Laws, Acts, and Legislation

To amend sections 4301.69 and 4301.99 of the Revised Code regarding the criminal liability of an owner or occupant of any public or private place who allows a person under age 21 to remain in or on the place while possessing or consuming beer or intoxicating liquor.

Sec. 4301.69. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no person shall sell beer or intoxicating liquor to an underage person, shall buy beer or intoxicating liquor for an underage person, or shall furnish it to an underage person, unless given by a physician in the regular line of the physician's practice or given for established religious purposes or unless the underage person is supervised by a parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian.

In proceedings before the liquor control commission, no permit holder, or no employee or agent of a permit holder, charged with a violation of this division shall be charged, for the same offense, with a violation of division (A)(1) of section 4301.22 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) No person who is the owner or occupant of any public or private place shall ~~knowingly~~ allow any underage person to remain in or on the place ~~while possessing or consuming~~ when the person who is the owner or occupant knows or should know that beer or intoxicating liquor is being possessed or consumed by such underage person in or on the place, unless the intoxicating liquor or beer is given to the person possessing or consuming it by that person's parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian and the parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian is present at the time of the person's possession or consumption of the beer or intoxicating liquor.

(2) No person who is the owner or occupant of any public or private place shall recklessly allow any underage person to remain in or on the place while possessing or consuming beer or intoxicating liquor, unless the beer or intoxicating liquor is given to the person possessing or consuming it by that person's parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian and the parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian is present at the time of the person's possession or consumption of the beer or intoxicating liquor.

(1) That beer or intoxicating liquor will be consumed by an underage person on the premises of the accommodations that the person engages or uses, unless the person engaging or using the accommodations is the spouse of the underage person and is not an underage person, or is the parent or legal guardian of all of the underage persons, who consume beer or intoxicating liquor on the premises and that person is on the premises at all times when beer or intoxicating liquor is being consumed by an underage person;

(2) That a drug of abuse will be consumed on the premises of the accommodations by any person, except a person who obtained the drug of abuse pursuant to a prescription issued by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs and has the drug of abuse in the original container in which it was dispensed to the person.

(D)(1) No person is required to permit the engagement of accommodations at any hotel, inn, cabin, or campground by an underage person or for an underage person, if the person engaging the accommodations knows or has reason to know that the underage person is intoxicated, or that the underage person possesses any beer or intoxicating liquor and is not supervised by a parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian who is or will be present at all times when the beer or intoxicating liquor is being consumed by the underage person.

(2) No underage person shall knowingly engage or attempt to engage accommodations at any hotel, inn, cabin, or campground by presenting identification that falsely indicates that the underage person is twenty-one years of age or older for the purpose of violating this section.

(E)(1) No underage person shall knowingly order, pay for, share the cost of, attempt to purchase, possess, or consume any beer or intoxicating liquor in any public or private place. No underage person shall knowingly be under the influence of any beer or intoxicating liquor in any public place. The prohibitions set forth in division (E)(1) of this section against an underage person knowingly possessing, consuming, or being under the influence of any beer or intoxicating liquor shall not apply if the underage person is supervised by a parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian, or the beer or intoxicating liquor is given by a physician in the regular line of the physician's practice or given for established religious purposes.

(2)(a) If a person is charged with violating division (E)(1) of this section in a complaint filed under section 2151.27 of the Revised Code, the court may order the child into a diversion program specified by the court and hold the complaint in abeyance pending successful completion of the diversion program. A child is ineligible to enter into a diversion program under division (E)(2)(a) of this section if the child previously has been diverted pursuant to division (E)(2)(a) of this section. If the child completes the diversion program to the satisfaction of the court, the court shall dismiss the complaint and order the child's record in the case sealed under sections 2151.356 to 2151.358 of the Revised Code. If the child fails to satisfactorily complete the diversion program, the court shall proceed with the complaint.

(b) If a person is charged in a criminal complaint with violating division (E)(1) of this section, section 2935.36 of the Revised Code shall apply to the offense, except that a person is ineligible for diversion under that section if the person previously has been diverted pursuant to division (E)(2)(a) or (b) of this section. If the person completes the diversion program to the satisfaction of the court, the court shall dismiss the complaint and order the record in the case sealed under section 2953.52 of the Revised Code. If the person fails to satisfactorily complete the diversion program, the court shall proceed with the complaint.

(B) Whoever violates section 4301.15, division (A)(2) or (C) of section 4301.22, division (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (H), or (I) of section 4301.631, or section 4301.64 or 4301.67 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

If an offender who violates section 4301.64 of the Revised Code was under the age of eighteen years at the time of the offense, the court, in addition to any other penalties it imposes upon the offender, shall suspend the offender's temporary instruction permit, probationary driver's license, or driver's license for a period of not less than six months and not more than one year. If the offender is fifteen years and six months of age or older and has not been issued a temporary instruction permit or probationary driver's license, the offender shall not be eligible to be issued such a license or permit for a period of six months. If the offender has not attained the age of fifteen years and six months, the offender shall not be eligible to be issued a temporary instruction permit until the offender attains the age of sixteen years.

(C) Whoever violates division (D) of section 4301.21, section 4301.251, 4301.58, 4301.59, 4301.60, 4301.633, 4301.66, 4301.68, or 4301.74, division (B)(1), (C), (D), (E)(1), or (F) of section 4301.69, or division (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), or (I) of section 4301.691 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

If an offender who violates division (E)(1) of section 4301.69 of the Revised Code was under the age of eighteen years at the time of the offense and the offense occurred while the offender was the operator of or a passenger in a motor vehicle, the court, in addition to any other penalties it imposes upon the offender, shall suspend the offender's temporary instruction permit or probationary driver's license for a period of not less than six months and not more than one year. If the offender is fifteen years and six months of age or older and has not been issued a temporary instruction permit or probationary driver's license, the offender shall not be eligible to be issued such a license or permit for a period of six months. If the offender has not attained the age of fifteen years and six months, the offender shall not be eligible to be issued a temporary instruction permit until the offender attains the age of sixteen years.

(E) Whoever violates section 4301.63 or division (B) of section 4301.631 of the Revised Code shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars. The court imposing a fine for a violation of section 4301.63 or division (B) of section 4301.631 of the Revised Code may order that the fine be paid by the performance of public work at a reasonable hourly rate established by the court. The court shall designate the time within which the public work shall be completed.

(F)(1) Whoever violates section 4301.634 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. If, in committing a first violation of that section, the offender presented to the permit holder or the permit holder's employee or agent a false, fictitious, or altered identification card, a false or fictitious driver's license purportedly issued by any state, or a driver's license issued by any state that has been altered, the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty and not more than one thousand dollars, and may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than six months.

(2) On a second violation in which, for the second time, the offender presented to the permit holder or the permit holder's employee or agent a false, fictitious, or altered identification card, a false or fictitious driver's license purportedly issued by any state, or a driver's license issued by any state that has been altered, the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be fined not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, and may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than six months. The court also may impose a class seven suspension of the offender's driver's or commercial driver's license or permit or nonresident operating privilege from the range specified in division (A)(7) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code.

(3) On a third or subsequent violation in which, for the third or subsequent time, the offender presented to the permit holder or the permit holder's employee or agent a false, fictitious, or altered identification card, a false or fictitious driver's license purportedly issued by any state, or a driver's license issued by any state that has been altered, the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be fined not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, and may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than six months. The court also shall impose a class six suspension of the offender's driver's or commercial driver's license or permit or nonresident operating privilege from the range specified in division (A)(6) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code, and the court may order that the suspension or denial remain in effect until the offender attains the age of twenty-one years. The court also may order the offender to perform a determinate number of hours of community service, with the court determining the actual number of hours and the nature of the community service the offender shall perform.

(H) Whoever violates division (A)(1) of section 4301.22 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor, shall be fined not less than five hundred and not more than one thousand dollars, and, in addition to the fine, may be imprisoned for a definite term of not more than sixty days.

(I) Whoever violates division (A) of section 4301.69 or division (H) of section 4301.691 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor, shall be fined not less than five hundred and not more than one thousand dollars, and, in addition to the fine, may be imprisoned for a definite term of not more than six months.

(J) Whoever violates division (B) of section 4301.65 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree. For a second or subsequent violation occurring within a period of five consecutive years after the first violation, a person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Section 3. Section 4301.69 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. Sub. H.B. 137 and Sub. S.B. 131 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.