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Sub. S. B. No. 248 As Reported by the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs CommitteeAs Reported by the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
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Cosponsors:
Senators Boccieri, Buehrer, Carey, Cates, Coughlin, Faber, Gardner, Harris, Jacobson, Mason, Mumper, Padgett, Schaffer, Schuring, Spada, Smith, Grendell, Fedor, Roberts
A BILL
To amend sections 149.43, 317.24, 317.27, 2313.16,
2741.02, 2921.22, and 3345.01 and to
enact
sections 2741.99, 3333.42, and
5913.11
of
the
Revised Code to exempt certain
armed forces
discharges from inspection or
copying as a public
record, to prohibit failing
to report the
unauthorized use of certain
electronic property
to
law enforcement
authorities,
to excuse
certain
military persons from jury duty,
to
establish a
criminal
penalty for unlawfully
using a deceased
military
person's persona, to
establish tuition
benefits
for certain military
persons, to
create the Ohio
Military Medal of
Distinction, and to require a
report regarding
the feasibility of a National
Guard Youth
Challenge
Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 149.43, 317.24, 317.27, 2313.16,
2741.02, 2921.22, and 3345.01 be amended and sections
2741.99,
3333.42, and 5913.11 of the Revised Code be
enacted to
read as
follows:
Sec. 149.43. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Public record" means
records kept by
any
public
office,
including, but not limited to, state, county,
city,
village,
township, and school district units,
and records
pertaining to the
delivery of educational
services by an
alternative
school in this
state kept by the nonprofit or
for-profit
entity operating the
alternative school pursuant to
section
3313.533 of the Revised
Code. "Public record" does not
mean any of
the following:
(b) Records pertaining to probation and parole proceedings or
to proceedings related to the imposition of community control
sanctions and post-release control sanctions;
(c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 and
division
(C) of section 2919.121 of
the Revised Code and to
appeals of actions arising under
those sections;
(d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including
the
contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of
health under
section 3705.12 of the Revised Code;
(e) Information in a record contained in the putative father
registry
established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code,
regardless of whether the
information is held by the department of
job and family
services or, pursuant to
section 3111.69 of the
Revised Code, the
office of child support in the
department or a
child support enforcement agency;
(f) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of the
Revised Code or
specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of
the Revised Code;
(g) Trial preparation records;
(h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records;
(i) Records containing information that is confidential
under
section 2710.03 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code;
(j) DNA records stored in the DNA database
pursuant to
section 109.573 of the Revised Code;
(k) Inmate records released by the department of
rehabilitation and
correction to
the department of youth services
or a court of record pursuant to division (E)
of section 5120.21
of the Revised Code;
(l) Records maintained by the department of youth services
pertaining to
children in its custody released by the department
of youth services to the
department of rehabilitation and
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the
Revised Code;
(m) Intellectual property records;
(n) Donor profile records;
(o) Records maintained by the department of job and
family
services pursuant to
section 3121.894 of the Revised Code;
(p) Peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney,
assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth
services employee, firefighter, or EMT residential and
familial
information;
(q) In the case of a county hospital operated
pursuant to
Chapter
339. of the Revised Code or a municipal hospital operated
pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code, information that
constitutes a
trade secret,
as defined in section 1333.61 of the
Revised Code;
(r) Information pertaining to the recreational activities of
a person under
the age of eighteen;
(s) Records provided to, statements made by review board
members
during meetings of, and all work products of a child
fatality review
board acting under sections 307.621 to 307.629 of
the Revised Code, other than
the report
prepared pursuant to
section 307.626
of the Revised Code;
(t) Records provided to and statements made by the
executive
director of a public children services agency or a prosecuting
attorney acting
pursuant to section
5153.171 of the Revised Code
other than the information
released
under that section;
(u) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used
in
an
examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator
that
the board of
examiners of nursing home administrators
administers
under section 4751.04 of
the Revised Code or contracts
under that
section with a
private or government entity to
administer;
(v) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or
federal law;
(w) Proprietary information of or relating to any person
that
is submitted to or compiled by the Ohio venture capital
authority
created under section 150.01 of the Revised Code;
(x) Information reported and evaluations conducted pursuant
to section 3701.072 of the Revised Code;
(y) Financial statements and data any person submits for any
purpose to the Ohio housing finance agency or the controlling
board in connection with applying for, receiving, or accounting
for financial assistance from the agency, and information that
identifies any individual who benefits directly or indirectly from
financial assistance from the agency;
(z) Discharges recorded with a county recorder under section
317.24 of the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)(2) of
that section.
(2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record"
means
any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a
criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a
high probability of disclosure of any of the following:
(a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged
with
the offense to which the record pertains, or of an
information
source or witness to whom confidentiality has been
reasonably
promised;
(b) Information provided by an information source or
witness
to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised,
which
information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's or
witness's
identity;
(c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or
procedures or specific investigatory work product;
(d) Information that would endanger the life or physical
safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness,
or
a confidential information source.
(3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history,
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that
is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment.
(4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that
contains
information that is specifically compiled in reasonable
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and
personal trial preparation of an attorney.
(5) "Intellectual property record" means a record,
other
than
a financial or administrative record, that is produced or
collected
by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of
higher learning in the
conduct of or as a result of study or
research on an educational, commercial,
scientific, artistic,
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the
study or
research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction
with
a governmental body or private concern, and that has not been
publicly
released, published, or patented.
(6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors or
potential
donors to a public institution of higher education
except the names and
reported addresses of the actual donors and
the date, amount, and conditions
of the actual donation.
(7) "Peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney,
assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth
services employee, firefighter, or EMT residential and
familial
information"
means any information that discloses any of the
following about a
peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee,
youth services employee, firefighter, or EMT:
(a) The address of the actual personal residence of a peace
officer, parole officer, assistant prosecuting attorney,
correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, or
EMT, except for the state or political
subdivision in which
the
peace
officer, parole officer, assistant prosecuting attorney,
correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, or
EMT
resides;
(b) Information compiled from referral to or participation
in
an
employee assistance program;
(c) The social security number, the residential telephone
number,
any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card
number, or the
emergency telephone number of, or any medical
information pertaining to, a peace officer, parole officer,
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, or EMT;
(d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits,
including,
but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided
to a peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney,
assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth
services employee, firefighter, or EMT by
the peace officer's,
parole officer's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting
attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services employee's,
firefighter's, or EMT's employer;
(e) The identity and amount of any charitable or employment
benefit deduction made by the peace officer's, parole officer's,
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's,
correctional employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's,
or
EMT's
employer from the
peace
officer's, parole officer's,
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's,
correctional employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's,
or EMT's
compensation
unless the amount of the deduction is
required by
state
or federal
law;
(f) The name, the residential address, the name of the
employer,
the address of the employer, the social security number,
the residential
telephone number, any bank account, debit card,
charge card, or credit card
number, or the emergency telephone
number
of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of a peace
officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney, assistant
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services
employee, firefighter, or EMT;
(g) A photograph of a peace officer who holds a position or
has an assignment that may include undercover or plain clothes
positions or assignments as determined by the peace officer's
appointing authority.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section,
"peace officer"
has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the
Revised Code
and also includes the superintendent and troopers of
the state highway patrol;
it does not include the
sheriff of a
county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence of the
sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the authority of,
and perform
the duties of the sheriff.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5) of this section,
"correctional employee" means any employee of the department of
rehabilitation and correction who in the course of performing the
employee's job duties has or has had contact with inmates and
persons under supervision.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5) of this section,
"youth services employee" means any employee of the department of
youth services who in the course of performing the employee's job
duties has or has had contact with children committed to the
custody of the department of youth services.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section,
"firefighter" means any regular, paid or volunteer, member of a
lawfully constituted fire department of a municipal corporation,
township, fire district, or village.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "EMT"
means EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, and paramedics that provide emergency
medical services for a public emergency medical service
organization. "Emergency medical service organization,"
"EMT-basic," "EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the same meanings as in
section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.
(8) "Information pertaining to the recreational activities
of
a
person under the age of eighteen"
means information that is
kept
in the ordinary course of business by a public
office, that
pertains to the recreational activities of a person under the age
of eighteen years, and that
discloses any of the following:
(a) The address or telephone number of a person under the
age
of
eighteen or the address or telephone number of that
person's
parent, guardian,
custodian, or emergency contact person;
(b) The social security number, birth date, or photographic
image
of a person under the age of eighteen;
(c) Any medical record, history, or information pertaining
to
a
person under the age of eighteen;
(d) Any additional information sought or required about a
person
under the age of eighteen for the purpose of allowing that
person to
participate in any recreational activity conducted or
sponsored by a public
office or to use or
obtain admission
privileges to any recreational facility owned or operated by
a
public office.
(9) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
(10) "Post-release control sanction" has the same meaning as
in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.
(11) "Redaction" means obscuring or deleting any information
that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or
copying from an item that otherwise meets the definition of a
"record" in section 149.011 of the Revised Code.
(12) "Designee" and "elected official" have the same meanings
as in section 109.43 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) Upon request and subject to division (B)(8) of this
section, all
public records responsive to the request shall
be
promptly prepared and made
available for
inspection to any person
at all reasonable times
during regular
business hours. Subject to
division (B)(8) of this section,
upon
request, a public office or
person
responsible for public records
shall make copies of the
requested public record available at
cost and within a reasonable
period of
time. If a public record contains information that is
exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or to copy the
public record, the public office or the person responsible for the
public record shall make available all of the information within
the public record that is not exempt. When making that public
record available for public inspection or copying that public
record, the public office or the person responsible for the public
record shall notify the requester of any redaction or make the
redaction plainly visible. A redaction shall be deemed a denial of
a request to inspect or copy the redacted information, except if
federal or state law authorizes or requires a public office to
make the redaction.
(2) To facilitate broader access to public records, a public
office or the person responsible for public records shall organize
and maintain public records in a manner that they can be made
available for inspection or copying in accordance with division
(B) of this section. A public office also shall have available a
copy of its current records retention schedule at a location
readily available to the public. If a requester makes an ambiguous
or overly broad request or has difficulty in making a request for
copies or inspection of public records under this section such
that the public office or the person responsible for the requested
public record cannot reasonably identify what public records are
being requested, the public office or the person responsible for
the requested public record may deny the request but shall provide
the requester with an opportunity to revise the request by
informing the requester of the manner in which records are
maintained by the public office and accessed in the ordinary
course of the public office's or person's duties.
(3) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in whole,
the public office or the person responsible for the requested
public record shall provide the requester with an explanation,
including legal authority, setting forth why the request was
denied. If the initial request was provided in writing, the
explanation also shall be provided to the requester in writing.
The explanation shall not preclude the public office or the person
responsible for the requested public record from relying upon
additional reasons or legal authority in defending an action
commenced under division (C) of this section.
(4) Unless specifically required or authorized by state or
federal law or in accordance with division (B) of this section, no
public office or person responsible for public records may limit
or condition the availability of public records by requiring
disclosure of the requester's identity or the intended use of the
requested public record. Any requirement that the requester
disclose the requestor's identity or the intended use of the
requested public record constitutes a denial of the request.
(5) A public office or person responsible for public records
may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may ask for
the requester's identity, and may inquire about the intended use
of the information requested, but may do so only after disclosing
to the requester that a written request is not mandatory and that
the requester may decline to reveal the requester's identity or
the intended use and when a written request or disclosure of the
identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing
the ability of the public office or person responsible for public
records to identify, locate, or deliver the public records sought
by the requester.
(6) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public
record
in
accordance with division (B) of this section,
the
public office
or person responsible for the public record may require that
person to pay in advance the cost involved in providing the copy
of the public record in accordance with the choice made by the
person seeking the copy under this division. The public office or
the person responsible for the public record shall
permit
that
person to
choose to have the public record duplicated
upon paper,
upon the same medium
upon which the public office or
person
responsible for the public record keeps
it, or upon
any
other
medium upon which the public office or person responsible
for the
public record determines
that it reasonably can be
duplicated
as
an integral part of the normal operations of the
public office or
person
responsible for the public record. When
the person
seeking
the copy makes a choice under this division,
the public office or
person responsible for the public record
shall provide a copy of
it in
accordance
with the choice made by
the person seeking the
copy. Nothing in this section requires a public office or person
responsible for the public record to allow the person seeking a
copy of the public record to make the copies of the public record.
(7) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B)
of
this section and subject to division (B)(6) of this section, a
public office or person responsible for public
records
shall
transmit a copy of a public record to any person by
United
States
mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission within a
reasonable period of time after
receiving the
request for the
copy. The public office or person
responsible for the public
record may
require the person making
the request to pay in advance
the cost of postage if the copy is transmitted by United States
mail or the cost of delivery if the copy is transmitted other than
by United States mail, and to pay in advance the costs incurred
for other
supplies used in
the mailing, delivery, or transmission.
Any public office
may adopt a policy and procedures that it
will follow in
transmitting, within a reasonable period of time
after receiving
a request, copies of public records by
United
States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission
pursuant to this
division. A public office that
adopts a policy
and procedures
under this division shall comply
with them in
performing its
duties under this division.
In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a
public office may limit the number of records requested by a
person that
the office will transmit by United States mail to ten
per
month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing
that the person
does not intend to use or forward the requested
records, or the information
contained
in them, for commercial
purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial"
shall be
narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering
news,
reporting or gathering information to assist citizen
oversight or
understanding of the operation or activities of
government, or nonprofit
educational research.
(8) A public office or person responsible for public records
is
not required to permit a person who is incarcerated pursuant to
a
criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to inspect or to
obtain a copy of any public record concerning a criminal
investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be a
criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to
inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of
acquiring information that is subject to release as a public
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in
the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a
justiciable claim of the person.
(9) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist on
or after
December 16,
1999, a
public office, or person responsible
for public records, having custody of
the records of the agency
employing a specified peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee,
youth services employee, firefighter, or EMT shall
disclose
to the
journalist the address of the actual personal
residence of
the
peace
officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney, assistant
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services
employee, firefighter, or EMT and, if the
peace officer's, parole
officer's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting
attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services employee's,
firefighter's, or EMT's spouse, former spouse,
or
child is
employed by a
public office, the name and address of
the
employer
of the peace
officer's, parole officer's, prosecuting attorney's,
assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, youth
services employee's, firefighter's, or EMT's spouse,
former
spouse, or
child.
The
request shall include the
journalist's name
and title
and the
name
and address of the
journalist's employer
and shall
state
that
disclosure of the
information sought would be
in the
public
interest.
As used in this division, "journalist"
means a
person engaged
in, connected with, or employed by any news
medium, including a
newspaper, magazine, press association, news
agency, or wire
service, a radio or television station, or a
similar medium, for
the purpose of gathering, processing,
transmitting, compiling,
editing, or disseminating information for
the
general public.
(C)(1) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a
public office or the person responsible for public records to
promptly prepare a public record and to make
it
available to the
person for inspection in accordance with
division
(B) of this
section or by any other failure of a public
office or the person
responsible for public records to comply with an obligation in
accordance
with division (B) of this section, the person allegedly
aggrieved
may commence a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that
orders
the public office or the person responsible for the public
record
to comply with division (B) of this section, that
awards
court costs and
reasonable attorney's fees to the person that
instituted
the
mandamus action, and, if applicable, that includes
an order fixing statutory damages under division (C)(1) of this
section. The mandamus action may be commenced in the
court of
common pleas of the county in which division (B) of this
section
allegedly was not complied with, in the supreme court
pursuant to
its original jurisdiction under Section 2 of Article
IV, Ohio
Constitution, or in the court of appeals for the
appellate
district in which division (B) of this section
allegedly
was not
complied with pursuant to its original
jurisdiction under
Section
3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution.
If a requestor transmits a written request by hand delivery
or certified mail to inspect or receive copies of any public
record in a manner that fairly describes the public record or
class of public records to the public office or person responsible
for the requested public records, except as otherwise provided in
this section, the requestor shall be entitled to recover the
amount of statutory damages set forth in this division if a court
determines that the public office or the person responsible for
public records failed to comply with an obligation in accordance
with division (B) of this section.
The amount of statutory damages shall be fixed at one hundred
dollars for each business day during which the public office or
person responsible for the requested public records failed to
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this
section, beginning with the day on which the requester files a
mandamus action to recover statutory damages, up to a maximum of
one thousand dollars. The award of statutory damages shall not be
construed as a penalty, but as compensation for injury arising
from lost use of the requested information. The existence of this
injury shall be conclusively presumed. The award of statutory
damages shall be in addition to all other remedies authorized by
this section.
The court may reduce an award of statutory damages or not
award statutory damages if the court determines both of the
following:
(a) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a
well-informed public office or person responsible for the
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this
section;
(b) That a well-informed public office or person responsible
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person
responsible for the requested public records would serve the
public policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as
permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.
(2)(a) If the court issues a writ of mandamus that orders the
public office or the person responsible for the public record to
comply with division (B) of this section and determines that the
circumstances described in division (C)(1) of this section exist,
the court shall determine and award to the relator all court
costs.
(b) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public
office or the person responsible for the public record to comply
with division (B) of this section, the court may award reasonable
attorney's fees subject to reduction as described in division
(C)(2)(c) of this section. The court shall award reasonable
attorney's fees, subject to reduction as described in division
(C)(2)(c) of this section when either of the following applies:
(i) The public office or the person responsible for the
public records failed to respond affirmatively or negatively to
the public records request in accordance with the time allowed
under division (B) of this section.
(ii) The public office or the person responsible for the
public records promised to permit the relator to inspect or
receive copies of the public records requested within a specified
period of time but failed to fulfill that promise within that
specified period of time.
(c) Court costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded under
this section shall be construed as remedial and not punitive.
Reasonable attorney's fees shall include reasonable fees incurred
to produce proof of the reasonableness and amount of the fees and
to otherwise litigate entitlement to the fees. The court may
reduce an award of attorney's fees to the relator or not award
attorney's fees to the relator if the court determines both of the
following:
(i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a
well-informed public office or person responsible for the
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this
section;
(ii) That a well-informed public office or person responsible
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person
responsible for the requested public records as described in
division (C)(2)(c)(i) of this section would serve the public
policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting
that conduct or threatened conduct.
(D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the
provisions of this section.
(E)(1) To ensure that all employees of public offices are
appropriately educated about a public office's obligations under
division (B) of this section, all elected officials or their
appropriate designees shall attend training approved by the
attorney general as provided in section 109.43 of the Revised
Code. In addition, all public offices shall adopt a public records
policy in compliance with this section for responding to public
records requests. In adopting a public records policy under this
division, a public office may obtain guidance from the model
public records policy developed and provided to the public office
by the attorney general under section 109.43 of the Revised Code.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the policy may not
limit the number of public records that the public office will
make available to a single person, may not limit the number of
public records that it will make available during a fixed period
of time, and may not establish a fixed period of time before it
will respond to a request for inspection or copying of public
records, unless that period is less than eight hours.
(2) The public office shall distribute the public records
policy adopted by the public office under division (E)(1) of this
section to the employee of the public office who is the records
custodian or records manager or otherwise has custody of the
records of that office. The public office shall require that
employee to acknowledge receipt of the copy of the public records
policy. The public office shall create a poster that describes its
public records policy and shall post the poster in a conspicuous
place in the public office and in all locations where the public
office has branch offices. The public office may post its public
records policy on the internet web site of the public office if
the public office maintains an internet web site. A public office
that has established a manual or handbook of its general policies
and procedures for all employees of the public office shall
include the public records policy of the public office in the
manual or handbook.
(F)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules pursuant
to
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably
limit the number
of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by a
person
for the same records or for updated records during a calendar
year.
The rules may include provisions for charges to be made for
bulk commercial
special
extraction requests for the actual cost of
the bureau, plus special extraction
costs, plus ten per cent. The
bureau may charge for
expenses for redacting information, the
release of which is prohibited by
law.
(2) As used in division (F)(1) of this section:
(a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies,
records
storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative
delivery costs, or other
transmitting costs, and any direct
equipment operating and maintenance costs,
including actual costs
paid to private contractors for
copying services.
(b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a
request
for copies of a record for information in a format other
than the format
already available, or information that cannot be
extracted without examination
of all items in a records series,
class of records, or data base by a person
who intends to use or
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale
for
commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special extraction
request" does not
include a request by a person who gives
assurance to the bureau that the
person making the request does
not intend to use or forward the requested
copies for surveys,
marketing,
solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes.
(c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, or
selling of any good, service, or other product.
(d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time
spent
by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task,
the actual amount
paid to outside private contractors employed by
the bureau, or the actual cost
incurred to create computer
programs to make the special extraction. "Special
extraction
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer or
records services.
(3) For purposes of divisions (F)(1)
and (2) of this
section,
"surveys, marketing, solicitation, or
resale for commercial
purposes"
shall be narrowly construed and does not include
reporting or
gathering
news, reporting or gathering information to
assist
citizen oversight or
understanding of the operation or
activities
of government, or nonprofit
educational research.
Sec. 317.24. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Authorized party" means any of the following:
(a) The person who is the subject of the record of discharge;
(b) A county veterans service officer, or an
attorney-in-fact, agent, or other representative of the person who
is the subject of the record of discharge, if authorized to
inspect or copy the record of discharge by that person in a power
of attorney or other document;
(c) A person authorized, for good cause shown, by a court of
record to inspect or copy the record of discharge;
(d) If the person who is the subject of the record of
discharge is deceased, the executor or administrator, or an heir,
legatee, or devisee, of the person's estate or a funeral director
who is to perform the funeral for the deceased person.
(2) "Separation code" or "separation program number" means
the coded number or numbers used to specify the reasons for a
person's separation from active duty, as contained in one of the
following:
(a) Regarding a separation code, as contained in line 23 or
26 of a veteran's discharge paper, United States department of
defense form DD-214;
(b) Regarding a separation program number, as contained in
line 9(c) or line 11(c) of a veteran's discharge paper, under
prior versions of United States department of defense form DD-214.
(3) "Service-related document" means any United States
department of defense form DD-215 or DD-220, or any National Guard
Bureau form NGB-22 or NGB-22A.
(B)(1) Upon request of any discharged member of
the armed
forces of the United States and presentation of the
member's
discharge, the county recorder shall record the discharge
in a
book to be furnished by the board of county commissioners for
that
purpose. There shall be no fee for the recording. The
record of
discharge, or a certified copy of the record, shall be
received in
evidence in all cases where the original discharge
would be
received.
(2)(a) A discharge recorded under division (B)(1) or (D) of
this section is not a public record under section 149.43 of the
Revised Code for a period of seventy-five years after the date of
the recording. During that period, the county recorder's office
shall make the record of discharge available only to an authorized
party or to a
person other than an authorized party as provided
by division (B)(2)(b) of this section.
Except as provided in
section 317.27 of the Revised Code, the
authorized party shall
pay the reasonable costs of copying the
record of discharge.
(b) A person other than an authorized party may request to
view or receive a copy of a discharge record recorded under
division
(B)(1) or (D) of this section. Upon such a person's
request, the county recorder's office shall provide a copy of the
discharged record to the person that shall be redacted to contain
only the name, rank, date of birth, date of discharge, and type of
discharge of the person who is the subject of the discharge
record. Except as provided in section 317.27 of the Revised Code,
a person other than an authorized party shall pay the reasonable
costs of copying the record of discharge.
(B)(C) Upon application by a person whose discharge has been
recorded pursuant to this section, the county recorder shall,
without fee, expunge the person's record of discharge, expunge
the
person's separation program number
or separation code from the
person's record
of discharge
and from any of the person's other
service-related documents that have been recorded, or expunge the
person's social security number from the person's record of
discharge and from any of the person's other service-related
documents that have been recorded. The
application shall be in
the
following form:
"APPLICATION FOR EXPUNGEMENT
OF DISCHARGE RECORD
OR OTHER INFORMATION
I, ................ (Name of Applicant), the undersigned,
hereby request the County Recorder of the County of ............
(Name of County), state of Ohio, to expunge my .......... (Insert
Record of Discharge, Separation Program Number
or
Separation Code
from my
Record of Discharge
and other
service-related documents,
or Social Security Number from my
Record of Discharge and other
service-related documents).
Dated this .......... day of .........., .....
................................. Sworn to and subscribed before me by ............ (Name of
Applicant) on .........., .....
........................................ My commission expires ..........,
....." (C) "As used in this section:
(1) "Separation code" or "separation program number" means
the coded number or
numbers used to specify the reasons for a
person's separation
from
active duty, as contained in
one of the
following:
(a) Regarding a separation code, as contained in line 23 or
26 of a veteran's discharge paper, United States department of
defense form DD-214;
(b) Regarding a separation program number, as contained in
line 9 (c) or line 11 (c) of a
veteran's discharge paper,
under
prior versions of United States department of defense
form DD-214.
(2) "Service-related document" means any United States
department of defense form DD-215 or DD-220, or any National Guard
Bureau form NGB-22 or NGB-22A.
(D) Upon the request of any person who served during World
War I or World War II as a member of any armed force of the
government of Poland or Czechoslovakia and participated while so
serving in armed conflict with an enemy of the United States and
who has been a citizen of the United States for at least ten
years, and the presentation of the person's discharge, the
county
recorder shall record the person's discharge in a
book to be
furnished by the board of county commissioners for that purpose.
No fee shall be charged for the recording. The record, or a
certified copy of
it, shall be received in evidence in all cases
where the original
would be received.
Sec. 317.27. On demand and tender of the proper fees, the
county recorder
shall furnish to any person an accurate, certified
copy of any record in
his the recorder's office other than a
record of discharge under section 317.24 of the Revised Code, and
affix his the
recorder's official seal thereto. The recorder shall
issue, without
charge, upon the request of any discharged member
of the armed forces an authorized party, as defined in section
317.24 of the Revised Code or a person other than an authorized
party as defined in that section, one
certified copy or one
certified
photostatic copy of the recorded record of
discharge
under that
section, with the official seal of the county recorder
affixed
thereto.
Any certified copy of any record, document, or map and any
transcription of
records, required or permitted to be made by the
recorder, may be made by any
method provided for the making of
records.
Sec. 2313.16. (A) Except as provided by section 2313.13 of
the
Revised Code, the court of common pleas shall not excuse a
person who is liable to serve as a juror and who is
drawn and
notified, unless
it is shown to the satisfaction of the judge by
either the juror
or another person acquainted with the facts that
one or more of the
following applies:
(1) The interests of the public will be
materially injured by
the juror's attendance.
(2) The juror's spouse or a near relative of the juror or
the
juror's spouse has recently died or is dangerously
ill.
(3) The juror is a cloistered member of a religious
organization.
(4) The prospective juror has a mental or physical condition
that causes the prospective juror to be incapable of performing
jury service. The prospective juror, or the prospective juror's
personal representative, must provide the court with documentation
from a physician licensed to practice medicine verifying that a
mental or physical condition renders the prospective juror unfit
for jury service for a period of up to twenty-four months.
(5) Jury service would otherwise cause undue or extreme
physical or financial hardship to the prospective juror or a
person under the care or supervision of the prospective juror. A
judge of the court for which the prospective juror was called to
jury service shall make undue or extreme physical or financial
hardship determinations. The judge may delegate the authority to
make these determinations to an appropriate court employee
appointed by the court.
(6) The juror is over seventy-five years of age, and the
juror requests to be excused.
(7) The prospective juror is an active member of a recognized
amish sect and requests to be excused because of the prospective
juror's sincere belief that as a result of that membership the
prospective juror cannot pass judgment in a judicial matter.
(8) The prospective juror is on 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)(1) A prospective juror who requests to be excused from
jury service under this section shall take all actions necessary
to obtain a ruling on that request by not later than the date on
which the prospective juror is scheduled to appear for jury duty.
(2) A prospective juror who requests to be excused as
provided in division (A)(6) of this section shall inform the
appropriate court employee appointed by the court of the
prospective juror's request to be so excused by not later than the
date on which the prospective juror is scheduled to appear for
jury duty. The prospective juror shall inform that court employee
of the request to be so excused by appearing in person before the
employee or contacting the employee by telephone, in writing, or
by electronic mail.
(C)(1) For purposes of this section, undue or extreme
physical or financial hardship is limited to circumstances in
which any of the following apply:
(a) The prospective juror would be required to abandon a
person under the prospective juror's personal care or supervision
due to the impossibility of obtaining an appropriate substitute
caregiver during the period of participation in the jury pool or
on the jury.
(b) The prospective juror would incur costs that would have a
substantial adverse impact on the payment of the prospective
juror's necessary daily living expenses or on those for whom the
prospective juror provides the principal means of support.
(c) The prospective juror would suffer physical hardship that
would result in illness or disease.
(2) Undue or extreme physical or financial hardship does not
exist solely based on the fact that a prospective juror will be
required to be absent from the prospective juror's place of
employment.
(D) A prospective juror who asks a judge to grant an excuse
based on undue or extreme physical or financial hardship shall
provide the judge with documentation that the judge finds to
clearly support the request to be excused. If a prospective juror
fails to provide satisfactory documentation, the court may deny
the request to be excused.
(E) When a prospective juror who is liable to serve is
excused in a case
specified in this section, the prospective juror
can be excused only by the judge
presiding in the case or a
representative of the judge. An excuse, including whether or not
it is a permanent excuse, approved
pursuant to this section shall
not extend beyond that term. Every approved
excuse shall be
recorded and filed with the
commissioners of jurors. After
twenty-four months, a person excused from jury service shall
become eligible once again for qualification as a juror unless the
person was excused from service permanently. A person is excused
from jury service permanently only when the deciding judge
determines that the underlying grounds for being excused are of a
permanent nature.
Sec. 2741.02. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this
section,
a person
shall not use any aspect of an individual's
persona for a
commercial purpose during:
(1) During the individual's lifetime or for;
(2) For a
period of sixty years after the date of the
individual's
death; or
(3) For a period of ten years after the date of death of a
deceased member of the Ohio national guard or the armed forces of
the United States.
(B) A person may use an
individual's persona for a commercial
purpose during the
individual's lifetime if the person
first
obtains the written consent to use the individual's
persona from a
person specified in section 2741.05 of the
Revised
Code. If an
individual whose
persona is at issue has died, a person may use
the individual's persona for a
commercial purpose if either of the
following applies:
(1) The person first obtains the written consent to
use the
individual's persona from a person specified in section
2741.05 of
the Revised
Code who owns the individual's
right of publicity.
(2) The name of the individual whose persona is used was the
name of a
business entity or a trade name at the time of the
individual's death.
(C) Subject to the terms of any agreement between a person
specified
in section 2741.05 of the
Revised Code and a person to
whom that
person grants consent to use an individual's right of
publicity,
a consent obtained before the death of an individual
whose persona is at issue
remains valid after the individual's
death.
(D) For purposes of this section:
(1) A use of an aspect of an individual's persona in
connection
with any news, public affairs, sports broadcast, or
account does not
constitute a use for which consent is required
under division (A)
of this section.
(2) A use of an aspect of an individual's persona in
connection
with any political campaign and in compliance with
Title
XXXV of the Revised Code does not constitute a use
for which
consent is required under division (A) of this section.
(E) The owners or employees of any medium used for
advertising,
including but not limited to, a newspaper, magazine,
radio or television
network or station, cable
television system,
billboard, transit ad, and global
communications network, by whom
any advertisement or solicitation
in violation of this section is
published or disseminated are not
liable under this section or
section 2741.07 of the Revised Code unless it is established
that
those
owners or employees had knowledge of the unauthorized use
of
the persona as prohibited by this section.
Sec. 2741.99. Whoever violates division (A)(3) of section
2741.02 of the Revised
Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the
first degree. A criminal penalty imposed under this section is
cumulative to a civil remedy under Chapter 2741. of the Revised
Code.
Sec. 2921.22. (A) No (1) Except as provided in division
(A)(2) of this section, no person, knowing that a felony has
been
or is being committed, shall knowingly fail to report such
information to law enforcement authorities.
(2) No person, knowing that a violation of division (B) of
section 2913.04 of the Revised Code has been, or is being
committed or that the person has received information derived from
such a violation, shall knowingly fail to report the violation to
law enforcement authorities.
(B) Except for conditions that are within the scope of
division (E) of this section, no
physician,
limited
practitioner,
nurse, or other person giving aid to a sick
or injured person
shall
negligently fail to report to law
enforcement authorities
any
gunshot or stab wound
treated or observed
by the
physician,
limited practitioner, nurse,
or person, or any serious physical
harm to persons that the
physician, limited practitioner, nurse,
or
person knows or has
reasonable cause to
believe resulted from
an offense of violence.
(C) No person who discovers the body or acquires the first
knowledge of the death of a person shall fail to report the
death
immediately to a physician whom the person knows to be
treating
the deceased for a condition from which death at such
time would
not be unexpected, or to a law enforcement officer,
an ambulance
service,
an emergency squad, or the coroner in a political
subdivision in which the body is discovered, the death is
believed
to have occurred, or knowledge concerning the death is
obtained.
(D) No person shall fail to provide upon request of the
person to whom
a report required by division (C) of
this section
was made, or to any law enforcement officer who has
reasonable
cause to assert the authority to investigate the
circumstances
surrounding the death, any facts within the
person's
knowledge
that may have a bearing on the investigation of the
death.
(E)(1) As used in this division, "burn injury" means any
of
the following:
(a) Second or third degree burns;
(b) Any burns to the upper respiratory tract or laryngeal
edema due to the inhalation of superheated air;
(c) Any burn injury or wound that may result in death;
(d) Any physical harm to persons caused by or as the result
of the use of fireworks, novelties and trick noisemakers, and wire
sparklers, as each is defined by section 3743.01 of the Revised
Code.
(2) No physician, nurse, or limited practitioner who,
outside
a hospital, sanitarium, or other medical facility,
attends
or
treats a person who has sustained a burn injury
that is
inflicted
by an
explosion or other incendiary device or that
shows evidence
of
having been inflicted in a violent, malicious,
or criminal
manner
shall fail to report the burn injury
immediately to the
local
arson, or fire and explosion
investigation, bureau, if there
is
a bureau
of this type in
the jurisdiction in
which the person
is attended or treated,
or
otherwise to local law
enforcement
authorities.
(3) No manager, superintendent, or other person in charge
of
a hospital, sanitarium, or other medical facility in which a
person is attended or treated for any burn injury
that is
inflicted by an
explosion or other incendiary device or that
shows
evidence of
having been inflicted in a violent, malicious,
or
criminal
manner
shall fail to report the burn injury
immediately
to the
local
arson, or fire and explosion
investigation, bureau,
if there is
a bureau
of this type in
the jurisdiction
in
which the
person is attended or treated, or
otherwise to local
law
enforcement authorities.
(4) No person who is required to report any burn injury
under
division (E)(2) or (3) of this section shall fail to file,
within
three working days after attending or treating the victim,
a
written report of the burn injury with the office of the state
fire marshal. The report shall
comply
with the uniform standard
developed by the
state fire marshal
pursuant to division (A)(15)
of section 3737.22 of the Revised
Code.
(5) Anyone participating in the making of reports under
division (E) of this section or anyone participating in a
judicial
proceeding resulting from the reports is immune
from any civil or
criminal liability that otherwise might be
incurred or imposed as
a result of such actions. Notwithstanding
section 4731.22 of the
Revised Code, the physician-patient
relationship is not a ground
for excluding evidence regarding a
person's burn injury or the
cause of the burn injury in any
judicial proceeding resulting from
a report submitted
under division (E) of this section.
(F)(1) Any doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine,
hospital intern or
resident, registered or licensed practical
nurse, psychologist, social worker,
independent social worker,
social work assistant, professional
clinical counselor, or
professional counselor who knows or has reasonable
cause to
believe that a patient or client
has been the victim of domestic
violence, as defined in section 3113.31 of the
Revised Code, shall
note that knowledge or belief and the basis for it in the
patient's or client's records.
(2) Notwithstanding section 4731.22 of the Revised Code, the
doctor-patient
privilege shall not be a ground for excluding any
information regarding the
report containing the knowledge or
belief noted
under division (F)(1) of
this section,
and the
information may be admitted as evidence in accordance
with
the
Rules of Evidence.
(G)
Divisions (A)
and (D) of this section
do
not require
disclosure of information, when any of the following
applies:
(1) The information is privileged by reason of the
relationship between attorney and client; doctor and
patient;
licensed psychologist or licensed school psychologist
and client;
member of the clergy, rabbi,
minister, or priest and any person
communicating information confidentially to the member of the
clergy, rabbi, minister, or priest for a religious
counseling
purpose
of a professional
character;
husband and wife; or a
communications
assistant and those who are a party to
a
telecommunications relay service call.
(2) The information would tend to incriminate a member of
the
actor's immediate family.
(3) Disclosure of the information would amount to
revealing
a
news source, privileged under section 2739.04 or
2739.12 of the
Revised Code.
(4) Disclosure of the information would amount to
disclosure
by a member of the ordained clergy of an organized religious
body
of a confidential communication made to that member of the clergy
in that member's
capacity as a
member of
the clergy by a person
seeking the aid or counsel of that member
of the clergy.
(5) Disclosure would amount to revealing information
acquired
by the actor in the course of the actor's duties in
connection
with a bona fide program of treatment or services for
drug
dependent persons or persons in danger of drug dependence,
which
program is maintained or conducted by a hospital, clinic,
person,
agency, or organization certified pursuant to section
3793.06 of
the Revised Code.
(6) Disclosure would amount to revealing information
acquired
by the actor in the course of the actor's duties in
connection
with a bona fide program for providing counseling
services to
victims of crimes that are violations of section
2907.02 or
2907.05 of the Revised Code or to victims of felonious
sexual
penetration in
violation of former section 2907.12 of the
Revised
Code. As used in this
division, "counseling services"
include
services provided in an
informal setting by a person who,
by
education or experience, is
competent to provide
those
services.
(H) No disclosure of information pursuant to this section
gives rise to any liability or recrimination for a breach of
privilege or confidence.
(I) Whoever violates division (A) or (B) of this section
is
guilty of failure to report a crime. Violation of division
(A)(1)
of
this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
Violation
of
division (A)(2) or (B) of this section is a misdemeanor of the
second
degree.
(J) Whoever violates division (C) or (D) of this section
is
guilty of failure to report knowledge of a death, a
misdemeanor of
the fourth degree.
(K)(1) Whoever negligently violates division (E) of this
section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(2) Whoever knowingly violates division (E) of this
section
is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree.
Sec. 3333.42. No state institution of higher education, as
defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, shall charge a
nonresident student who is a member of the armed forces of the
United States and who is stationed in this state pursuant to
military orders, or who is the spouse or dependent child of such a
student, rates for tuition and fees that are higher than the rates
charged to an Ohio resident.
Sec. 3345.01. Except as provided in sections 3333.17
and,
3333.32, and 3333.42 of the Revised Code, the
board of trustees of
a state university or college, as defined in section
3345.12 of
the Revised Code, may charge reasonable tuition for the
attendance
of pupils who are nonresidents of Ohio.
Sec. 5913.11. (A) There is hereby created the Ohio military
medal of distinction. The adjutant general shall design the medal
and coordinate an eligibility establishment program. An individual
is eligible for the medal if the individual was killed in the line
of duty while doing one of the following:
(1) Engaging in an action against an enemy of the United
States;
(2) Engaging in military operations involving conflict with
an opposing foreign force;
(3) Serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed
conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United
States is not a belligerent party; or
(4) Serving in a combat zone designated by presidential
order.
(B) To receive the Ohio military medal of distinction, an
individual shall be at least one of the following:
(1) At the time the member was killed in the line of duty:
(a) An Ohio national guard member who is a resident of this
state;
(b) A United States military reserves member who is a
resident of this state;
(c) A United States armed forces member who is either a
resident of this state or stationed in this state by a United
States department of defense order.
(2) An Ohio national guard, United States military reserves,
or United States armed forces member who attended a public or
private educational institution in this state at any time and was
killed in the line of duty.
(C) At least once per year, both houses of the general
assembly shall obtain a list of eligible medal recipients from the
adjutant general and meet in joint convention to recognize the
medal recipients for the prior year.
Section 2. That existing sections 149.43, 317.24, 317.27,
2313.16, 2741.02, 2921.22, and 3345.01 of the Revised
Code are
hereby repealed.
Section 3. The Adjutant General shall
examine and make
recommendations on the feasibility of
establishing an Ohio
National Guard Youth Challenge Program. The Adjutant General shall
issue a report of the Adjutant General's findings and
recommendations to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and the Governor not later than August
1,
2008.
Section 4. Section 149.43 of the Revised Code is presented
in this act as a composite of the section as amended
by both Sub.
H.B. 9 and Sub. H.B. 141 of
the 126th 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.
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