130th Ohio General Assembly
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H. B. No. 91As Introduced
As Introduced

125th General Assembly
Regular Session
2003-2004
H. B. No. 91


REPRESENTATIVE Young



A BILL
To amend sections 2305.24, 2305.25, 4121.121, 4123.01, 4123.31, 4123.342, and 4123.80 and to enact sections 4121.021 and 4123.15 of the Revised Code to make appropriations for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation for the biennium beginning July 1, 2003, and ending June 30, 2005, to authorize and provide conditions that govern the operation of Bureau and Industrial Commission programs, and to authorize an exemption from participation in the workers' compensation insurance program for certain employers and employees based upon religious tenets or beliefs.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2305.24, 2305.25, 4121.121, 4123.01, 4123.31, 4123.342, and 4123.80 be amended and sections 4121.021 and 4123.15 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 2305.24.  Any information, data, reports, or records made available to a quality assurance committee or utilization committee of a hospital or long-term care facility or of any not-for-profit health care corporation that is a member of the hospital or long-term care facility or of which the hospital or long-term care facility is a member shall be are confidential and shall be used by the committee and the committee members only in the exercise of the proper functions of the committee. Any information, data, reports, or records made available to a utilization committee of a state or local medical society composed of doctors of medicine or doctors of osteopathic medicine shall be are confidential and shall be used by the committee and the committee members only in the exercise of the proper functions of the committee. A right of action similar to that a patient may have against an attending physician for misuse of information, data, reports, or records arising out of the physician-patient relationship shall accrue against a member of a quality assurance committee or utilization committee for misuse of any information, data, reports, or records furnished to the committee by an attending physician. No physician, institution, hospital, or long-term care facility furnishing information, data, reports, or records to a committee with respect to any patient examined or treated by the physician or confined in the institution, hospital, or long-term care facility shall, by reason of the furnishing, be deemed liable in damages to any person, or be held to answer for betrayal of a professional confidence within the meaning and intent of section 4731.22 of the Revised Code. Information, data, or reports furnished to a utilization committee of a state or local medical society shall contain no name of any person involved therein.
Any information, data, reports, or records made available to a quality assurance committee of the bureau of workers' compensation responsible for reviewing the professional qualifications and the performance of providers conducting medical examinations or file reviews for the bureau are confidential and shall be used by the committee and the committee members only in the exercise of the proper functions of the committee.
As used in this section, "utilization committee" is the committee established to administer a utilization review plan of a hospital, of a not-for-profit health care corporation which is a member of the hospital or of which the hospital is a member, or of a skilled nursing facility as provided in the "Health Insurance for the Aged Act," 79 Stat. 313 (1965), 42 U.S.C. 1395x(k).
Sec. 2305.25. As used in this section and sections 2305.251 to 2305.253 of the Revised Code:
(A)(1) "Health care entity" means an entity, whether acting on its own behalf or on behalf of or in affiliation with other health care entities, that conducts as part of its regular business activities professional credentialing or quality review activities involving the competence of, professional conduct of, or quality of care provided by health care providers, including both individuals who provide health care and entities that provide health care.
(2) "Health care entity" includes any entity described in division (A)(1) of this section, regardless of whether it is a government entity; for-profit or nonprofit corporation; limited liability company; partnership; professional corporation; state or local society composed of physicians, dentists, optometrists, psychologists, or pharmacists; or other health care organization.
(B) "Health insuring corporation" means an entity that holds a certificate of authority under Chapter 1751. of the Revised Code. "Health insuring corporation" includes wholly owned subsidiaries of a health insuring corporation.
(C) "Hospital" means either of the following:
(1) An institution that has been registered or licensed by the department of health as a hospital;
(2) An entity, other than an insurance company authorized to do business in this state, that owns, controls, or is affiliated with an institution that has been registered or licensed by the department of health as a hospital.
(D) "Incident report or risk management report" means a report of an incident involving injury or potential injury to a patient as a result of patient care provided by health care providers, including both individuals who provide health care and entities that provide health care, that is prepared by or for the use of a peer review committee of a health care entity and is within the scope of the functions of that committee.
(E)(1) "Peer review committee" means a utilization review committee, quality assessment committee, performance improvement committee, tissue committee, credentialing committee, or other committee that does either of the following:
(a) Conducts professional credentialing or quality review activities involving the competence of, professional conduct of, or quality of care provided by health care providers, including both individuals who provide health care and entities that provide health care;
(b) Conducts any other attendant hearing process initiated as a result of a peer review committee's recommendations or actions.
(2) "Peer review committee" includes all of the following:
(a) A peer review committee of a hospital or long-term care facility or a peer review committee of a nonprofit health care corporation that is a member of the hospital or long-term care facility or of which the hospital or facility is a member;
(b) A peer review committee of a community mental health center;
(c) A board or committee of a hospital, a long-term care facility, or other health care entity when reviewing professional qualifications or activities of health care providers, including both individuals who provide health care and entities that provide health care;
(d) A peer review committee, professional standards review committee, or arbitration committee of a state or local society composed of members who are in active practice as physicians, dentists, optometrists, psychologists, or pharmacists;
(e) A peer review committee of a health insuring corporation that has at least a two-thirds majority of member physicians in active practice and that conducts professional credentialing and quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of health care providers that adversely affects or could adversely affect the health or welfare of any patient;
(f) A peer review committee of a health insuring corporation that has at least a two-thirds majority of member physicians in active practice and that conducts professional credentialing and quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of a health care facility that has contracted with the health insuring corporation to provide health care services to enrollees, which conduct adversely affects, or could adversely affect, the health or welfare of any patient;
(g) A peer review committee of a sickness and accident insurer that has at least a two-thirds majority of physicians in active practice and that conducts professional credentialing and quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of health care providers that adversely affects or could adversely affect the health or welfare of any patient;
(h) A peer review committee of a sickness and accident insurer that has at least a two-thirds majority of physicians in active practice and that conducts professional credentialing and quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of a health care facility that has contracted with the insurer to provide health care services to insureds, which conduct adversely affects, or could adversely affect, the health or welfare of any patient;
(i) A peer review committee of any insurer authorized under Title XXXIX of the Revised Code to do the business of medical professional liability insurance in this state that conducts professional quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of health care providers that adversely affects or could affect the health or welfare of any patient;
(j) A peer review committee of the bureau of workers' compensation responsible for reviewing the professional qualifications and the performance of providers conducting medical examinations or file reviews for the bureau;
(k) Any other peer review committee of a health care entity.
(F) "Physician" means an individual authorized to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or podiatric medicine and surgery.
(G) "Sickness and accident insurer" means an entity authorized under Title XXXIX of the Revised Code to do the business of sickness and accident insurance in this state.
(H) "Tort action" means a civil action for damages for injury, death, or loss to a patient of a health care entity. "Tort action" includes a product liability claim but does not include a civil action for a breach of contract or another agreement between persons.
Sec. 4121.021.  The industrial commission operating fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of all moneys transferred to the fund pursuant to division (C) of section 4123.342 of the Revised Code. Revenues credited to the fund shall be used for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the commission.
Sec. 4121.121.  (A) There is hereby created the bureau of workers' compensation, which shall be administered by the administrator of workers' compensation. A person appointed to the position of administrator shall possess significant management experience in effectively managing an organization or organizations of substantial size and complexity. The governor shall appoint the administrator as provided in section 121.03 of the Revised Code, and the administrator shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. The governor shall fix the administrator's salary on the basis of the administrator's experience and the administrator's responsibilities and duties under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code. The governor shall not appoint to the position of administrator any person who has, or whose spouse has, given a contribution to the campaign committee of the governor in an amount greater than one thousand dollars during the two-year period immediately preceding the date of the appointment of the administrator.
The administrator shall hold no other public office and shall devote full time to the duties of administrator. Before entering upon the duties of the office, the administrator shall take an oath of office as required by sections 3.22 and 3.23 of the Revised Code, and shall file in the office of the secretary of state, a bond signed by the administrator and by surety approved by the governor, for the sum of fifty thousand dollars payable to the state, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the administrator's duties.
(B) The administrator is responsible for the management of the bureau of workers' compensation and for the discharge of all administrative duties imposed upon the administrator in this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code, and in the discharge thereof shall do all of the following:
(1) Establish the overall administrative policy of the bureau for the purposes of this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code, and perform all acts and exercise all authorities and powers, discretionary and otherwise that are required of or vested in the bureau or any of its employees in this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code, except the acts and the exercise of authority and power that is required of and vested in the oversight commission or the industrial commission pursuant to those chapters. The treasurer of state shall honor all warrants signed by the administrator, or by one or more of the administrator's employees, authorized by the administrator in writing, or bearing the facsimile signature of the administrator or such employee under sections 4123.42 and 4123.44 of the Revised Code.
(2) Employ, direct, and supervise all employees required in connection with the performance of the duties assigned to the bureau by this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code, and may establish job classification plans and compensation for all employees of the bureau provided that this grant of authority shall not be construed as affecting any employee for whom the state employment relations board has established an appropriate bargaining unit under section 4117.06 of the Revised Code. All positions of employment in the bureau are in the classified civil service except those employees the administrator may appoint to serve at the administrator's pleasure in the unclassified civil service pursuant to section 124.11 of the Revised Code. The administrator shall fix the salaries of employees the administrator appoints to serve at the administrator's pleasure, including the chief operating officer, staff physicians, and other senior management personnel of the bureau and shall establish the compensation of staff attorneys of the bureau's legal section and their immediate supervisors, and take whatever steps are necessary to provide adequate compensation for other staff attorneys.
The administrator may appoint a person holding a certified position in the classified service to any state position in the unclassified service of the bureau of workers' compensation. A person so appointed shall retain the right to resume the position and status held by the person in the classified service immediately prior to the person's appointment in the unclassified service. If the position the person previously held has been filled or placed in the unclassified service, or is otherwise unavailable, the person shall be appointed to a position in the classified service within the bureau that the department of administrative services certifies is comparable in compensation to the position the person previously held. Reinstatement to a position in the classified service shall be to a position substantially equal to that held previously, as certified by the department of administrative services. Service in the position in the unclassified service shall be counted as service in the position in the classified service held by the person immediately prior to the person's appointment in the unclassified service. When a person is reinstated to a position in the classified service as provided in this section, the person is entitled to all rights, status, and benefits accruing to the position during the person's time of service in the position in the unclassified service.
(3) Reorganize the work of the bureau, its sections, departments, and offices to the extent necessary to achieve the most efficient performance of its functions and to that end may establish, change, or abolish positions and assign and reassign duties and responsibilities of every employee of the bureau. All persons employed by the commission in positions that, after November 3, 1989, are supervised and directed by the administrator under this section are transferred to the bureau in their respective classifications but subject to reassignment and reclassification of position and compensation as the administrator determines to be in the interest of efficient administration. The civil service status of any person employed by the commission is not affected by this section. Personnel employed by the bureau or the commission who are subject to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code shall retain all of their rights and benefits conferred pursuant to that chapter as it presently exists or is hereafter amended and nothing in this chapter or Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code shall be construed as eliminating or interfering with Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code or the rights and benefits conferred under that chapter to public employees or to any bargaining unit.
(4) Provide offices, equipment, supplies, and other facilities for the bureau. The administrator also shall provide suitable office space in the service offices for the district hearing officers, the staff hearing officers, and commission employees as requested by the commission.
(5) Prepare and submit to the oversight commission information the administrator considers pertinent or the oversight commission requires, together with the administrator's recommendations, in the form of administrative rules, for the advice and consent of the oversight commission, for classifications of occupations or industries, for premium rates and contributions, for the amount to be credited to the surplus fund, for rules and systems of rating, rate revisions, and merit rating. The administrator shall obtain, prepare, and submit any other information the oversight commission requires for the prompt and efficient discharge of its duties.
(6) Keep the accounts required by division (A) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code and all other accounts and records necessary to the collection, administration, and distribution of the workers' compensation funds and shall obtain the statistical and other information required by section 4123.19 of the Revised Code.
(7) Exercise the investment powers vested in the administrator by section 4123.44 of the Revised Code in accordance with the investment objectives, policies, and criteria established by the oversight commission pursuant to section 4121.12 of the Revised Code. The administrator shall not engage in any prohibited investment activity specified by the oversight commission pursuant to division (F)(6) of section 4121.12 of the Revised Code. All business shall be transacted, all funds invested, all warrants for money drawn and payments made, and all cash and securities and other property held, in the name of the bureau, or in the name of its nominee, provided that nominees are authorized by the administrator solely for the purpose of facilitating the transfer of securities, and restricted to the administrator and designated employees.
(8) Make contracts for and supervise the construction of any project or improvement or the construction or repair of buildings under the control of the bureau.
(9) Purchase supplies, materials, equipment, and services; make contracts for, operate, and superintend the telephone, other telecommunication, and computer services for the use of the bureau; and make contracts in connection with office reproduction, forms management, printing, and other services. Notwithstanding sections 125.12 to 125.14 of the Revised Code, the administrator may transfer surplus computers and computer equipment directly to an accredited public school within the state. The computers and computer equipment may be repaired or refurbished prior to the transfer.
(10) Separately from the budget the industrial commission submits, prepare and submit to the director of budget and management a budget for each biennium. The budget submitted shall include estimates of the costs and necessary expenditures of the bureau in the discharge of any duty imposed by law as well as the costs of furnishing office space to the district hearing officers, staff hearing officers, and commission employees under division (D) of this section.
(11) As promptly as possible in the course of efficient administration, decentralize and relocate such of the personnel and activities of the bureau as is appropriate to the end that the receipt, investigation, determination, and payment of claims may be undertaken at or near the place of injury or the residence of the claimant and for that purpose establish regional offices, in such places as the administrator considers proper, capable of discharging as many of the functions of the bureau as is practicable so as to promote prompt and efficient administration in the processing of claims. All active and inactive lost-time claims files shall be held at the service office responsible for the claim. A claimant, at the claimant's request, shall be provided with information by telephone as to the location of the file pertaining to claim. The administrator shall ensure that all service office employees report directly to the director for their service office.
(12) Provide a written binder on new coverage where the administrator considers it to be in the best interest of the risk. The administrator, or any other person authorized by the administrator, shall grant the binder upon submission of a request for coverage by the employer. A binder is effective for a period of thirty days from date of issuance and is nonrenewable. Payroll reports and premium charges shall coincide with the effective date of the binder.
(13) Set standards for the reasonable and maximum handling time of claims payment functions, ensure, by rules, the impartial and prompt treatment of all claims and employer risk accounts, and establish a secure, accurate method of time stamping all incoming mail and documents hand delivered to bureau employees.
(14) Ensure that all employees of the bureau follow the orders and rules of the commission as such orders and rules relate to the commission's overall adjudicatory policy-making and management duties under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code.
(15) Manage and operate a data processing system with a common data base for the use of both the bureau and the commission and, in consultation with the commission, using electronic data processing equipment, shall develop a claims tracking system that is sufficient to monitor the status of a claim at any time and that lists appeals that have been filed and orders or determinations that have been issued pursuant to section 4123.511 or 4123.512 of the Revised Code, including the dates of such filings and issuances.
(16) Establish and maintain a medical section within the bureau. The medical section shall do all of the following:
(a) Assist the administrator in establishing standard medical fees, approving medical procedures, and determining eligibility and reasonableness of the compensation payments for medical, hospital, and nursing services, and in establishing guidelines for payment policies which recognize usual, customary, and reasonable methods of payment for covered services;
(b) Provide a resource to respond to questions from claims examiners for employees of the bureau;
(c) Audit fee bill payments;
(d) Implement a program to utilize, to the maximum extent possible, electronic data processing equipment for storage of information to facilitate authorizations of compensation payments for medical, hospital, drug, and nursing services;
(e) Perform other duties assigned to it by the administrator.
(17) Appoint, as the administrator determines necessary, panels to review and advise the administrator on disputes arising over a determination that a health care service or supply provided to a claimant is not covered under this chapter or Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code or is medically unnecessary. If an individual health care provider is involved in the dispute, the panel shall consist of individuals licensed pursuant to the same section of the Revised Code as such health care provider.
(18) Pursuant to section 4123.65 of the Revised Code, approve applications for the final settlement of claims for compensation or benefits under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code as the administrator determines appropriate, except in regard to the applications of self-insuring employers and their employees.
(19) Comply with section 3517.13 of the Revised Code, and except in regard to contracts entered into pursuant to the authority contained in section 4121.44 of the Revised Code, comply with the competitive bidding procedures set forth in the Revised Code for all contracts into which the administrator enters provided that those contracts fall within the type of contracts and dollar amounts specified in the Revised Code for competitive bidding and further provided that those contracts are not otherwise specifically exempt from the competitive bidding procedures contained in the Revised Code.
(20) Adopt, with the advice and consent of the oversight commission, rules for the operation of the bureau.
(21) Prepare and submit to the oversight commission information the administrator considers pertinent or the oversight commission requires, together with the administrator's recommendations, in the form of administrative rules, for the advice and consent of the oversight commission, for the health partnership program and the qualified health plan system, as provided in sections 4121.44, 4121.441, and 4121.442 of the Revised Code.
(C) The administrator, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint a chief operating officer who has significant experience in the field of workers' compensation insurance or other similar insurance industry experience if the administrator does not possess such experience. The chief operating officer shall not commence the chief operating officer's duties until after the senate consents to the chief operating officer's appointment. The chief operating officer shall serve in the unclassified civil service of the state.
Sec. 4123.01.  As used in this chapter:
(A)(1) "Employee" means:
(a) Every person in the service of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, township, or school district therein, including regular members of lawfully constituted police and fire departments of municipal corporations and townships, whether paid or volunteer, and wherever serving within the state or on temporary assignment outside thereof, and executive officers of boards of education, under any appointment or contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including any elected official of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, or township, or members of boards of education.
As used in division (A)(1)(a) of this section, the term "employee" includes the following persons when responding to an inherently dangerous situation that calls for an immediate response on the part of the person, regardless of whether the person is within the limits of the jurisdiction of the person's regular employment or voluntary service when responding, on the condition that the person responds to the situation as the person otherwise would if the person were on duty in the person's jurisdiction:
(i) Off-duty peace officers. As used in division (A)(1)(a)(i) of this section, "peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.
(ii) Off-duty firefighters, whether paid or volunteer, of a lawfully constituted fire department.
(iii) Off-duty first responders, emergency medical technicians-basic, emergency medical technicians-intermediate, or emergency medical technicians-paramedic, whether paid or volunteer, of an ambulance service organization or emergency medical service organization pursuant to Chapter 4765. of the Revised Code.
(b) Every person in the service of any person, firm, or private corporation, including any public service corporation, that (i) employs one or more persons regularly in the same business or in or about the same establishment under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including aliens and minors, household workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single household and casual workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single employer, or (ii) is bound by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to pay into the state insurance fund the premiums provided by this chapter.
(c) Every person who performs labor or provides services pursuant to a construction contract, as defined in section 4123.79 of the Revised Code, if at least ten of the following criteria apply:
(i) The person is required to comply with instructions from the other contracting party regarding the manner or method of performing services;
(ii) The person is required by the other contracting party to have particular training;
(iii) The person's services are integrated into the regular functioning of the other contracting party;
(iv) The person is required to perform the work personally;
(v) The person is hired, supervised, or paid by the other contracting party;
(vi) A continuing relationship exists between the person and the other contracting party that contemplates continuing or recurring work even if the work is not full time;
(vii) The person's hours of work are established by the other contracting party;
(viii) The person is required to devote full time to the business of the other contracting party;
(ix) The person is required to perform the work on the premises of the other contracting party;
(x) The person is required to follow the order of work set by the other contracting party;
(xi) The person is required to make oral or written reports of progress to the other contracting party;
(xii) The person is paid for services on a regular basis such as hourly, weekly, or monthly;
(xiii) The person's expenses are paid for by the other contracting party;
(xiv) The person's tools and materials are furnished by the other contracting party;
(xv) The person is provided with the facilities used to perform services;
(xvi) The person does not realize a profit or suffer a loss as a result of the services provided;
(xvii) The person is not performing services for a number of employers at the same time;
(xviii) The person does not make the same services available to the general public;
(xix) The other contracting party has a right to discharge the person;
(xx) The person has the right to end the relationship with the other contracting party without incurring liability pursuant to an employment contract or agreement.
Every person in the service of any independent contractor or subcontractor who has failed to pay into the state insurance fund the amount of premium determined and fixed by the administrator of workers' compensation for the person's employment or occupation or if a self-insuring employer has failed to pay compensation and benefits directly to the employer's injured and to the dependents of the employer's killed employees as required by section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, shall be considered as the employee of the person who has entered into a contract, whether written or verbal, with such independent contractor unless such employees or their legal representatives or beneficiaries elect, after injury or death, to regard such independent contractor as the employer.
(2) "Employee" does not mean:
(a) A duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister or assistant or associate minister of a church in the exercise of ministry; or
(b) Any officer of a family farm corporation; or
(c) An individual who otherwise is an employee of an employer but who signs the waiver and affidavit specified in section 4123.15 of the Revised Code on the condition that the administrator has granted a waiver and exception to the individual's employer under section 4123.15 of the Revised Code.
Any employer may elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter, any person excluded from the definition of "employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section. If an employer is a partnership, sole proprietorship, or family farm corporation, such employer may elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter, any member of such partnership, the owner of the sole proprietorship, or the officers of the family farm corporation. In the event of an election, the employer shall serve upon the bureau of workers' compensation written notice naming the persons to be covered, include such employee's remuneration for premium purposes in all future payroll reports, and no person excluded from the definition of "employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, proprietor, or partner shall be deemed an employee within this division until the employer has served such notice.
For informational purposes only, the bureau shall prescribe such language as it considers appropriate, on such of its forms as it considers appropriate, to advise employers of their right to elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter a sole proprietor, any member of a partnership, the officers of a family farm corporation, or a person excluded from the definition of "employee" under division (A)(2)(a) of this section, that they should check any health and disability insurance policy, or other form of health and disability plan or contract, presently covering them, or the purchase of which they may be considering, to determine whether such policy, plan, or contract excludes benefits for illness or injury that they might have elected to have covered by workers' compensation.
(B) "Employer" means:
(1) The state, including state hospitals, each county, municipal corporation, township, school district, and hospital owned by a political subdivision or subdivisions other than the state;
(2) Every person, firm, and private corporation, including any public service corporation, that (a) has in service one or more employees regularly in the same business or in or about the same establishment under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, or (b) is bound by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to pay into the insurance fund the premiums provided by this chapter.
All such employers are subject to this chapter. Any member of a firm or association, who regularly performs manual labor in or about a mine, factory, or other establishment, including a household establishment, shall be considered an employee in determining whether such person, firm, or private corporation, or public service corporation, has in its service, one or more employees and the employer shall report the income derived from such labor to the bureau as part of the payroll of such employer, and such member shall thereupon be entitled to all the benefits of an employee.
(C) "Injury" includes any injury, whether caused by external accidental means or accidental in character and result, received in the course of, and arising out of, the injured employee's employment. "Injury" does not include:
(1) Psychiatric conditions except where the conditions have arisen from an injury or occupational disease;
(2) Injury or disability caused primarily by the natural deterioration of tissue, an organ, or part of the body;
(3) Injury or disability incurred in voluntary participation in an employer-sponsored recreation or fitness activity if the employee signs a waiver of the employee's right to compensation or benefits under this chapter prior to engaging in the recreation or fitness activity.
(D) "Child" includes a posthumous child and a child legally adopted prior to the injury.
(E) "Family farm corporation" means a corporation founded for the purpose of farming agricultural land in which the majority of the voting stock is held by and the majority of the stockholders are persons or the spouse of persons related to each other within the fourth degree of kinship, according to the rules of the civil law, and at least one of the related persons is residing on or actively operating the farm, and none of whose stockholders are a corporation. A family farm corporation does not cease to qualify under this division where, by reason of any devise, bequest, or the operation of the laws of descent or distribution, the ownership of shares of voting stock is transferred to another person, as long as that person is within the degree of kinship stipulated in this division.
(F) "Occupational disease" means a disease contracted in the course of employment, which by its causes and the characteristics of its manifestation or the condition of the employment results in a hazard which distinguishes the employment in character from employment generally, and the employment creates a risk of contracting the disease in greater degree and in a different manner from the public in general.
(G) "Self-insuring employer" means an employer who is granted the privilege of paying compensation and benefits directly under section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, including a board of county commissioners for the sole purpose of constructing a sports facility as defined in section 307.696 of the Revised Code, provided that the electors of the county in which the sports facility is to be built have approved construction of a sports facility by ballot election no later than November 6, 1997.
(H) "Public employer" means an employer as defined in division (B)(1) of this section.
Sec. 4123.15. (A) An employer who is a member of a recognized religious sect or division of a recognized religious sect and who is an adherent of established tenets or teachings of that sect or division by reason of which the employer is conscientiously opposed to benefits to employers and employees from any public or private insurance that makes payment in the event of death, disability, impairment, old age, or retirement or makes payments toward the cost of, or provides services in connection with the payment for, medical services, including the benefits from any insurance system established by the "Social Security Act," 42 U.S.C.A. 30l, et seq., may apply to the administrator of workers' compensation to be excepted from payment of premiums and other charges assessed under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code with respect to, or if the employer is a self-insuring employer, from payment of direct compensation and benefits to and assessments required by this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code on account of, an individual employee who meets the requirements of this section. The employer shall make an application on forms provided by the bureau of workers' compensation which forms may be those used by or similar to those used by the United States internal revenue service for the purpose of granting an exemption from payment of social security taxes under 26 U.S.C.A. 1402(g) of the Internal Revenue Code, and shall include a written waiver signed by the individual employee to be excepted from all the benefits and compensation provided in this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code.
The application also shall include affidavits signed by the employer and the individual employee that the employer and the individual employee are members of a recognized religious sect or division of a recognized religious sect and are adherents of established tenets or teaching of that sect or division by reason of which the employer and the individual employee are conscientiously opposed to benefits to employers and employees received from any public or private insurance that makes payments in the event of death, disability, impairment, old age, or retirement or makes payments toward the cost of, or provides services in connection with the payment for, medical services, including the benefits from any insurance system established by the "Social Security Act," 42 U.S.C.A. 301, et seq. If the individual is a minor, the guardian of the minor shall complete the waiver and affidavit required by this division.
(B) The administrator shall grant the waiver and exception to the employer for a particular individual employee if the administrator finds that the employer and the individual employee are members of a sect or division having the established tenets or teachings described in division (A) of this section, that it is the practice, and has been for a substantial number of years, for members of the sect or division of the sect to make provision for their dependent members which, in the administrator's judgment, is reasonable in view of their general level of hiring, and that the sect or division of the sect has been in existence at all times since December 31, 1950.
(C) A waiver and exception under division (B) of this section is effective on the date the administrator grants the waiver and exception. An employer who complies with this chapter and the employer's other employees, with respect to an individual employee for whom the administrator grants the waiver and exception, are entitled, as to that individual employee and as to all injuries and occupational diseases of the individual employee that occurred prior to the effective date of the waiver and exception, to the protections of sections 4123.74 and 4123.741 of the Revised Code. On and after the effective date of the waiver and exception, the employer is not liable for the payment of any premiums or other charges assessed under this chapter or Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, or if the individual is a self-insuring employer, the employer is not liable for the payment of any compensation or benefits directly or other charges assessed under this chapter or Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code in regard to that individual employee, and is considered a complying employer under those chapters, and the employer and the employer's other employees are entitled to the protections of sections 4123.74 and 4123.741 of the Revised Code, as to that individual employee, and as to injuries and occupational diseases of that individual employee that occur on and after the effective date of the waiver and exception.
(D) A waiver and exception granted in regard to a specific employer and individual employee are valid for all future years unless the administrator determines that the employer, individual employee, or sect or division ceases to meet the requirements of this section. If the administrator makes this determination, the employer is liable for the payment of premiums and other charges assessed under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, or if the employer is a self-insuring employer, the employer is liable for the payment of compensation and benefits directly and other charges assessed under those chapters, in regard to the individual employee for all injuries and occupational diseases of that individual that occur on and after the date of the administrator's determination, and the individual employee is entitled to all of the benefits and compensation provided in those chapters for an injury or occupational disease that occurs on or after the date of the administrator's determination.
Sec. 4123.31.  The moneys in the state treasury for the use of the bureau of workers' compensation and the industrial commission shall be known as the workers' compensation fund and group. The moneys from each fund shall be disbursed respectively pursuant to vouchers approved by the administrator of workers' compensation or the administrator's designee, or by the chairperson of the commission or the chairperson's designee.
The bureau and the commission shall provide for the custody, safekeeping, and deposit of all moneys, checks, and drafts received by it the bureau or commission or any of its employees or agents prior to paying the moneys, checks, and drafts to the treasurer of state as provided by section 113.08 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4123.342.  (A) The administrator of workers' compensation shall allocate among counties and taxing districts therein as a class, the state and its instrumentalities as a class, private employers who are insured under the private fund as a class, and self-insuring employers as a class their fair shares of the administrative costs which are to be borne by such employers under division (D) of section 4123.341 of the Revised Code, separately allocating to each class those costs solely attributable to the activities of the industrial commission, and those costs solely attributable to the activities of the workers' compensation oversight commission, and the bureau of workers' compensation in respect of the class, allocating to any combination of classes those costs attributable to the activities of the industrial commission, oversight commission, or bureau in respect of the classes, and allocating to all four classes those costs attributable to the activities of the industrial commission, oversight commission, and bureau in respect of all classes. The administrator shall separately calculate each employer's assessment in the class, except self-insuring employers, on the basis of the following three factors: payroll, paid compensation, and paid medical costs of the employer for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the oversight commission and the bureau. The administrator shall separately calculate each employer's assessment in the class, except self-insuring employers, on the basis of the following three factors: payroll, paid compensation, and paid medical costs of the employer for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the industrial commission. The administrator shall separately calculate each self-insuring employer's assessment in accordance with section 4123.35 of the Revised Code for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the oversight commission and the bureau. The administrator shall separately calculate each self-insuring employer's assessment in accordance with section 4123.35 of the Revised Code for those costs solely attributable to the activities of the industrial commission. In a timely manner, the industrial commission shall provide to the administrator, the information necessary for the administrator to allocate and calculate, with the approval of the chairperson of the industrial commission, for each class of employer as described in this division, the costs solely attributable to the activities of the industrial commission.
(B) The administrator shall divide the administrative cost assessments collected by the administrator into two administrative assessment accounts within the state insurance fund. One of the administrative assessment accounts shall consist of the administrative cost assessment collected by the administrator for the industrial commission. The other administrative assessment account shall consist of the administrative cost assessments collected by the administrator for the bureau and the workers' compensation oversight commission. The administrator may invest the administrative cost assessments in these accounts on behalf of the bureau and the industrial commission as authorized in section 4123.44 of the Revised Code. In a timely manner, the administrator shall provide to the industrial commission the information and reports the commission deems necessary for the commission to monitor the receipts and the disbursements from the administrative assessment account for the industrial commission.
(C) The administrator or the administrator's designee shall transfer moneys as necessary from the administrative assessment account identified for the bureau and the workers' compensation oversight commission to the workers' compensation fund for the use of the bureau and the oversight commission. As necessary and upon the authorization of the industrial commission, the administrator or the administrator's designee shall transfer moneys from the administrative assessment account identified for the industrial commission to the industrial commission operating fund created under section 4121.021 of the Revised Code. To the extent that the moneys collected by the administrator in any fiscal biennium of the state equal the sum appropriated by the general assembly for administrative costs of the industrial commission, oversight commission, and bureau for the biennium, the moneys shall be paid into the workers' compensation fund and the industrial commission operating fund of the state and any remainder shall be retained in the state insurance fund and applied to reduce the amount collected during the next biennium. Sections 4123.41, 4123.35, and 4123.37 of the Revised Code apply to the collection of assessments from public and private employers respectively, except that for boards of county hospital trustees that are self-insuring employers, only those provisions applicable to the collection of assessments for private employers apply.
Sec. 4123.80.  No agreement by an employee to waive his an employee's rights to compensation under this chapter is valid, except that:
(A) An employee who is blind may waive the compensation that may become due him to the employee for injury or disability in cases where the injury or disability may be directly caused by or due to his the employee's blindness. The administrator of workers' compensation, with the advice and consent of the workers' compensation oversight commission, may adopt and enforce rules governing the employment of such persons and the inspection of their places of employment.
(B) An employee may waive his the employee's rights to compensation or benefits as authorized pursuant to division (C)(3) of section 4123.01 or section 4123.15 of the Revised Code.
No agreement by an employee to pay any portion of the premium paid by his the employee's employer into the state insurance fund is valid.
Section 2. That existing sections 2305.24, 2305.25, 4121.121, 4123.01, 4123.31, 4123.342, and 4123.80 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3.  All items in this section are hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the state treasury to the credit of the designated fund. For all appropriations made in this act, those in the first column are for fiscal year 2004, and those in the second column are for fiscal year 2005.
FND AI AI TITLE Appropriations

BWC BUREAU OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
Workers' Compensation Fund Group
023 855-401 William Green Lease Payments to OBA $ 18,734,613 $ 19,239,613
023 855-407 Claims, Risk & Medical Management $ 141,539,537 $ 141,539,537
023 855-408 Fraud Prevention $ 11,713,797 $ 11,713,797
023 855-409 Administrative Services $ 119,884,053 $ 119,884,053
023 855-410 Attorney General Payments $ 4,314,644 $ 4,314,644
822 855-606 Coal Workers' Fund $ 91,894 $ 91,894
823 855-608 Marine Industry $ 53,952 $ 53,952
825 855-605 Disabled Workers Relief Fund $ 693,764 $ 693,764
826 855-609 Safety & Hygiene Operating $ 20,130,820 $ 20,130,820
826 855-610 Safety Grants Program $ 2,000,000 $ 2,000,000
TOTAL WCF Workers' Compensation
Fund Group $ 319,157,074 $ 319,662,074
TOTAL ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS $ 319,157,074 $ 319,662,074

WILLIAM GREEN LEASE PAYMENTS
The foregoing appropriation item 855-401, William Green Lease Payments to OBA, shall be used for lease payments to the Ohio Building Authority, and these appropriations shall be used to meet all payments at the times they are required to be made during the period from July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005, by the Bureau of Workers' Compensation to the Ohio Building Authority pursuant to leases and agreements made under Chapter 152. of the Revised Code and Section 6 of Am. Sub. H.B. 743 of the 118th General Assembly. Of the amounts received in Fund 023, appropriation item 855-401, up to $37,974,226 shall be restricted for lease rental payments to the Ohio Building Authority. If it is determined that additional appropriations are necessary for such purpose, such amounts are hereby appropriated.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, all tenants of the William Green Building not funded by the Workers' Compensation Fund (Fund 023) shall pay their fair share of the costs of lease payments to the Workers' Compensation Fund (Fund 023) by intrastate transfer voucher.
WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD UNIT
The Workers' Compensation Section Fund (Fund 195) shall receive payments from the Bureau of Workers' Compensation at the beginning of each quarter of each fiscal year to fund expenses of the Workers' Compensation Fraud Unit of the Attorney General's Office. Of the foregoing appropriation item 855-410, Attorney General Payments, $773,151 in fiscal year 2004 and $773,151 in fiscal year 2005 shall be used to provide these payments.
SAFETY AND HYGIENE
Notwithstanding section 4121.37 of the Revised Code, the Administrator of Workers' Compensation shall transfer moneys from the State Insurance Fund so that appropriation item 855-609, Safety and Hygiene Operating, is provided $20,130,820 in fiscal year 2004 and $20,130,820 in fiscal year 2005.
BALANCES
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Director of Budget and Management shall make any transfers of cash balances between funds made necessary by the creation of new funds or the consolidation of funds as authorized by the General Assembly. Within the first five days after the effective date of this section, the head of the Industrial Commission shall certify to the Director of Budget and Management the amount of the cash balance to be transferred to the Industrial Commission Operating Fund (Fund 5W3). The Director of Budget and Management may transfer the amount. Within thirty days after the effective date of this section, the head of the Industrial Commission shall certify the final transfer amount to the Director of Budget and Management. The Director shall transfer the cash from the Workers' Compensation Fund (Fund 023) to the Industrial Commission Operating Fund (Fund 5W3).
To implement funding changes as described above pertaining to prior year encumbrance balances and commensurate appropriation authority, in fiscal year 2004 the Director of Budget and Management may cancel encumbrances outstanding on June 30, 2003, and reestablish such prior year encumbrances or parts of encumbrances as needed in fiscal year 2004 in the appropriate fund or appropriation item as authorized in this act for the same purpose and to the same vendor. As determined by the director, the appropriation authority necessary to reestablish such prior year encumbrances in fiscal year 2004 in a different fund or appropriation item within an agency or between agencies is authorized. The director shall reduce each prior year's appropriation authority by the amount of the encumbrances canceled in their respective funds and appropriation items.
VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
The Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Rehabilitation Services Commission shall enter into an interagency agreement for the provision of vocational rehabilitation services and staff to mutually eligible clients. The bureau shall provide $587,774 in fiscal year 2004 and $605,407 in fiscal year 2005 from the State Insurance Fund to fund vocational rehabilitation services and staff in accordance with the interagency agreement.
FUND BALANCE
Any unencumbered cash balance in excess of $45,000,000 in the Workers' Compensation Fund (Fund 023) on the thirtieth day of June of each fiscal year shall be used to reduce the administrative cost rate charged to employers to cover appropriations for Bureau of Workers' Compensation operations.
Section 4. On July 1, 2003, or as soon thereafter as possible, the Director of Budget and Management shall transfer an amount equal to the amount of existing encumbrances in Fund 023 appropriation items 845-321, Operating Expenses, 845-402, Rent - William Green Building, and 845-410, Attorney General Payments, from Fund 023 to Fund 5W3 under the Ohio Industrial Commission.
On July 1, 2003, or as soon thereafter as possible, the Director of Budget and Management shall transfer the amount certified by the Ohio Industrial Commission from Fund 023 to Fund 5W3. Any existing encumbrances in appropriation items 845-321, Operating Expenses, 845-402, Rent - William Green Building, and 845-410, Attorney General Payments, under Fund 023 shall be canceled and re-established against appropriation items 845-321, Operating Expenses, 845-402, Rent - William Green Building, and 845-410, Attorney General Payments, under Fund 5W3, respectively. The amounts of the re-established encumbrances are hereby appropriated.
Section 5. The Director of the Legislative Service Commission shall renumber the Bureau of Workers' Compensation safety and hygiene rules currently bearing Administrative Code division-level designation 4121:1 so that the rules bear instead division-level designation 4123:1. Thereafter, division-level designation 4123:1 constitutes an official part of the official Administrative Code rule numbers of the Bureau of Workers' Compensation safety and hygiene rules, and a reference in a statute, rule, contract, or other document to a safety and hygiene rule bearing Administrative Code division-level designation 4121:1 is deemed to refer to the same rule as officially renumbered pursuant to this section.
Section 6. Law contained in the main operating appropriations act of the 125th General Assembly that applies generally to the appropriations made in that act also applies generally to the appropriations made in this act.
Section 7. Sections 2305.24, 2305.25, 4121.121, 4123.01, 4123.31, 4123.342, and 4123.80 of the Revised Code as amended by this act and sections 4121.021 and 4123.15 of the Revised Code as enacted by this act are subject to the referendum. Therefore, under Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1c and section 1.471 of the Revised Code, the sections as amended or enacted take effect on the ninety-first day after this act is filed with the Secretary of State. If, however, a referendum petition is filed against such a section as amended or enacted, or against an item of which such a section is composed, the section as amended or enacted or item, unless rejected at the referendum, takes effect at the earliest time permitted by law.
Section 8. The uncodified sections of law contained in this act, and the items of law of which the uncodified sections of law contained in this act are composed, are not subject to the referendum. Therefore, under Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1d and section 1.471 of the Revised Code, the uncodified sections of law contained in this act, and the items of law of which the uncodified sections of law contained in this act are composed, go into immediate effect when this act becomes law.
Section 9. An item that composes the whole or part of an uncodified section contained in this act has no effect after June 30, 2005, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Section 10.  Section 4123.01 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both H.B. 675 and Am. Sub. S.B. 223 of the 124th General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.
Section 11. If any item of law that constitutes the whole or part of a codified or uncodified section of law contained in this act, or if any application of any item of law that constitutes the whole or part of a codified or uncodified section of law contained in this act, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other times of law or applications of items of law that can be given effect without the invalid item of law or application. To this end, the items of law of which the codified and uncodified sections of law contained in this act are composed, and their applications, are independent and severable.
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