To amend sections 124.93, 125.111, 153.59, 153.591, 175.05, 175.06, 176.06, 717.01, 1317.06, 1317.061, 1923.02, 2927.03, 3313.64, 3915.05, 3917.06, 4112.01, 4112.02, 4112.021, 4112.04, 4112.05, 4112.08, 4117.19, 4735.16, 4735.55, 4933.12, and 4933.121 and to enact sections 173.09, 1349.02, 1349.03, 1713.60, 3332.20, and 3345.53 of the Revised Code to prohibit a retail seller in a retail installment contract from charging or collecting more than a six per cent annual percentage rate on contracts with retail buyers who are deployed on active duty; to permit a child whose parent is deployed on active duty to continue to attend school in the district in which the child's parent lived before being called to active military duty; to prohibit the eviction of a tenant who is deployed on active duty or a member of his or her immediate family from residential premises; to ensure that life insurance policies continue in force despite nonpayment of premiums during the insured's period of active duty; to prohibit discrimination under the Ohio Civil Rights Commission Law and certain other laws on the basis of military status; to prohibit a gas or electric company from disconnecting service to the residential premises of any consumer who is deployed on active duty; to require public and private institutions of higher education to grant a military leave of absence to students who are deployed on active duty, to reinstate those students to the same educational status as before active duty, and to either partially refund paid tuition or credit paid tuition to a future academic term; to permit a person deployed on active duty to terminate a motor vehicle lease or cellular phone contract under specified conditions; and to establish a voluntary, state-sponsored "patriot discount card" program to provide reduced price discounts for merchandise and services for military personnel.

Section 1. That sections 124.93, 125.111, 153.59, 153.591, 175.05, 175.06, 176.06, 717.01, 1317.06, 1317.061, 1923.02, 2927.03, 3313.64, 3915.05, 3917.06, 4112.01, 4112.02, 4112.021, 4112.04, 4112.05, 4112.08, 4117.19, 4735.16, 4735.55, 4933.12, and 4933.121 be amended and sections 173.09, 1349.02, 1349.03, 1713.60, 3332.20, and 3345.53 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 124.93.  (A) As used in this section, "physician" means any person who holds a valid certificate to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery issued under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code.

(B) No health insuring corporation that, on or after July 1, 1993, enters into or renews a contract with the department of administrative services under section 124.82 of the Revised Code, because of a physician's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or military status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, age, or ancestry, shall refuse to contract with that physician for the provision of health care services under section 124.82 of the Revised Code.

Any health insuring corporation that violates this division is deemed to have engaged in an unlawful discriminatory practice as defined in section 4112.02 of the Revised Code and is subject to Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code.

(C) Each health insuring corporation that, on or after July 1, 1993, enters into or renews a contract with the department of administrative services under section 124.82 of the Revised Code and that refuses to contract with a physician for the provision of health care services under that section shall provide that physician with a written notice that clearly explains the reason or reasons for the refusal. The notice shall be sent to the physician by regular mail within thirty days after the refusal.

Any health insuring corporation that fails to provide notice in compliance with this division is deemed to have engaged in an unfair and deceptive act or practice in the business of insurance as defined in section 3901.21 of the Revised Code and is subject to sections 3901.19 to 3901.26 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 125.111.  (A) Every contract for or on behalf of the state or any of its political subdivisions for any purchase shall contain provisions similar to those required by section 153.59 of the Revised Code in the case of construction contracts by which the contractor agrees to both of the following:

(1) That, in the hiring of employees for the performance of work under the contract or any subcontract, no contractor or subcontractor, by reason of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability or military status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, national origin, or ancestry, shall discriminate against any citizen of this state in the employment of a person qualified and available to perform the work to which the contract relates;

(2) That no contractor, subcontractor, or person acting on behalf of any contractor or subcontractor, in any manner, shall discriminate against, intimidate, or retaliate against any employee hired for the performance of work under the contract on account of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability or military status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, national origin, or ancestry.

(B) All contractors from whom the state or any of its political subdivisions make purchases shall have a written affirmative action program for the employment and effective utilization of economically disadvantaged persons, as referred to in division (E)(1) of section 122.71 of the Revised Code. Annually, each such contractor shall file a description of the affirmative action program and a progress report on its implementation with the equal employment opportunity office of the department of administrative services.

Sec. 153.59.  Every contract for or on behalf of the state, or any township, county, or municipal corporation of the state, for the construction, alteration, or repair of any public building or public work in the state shall contain provisions by which the contractor agrees to both of the following:

(A) That, in the hiring of employees for the performance of work under the contract or any subcontract, no contractor, subcontractor, or any person acting on a contractor's or subcontractor's behalf, by reason of race, creed, sex, disability or military status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, or color, shall discriminate against any citizen of the state in the employment of labor or workers who is qualified and available to perform the work to which the employment relates;

(B) That no contractor, subcontractor, or any person on a contractor's or subcontractor's behalf, in any manner, shall discriminate against or intimidate any employee hired for the performance of work under the contract on account of race, creed, sex, disability or military status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, or color.

The department of administrative services shall ensure that no capital moneys appropriated by the general assembly for any purpose shall be expended unless the project for which those moneys are appropriated provides for an affirmative action program for the employment and effective utilization of disadvantaged persons whose disadvantage may arise from cultural, racial, or ethnic background, or other similar cause, including, but not limited to, race, religion, sex, disability or military status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, national origin, or ancestry.

In awarding contracts for capital improvement projects, the department shall ensure that equal consideration be given to contractors, subcontractors, or joint venturers who qualify as a minority business enterprise. As used in this section, "minority business enterprise" means a business enterprise that is owned or controlled by one or more socially or economically disadvantaged persons who are residents of this state. "Socially or economically disadvantaged persons" means persons, regardless of marital status, who are members of groups whose disadvantage may arise from discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, disability or military status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, national origin, ancestry, or other similar cause.

Sec. 153.591.  Any provision of a hiring hall contract or agreement which obligates a contractor to hire, if available, only employees referred to the contractor by a labor organization shall be void as against public policy and unenforceable with respect to employment under any public works contract unless at the date of execution of the hiring hall contract or agreement, or within thirty days thereafter, the labor organization has in effect procedures for referring qualified employees for hire without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, military status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, or ancestry and unless the labor organization includes in its apprentice and journeyperson's membership, or otherwise has available for job referral without discrimination, qualified employees, both whites and non-whites (including African-Americans African Americans).

Sec. 173.09.  (A) As used in this section, "service in the uniformed services" and "uniformed services" have the same meanings as in section 5903.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) The director of aging shall establish a patriot discount card program and provide a patriot discount card to any resident of this state who applies to the director for a card and is in service in the uniformed services. The director shall devise programs to provide benefits of any kind to card holders and encourage support and participation in them by all persons, including governmental organizations. Card holders shall be entitled to any benefits granted to them by private persons or organizations, the laws of this state, or ordinances or resolutions of political subdivisions. This section does not require any person or organization to provide benefits to any card holder. The department of aging shall bear all costs of the program.

(C) Before issuing a patriot discount card to any person, the director of aging shall establish the identity of the person applying for the card and shall ascertain that the person is eligible to be issued the card. The director shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to prevent the issuance of cards to persons not qualified to have them and to provide for proper use of a card by members of the immediate family of a card holder while the card holder's military duties require the card holder to be outside of this state. Cards shall contain the signature of the card holder and any other information the director considers necessary to carry out the purposes of the patriot discount card program under this section. Any card that the director issues shall be held in perpetuity by the original card holder and shall not be transferable to any other person, but may be used by a member of the card holder's immediate family in accordance with the rules adopted under this section. A person who loses the person's card may obtain another card from the director upon providing the same information to the director as was required for the issuance of the original card.

(D) No person shall use a patriot discount card except to obtain for the holder of the card or a member of the holder's immediate family a benefit to which the holder or a member of the holder's immediate family is entitled under the conditions of the offer.

Sec. 175.05.  (A) The Ohio housing finance agency may purchase, and contract to purchase, mortgage loans or other evidence of debt from lending institutions upon the terms and conditions that the agency shall determine, and all lending institutions are authorized to sell to, or otherwise obtain mortgage loans as agent for, the agency in accordance with this chapter.

(B) The agency may provide in agreements with lending institutions and in loan documents requirements applicable to the purchase of mortgage loans to carry out the purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Qualifications of lending institutions from which mortgage loans may be acquired;

(2) The time periods within which lending institutions must make commitments for, originate, and close mortgage loans, and deliver them for purchase;

(3) The location and other characteristics of single-family residential housing to be financed by mortgage loans;

(4) The terms and conditions of mortgage loans to be purchased;

(5) The amounts and types of insurance coverage required on single-family residential housing and mortgage loans;

(6) The representations and warranties to be required of lending institutions, private insurers, and other parties;

(7) Restrictions as to interest rates and other terms of mortgage loans and the net effective interest rate on the mortgage loans;

(8) The type and amount of collateral security to be provided to assure repayment of any mortgage loan.

(C) The agency shall include in agreements with lending institutions requirements applicable to the purchase of mortgage loans or other evidence of debt as the agency considers necessary or desirable in order to ensure that the single-family residential housing financed by the mortgage loans is safe and sanitary.

(D)(1) In connection with the issuance of any issue of bonds to provide funds to purchase mortgage loans or other evidence of debt, the agency shall provide for the reasonable availability of the funds on an equitable, statewide basis, and without discrimination by reason of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, military status as defined in that section, or disability as defined in that section. Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of this section, the agency shall provide for making not less than twenty per cent of the moneys for mortgage loans from each issue of bonds available for not less than one year for mortgage loans in targeted areas as described in section 143(j) of the Internal Revenue Code, including areas of chronic economic distress as designated and confirmed under division (F) of this section. The agency shall solicit commitments from all qualified lending institutions and shall accord priorities to commitments proffered for mortgage loans up to amounts for each county which bear the same ratio to the moneys from the bond issue available for mortgage loans as the population of that county bears to the population of the state, using the most recent available statewide census data as determined by the agency. The priorities shall be accorded for periods determined by the agency and subject to availabilities to be accorded to targeted areas and areas of chronic economic distress, and, within the priorities, the agency may establish priorities for stated purposes including, but not limited to, for new construction, rehabilitation, or home improvements, as the agency may determine upon consideration of any preferences that may be indicated from the local community. Any amounts given the priorities that are not claimed by commitments, origination of loans, or loan closings within the time prescribed by the agency may be reallocated in a manner that places the maximum amount of the funds on an equitable basis and that achieves the broadest distribution to the extent practical, as the agency may determine or authorize to be determined. If two or more qualified lending institutions commit for aggregate amounts in excess of allocations, the agency shall accept commitments in amounts adjusted on an equitable basis, as it determines, subject to minimums prescribed by the agency and consideration of the efficiency of placement of the moneys in mortgage loans. All allocations made by or pursuant to authorization by the agency shall be conclusive.

(2) The requirement of division (D)(1) of this section that funds be allocated on a county-by-county basis according to population does not apply to the allocation of funds for new construction if the agency determines that there is an imbalance of statewide demand for funds for new construction. The agency shall take reasonable measures to invite statewide demand for such funds before making the determination, and such invitation shall remain open for a period of not less than thirty days before the determination is made. If the agency determines that the requirement does not apply, it shall allocate the funds for new construction on an equitable basis among all of the counties in which a demand is expressed.

(E) The agency is the sole entity in the state authorized to issue bonds for the purpose of financing purchase, other than lease-purchase, of single-family residential housing, and the agency is hereby authorized to issue the bonds up to the full amount permitted to be issued in the state by law.

(F) The director of development may designate areas within the state as areas of chronic economic distress within the meaning of section 143(j) of the Internal Revenue Code, the designation to be confirmed by the agency or, if not so confirmed, revised and resubmitted by the director to the agency for confirmation.

(G) Lending institutions are authorized to comply with requirements pursuant to this section notwithstanding other restrictions in law or rules.

(H)(1) If any applicant for a mortgage loan under this section has reason to believe that the applicant's application was denied unlawfully, the applicant may appeal the action to the agency within thirty days after the applicant's application is denied. The applicant shall take an appeal by filing a notice of appeal with the agency. The notice of appeal shall set forth the name and address of the applicant, the name and address of the lending institution, the grounds upon which the applicant believes that the application was unlawfully denied, and any other information that the agency requires by rule. A copy of the application shall be attached to the notice of appeal.

(2) Upon an appeal, the agency shall issue an order, pursuant to an adjudication conducted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, affirming the denial of the application or ordering the lending institution to grant the application. Any party who is adversely affected by the issuance of an adjudication order under this division may appeal to the court of common pleas of the county in which the application was made in accordance with section 119.12 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 175.06.  (A) The Ohio housing finance agency may make, and contract to make, loans to, or through, lending institutions to finance the acquisition, construction, improvement, and rehabilitation of multifamily residential housing on terms and conditions that the agency shall determine. All lending institutions are authorized to borrow from the agency in accordance with this section, provided that a separate issue of bonds may be authorized for loans to, or through, lending institutions with respect to multifamily residential housing that shares a common site, ownership, and security interest, and constitutes a single multifamily residential housing project.

(B) The agency may purchase, and contract to purchase, from lending institutions loans or other evidence of debt to finance the acquisition, construction, improvement, and rehabilitation of multifamily residential housing on terms and conditions that the agency shall determine, and all lending institutions are authorized to sell the loans to the agency in accordance with this section.

(C) The agency shall require, as a condition of each loan made to, or through, a lending institution pursuant to this section, that the lending institution use the loan proceeds to make new loans in an aggregate principal amount at least equal to the amount of the loan to finance the acquisition, construction, improvement, and rehabilitation of multifamily residential housing.

(D) The agency also shall require that the owners of multifamily residential housing, the acquisition, construction, improvements, or rehabilitation of which is financed by loans purchased by the agency, or with the proceeds of loans made by the agency pursuant to this section, demonstrate to the satisfaction of the agency that the multifamily residential housing is safe and sanitary, and the occupants of the multifamily residential housing will benefit from the savings in the cost of money to the lending institutions and the owners resulting from the loans or proceeds from them. Determinations by the agency with respect to those matters shall be deemed conclusive.

(E) The interest rate or rates and other terms of loans made or purchased by the agency pursuant to this section with the proceeds of any issue of bonds, together with any other moneys available for the payment of the bonds and the interest on them, including reserve funds, shall be at least sufficient to assure the payment of the bonds and the interest on them as they become due.

(F) The agency may require that each lending institution receiving a loan pursuant to this section shall issue and deliver to the agency an evidence of its indebtedness to the agency which shall bear the date or dates, shall mature at the time or times, shall be subject to prepayment, and shall contain any other provisions consistent with this chapter that the agency shall determine.

(G) The agency may require that loans made pursuant to this section shall be secured as to payment of both principal and interest by a pledge of any collateral security that the agency shall determine to be necessary to assure the payment of the loans and the interest on them as they become due.

(H) The agency may require that any collateral for loans made pursuant to this section be deposited with a bank, trust company, or other financial institution acceptable to the agency located in the state and designated by the agency as custodian for the collateral. In the absence of that requirement, each lending institution shall enter into an agreement with the agency containing any provisions that the agency considers necessary to do all of the following:

(1) Adequately identify and maintain the collateral;

(2) Service the collateral;

(3) Require the lending institution to hold the collateral as an agent for the agency and be accountable to the agency as the trustee of an express trust for the application and disposition of it and the income from it.

The agency also may establish any additional requirements that it considers necessary with respect to the pledging, assigning, setting aside, or holding of collateral, the making of substitutions for it or additions to it, and the disposition of income and receipts from it.

(I) The agency may require as a condition of each loan made to a lending institution pursuant to this section that the lending institution, within the period after receipt of the loan proceeds that the agency may prescribe, shall have entered into written commitments to make, and, within the period thereafter that the agency may prescribe, shall have disbursed the loan proceeds in new loans. The new loans shall have any terms and conditions that the agency may prescribe.

(J) The agency may require as a condition of any loans made to, made through, or purchased from lending institutions pursuant to this section any representations and warranties that it shall determine to be necessary to secure the loans and carry out the purpose of this chapter.

(K) The agency may provide in agreements with lending institutions and in loan documents requirements applicable to the purchase of loans pursuant to this section, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Qualifications of lending institutions from which loans may be purchased;

(2) The time period within which lending institutions must make commitments for and originate loans and deliver them for purchase;

(3) The location and characteristics of multifamily residential housing to be financed by loans;

(4) The terms and conditions of loans to be purchased;

(5) The amounts and types of insurance coverage required on multifamily residential housing, loans, and bonds;

(6) The type and amount of collateral security to be provided to assure repayment of any loan or bonds.

(L) The agency shall require provision to be made for making available to eligible families of low and moderate income not less than that percentage of units in a multifamily residential housing project financed under this section as provided for in section 142(d) of the Internal Revenue Code, and that all of those units be made available without discrimination by reason of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, military status as defined in that section, or disability as defined in that section.

(M) Lending institutions and owners and developers are authorized to comply with requirements pursuant to this section and section 176.05 of the Revised Code notwithstanding any other restrictions in law or rules.

Sec. 176.06.  Each municipal corporation, county, and township shall compile and make available, in accordance with this section, to the public for inspection and copying for a period of five years the number and total dollar amount of mortgage loans that were originated, for which completed applications were received and applicants were rejected, and that were purchased by that municipal corporation, county, or township during each fiscal year. Information regarding each of the mortgage loan categories listed above shall be itemized to clearly and conspicuously disclose the following:

(A) The number and dollar amount of mortgage loans insured under Title II of the "National Housing Act," 48 Stat. 1246 (1934), 12 U.S.C.A. 1707 et seq., or under Title V of the "Housing Act of 1949," 63 Stat. 413, 432, 42 U.S.C.A. 1471 et seq., or guaranteed under the "Veterans' Loan Act," 58 Stat. 284 (1944), 38 U.S.C.A. 1801 et seq.;

(B) The number and dollar amount of mortgage loans made to mortgagors who did not, at the time of execution of the mortgage, intend to reside in the property securing the mortgage loan;

(C) The number and dollar amount of home improvement loans;

(D) The number and dollar amount of mortgage loans involving mortgagors or mortgage applicants grouped according to census tract, income level, race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, disability as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, military status as defined in that section, and national origin.

The information described in this section shall be made available to the public in raw data form and updated quarterly. Within four months after the end of each fiscal year, each municipal corporation, county, and township shall submit to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives a report containing the information described in this section for the immediately preceding fiscal year.

As used in this section, "mortgage loan" has the same meaning as in section 175.01 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 717.01.  Each municipal corporation may do any of the following:

(A) Acquire by purchase or condemnation real estate with or without buildings on it, and easements or interests in real estate;

(B) Extend, enlarge, reconstruct, repair, equip, furnish, or improve a building or improvement that it is authorized to acquire or construct;

(C) Erect a crematory or provide other means for disposing of garbage or refuse, and erect public comfort stations;

(D) Purchase turnpike roads and make them free;

(E) Construct wharves and landings on navigable waters;

(F) Construct infirmaries, workhouses, prisons, police stations, houses of refuge and correction, market houses, public halls, public offices, municipal garages, repair shops, storage houses, and warehouses;

(G) Construct or acquire waterworks for supplying water to the municipal corporation and its inhabitants and extend the waterworks system outside of the municipal corporation limits;

(H) Construct or purchase gas works or works for the generation and transmission of electricity, for the supplying of gas or electricity to the municipal corporation and its inhabitants;

(I) Provide grounds for cemeteries or crematories, enclose and embellish them, and construct vaults or crematories;

(J) Construct sewers, sewage disposal works, flushing tunnels, drains, and ditches;

(K) Construct free public libraries and reading rooms, and free recreation centers;

(L) Establish free public baths and municipal lodging houses;

(M) Construct monuments or memorial buildings to commemorate the services of soldiers, sailors, and marines of the state and nation;

(N) Provide land for and improve parks, boulevards, and public playgrounds;

(O) Construct hospitals and pesthouses;

(P) Open, construct, widen, extend, improve, resurface, or change the line of any street or public highway;

(Q) Construct and improve levees, dams, waterways, waterfronts, and embankments and improve any watercourse passing through the municipal corporation;

(R) Construct or improve viaducts, bridges, and culverts;

(S)(1) Construct any building necessary for the police or fire department;

(2) Purchase fire engines or fire boats;

(3) Construct water towers or fire cisterns;

(4) Place underground the wires or signal apparatus of any police or fire department.

(T) Construct any municipal ice plant for the purpose of manufacturing ice for the citizens of a municipal corporation;

(U) Construct subways under any street or boulevard or elsewhere;

(V) Acquire by purchase, gift, devise, bequest, lease, condemnation proceedings, or otherwise, real or personal property, and thereon and thereof to establish, construct, enlarge, improve, equip, maintain, and operate airports, landing fields, or other air navigation facilities, either within or outside the limits of a municipal corporation, and acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease, or condemnation proceedings rights-of-way for connections with highways, waterways, and electric, steam, and interurban railroads, and improve and equip such facilities with structures necessary or appropriate for such purposes. No municipal corporation may take or disturb property or facilities belonging to any public utility or to a common carrier engaged in interstate commerce, which property or facilities are required for the proper and convenient operation of the utility or carrier, unless provision is made for the restoration, relocation, or duplication of the property or facilities elsewhere at the sole cost of the municipal corporation.

(W) Provide by agreement with any regional airport authority, created under section 308.03 of the Revised Code, for the making of necessary surveys, appraisals, and examinations preliminary to the acquisition or construction of any airport or airport facility and pay the portion of the expense of the surveys, appraisals, and examinations as set forth in the agreement;

(X) Provide by agreement with any regional airport authority, created under section 308.03 of the Revised Code, for the acquisition, construction, maintenance, or operation of any airport or airport facility owned or to be owned and operated by the regional airport authority or owned or to be owned and operated by the municipal corporation and pay the portion of the expense of it as set forth in the agreement;

(Y) Acquire by gift, purchase, lease, or condemnation, land, forest, and water rights necessary for conservation of forest reserves, water parks, or reservoirs, either within or without the limits of the municipal corporation, and improve and equip the forest and water parks with structures, equipment, and reforestation necessary or appropriate for any purpose for the utilization of any of the forest and water benefits that may properly accrue therefrom to the municipal corporation;

(Z) Acquire real property by purchase, gift, or devise and construct and maintain on it public swimming pools, either within or outside the limits of the municipal corporation;

(AA) Construct or rehabilitate, equip, maintain, operate, and lease facilities for housing of elderly persons and for persons of low and moderate income, and appurtenant facilities. No municipal corporation shall deny housing accommodations to or withhold housing accommodations from elderly persons or persons of low and moderate income because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, military status as defined in that section, disability as defined in that section, ancestry, or national origin. Any elderly person or person of low or moderate income who is denied housing accommodations or has them withheld by a municipal corporation because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, military status as defined in that section, disability as defined in that section, ancestry, or national origin may file a charge with the Ohio civil rights commission as provided in Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code.

(BB) Acquire, rehabilitate, and develop rail property or rail service, and enter into agreements with the Ohio rail development commission, boards of county commissioners, boards of township trustees, legislative authorities of other municipal corporations, with other governmental agencies or organizations, and with private agencies or organizations in order to achieve those purposes;

(CC) Appropriate and contribute money to a soil and water conservation district for use under Chapter 1515. of the Revised Code;

(DD) Authorize the board of county commissioners, pursuant to a contract authorizing the action, to contract on the municipal corporation's behalf for the administration and enforcement within its jurisdiction of the state building code by another county or another municipal corporation located within or outside the county. The contract for administration and enforcement shall provide for obtaining certification pursuant to division (E) of section 3781.10 of the Revised Code for the exercise of administration and enforcement authority within the municipal corporation seeking those services and shall specify which political subdivision is responsible for securing that certification.

(EE) Expend money for providing and maintaining services and facilities for senior citizens.

"Airport," "landing field," and "air navigation facility," as defined in section 4561.01 of the Revised Code, apply to division (V) of this section.

As used in divisions (W) and (X) of this section, "airport" and "airport facility" have the same meanings as in section 308.01 of the Revised Code.

As used in division (BB) of this section, "rail property" and "rail service" have the same meanings as in section 4981.01 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 1317.06.  (A) A Subject to division (D) of this section, a retail seller at the time of making any retail installment sale may charge and contract for the payment of a finance charge by the retail buyer and collect and receive the same, which shall not exceed the greater of the following:

(1) A base finance charge at the rate of eight dollars per one hundred dollars per year on the principal balance of the retail installment contract. On retail installment contracts providing for principal balances less than, nor not in multiples of one hundred dollars, or for installment payments extending for a period less than or greater than one year, said that finance charge shall be computed proportionately. In addition to the base finance charge, the retail seller may charge and contract for a service charge of fifty cents per month for the first fifty dollar unit or fraction thereof, of the principal balance for each month of the term of the installment contract; and an additional service charge of twenty-five cents per month for each of the next five fifty dollar units or fraction thereof, of the principal balance for each month of the term of the installment contract. This paragraph applies only to retail installment contracts with a principal balance of seven hundred dollars or less.

(2) A pre-computed base finance charge not in excess of the amount obtained by applying the rate of one and one-half per cent per month to the unpaid portion of the unpaid principal balance determined to be outstanding from time to time according to the terms and schedule of payments of the retail installment contract executed in connection with such retail installment sale.

Such base finance charge and service charges may be computed on a basis of a full month for any fractional period in excess of ten days. For a fractional period of a month not in excess of ten days, there shall be no base finance charge or service charge.

Sections 1317.01 to 1317.11 of the Revised Code do not apply to any sale in which the base finance and service charge does not exceed the sum of fifteen dollars.

(B) Every retail seller may, at the time of making any retail installment sale, contract for the payment by the retail buyer of lawful delinquent charges as follows:

(1) No charges shall be made for delinquent payments less than ten days late.

(2) Five cents for each dollar for a delinquent payment that is more than ten days late may be charged, but in no event shall a delinquent charge for any one installment exceed three dollars.

A provision for the payment of interest on any installment not paid in full on or before its scheduled due date at a rate not to exceed one and one-half per cent interest per month is not a delinquent charge and is expressly authorized.

(C) No retail installment contract arising out of a consumer transaction and requiring the payment of the charges authorized by this section shall be executed unless the combined total of the cash price and all finance charges and service charges is required to be paid according to a schedule of substantially equal consecutive installments, except where the contract contains a provision allowing the buyer to refinance the contract under terms no less favorable than those of the original contract after making the refund credit required by section 1317.09 of the Revised Code. No seller shall, pursuant to any provision in a retail installment contract arising out of a consumer transaction, accelerate any payments on account of a default in the making of an installment payment that has not continued for at least thirty days. Division (C) of this section This division does not apply to the extent that the payment schedule is adjusted to the seasonal or irregular income of the buyer.

(D) A retail seller in connection with a retail installment contract entered into on and after the effective date of this amendment shall not charge or collect from a retail buyer who is deployed on active duty interest or finance charges exceeding an annual percentage rate of six per cent.

(E) As used in this section, "active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 1317.061.  As (A) Subject to division (B) of this section, as an alternative to the finance charges permitted in division (A) of section 1317.06 of the Revised Code or the interest permitted in division (B) of that section, and to the finance charges permitted in division (B) of section 1317.11 of the Revised Code, a retail seller or holder may contract for and receive finance charges or interest at any rate or rates agreed upon or consented to by the parties to the retail installment contract or revolving budget agreement, but not exceeding an annual percentage rate of twenty-five per cent.

(B) A retail seller in connection with a retail installment contract entered into on and after the effective date of this amendment shall not charge or collect from a retail buyer who is deployed on active duty interest or finance charges exceeding an annual percentage rate of six per cent.

(C) As used in this section, "active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 1349.02.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Lending institution" has the same meaning as in section 175.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) Any person, or spouse of a person, who is deployed on active duty may terminate any motor vehicle lease that meets both of the following requirements:

(1) It is entered into on or after the effective date of this section.

(2) It is executed by or on behalf of the person who is deployed on active duty.

(C) Termination of the motor vehicle lease shall not be effective until:

(1) Thirty days after the person who is deployed on active duty or the person's spouse gives notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the intention to terminate the lease; and

(2) The motor vehicle subject to the lease is returned to the custody or control of the lessor.

(D) If the requirements of divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section are met, both of the following restrictions shall apply:

(1) No collection agency or lending institution may report to a consumer reporting agency, for inclusion in the credit file or credit report of the person who is deployed on active duty, any information about the nonpayment of the terminated motor vehicle lease.

(2) No consumer reporting agency shall include in the credit file or credit report of the person who is deployed on active duty any information about the nonpayment of the terminated motor vehicle lease.

Sec. 1349.03. (A) As used in this section, "active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

(B) Any person, or spouse of a person, who is deployed on active duty may terminate a cellular phone contract that meets both of the following requirements:

(1) It is entered into on or after the effective date of this section.

(2) It is executed by or on behalf of the person who is deployed on active duty.

(C) Termination of the cellular phone contract shall not be effective until:

(1) Thirty days after the person who is deployed on active duty or the person's spouse gives notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the intention to terminate the cellular phone contract; and

(2) Unless the person who is deployed on active duty owns the cellular phone, the cellular telephone is returned to the custody or control of the cellular telephone company.

(D) If the requirements of divisions (B)(1) and (2) are met, both of the following restrictions shall apply:

(1) No collection agency or cellular telephone company may report to a consumer reporting agency, for inclusion in the credit file or credit report of the person who is deployed on active duty, any information about the nonpayment of the terminated cellular telephone contract.

(2) No consumer reporting agency shall include in the credit file or credit report of the person who is deployed on active duty any information about the nonpayment of the terminated cellular telephone contract.

Sec. 1713.60. As used in this section, "active duty" means full-time duty in the active military service of the United States, including full-time training duty, annual training duty, and active state duty for members of the national guard.

(A) Each institution of higher education that holds a certificate of authorization issued under this chapter shall grant a student a military leave of absence from the institution while the student is serving on active duty, and for one year after the conclusion of that service, if the student is a member of the United States national guard or other reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, or a member of those armed forces in a retired status, and is called to active duty. The student shall not suffer an academic penalty as a result of the leave of absence.

(B) If requested by a student granted a military leave of absence pursuant to division (A) of this section not later than one year after the student's release from active duty, the institution in which the student is enrolled shall do either of the following, as elected by the student:

(1) Credit tuition and fee charges toward a subsequent academic term in an amount that is one hundred per cent of what the student paid the institution for the academic term in which the student withdraws;

(2) Refund tuition and fees paid for the academic term, provided the student withdraws before the withdraw date established by the institution. The refund shall equal one hundred per cent of the tuition and fee charges the student paid the institution for the academic term. If the student withdraws after the withdraw date established by the institution, the student is ineligible for a refund of tuition and fee charges. For the purposes of this section, the "withdraw date" shall be the same as the date set by the institution for its general student population to withdraw from the institution or a course or class without academic penalty.

(C) If requested by a student granted a military leave of absence pursuant to division (A) of this section not later than one year after the student's release from active duty, the institution shall restore the student to the educational status the student had attained prior to being called to active duty without loss of academic credits earned, scholarships or grants awarded, or tuition and other fees paid prior to the commencement of active duty, except as provided in division (B) of this section.

(D) If an institution fails to comply with this section, the student may bring an action against the institution to enforce its provisions in the court of common pleas of the county in which the student resides. If the student resides outside of this state, the action shall be brought in the court of common pleas of the county in which the campus of the institution previously attended by the student is located. The court may award reasonable attorney's fees and expenses if the student prevails in the action.

Sec. 1923.02.  (A) Proceedings under this chapter may be had as follows:

(1) Against tenants or manufactured home park residents holding over their terms;

(2) Against tenants or manufactured home park residents in possession under an oral tenancy, who are in default in the payment of rent as provided in division (B) of this section;

(3) In sales of real estate, on executions, orders, or other judicial process, when the judgment debtor was in possession at the time of the rendition of the judgment or decree, by virtue of which the sale was made;

(4) In sales by executors, administrators, or guardians, and on partition, when any of the parties to the complaint were in possession at the commencement of the action, after the sales, so made on execution or otherwise, have been examined by the proper court and adjudged legal;

(5) When the defendant is an occupier of lands or tenements, without color of title, and the complainant has the right of possession to them;

(6) In any other case of the unlawful and forcible detention of lands or tenements. For purposes of this division, in addition to any other type of unlawful and forcible detention of lands or tenements, such a detention may be determined to exist when both of the following apply:

(a) A tenant fails to vacate residential premises within three days after both of the following occur:

(i) The tenant's landlord has actual knowledge of or has reasonable cause to believe that the tenant, any person in the tenant's household, or any person on the premises with the consent of the tenant previously has or presently is engaged in a violation of Chapter 2925. or 3719. of the Revised Code, or of a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any section in either of those chapters, which involves a controlled substance and which occurred in, is occurring in, or otherwise was or is connected with the premises, whether or not the tenant or other person has been charged with, has pleaded guilty to or been convicted of, or has been determined to be a delinquent child for an act that, if committed by an adult, would be a violation as described in this division. For purposes of this division, a landlord has "actual knowledge of or has reasonable cause to believe" that a tenant, any person in the tenant's household, or any person on the premises with the consent of the tenant previously has or presently is engaged in a violation as described in this division if a search warrant was issued pursuant to Criminal Rule 41 or Chapter 2933. of the Revised Code; the affidavit presented to obtain the warrant named or described the tenant or person as the individual to be searched and particularly described the tenant's premises as the place to be searched, named or described one or more controlled substances to be searched for and seized, stated substantially the offense under Chapter 2925. or 3719. of the Revised Code or the substantially similar municipal ordinance that occurred in, is occurring in, or otherwise was or is connected with the tenant's premises, and states the factual basis for the affiant's belief that the controlled substances are located on the tenant's premises; the warrant was properly executed by a law enforcement officer and any controlled substance described in the affidavit was found by that officer during the search and seizure; and, subsequent to the search and seizure, the landlord was informed by that or another law enforcement officer of the fact that the tenant or person has or presently is engaged in a violation as described in this division and it occurred in, is occurring in, or otherwise was or is connected with the tenant's premises.

(ii) The landlord gives the tenant the notice required by division (C) of section 5321.17 of the Revised Code.

(b) The court determines, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the tenant, any person in the tenant's household, or any person on the premises with the consent of the tenant previously has or presently is engaged in a violation as described in division (A)(6)(a)(i) of this section.

(7) In cases arising out of Chapter 5313. of the Revised Code. In those cases, the court has the authority to declare a forfeiture of the vendee's rights under a land installment contract and to grant any other claims arising out of the contract.

(8) Against tenants who have breached an obligation that is imposed by section 5321.05 of the Revised Code, other than the obligation specified in division (A)(9) of that section, and that materially affects health and safety. Prior to the commencement of an action under this division, notice shall be given to the tenant and compliance secured with section 5321.11 of the Revised Code.

(9) Against tenants who have breached an obligation imposed upon them by a written rental agreement;

(10) Against manufactured home park residents who have defaulted in the payment of rent or breached the terms of a rental agreement with a manufactured home park operator. Nothing in this division precludes the commencement of an action under division (A)(12) of this section when the additional circumstances described in that division apply.

(11) Against manufactured home park residents who have committed two material violations of the rules of the manufactured home park, of the public health council, or of applicable state and local health and safety codes and who have been notified of the violations in compliance with section 3733.13 of the Revised Code;

(12) Against a manufactured home park resident, or the estate of a manufactured home park resident, who has been absent from the manufactured home park for a period of thirty consecutive days prior to the commencement of an action under this division and whose manufactured home or mobile home, or recreational vehicle that is parked in the manufactured home park, has been left unoccupied for that thirty-day period, without notice to the park operator and without payment of rent due under the rental agreement with the park operator;

(13) Against occupants of self-service storage facilities, as defined in division (A) of section 5322.01 of the Revised Code, who have breached the terms of a rental agreement or violated section 5322.04 of the Revised Code;

(14) Against any resident or occupant who, pursuant to a rental agreement, resides in or occupies residential premises located within one thousand feet of any school premises and to whom both of the following apply:

(a) The resident's or occupant's name appears on the state registry of sex offenders and child-victim offenders maintained under section 2950.13 of the Revised Code.

(b) The state registry of sex offenders and child-victim offenders indicates that the resident or occupant was convicted of or pleaded guilty to either a sexually oriented offense that is not a registration-exempt sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense in a criminal prosecution and was not sentenced to a serious youthful offender dispositional sentence for that offense.

(15) Against any tenant who permits any person to occupy residential premises located within one thousand feet of any school premises if both of the following apply to the person:

(a) The person's name appears on the state registry of sex offenders and child-victim offenders maintained under section 2950.13 of the Revised Code.

(b) The state registry of sex offenders and child-victim offenders indicates that the person was convicted of or pleaded guilty to either a sexually oriented offense that is not a registration-exempt sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense in a criminal prosecution and was not sentenced to a serious youthful offender dispositional sentence for that offense.

(B) If a tenant or manufactured home park resident holding under an oral tenancy is in default in the payment of rent, the tenant or resident forfeits the right of occupancy, and the landlord may, at the landlord's option, terminate the tenancy by notifying the tenant or resident, as provided in section 1923.04 of the Revised Code, to leave the premises, for the restitution of which an action may then be brought under this chapter.

(C)(1) If a tenant or any other person with the tenant's permission resides in or occupies residential premises that are located within one thousand feet of any school premises and is a resident or occupant of the type described in division (A)(14) of this section or a person of the type described in division (A)(15) of this section, the landlord for those residential premises, upon discovery that the tenant or other person is a resident, occupant, or person of that nature, may terminate the rental agreement or tenancy for those residential premises by notifying the tenant and all other occupants, as provided in section 1923.04 of the Revised Code, to leave the premises.

(2) If a landlord is authorized to terminate a rental agreement or tenancy pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section but does not so terminate the rental agreement or tenancy, the landlord is not liable in a tort or other civil action in damages for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly result from that decision.

(D) This chapter does not apply to a student tenant as defined by division (H) of section 5321.01 of the Revised Code when the college or university proceeds to terminate a rental agreement pursuant to section 5321.031 of the Revised Code.

(E) This chapter does not apply to the residential premises of a tenant who is deployed on active duty or of any member of that tenant's immediate family, if the tenant entered into the rental agreement on or after the effective date of this amendment.

(F) As used in this section, "active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 2927.03.  (A) No person, whether or not acting under color of law, shall by force or threat of force willfully injure, intimidate, or interfere with, or attempt to injure, intimidate, or interfere with, any of the following:

(1) Any person because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, national origin, military status as defined in that section, disability as defined in that section, or ancestry and because that person is or has been selling, purchasing, renting, financing, occupying, contracting, or negotiating for the sale, purchase, rental, financing, or occupation of any housing accommodations, or applying for or participating in any service, organization, or facility relating to the business of selling or renting housing accommodations;

(2) Any person because that person is or has been doing, or in order to intimidate that person or any other person or any class of persons from doing, either of the following:

(a) Participating, without discrimination on account of race, color, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, national origin, military status as defined in that section, disability as defined in that section, or ancestry, in any of the activities, services, organizations, or facilities described in division (A)(1) of this section;

(b) Affording another person or class of persons opportunity or protection so to participate.

(3) Any person because that person is or has been, or in order to discourage that person or any other person from, lawfully aiding or encouraging other persons to participate, without discrimination on account of race, color, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, national origin, military status as defined in that section, disability as defined in that section, or ancestry, in any of the activities, services, organizations, or facilities described in division (A)(1) of this section, or participating lawfully in speech or peaceful assembly opposing any denial of the opportunity to so participate.

(B) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Sec. 3313.64.  (A) As used in this section and in section 3313.65 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Parent" means either parent, unless the parents are separated or divorced or their marriage has been dissolved or annulled, in which case "parent" means the parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian of the child. When a child is in the legal custody of a government agency or a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent, "parent" means the parent with residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities. When a child is in the permanent custody of a government agency or a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent, "parent" means the parent who was divested of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of the child and the right to have the child live with the parent and be the legal custodian of the child and all residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities.

(2) "Legal custody," "permanent custody," and "residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities" have the same meanings as in section 2151.011 of the Revised Code.

(3) "School district" or "district" means a city, local, or exempted village school district and excludes any school operated in an institution maintained by the department of youth services.

(4) Except as used in division (C)(2) of this section, "home" means a home, institution, foster home, group home, or other residential facility in this state that receives and cares for children, to which any of the following applies:

(a) The home is licensed, certified, or approved for such purpose by the state or is maintained by the department of youth services.

(b) The home is operated by a person who is licensed, certified, or approved by the state to operate the home for such purpose.

(c) The home accepted the child through a placement by a person licensed, certified, or approved to place a child in such a home by the state.

(d) The home is a children's home created under section 5153.21 or 5153.36 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Agency" means all of the following:

(a) A public children services agency;

(b) An organization that holds a certificate issued by the Ohio department of job and family services in accordance with the requirements of section 5103.03 of the Revised Code and assumes temporary or permanent custody of children through commitment, agreement, or surrender, and places children in family homes for the purpose of adoption;

(c) Comparable agencies of other states or countries that have complied with applicable requirements of section 2151.39, or sections 5103.20 to 5103.28 of the Revised Code.

(6) A child is placed for adoption if either of the following occurs:

(a) An agency to which the child has been permanently committed or surrendered enters into an agreement with a person pursuant to section 5103.16 of the Revised Code for the care and adoption of the child.

(b) The child's natural parent places the child pursuant to section 5103.16 of the Revised Code with a person who will care for and adopt the child.

(7) "Handicapped preschool child" means a handicapped child, as defined by division (A) of section 3323.01 of the Revised Code, who is at least three years of age but is not of compulsory school age, as defined in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code, and who is not currently enrolled in kindergarten.

(8) "Child," unless otherwise indicated, includes handicapped preschool children.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code for admittance to kindergarten and first grade, a child who is at least five but under twenty-two years of age and any handicapped preschool child shall be admitted to school as provided in this division.

(1) A child shall be admitted to the schools of the school district in which the child's parent resides.

(2) A child who does not reside in the district where the child's parent resides shall be admitted to the schools of the district in which the child resides if any of the following applies:

(a) The child is in the legal or permanent custody of a government agency or a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent.

(b) The child resides in a home.

(c) The child requires special education.

(3) A child who is not entitled under division (B)(2) of this section to be admitted to the schools of the district where the child resides and who is residing with a resident of this state with whom the child has been placed for adoption shall be admitted to the schools of the district where the child resides unless either of the following applies:

(a) The placement for adoption has been terminated.

(b) Another school district is required to admit the child under division (B)(1) of this section.

Division (B) of this section does not prohibit the board of education of a school district from placing a handicapped child who resides in the district in a special education program outside of the district or its schools in compliance with Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code.

(C) A district shall not charge tuition for children admitted under division (B)(1) or (3) of this section. If the district admits a child under division (B)(2) of this section, tuition shall be paid to the district that admits the child as follows:

(1) If the child receives special education in accordance with Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code, tuition shall be paid in accordance with section 3323.091, 3323.13, 3323.14, or 3323.141 of the Revised Code regardless of who has custody of the child or whether the child resides in a home.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2)(d) of this section, if the child is in the permanent or legal custody of a government agency or person other than the child's parent, tuition shall be paid by:

(a) The district in which the child's parent resided at the time the court removed the child from home or at the time the court vested legal or permanent custody of the child in the person or government agency, whichever occurred first;

(b) If the parent's residence at the time the court removed the child from home or placed the child in the legal or permanent custody of the person or government agency is unknown, tuition shall be paid by the district in which the child resided at the time the child was removed from home or placed in legal or permanent custody, whichever occurred first;

(c) If a school district cannot be established under division (C)(2)(a) or (b) of this section, tuition shall be paid by the district determined as required by section 2151.357 of the Revised Code by the court at the time it vests custody of the child in the person or government agency;

(d) If at the time the court removed the child from home or vested legal or permanent custody of the child in the person or government agency, whichever occurred first, one parent was in a residential or correctional facility or a juvenile residential placement and the other parent, if living and not in such a facility or placement, was not known to reside in this state, tuition shall be paid by the district determined under division (D) of section 3313.65 of the Revised Code as the district required to pay any tuition while the parent was in such facility or placement.

(3) If the child is not in the permanent or legal custody of a government agency or person other than the child's parent and the child resides in a home, tuition shall be paid by one of the following:

(a) The school district in which the child's parent resides;

(b) If the child's parent is not a resident of this state, the home in which the child resides.

(D) Tuition required to be paid under divisions (C)(2) and (3)(a) of this section shall be computed in accordance with section 3317.08 of the Revised Code. Tuition required to be paid under division (C)(3)(b) of this section shall be computed in accordance with section 3317.081 of the Revised Code. If a home fails to pay the tuition required by division (C)(3)(b) of this section, the board of education providing the education may recover in a civil action the tuition and the expenses incurred in prosecuting the action, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. If the prosecuting attorney or city director of law represents the board in such action, costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded by the court, based upon the prosecuting attorney's, director's, or one of their designee's time spent preparing and presenting the case, shall be deposited in the county or city general fund.

(E) A board of education may enroll a child free of any tuition obligation for a period not to exceed sixty days, on the sworn statement of an adult resident of the district that the resident has initiated legal proceedings for custody of the child.

(F) In the case of any individual entitled to attend school under this division, no tuition shall be charged by the school district of attendance and no other school district shall be required to pay tuition for the individual's attendance. Notwithstanding division (B), (C), or (E) of this section:

(1) All persons at least eighteen but under twenty-two years of age who live apart from their parents, support themselves by their own labor, and have not successfully completed the high school curriculum or the individualized education program developed for the person by the high school pursuant to section 3323.08 of the Revised Code, are entitled to attend school in the district in which they reside.

(2) Any child under eighteen years of age who is married is entitled to attend school in the child's district of residence.

(3) A child is entitled to attend school in the district in which either of the child's parents is employed if the child has a medical condition that may require emergency medical attention. The parent of a child entitled to attend school under division (F)(3) of this section shall submit to the board of education of the district in which the parent is employed a statement from the child's physician certifying that the child's medical condition may require emergency medical attention. The statement shall be supported by such other evidence as the board may require.

(4) Any child residing with a person other than the child's parent is entitled, for a period not to exceed twelve months, to attend school in the district in which that person resides if the child's parent files an affidavit with the superintendent of the district in which the person with whom the child is living resides stating all of the following:

(a) That the parent is serving outside of the state in the armed services of the United States;

(b) That the parent intends to reside in the district upon returning to this state;

(c) The name and address of the person with whom the child is living while the parent is outside the state.

(5) Any child under the age of twenty-two years who, after the death of a parent, resides in a school district other than the district in which the child attended school at the time of the parent's death is entitled to continue to attend school in the district in which the child attended school at the time of the parent's death for the remainder of the school year, subject to approval of that district board.

(6) A child under the age of twenty-two years who resides with a parent who is having a new house built in a school district outside the district where the parent is residing is entitled to attend school for a period of time in the district where the new house is being built. In order to be entitled to such attendance, the parent shall provide the district superintendent with the following:

(a) A sworn statement explaining the situation, revealing the location of the house being built, and stating the parent's intention to reside there upon its completion;

(b) A statement from the builder confirming that a new house is being built for the parent and that the house is at the location indicated in the parent's statement.

(7) A child under the age of twenty-two years residing with a parent who has a contract to purchase a house in a school district outside the district where the parent is residing and who is waiting upon the date of closing of the mortgage loan for the purchase of such house is entitled to attend school for a period of time in the district where the house is being purchased. In order to be entitled to such attendance, the parent shall provide the district superintendent with the following:

(a) A sworn statement explaining the situation, revealing the location of the house being purchased, and stating the parent's intent to reside there;

(b) A statement from a real estate broker or bank officer confirming that the parent has a contract to purchase the house, that the parent is waiting upon the date of closing of the mortgage loan, and that the house is at the location indicated in the parent's statement.

The district superintendent shall establish a period of time not to exceed ninety days during which the child entitled to attend school under division (F)(6) or (7) of this section may attend without tuition obligation. A student attending a school under division (F)(6) or (7) of this section shall be eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics under the auspices of that school, provided the board of education of the school district where the student's parent resides, by a formal action, releases the student to participate in interscholastic athletics at the school where the student is attending, and provided the student receives any authorization required by a public agency or private organization of which the school district is a member exercising authority over interscholastic sports.

(8) A child whose parent is a full-time employee of a city, local, or exempted village school district, or of an educational service center, may be admitted to the schools of the district where the child's parent is employed, or in the case of a child whose parent is employed by an educational service center, in the district that serves the location where the parent's job is primarily located, provided the district board of education establishes such an admission policy by resolution adopted by a majority of its members. Any such policy shall take effect on the first day of the school year and the effective date of any amendment or repeal may not be prior to the first day of the subsequent school year. The policy shall be uniformly applied to all such children and shall provide for the admission of any such child upon request of the parent. No child may be admitted under this policy after the first day of classes of any school year.

(9) A child who is with the child's parent under the care of a shelter for victims of domestic violence, as defined in section 3113.33 of the Revised Code, is entitled to attend school free in the district in which the child is with the child's parent, and no other school district shall be required to pay tuition for the child's attendance in that school district.

The enrollment of a child in a school district under this division shall not be denied due to a delay in the school district's receipt of any records required under section 3313.672 of the Revised Code or any other records required for enrollment. Any days of attendance and any credits earned by a child while enrolled in a school district under this division shall be transferred to and accepted by any school district in which the child subsequently enrolls. The state board of education shall adopt rules to ensure compliance with this division.

(10) Any child under the age of twenty-two years whose parent has moved out of the school district after the commencement of classes in the child's senior year of high school is entitled, subject to the approval of that district board, to attend school in the district in which the child attended school at the time of the parental move for the remainder of the school year and for one additional semester or equivalent term. A district board may also adopt a policy specifying extenuating circumstances under which a student may continue to attend school under division (F)(10) of this section for an additional period of time in order to successfully complete the high school curriculum for the individualized education program developed for the student by the high school pursuant to section 3323.08 of the Revised Code.

(11) As used in this division, "grandparent" means a parent of a parent of a child. A child under the age of twenty-two years who is in the custody of the child's parent, resides with a grandparent, and does not require special education is entitled to attend the schools of the district in which the child's grandparent resides, provided that, prior to such attendance in any school year, the board of education of the school district in which the child's grandparent resides and the board of education of the school district in which the child's parent resides enter into a written agreement specifying that good cause exists for such attendance, describing the nature of this good cause, and consenting to such attendance.

In lieu of a consent form signed by a parent, a board of education may request the grandparent of a child attending school in the district in which the grandparent resides pursuant to division (F)(11) of this section to complete any consent form required by the district, including any authorization required by sections 3313.712, 3313.713, and 3313.716 of the Revised Code. Upon request, the grandparent shall complete any consent form required by the district. A school district shall not incur any liability solely because of its receipt of a consent form from a grandparent in lieu of a parent.

Division (F)(11) of this section does not create, and shall not be construed as creating, a new cause of action or substantive legal right against a school district, a member of a board of education, or an employee of a school district. This section does not affect, and shall not be construed as affecting, any immunities from defenses to tort liability created or recognized by Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code for a school district, member, or employee.

(12) A child under the age of twenty-two years is entitled to attend school in a school district other than the district in which the child is entitled to attend school under division (B), (C), or (E) of this section provided that, prior to such attendance in any school year, both of the following occur:

(a) The superintendent of the district in which the child is entitled to attend school under division (B), (C), or (E) of this section contacts the superintendent of another district for purposes of this division;

(b) The superintendents of both districts enter into a written agreement that consents to the attendance and specifies that the purpose of such attendance is to protect the student's physical or mental well-being or to deal with other extenuating circumstances deemed appropriate by the superintendents.

While an agreement is in effect under this division for a student who is not receiving special education under Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code and notwithstanding Chapter 3327. of the Revised Code, the board of education of neither school district involved in the agreement is required to provide transportation for the student to and from the school where the student attends.

A student attending a school of a district pursuant to this division shall be allowed to participate in all student activities, including interscholastic athletics, at the school where the student is attending on the same basis as any student who has always attended the schools of that district while of compulsory school age.

(13) All school districts shall comply with the "McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act," 42 U.S.C.A. 11431 et seq., for the education of homeless children. Each city, local, and exempted village school district shall comply with the requirements of that act governing the provision of a free, appropriate public education, including public preschool, to each homeless child.

When a child loses permanent housing and becomes a homeless person, as defined in 42 U.S.C.A. 11481(5), or when a child who is such a homeless person changes temporary living arrangements, the child's parent or guardian shall have the option of enrolling the child in either of the following:

(a) The child's school of origin, as defined in 42 U.S.C.A. 11432(g)(3)(C);

(b) The school that is operated by the school district in which the shelter where the child currently resides is located and that serves the geographic area in which the shelter is located.

(G) A board of education, after approving admission, may waive tuition for students who will temporarily reside in the district and who are either of the following:

(1) Residents or domiciliaries of a foreign nation who request admission as foreign exchange students;

(2) Residents or domiciliaries of the United States but not of Ohio who request admission as participants in an exchange program operated by a student exchange organization.

(H) Pursuant to sections 3311.211, 3313.90, 3319.01, 3323.04, 3327.04, and 3327.06 of the Revised Code, a child may attend school or participate in a special education program in a school district other than in the district where the child is entitled to attend school under division (B) of this section.

(I)(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code, a child under twenty-two years of age may attend school in the school district in which the child, at the end of the first full week of October of the school year, was entitled to attend school as otherwise provided under this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code, if at that time the child was enrolled in the schools of the district but since that time the child or the child's parent has relocated to a new address located outside of that school district and within the same county as the child's or parent's address immediately prior to the relocation. The child may continue to attend school in the district, and at the school to which the child was assigned at the end of the first full week of October of the current school year, for the balance of the school year. Division (I)(1) of this section applies only if both of the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) The board of education of the school district in which the child was entitled to attend school at the end of the first full week in October and of the district to which the child or child's parent has relocated each has adopted a policy to enroll children described in division (I)(1) of this section.

(b) The child's parent provides written notification of the relocation outside of the school district to the superintendent of each of the two school districts.

(2) At the beginning of the school year following the school year in which the child or the child's parent relocated outside of the school district as described in division (I)(1) of this section, the child is not entitled to attend school in the school district under that division.

(3) Any person or entity owing tuition to the school district on behalf of the child at the end of the first full week in October, as provided in division (C) of this section, shall continue to owe such tuition to the district for the child's attendance under division (I)(1) of this section for the lesser of the balance of the school year or the balance of the time that the child attends school in the district under division (I)(1) of this section.

(4) A pupil who may attend school in the district under division (I)(1) of this section shall be entitled to transportation services pursuant to an agreement between the district and the district in which the child or child's parent has relocated unless the districts have not entered into such agreement, in which case the child shall be entitled to transportation services in the same manner as a pupil attending school in the district under interdistrict open enrollment as described in division (H) of section 3313.981 of the Revised Code, regardless of whether the district has adopted an open enrollment policy as described in division (B)(1)(b) or (c) of section 3313.98 of the Revised Code.

(J) This division does not apply to a child receiving special education.

A school district required to pay tuition pursuant to division (C)(2) or (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code shall have an amount deducted under division (F) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code equal to its own tuition rate for the same period of attendance. A school district entitled to receive tuition pursuant to division (C)(2) or (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code shall have an amount credited under division (F) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code equal to its own tuition rate for the same period of attendance. If the tuition rate credited to the district of attendance exceeds the rate deducted from the district required to pay tuition, the department of education shall pay the district of attendance the difference from amounts deducted from all districts' payments under division (F) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code but not credited to other school districts under such division and from appropriations made for such purpose. The treasurer of each school district shall, by the fifteenth day of January and July, furnish the superintendent of public instruction a report of the names of each child who attended the district's schools under divisions (C)(2) and (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code during the preceding six calendar months, the duration of the attendance of those children, the school district responsible for tuition on behalf of the child, and any other information that the superintendent requires.

Upon receipt of the report the superintendent, pursuant to division (F) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code, shall deduct each district's tuition obligations under divisions (C)(2) and (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code and pay to the district of attendance that amount plus any amount required to be paid by the state.

(K) In the event of a disagreement, the superintendent of public instruction shall determine the school district in which the parent resides.

(L) Nothing in this section requires or authorizes, or shall be construed to require or authorize, the admission to a public school in this state of a pupil who has been permanently excluded from public school attendance by the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to sections 3301.121 and 3313.662 of the Revised Code.

(M) In accordance with division (B)(1) of this section, a child whose parent is a member of the national guard or a reserve unit of the armed forces of the United States and is called into active duty, or a child whose parent is a member of the armed forces of the United States and is ordered to a temporary duty assignment outside of the district, may continue to attend school in the district in which the child's parent lived before being called into active duty or ordered to a temporary duty assignment outside of the district, as long as the child's parent continues to be a resident of that district, and regardless of where the child lives as a result of the parent's active duty status or temporary duty assignment. However, the district is not responsible for providing transportation for the child if the child lives outside of the district as a result of the parent's active duty status or temporary duty assignment. As used in this division, "active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3332.20. As used in this section, "active duty" means full-time duty in the active military service of the United States, including full-time training duty, annual training duty, and active state duty for members of the national guard.

(A) Each institution that holds a certificate of registration from the state board of career colleges and schools under this chapter shall grant a student a military leave of absence from the institution while the student is serving on active duty, and for one year after the conclusion of that service, if the student is a member of the United States national guard or other reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, or a member of those armed forces in a retired status, and is called to active duty. The student shall not suffer an academic penalty as a result of the leave of absence.

(B) If requested by a student granted a military leave of absence pursuant to division (A) of this section not later than one year after the student's release from active duty, the institution in which the student is enrolled shall do either of the following, as elected by the student:

(1) Credit tuition and fee charges toward a subsequent academic term in an amount that is one hundred per cent of what the student paid the institution for the academic term in which the student withdraws;

(2) Refund tuition and fees paid for the academic term, provided the student withdraws before the withdraw date established by the institution. The refund shall equal one hundred per cent of the tuition and fee charges the student paid the institution for the academic term. If the student withdraws after the withdraw date established by the institution, the student is ineligible for a refund of tuition and fee charges. For the purposes of this section, the "withdraw date" shall be the same as the date set by the institution for its general student population to withdraw from the institution or a course or class without academic penalty.

(C) If requested by a student granted a military leave of absence pursuant to division (A) of this section not later than one year after the student's release from active duty, the institution shall restore the student to the educational status the student had attained prior to being called to active duty without loss of academic credits earned, scholarships or grants awarded, or tuition and other fees paid prior to the commencement of active duty, except as provided in division (B) of this section.

(D) If an institution fails to comply with this section, the student may bring an action against the institution to enforce its provisions in the court of common pleas of the county in which the student resides. If the student resides outside of this state, the action shall be brought in the court of common pleas of the county in which the campus of the institution previously attended by the student is located. The court may award reasonable attorney's fees and expenses if the student prevails in the action.

Sec. 3345.53. As used in this section, "active duty" means full-time duty in the active military service of the United States, including full-time training duty, annual training duty, and active state duty for members of the national guard.

(A) Each state institution of higher education, as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, shall grant a student a military leave of absence from the institution while the student is serving on active duty, and for one year after the conclusion of that service, if the student is a member of the United States national guard or other reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, or a member of those armed forces in a retired status, and is called to active duty. The student shall not suffer an academic penalty as a result of the leave of absence.

(B) If requested by a student granted a military leave of absence pursuant to division (A) of this section not later than one year after the student's release from active duty, the state institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled shall do either of the following, as elected by the student:

(1) Credit tuition and fee charges toward a subsequent academic term in an amount that is one hundred per cent of what the student paid the institution for the academic term in which the student withdraws;

(2) Refund tuition and fees paid for the academic term, provided the student withdraws before the withdraw date established by the institution. The refund shall equal one hundred per cent of the tuition and fee charges the student paid the institution for the academic term. If the student withdraws after the withdraw date established by the institution, the student is ineligible for a refund of tuition and fee charges. For the purposes of this section, the "withdraw date" shall be the same as the date set by the institution for its general student population to withdraw from the institution or a course or class without academic penalty.

(C) If requested by a student granted a military leave of absence pursuant to division (A) of this section not later than one year after the student's release from active duty, the state institution of higher education shall restore the student to the educational status the student had attained prior to being called to active duty without loss of academic credits earned, scholarships or grants awarded, or tuition and other fees paid prior to the commencement of active duty, except as provided in division (B) of this section.

(D) If a state institution of higher education fails to comply with this section, the student may bring an action against the institution to enforce its provisions in the court of claims. The court may award reasonable attorney's fees and expenses if the student prevails in the action.

Sec. 3915.05.  No policy of life insurance shall be issued or delivered in this state or be issued by a life insurance company organized under the laws of this state unless such policy contains:

(A) A provision that all premiums shall be payable in advance, either at the home office of the company or to an agent of the company, upon delivery of a receipt signed by one or more of the officers named in the policy;

(B) A provision for a grace of one month for the payment of every premium after the first, which extension period may be subject to an interest charge and during which month the insurance shall continue in force, which provision may contain a stipulation that if the insured dies during the month of grace the overdue premium will be deducted in any settlement under the policy;

(C) A provision that the policy and the application therefor, a copy of which application must be indorsed on the policy, shall constitute the entire contract between the parties and shall be incontestable after it has been in force during the lifetime of the insured for a period of not more than two years from its date, except for nonpayment of premiums, except for violations of the conditions relating to naval or military service in time of war or to aeronautics, and except at the option of the company, with respect to provisions relative to benefits in the event of total and permanent disability and provisions which grant additional insurance specifically against death by accident or by accidental means;

(D) A provision that all statements made by the insured in the application shall, in the absence of fraud, be deemed representations and not warranties;

(E) A provision that if the age of the insured has been understated the amount payable under the policy shall be such as the premium would have purchased at the correct age;

(F) A provision that the policy shall participate in the surplus of the company and that, beginning not later than the end of the third policy year, the company will annually determine and account for the portion of the divisible surplus accruing on the policy, and that the owner of the policy has the right each year to have the current dividend arising from such participation paid in cash or applied to the purchase of paid-up additions, and if the policy provides other dividend options, it shall further provide that if the owner of the policy does not elect any such other option the dividend shall be applied to the purchase of paid-up additions.

In lieu of such provision, the policy may contain a provision that:

(1) The policy shall participate in the surplus of the company;

(2) Beginning not later than the end of the fifth policy year, the company will determine and account for the portion of the divisible surplus accruing on the policy;

(3) The owner of the policy has the right to have the current dividend arising from such participation paid in cash;

(4) Such accounting and payment shall be had at periods of not more than five years, at the option of the policyholder.

Renewable term policies of ten years or less may provide that the surplus accruing to such policies shall be determined and apportioned each year after the second policy year and accumulated during each renewal period, and that at the end of any renewal period, on renewal of the policy by the insured, the company shall apply the accumulated surplus as an annuity for the next succeeding renewal term in the reduction of premiums.

The provisions described in this division are not required in nonparticipating policies.

(G) A provision that after three full years' premiums have been paid, the company, at any time while the policy is in force, will advance, on proper assignment of the policy and on the sole security thereof, at a rate of interest calculated pursuant to section 3915.051 of the Revised Code, a sum equal to, or at the option of the owner of the policy, less than, the amount required by section 3915.08 of the Revised Code under the conditions specified in said that section, and that the company will deduct from such loan value any indebtedness not already deducted in determining such value and any unpaid balance of the premium for the current policy year, and may collect interest in advance on the loan to the end of the current policy year. It shall be further stipulated in the policy that failure to repay any such advance or to pay interest does not avoid void the policy unless the total indebtedness thereon to the company equals or exceeds such loan value at the time of such failure nor until one month after notice has been mailed by the company to the last known address of insured and of the assignee.

No conditions, other than as provided in this division or in section 3915.08 of the Revised Code, shall be exacted as a prerequisite to any such advance.

This provision is not required in term insurance nor does it apply to any form of insurance granted as a nonforfeiture benefit.

(H) A provision for nonforfeiture benefits and cash surrender values in accordance with the requirements of section 3915.06, 3915.07, or 3915.071 of the Revised Code;

(I) Except for policies which guarantee unscheduled changes in benefits upon the happening of specified events or upon the exercise of an option without change to a new policy, a table showing in figures the loan values and the options available under the policies each year upon default in premium payments, during at least the first twenty years of the policy;

(J) A provision that if, in the event of default in premium payments, the value of the policy is applied to the purchase of other insurance, and if such insurance is in force and the original policy has not been surrendered to the company and canceled, the policy may be reinstated within three years from such default, upon evidence of insurability satisfactory to the company and payment of arrears of premiums with interest;

(K) A provision that when a policy becomes a claim by the death of the insured, settlement shall be made upon receipt of due proof of death, or not later than two months after receipt of such proof;

(L) A table showing the amounts of installments in which the policy provides its proceeds may be payable;

(M) A title on its face and back, correctly describing such policy;

(N) Notwithstanding division (C) of this section, a provision that the policy shall not lapse or be voided for nonpayment of premiums while the insured, a reservist as defined in section 3923.381 of the Revised Code, is on active duty as a result of being called or ordered to active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code. The policy remains in force during the insured's period of active duty, and shall continue in force thereafter, if all premiums due on the policy at the end of the insured's period of active duty are paid within forty-five days after the end of the insured's active duty. The company may enforce policy provisions relating to naval or military service in time of war.

Any of the provisions described in this section or portions thereof, relating to premiums not applicable to single premium policies, shall to that extent not be incorporated in such policies.

Sec. 3917.06.  No policy of group life insurance shall be issued or delivered in this state until a copy of its form has been filed with the superintendent of insurance and formally approved by the superintendent; nor shall such policy be so issued or delivered unless it contains in substance the following provisions:

(A) A provision that the policyholder is entitled to a grace period of thirty-one days for the payment of any premiums due except the first during which grace period the death benefit coverage shall continue in force, unless the policyholder has given the insurer written notice of discontinuance in advance of the date of discontinuance and in accordance with the terms of the policy; the policy may provide that the policyholder is liable to the insurer for the payment of a pro rata premium for the time the policy was in force during such grace period;

(B) A provision that the policy is incontestable after two years from its date of issue, except for nonpayment of premiums and except for violation of the conditions of the policy relating to military or naval service in time of war;

(C) A provision that the policy and the application submitted in connection therewith constitute the entire contract between the parties, and that all statements contained in such application are deemed, in the absence of fraud, representations and not warranties, and that no such statement shall be used in defense to a claim under the policy, unless it is contained in a written application;

(D) A provision for the equitable adjustment of the premium or the amount of insurance payable in the event of a misstatement of the age of an employee or other person whose life is insured under a group life policy;

(E) Except in the case of a policy described in division (B)(4) of section 3917.01 of the Revised Code, a provision that the company will issue to the policyholder for delivery to each person whose life is insured under such policy, an individual certificate setting forth a statement as to the insurance protection to which the person is entitled, to whom payable, together with provision to the effect that in case of the termination of the employment for any reason or of membership in the classes eligible for insurance under the policy, such person is entitled to have issued to the person by the company, without evidence of insurability, and upon application made to the company within thirty-one days after such termination, and upon the payment of the premium applicable to the class of risk to which the person belongs and to the form and amount of the policy at the person's then attained age, either a policy of life insurance in any one of the forms customarily issued by the company, except term insurance, in any amount not in excess of the amount of the person's protection under the group insurance policy at the time of the termination, as the person elects or, if applicable, the coverage described in division (B)(12) of section 3917.01 of the Revised Code;

(F) A provision that if the group policy terminates or is amended so as to terminate the insurance of any class of insured persons, every person insured thereunder at the date of such termination whose insurance terminates and who has been so insured for at least five years prior to such termination date is entitled to have issued to the person by the insurer an individual policy of life insurance, subject to the same conditions as are provided by division (E) of this section, except that the group policy may provide that the amount of such individual policy shall not exceed the smaller of (1) the amount of the person's life insurance protection ceasing because of the termination or amendment of the group policy, less the amount of any life insurance for which the person is or becomes eligible under any group policy issued or reinstated by the same or another insurer within thirty-one days after such termination, and (2) two thousand dollars;

(G) A provision that if a person insured under the group policy dies during the period within which the person would have been entitled to have an individual policy issued to the person in accordance with division (E) or (F) of this section, and before such an individual policy has become effective, the amount of life insurance which the person would have been entitled to have issued to the person under such individual policy shall be payable as a claim under the group policy, whether or not application for the individual policy or the payment of the first premium therefor has been made;

(H) A provision that to the group or class of persons originally insured there shall be added from time to time all new employees of the employer or other persons eligible to insurance in such group or class;

(I) In the case of a policy issued to a labor union covering all members of the union, a notice that the annual renewable term premium depends upon the attained ages of the members in the group and increases with advancing ages;

(J) Notwithstanding division (B) of this section, a provision that the policy shall not lapse or be voided for nonpayment of premiums while the insured, a reservist as defined in section 3923.381 of the Revised Code, is on active duty as a result of being called or ordered to active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code. The policy remains in force during the insured's period of active duty, and shall continue in force thereafter, if all premiums due on the policy at the end of the insured's period of active duty are paid within forty-five days after the end of the insured's active duty. The company may enforce policy provisions relating to naval or military service in time of war.

Policies of group life insurance, when issued in this state by any company not organized under the laws of this state, may contain, when issued, any provision required by the law of the state, territory, or district of the United States under which the company is organized; and policies issued in other states or countries by companies organized in this state, may contain any provision required or permitted by the laws of the state, territory, district, or country in which the same are issued. Any such policy may be issued or delivered in this state which in the opinion of the superintendent contains provisions on any one or more of the requirements of this section more favorable to the policyholder or to the person whose life is insured under such policy than such requirements.

The group life insurance policy together with any application in connection therewith shall be available for inspection during regular business hours at the office of the policyholder where such policy is on file, by any beneficiary thereunder or by an authorized representative of such beneficiary.

Except as provided in sections 3917.01 to 3917.06 of the Revised Code, no contract of life insurance shall be made covering a group in this state.

Sec. 4112.01.  (A) As used in this chapter:

(1) "Person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, organizations, corporations, legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers, and other organized groups of persons. "Person" also includes, but is not limited to, any owner, lessor, assignor, builder, manager, broker, salesperson, appraiser, agent, employee, lending institution, and the state and all political subdivisions, authorities, agencies, boards, and commissions of the state.

(2) "Employer" includes the state, any political subdivision of the state, any person employing four or more persons within the state, and any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer.

(3) "Employee" means an individual employed by any employer but does not include any individual employed in the domestic service of any person.

(4) "Labor organization" includes any organization that exists, in whole or in part, for the purpose of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or other mutual aid or protection in relation to employment.

(5) "Employment agency" includes any person regularly undertaking, with or without compensation, to procure opportunities to work or to procure, recruit, refer, or place employees.

(6) "Commission" means the Ohio civil rights commission created by section 4112.03 of the Revised Code.

(7) "Discriminate" includes segregate or separate.

(8) "Unlawful discriminatory practice" means any act prohibited by section 4112.02, 4112.021, or 4112.022 of the Revised Code.

(9) "Place of public accommodation" means any inn, restaurant, eating house, barbershop, public conveyance by air, land, or water, theater, store, other place for the sale of merchandise, or any other place of public accommodation or amusement of which the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges are available to the public.

(10) "Housing accommodations" includes any building or structure, or portion of a building or structure, that is used or occupied or is intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied as the home residence, dwelling, dwelling unit, or sleeping place of one or more individuals, groups, or families whether or not living independently of each other; and any vacant land offered for sale or lease. "Housing accommodations" also includes any housing accommodations held or offered for sale or rent by a real estate broker, salesperson, or agent, by any other person pursuant to authorization of the owner, by the owner, or by the owner's legal representative.

(11) "Restrictive covenant" means any specification limiting the transfer, rental, lease, or other use of any housing accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, or ancestry, or any limitation based upon affiliation with or approval by any person, directly or indirectly, employing race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, or ancestry as a condition of affiliation or approval.

(12) "Burial lot" means any lot for the burial of deceased persons within any public burial ground or cemetery, including, but not limited to, cemeteries owned and operated by municipal corporations, townships, or companies or associations incorporated for cemetery purposes.

(13) "Disability" means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, including the functions of caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working; a record of a physical or mental impairment; or being regarded as having a physical or mental impairment.

(14) Except as otherwise provided in section 4112.021 of the Revised Code, "age" means at least forty years old.

(15) "Familial status" means either of the following:

(a) One or more individuals who are under eighteen years of age and who are domiciled with a parent or guardian having legal custody of the individual or domiciled, with the written permission of the parent or guardian having legal custody, with a designee of the parent or guardian;

(b) Any person who is pregnant or in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who is under eighteen years of age.

(16)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(16)(b) of this section, "physical or mental impairment" includes any of the following:

(i) Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine;

(ii) Any mental or psychological disorder, including, but not limited to, mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities;

(iii) Diseases and conditions, including, but not limited to, orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, human immunodeficiency virus infection, mental retardation, emotional illness, drug addiction, and alcoholism.

(b) "Physical or mental impairment" does not include any of the following:

(i) Homosexuality and bisexuality;

(ii) Transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders;

(iii) Compulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromania;

(iv) Psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from current illegal use of a controlled substance.

(17) "Dwelling unit" means a single unit of residence for a family of one or more persons.

(18) "Common use areas" means rooms, spaces, or elements inside or outside a building that are made available for the use of residents of the building or their guests, and includes, but is not limited to, hallways, lounges, lobbies, laundry rooms, refuse rooms, mail rooms, recreational areas, and passageways among and between buildings.

(19) "Public use areas" means interior or exterior rooms or spaces of a privately or publicly owned building that are made available to the general public.

(20) "Controlled substance" has the same meaning as in section 3719.01 of the Revised Code.

(21) "Disabled tenant" means a tenant or prospective tenant who is a person with a disability.

(22) "Military status" means a person's status in "service in the uniformed services" as defined in section 5903.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) For the purposes of divisions (A) to (F) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, the terms "because of sex" and "on the basis of sex" include, but are not limited to, because of or on the basis of pregnancy, any illness arising out of and occurring during the course of a pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment-related purposes, including receipt of benefits under fringe benefit programs, as other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work, and nothing in division (B) of section 4111.17 of the Revised Code shall be interpreted to permit otherwise. This division shall not be construed to require an employer to pay for health insurance benefits for abortion, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or except where medical complications have arisen from the abortion, provided that nothing in this division precludes an employer from providing abortion benefits or otherwise affects bargaining agreements in regard to abortion.

Sec. 4112.02.  It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice:

(A) For any employer, because of the race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of any person, to discharge without just cause, to refuse to hire, or otherwise to discriminate against that person with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment.

(B) For an employment agency or personnel placement service, because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry, to do any of the following:

(1) Refuse or fail to accept, register, classify properly, or refer for employment, or otherwise discriminate against any person;

(2) Comply with a request from an employer for referral of applicants for employment if the request directly or indirectly indicates that the employer fails to comply with the provisions of sections 4112.01 to 4112.07 of the Revised Code.

(C) For any labor organization to do any of the following:

(1) Limit or classify its membership on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry;

(2) Discriminate against, limit the employment opportunities of, or otherwise adversely affect the employment status, wages, hours, or employment conditions of any person as an employee because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry.

(D) For any employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprentice training programs to discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, or ancestry in admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprentice training.

(E) Except where based on a bona fide occupational qualification certified in advance by the commission, for any employer, employment agency, personnel placement service, or labor organization, prior to employment or admission to membership, to do any of the following:

(1) Elicit or attempt to elicit any information concerning the race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of an applicant for employment or membership;

(2) Make or keep a record of the race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of any applicant for employment or membership;

(3) Use any form of application for employment, or personnel or membership blank, seeking to elicit information regarding race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry; but an employer holding a contract containing a nondiscrimination clause with the government of the United States, or any department or agency of that government, may require an employee or applicant for employment to furnish documentary proof of United States citizenship and may retain that proof in the employer's personnel records and may use photographic or fingerprint identification for security purposes;

(4) Print or publish or cause to be printed or published any notice or advertisement relating to employment or membership indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination, based upon race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry;

(5) Announce or follow a policy of denying or limiting, through a quota system or otherwise, employment or membership opportunities of any group because of the race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of that group;

(6) Utilize in the recruitment or hiring of persons any employment agency, personnel placement service, training school or center, labor organization, or any other employee-referring source known to discriminate against persons because of their race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry.

(F) For any person seeking employment to publish or cause to be published any advertisement that specifies or in any manner indicates that person's race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry, or expresses a limitation or preference as to the race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of any prospective employer.

(G) For any proprietor or any employee, keeper, or manager of a place of public accommodation to deny to any person, except for reasons applicable alike to all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry, the full enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of the place of public accommodation.

(H) For any person to do any of the following:

(1) Refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease, or finance housing accommodations, refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, or otherwise deny or make unavailable housing accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin;

(2) Represent to any person that housing accommodations are not available for inspection, sale, or rental, when in fact they are available, because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin;

(3) Discriminate against any person in the making or purchasing of loans or the provision of other financial assistance for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing accommodations, or any person in the making or purchasing of loans or the provision of other financial assistance that is secured by residential real estate, because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the housing accommodations are located, provided that the person, whether an individual, corporation, or association of any type, lends money as one of the principal aspects or incident to the person's principal business and not only as a part of the purchase price of an owner-occupied residence the person is selling nor merely casually or occasionally to a relative or friend;

(4) Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of selling, transferring, assigning, renting, leasing, or subleasing any housing accommodations or in furnishing facilities, services, or privileges in connection with the ownership, occupancy, or use of any housing accommodations, including the sale of fire, extended coverage, or homeowners insurance, because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the housing accommodations are located;

(5) Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of any loan of money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the housing accommodations are located;

(6) Refuse to consider without prejudice the combined income of both husband and wife for the purpose of extending mortgage credit to a married couple or either member of a married couple;

(7) Print, publish, or circulate any statement or advertisement, or make or cause to be made any statement or advertisement, relating to the sale, transfer, assignment, rental, lease, sublease, or acquisition of any housing accommodations, or relating to the loan of money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing accommodations, that indicates any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination;

(8) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(8) or (17) of this section, make any inquiry, elicit any information, make or keep any record, or use any form of application containing questions or entries concerning race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin in connection with the sale or lease of any housing accommodations or the loan of any money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing accommodations. Any person may make inquiries, and make and keep records, concerning race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin for the purpose of monitoring compliance with this chapter.

(9) Include in any transfer, rental, or lease of housing accommodations any restrictive covenant, or honor or exercise, or attempt to honor or exercise, any restrictive covenant;

(10) Induce or solicit, or attempt to induce or solicit, a housing accommodations listing, sale, or transaction by representing that a change has occurred or may occur with respect to the racial, religious, sexual, military status, familial status, or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood, or other area in which the housing accommodations are located, or induce or solicit, or attempt to induce or solicit, a housing accommodations listing, sale, or transaction by representing that the presence or anticipated presence of persons of any race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin, in the block, neighborhood, or other area will or may have results including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) The lowering of property values;

(b) A change in the racial, religious, sexual, military status, familial status, or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood, or other area;

(c) An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the block, neighborhood, or other area;

(d) A decline in the quality of the schools serving the block, neighborhood, or other area.

(11) Deny any person access to or membership or participation in any multiple-listing service, real estate brokers' organization, or other service, organization, or facility relating to the business of selling or renting housing accommodations, or discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of that access, membership, or participation, on account of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, or ancestry;

(12) Coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of that person's having exercised or enjoyed or having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by division (H) of this section;

(13) Discourage or attempt to discourage the purchase by a prospective purchaser of housing accommodations, by representing that any block, neighborhood, or other area has undergone or might undergo a change with respect to its religious, racial, sexual, military status, familial status, or ethnic composition;

(14) Refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease, or finance, or otherwise deny or withhold, a burial lot from any person because of the race, color, sex, military status, familial status, age, ancestry, disability, or national origin of any prospective owner or user of the lot;

(15) Discriminate in the sale or rental of, or otherwise make unavailable or deny, housing accommodations to any buyer or renter because of a disability of any of the following:

(a) The buyer or renter;

(b) A person residing in or intending to reside in the housing accommodations after they are sold, rented, or made available;

(c) Any individual associated with the person described in division (H)(15)(b) of this section.

(16) Discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale or rental of housing accommodations to any person or in the provision of services or facilities to any person in connection with the housing accommodations because of a disability of any of the following:

(a) That person;

(b) A person residing in or intending to reside in the housing accommodations after they are sold, rented, or made available;

(c) Any individual associated with the person described in division (H)(16)(b) of this section.

(17) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(17) of this section, make an inquiry to determine whether an applicant for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, a person residing in or intending to reside in the housing accommodations after they are sold, rented, or made available, or any individual associated with that person has a disability, or make an inquiry to determine the nature or severity of a disability of the applicant or such a person or individual. The following inquiries may be made of all applicants for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, regardless of whether they have disabilities:

(a) An inquiry into an applicant's ability to meet the requirements of ownership or tenancy;

(b) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant is qualified for housing accommodations available only to persons with disabilities or persons with a particular type of disability;

(c) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant is qualified for a priority available to persons with disabilities or persons with a particular type of disability;

(d) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant currently uses a controlled substance in violation of section 2925.11 of the Revised Code or a substantively comparable municipal ordinance;

(e) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant at any time has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any offense, an element of which is the illegal sale, offer to sell, cultivation, manufacture, other production, shipment, transportation, delivery, or other distribution of a controlled substance.

(18)(a) Refuse to permit, at the expense of a person with a disability, reasonable modifications of existing housing accommodations that are occupied or to be occupied by the person with a disability, if the modifications may be necessary to afford the person with a disability full enjoyment of the housing accommodations. This division does not preclude a landlord of housing accommodations that are rented or to be rented to a disabled tenant from conditioning permission for a proposed modification upon the disabled tenant's doing one or more of the following:

(i) Providing a reasonable description of the proposed modification and reasonable assurances that the proposed modification will be made in a workerlike manner and that any required building permits will be obtained prior to the commencement of the proposed modification;

(ii) Agreeing to restore at the end of the tenancy the interior of the housing accommodations to the condition they were in prior to the proposed modification, but subject to reasonable wear and tear during the period of occupancy, if it is reasonable for the landlord to condition permission for the proposed modification upon the agreement;

(iii) Paying into an interest-bearing escrow account that is in the landlord's name, over a reasonable period of time, a reasonable amount of money not to exceed the projected costs at the end of the tenancy of the restoration of the interior of the housing accommodations to the condition they were in prior to the proposed modification, but subject to reasonable wear and tear during the period of occupancy, if the landlord finds the account reasonably necessary to ensure the availability of funds for the restoration work. The interest earned in connection with an escrow account described in this division shall accrue to the benefit of the disabled tenant who makes payments into the account.

(b) A landlord shall not condition permission for a proposed modification upon a disabled tenant's payment of a security deposit that exceeds the customarily required security deposit of all tenants of the particular housing accommodations.

(19) Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit, including associated public and common use areas;

(20) Fail to comply with the standards and rules adopted under division (A) of section 3781.111 of the Revised Code;

(21) Discriminate against any person in the selling, brokering, or appraising of real property because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin;

(22) Fail to design and construct covered multifamily dwellings for first occupancy on or after June 30, 1992, in accordance with the following conditions:

(a) The dwellings shall have at least one building entrance on an accessible route, unless it is impractical to do so because of the terrain or unusual characteristics of the site.

(b) With respect to dwellings that have a building entrance on an accessible route, all of the following apply:

(i) The public use areas and common use areas of the dwellings shall be readily accessible to and usable by persons with a disability.

(ii) All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises shall be sufficiently wide to allow passage by persons with a disability who are in wheelchairs.

(iii) All premises within covered multifamily dwelling units shall contain an accessible route into and through the dwelling; all light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental controls within such units shall be in accessible locations; the bathroom walls within such units shall contain reinforcements to allow later installation of grab bars; and the kitchens and bathrooms within such units shall be designed and constructed in a manner that enables an individual in a wheelchair to maneuver about such rooms.

For purposes of division (H)(22) of this section, "covered multifamily dwellings" means buildings consisting of four or more units if such buildings have one or more elevators and ground floor units in other buildings consisting of four or more units.

(I) For any person to discriminate in any manner against any other person because that person has opposed any unlawful discriminatory practice defined in this section or because that person has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing under sections 4112.01 to 4112.07 of the Revised Code.

(J) For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any act declared by this section to be an unlawful discriminatory practice, to obstruct or prevent any person from complying with this chapter or any order issued under it, or to attempt directly or indirectly to commit any act declared by this section to be an unlawful discriminatory practice.

(K)(1) Nothing in division (H) of this section shall bar any religious or denominational institution or organization, or any nonprofit charitable or educational organization that is operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization, from limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of housing accommodations that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion, or from giving preference in the sale, rental, or occupancy of such housing accommodations to persons of the same religion, unless membership in the religion is restricted on account of race, color, or national origin.

(2) Nothing in division (H) of this section shall bar any bona fide private or fraternal organization that, incidental to its primary purpose, owns or operates lodgings for other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of the lodgings to its members or from giving preference to its members.

(3) Nothing in division (H) of this section limits the applicability of any reasonable local, state, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy housing accommodations. Nothing in that division prohibits the owners or managers of housing accommodations from implementing reasonable occupancy standards based on the number and size of sleeping areas or bedrooms and the overall size of a dwelling unit, provided that the standards are not implemented to circumvent the purposes of this chapter and are formulated, implemented, and interpreted in a manner consistent with this chapter and any applicable local, state, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy housing accommodations.

(4) Nothing in division (H) of this section requires that housing accommodations be made available to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.

(5) Nothing in division (H) of this section pertaining to discrimination on the basis of familial status shall be construed to apply to any of the following:

(a) Housing accommodations provided under any state or federal program that have been determined under the "Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 1623, 42 U.S.C.A. 3607, as amended, to be specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons;

(b) Housing accommodations intended for and solely occupied by persons who are sixty-two years of age or older;

(c) Housing accommodations intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person who is fifty-five years of age or older per unit, as determined under the "Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 1623, 42 U.S.C.A. 3607, as amended.

(L) Nothing in divisions (A) to (E) of this section shall be construed to require a person with a disability to be employed or trained under circumstances that would significantly increase the occupational hazards affecting either the person with a disability, other employees, the general public, or the facilities in which the work is to be performed, or to require the employment or training of a person with a disability in a job that requires the person with a disability routinely to undertake any task, the performance of which is substantially and inherently impaired by the person's disability.

(M) Nothing in divisions (H)(1) to (18) of this section shall be construed to require any person selling or renting property to modify the property in any way or to exercise a higher degree of care for a person with a disability, to relieve any person with a disability of any obligation generally imposed on all persons regardless of disability in a written lease, rental agreement, or contract of purchase or sale, or to forbid distinctions based on the inability to fulfill the terms and conditions, including financial obligations, of the lease, agreement, or contract.

(N) An aggrieved individual may enforce the individual's rights relative to discrimination on the basis of age as provided for in this section by instituting a civil action, within one hundred eighty days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred, in any court with jurisdiction for any legal or equitable relief that will effectuate the individual's rights.

A person who files a civil action under this division is barred, with respect to the practices complained of, from instituting a civil action under section 4112.14 of the Revised Code and from filing a charge with the commission under section 4112.05 of the Revised Code.

(O) With regard to age, it shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice and it shall not constitute a violation of division (A) of section 4112.14 of the Revised Code for any employer, employment agency, joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship training programs, or labor organization to do any of the following:

(1) Establish bona fide employment qualifications reasonably related to the particular business or occupation that may include standards for skill, aptitude, physical capability, intelligence, education, maturation, and experience;

(2) Observe the terms of a bona fide seniority system or any bona fide employee benefit plan, including, but not limited to, a retirement, pension, or insurance plan, that is not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of this section. However, no such employee benefit plan shall excuse the failure to hire any individual, and no such seniority system or employee benefit plan shall require or permit the involuntary retirement of any individual, because of the individual's age except as provided for in the "Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendment of 1978," 92 Stat. 189, 29 U.S.C.A. 623, as amended by the "Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendments of 1986," 100 Stat. 3342, 29 U.S.C.A. 623, as amended.

(3) Retire an employee who has attained sixty-five years of age who, for the two-year period immediately before retirement, is employed in a bona fide executive or a high policymaking position, if the employee is entitled to an immediate nonforfeitable annual retirement benefit from a pension, profit-sharing, savings, or deferred compensation plan, or any combination of those plans, of the employer of the employee, which equals, in the aggregate, at least forty-four thousand dollars, in accordance with the conditions of the "Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendment of 1978," 92 Stat. 189, 29 U.S.C.A. 631, as amended by the "Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendments of 1986," 100 Stat. 3342, 29 U.S.C.A. 631, as amended;

(4) Observe the terms of any bona fide apprenticeship program if the program is registered with the Ohio apprenticeship council pursuant to sections 4139.01 to 4139.06 of the Revised Code and is approved by the federal committee on apprenticeship of the United States department of labor.

(P) Nothing in this chapter prohibiting age discrimination and nothing in division (A) of section 4112.14 of the Revised Code shall be construed to prohibit the following:

(1) The designation of uniform age the attainment of which is necessary for public employees to receive pension or other retirement benefits pursuant to Chapter 145., 742., 3307., 3309., or 5505. of the Revised Code;

(2) The mandatory retirement of uniformed patrol officers of the state highway patrol as provided in section 5505.16 of the Revised Code;

(3) The maximum age requirements for appointment as a patrol officer in the state highway patrol established by section 5503.01 of the Revised Code;

(4) The maximum age requirements established for original appointment to a police department or fire department in sections 124.41 and 124.42 of the Revised Code;

(5) Any maximum age not in conflict with federal law that may be established by a municipal charter, municipal ordinance, or resolution of a board of township trustees for original appointment as a police officer or firefighter;

(6) Any mandatory retirement provision not in conflict with federal law of a municipal charter, municipal ordinance, or resolution of a board of township trustees pertaining to police officers and firefighters;

(7) Until January 1, 1994, the mandatory retirement of any employee who has attained seventy years of age and who is serving under a contract of unlimited tenure, or similar arrangement providing for unlimited tenure, at an institution of higher education as defined in the "Education Amendments of 1980," 94 Stat. 1503, 20 U.S.C.A. 1141(a).

(Q)(1)(a) Except as provided in division (Q)(1)(b) of this section, for purposes of divisions (A) to (E) of this section, a disability does not include any physiological disorder or condition, mental or psychological disorder, or disease or condition caused by an illegal use of any controlled substance by an employee, applicant, or other person, if an employer, employment agency, personnel placement service, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee acts on the basis of that illegal use.

(b) Division (Q)(1)(a) of this section does not apply to an employee, applicant, or other person who satisfies any of the following:

(i) The employee, applicant, or other person has successfully completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program and no longer is engaging in the illegal use of any controlled substance, or the employee, applicant, or other person otherwise successfully has been rehabilitated and no longer is engaging in that illegal use.

(ii) The employee, applicant, or other person is participating in a supervised drug rehabilitation program and no longer is engaging in the illegal use of any controlled substance.

(iii) The employee, applicant, or other person is erroneously regarded as engaging in the illegal use of any controlled substance, but the employee, applicant, or other person is not engaging in that illegal use.

(2) Divisions (A) to (E) of this section do not prohibit an employer, employment agency, personnel placement service, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee from doing any of the following:

(a) Adopting or administering reasonable policies or procedures, including, but not limited to, testing for the illegal use of any controlled substance, that are designed to ensure that an individual described in division (Q)(1)(b)(i) or (ii) of this section no longer is engaging in the illegal use of any controlled substance;

(b) Prohibiting the illegal use of controlled substances and the use of alcohol at the workplace by all employees;

(c) Requiring that employees not be under the influence of alcohol or not be engaged in the illegal use of any controlled substance at the workplace;

(d) Requiring that employees behave in conformance with the requirements established under "The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 4304, 41 U.S.C.A. 701, as amended;

(e) Holding an employee who engages in the illegal use of any controlled substance or who is an alcoholic to the same qualification standards for employment or job performance, and the same behavior, to which the employer, employment agency, personnel placement service, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee holds other employees, even if any unsatisfactory performance or behavior is related to an employee's illegal use of a controlled substance or alcoholism;

(f) Exercising other authority recognized in the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 327, 42 U.S.C.A. 12101, as amended, including, but not limited to, requiring employees to comply with any applicable federal standards.

(3) For purposes of this chapter, a test to determine the illegal use of any controlled substance does not include a medical examination.

(4) Division (Q) of this section does not encourage, prohibit, or authorize, and shall not be construed as encouraging, prohibiting, or authorizing, the conduct of testing for the illegal use of any controlled substance by employees, applicants, or other persons, or the making of employment decisions based on the results of that type of testing.

Sec. 4112.021.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Credit" means the right granted by a creditor to a person to defer payment of a debt, to incur debt and defer its payment, or to purchase property or services and defer payment for the property or services.

(2) "Creditor" means any person who regularly extends, renews, or continues credit, any person who regularly arranges for the extension, renewal, or continuation of credit, or any assignee of an original creditor who participates in the decision to extend, renew, or continue credit, whether or not any interest or finance charge is required.

(3) "Credit reporting agency" means any person who, for monetary fees or dues or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly assembles or evaluates credit information for the purpose of furnishing credit reports to creditors.

(4) "Age" means any age of eighteen years or older.

(B) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice:

(1) For any creditor to do any of the following:

(a) Discriminate against any applicant for credit in the granting, withholding, extending, or renewing of credit, or in the fixing of the rates, terms, or conditions of any form of credit, on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, military status, marital status, national origin, disability, or ancestry, except that this division shall not apply with respect to age in any real estate transaction between a financial institution, a dealer in intangibles, or an insurance company as defined in section 5725.01 of the Revised Code and its customers;

(b) Use or make any inquiry as to race, color, religion, age, sex, military status, marital status, national origin, disability, or ancestry for the purpose of limiting or specifying those persons to whom credit will be granted, except that an inquiry of marital status does not constitute discrimination for the purposes of this section if the inquiry is made for the purpose of ascertaining the creditor's rights and remedies applicable to the particular extension of credit, and except that creditors are excepted from this division with respect to any inquiry, elicitation of information, record, or form of application required of a particular creditor by any instrumentality or agency of the United States, or required of a particular creditor by any agency or instrumentality to enforce the "Civil Rights Act of 1968," 82 Stat. 84, 85, 42 U.S.C.A. 3608(c);

(c) Refuse to consider the sources of income of an applicant for credit, or disregard or ignore the income of an applicant, in whole or in part, on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, military status, marital status, disability, national origin, or ancestry;

(d) Refuse to grant credit to an individual in any name that individual customarily uses, if it has been determined in the normal course of business that the creditor will grant credit to the individual;

(e) Impose any special requirements or conditions, including, but not limited to, a requirement for co-obligors or reapplication, upon any applicant or class of applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, military status, marital status, national origin, disability, or ancestry in circumstances where similar requirements or conditions are not imposed on other applicants similarly situated, unless the special requirements or conditions that are imposed with respect to age are the result of a real estate transaction exempted under division (B)(1)(a) of this section or are the result of programs that grant preferences to certain age groups administered by instrumentalities or agencies of the United States, a state, or a political subdivision of a state;

(f) Fail or refuse to provide an applicant for credit a written statement of the specific reasons for rejection of the application if requested in writing by the applicant within sixty days of the rejection. The creditor shall provide the written statement of the specific reason for rejection within thirty days after receipt of a request of that nature. For purposes of this section, a statement that the applicant was rejected solely on the basis of information received from a credit reporting agency or because the applicant failed to meet the standards required by the creditor's credit scoring system, uniformly applied, shall constitute a specific reason for rejection.

(g) Fail or refuse to print on or firmly attach to each application for credit, in a type size no smaller than that used throughout most of the application form, the following notice: "The Ohio laws against discrimination require that all creditors make credit equally available to all credit worthy customers, and that credit reporting agencies maintain separate credit histories on each individual upon request. The Ohio civil rights commission administers compliance with this law." This notice is not required to be included in applications that have a multi-state distribution if the notice is mailed to the applicant with the notice of acceptance or rejection of the application.

(h) Fail or refuse on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, military status, marital status, national origin, disability, or ancestry to maintain, upon the request of the individual, a separate account for each individual to whom credit is extended;

(i) Fail or refuse on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, military status, marital status, national origin, disability, or ancestry to maintain records on any account established after November 1, 1976, to furnish information on the accounts to credit reporting agencies in a manner that clearly designates the contractual liability for repayment as indicated on the application for the account, and, if more than one individual is contractually liable for repayment, to maintain records and furnish information in the name of each individual. This division does not apply to individuals who are contractually liable only if the primary party defaults on the account.

(2) For any credit reporting agency to do any of the following:

(a) Fail or refuse on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, military status, marital status, national origin, disability, or ancestry to maintain, upon the request of the individual, a separate file on each individual about whom information is assembled or evaluated;

(b) Fail or refuse on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, military status, marital status, national origin, disability, or ancestry to clearly note, maintain, and report any information furnished it under division (B)(1)(i) of this section.

(C) This section does not prohibit a creditor from requesting the signature of both spouses to create a valid lien, pass clear title, or waive inchoate rights to property.

(D) The rights granted by this section may be enforced by aggrieved individuals by filing a civil action in a court of common pleas within one hundred eighty days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred. Upon application by the plaintiff and in circumstances that the court considers just, the court in which a civil action under this section is brought may appoint an attorney for the plaintiff and may authorize the commencement of a civil action upon proper showing without the payment of costs. If the court finds that an unlawful discriminatory practice prohibited by this section occurred or is about to occur, the court may grant relief that it considers appropriate, including a permanent or temporary injunction, temporary restraining order, or other order, and may award to the plaintiff compensatory and punitive damages of not less than one hundred dollars, together with attorney's fees and court costs.

(E) Nothing contained in this section shall bar a creditor from reviewing an application for credit on the basis of established criteria used in the normal course of business for the determination of the credit worthiness of the individual applicant for credit, including the credit history of the applicant.

Sec. 4112.04.  (A) The commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Establish and maintain a principal office in the city of Columbus and any other offices within the state that it considers necessary;

(2) Appoint an executive director who shall serve at the pleasure of the commission and be its principal administrative officer. The executive director shall be paid a salary fixed pursuant to Chapter 124. of the Revised Code.

(3) Appoint hearing examiners and other employees and agents who it considers necessary and prescribe their duties subject to Chapter 124. of the Revised Code;

(4) Adopt, promulgate, amend, and rescind rules to effectuate the provisions of this chapter and the policies and practice of the commission in connection with this chapter;

(5) Formulate policies to effectuate the purposes of this chapter and make recommendations to agencies and officers of the state or political subdivisions to effectuate the policies;

(6) Receive, investigate, and pass upon written charges made under oath of unlawful discriminatory practices;

(7) Make periodic surveys of the existence and effect of discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry on the enjoyment of civil rights by persons within the state;

(8) Report, from time to time, but not less than once a year, to the general assembly and the governor, describing in detail the investigations, proceedings, and hearings it has conducted and their outcome, the decisions it has rendered, and the other work performed by it, which report shall include a copy of any surveys prepared pursuant to division (A)(7) of this section and shall include the recommendations of the commission as to legislative or other remedial action;

(9) Prepare a comprehensive educational program, in cooperation with the department of education, for the students of the public schools of this state and for all other residents of this state that is designed to eliminate prejudice on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry in this state, to further good will among those groups, and to emphasize the origin of prejudice against those groups, its harmful effects, and its incompatibility with American principles of equality and fair play;

(10) Receive progress reports from agencies, instrumentalities, institutions, boards, commissions, and other entities of this state or any of its political subdivisions and their agencies, instrumentalities, institutions, boards, commissions, and other entities regarding affirmative action programs for the employment of persons against whom discrimination is prohibited by this chapter, or regarding any affirmative housing accommodations programs developed to eliminate or reduce an imbalance of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, or ancestry. All agencies, instrumentalities, institutions, boards, commissions, and other entities of this state or its political subdivisions, and all political subdivisions, that have undertaken affirmative action programs pursuant to a conciliation agreement with the commission, an executive order of the governor, any federal statute or rule, or an executive order of the president of the United States shall file progress reports with the commission annually on or before the first day of November. The commission shall analyze and evaluate the progress reports and report its findings annually to the general assembly on or before the thirtieth day of January of the year immediately following the receipt of the reports.

(B) The commission may do any of the following:

(1) Meet and function at any place within the state;

(2) Initiate and undertake on its own motion investigations of problems of employment or housing accommodations discrimination;

(3) Hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, administer oaths, take the testimony of any person under oath, require the production for examination of any books and papers relating to any matter under investigation or in question before the commission, and make rules as to the issuance of subpoenas by individual commissioners.

(a) In conducting a hearing or investigation, the commission shall have access at all reasonable times to premises, records, documents, individuals, and other evidence or possible sources of evidence and may examine, record, and copy the premises, records, documents, and other evidence or possible sources of evidence and take and record the testimony or statements of the individuals as reasonably necessary for the furtherance of the hearing or investigation. In investigations, the commission shall comply with the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution relating to unreasonable searches and seizures. The commission or a member of the commission may issue subpoenas to compel access to or the production of premises, records, documents, and other evidence or possible sources of evidence or the appearance of individuals, and may issue interrogatories to a respondent, to the same extent and subject to the same limitations as would apply if the subpoenas or interrogatories were issued or served in aid of a civil action in a court of common pleas.

(b) Upon written application by a respondent, the commission shall issue subpoenas in its name to the same extent and subject to the same limitations as subpoenas issued by the commission. Subpoenas issued at the request of a respondent shall show on their face the name and address of the respondent and shall state that they were issued at the respondent's request.

(c) Witnesses summoned by subpoena of the commission are entitled to the same witness and mileage fees as are witnesses in proceedings in a court of common pleas.

(d) Within five days after service of a subpoena upon any person, the person may petition the commission to revoke or modify the subpoena. The commission shall grant the petition if it finds that the subpoena requires an appearance or attendance at an unreasonable time or place, that it requires production of evidence that does not relate to any matter before the commission, that it does not describe with sufficient particularity the evidence to be produced, that compliance would be unduly onerous, or for other good reason.

(e) In case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena, the commission or person at whose request it was issued may petition for its enforcement in the court of common pleas in the county in which the person to whom the subpoena was addressed resides, was served, or transacts business.

(4) Create local or statewide advisory agencies and conciliation councils to aid in effectuating the purposes of this chapter. The commission may itself, or it may empower these agencies and councils to, do either or both of the following:

(a) Study the problems of discrimination in all or specific fields of human relationships when based on race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry;

(b) Foster through community effort, or otherwise, good will among the groups and elements of the population of the state.

The agencies and councils may make recommendations to the commission for the development of policies and procedures in general. They shall be composed of representative citizens who shall serve without pay, except that reimbursement for actual and necessary traveling expenses shall be made to citizens who serve on a statewide agency or council.

(5) Issue any publications and the results of investigations and research that in its judgment will tend to promote good will and minimize or eliminate discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry.

Sec. 4112.05.  (A) The commission, as provided in this section, shall prevent any person from engaging in unlawful discriminatory practices, provided that, before instituting the formal hearing authorized by division (B) of this section, it shall attempt, by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion, to induce compliance with this chapter.

(B)(1) Any person may file a charge with the commission alleging that another person has engaged or is engaging in an unlawful discriminatory practice. In the case of a charge alleging an unlawful discriminatory practice described in division (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (I), or (J) of section 4112.02 or in section 4112.021 or 4112.022 of the Revised Code, the charge shall be in writing and under oath and shall be filed with the commission within six months after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed. In the case of a charge alleging an unlawful discriminatory practice described in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, the charge shall be in writing and under oath and shall be filed with the commission within one year after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed.

(2) Upon receiving a charge, the commission may initiate a preliminary investigation to determine whether it is probable that an unlawful discriminatory practice has been or is being engaged in. The commission also may conduct, upon its own initiative and independent of the filing of any charges, a preliminary investigation relating to any of the unlawful discriminatory practices described in division (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (I), or (J) of section 4112.02 or in section 4112.021 or 4112.022 of the Revised Code. Prior to a notification of a complainant under division (B)(4) of this section or prior to the commencement of informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion under that division, the members of the commission and the officers and employees of the commission shall not make public in any manner and shall retain as confidential all information that was obtained as a result of or that otherwise pertains to a preliminary investigation other than one described in division (B)(3) of this section.

(3)(a) Unless it is impracticable to do so and subject to its authority under division (B)(3)(d) of this section, the commission shall complete a preliminary investigation of a charge filed pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section that alleges an unlawful discriminatory practice described in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, and shall take one of the following actions, within one hundred days after the filing of the charge:

(i) Notify the complainant and the respondent that it is not probable that an unlawful discriminatory practice described in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code has been or is being engaged in and that the commission will not issue a complaint in the matter;

(ii) Initiate a complaint and schedule it for informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion;

(iii) Initiate a complaint and refer it to the attorney general with a recommendation to seek a temporary or permanent injunction or a temporary restraining order. If this action is taken, the attorney general shall apply, as expeditiously as possible after receipt of the complaint, to the court of common pleas of the county in which the unlawful discriminatory practice allegedly occurred for the appropriate injunction or order, and the court shall hear and determine the application as expeditiously as possible.

(b) If it is not practicable to comply with the requirements of division (B)(3)(a) of this section within the one-hundred-day period described in that division, the commission shall notify the complainant and the respondent in writing of the reasons for the noncompliance.

(c) Prior to the issuance of a complaint under division (B)(3)(a)(ii) or (iii) of this section or prior to a notification of the complainant and the respondent under division (B)(3)(a)(i) of this section, the members of the commission and the officers and employees of the commission shall not make public in any manner and shall retain as confidential all information that was obtained as a result of or that otherwise pertains to a preliminary investigation of a charge filed pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section that alleges an unlawful discriminatory practice described in division (H) of section 4112.05 of the Revised Code.

(d) Notwithstanding the types of action described in divisions (B)(3)(a)(ii) and (iii) of this section, prior to the issuance of a complaint or the referral of a complaint to the attorney general and prior to endeavoring to eliminate an unlawful discriminatory practice described in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion, the commission may seek a temporary or permanent injunction or a temporary restraining order in the court of common pleas of the county in which the unlawful discriminatory practice allegedly occurred.

(4) If the commission determines after a preliminary investigation other than one described in division (B)(3) of this section that it is not probable that an unlawful discriminatory practice has been or is being engaged in, it shall notify any complainant under division (B)(1) of this section that it has so determined and that it will not issue a complaint in the matter. If the commission determines after a preliminary investigation other than the one described in division (B)(3) of this section that it is probable that an unlawful discriminatory practice has been or is being engaged in, it shall endeavor to eliminate the practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion.

(5) Nothing said or done during informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion under this section shall be disclosed by any member of the commission or its staff or be used as evidence in any subsequent hearing or other proceeding. If, after a preliminary investigation and the use of informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion under this section, the commission is satisfied that any unlawful discriminatory practice will be eliminated, it may treat the charge involved as being conciliated and enter that disposition on the records of the commission. If the commission fails to effect the elimination of an unlawful discriminatory practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion under this section and to obtain voluntary compliance with this chapter, the commission shall issue and cause to be served upon any person, including the respondent against whom a complainant has filed a charge pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section, a complaint stating the charges involved and containing a notice of an opportunity for a hearing before the commission, a member of the commission, or a hearing examiner at a place that is stated in the notice and that is located within the county in which the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice has occurred or is occurring or in which the respondent resides or transacts business. The hearing shall be held not less than thirty days after the service of the complaint upon the complainant, the aggrieved persons other than the complainant on whose behalf the complaint is issued, and the respondent, unless the complainant, an aggrieved person, or the respondent elects to proceed under division (A)(2) of section 4112.051 of the Revised Code when that division is applicable. If a complaint pertains to an alleged unlawful discriminatory practice described in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, the complaint shall notify the complainant, an aggrieved person, and the respondent of the right of the complainant, an aggrieved person, or the respondent to elect to proceed with the administrative hearing process under this section or to proceed under division (A)(2) of section 4112.051 of the Revised Code.

(6) The attorney general shall represent the commission at any hearing held pursuant to division (B)(5) of this section and shall present the evidence in support of the complaint.

(7) Any complaint issued pursuant to division (B)(5) of this section after the filing of a charge under division (B)(1) of this section shall be so issued within one year after the complainant filed the charge with respect to an alleged unlawful discriminatory practice.

(C) Any complaint issued pursuant to division (B) of this section may be amended by the commission, a member of the commission, or the hearing examiner conducting a hearing under division (B) of this section, at any time prior to or during the hearing. The respondent has the right to file an answer or an amended answer to the original and amended complaints and to appear at the hearing in person, by attorney, or otherwise to examine and cross-examine witnesses.

(D) The complainant shall be a party to a hearing under division (B) of this section, and any person who is an indispensable party to a complete determination or settlement of a question involved in the hearing shall be joined. Any person who has or claims an interest in the subject of the hearing and in obtaining or preventing relief against the unlawful discriminatory practices complained of may be permitted, in the discretion of the person or persons conducting the hearing, to appear for the presentation of oral or written arguments.

(E) In any hearing under division (B) of this section, the commission, a member of the commission, or the hearing examiner shall not be bound by the Rules of Evidence but, in ascertaining the practices followed by the respondent, shall take into account all reliable, probative, and substantial statistical or other evidence produced at the hearing that may tend to prove the existence of a predetermined pattern of employment or membership, provided that nothing contained in this section shall be construed to authorize or require any person to observe the proportion that persons of any race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry bear to the total population or in accordance with any criterion other than the individual qualifications of the applicant.

(F) The testimony taken at a hearing under division (B) of this section shall be under oath and shall be reduced to writing and filed with the commission. Thereafter, in its discretion, the commission, upon the service of a notice upon the complainant and the respondent that indicates an opportunity to be present, may take further testimony or hear argument.

(G)(1) If, upon all reliable, probative, and substantial evidence presented at a hearing under division (B) of this section, the commission determines that the respondent has engaged in, or is engaging in, any unlawful discriminatory practice, whether against the complainant or others, the commission shall state its findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall issue and, subject to the provisions of Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, cause to be served on the respondent an order requiring the respondent to cease and desist from the unlawful discriminatory practice, requiring the respondent to take any further affirmative or other action that will effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, hiring, reinstatement, or upgrading of employees with or without back pay, or admission or restoration to union membership, and requiring the respondent to report to the commission the manner of compliance. If the commission directs payment of back pay, it shall make allowance for interim earnings. If it finds a violation of division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, the commission additionally shall require the respondent to pay actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees, and may award to the complainant punitive damages as follows:

(a) If division (G)(1)(b) or (c) of this section does not apply, punitive damages in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars;

(b) If division (G)(1)(c) of this section does not apply and if the respondent has been determined by a final order of the commission or by a final judgment of a court to have committed one violation of division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code during the five-year period immediately preceding the date on which a complaint was issued pursuant to division (B) of this section, punitive damages in an amount not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars;

(c) If the respondent has been determined by a final order of the commission or by a final judgment of a court to have committed two or more violations of division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code during the seven-year period immediately preceding the date on which a complaint was issued pursuant to division (B) of this section, punitive damages in an amount not to exceed fifty thousand dollars.

(2) Upon the submission of reports of compliance, the commission may issue a declaratory order stating that the respondent has ceased to engage in particular unlawful discriminatory practices.

(H) If the commission finds that no probable cause exists for crediting charges of unlawful discriminatory practices or if, upon all the evidence presented at a hearing under division (B) of this section on a charge, the commission finds that a respondent has not engaged in any unlawful discriminatory practice against the complainant or others, it shall state its findings of fact and shall issue and cause to be served on the complainant an order dismissing the complaint as to the respondent. A copy of the order shall be delivered in all cases to the attorney general and any other public officers whom the commission considers proper.

(I) Until the time period for appeal set forth in division (H) of section 4112.06 of the Revised Code expires, the commission, subject to the provisions of Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, at any time, upon reasonable notice, and in the manner it considers proper, may modify or set aside, in whole or in part, any finding or order made by it under this section.

Sec. 4112.08.  This chapter shall be construed liberally for the accomplishment of its purposes, and any law inconsistent with any provision of this chapter shall not apply. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be considered to repeal any of the provisions of any law of this state relating to discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, disability, national origin, age, or ancestry, except that any person filing a charge under division (B)(1) of section 4112.05 of the Revised Code, with respect to the unlawful discriminatory practices complained of, is barred from instituting a civil action under section 4112.14 or division (N) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4117.19.  (A) Every employee organization that is certified or recognized as a representative of public employees under Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code this chapter shall file with the state employment relations board a registration report that is signed by its president or other appropriate officer. The report shall be in a form prescribed by the board and accompanied by two copies of the employee organization's constitution and bylaws. The board shall accept a filing by a statewide, national, or international employee organization of its constitution and bylaws in lieu of a filing of the documents by each subordinate organization. The exclusive representative or other employee organization originally filing its constitution and bylaws shall report, promptly, to the board all changes or amendments to its constitution and bylaws.

(B) Every employee organization shall file with the board an annual report. The report shall be in a form prescribed by the board and shall contain the following information:

(1) The names and addresses of the organization, any parent organization or organizations with which it is affiliated, and all organizationwide officers;

(2) The name and address of its local agent for service of process;

(3) A general description of the public employees the organization represents or seeks to represent;

(4) The amounts of the initiation fee and monthly dues members must pay;

(5) A pledge, in a form prescribed by the board, that the organization will comply with the laws of the state and that it will accept members without regard to age, race, color, sex, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, military status as defined in that section, or physical disability as provided by law:

(6) A financial report.

(C) The constitution or bylaws of every employee organization shall do all of the following:

(1) Require that the organization keep accurate accounts of all income and expenses, prepare an annual financial report, keep open for inspection by any member of the organization its accounts, and make loans to officers and agents only on terms and conditions available to all members;

(2) Prohibit business or financial interests of its officers and agents, their spouses, minor children, parents, or otherwise, in conflict with the fiduciary obligation of such persons to the organization;

(3) When specifically requested by the board, require every official who is designated as a fiscal officer of an employee organization and who is responsible for funds or other property of the organization or trust in which an organization is interested, or a subsidiary organization be bonded with the amount, scope, and form of the bond determined by the board;

(4) Require periodic elections of officers by secret ballot subject to recognized safeguards concerning the equal right of all members to nominate, seek office, and vote in the elections, the right of individual members to participate in the affairs of the organization, and fair and equitable procedures in disciplinary actions.

(D) The board shall prescribe rules necessary to govern the establishment and reporting of trusteeships over employee organizations. The establishment of trusteeships is permissible only if the constitution or bylaws of the organization set forth reasonable procedures.

(E) The board may withhold certification of an employee organization that willfully refuses to register or file an annual report or that willfully refuses to comply with other provisions of this section. The board may revoke a certification of an employee organization for willfully failing to comply with this section. The board may enforce the prohibitions contained in this section by petitioning the court of common pleas of the county in which the violation occurs for an injunction. Persons complaining of a violation of this section shall file the complaint with the board.

(F) Upon the written request to the board of any member of a certified employee organization and where the board determines the necessity for an audit, the board may require the employee organization to provide a certified audit of its financial records.

(G) Any employee organization subject to the "Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959," 73 Stat. 519, 29 U.S.C.A., 401, as amended, may file copies with the board of all reports it is required to file under that act in lieu of compliance with all parts of this section other than division (A) of this section. The board shall accept a filing by a statewide, national, or international employee organization of its reports in lieu of a filing of such reports by each subordinate organization.

Sec. 4735.16.  (A) Every real estate broker licensed under this chapter shall have and maintain a definite place of business in this state and shall erect or maintain a sign on the premises plainly stating that the licensee is a real estate broker. If the real estate broker maintains one or more branch offices, the real estate broker shall erect or maintain a sign at each branch office plainly stating that the licensee is a real estate broker.

(B)(1) Any licensed real estate broker or salesperson who advertises to buy, sell, exchange, or lease real estate, or to engage in any act regulated by this chapter, including, but not limited to, any licensed real estate broker or salesperson who advertises to sell, exchange, or lease real estate that the licensee owns, shall be identified in the advertisement by name and by indicating that the licensee is a real estate broker or real estate salesperson. Except a real estate salesperson who advertises the sale, exchange, or lease of real estate that the salesperson owns and that is not listed for sale, exchange, or lease with a real estate broker, any real estate salesperson who advertises, as provided in this section, also shall indicate in the advertisement the name of the broker under whom the salesperson is licensed and the fact that the salesperson's broker is a real estate broker. The name of the broker shall be displayed in equal prominence with the name of the salesperson in the advertisement.

(2) If any real estate broker or real estate salesperson advertises in a manner other than as provided in this section or the rules adopted under this section, that advertisement is prima facie prima-facie evidence of a violation under division (A)(21) of section 4735.18 of the Revised Code.

When the superintendent determines that prima facie prima-facie evidence of a violation of division (A)(21) of section 4735.18 of the Revised Code or any of the rules adopted thereunder exists, the superintendent may do either of the following:

(a) Initiate disciplinary action under section 4735.051 of the Revised Code for a violation of division (A)(21) of section 4735.18 of the Revised Code, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code;

(b) Personally, or by certified mail, serve a citation upon the licensee.

(C)(1) Every citation served under this section shall give notice to the licensee of the alleged violation or violations charged and inform the licensee of the opportunity to request a hearing in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The citation also shall contain a statement of a fine of two hundred dollars per violation, not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars per citation. All fines collected pursuant to this section shall be credited to the real estate recovery fund, created in the state treasury under section 4735.12 of the Revised Code.

(2) If any licensee is cited three times within twelve consecutive months, the superintendent shall initiate disciplinary action pursuant to section 4735.051 of the Revised Code for any subsequent violation that occurs within the same twelve-month period.

(3) If a licensee fails to request a hearing within thirty days of the date of service of the citation, or the licensee and the superintendent fail to reach an alternative agreement, the citation shall become final.

(4) Unless otherwise indicated, the licensee named in a final citation must meet all requirements contained in the final citation within thirty days of the effective date of that citation.

(5) The superintendent shall suspend automatically a licensee's license if the licensee fails to comply with division (C)(4) of this section.

(D) A real estate broker or salesperson obtaining the signature of a party to a listing or other agreement involved in a real estate transaction shall furnish a copy of the listing or other agreement to the party immediately after obtaining the party's signature. Every broker's office shall prominently display in the same immediate area as licenses are displayed a statement that it is illegal to discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, national origin, military status as defined in that section, disability as defined in that section, or ancestry in the sale or rental of housing or residential lots, in advertising the sale or rental of housing, in the financing of housing, or in the provision of real estate brokerage services and that blockbusting also is illegal. The statement shall bear the United States department of housing and urban development equal housing logo, shall contain the information that the broker and the broker's salespersons are licensed by the division of real estate and professional licensing and that the division can assist with any consumer complaints or inquiries, and shall explain the provisions of section 4735.12 of the Revised Code. The statement shall provide the division's address and telephone number. The Ohio real estate commission shall provide by rule for the wording and size of the statement. The pamphlet required under section 4735.03 of the Revised Code shall contain the same statement that is required on the statement displayed as provided in this section and shall be made available by real estate brokers and salespersons to their clients. The commission shall provide the wording and size of the pamphlet.

Sec. 4735.55.  (A) Each written agency agreement shall contain all of the following:

(1) An expiration date;

(2) A statement that it is illegal, pursuant to the Ohio fair housing law, division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, and the federal fair housing law, 42 U.S.C.A. 3601, to refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease, or finance housing accommodations, refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, or otherwise deny or make unavailable housing accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, ancestry, military status as defined in that section, disability as defined in that section, or national origin or to so discriminate in advertising the sale or rental of housing, in the financing of housing, or in the provision of real estate brokerage services;

(3) A statement defining the practice known as "blockbusting" and stating that it is illegal;

(4) A copy of the United States department of housing and urban development equal housing opportunity logotype, as set forth in 24 C.F.R. 109.30.

(B) Each written agency agreement shall contain a place for the licensee and the client to sign and date the agreement.

(C) A licensee shall furnish a copy of any written agency agreement to a client in a timely manner after the licensee and the client have signed and dated it.

Sec. 4933.12.  (A) Except as provided in division (C) of this section and division (E) of section 5117.11 of the Revised Code, if any person supplied with gas neglects or refuses to pay the amount due for such the gas or for rent of articles hired by him the person from a natural gas company or a gas company, the company may stop the gas from entering the premises of such the person. In such cases, after twenty-four hours' notice, the officers, servants, or workers of the company may enter the premises of such persons, between eight a.m. and four p.m., take away such property of the company, and disconnect any meter from the mains or pipes of the company.

(B) The company shall not refuse to furnish gas on account of arrearages due it for gas furnished to persons formerly receiving services at the premises as customers of the company, provided the former customers are not continuing to reside at such the premises.

(C) The company shall not, for any reason, unless required by the consumer, for safety reasons, or unless tampering with utility company equipment or theft of gas or utility company equipment has occurred, stop gas from entering the premises of any residential consumer for the period beginning on the fifteenth day of November and ending on the fifteenth day of the following April, unless both of the following apply:

(1) The account of the consumer is in arrears thirty days or more;

(2) Where If the occupant of residential premises is a tenant whose landlord is responsible for payment for the service provided by the company, the company has, five days previously, notified the occupant of its intent to discontinue service to him the occupant.

(D) No company shall stop the gas from entering any residential premises between the fifteenth day of November and the fifteenth day of April because of a failure to pay the amount due for such the gas unless the company, at the time it sends or delivers to the premises notices of termination, informs the occupant of the premises where to obtain state and federal aid for payment of utility bills and for home weatherization and information on local government aid for payment of utility bills and for home weatherization.

(E) On or before the first day of November, a county human services department may request a company to give prior notification of any residential service terminations to occur during the period beginning on the fifteenth day of November immediately following the department's request and ending on the fifteenth day of the following April. If a department makes such a written request, at least twenty-four hours before the company terminates services to a residential customer in the county during that period for failure to pay the amount due for service, the company shall provide written notice to the department of the residential customer whose service the company so intends to terminate. No company that has received such a request shall terminate such service during that period unless it has provided the notice required under this division.

(F) No company shall stop gas from entering the residential premises of any residential consumer who is deployed on active duty. As used in this division, "active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4933.121.  (A) Except as provided in division (E) of section 5117.11 of the Revised Code, an electric light company shall not, for any reason, unless requested by the consumer, for safety reasons, or unless tampering with utility company equipment or theft of electricity or utility company equipment has occurred, cease to provide electricity to any residential consumer for the period beginning on the fifteenth day of November and ending on the fifteenth day of the following April, unless both of the following apply:

(1) The account of the consumer is in arrears thirty days or more;

(2) Where If the occupant of residential premises is a tenant whose landlord is responsible for payment for the service provided by the company, the company has, five days previously, notified the occupant of its intent to discontinue service to him the occupant.

(B) The company shall not refuse to furnish electricity on account of arrearages due it for electricity furnished to persons formerly receiving services at the premises as customers of the company, provided the former customers are not continuing to reside at such the premises.

(C) No company shall cease to provide electricity to any residential premises between the fifteenth day of November and the fifteenth day of April because of a failure to pay the amount due for such the electricity unless the company, at the time it sends or delivers to the premises notices of termination, informs the occupant of the premises where to obtain state and federal aid for payment of utility bills and for home weatherization and information on local government aid for payment of utility bills and for home weatherization.

(D) On or before the first day of November, a county human services department may request a company to give prior notification of any residential service terminations to occur during the period beginning on the fifteenth day of November immediately following the department's request and ending on the fifteenth day of the following April. If a department makes such a written request, at least twenty-four hours before the company terminates services to a residential customer in the county during that period for failure to pay the amount due for service, the company shall provide written notice to the department of the residential customer whose service the company so intends to terminate. No company that has received such a request shall terminate such service during that period unless it has provided the notice required under this division.

(E) No company shall cease to provide electricity to the residential premises of any residential consumer who is deployed on active duty. As used in this division, "active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 124.93, 125.111, 153.59, 153.591, 175.05, 175.06, 176.06, 717.01, 1317.06, 1317.061, 1923.02, 2927.03, 3313.64, 3915.05, 3917.06, 4112.01, 4112.02, 4112.021, 4112.04, 4112.05, 4112.08, 4117.19, 4735.16, 4735.55, 4933.12, and 4933.121 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3.  Section 125.111 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. H.B. 264 and Am. Sub. H.B. 283 of the 123rd 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.