To amend sections 317.24 and 2913.49 and to enact section 317.42 of the Revised Code to revise the elements of and the penalty for taking the identity of another, to permit a discharged member of the armed forces to expunge the person's social security number from the county recorder's record of discharge, and to require a county recorder to post a notice stating that anything filed in the recorder's office is a public record.

Section 1. That sections 317.24 and 2913.49 be amended and section 317.42 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 317.24.  (A) Upon request of any discharged member of the armed forces of the United States and presentation of the member's discharge, the county recorder shall record the discharge in a book to be furnished by the board of county commissioners for that purpose. There shall be no fee for the recording. The record of discharge, or a certified copy of the record, shall be received in evidence in all cases where the original discharge would be received.

(B) Upon application by a person whose discharge has been recorded pursuant to this section, the county recorder shall, without fee, expunge the person's record of discharge or, the person's separation program number, or the person's social security number from the person's record of discharge. The application shall be in the following form:

I, ................ (Name of Applicant), the undersigned, hereby request the County Recorder of the County of ............ (Name of County), state of Ohio, to expunge my .......... (Insert either Record of Discharge or, Separation Program Number, or Social Security Number from my Record of Discharge).

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

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

(Signature of Applicant)   

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

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

Notary Public           

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

(C) "Separation program number" means the coded number or numbers used to specify the reasons for a person's separation from active duty, as contained in line 9 (c) or line 11 (c) of a veteran's discharge paper, United States department of defense form DD-214.

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

(B) If the county recorder fails to post a card in accordance with division (A) of this section, the county recorder is not liable in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly results from that failure.

Sec. 2913.49.  (A) As used in this section, "personal identifying information" includes, but is not limited to, the following: the name, address, telephone number, driver's license, driver's license number, commercial driver's license, commercial driver's license number, state identification card, state identification card number, social security card, social security number, birth certificate, place of employment, employee identification number, mother's maiden name, demand deposit account number, savings account number, money market account number, mutual fund account number, other financial account number, personal identification number, password, or credit card number of a living or dead individual.

(B) No person, without the express or implied consent of the other person, shall use, or obtain, or possess, or with intent to use, any personal identifying information of any living or dead individual with the intent to fraudulently obtain credit, property, or services or avoid the payment of a debt or any other legal obligation another person to do either of the following or with intent to do either of the following:

(1) Hold the person out to be the other person;

(2) Represent the other person's personal identifying information as the person's own personal identifying information.

(C) No person shall create, obtain, possess, or use the personal identifying information of any living or dead individual person with the intent to aid or abet another person in violating division (B) of this section.

(D) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (B) of this section that any of the following apply:

(1) The person using the personal identifying information is acting in accordance with a legally recognized guardianship or conservatorship or as a trustee or fiduciary.

(2) A law enforcement agency, authorized fraud personnel, or a representative of or attorney for a law enforcement agency or authorized fraud personnel uses the personal identifying information in a bona fide investigation, an information security evaluation, a pretext calling evaluation, or a similar matter.

(3) The personal identifying information was obtained, possessed, or used for a lawful purpose.

(E) It is not a defense to a charge under this section that the person whose personal identifying information was obtained, possessed, or used was deceased at the time of the offense.

(F)(1) If the violation of division (B) of this section occurs as part of a course of conduct involving other violations of division (B) of this section or violations of, attempts to violate, conspiracies to violate, or complicity in violations of division (C) of this section or section 2913.02, 2913.04, 2913.11, 2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.42, 2913.43, or 2921.13 of the Revised Code, the court, in determining the degree of the offense pursuant to division (E)(G) of this section, may aggregate all credit, property, or services obtained or sought to be obtained by the offender and all debts or other legal obligations avoided or sought to be avoided by the offender in the violations involved in that course of conduct. The course of conduct may involve one victim or more than one victim.

(2) If the violation of division (C) of this section occurs as part of a course of conduct involving other violations of division (C) of this section or violations of, attempts to violate, conspiracies to violate, or complicity in violations of division (B) of this section or section 2913.02, 2913.04, 2913.11, 2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.42, 2913.43, or 2921.13 of the Revised Code, the court, in determining the degree of the offense pursuant to division (E)(G) of this section, may aggregate all credit, property, or services obtained or sought to be obtained by the person aided or abetted and all debts or other legal obligations avoided or sought to be avoided by the person aided or abetted in the violations involved in that course of conduct. The course of conduct may involve one victim or more than one victim.

(E)(G) Whoever violates this section is guilty of taking the identity of another. Except as otherwise provided in this division, taking the identity of another is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the value of the credit, property, services, debt, or other legal obligation involved in the violation or course of conduct is five hundred dollars or more and is less than five thousand dollars, taking the identity of another is a felony of the fifth fourth degree. If the value of the credit, property, services, debt, or other legal obligation involved in the violation or course of conduct is five thousand dollars or more and is less than one hundred thousand dollars, taking the identity of another is a felony of the fourth third degree. If the value of the credit, property, services, debt, or other legal obligation involved in the violation or course of conduct is one hundred thousand dollars or more, taking the identity of another is a felony of the third second degree.

Section 2. That existing sections 317.24 and 2913.49 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.