau of workers' compensation for
the determination of the percentage of his THE EMPLOYEE'S
permanent partial disability resulting from an injury or occupational disease.
Whenever the application is filed, the bureau shall send a
copy of the application to the employee's employer or the
employer's representative and shall schedule the employee for a
medical examination by the bureau medical section. The bureau
shall send a copy of the report of the medical examination to the
employee, the employer, and their representatives. Thereafter, the
administrator of
workers' compensation shall review the employee's claim file and make a
tentative order as the evidence before him THE ADMINISTRATOR at
the time of the making of the order warrants. If the administrator determines
that there is a conflict of evidence, he THE ADMINISTRATOR shall
send the application, along with the claimant's file, to the district hearing
officer who shall set the application for a hearing.
The administrator shall notify the employee, the employer,
and their representatives, in writing, of the tentative order and
of the parties' right to request a hearing. Unless the employee,
the employer, or their representative notifies the administrator,
in writing, of an objection to the tentative order within twenty
days after receipt of the notice thereof, the tentative order
shall go into effect and the employee shall receive the
compensation provided in the order. In no event shall there be a
reconsideration of a tentative order issued under this division.
If the employee, the employer, or their representatives
timely notify the administrator of an objection to the tentative
order, the matter shall be referred to a district hearing officer
who shall set the application for hearing with written notices to
all interested persons. Upon referral to a district hearing officer, the
employer may obtain a medical examination of the employee, pursuant to rules
of the industrial commission.
(A) The district hearing officer, upon the
application, shall determine the percentage of the employee's permanent
disability, except as is subject to division (B) of this section,
based upon that condition of the employee resulting from the
injury or occupational disease and causing permanent impairment
evidenced by medical or clinical findings reasonably
demonstrable. The employee shall receive sixty-six and
two-thirds per cent of his THE EMPLOYEE'S average weekly wage,
but not more than a maximum of thirty-three and one-third per cent of the
statewide average weekly wage as defined in division (C) of section 4123.62
of the Revised Code, per week regardless of the average weekly
wage, for the number of weeks which equals the percentage of two
hundred weeks. Except on application for reconsideration,
review, or modification, which is filed within ten days after the
date of receipt of the decision of the district hearing officer,
in no instance shall the former award be modified unless it is
found from medical or clinical findings that the condition of the
claimant resulting from the injury has so progressed as to have
increased the percentage of permanent partial disability. A
staff hearing officer shall hear an application for reconsideration filed and
his THE STAFF HEARING OFFICER'S decision is final. An employee
may file an application for a subsequent determination of the
percentage of his THE EMPLOYEE'S permanent
disability. If such an application is filed, the bureau shall
send a copy of the application to the
employer or the employer's representative. No sooner than sixty
days from the date of the mailing of the application to the
employer or the employer's representative, the administrator
shall review the application. The administrator may require a
medical examination or medical review of the employee. The
administrator shall issue a tentative order based upon the
evidence before him THE ADMINISTRATOR, provided that if
he THE ADMINISTRATOR requires a medical examination or medical
review, the administrator shall not issue the tentative order until the
completion of the examination or review.
The employer may obtain a medical examination of the
employee and may submit medical evidence at any stage of the
process up to a hearing before the district hearing officer,
pursuant to rules of the commission. The administrator shall
notify the employee, the employer, and their representatives, in
writing, of the nature and amount of any tentative order issued
on an application requesting a subsequent determination of the
percentage of an employee's permanent disability. An employee,
employer, or their representatives may object to the tentative
order within twenty days after the receipt of the notice thereof.
If no timely objection is made, the tentative order shall go into
effect. In no event shall there be a reconsideration of a
tentative order issued under this division. If an objection is
timely made, the application for a subsequent determination shall
be referred to a district hearing officer who shall set the
application for a hearing with written notice to all interested
persons. No application for subsequent percentage determinations
on the same claim for injury or occupational disease shall be
accepted for review by the district hearing officer unless
supported by substantial evidence of new and changed
circumstances developing since the time of the hearing on the
original or last determination.
No award shall be made under this division based upon a
percentage of disability which, when taken with
all other percentages of permanent disability, exceeds one
hundred per cent. If the percentage of the permanent disability
of the employee equals or exceeds ninety per cent, compensation for
permanent partial disability shall be paid for two
hundred weeks., except that the bureau may require either a medical
examination or a medical review of the employee
Compensation payable under this division accrues and is
payable to the employee from the date of last payment of
compensation, or, in cases where no previous compensation has
been paid, from the date of the injury or the date of the diagnosis of the
occupational disease.
When an award under this division has been made prior to
the death of an employee, all unpaid installments accrued or to
accrue under the provisions of the award are payable to the
surviving spouse, or if there is no surviving spouse, to the
dependent children of the employee, and if there are no children
surviving, then to other dependents as the administrator
determines.
(B) In cases included in the following schedule the
compensation payable per week to the employee is the statewide
average weekly wage as defined in division (C) of section 4123.62
of the Revised Code per week and shall continue during the
periods provided in the following schedule:
For the loss of a thumb, sixty weeks.
For the loss of a first finger, commonly called index
finger, thirty-five weeks.
For the loss of a second finger, thirty weeks.
For the loss of a third finger, twenty weeks.
For the loss of a fourth finger, commonly known as the
little finger, fifteen weeks.
The loss of a second, or distal, phalange of the thumb is
considered equal to the loss of one half of such thumb; the loss
of more than one half of such thumb is considered equal to the
loss of the whole thumb.
The loss of the third, or distal, phalange of any finger is
considered equal to the loss of one-third of the finger.
The loss of the middle, or second, phalange of any finger
is considered equal to the loss of two-thirds of the finger.
The loss of more than the middle and distal phalanges of
any finger is considered equal to the loss of the whole finger.
In no case shall the amount received for more than one finger
exceed the amount provided in this schedule for the loss of a
hand.
For the loss of the metacarpal bone (bones of the palm) for
the corresponding thumb, or fingers, add ten weeks to the number
of weeks under this division.
For ankylosis (total stiffness of) or contractures (due to
scars or injuries) which makes any of the fingers, thumbs, or
parts of either useless, the same number of weeks apply to the
members or parts thereof as given for the loss thereof.
If the claimant has suffered the loss of two or more
fingers by amputation or ankylosis and the nature of his THE
CLAIMANT'S employment in the course of which the claimant was working at
the time of the injury or occupational disease is such that the
handicap or disability resulting from the loss of
fingers, or loss of use of fingers, exceeds the normal handicap or disability
resulting from the loss of fingers, or loss of use of fingers,
the administrator may take that fact into consideration and
increase the award of compensation accordingly, but the award
made shall not exceed the amount of compensation for loss of a
hand.
For the loss of a hand, one hundred seventy-five weeks.
For the loss of an arm, two hundred twenty-five weeks.
For the loss of a great toe, thirty weeks.
For the loss of one of the toes other than the great toe,
ten weeks.
The loss of more than two-thirds of any toe is considered
equal to the loss of the whole toe.
The loss of less than two-thirds of any toe is considered
no loss, except as to the great toe; the loss of the great toe up
to the interphalangeal joint is co-equal to the loss of one-half
of the great toe; the loss of the great toe beyond the
interphalangeal joint is considered equal to the loss of the
whole great toe.
For the loss of a foot, one hundred fifty weeks.
For the loss of a leg, two hundred weeks.
For the loss of the sight of an eye, one hundred
twenty-five weeks.
For the permanent partial loss of sight of an eye, the
portion of one hundred twenty-five weeks as the administrator in
each case determines, based upon the percentage of vision
actually lost as a result of the injury or occupational disease,
but, in no case shall an award of compensation be made for less
than twenty-five per cent loss of uncorrected vision. "Loss of
uncorrected vision" means the percentage of vision actually lost
as the result of the injury or occupational disease.
For the permanent and total loss of hearing of one ear,
twenty-five weeks; but in no case shall an award of compensation
be made for less than permanent and total loss of hearing of one
ear.
For the permanent and total loss of hearing, one hundred
twenty-five weeks; but, except pursuant to the next preceding
paragraph, in no case shall an award of compensation be made for
less than permanent and total loss of hearing.
In case an injury or occupational disease results in
serious facial or head disfigurement which either impairs or may
in the future impair the opportunities to secure or retain
employment, the administrator shall make an award of compensation
as it deems proper and equitable, in view of the nature of the
disfigurement, and not to exceed the sum of five thousand
dollars. For the purpose of making the award, it is not material
whether the employee is gainfully employed in any occupation or
trade at the time of the administrator's determination.
When an award under this division has been made prior to
the death of an employee all unpaid installments accrued or to
accrue under the provisions of the award shall be payable to the
surviving spouse, or if there is no surviving spouse, to the
dependent children of the employee and if there are no such
children, then to such dependents as the administrator
determines.
When an employee has sustained the loss of a member by
severance, but no award has been made on account thereof prior to
his THE EMPLOYEE'S death, the administrator shall make an award
in accordance with this division for the loss which shall be payable to the
surviving spouse, or if there is no surviving spouse, to the
dependent children of the employee and if there are no such
children, then to such dependents as the administrator
determines.
(C) Compensation for partial impairment under divisions
(A) and (B) of this section is in addition to the compensation
paid the employee pursuant to section 4123.56 of the Revised
Code. A claimant may receive compensation under divisions (A)
and (B) of this section.
In all cases arising under division (B) of this section, if
it is determined by any one of the following: (1) the amputee
clinic at University hospital, Ohio state university; (2) the
rehabilitation services commission; (3) an amputee clinic or
prescribing physician approved by the administrator or his THE
ADMINISTRATOR'S designee, that an injured or disabled employee is in need
of an artificial appliance, or in need of a repair thereof, regardless
of whether the appliance or its repair will be serviceable in the
vocational rehabilitation of the injured employee, and regardless
of whether the employee has returned to or can ever again return
to any gainful employment, the bureau shall pay the cost of the
artificial appliance or its repair out of the surplus created by
division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code.
In those cases where a rehabilitation services commission
recommendation that an injured or disabled employee is in need of
an artificial appliance would conflict with their state plan,
adopted pursuant to the "Rehabilitation Act of 1973," 87 Stat.
355, 29 U.S.C.A. 701, the administrator or his THE
ADMINISTRATOR'S designee or the
bureau may obtain a recommendation from an amputee clinic or
prescribing physician that they determine appropriate.
(D) If an employee of a state fund employer makes
application for a finding and the administrator finds that he THE
EMPLOYEE has contracted silicosis as defined in division (X), or coal
miners' pneumoconiosis as defined in division (Y), or asbestosis as
defined in division (AA) of section 4123.68 of the Revised Code,
and that a change of such employee's occupation is medically
advisable in order to decrease substantially further exposure to
silica dust, asbestos, or coal dust and if the employee, after
the finding, has changed or shall change his THE EMPLOYEE'S
occupation to an occupation in which the exposure to silica dust, asbestos, or
coal dust is substantially decreased, the administrator shall allow to the
employee an amount equal to fifty per cent of the
statewide average weekly wage per week for a period of thirty
weeks, commencing as of the date of the discontinuance or change,
and for a period of one hundred weeks immediately following the
expiration of the period of thirty weeks, the employee shall
receive sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the loss
of wages resulting directly and solely from the change of
occupation but not to exceed a maximum of an amount equal to
fifty per cent of the statewide average weekly wage per week. No
such employee is entitled to receive more than one allowance on
account of discontinuance of employment or change of occupation
and benefits shall cease for any period during which the employee
is employed in an occupation in which the exposure to silica
dust, asbestos, or coal dust is not substantially less than the
exposure in the occupation in which he THE EMPLOYEE was formerly
employed or for any period during which the employee may be entitled to
receive compensation or benefits under section 4123.68 of the
Revised Code on account of disability from silicosis, asbestosis,
or coal miners' pneumoconiosis. An award for change of
occupation for a coal miner who has contracted coal miners'
pneumoconiosis may be granted under this division even though he THE
COAL MINER continues his employment with the same employer, so long
as his THE COAL MINER'S employment subsequent to the change is
such that the coal miner's exposure to
coal dust is substantially decreased and a change of occupation
is certified by the claimant as permanent. The administrator may accord to
the employee medical and other benefits in accordance with section 4123.66 of
the Revised Code.
(E) If a fire fighter FIREFIGHTER or police officer makes
application for a finding and the administrator finds that he THE
FIREFIGHTER OR POLICE OFFICER has contracted
a cardiovascular and pulmonary disease as defined in division (W)
of section 4123.68 of the Revised Code, and that a change of the
fire fighter's FIREFIGHTER'S or police officer's occupation is
medically advisable in order to decrease substantially further exposure to
smoke, toxic gases, chemical fumes, and other toxic vapors, and
if the fire fighter FIREFIGHTER, or police officer, after the
finding, has changed or changes his occupation to an occupation in
which the
exposure to smoke, toxic gases, chemical fumes, and other toxic
vapors is substantially decreased, the administrator shall allow
to the fire fighter FIREFIGHTER or police officer an amount
equal to fifty per cent of the statewide average weekly wage per week for a
period of thirty weeks, commencing as of the date of the
discontinuance or change, and for a period of seventy-five weeks
immediately following the expiration of the period of thirty
weeks the administrator shall allow the fire fighter FIREFIGHTER
or police officer sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the loss of wages
resulting directly and solely from the change of occupation but
not to exceed a maximum of an amount equal to fifty per cent of
the statewide average weekly wage per week. No such
fire fighter FIREFIGHTER or police officer is entitled to
receive more than one allowance
on account of discontinuance of employment or change of
occupation and benefits shall cease for any period during which
the fire fighter FIREFIGHTER or police officer is employed in an
occupation in which the exposure to smoke, toxic gases, chemical fumes, and
other toxic vapors is not substantially less than the exposure in
the occupation in which he THE FIREFIGHTER OR POLICE OFFICER
was formerly employed or for any period during which the fire fighter
FIREFIGHTER or police officer may be entitled to receive compensation
or benefits under section
4123.68 of the Revised Code on account of disability from a
cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. The administrator may
accord to the fire fighter FIREFIGHTER or police officer medical
and other benefits in accordance with section 4123.66 of the Revised Code.
(F) An order issued under this section is appealable
pursuant to section 4123.511 of the Revised Code but is not
appealable to court under section 4123.512 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4123.591. THE ADMINISTRATOR OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION MAY FURNISH
QUARTERLY, TO THE TAX COMMISSIONER, IN A FORMAT APPROVED BY THE TAX
COMMISSIONER, A LIST CONTAINING THE NAME AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OF ANY
PERSON RECEIVING SPOUSAL
DEATH BENEFITS. UPON RECEIPT OF THIS LIST, THE COMMISSIONER SHALL RETURN TO
THE
ADMINISTRATOR, IN A FORMAT DESIGNED BY THE COMMISSIONER, INFORMATION
IDENTIFYING ANY PERSON LISTED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR WHO, AS REPORTED ON THE
MOST RECENT RETURN FILED
BY THE PERSON UNDER SECTION 5747.08 of the Revised Code, FILED UNDER THE STATUS "MARRIED
FILING JOINT RETURN," OR "MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY."
Sec. 4123.76. When an application for compensation or
benefits or an application for further compensation or benefits
is filed with the industrial commission or the bureau of workers'
compensation under section 4123.75 of the Revised Code against an
employer who has not complied with section 4123.35 of the Revised
Code, the bureau shall make and file for record in the office of
the county recorder in the counties where the employer's property
is located, an affidavit showing the date on which the
application was filed with the commission or the bureau, the name
and address of the employer against whom it was filed, and the
fact that the employer had not complied with section 4123.35 of
the Revised Code. The recorder shall accept and file the
affidavit and record the same as a mortgage on real estate and
shall file the same as a chattel mortgage and he THE RECORDER
shall index the same as a mortgage on real estate and as a chattel mortgage.
A copy of the application OR OTHER BUREAU RECORD DOCUMENTING THE CLAIM
shall be filed with the affidavit. A
copy of the affidavit shall be served upon the employer by the
bureau. The affidavit constitutes a valid lien from the time of
filing, in favor of the bureau, upon the real property and
tangible personal property of the employer located within the
county. The administrator of workers' compensation shall have
the lien canceled of record after the employer has paid to the
claimant or to the bureau the amount of the compensation or
benefits which has been ordered paid to the claimant, or when the
application has finally been denied after the claimant has
exhausted the remedies provided by law in such cases, or when the
employer has filed a bond in the amount and with surety as the
administrator approves conditioned on the payment of all sums
ordered paid to the claimant. The recorder shall make no charge
for the services provided by this section to be performed by him THE
RECORDER.
Sec. 4123.83. Each employer paying premiums into the state
insurance fund or electing directly to pay compensation to his THE
EMPLOYER'S injured employees or the dependents of his THE
EMPLOYER'S killed employees as
provided in section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, shall post
conspicuously in his THE EMPLOYER'S place or places of
employment notices, which
shall be furnished in adequate number by the bureau of workers'
compensation at the time of the payment of the premium, stating
the fact that he THE EMPLOYER has made the payment, the date
thereof, and
period for which the payment is made, or that he THE EMPLOYER
has complied with section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, and has been authorized
by the administrator of workers' compensation directly to
compensate employees or dependents, and the date of the
authorization. The notice, when posted, constitutes sufficient
notice to his THE EMPLOYER'S employees of the fact that
he THE EMPLOYER has made payment or that he THE
EMPLOYER has complied with the elective provisions of section 4123.35 of
the Revised Code. The bureau shall prepare, semiannually, a list of all
employers who have complied with this
chapter, classified by counties, and shall send to the newspapers
published in the county seat of each county a list of the
employers in the county, with a request for its gratuitous
publication as a matter of news and protection to the working men
and women.
Sec. 4123.93. As used in sections 4123.93 and 4123.931 of the
Revised Code:
(A) "Claimant" means a person who is eligible to receive compensation or
medical benefits under this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the
Revised Code, including any dependent or person whose eligibility is the
result of an injury to or occupational disease of another person.
(B) "Statutory subrogee" means
the administrator of the bureau of workers' compensation, a self-insuring
employer, or an employer that contracts for the direct payment of medical
services pursuant to division (J)(L) of section 4121.44 of the
Revised Code.
(C) "Subrogated amounts" include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Amounts recoverable from any third party, notwithstanding any
limitations by the third party concerning its responsibility to make payments
in cases involving workers' compensation under Chapter 4121., 4123., 4127., or
4131. of the Revised Code;
(2) Amounts recoverable from a claimant's insurer in connection with
underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage, notwithstanding any limitation
contained in
Chapter 3937. of the
Revised Code;
(3) Amounts that a claimant would be entitled to recover from a
political subdivision, notwithstanding any limitations contained in
Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code.
(D) "Third party" means an individual,
private insurer, public or private entity, or public or private program that
is or may be liable to make payments to a person without regard to any
statutory duty contained in this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of
the Revised Code.
Sec. 5703.21. (A) Except as provided in divisions (B),
(C), (D), and (E), AND (F) of this section, no
agent
of the department of taxation,
except in the agent's report to the department or when called on to
testify in any court or proceeding, shall divulge any information
acquired by the agent as to the transactions, property, or business
of any person while acting or claiming to act under orders of the
department. Whoever violates this provision shall thereafter be
disqualified from acting as an officer or employee or in any
other capacity under appointment or employment of the department.
(B)(1) For purposes of an audit pursuant to section 117.15
of the Revised Code, or an audit of the department pursuant to
Chapter 117. of the Revised Code, or an audit, pursuant to such
chapter, the objective of which is to express an opinion on a
financial report or statement prepared or issued pursuant to
division (G) or (I) of section 126.21 of the Revised Code, the
officers and employees of the auditor of state charged with
conducting the audit shall have access to and the right to
examine any state tax returns and state tax return information in
the possession of the department to the extent that such access
and examination are necessary for purposes of the audit. Any
information acquired as the result of such access and examination
shall not be divulged for any purpose other than as required for
such audit or unless the officers and employees are required to
testify in a court or proceeding under compulsion of legal
process. Whoever violates this provision shall thereafter be
disqualified from acting as an officer or employee or in any
other capacity under appointment or employment of the auditor of
state.
(2) As provided by section 6103(d)(2) of the Internal
Revenue Code, any federal tax returns or federal tax information
which the department has acquired from the internal revenue
service, through federal and state statutory authority, may be
disclosed to the auditor of state solely for purposes of an audit
of the department.
(C) Division (A) of this section does not prohibit
divulging information contained in applications, complaints, and
related documents filed with the department under section 5715.27
of the Revised Code, or in applications filed with the department
under section 5715.39 of the Revised Code.
(D) Division (A) of this section does not prohibit the
department of taxation providing information to the division of child support
within the department of human services, or a child support enforcement
agency, pursuant to division (G)(2) of section 5101.31 of the Revised Code.
(E) Division (A)
of this section does not prohibit the disclosure to the board of
motor vehicle collision repair registration of any information
in the possession of the department that is necessary for the
board to
verify the existence of an applicant's valid vendor's license and
current state tax identification number under section 4775.07 of the
Revised Code.
(F) DIVISION (A) OF THIS SECTION DOES NOT PROHIBIT THE
DEPARTMENT FROM PROVIDING INFORMATION TO THE ADMINISTRATOR OF WORKERS'
COMPENSATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 4123.591 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 5747.18. The tax commissioner shall enforce and
administer this chapter. In addition to any other powers
conferred upon the commissioner by law, the commissioner may:
(A) Prescribe all forms required to be filed pursuant to
this chapter;
(B) Adopt such rules as the commissioner finds necessary to carry
out this chapter;
(C) Appoint and employ such personnel as are necessary to
carry out the duties imposed upon the commissioner by this chapter.
Any information gained as the result of returns,
investigations, hearings, or verifications required or authorized
by this chapter is confidential, and no person shall disclose
such information, except for official purposes, or as provided by
section 4123.591, 4507.023 or 5101.182, division (G)(2) of
section 5101.31 or division (B) of
section 5703.21 of the Revised Code, or in accordance with a
proper judicial order. The tax commissioner may furnish the
internal revenue service with copies of returns or reports filed and
may furnish the officer of a municipal corporation charged with the
duty of enforcing a tax subject to Chapter 718. of the Revised
Code with the names, addresses, and identification numbers of
taxpayers who may be subject to such tax. A municipal
corporation shall use this information for tax collection
purposes only. This section does not prohibit the publication of
statistics in a form which does not disclose information with
respect to individual taxpayers.
Section 2. That existing sections 121.03, 3304.23, 3304.231, 4121.12,
4121.121, 4121.37, 4121.44,
4121.63,
4123.343, 4123.511, 4123.512, 4123.57, 4123.76, 4123.83, 4123.93, 5703.21, and
5747.18 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. The Administrator of Workers' Compensation shall
submit a series of reports to the Workers' Compensation
Oversight Commission, the Office of Budget and Management, the Legislative
Budget Office of the Legislative Service Commission, and the General Assembly
semiannually during the
1999-2001 biennium, beginning on or before October 1, 1999, containing
information
relative to all of the following:
(A) The premium cost per worker, which reports the average
annual cost a state fund employer pays to provide workers'
compensation coverage for its employees. The premium cost per
worker is calculated by adding together an employer's total
amounts of premiums and assessments paid during a calendar year
and dividing that sum by the employer's average number of
workers.
(B) The claims cost per worker, which reports the average
annual benefit cost paid for each worker who is employed by a
state fund employer during the preceding twelve months. The claims
cost per worker is calculated by dividing an employer's total
claim expenses paid during the preceding twelve months by the
employer's average number of workers.
(C) The administrative cost per claim, which reports the
average annual administrative expense a state fund employer pays
to process a claim. The administrative cost per claim is
calculated by dividing an employer's total amount of
administrative expenses incurred during the preceding twelve months
by the total number of claims the employer processed.
(D) The direct loss ratio, which measures the relationship
between an employer's revenues and workers' compensation
benefits paid to an injured worker during the preceding twelve
months;
(E) The rate of return generated by investments of the Bureau
of Workers' Compensation;
(F) The customer service index, which accounts for various
statistical measures reflecting the Bureau's customer service
levels;
(G) The Health Partnership Program performance index, which
measures the effectiveness of managed care organizations working
for the bureau and reflects the quality of care, customer
satisfaction, and cost of care provided by the managed care
organizations;
(H) The rate of injury in the state per 1,000 workers;
(I) The average and median number of days the bureau takes to adjudicate
an injured worker's medical bill fee;
(J) The return-to-work rate of state fund employers' injured
workers who do not receive workers' compensation benefits for at
least ninety days following their injury, which reports the number
of injured workers who returned to work as a percentage of total
injuries;
(K) The average number of days it takes for an employer or
injured worker to report an injury to the bureau, which is
calculated by taking the average number of days between the date
of injury and the date the claim was filed with the bureau;
(L) The percentage of indemnity claims adjudicated by the
bureau within fourteen days of the injury.
Section 4. All items in this section are hereby appropriated out of any moneys
in the state treasury to the credit of the designated fund. For all
appropriations made in this act, those in the first column are for fiscal year
2000, and those in the second column are for fiscal year 2001.
BWC BUREAU OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
FND | ALI | ALI TITLE | | FY 2000 | | FY 2001 |
Workers' Compensation Fund Group
4Y6 | 855-611 | J.L. Camera Center Rent | $ | 1,574,038 | $ | 1,658,233 |
4Y6 | 855-612 | J.L. Camera Center Operating | $ | 10,252,544 | $ | 10,277,047 |
023 | 855-401 | William Green Lease Payments to OBA | $ | 16,208,613 | $ | 16,914,613 |
023 | 855-407 | Claims, Risk & Medical Management | $ | 125,639,667 | $ | 123,976,161 |
023 | 855-408 | Fraud Prevention | $ | 10,570,473 | $ | 9,733,674 |
023 | 855-409 | Administrative Services | $ | 111,478,353 | $ | 109,171,402 |
023 | 855-410 | Attorney General Payments | $ | 3,690,907 | $ | 3,774,563 |
825 | 855-605 | Disabled Workers Relief Fund | $ | 669,354 | $ | 689,059 |
822 | 855-606 | Coal Workers' Fund | $ | 77,056 | $ | 78,597 |
823 | 855-608 | Marine Industry | $ | 46,266 | $ | 47,654 |
826 | 855-609 | Safety & Hygiene Operating | $ | 18,358,104 | $ | 18,491,102 |
TOTAL WCF Workers' Compensation | | | | |
Fund Group | $ | 298,565,375 | $ | 294,812,105 |
TOTAL ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS | $ | 298,565,375 | $ | 294,812,105 |
Safety and Hygiene
Notwithstanding section 4121.37 of the Revised Code, the Administrator of the
Bureau of Workers' Compensation shall transfer moneys from the State Insurance
Fund so that appropriation item 855-609, Safety and Hygiene Operating, is
provided
$18,358,104 in fiscal year 2000 and $18,491,102 in fiscal year 2001.
Workers' Compensation Fraud Unit
The Workers' Compensation Section Fund (Fund 195) shall receive payments from
the Bureau of Workers' Compensation at the beginning of each quarter of each
fiscal year to fund expenses of the Workers' Compensation Fraud Unit of the
Attorney General's Office. Of the foregoing appropriation item 855-410,
Attorney General Payments, $735,513 in fiscal year 2000 and $754,294 in fiscal
year 2001 shall be used to provide such payments.
William Green Lease Payments
The foregoing appropriation item 855-401, William Green Lease Payments to OBA,
shall be used for lease payments to the Ohio Building Authority, and these
appropriations shall be used to meet all payments at the times they are
required to be made during the period from July 1, 1999, to June 30, 2001, by
the Bureau of Workers' Compensation to the Ohio Building Authority pursuant to
leases and agreements made under Chapter 152. of the Revised Code and Section
6 of Am. Sub. H.B. 743 of the 118th General Assembly. Of the amounts received
in Fund 023, appropriation item 855-401, up to $33,123,226 shall be
restricted for lease rental payments to the Ohio Building Authority. If it is
determined that additional appropriations are necessary for such purpose, such
amounts are hereby appropriated.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, all tenants of the
William Green Building not funded by the Workers' Compensation Fund (Fund 023)
shall pay their fair share of the costs of lease payments to the Workers'
Compensation Fund (Fund 023) by intrastate transfer voucher.
Camera Center
The Camera Center Fund (Fund 4Y6) created in division (F) of section 4121.62
of
the Revised Code shall receive revenues raised by the fees Camera Center
charges for its services and rent paid by tenants of the Center's facilities.
The foregoing appropriation item 855-611, J.L. Camera Center Rent, shall be
used to pay rent, including building operating expenses, of the J. Leonard
Camera Rehabilitation Center in Columbus. The foregoing appropriation item
855-612, J.L. Camera Center Operating, shall be used for all other expenses
for the Center.
The Bureau of Workers' Compensation shall not consider appropriations made to
the Camera Center Fund (Fund 4Y6) when establishing administrative cost rates.
Balances
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Director of Budget
and Management shall make any transfers of cash balances between funds made
necessary by the creation of new funds, or the consolidation of funds as
authorized by the General Assembly. Within the first five days after the
effective date of this section, the administering agency head shall certify to
the director an estimate of the amount of the cash balance to be transferred
to the receiving fund. The director may transfer the estimated amount when
needed to make payments. Within thirty days after the effective date of this
section, the administering agency head shall certify the final amount to the
director. The director shall transfer the difference between any estimated
amount previously transferred and such certified final amount.
To implement such funding changes as described above pertaining to prior year
encumbrance balances and commensurate appropriation authority, in fiscal year
2000 the Director of Budget and Management may cancel encumbrances
outstanding on June 30, 1999, and reestablish such prior year encumbrances or
parts of encumbrances as needed in fiscal year 2000 in the appropriate fund or
appropriation item as authorized in this act for the same purpose and to
the same vendor. As determined by the director, the appropriation authority
necessary to reestablish such prior year encumbrances in fiscal year 2000 in
a different fund or appropriation item within an agency or between
agencies is hereby authorized. The director shall reduce each prior year's
appropriation authority by the amount of the encumbrances canceled in their
respective funds and appropriation items.
Vocational Rehabilitation
The Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Rehabilitation Services Commission
shall enter into an interagency agreement for the provision of vocational
rehabilitation services and staff to mutually eligible clients. The Bureau
shall provide $523,245 in fiscal year 2000 and $537,896 in fiscal year 2001
from the State Insurance Fund to
fund vocational rehabilitation services and staff in accordance with the
interagency agreement.
Fund Balance
Any unencumbered cash balance in excess of $45,000,000 in the Workers'
Compensation Fund (Fund 023) on the thirtieth day of June of each fiscal year
shall be used to reduce the administrative cost rate charged to employers to
cover
appropriations for Bureau of Workers' Compensation and Industrial Commission
operations.
Section 5. AccountingWithin 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.
The appropriations made in this act are subject to all
provisions of the main operating appropriations act of the 123rd General
Assembly that are generally applicable to such appropriations.
Section 6. Reissuance of Voided WarrantsIn order to provide funds for the reissuance of voided warrants
pursuant to section 117.47 of the Revised Code, there is hereby
appropriated, out of moneys in the state treasury from the fund
credited as provided in section 117.47 of the Revised Code, that
amount sufficient to pay such warrants when approved by the
Office of Budget and Management.
Section 7. Judgments Against StateAny appropriations contained in this act, except those to be
applied to or used for payment of guarantees by or on behalf of
the state or for debt service on bonds, notes, or certificates of
participation, may be used for the purpose of satisfying
judgments, settlements, or administrative awards ordered or approved by the
Court of Claims or any other court of competent jurisdiction in connection
with civil actions against the
state.
Section 8. Reappropriation of Unexpended BalancesNotwithstanding section 131.33 of the Revised Code, unexpended
balances of appropriations and reappropriations against which
encumbrances have been lawfully incurred by the Bureau of Workers'
Compensation are, at the close of fiscal years 1999 and 2000, to the extent of
such encumbrances, hereby
reappropriated from the funds from which they were originally
appropriated and reappropriated and, except for encumbrances for
items of special order manufacture not available on term contract
or open market, made available for the purpose of discharging such
encumbrances for a period of five months from the end of the
fiscal year. Unexpended balances of appropriations and reappropriations
against which encumbrances for items of special order manufacture
not available on term contract or in the open market have been
lawfully incurred are, at the close of the fiscal year, to the extent of
such encumbrances, hereby reappropriated and made available for the
purpose of discharging such encumbrances for a period of five months
from the end of the fiscal year or, if the Director of Budget and
Management approves, for a period of not more than twelve months from
the end of the fiscal year.
Any items for which unexpended balances are reappropriated
beyond a five-month period from the end of the fiscal year shall be
reported to the Controlling Board by the Director of Budget and
Management. The report on each such item shall include the item, the
cost of the item, the vendor involved, and the delivery date. Such
reports to the board shall be updated on a quarterly basis while the
encumbrance remains open.
After any such period, reappropriations made for the purpose of
discharging encumbrances for operating expenses, defined as those
encumbrances incurred for personal services, maintenance, and
equipment, are canceled. Reappropriations for encumbrances other
than operating expenses or items of special manufacture not available
on term contract or in the open market may be extended by obtaining
the approval of the Director of Budget and Management.
Section 9. Independent and Severable ItemsIf any item of law that constitutes the whole or
part of a codified or uncodified section of law contained in
this act, or if any application of any item of law that
constitutes the whole or part of a codified or uncodified
section of law contained in this act, is held invalid, the
invalidity does not affect other items of law or applications of
items of law that can be given effect without the invalid item
of law or application. To this end, the items of law of which
the codified and uncodified sections contained in this act are
composed, and their applications, are independent and severable.
Section 10. Effective Dates-Codified SectionsThe sections of the Revised Code contained in this act, and the items of law
of which such sections of the Revised Code are composed, are subject to the
referendum. Therefore, under Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1c and
section 1.471 of the Revised Code, the sections of the Revised Code contained
in this act, and the items of law of which such sections of the Revised Code
are composed, take effect on the ninety-first day after this act is filed with
the Secretary of State. If, however, a referendum petition is filed against
any section of the Revised Code contained in this act, or against any
item of law of which such a section of the Revised Code is composed, the
section or item of law, unless rejected at the referendum, takes effect at the
earliest time permitted by law.
Section 11. Effective Dates-Uncodified SectionsThe uncodified sections of law contained in
this act, and the items of law of which the
uncodified sections of law contained in this act are composed,
are not subject to the referendum. Therefore, under Ohio
Constitution, Article II, Section 1d and section 1.471 of the
Revised Code, the uncodified sections of law
contained in this act, and the items of law of which the
uncodified sections of law contained in this act
are composed go into immediate effect when this act becomes law.
Section 12. Section 121.03 of the Revised Code is presented in this act
as a composite of the section as amended by both
Am. Sub. H.B. 7 and Am. Sub. S.B. 162 of the 121st General Assembly, with the
new language of
neither of the acts shown in capital letters. This is in
recognition of the principle stated in division (B) of section
1.52 of the Revised Code that such amendments are to be
harmonized where not substantively irreconcilable and constitutes
a legislative finding that such is the resulting version in
effect prior to the effective date of this act.
Section 13. Section 4123.511 of the Revised Code is presented in this act
as a composite of the section as amended by both
Am. Sub. H.B. 362 and Am. Sub. H.B. 363 of the 122nd General Assembly, with
the new language of
neither of the acts shown in capital letters. This is in
recognition of the principle stated in division (B) of section
1.52 of the Revised Code that such amendments are to be
harmonized where not substantively irreconcilable and constitutes
a legislative finding that such is the resulting version in
effect prior to the effective date of this act.
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