130th Ohio General Assembly
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Sub. H. B. No. 51  As Reported by the House Infrastructure, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs Committee
As Reported by the House Infrastructure, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs Committee

127th General Assembly
Regular Session
2007-2008
Sub. H. B. No. 51


Representative Evans 

Cosponsors: Representatives McGregor, J., Combs, Dodd, Okey, Fessler, Fende 



A BILL
To amend sections 2743.02 and 2744.01 and to enact section 4510.121 of the Revised Code to permit a person who is issued a ticket for operating a motor vehicle other than a commercial motor vehicle with an expired driver's or commercial driver's license to be issued a seven-day field driving permit.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2743.02 and 2744.01 be amended and section 4510.121 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 2743.02.  (A)(1) The state hereby waives its immunity from liability, except as provided for the office of the state fire marshal in division (G)(1) of section 9.60 and division (B) of section 3737.221 of the Revised Code and except as provided in division (I) of this section and subject to division (H) of this section, and consents to be sued, and have its liability determined, in the court of claims created in this chapter in accordance with the same rules of law applicable to suits between private parties, except that the determination of liability is subject to the limitations set forth in this chapter and, in the case of state universities or colleges, in section 3345.40 of the Revised Code, and except as provided in division (A)(2) or (3) of this section. To the extent that the state has previously consented to be sued, this chapter has no applicability.
Except in the case of a civil action filed by the state, filing a civil action in the court of claims results in a complete waiver of any cause of action, based on the same act or omission, which the filing party has against any officer or employee, as defined in section 109.36 of the Revised Code. The waiver shall be void if the court determines that the act or omission was manifestly outside the scope of the officer's or employee's office or employment or that the officer or employee acted with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner.
(2) If a claimant proves in the court of claims that an officer or employee, as defined in section 109.36 of the Revised Code, would have personal liability for the officer's or employee's acts or omissions but for the fact that the officer or employee has personal immunity under section 9.86 of the Revised Code, the state shall be held liable in the court of claims in any action that is timely filed pursuant to section 2743.16 of the Revised Code and that is based upon the acts or omissions.
(3)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(3)(b) of this section, the state is immune from liability in any civil action or proceeding involving the performance or nonperformance of a public duty, including the performance or nonperformance of a public duty that is owed by the state in relation to any action of an individual who is committed to the custody of the state.
(b) The state immunity provided in division (A)(3)(a) of this section does not apply to any action of the state under circumstances in which a special relationship can be established between the state and an injured party. A special relationship under this division is demonstrated if all of the following elements exist:
(i) An assumption by the state, by means of promises or actions, of an affirmative duty to act on behalf of the party who was allegedly injured;
(ii) Knowledge on the part of the state's agents that inaction of the state could lead to harm;
(iii) Some form of direct contact between the state's agents and the injured party;
(iv) The injured party's justifiable reliance on the state's affirmative undertaking.
(B) The state hereby waives the immunity from liability of all hospitals owned or operated by one or more political subdivisions and consents for them to be sued, and to have their liability determined, in the court of common pleas, in accordance with the same rules of law applicable to suits between private parties, subject to the limitations set forth in this chapter. This division is also applicable to hospitals owned or operated by political subdivisions which have been determined by the supreme court to be subject to suit prior to July 28, 1975.
(C) Any hospital, as defined in section 2305.113 of the Revised Code, may purchase liability insurance covering its operations and activities and its agents, employees, nurses, interns, residents, staff, and members of the governing board and committees, and, whether or not such insurance is purchased, may, to such extent as its governing board considers appropriate, indemnify or agree to indemnify and hold harmless any such person against expense, including attorney's fees, damage, loss, or other liability arising out of, or claimed to have arisen out of, the death, disease, or injury of any person as a result of the negligence, malpractice, or other action or inaction of the indemnified person while acting within the scope of the indemnified person's duties or engaged in activities at the request or direction, or for the benefit, of the hospital. Any hospital electing to indemnify such persons, or to agree to so indemnify, shall reserve such funds as are necessary, in the exercise of sound and prudent actuarial judgment, to cover the potential expense, fees, damage, loss, or other liability. The superintendent of insurance may recommend, or, if such hospital requests the superintendent to do so, the superintendent shall recommend, a specific amount for any period that, in the superintendent's opinion, represents such a judgment. This authority is in addition to any authorization otherwise provided or permitted by law.
(D) Recoveries against the state shall be reduced by the aggregate of insurance proceeds, disability award, or other collateral recovery received by the claimant. This division does not apply to civil actions in the court of claims against a state university or college under the circumstances described in section 3345.40 of the Revised Code. The collateral benefits provisions of division (B)(2) of that section apply under those circumstances.
(E) The only defendant in original actions in the court of claims is the state. The state may file a third-party complaint or counterclaim in any civil action, except a civil action for two thousand five hundred dollars or less, that is filed in the court of claims.
(F) A civil action against an officer or employee, as defined in section 109.36 of the Revised Code, that alleges that the officer's or employee's conduct was manifestly outside the scope of the officer's or employee's employment or official responsibilities, or that the officer or employee acted with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner shall first be filed against the state in the court of claims, which has exclusive, original jurisdiction to determine, initially, whether the officer or employee is entitled to personal immunity under section 9.86 of the Revised Code and whether the courts of common pleas have jurisdiction over the civil action. The officer or employee may participate in the immunity determination proceeding before the court of claims to determine whether the officer or employee is entitled to personal immunity under section 9.86 of the Revised Code.
The filing of a claim against an officer or employee under this division tolls the running of the applicable statute of limitations until the court of claims determines whether the officer or employee is entitled to personal immunity under section 9.86 of the Revised Code.
(G) Whenever a claim lies against an officer or employee who is a member of the Ohio national guard, and the officer or employee was, at the time of the act or omission complained of, subject to the "Federal Tort Claims Act," 60 Stat. 842 (1946), 28 U.S.C. 2671, et seq., then the Federal Tort Claims Act is the exclusive remedy of the claimant and the state has no liability under this section.
(H) If an inmate of a state correctional institution has a claim against the state for the loss of or damage to property and the amount claimed does not exceed three hundred dollars, before commencing an action against the state in the court of claims, the inmate shall file a claim for the loss or damage under the rules adopted by the director of rehabilitation and correction pursuant to this division. The inmate shall file the claim within the time allowed for commencement of a civil action under section 2743.16 of the Revised Code. If the state admits or compromises the claim, the director shall make payment from a fund designated by the director for that purpose. If the state denies the claim or does not compromise the claim at least sixty days prior to expiration of the time allowed for commencement of a civil action based upon the loss or damage under section 2743.16 of the Revised Code, the inmate may commence an action in the court of claims under this chapter to recover damages for the loss or damage.
The director of rehabilitation and correction shall adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to implement this division.
(I) The state is immune from liability in any civil action or proceeding arising from any incident or set of facts or circumstances that involve a person to whom a state highway patrol trooper has issued a seven-day field driving permit under section 4510.121 of the Revised Code and that occurs subsequent to such issuance.
Sec. 2744.01.  As used in this chapter:
(A) "Emergency call" means a call to duty, including, but not limited to, communications from citizens, police dispatches, and personal observations by peace officers of inherently dangerous situations that demand an immediate response on the part of a peace officer.
(B) "Employee" means an officer, agent, employee, or servant, whether or not compensated or full-time or part-time, who is authorized to act and is acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, employee's, or servant's employment for a political subdivision. "Employee" does not include an independent contractor and does not include any individual engaged by a school district pursuant to section 3319.301 of the Revised Code. "Employee" includes any elected or appointed official of a political subdivision. "Employee" also includes a person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a criminal offense and who has been sentenced to perform community service work in a political subdivision whether pursuant to section 2951.02 of the Revised Code or otherwise, and a child who is found to be a delinquent child and who is ordered by a juvenile court pursuant to section 2152.19 or 2152.20 of the Revised Code to perform community service or community work in a political subdivision.
(C)(1) "Governmental function" means a function of a political subdivision that is specified in division (C)(2) of this section or that satisfies any of the following:
(a) A function that is imposed upon the state as an obligation of sovereignty and that is performed by a political subdivision voluntarily or pursuant to legislative requirement;
(b) A function that is for the common good of all citizens of the state;
(c) A function that promotes or preserves the public peace, health, safety, or welfare; that involves activities that are not engaged in or not customarily engaged in by nongovernmental persons; and that is not specified in division (G)(2) of this section as a proprietary function.
(2) A "governmental function" includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) The provision or nonprovision of police, fire, emergency medical, ambulance, and rescue services or protection;
(b) The power to preserve the peace; to prevent and suppress riots, disturbances, and disorderly assemblages; to prevent, mitigate, and clean up releases of oil and hazardous and extremely hazardous substances as defined in section 3750.01 of the Revised Code; and to protect persons and property;
(c) The provision of a system of public education;
(d) The provision of a free public library system;
(e) The regulation of the use of, and the maintenance and repair of, roads, highways, streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, bridges, aqueducts, viaducts, and public grounds;
(f) Judicial, quasi-judicial, prosecutorial, legislative, and quasi-legislative functions;
(g) The construction, reconstruction, repair, renovation, maintenance, and operation of buildings that are used in connection with the performance of a governmental function, including, but not limited to, office buildings and courthouses;
(h) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, maintenance, and operation of jails, places of juvenile detention, workhouses, or any other detention facility, as defined in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code;
(i) The enforcement or nonperformance of any law;
(j) The regulation of traffic, and the erection or nonerection of traffic signs, signals, or control devices;
(k) The collection and disposal of solid wastes, as defined in section 3734.01 of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, the operation of solid waste disposal facilities, as "facilities" is defined in that section, and the collection and management of hazardous waste generated by households. As used in division (C)(2)(k) of this section, "hazardous waste generated by households" means solid waste originally generated by individual households that is listed specifically as hazardous waste in or exhibits one or more characteristics of hazardous waste as defined by rules adopted under section 3734.12 of the Revised Code, but that is excluded from regulation as a hazardous waste by those rules.
(l) The provision or nonprovision, planning or design, construction, or reconstruction of a public improvement, including, but not limited to, a sewer system;
(m) The operation of a job and family services department or agency, including, but not limited to, the provision of assistance to aged and infirm persons and to persons who are indigent;
(n) The operation of a health board, department, or agency, including, but not limited to, any statutorily required or permissive program for the provision of immunizations or other inoculations to all or some members of the public, provided that a "governmental function" does not include the supply, manufacture, distribution, or development of any drug or vaccine employed in any such immunization or inoculation program by any supplier, manufacturer, distributor, or developer of the drug or vaccine;
(o) The operation of mental health facilities, mental retardation or developmental disabilities facilities, alcohol treatment and control centers, and children's homes or agencies;
(p) The provision or nonprovision of inspection services of all types, including, but not limited to, inspections in connection with building, zoning, sanitation, fire, plumbing, and electrical codes, and the taking of actions in connection with those types of codes, including, but not limited to, the approval of plans for the construction of buildings or structures and the issuance or revocation of building permits or stop work orders in connection with buildings or structures;
(q) Urban renewal projects and the elimination of slum conditions;
(r) Flood control measures;
(s) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, operation, care, repair, and maintenance of a township cemetery;
(t) The issuance of revenue obligations under section 140.06 of the Revised Code;
(u) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, maintenance, and operation of any school athletic facility, school auditorium, or gymnasium or any recreational area or facility, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(i) A park, playground, or playfield;
(ii) An indoor recreational facility;
(iii) A zoo or zoological park;
(iv) A bath, swimming pool, pond, water park, wading pool, wave pool, water slide, or other type of aquatic facility;
(v) A golf course;
(vi) A bicycle motocross facility or other type of recreational area or facility in which bicycling, skating, skate boarding, or scooter riding is engaged;
(vii) A rope course or climbing walls;
(viii) An all-purpose vehicle facility in which all-purpose vehicles, as defined in section 4519.01 of the Revised Code, are contained, maintained, or operated for recreational activities.
(v) The provision of public defender services by a county or joint county public defender's office pursuant to Chapter 120. of the Revised Code;
(w)(i) At any time before regulations prescribed pursuant to 49 U.S.C.A 20153 become effective, the designation, establishment, design, construction, implementation, operation, repair, or maintenance of a public road rail crossing in a zone within a municipal corporation in which, by ordinance, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation regulates the sounding of locomotive horns, whistles, or bells;
(ii) On and after the effective date of regulations prescribed pursuant to 49 U.S.C.A. 20153, the designation, establishment, design, construction, implementation, operation, repair, or maintenance of a public road rail crossing in such a zone or of a supplementary safety measure, as defined in 49 U.S.C.A 20153, at or for a public road rail crossing, if and to the extent that the public road rail crossing is excepted, pursuant to subsection (c) of that section, from the requirement of the regulations prescribed under subsection (b) of that section.
(x) Issuance of a seven-day field driving permit under section 4510.121 of the Revised Code by a law enforcement officer employed by a law enforcement agency of a political subdivision;
(y) A function that the general assembly mandates a political subdivision to perform.
(D) "Law" means any provision of the constitution, statutes, or rules of the United States or of this state; provisions of charters, ordinances, resolutions, and rules of political subdivisions; and written policies adopted by boards of education. When used in connection with the "common law," this definition does not apply.
(E) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.
(F) "Political subdivision" or "subdivision" means a municipal corporation, township, county, school district, or other body corporate and politic responsible for governmental activities in a geographic area smaller than that of the state. "Political subdivision" includes, but is not limited to, a county hospital commission appointed under section 339.14 of the Revised Code, board of hospital commissioners appointed for a municipal hospital under section 749.04 of the Revised Code, board of hospital trustees appointed for a municipal hospital under section 749.22 of the Revised Code, regional planning commission created pursuant to section 713.21 of the Revised Code, county planning commission created pursuant to section 713.22 of the Revised Code, joint planning council created pursuant to section 713.231 of the Revised Code, interstate regional planning commission created pursuant to section 713.30 of the Revised Code, port authority created pursuant to section 4582.02 or 4582.26 of the Revised Code or in existence on December 16, 1964, regional council established by political subdivisions pursuant to Chapter 167. of the Revised Code, emergency planning district and joint emergency planning district designated under section 3750.03 of the Revised Code, joint emergency medical services district created pursuant to section 307.052 of the Revised Code, fire and ambulance district created pursuant to section 505.375 of the Revised Code, joint interstate emergency planning district established by an agreement entered into under that section, county solid waste management district and joint solid waste management district established under section 343.01 or 343.012 of the Revised Code, community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, the county or counties served by a community-based correctional facility and program or district community-based correctional facility and program established and operated under sections 2301.51 to 2301.58 of the Revised Code, a community-based correctional facility and program or district community-based correctional facility and program that is so established and operated, and the facility governing board of a community-based correctional facility and program or district community-based correctional facility and program that is so established and operated.
(G)(1) "Proprietary function" means a function of a political subdivision that is specified in division (G)(2) of this section or that satisfies both of the following:
(a) The function is not one described in division (C)(1)(a) or (b) of this section and is not one specified in division (C)(2) of this section;
(b) The function is one that promotes or preserves the public peace, health, safety, or welfare and that involves activities that are customarily engaged in by nongovernmental persons.
(2) A "proprietary function" includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) The operation of a hospital by one or more political subdivisions;
(b) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, maintenance, and operation of a public cemetery other than a township cemetery;
(c) The establishment, maintenance, and operation of a utility, including, but not limited to, a light, gas, power, or heat plant, a railroad, a busline or other transit company, an airport, and a municipal corporation water supply system;
(d) The maintenance, destruction, operation, and upkeep of a sewer system;
(e) The operation and control of a public stadium, auditorium, civic or social center, exhibition hall, arts and crafts center, band or orchestra, or off-street parking facility.
(H) "Public roads" means public roads, highways, streets, avenues, alleys, and bridges within a political subdivision. "Public roads" does not include berms, shoulders, rights-of-way, or traffic control devices unless the traffic control devices are mandated by the Ohio manual of uniform traffic control devices.
(I) "State" means the state of Ohio, including, but not limited to, the general assembly, the supreme court, the offices of all elected state officers, and all departments, boards, offices, commissions, agencies, colleges and universities, institutions, and other instrumentalities of the state of Ohio. "State" does not include political subdivisions.
Sec. 4510.121. (A) If a law enforcement officer issues a person a ticket, citation, or summons for a violation of section 4510.12 of the Revised Code because the offender was operating a motor vehicle other than a commercial motor vehicle with a driver's or commercial driver's license issued by this state that was expired and the person's driver's or commercial driver's license otherwise has not been suspended or canceled and therefore but for the fact that the person's driver's or commercial driver's license had expired the person's operation of the motor vehicle would not have been in violation of section 4510.12 of the Revised Code, the law enforcement officer shall issue to the person a seven-day field driving permit. The ticket, citation, or summons that the officer issues to the person shall serve as the person's seven-day field driving permit. The law enforcement officer shall make the necessary markings and notations on the ticket, citation, or summons in order to indicate that it is to serve as a seven-day field driving permit for the person listed on the ticket, citation, or summons. The law enforcement officer shall issue the combination ticket, citation, or summons and seven-day field driving permit to the person if the person has not been arrested, the motor vehicle the person was operating at the time of the violation of section 4510.12 of the Revised Code can be lawfully operated on the public roads and is not a commercial motor vehicle, and the person presents to the law enforcement officer valid proof of financial responsibility in a form described in division (G) of section 4509.101 of the Revised Code. The ticket, citation, or summons shall include all language and spaces necessary in order for it to serve as the person's seven-day field driving permit, including spaces in which the law enforcement officer shall enter the date and time of issuance of the permit and the date and time that the permit expires.
(B) A person who is issued a seven-day field driving permit under this section may operate a motor vehicle as follows if the person has the permit in the person's possession:
(1) During the three hours immediately following the time of issuance of the permit to enable the person to travel directly to the person's residence;
(2) During the seven-day period commencing from the time and date of issuance of the permit and prior to issuance by the registrar or a deputy registrar of a driver's or commercial driver's license to the person, the person may travel directly to and from the person's residence and the person's place of employment, but the person shall not operate a motor vehicle in the course of the person's employment;
(3) During the seven-day period commencing from the time and date of issuance of the permit, the person may travel to an office of the registrar or a deputy registrar to obtain a driver's or commercial driver's license.
(C) Issuance of a seven-day field driving permit to a person does not invalidate, supersede, or otherwise affect in any manner or to any degree any suspension or cancellation of the person's driver's or commercial driver's license that is in effect at the time of issuance of the permit. A person who is issued a seven-day field driving permit under this section shall be deemed to possess a valid driver's license issued by this state only if the person operates a motor vehicle as specified in division (B) of this section and only if the person's driver's or commercial driver's license otherwise has not been suspended or canceled.
(D) No state highway patrol trooper or other law enforcement officer shall be personally liable or subject to any suit, judgment, or claim or damages arising from any incident or set of facts or circumstances that involve a person to whom the trooper or officer issued a seven-day field driving permit under section 4510.121 of the Revised Code and that occurs subsequent to such issuance.
(E) No person shall be issued more than one seven-day field driving permit in any sixty-month period, commencing on the date such a permit is issued.
(F) No person who is issued a seven-day field driving permit shall operate a motor vehicle other than as specified in division (B) of this section.
(G) If a person who has been issued a seven-day field driving permit under this section submits an application to the registrar or a deputy registrar for a driver's license or commercial driver's license and, on the date of such application, the person's previous driver's or commercial driver's license expired more than forty-eight months prior to the date of the application, the person shall not be issued a driver's or commercial driver's license unless the person pays not only all the applicable fees associated with the issuance of a driver's or commercial driver's license on that date but also all the fees the person would have paid to the registrar or deputy registrar had the person applied for renewal of the person's previous driver's or commercial driver's license on the expiration date of that previous license.
(H) Whoever violates division (F) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Section 2. That existing sections 2743.02 and 2744.01 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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