SENATORS Hagan, Nein, Ryan, Shoemaker, Furney, Herington, DiDonato, McLin, Brady, Prentiss, Mallory, Fingerhut, Armbruster, Oelslager, Spada
A BILL
To amend section 153.011 of the Revised Code to
modify criteria regarding the use of foreign steel
products for
public improvements, to authorize the
Director of Administrative Services to investigate
and the
Attorney General to enforce the
prohibition against impermissible use of
foreign
steel, and to establish a civil penalty
for
violation of this prohibition.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 153.011 of the Revised Code be
amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 153.011. (A)(1) Whenever
Except as provided in
division
(D) of this section, whenever any building or
structure,
including highway improvements, in whole or in part supported by
the state
and not yet bid, is to be erected or constructed, or
whenever additions, alterations, or structural or other
improvements are to be made, or heating, cooling, or ventilating
plants or other equipment is to be installed or material supplied
therefor,
and if any steel products are to be used or supplied in
the construction, repair, or improvement project, only steel
products as defined in
this division
(E)
of this
section shall be
used or supplied in
the project.
(2)(B)
Whoever supplies steel products in violation of
division (A) of this section shall pay a civil penalty equal to
one
and one-half times the cost of the steel products supplied in
violation of
division (A) of this section. Upon collection of the
civil penalty
pursuant to an action authorized by division (C) of
this section, the
attorney general shall pay the money collected
to the
treasurer of the board of education of the city, local, or
exempted village
school district in which the construction,
repair, or improvement project for
which the steel products used
in violation of division (A) of this
section is located. The
treasurer shall deposit the civil penalty into the
school
district's general fund.
(C) Whenever the director of administrative services has
reasonable cause to believe
that a person has supplied steel
products in violation of division
(A) of this section, the
director shall conduct an
investigation to determine whether the
person has supplied or is supplying
steel products in violation of
division (A) of this section. Upon
conducting the investigation,
if the director finds that the person has
supplied or is supplying
steel products in violation of division (A)
of this section, the
director shall request the
attorney general to commence an action
under this section against the
person for violating division (A)
of this section. Any action under
this section is a civil action,
governed by the Rules of
Civil Procedure and other rules of
practice and procedure
applicable to civil actions. The remedy
provided in this section is
cumulative and concurrent with any
other remedy provided in this chapter, and
the existence or
exercise of one remedy does not prevent the exercise of any
other.
(D)
Pursuant to section 5525.21 of the Revised
Code, the
director of transportation may authorize the use of a
minimal
amount of foreign steel products in contracts for public bridge
projects.
The
director of administrative services may waive the
requirements of division
(A) of this section if the director
determines that
either division (A) or (B) of section 5525.21 of
the Revised Code is true
in connection with a public bridge
project. The director shall issue this
determination in writing.
(E) As used in this
division
section:
(a)(1) "Steel products" means products rolled, formed,
shaped, drawn, extruded, forged, cast, fabricated or otherwise
similarly processed, or processed by a combination of two or more
of such operations,
and used for load-bearing purposes, from
steel
made in the United States by the
open hearth, basic oxygen,
electric furnace, bessemer or other
steel making process.
(b)(2) "United States" means the United States of America
and
includes all territory, continental or insular, subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States.
(B) Pursuant to section 5525.21 of the Revised Code, the
director of transportation may authorize the use of a minimal
amount of foreign steel products in contracts for public bridge
projects.
Section 2. That existing section 153.011 of the Revised Code
is hereby
repealed.