To amend sections 3901.043, 3901.51, and 3905.24, to enact section 3905.421, and to repeal sections 3957.01, 3957.02, 3957.03, 3957.04, 3957.05, 3957.06, 3957.07, 3957.08, 3957.09, 3957.10, 3957.11, 3957.12, 3957.13, 3957.14, 3957.15, 3957.16, 3957.17, 3957.18, 3957.19, and 3957.99 of the Revised Code to regulate the sale of home service contracts as consumer transactions rather than as the sale of insurance.

Section 1. That sections 3901.043, 3901.51, and 3905.24 be amended and section 3905.421 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 3901.043.  The superintendent of insurance may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to establish reasonable fees for any service or transaction performed by the department of insurance pursuant to section 1751.03, 3901.321, 3901.341, 3907.09, 3907.10, 3907.11, 3907.12, 3911.011, 3913.40, 3915.14, 3917.06, 3918.07, 3923.02, 3935.04, 3937.03, or 3953.28, 3957.12, or 3957.13 of the Revised Code or any provision in sections 3913.01 to 3913.23 or in Chapter 3905. of the Revised Code, if no fee is otherwise provided under Title XVII or XXXIX of the Revised Code for such service or transaction. Any fee collected pursuant to those rules shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the department of insurance operating fund.

Sec. 3901.51.  As used in sections 3901.51 to 3901.55 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Clearing corporation" has the same meaning as in section 1308.01 of the Revised Code, except that with respect to securities issued by institutions organized or existing under the laws of any foreign country or securities used to meet the deposit requirements pursuant to the laws of a foreign country as a condition of doing business in that country, "clearing corporation" includes a corporation that is organized or existing under the laws of any foreign country and is legally qualified under those laws to effect transactions in securities by computerized book-entry.

(B) "Direct participant" means a bank, trust company, or other entity that maintains an account in its name in a clearing corporation and through which an insurance company participates in a clearing corporation.

(C) "Federal reserve book-entry system" means the computerized systems sponsored by the United States department of the treasury and agencies and instrumentalities of the United States for holding and transferring securities of the United States government and agencies and instrumentalities in federal reserve banks through banks that are members of the federal reserve system or that otherwise have access to these computerized systems.

(D) "Member bank" means a national or state bank or a trust company that is a member of the federal reserve system and through which an insurance company participates in the federal reserve book-entry system.

(E) "Provisions of the insurance laws of this state" means provisions of Title XXXIX of the Revised Code related to the deposit of securities for the benefit and security of policyholders, and includes, but is not limited to, sections 3901.18, 3901.74, 3901.75, 3901.86, 3903.73, 3907.07, 3909.03, 3909.09, 3909.17, 3913.01, 3913.04, 3919.13, 3919.36, 3919.37, 3919.41, 3925.07, 3927.02, 3927.06, 3929.01, 3929.07, 3929.08, 3929.09, 3929.10, 3929.11, 3941.30, 3941.31, 3941.32, 3941.33, 3941.34, 3941.42, 3953.06, and 3953.11, and 3957.03 of the Revised Code.

(F) "Securities" has the same meaning as in section 1308.01 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3905.24.  (A)(1) All records and other information obtained by the superintendent of insurance or the superintendent's deputies, examiners, assistants, or other employees, or agents relating to an investigation of an applicant for licensure under this chapter, or of an agent, solicitor, broker, or other person licensed or appointed under this chapter or Chapter 3951., 3957., or 3959. of the Revised Code, are confidential and are not public records as defined in section 149.43 of the Revised Code until the applicant, licensee, or appointee is provided notice and opportunity for hearing pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code with respect to such records or information. If no administrative action is initiated with respect to a particular matter about which the superintendent obtained records or other information as part of an investigation, all such records and information relating to that matter shall remain confidential for three years after the file on the matter is closed.

(2) Division (A)(1) of this section applies only to investigations that could result in administrative action under Title XVII or XXXIX or Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

(B) The records and other information described in division (A) of this section shall remain confidential for all purposes except when it is appropriate for the superintendent and the superintendent's deputies, examiners, assistants, or other employees, or agents to take official action regarding the affairs of the applicant, licensee, or appointee or in connection with actual or potential criminal proceedings.

(C) Notwithstanding divisions (A) and (B) of this section, the superintendent may do either of the following:

(1) Share records and other information that are the subject of this section with the chief deputy rehabilitator, the chief deputy liquidator, other deputy rehabilitators and liquidators, and any other person employed by, or acting on behalf of, the superintendent pursuant to Chapter 3901. or 3903. of the Revised Code, with other local, state, federal, and international regulatory and law enforcement agencies, with local, state, and federal prosecutors, and with the national association of insurance commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries, provided that the recipient agrees to maintain the confidential status of the confidential record or other information and has authority to do so;

(2) Disclose records and other information that are the subject of this section in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought by or on behalf of the superintendent or the state, resulting from the exercise of the superintendent's official duties.

(D) Notwithstanding divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section, the superintendent may authorize the national association of insurance commissioners and its affiliates and subsidiaries by agreement to share confidential records and other information received pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section with local, state, federal, and international regulatory and law enforcement agencies and with local, state, and federal prosecutors, provided that the recipient agrees to maintain the confidential status of the confidential record or other information and has authority to do so.

(E) Notwithstanding divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section, the chief deputy rehabilitator, the chief deputy liquidator, and other deputy rehabilitators and liquidators may disclose records and other information that are the subject of this section in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought by or on behalf of the superintendent, the rehabilitator, the liquidator, or the state resulting from the exercise of the superintendent's official duties in any capacity.

(F) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the superintendent from receiving records and other information in accordance with section 3901.045 of the Revised Code.

(G)(1) No waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the records and other information that are the subject of this section shall occur as a result of sharing or receiving records or other information as authorized in divisions (C)(1), (D), and (F) of this section.

(2) The disclosure of records or other information in connection with a regulatory or legal action pursuant to divisions (C)(2) and (E) of this section does not prohibit an insurer or any other person from taking steps to limit the dissemination of the record or other information to persons not involved in or the subject of the regulatory or legal action on the basis of any recognized privilege arising under any other section of the Revised Code or the common law.

(H) Employees or agents of the department of insurance shall not be required by any court in this state to testify in a civil action, if the testimony concerns any matter related to records or other information considered confidential under this section of which they have knowledge.

Sec. 3905.421. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Home service contract" means a contract, however described or denominated by the issuer of the contract, whereby, for a predetermined fee, a person undertakes to repair or replace all or any part of any structural component, appliance, or system of a home necessitated by wear and tear, deterioration, or inherent defect that occurs on or after the effective date of the home service contract. "Home service contract" does not include either of the following:

(a) A performance guarantee given by either the builder of a home or the manufacturer or seller of a structural component, appliance, or system of a home;

(b) A service contract, guarantee, or warranty relating to the repair or service of a structural component, appliance, or system of a home, issued by a person that has serviced or repaired the structural component, appliance, or system.

(2) "Appliance" includes a stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, and any similar piece of equipment.

(3) "Structural component" includes the roof, foundation, basement, walls, ceiling, and similar components of a home.

(4) "System" includes the heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical system, and similar systems of a home.

(B) A home service contract is not insurance and its sale or issuance is not governed by the laws of this state relating to insurance.

(C) The sale or other issuance of a home service contract constitutes a consumer transaction for purposes of Chapter 1345. of the Revised Code. A person who purchases a home service contract is a consumer as defined in division (D) of section 1345.01 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 3901.043, 3901.51, and 3905.24 and sections 3957.01, 3957.02, 3957.03, 3957.04, 3957.05, 3957.06, 3957.07, 3957.08, 3957.09, 3957.10, 3957.11, 3957.12, 3957.13, 3957.14, 3957.15, 3957.16, 3957.17, 3957.18, 3957.19, and 3957.99 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. No home warranty company established and operating in this state on the effective date of this act pursuant to a certificate of authority issued by the Superintendent of Insurance under Chapter 3957. of the Revised Code shall sell, offer to sell, or solicit offers for, home service contracts on or after the effective date of this act as contracts regulated by Chapter 3957. of the Revised Code.

All home service contracts issued pursuant to Chapter 3957. of the Revised Code and outstanding on the effective date of this act shall be consummated. The interpretation and fulfillment of the terms and conditions of these outstanding contracts, and of any home service contract sold or issued by a home warranty company on or after the effective date of this act, is subject to Chapter 1345. of the Revised Code on and after the act's effective date, rather than to Ohio's Insurance Law.

A home warranty company with outstanding home service contracts in this state on the effective date of this act shall maintain a single reserve sufficient to provide for its liability to furnish repair and replacement services under those contracts. The amount of this reserve shall be calculated according to sound actuarial principles.

The repeal of Chapter 3957. of the Revised Code pursuant to this act does not: (1) invalidate any home service contract issued by a home warranty company prior to the effective date of this act; (2) discharge any liability based on the acts or conduct of a home warranty company or its agents or employees prior to the effective date of this act; (3) discharge or otherwise affect any other liability incurred by a home warranty company prior to the effective date of this act; or (4) affect a home warranty company's conduct of business in accordance with other provisions of state and federal law.

The repeal of Chapter 3957. of the Revised Code pursuant to this act does not affect the authority of licensed property and casualty insurers to issue home service contracts in accordance with the Ohio Insurance Law.

Section 4.  Section 3901.043 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Sub. H.B. 370 and Am. Sub. S.B. 67 of the 122nd General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.

Section 5.  Section 3905.492 (3905.24) of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended and renumbered by Sub. S.B. 129 and amended by Am. Sub. S.B. 138, both of the 124th General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.