To amend sections 3717.05, 3717.45, 3717.47, and 3781.10 of the Revised Code to eliminate duplicative fees for inspections of the facility layout and equipment of relocated food service operations.

Section 1. That sections 3717.05, 3717.45, 3717.47, and 3781.10 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3717.05.  (A) The director of agriculture and the public health council shall adopt rules establishing standards for safe food handling and sanitation in retail food establishments and food service operations. The rules shall be compiled as the Ohio uniform food safety code, which shall be used by the licensors of retail food establishments and food service operations in ensuring the safe handling of food in this state. All scientific provisions of the Ohio uniform food safety code that are relevant to both retail food establishments and food service operations shall be adopted by the director of agriculture and the public health council with each other's concurrence.

The Ohio uniform food safety code shall include the following:

(1) Criteria for sanitation in retail food establishments and food service operations;

(2) Criteria for equipment in retail food establishments and food service operations;

(3) Criteria for reviewing the facility layout and equipment specifications of retail food establishments and food service operations, but the criteria shall not be used to disapprove the facility layout and equipment of a food service operation described in division (A)(2) of section 3717.47 of the Revised Code;

(4) A definition of "potentially hazardous" as it pertains to food in retail food establishments and to food in food service operations;

(5) Criteria to be used in evaluating the primary business of a person or government entity for purposes of determining whether the person or entity should be licensed as a retail food establishment or food service operation.

(B)(1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, if a model food code is established by the United States food and drug administration, the Ohio uniform food safety code shall be based on the most current version of the food and drug administration's model food code. If the food and drug administration adopts, modifies, or rescinds a provision in the model food code, not later than twelve months after the administration's action, the director of agriculture and public health council shall adopt, amend, or rescind provisions in the Ohio uniform food safety code to ensure that it continues to conform with the model food code.

(2) The Ohio uniform food safety code may contain or omit provisions that do not correspond to the food and drug administration's model food code if the director of agriculture or the public health council, with each other's concurrence, determines either of the following:

(a) That rules can be adopted under this chapter that provide protection at least as effective as that which would be provided by basing the rules on the model food code;

(b) That local conditions warrant the adoption of standards that are different from the model food code.

Sec. 3717.45.  (A) A licensor may charge fees for issuing and renewing food service operation licenses. Any licensing fee charged shall be used solely for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and the rules adopted under it applicable to food service operations.

Any licensing fee charged under this section shall be based on the licensor's costs of regulating food service operations, as determined according to the uniform methodologies established under section 3717.07 of the Revised Code. If the licensor is a board of health, a fee may be disapproved by the district advisory council in the case of a general health district or the legislative authority of the city in the case of a city health district. A disapproved fee shall not be charged by the board of health.

At least thirty days prior to establishing a licensing fee, the licensor shall hold a public hearing regarding the proposed fee. At least thirty days prior to the public hearing, the licensor shall give written notice of the hearing to each person or government entity holding a food service operation license that may be affected by the proposed fee. The notice shall be mailed to the last known address of the licensee and shall specify the date, time, and place of the hearing and the amount of the proposed fee. On request, the licensor shall provide the completed uniform methodology used in the calculation of the licensor's costs and the proposed fee.

(B) In addition to licensing fees, a licensor may charge fees for the following:

(1) Review of facility layout and equipment specifications pertaining to food service operations, other than mobile and temporary food service operations, or similar reviews conducted for vending machine locations, but a licensor may not charge a fee for inspecting or reviewing the facility layout and equipment of a food service operation described in division (A)(2) of section 3717.47 of the Revised Code;

(2) Any necessary collection and bacteriological examination of samples from food service operations, or similar services specified in rules adopted under this chapter by the public health council;

(3) Attendance at a course of study offered by the licensor in food protection as it pertains to food service operations, if the course is approved under section 3717.09 of the Revised Code.

(C) The public health council may determine by rule an amount to be collected from applicants for food service operation licenses for use by the director of health in administering and enforcing the provisions of this chapter and the rules adopted under it applicable to food service operations. Licensors shall collect the amount prior to issuing an applicant's new or renewed license. If a licensing fee is charged under this section, the licensor shall collect the amount at the same time the fee is collected. Licensors are not required to provide notice or hold public hearings regarding amounts collected under this division.

Not later than sixty days after the last day of the month in which a license is issued, the licensor shall certify the amount collected under this division and transmit the amount to the treasurer of state. All amounts received shall be deposited into the general operations fund created in section 3701.83 of the Revised Code. The director shall use the amounts solely for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and the rules adopted under it applicable to food service operations.

The director may submit recommendations to the public health council regarding the amounts collected under this division. When making recommendations, the director shall submit a report stating the current and projected expenses of administering and enforcing the provisions of this chapter and the rules adopted under it applicable to food service operations and the total of all amounts that have been deposited in the general operations fund pursuant to this division. The director may include in the report any recommendations for modifying the department's administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and the rules adopted under it applicable to food service operations.

Sec. 3717.47.  (A)(1) All inspections of food service operations conducted by a licensor under this chapter shall be conducted according to the procedures and schedule of frequency specified in rules adopted under section 3717.51 of the Revised Code. An inspection may be performed only by an individual registered as a sanitarian or sanitarian-in-training under Chapter 4736. of the Revised Code. Each inspection shall be recorded on a form prescribed and furnished by the director of health or a form approved by the director that has been prescribed by a board of health acting as licensor. With the assistance of the director, a board acting as licensor, to the extent practicable, shall computerize the inspection process and shall standardize the manner in which its inspections are conducted.

(2) If a licensor inspects the facility layout and equipment of a food service operation that has been relocated, the food service operation license of which has been transferred and the business objectives of which at the new location are not different from the business objectives of which at the former location, the licensor shall do so in accordance with the rules adopted under division (A)(1) of section 3781.10 of the Revised Code, and may not charge a fee for the inspection.

(B) A person or government entity holding a food service operation license shall permit the licensor to inspect the food service operation for purposes of determining compliance with this chapter and the rules adopted under it or investigating a complaint regarding foodborne disease. On request of the licensor, the license holder shall permit the licensor to examine the records of the food service operation to obtain information about the purchase, receipt, or use of food, supplies, and equipment.

A licensor may inspect any mobile food service operation or catering food service operation being operated within the licensor's district. If an inspection of a mobile or catering food service operation is conducted by a licensor other than the licensor that issued the license for the operation, a report of the inspection shall be sent to the issuing licensor. The issuing licensor may use the inspection report to suspend or revoke the license under section 3717.49 of the Revised Code.

(C) An inspection may include an investigation to determine the identity and source of a particular food.

Sec. 3781.10. (A)(1) The board of building standards shall formulate and adopt rules governing the erection, construction, repair, alteration, and maintenance of all buildings or classes of buildings specified in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code, including land area incidental to those buildings, the construction of industrialized units, the installation of equipment, the inspection of the facility layout and equipment of food service operations described in division (A)(2) of section 3717.47 of the Revised Code, and the standards or requirements for materials used in connection with those buildings. The board shall incorporate those rules into separate residential and nonresidential building codes. The standards shall relate to the conservation of energy and the safety and sanitation of those buildings.

(2) The rules governing nonresidential buildings are the lawful minimum requirements specified for those buildings and industrialized units, except that no rule other than as provided in division (C) of section 3781.108 of the Revised Code that specifies a higher requirement than is imposed by any section of the Revised Code is enforceable. The rules governing residential buildings are uniform requirements for residential buildings in any area with a building department certified to enforce the state residential building code. In no case shall any local code or regulation differ from the state residential building code unless that code or regulation addresses subject matter not addressed by the state residential building code or is adopted pursuant to section 3781.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) The rules adopted pursuant to this section are complete, lawful alternatives to any requirements specified for buildings or industrialized units in any section of the Revised Code. The board shall, on its own motion or on application made under sections 3781.12 and 3781.13 of the Revised Code, formulate, propose, adopt, modify, amend, or repeal the rules to the extent necessary or desirable to effectuate the purposes of sections 3781.06 to 3781.18 of the Revised Code.

(B) The board shall report to the general assembly proposals for amendments to existing statutes relating to the purposes declared in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code that public health and safety and the development of the arts require and shall recommend any additional legislation to assist in carrying out fully, in statutory form, the purposes declared in that section. The board shall prepare and submit to the general assembly a summary report of the number, nature, and disposition of the petitions filed under sections 3781.13 and 3781.14 of the Revised Code.

(C) On its own motion or on application made under sections 3781.12 and 3781.13 of the Revised Code, and after thorough testing and evaluation, the board shall determine by rule that any particular fixture, device, material, process of manufacture, manufactured unit or component, method of manufacture, system, or method of construction complies with performance standards adopted pursuant to section 3781.11 of the Revised Code. The board shall make its determination with regard to adaptability for safe and sanitary erection, use, or construction, to that described in any section of the Revised Code, wherever the use of a fixture, device, material, method of manufacture, system, or method of construction described in that section of the Revised Code is permitted by law. The board shall amend or annul any rule or issue an authorization for the use of a new material or manufactured unit on any like application. No department, officer, board, or commission of the state other than the board of building standards or the board of building appeals shall permit the use of any fixture, device, material, method of manufacture, newly designed product, system, or method of construction at variance with what is described in any rule the board of building standards adopts or issues or that is authorized by any section of the Revised Code. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring approval, by rule, of plans for an industrialized unit that conforms with the rules the board of building standards adopts pursuant to section 3781.11 of the Revised Code.

(D) The board shall recommend rules, codes, and standards to help carry out the purposes of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code and to help secure uniformity of state administrative rulings and local legislation and administrative action to the bureau of workers' compensation, the director of commerce, any other department, officer, board, or commission of the state, and to legislative authorities and building departments of counties, townships, and municipal corporations, and shall recommend that they audit those recommended rules, codes, and standards by any appropriate action that they are allowed pursuant to law or the constitution.

(E)(1) The board shall certify municipal, township, and county building departments and the personnel of those building departments, and persons and employees of individuals, firms, or corporations as described in division (E)(7) of this section to exercise enforcement authority, to accept and approve plans and specifications, and to make inspections, pursuant to sections 3781.03, 3791.04, and 4104.43 of the Revised Code. Those certified to make inspections shall inspect the facility layout and equipment of food service operations described in division (A)(2) of section 3717.47 of the Revised Code.

(2) The board shall certify departments, personnel, and persons to enforce the state residential building code, to enforce the nonresidential building code, or to enforce both the residential and the nonresidential building codes. Any department, personnel, or person may enforce only the type of building code for which certified.

(3) The board shall not require a building department, its personnel, or any persons that it employs to be certified for residential building code enforcement if that building department does not enforce the state residential building code. The board shall specify, in rules adopted pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the requirements for certification for residential and nonresidential building code enforcement, which shall be consistent with this division. The requirements for residential and nonresidential certification may differ. Except as otherwise provided in this division, the requirements shall include, but are not limited to, the satisfactory completion of an initial examination and, to remain certified, the completion of a specified number of hours of continuing building code education within each three-year period following the date of certification which shall be not less than thirty hours. The rules shall provide that continuing education credits and certification issued by the council of American building officials, national model code organizations, and agencies or entities the board recognizes are acceptable for purposes of this division. The rules shall specify requirements that are compatible, to the extent possible, with requirements the council of American building officials and national model code organizations establish.

(4) The board shall establish and collect a certification and renewal fee for building department personnel, and persons and employees of persons, firms, or corporations as described in this section, who are certified pursuant to this division.

(5) Any individual certified pursuant to this division shall complete the number of hours of continuing building code education that the board requires or, for failure to do so, forfeit certification.

(6) This division does not require or authorize the board to certify personnel of municipal, township, and county building departments, and persons and employees of persons, firms, or corporations as described in this section, whose responsibilities do not include the exercise of enforcement authority, the approval of plans and specifications, or making inspections under the state residential and nonresidential building codes.

(7) Enforcement authority for approval of plans and specifications and enforcement authority for inspections may be exercised, and plans and specifications may be approved and inspections may be made on behalf of a municipal corporation, township, or county, by any of the following who the board of building standards certifies:

(a) Officers or employees of the municipal corporation, township, or county;

(b) Persons, or employees of persons, firms, or corporations, pursuant to a contract to furnish architectural, engineering, or other services to the municipal corporation, township, or county;

(c) Officers or employees of, and persons under contract with, a municipal corporation, township, county, health district, or other political subdivision, pursuant to a contract to furnish architectural, engineering, or other services.

(8) Municipal, township, and county building departments have jurisdiction within the meaning of sections 3781.03, 3791.04, and 4104.43 of the Revised Code, only with respect to the types of buildings and subject matters for which they are certified under this section.

(9) Certification shall be granted upon application by the municipal corporation, the board of township trustees, or the board of county commissioners and approval of that application by the board of building standards. The application shall set forth:

(a) Whether the certification is requested for residential or nonresidential buildings, or both;

(b) The number and qualifications of the staff composing the building department;

(c) The names, addresses, and qualifications of persons, firms, or corporations contracting to furnish work or services pursuant to division (E)(7)(b) of this section;

(d) The names of any other municipal corporation, township, county, health district, or political subdivision under contract to furnish work or services pursuant to division (E)(7) of this section;

(e) The proposed budget for the operation of the building department.

(10) The board of building standards shall adopt rules governing all of the following:

(a) The certification of building department personnel and persons and employees of persons, firms, or corporations exercising authority pursuant to division (E)(7) of this section. The rules shall disqualify any employee of the department or person who contracts for services with the department from performing services for the department when that employee or person would have to pass upon, inspect, or otherwise exercise authority over any labor, material, or equipment the employee or person furnishes for the construction, alteration, or maintenance of a building or the preparation of working drawings or specifications for work within the jurisdictional area of the department. The department shall provide other similarly qualified personnel to enforce the residential and nonresidential building codes as they pertain to that work.

(b) The minimum services to be provided by a certified building department.

(11) The board of building standards may revoke or suspend certification to enforce the residential and nonresidential building codes, on petition to the board by any person affected by that enforcement or approval of plans, or by the board on its own motion. Hearings shall be held and appeals permitted on any proceedings for certification or revocation or suspension of certification in the same manner as provided in section 3781.101 of the Revised Code for other proceedings of the board of building standards.

(12) Upon certification, and until that authority is revoked, any county or township building department shall enforce the residential and nonresidential building codes for which it is certified without regard to limitation upon the authority of boards of county commissioners under Chapter 307. of the Revised Code or boards of township trustees under Chapter 505. of the Revised Code.

(F) In addition to hearings sections 3781.06 to 3781.18 and 3791.04 of the Revised Code require, the board of building standards shall make investigations and tests, and require from other state departments, officers, boards, and commissions information the board considers necessary or desirable to assist it in the discharge of any duty or the exercise of any power mentioned in this section or in sections 3781.06 to 3781.18, 3791.04, and 4104.43 of the Revised Code.

(G) The board shall adopt rules and establish reasonable fees for the review of all applications submitted where the applicant applies for authority to use a new material, assembly, or product of a manufacturing process. The fee shall bear some reasonable relationship to the cost of the review or testing of the materials, assembly, or products and for the notification of approval or disapproval as provided in section 3781.12 of the Revised Code.

(H) The residential construction advisory committee shall provide the board with a proposal for a state residential building code that the committee recommends pursuant to division (C)(1) of section 4740.14 of the Revised Code. Upon receiving a recommendation from the committee that is acceptable to the board, the board shall adopt rules establishing that code as the state residential building code.

(I) The board shall cooperate with the director of job and family services when the director promulgates rules pursuant to section 5104.05 of the Revised Code regarding safety and sanitation in type A family day-care homes.

(J) The board shall adopt rules to implement the requirements of section 3781.108 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 3717.05, 3717.45, 3717.47, and 3781.10 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.