To amend sections 1739.02, 4115.04, 4123.01, 4123.35, and 4123.82 and to enact sections 122.09 and 4123.354 of the Revised Code to authorize the state and local governments to jointly offer tax and other incentives to businesses that establish operations within designated areas.

Section 1. That sections 1739.02, 4115.04, 4123.01, 4123.35, and 4123.82 be amended and sections 122.09 and 4123.354 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 122.09. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Subdivision" has the same meaning as in section 5705.01 of the Revised Code and refers to the subdivision's taxing authority, as defined in that section, where the context requires.

(2) "Participating governmental authority" means a subdivision that enters into a contract under this section, and the state if the director of development is a party to such a contract.

(3) "Tax and other incentives" includes full or partial exemption from taxation of property in an area; exemptions, deductions, or credits from or against the taxes imposed under Chapter 322., 5725., 5729., 5733., 5739., 5741., 5747., or 5751. of the Revised Code; exemptions, deductions, or credits from or against municipal income taxes; assistance under Chapter 122., 165., 166., or 184. of the Revised Code; and any other assistance intended to promote or foster business development, increased employment, and general economic welfare.

(4) "Multiple employer welfare arrangement," "fully insured program," and "group self-insurance program" have the same meanings as in section 1739.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) For the purpose of facilitating economic development, to create or preserve jobs and employment opportunities, and to improve the economic welfare of the people in this state, the director of development or one or more subdivisions may enter into a contract to create an Ohio opportunity area. The area shall be comprised exclusively of territory zoned for commercial or agricultural use and shall be located within the boundaries of this state and two or more participating governmental authorities. The contract term may not exceed ten years, but it may be renewed upon agreement of the participating governmental authorities. The contract shall describe the area's boundaries, create a board of directors, and delineate the board's authority and duties.

Authority granted to the board of directors may include the following:

(a) Entering into agreements with businesses whereby a business commits to create or preserve jobs in the area and the board of directors provides tax and other incentives for the business;

(b) Accepting service payments in lieu of taxes from contracting businesses and using them for any purpose of the area;

(c) Granting or guaranteeing loans to finance infrastructure improvements in the area and to acquire, construct, enlarge, improve, or equip, and to sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of property, structures, equipment, and facilities within the area for industry, commerce, distribution, and research and development purposes, pursuant to Sections 2p and 13 of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution;

(d) Levying an income tax to be used solely for the purposes of the area. A tax levied pursuant to division (B)(1)(d) of this section may be levied only upon written petition signed by all persons owning or leasing real property in the area for the purpose of conducting a trade or business. The tax may be based only on income earned by individuals for services performed within the area and on the net profits of businesses located in the area. The income tax is subject to the limitations of Chapter 718. of the Revised Code. The board of directors may prescribe the form of the petition. The board of directors shall publish or post public notice within the area of any resolution adopted by the board levying an income tax in the same manner required of municipal corporations under sections 731.21 and 731.25 of the Revised Code.

(e) Waiving the prevailing wage requirements under Chapter 4115. of the Revised Code for public improvement projects in the area for a fixed period of time, for the duration of the project, or as otherwise determined by the board.

(2) If tax or other incentives are provided that reduce the revenue from a tax imposed by a taxing authority that is not a participating governmental authority, the taxing authority imposing the tax shall be reimbursed for the entire amount of the reduction unless it agrees otherwise.

(3)(a) A participating governmental authority may, by resolution, issue on behalf of the board of directors self-supporting securities to finance improvements in the area for industry, commerce, distribution, and research and development purposes, pursuant to Sections 2p and 13 of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution. Securities shall be secured by a pledge of and a lien upon the revenues derived from ownership or operation of the improvements or amounts from taxes levied by the board of directors or from service payments in lieu of taxes received by the board of directors.

(b) A participating governmental authority may, by resolution, issue on behalf of the board of directors bonds to finance improvements in the area for industry, commerce, distribution, and research and development purposes, pursuant to Sections 2p and 13 of Article VIII, Ohio Constitution. The bonds shall be secured by a pledge of and lien on taxes levied by the board of directors or by service payments in lieu of taxes received by the board of directors. The bonds shall not be general obligations of the participating governmental authority, and shall not constitute a debt, or a pledge of the faith and credit, but shall be payable solely from the funds pledged for their payment as authorized by this section.

(C) Businesses located in an Ohio opportunity area may form a multiple employer welfare arrangement to provide health insurance to the employees of the businesses and the employees' dependents through a fully insured program or a group self-insurance program. If the multiple employer welfare arrangement provides health insurance through a group self-insurance program, the multiple employer welfare arrangement shall be subject to Chapter 1739. of the Revised Code.

(D) A board of directors created pursuant to this section is a body corporate and politic that may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, and has the powers and jurisdiction enumerated in this section. The exercise by a board of the powers conferred upon it shall be essential governmental functions of this state but no authority is immune from liability by reason thereof. The provisions of Chapter 2744. and section 121.22 of the Revised Code apply to the board and the area. The board of directors is a governmental agency for the purposes of Chapter 166. of the Revised Code.

If the state is a participating governmental authority, the director of development or a designee of the director shall be a member of the board. Other members of the board shall be appointed as provided in the contract from among the other participating governmental authorities and the elected chief executive officers thereof, if any, provided that there shall be at least two members appointed from each of the participating governmental authorities.

Official actions of the board of directors require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the board's members. The board's official actions bind the participating governmental authorities.

(E)(1) A contract entered into under division (B) of this section is not binding unless it is approved by each participating governmental authority. The director of development shall determine whether the state will be a party to the contract. All other participating governmental authorities shall approve the contract by ordinance or resolution. After all participating governmental authorities have approved the contract, a copy of the contract shall be filed with the director of development unless the state is a participating governmental authority. Upon creation of the area, no exemption from taxation may be granted or authorized for property in the area unless the exemption is first approved by official action of the board of directors before application is made to the tax commissioner.

(2) Before a subdivision approves a contract entered into under this section, each shall hold a public hearing concerning the contract and shall provide thirty days' public notice of the time and place of the public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in which the area is to be created, a summary of the terms of the contract, a statement that the entire text of the contract and area maps and plans are on file for public examination in the office of the fiscal officer of each subdivision, and information pertaining to any tax or debt changes that will or may occur as a result of the contract.

During the thirty-day period before the public hearing, a copy of the text of the contract together with copies of area maps and plans related to or part of the contract shall be on file, for public examination, in the office of the fiscal officer of each subdivision. The public hearing provided for in this division shall allow for public comment and recommendations from the public on the proposed contract. The participating governmental authorities may include in the contract any of those recommendations before approving the contract.

Sec. 1739.02.  (A) A trade association, industry association, or professional association that has been organized and maintained in good faith for a continuous period of one year or more for purposes other than obtaining insurance may establish, maintain, or operate a group self-insurance program under a multiple employer welfare arrangement that is chartered and created in this state under sections 1739.01 to 1739.22 of the Revised Code.

(B) Except as provided in section 9.833 and sections 1739.01 to 1739.22 of the Revised Code, no multiple employer welfare arrangement or other entity by which two or more employers jointly participate in a common employee welfare benefit plan shall operate a group self-insurance program in this state after four months after the effective date of this section April 9, 1993.

(C) Sections 1739.01 to 1739.22 of the Revised Code do not apply to any entity that establishes, maintains, or operates a fully-insured fully insured program.

(D) No person shall establish, operate, or maintain a multiple employer welfare arrangement providing benefits through a group self-insurance program in this state unless the multiple employer welfare arrangement has a valid certificate of authority from the superintendent of insurance.

(E) This chapter shall not apply to a self-insuring consortium created for purposes of workers' compensation as described in section 4123.354 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4115.04.  (A)(1) Every public authority authorized to contract for or construct with its own forces a public improvement, before advertising for bids or undertaking such construction with its own forces, shall have the director of commerce determine the prevailing rates of wages of mechanics and laborers in accordance with section 4115.05 of the Revised Code for the class of work called for by the public improvement, in the locality where the work is to be performed. Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, that schedule of wages shall be attached to and made part of the specifications for the work, and shall be printed on the bidding blanks where the work is done by contract. A copy of the bidding blank shall be filed with the director before the contract is awarded. A minimum rate of wages for common laborers, on work coming under the jurisdiction of the department of transportation, shall be fixed in each county of the state by the department of transportation, in accordance with section 4115.05 of the Revised Code.

(2) In the case of contracts that are administered by the department of natural resources, the director of natural resources or the director's designee shall include language in the contracts requiring wage rate determinations and updates to be obtained directly from the department of commerce through electronic or other means as appropriate. Contracts that include this requirement are exempt from the requirements established in division (A)(1) of this section that involve attaching the schedule of wages to the specifications for the work, making the schedule part of those specifications, and printing the schedule on the bidding blanks where the work is done by contract.

(B) Sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code do not apply to:

(1) Public improvements in any case where the federal government or any of its agencies furnishes by loan or grant all or any part of the funds used in constructing such improvements, provided that the federal government or any of its agencies prescribes predetermined minimum wages to be paid to mechanics and laborers employed in the construction of such improvements;

(2) A participant in a work activity, developmental activity, or an alternative work activity under sections 5107.40 to 5107.69 of the Revised Code when a public authority directly uses the labor of the participant to construct a public improvement if the participant is not engaged in paid employment or subsidized employment pursuant to the activity;

(3) Public improvements undertaken by, or under contract for, the board of education of any school district or the governing board of any educational service center;

(4) Public improvements undertaken by, or under contract for, 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 if none of the funds used in constructing the improvements are the proceeds of bonds or other obligations that are secured by the full faith and credit of the state, a county, a township, or a municipal corporation and none of the funds used in constructing the improvements, including funds used to repay any amounts borrowed to construct the improvements, are funds that have been appropriated for that purpose by the state, a board of county commissioners, a township, or a municipal corporation from funds generated by the levy of a tax, provided that a county hospital or municipal hospital may elect to apply sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code to a public improvement undertaken by, or under contract for, the hospital;

(5) Any project described in divisions (D)(1)(a) to (D)(1)(e) of section 176.05 of the Revised Code;

(6) Any project for which a waiver has been granted by a board of directors of an Ohio opportunity area pursuant to section 122.09 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4123.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A)(1) "Employee" means:

(a) Every person in the service of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, township, or school district therein, including regular members of lawfully constituted police and fire departments of municipal corporations and townships, whether paid or volunteer, and wherever serving within the state or on temporary assignment outside thereof, and executive officers of boards of education, under any appointment or contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including any elected official of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, or township, or members of boards of education.

As used in division (A)(1)(a) of this section, the term "employee" includes the following persons when responding to an inherently dangerous situation that calls for an immediate response on the part of the person, regardless of whether the person is within the limits of the jurisdiction of the person's regular employment or voluntary service when responding, on the condition that the person responds to the situation as the person otherwise would if the person were on duty in the person's jurisdiction:

(i) Off-duty peace officers. As used in division (A)(1)(a)(i) of this section, "peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.

(ii) Off-duty firefighters, whether paid or volunteer, of a lawfully constituted fire department.

(iii) Off-duty first responders, emergency medical technicians-basic, emergency medical technicians-intermediate, or emergency medical technicians-paramedic, whether paid or volunteer, of an ambulance service organization or emergency medical service organization pursuant to Chapter 4765. of the Revised Code.

(b) Every person in the service of any person, firm, or private corporation, including any public service corporation, that (i) employs one or more persons regularly in the same business or in or about the same establishment under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including aliens and minors, household workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single household and casual workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single employer, or (ii) is bound by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to pay into the state insurance fund the premiums provided by this chapter.

(c) Every person who performs labor or provides services pursuant to a construction contract, as defined in section 4123.79 of the Revised Code, if at least ten of the following criteria apply:

(i) The person is required to comply with instructions from the other contracting party regarding the manner or method of performing services;

(ii) The person is required by the other contracting party to have particular training;

(iii) The person's services are integrated into the regular functioning of the other contracting party;

(iv) The person is required to perform the work personally;

(v) The person is hired, supervised, or paid by the other contracting party;

(vi) A continuing relationship exists between the person and the other contracting party that contemplates continuing or recurring work even if the work is not full time;

(vii) The person's hours of work are established by the other contracting party;

(viii) The person is required to devote full time to the business of the other contracting party;

(ix) The person is required to perform the work on the premises of the other contracting party;

(x) The person is required to follow the order of work set by the other contracting party;

(xi) The person is required to make oral or written reports of progress to the other contracting party;

(xii) The person is paid for services on a regular basis such as hourly, weekly, or monthly;

(xiii) The person's expenses are paid for by the other contracting party;

(xiv) The person's tools and materials are furnished by the other contracting party;

(xv) The person is provided with the facilities used to perform services;

(xvi) The person does not realize a profit or suffer a loss as a result of the services provided;

(xvii) The person is not performing services for a number of employers at the same time;

(xviii) The person does not make the same services available to the general public;

(xix) The other contracting party has a right to discharge the person;

(xx) The person has the right to end the relationship with the other contracting party without incurring liability pursuant to an employment contract or agreement.

Every person in the service of any independent contractor or subcontractor who has failed to pay into the state insurance fund the amount of premium determined and fixed by the administrator of workers' compensation for the person's employment or occupation or if a self-insuring employer has failed to pay compensation and benefits directly to the employer's injured and to the dependents of the employer's killed employees as required by section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, shall be considered as the employee of the person who has entered into a contract, whether written or verbal, with such independent contractor unless such employees or their legal representatives or beneficiaries elect, after injury or death, to regard such independent contractor as the employer.

(d) Every person to whom all of the following apply:

(i) The person is a resident of a state other than this state and is covered by that other state's workers' compensation law;

(ii) The person performs labor or provides services for that person's employer while temporarily within this state;

(iii) The laws of that other state do not include the provisions described in division (H)(4) of section 4123.54 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Employee" does not mean:

(a) A duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister or assistant or associate minister of a church in the exercise of ministry;

(b) Any officer of a family farm corporation;

(c) An individual incorporated as a corporation; or

(d) An individual who otherwise is an employee of an employer but who signs the waiver and affidavit specified in section 4123.15 of the Revised Code on the condition that the administrator has granted a waiver and exception to the individual's employer under section 4123.15 of the Revised Code.

Any employer may elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter, any person excluded from the definition of "employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section. If an employer is a partnership, sole proprietorship, individual incorporated as a corporation, or family farm corporation, such employer may elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter, any member of such partnership, the owner of the sole proprietorship, the individual incorporated as a corporation, or the officers of the family farm corporation. In the event of an election, the employer shall serve upon the bureau of workers' compensation written notice naming the persons to be covered, include such employee's remuneration for premium purposes in all future payroll reports, and no person excluded from the definition of "employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, proprietor, individual incorporated as a corporation, or partner shall be deemed an employee within this division until the employer has served such notice.

For informational purposes only, the bureau shall prescribe such language as it considers appropriate, on such of its forms as it considers appropriate, to advise employers of their right to elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter a sole proprietor, any member of a partnership, an individual incorporated as a corporation, the officers of a family farm corporation, or a person excluded from the definition of "employee" under division (A)(2) of this section, that they should check any health and disability insurance policy, or other form of health and disability plan or contract, presently covering them, or the purchase of which they may be considering, to determine whether such policy, plan, or contract excludes benefits for illness or injury that they might have elected to have covered by workers' compensation.

(B) "Employer" means:

(1) The state, including state hospitals, each county, municipal corporation, township, school district, and hospital owned by a political subdivision or subdivisions other than the state;

(2) Every person, firm, professional employer organization as defined in section 4125.01 of the Revised Code, and private corporation, including any public service corporation, that (a) has in service one or more employees or shared employees regularly in the same business or in or about the same establishment under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, or (b) is bound by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to pay into the insurance fund the premiums provided by this chapter.

All such employers are subject to this chapter. Any member of a firm or association, who regularly performs manual labor in or about a mine, factory, or other establishment, including a household establishment, shall be considered an employee in determining whether such person, firm, or private corporation, or public service corporation, has in its service, one or more employees and the employer shall report the income derived from such labor to the bureau as part of the payroll of such employer, and such member shall thereupon be entitled to all the benefits of an employee.

(C) "Injury" includes any injury, whether caused by external accidental means or accidental in character and result, received in the course of, and arising out of, the injured employee's employment. "Injury" does not include:

(1) Psychiatric conditions except where the claimant's psychiatric conditions have arisen from an injury or occupational disease sustained by that claimant or where the claimant's psychiatric conditions have arisen from sexual conduct in which the claimant was forced by threat of physical harm to engage or participate;

(2) Injury or disability caused primarily by the natural deterioration of tissue, an organ, or part of the body;

(3) Injury or disability incurred in voluntary participation in an employer-sponsored recreation or fitness activity if the employee signs a waiver of the employee's right to compensation or benefits under this chapter prior to engaging in the recreation or fitness activity;

(4) A condition that pre-existed an injury unless that pre-existing condition is substantially aggravated by the injury. Such a substantial aggravation must be documented by objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective test results. Subjective complaints may be evidence of such a substantial aggravation. However, subjective complaints without objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective test results are insufficient to substantiate a substantial aggravation.

(D) "Child" includes a posthumous child and a child legally adopted prior to the injury.

(E) "Family farm corporation" means a corporation founded for the purpose of farming agricultural land in which the majority of the voting stock is held by and the majority of the stockholders are persons or the spouse of persons related to each other within the fourth degree of kinship, according to the rules of the civil law, and at least one of the related persons is residing on or actively operating the farm, and none of whose stockholders are a corporation. A family farm corporation does not cease to qualify under this division where, by reason of any devise, bequest, or the operation of the laws of descent or distribution, the ownership of shares of voting stock is transferred to another person, as long as that person is within the degree of kinship stipulated in this division.

(F) "Occupational disease" means a disease contracted in the course of employment, which by its causes and the characteristics of its manifestation or the condition of the employment results in a hazard which distinguishes the employment in character from employment generally, and the employment creates a risk of contracting the disease in greater degree and in a different manner from the public in general.

(G) "Self-insuring employer" means an employer who is granted the privilege of paying compensation and benefits directly under section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, including a board of county commissioners for the sole purpose of constructing a sports facility as defined in section 307.696 of the Revised Code, provided that the electors of the county in which the sports facility is to be built have approved construction of a sports facility by ballot election no later than November 6, 1997, but does not include a self-insuring consortium.

(H) "Public employer" means an employer as defined in division (B)(1) of this section.

(I) "Sexual conduct" means vaginal intercourse between a male and female; anal intercourse, fellatio, and cunnilingus between persons regardless of gender; and, without privilege to do so, the insertion, however slight, of any part of the body or any instrument, apparatus, or other object into the vaginal or anal cavity of another. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete vaginal or anal intercourse.

(J) "Other-states' insurer" means an insurance company that is authorized to provide workers' compensation insurance coverage in any of the states that permit employers to obtain insurance for workers' compensation claims through insurance companies.

(K) "Other-states' coverage" means insurance coverage purchased by an employer for workers' compensation claims that arise in a state or states other than this state and that are filed by the employees of the employer or those employee's dependents, as applicable, in that other state or those other states.

(L) "Self-insuring consortium" means a group of employers that is granted the privilege of paying compensation and benefits directly under section 4123.354 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4123.35.  (A) Except as provided in this section, every employer mentioned in division (B)(2) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, and every publicly owned utility shall pay semiannually in the months of January and July into the state insurance fund the amount of annual premium the administrator of workers' compensation fixes for the employment or occupation of the employer, the amount of which premium to be paid by each employer to be determined by the classifications, rules, and rates made and published by the administrator. The employer shall pay semiannually a further sum of money into the state insurance fund as may be ascertained to be due from the employer by applying the rules of the administrator, and a receipt or certificate certifying that payment has been made, along with a written notice as is required in section 4123.54 of the Revised Code, shall be mailed immediately to the employer by the bureau of workers' compensation. The receipt or certificate is prima-facie evidence of the payment of the premium, and the proper posting of the notice constitutes the employer's compliance with the notice requirement mandated in section 4123.54 of the Revised Code.

The bureau of workers' compensation shall verify with the secretary of state the existence of all corporations and organizations making application for workers' compensation coverage and shall require every such application to include the employer's federal identification number.

An employer as defined in division (B)(2) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code who has contracted with a subcontractor is liable for the unpaid premium due from any subcontractor with respect to that part of the payroll of the subcontractor that is for work performed pursuant to the contract with the employer.

Division (A) of this section providing for the payment of premiums semiannually does not apply to any employer who was a subscriber to the state insurance fund prior to January 1, 1914, or who may first become a subscriber to the fund in any month other than January or July. Instead, the semiannual premiums shall be paid by those employers from time to time upon the expiration of the respective periods for which payments into the fund have been made by them.

The administrator shall adopt rules to permit employers to make periodic payments of the semiannual premium due under this division. The rules shall include provisions for the assessment of interest charges, where appropriate, and for the assessment of penalties when an employer fails to make timely premium payments. An employer who timely pays the amounts due under this division is entitled to all of the benefits and protections of this chapter. Upon receipt of payment, the bureau immediately shall mail a receipt or certificate to the employer certifying that payment has been made, which receipt is prima-facie evidence of payment. Workers' compensation coverage under this chapter continues uninterrupted upon timely receipt of payment under this division.

Every public employer, except public employers that are self-insuring employers under this section, shall comply with sections 4123.38 to 4123.41, and 4123.48 of the Revised Code in regard to the contribution of moneys to the public insurance fund.

(B) Employers who will abide by the rules of the administrator and who may be of sufficient financial ability to render certain the payment of compensation to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, and the furnishing of medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital attention and services and medicines, and funeral expenses, equal to or greater than is provided for in sections 4123.52, 4123.55 to 4123.62, and 4123.64 to 4123.67 of the Revised Code, and who do not desire to insure the payment thereof or indemnify themselves against loss sustained by the direct payment thereof, upon a finding of such facts by the administrator, may be granted the privilege to pay individually compensation, and furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital services and attention and funeral expenses directly to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, thereby being granted status as a self-insuring employer. The administrator may charge employers who apply for the status as a self-insuring employer a reasonable application fee to cover the bureau's costs in connection with processing and making a determination with respect to an application.

All employers granted status as self-insuring employers shall demonstrate sufficient financial and administrative ability to assure that all obligations under this section are promptly met. The administrator shall deny the privilege where the employer is unable to demonstrate the employer's ability to promptly meet all the obligations imposed on the employer by this section.

(1) The administrator shall consider, but is not limited to, the following factors, where applicable, in determining the employer's ability to meet all of the obligations imposed on the employer by this section:

(a) The employer employs a minimum of five hundred employees in this state;

(b) The employer has operated in this state for a minimum of two years, provided that an employer who has purchased, acquired, or otherwise succeeded to the operation of a business, or any part thereof, situated in this state that has operated for at least two years in this state, also shall qualify;

(c) Where the employer previously contributed to the state insurance fund or is a successor employer as defined by bureau rules, the amount of the buyout, as defined by bureau rules;

(d) The sufficiency of the employer's assets located in this state to insure the employer's solvency in paying compensation directly;

(e) The financial records, documents, and data, certified by a certified public accountant, necessary to provide the employer's full financial disclosure. The records, documents, and data include, but are not limited to, balance sheets and profit and loss history for the current year and previous four years.

(f) The employer's organizational plan for the administration of the workers' compensation law;

(g) The employer's proposed plan to inform employees of the change from a state fund insurer to a self-insuring employer, the procedures the employer will follow as a self-insuring employer, and the employees' rights to compensation and benefits; and

(h) The employer has either an account in a financial institution in this state, or if the employer maintains an account with a financial institution outside this state, ensures that workers' compensation checks are drawn from the same account as payroll checks or the employer clearly indicates that payment will be honored by a financial institution in this state.

The Except as otherwise provided in section 4123.354 of the Revised Code, the administrator may waive the requirements of divisions (B)(1)(a) and (b) of this section and the requirement of division (B)(1)(e) of this section that the financial records, documents, and data be certified by a certified public accountant. The administrator shall adopt rules establishing the criteria that an employer shall meet in order for the administrator to waive the requirement of division (B)(1)(e) of this section. Such rules may require additional security of that employer pursuant to division (E) of section 4123.351 of the Revised Code.

The administrator shall not grant the status of self-insuring employer to the state, except that the administrator may grant the status of self-insuring employer to a state institution of higher education, excluding its hospitals, that meets the requirements of division (B)(2) of this section.

(2) When considering the application of a public employer, except for a board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, a board of a county hospital, or a publicly owned utility, the administrator shall verify that the public employer satisfies all of the following requirements as the requirements apply to that public employer:

(a) For the two-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer has maintained an unvoted debt capacity equal to at least two times the amount of the current annual premium established by the administrator under this chapter for that public employer for the year immediately preceding the year in which the public employer makes application under this section.

(b) For each of the two fiscal years preceding application under this section, the unreserved and undesignated year-end fund balance in the public employer's general fund is equal to at least five per cent of the public employer's general fund revenues for the fiscal year computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(c) For the five-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer, to the extent applicable, has complied fully with the continuing disclosure requirements established in rules adopted by the United States securities and exchange commission under 17 C.F.R. 240.15c 2-12.

(d) For the five-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer has not had its local government fund distribution withheld on account of the public employer being indebted or otherwise obligated to the state.

(e) For the five-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer has not been under a fiscal watch or fiscal emergency pursuant to section 118.023, 118.04, or 3316.03 of the Revised Code.

(f) For the public employer's fiscal year preceding application under this section, the public employer has obtained an annual financial audit as required under section 117.10 of the Revised Code, which has been released by the auditor of state within seven months after the end of the public employer's fiscal year.

(g) On the date of application, the public employer holds a debt rating of Aa3 or higher according to Moody's investors service, inc., or a comparable rating by an independent rating agency similar to Moody's investors service, inc.

(h) The public employer agrees to generate an annual accumulating book reserve in its financial statements reflecting an actuarially generated reserve adequate to pay projected claims under this chapter for the applicable period of time, as determined by the administrator.

(i) For a public employer that is a hospital, the public employer shall submit audited financial statements showing the hospital's overall liquidity characteristics, and the administrator shall determine, on an individual basis, whether the public employer satisfies liquidity standards equivalent to the liquidity standards of other public employers.

(j) Any additional criteria that the administrator adopts by rule pursuant to division (E) of this section.

The administrator shall not approve the application of a public employer, except for a board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, a board of a county hospital, or publicly owned utility, who does not satisfy all of the requirements listed in division (B)(2) of this section.

(C) A board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, as an employer, that will abide by the rules of the administrator and that may be of sufficient financial ability to render certain the payment of compensation to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, and the furnishing of medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital attention and services and medicines, and funeral expenses, equal to or greater than is provided for in sections 4123.52, 4123.55 to 4123.62, and 4123.64 to 4123.67 of the Revised Code, and that does not desire to insure the payment thereof or indemnify itself against loss sustained by the direct payment thereof, upon a finding of such facts by the administrator, may be granted the privilege to pay individually compensation, and furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital services and attention and funeral expenses directly to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, thereby being granted status as a self-insuring employer. The administrator may charge a board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code that applies for the status as a self-insuring employer a reasonable application fee to cover the bureau's costs in connection with processing and making a determination with respect to an application. All employers granted such status shall demonstrate sufficient financial and administrative ability to assure that all obligations under this section are promptly met. The administrator shall deny the privilege where the employer is unable to demonstrate the employer's ability to promptly meet all the obligations imposed on the employer by this section. The administrator shall consider, but is not limited to, the following factors, where applicable, in determining the employer's ability to meet all of the obligations imposed on the board as an employer by this section:

(1) The board as an employer employs a minimum of five hundred employees in this state;

(2) The board has operated in this state for a minimum of two years;

(3) Where the board previously contributed to the state insurance fund or is a successor employer as defined by bureau rules, the amount of the buyout, as defined by bureau rules;

(4) The sufficiency of the board's assets located in this state to insure the board's solvency in paying compensation directly;

(5) The financial records, documents, and data, certified by a certified public accountant, necessary to provide the board's full financial disclosure. The records, documents, and data include, but are not limited to, balance sheets and profit and loss history for the current year and previous four years.

(6) The board's organizational plan for the administration of the workers' compensation law;

(7) The board's proposed plan to inform employees of the proposed self-insurance, the procedures the board will follow as a self-insuring employer, and the employees' rights to compensation and benefits;

(8) The board has either an account in a financial institution in this state, or if the board maintains an account with a financial institution outside this state, ensures that workers' compensation checks are drawn from the same account as payroll checks or the board clearly indicates that payment will be honored by a financial institution in this state;

(9) The board shall provide the administrator a surety bond in an amount equal to one hundred twenty-five per cent of the projected losses as determined by the administrator.

(D) The administrator shall require a surety bond from all self-insuring employers, issued pursuant to section 4123.351 of the Revised Code, that is sufficient to compel, or secure to injured employees, or to the dependents of employees killed, the payment of compensation and expenses, which shall in no event be less than that paid or furnished out of the state insurance fund in similar cases to injured employees or to dependents of killed employees whose employers contribute to the fund, except when an employee of the employer, who has suffered the loss of a hand, arm, foot, leg, or eye prior to the injury for which compensation is to be paid, and thereafter suffers the loss of any other of the members as the result of any injury sustained in the course of and arising out of the employee's employment, the compensation to be paid by the self-insuring employer is limited to the disability suffered in the subsequent injury, additional compensation, if any, to be paid by the bureau out of the surplus created by section 4123.34 of the Revised Code.

(E) In addition to the requirements of this section, the administrator shall make and publish rules governing the manner of making application and the nature and extent of the proof required to justify a finding of fact by the administrator as to granting the status of a self-insuring employer, which rules shall be general in their application, one of which rules shall provide that all self-insuring employers shall pay into the state insurance fund such amounts as are required to be credited to the surplus fund in division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code. The administrator may adopt rules establishing requirements in addition to the requirements described in division (B)(2) of this section that a public employer shall meet in order to qualify for self-insuring status.

Employers shall secure directly from the bureau central offices application forms upon which the bureau shall stamp a designating number. Prior to submission of an application, an employer shall make available to the bureau, and the bureau shall review, the information described in division (B)(1) of this section, and public employers shall make available, and the bureau shall review, the information necessary to verify whether the public employer meets the requirements listed in division (B)(2) of this section. An employer shall file the completed application forms with an application fee, which shall cover the costs of processing the application, as established by the administrator, by rule, with the bureau at least ninety days prior to the effective date of the employer's new status as a self-insuring employer. The application form is not deemed complete until all the required information is attached thereto. The bureau shall only accept applications that contain the required information.

(F) The bureau shall review completed applications within a reasonable time. If the bureau determines to grant an employer the status as a self-insuring employer, the bureau shall issue a statement, containing its findings of fact, that is prepared by the bureau and signed by the administrator. If the bureau determines not to grant the status as a self-insuring employer, the bureau shall notify the employer of the determination and require the employer to continue to pay its full premium into the state insurance fund. The administrator also shall adopt rules establishing a minimum level of performance as a criterion for granting and maintaining the status as a self-insuring employer and fixing time limits beyond which failure of the self-insuring employer to provide for the necessary medical examinations and evaluations may not delay a decision on a claim.

(G) The administrator shall adopt rules setting forth procedures for auditing the program of self-insuring employers. The bureau shall conduct the audit upon a random basis or whenever the bureau has grounds for believing that a self-insuring employer is not in full compliance with bureau rules or this chapter.

The administrator shall monitor the programs conducted by self-insuring employers, to ensure compliance with bureau requirements and for that purpose, shall develop and issue to self-insuring employers standardized forms for use by the self-insuring employer in all aspects of the self-insuring employers' direct compensation program and for reporting of information to the bureau.

The bureau shall receive and transmit to the self-insuring employer all complaints concerning any self-insuring employer. In the case of a complaint against a self-insuring employer, the administrator shall handle the complaint through the self-insurance division of the bureau. The bureau shall maintain a file by employer of all complaints received that relate to the employer. The bureau shall evaluate each complaint and take appropriate action.

The administrator shall adopt as a rule a prohibition against any self-insuring employer from harassing, dismissing, or otherwise disciplining any employee making a complaint, which rule shall provide for a financial penalty to be levied by the administrator payable by the offending self-insuring employer.

(H) For the purpose of making determinations as to whether to grant status as a self-insuring employer, the administrator may subscribe to and pay for a credit reporting service that offers financial and other business information about individual employers. The costs in connection with the bureau's subscription or individual reports from the service about an applicant may be included in the application fee charged employers under this section.

(I) The administrator, notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, may permit a self-insuring employer to resume payment of premiums to the state insurance fund with appropriate credit modifications to the employer's basic premium rate as such rate is determined pursuant to section 4123.29 of the Revised Code.

(J) On the first day of July of each year, the administrator shall calculate separately each self-insuring employer's assessments for the safety and hygiene fund, administrative costs pursuant to section 4123.342 of the Revised Code, and for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that is not used for handicapped reimbursement, on the basis of the paid compensation attributable to the individual self-insuring employer according to the following calculation:

(1) The total assessment against all self-insuring employers as a class for each fund and for the administrative costs for the year that the assessment is being made, as determined by the administrator, divided by the total amount of paid compensation for the previous calendar year attributable to all amenable self-insuring employers;

(2) Multiply the quotient in division (J)(1) of this section by the total amount of paid compensation for the previous calendar year that is attributable to the individual self-insuring employer for whom the assessment is being determined. Each self-insuring employer shall pay the assessment that results from this calculation, unless the assessment resulting from this calculation falls below a minimum assessment, which minimum assessment the administrator shall determine on the first day of July of each year with the advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, in which event, the self-insuring employer shall pay the minimum assessment.

In determining the total amount due for the total assessment against all self-insuring employers as a class for each fund and the administrative assessment, the administrator shall reduce proportionately the total for each fund and assessment by the amount of money in the self-insurance assessment fund as of the date of the computation of the assessment.

The administrator shall calculate the assessment for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that is used for handicapped reimbursement in the same manner as set forth in divisions (J)(1) and (2) of this section except that the administrator shall calculate the total assessment for this portion of the surplus fund only on the basis of those self-insuring employers that retain participation in the handicapped reimbursement program and the individual self-insuring employer's proportion of paid compensation shall be calculated only for those self-insuring employers who retain participation in the handicapped reimbursement program. The administrator, as the administrator determines appropriate, may determine the total assessment for the handicapped portion of the surplus fund in accordance with sound actuarial principles.

The administrator shall calculate the assessment for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that under division (D) of section 4121.66 of the Revised Code is used for rehabilitation costs in the same manner as set forth in divisions (J)(1) and (2) of this section, except that the administrator shall calculate the total assessment for this portion of the surplus fund only on the basis of those self-insuring employers who have not made the election to make payments directly under division (D) of section 4121.66 of the Revised Code and an individual self-insuring employer's proportion of paid compensation only for those self-insuring employers who have not made that election.

The administrator shall calculate the assessment for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that is used for reimbursement to a self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of the Revised Code in the same manner as set forth in divisions (J)(1) and (2) of this section except that the administrator shall calculate the total assessment for this portion of the surplus fund only on the basis of those self-insuring employers that retain participation in reimbursement to the self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of the Revised Code and the individual self-insuring employer's proportion of paid compensation shall be calculated only for those self-insuring employers who retain participation in reimbursement to the self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of the Revised Code.

An employer who no longer is a self-insuring employer in this state or who no longer is operating in this state, shall continue to pay assessments for administrative costs and for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that is not used for handicapped reimbursement, based upon paid compensation attributable to claims that occurred while the employer was a self-insuring employer within this state.

(K) The administrator shall deposit any moneys received from a self-insuring employer for the self-insuring employer's assessment to pay the costs solely attributable to the workers' compensation council into the administrative assessment account described in division (B) of section 4123.342 of the Revised Code for the administrative cost assessment collected by the administrator for the council. There is hereby created in the state treasury the self-insurance assessment fund. All investment earnings of the fund shall be deposited in the fund. The administrator shall use the money in the self-insurance assessment fund only for administrative costs as specified in section 4123.341 of the Revised Code.

(L) Every self-insuring employer shall certify, in affidavit form subject to the penalty for perjury, to the bureau the amount of the self-insuring employer's paid compensation for the previous calendar year. In reporting paid compensation paid for the previous year, a self-insuring employer shall exclude from the total amount of paid compensation any reimbursement the self-insuring employer receives in the previous calendar year from the surplus fund pursuant to section 4123.512 of the Revised Code for any paid compensation. The self-insuring employer also shall exclude from the paid compensation reported any amount recovered under section 4123.931 of the Revised Code and any amount that is determined not to have been payable to or on behalf of a claimant in any final administrative or judicial proceeding. The self-insuring employer shall exclude such amounts from the paid compensation reported in the reporting period subsequent to the date the determination is made. The administrator shall adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, that provide for all of the following:

(1) Establishing the date by which self-insuring employers must submit such information and the amount of the assessments provided for in division (J) of this section for employers who have been granted self-insuring status within the last calendar year;

(2) If an employer fails to pay the assessment when due, the administrator may add a late fee penalty of not more than five hundred dollars to the assessment plus an additional penalty amount as follows:

(a) For an assessment from sixty-one to ninety days past due, the prime interest rate, multiplied by the assessment due;

(b) For an assessment from ninety-one to one hundred twenty days past due, the prime interest rate plus two per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(c) For an assessment from one hundred twenty-one to one hundred fifty days past due, the prime interest rate plus four per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(d) For an assessment from one hundred fifty-one to one hundred eighty days past due, the prime interest rate plus six per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(e) For an assessment from one hundred eighty-one to two hundred ten days past due, the prime interest rate plus eight per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(f) For each additional thirty-day period or portion thereof that an assessment remains past due after it has remained past due for more than two hundred ten days, the prime interest rate plus eight per cent, multiplied by the assessment due.

(3) An employer may appeal a late fee penalty and penalty assessment to the administrator.

For purposes of division (L)(2) of this section, "prime interest rate" means the average bank prime rate, and the administrator shall determine the prime interest rate in the same manner as a county auditor determines the average bank prime rate under section 929.02 of the Revised Code.

The administrator shall include any assessment and penalties that remain unpaid for previous assessment periods in the calculation and collection of any assessments due under this division or division (J) of this section.

(M) As used in this section, "paid compensation" means all amounts paid by a self-insuring employer for living maintenance benefits, all amounts for compensation paid pursuant to sections 4121.63, 4121.67, 4123.56, 4123.57, 4123.58, 4123.59, 4123.60, and 4123.64 of the Revised Code, all amounts paid as wages in lieu of such compensation, all amounts paid in lieu of such compensation under a nonoccupational accident and sickness program fully funded by the self-insuring employer, and all amounts paid by a self-insuring employer for a violation of a specific safety standard pursuant to Section 35 of Article II, Ohio Constitution and section 4121.47 of the Revised Code.

(N) Should any section of this chapter or Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code providing for self-insuring employers' assessments based upon compensation paid be declared unconstitutional by a final decision of any court, then that section of the Revised Code declared unconstitutional shall revert back to the section in existence prior to November 3, 1989, providing for assessments based upon payroll.

(O) The administrator may grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to self-insure a construction project entered into by the self-insuring employer that is scheduled for completion within six years after the date the project begins, and the total cost of which is estimated to exceed one hundred million dollars or, for employers described in division (R) of this section, if the construction project is estimated to exceed twenty-five million dollars. The administrator may waive such cost and time criteria and grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to self-insure a construction project regardless of the time needed to complete the construction project and provided that the cost of the construction project is estimated to exceed fifty million dollars. A self-insuring employer who desires to self-insure a construction project shall submit to the administrator an application listing the dates the construction project is scheduled to begin and end, the estimated cost of the construction project, the contractors and subcontractors whose employees are to be self-insured by the self-insuring employer, the provisions of a safety program that is specifically designed for the construction project, and a statement as to whether a collective bargaining agreement governing the rights, duties, and obligations of each of the parties to the agreement with respect to the construction project exists between the self-insuring employer and a labor organization.

A self-insuring employer may apply to self-insure the employees of either of the following:

(1) All contractors and subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide materials for the construction project;

(2) All contractors and, at the administrator's discretion, a substantial number of all the subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide materials for the construction project.

Upon approval of the application, the administrator shall mail a certificate granting the privilege to self-insure the construction project to the self-insuring employer. The certificate shall contain the name of the self-insuring employer and the name, address, and telephone number of the self-insuring employer's representatives who are responsible for administering workers' compensation claims for the construction project. The self-insuring employer shall post the certificate in a conspicuous place at the site of the construction project.

The administrator shall maintain a record of the contractors and subcontractors whose employees are covered under the certificate issued to the self-insured employer. A self-insuring employer immediately shall notify the administrator when any contractor or subcontractor is added or eliminated from inclusion under the certificate.

Upon approval of the application, the self-insuring employer is responsible for the administration and payment of all claims under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code for the employees of the contractor and subcontractors covered under the certificate who receive injuries or are killed in the course of and arising out of employment on the construction project, or who contract an occupational disease in the course of employment on the construction project. For purposes of this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, a claim that is administered and paid in accordance with this division is considered a claim against the self-insuring employer listed in the certificate. A contractor or subcontractor included under the certificate shall report to the self-insuring employer listed in the certificate, all claims that arise under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code in connection with the construction project for which the certificate is issued.

A self-insuring employer who complies with this division is entitled to the protections provided under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code with respect to the employees of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate issued under this division for death or injuries that arise out of, or death, injuries, or occupational diseases that arise in the course of, those employees' employment on that construction project, as if the employees were employees of the self-insuring employer, provided that the self-insuring employer also complies with this section. No employee of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate issued under this division shall be considered the employee of the self-insuring employer listed in that certificate for any purposes other than this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code. Nothing in this division gives a self-insuring employer authority to control the means, manner, or method of employment of the employees of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate issued under this division.

The contractors and subcontractors included under a certificate issued under this division are entitled to the protections provided under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code with respect to the contractor's or subcontractor's employees who are employed on the construction project which is the subject of the certificate, for death or injuries that arise out of, or death, injuries, or occupational diseases that arise in the course of, those employees' employment on that construction project.

The contractors and subcontractors included under a certificate issued under this division shall identify in their payroll records the employees who are considered the employees of the self-insuring employer listed in that certificate for purposes of this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, and the amount that those employees earned for employment on the construction project that is the subject of that certificate. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, the administrator shall exclude the payroll that is reported for employees who are considered the employees of the self-insuring employer listed in that certificate, and that the employees earned for employment on the construction project that is the subject of that certificate, when determining those contractors' or subcontractors' premiums or assessments required under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code. A self-insuring employer issued a certificate under this division shall include in the amount of paid compensation it reports pursuant to division (L) of this section, the amount of paid compensation the self-insuring employer paid pursuant to this division for the previous calendar year.

Nothing in this division shall be construed as altering the rights of employees under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code as those rights existed prior to September 17, 1996. Nothing in this division shall be construed as altering the rights devolved under sections 2305.31 and 4123.82 of the Revised Code as those rights existed prior to September 17, 1996.

As used in this division, "privilege to self-insure a construction project" means privilege to pay individually compensation, and to furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital services and attention and funeral expenses directly to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees.

(P) A self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division (O) of this section shall designate a safety professional to be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the safety program that is specifically designed for the construction project that is the subject of the application.

A self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division (O) of this section shall employ an ombudsperson for the construction project that is the subject of the application. The ombudsperson shall have experience in workers' compensation or the construction industry, or both. The ombudsperson shall perform all of the following duties:

(1) Communicate with and provide information to employees who are injured in the course of, or whose injury arises out of employment on the construction project, or who contract an occupational disease in the course of employment on the construction project;

(2) Investigate the status of a claim upon the request of an employee to do so;

(3) Provide information to claimants, third party administrators, employers, and other persons to assist those persons in protecting their rights under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code.

A self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division (O) of this section shall post the name of the safety professional and the ombudsperson and instructions for contacting the safety professional and the ombudsperson in a conspicuous place at the site of the construction project.

(Q) The administrator may consider all of the following when deciding whether to grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to self-insure a construction project as provided under division (O) of this section:

(1) Whether the self-insuring employer has an organizational plan for the administration of the workers' compensation law;

(2) Whether the safety program that is specifically designed for the construction project provides for the safety of employees employed on the construction project, is applicable to all contractors and subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide materials for the construction project, and has as a component, a safety training program that complies with standards adopted pursuant to the "Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970," 84 Stat. 1590, 29 U.S.C.A. 651, and provides for continuing management and employee involvement;

(3) Whether granting the privilege to self-insure the construction project will reduce the costs of the construction project;

(4) Whether the self-insuring employer has employed an ombudsperson as required under division (P) of this section;

(5) Whether the self-insuring employer has sufficient surety to secure the payment of claims for which the self-insuring employer would be responsible pursuant to the granting of the privilege to self-insure a construction project under division (O) of this section.

(R) As used in divisions (O), (P), and (Q), "self-insuring employer" includes the following employers, whether or not they have been granted the status of being a self-insuring employer under division (B) of this section:

(1) A state institution of higher education;

(2) A school district;

(3) A county school financing district;

(4) An educational service center;

(5) A community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code;

(6) A municipal power agency as defined in section 3734.058 of the Revised Code.

(S) A group of employers mentioned in division (B)(2) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code may be granted the privilege to pay compensation and benefits directly as provided in section 4123.354 of the Revised Code.

(T) As used in this section:

(1) "Unvoted debt capacity" means the amount of money that a public employer may borrow without voter approval of a tax levy;

(2) "State institution of higher education" means the state universities listed in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, community colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3354. of the Revised Code, university branches created pursuant to Chapter 3355. of the Revised Code, technical colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3357. of the Revised Code, and state community colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3358. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4123.354. (A) A group of employers mentioned in division (B)(2) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code that are located within an Ohio opportunity area created under section 122.09 of the Revised Code; that will abide by the rules of the administrator of workers' compensation; that may be of sufficient financial ability to render certain the payment of compensation to claimants, and the furnishing of medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital attention and services and medicines, and funeral expenses, equal to or greater than is provided for in sections 4123.52, 4123.55 to 4123.62, and 4123.64 to 4123.67 of the Revised Code; and that do not desire to insure the payment thereof or indemnify themselves against loss sustained by the direct payment thereof, upon a finding of such facts by the administrator, may be granted the privilege to pay individually compensation, and furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital attention and services and funeral expenses directly to claimants, thereby being granted status as a self-insuring consortium.

(B) To qualify as a self-insuring consortium, the consortium shall satisfy, as a group, the requirements listed in division (B)(1) of section 4123.35 of the Revised Code that an individual employer must satisfy to become a self-insuring employer. For purposes of satisfying the requirement listed in division (B)(1)(a) of that section, the administrator shall count only those employees who work within an Ohio opportunity area and whose employer wishes to participate in a self-insuring consortium. The administrator shall not waive the requirement listed in division (B)(1)(a) of that section with respect to a group of employers wishing to become a self-insuring consortium.

(C)(1) A group of employers mentioned in division (B)(2) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code and located within an Ohio opportunity area that desires to become a self-insuring consortium as described in division (A) of this section shall submit an application to the administrator alleging that the consortium fulfills the requirements described in division (B)(1) of section 4123.35 of the Revised Code. Upon receipt of the application from a group, the administrator shall determine whether the group, as a whole, fulfills the requirements described in division (B)(1) of section 4123.35 of the Revised Code. The administrator shall review completed applications within a reasonable amount of time. If the administrator determines to grant a group the status of a self-insuring consortium, the administrator shall issue a statement containing findings of fact that is prepared and signed by the administrator. The administrator shall not grant the privilege of self-insurance to a group where the group, as a whole, is unable to demonstrate that the group satisfies the requirements described in division (B)(1) of section 4123.35 of the Revised Code and the employers comprising the group shall continue to pay their full premiums into the state insurance fund.

(2) The administrator may charge groups that apply for the status of a self-insuring consortium a reasonable application fee to cover the administrator's costs in connection with processing and making a determination with respect to an application.

(D) Each member of a self-insuring consortium is jointly and severally liable for the payment of compensation and benefits under this chapter and Chapters 4121., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code. If an individual member of the consortium fails to pay compensation and benefits for a claim that is compensable under this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code, the remaining members of the consortium are liable for that payment. If the number of employees covered by the consortium is below five hundred employees at any time, the consortium shall lose the consortium's status as a self-insuring consortium and the individual employers shall resume the payment of premiums into the state insurance fund.

(E) An employer that participates in a self-insuring consortium shall obtain an insurance policy that indemnifies the employer against all of the employer's loss in excess of fifty thousand dollars, as such policy is described in division (B)(1) of section 4123.82 of the Revised Code.

(F) The administrator shall require a self-insuring consortium to pay a contribution, calculated under section 4123.351 of the Revised Code, to the self-insuring employers' guaranty fund established pursuant to section 4123.351 of the Revised Code. The consortium shall adopt procedures to allocate the cost of that contribution among the members of the consortium.

(G) For the purpose of making determinations as to whether to grant status as a self-insuring consortium, the administrator may subscribe to and pay for a credit reporting service that offers financial and other business information about individual employers. The costs in connection with the administrator's subscription or individual reports from the service about a member of an applicant group may be included in the application fee charged groups under this section.

(H) The administrator may permit an employer member of a self-insuring consortium to resume payment of premiums to the state insurance fund with appropriate credit modifications to the employer's basic premium rate as such rate is determined pursuant to section 4123.29 of the Revised Code.

(I) A self-insuring consortium under this section shall pay assessments for the safety and hygiene fund, administrative costs, and surplus fund in the same manner as a self-insuring employer as provided under divisions (J) and (K) of section 4123.35 of the Revised Code. The consortium shall adopt procedures to allocate the cost of those assessments among the members of the consortium.

(J) A self-insuring consortium shall certify the paid compensation for all the members of the consortium for the previous calendar year in the same manner as a self-insuring employer as provided in division (L) of section 4123.35 of the Revised Code.

(K) The administrator shall adopt rules to do all of the following:

(1) Determine the liability of an employer that requests to transfer from the state insurance fund coverage to a self-insuring consortium;

(2) Set forth procedures for auditing the program of a self-insuring consortium, similar to the requirements for self-insuring employers provided in division (G) of section 4123.35 of the Revised Code;

(3) Provide for the implementation of this section.

(L) Sections 4121.121, 4121.31, 4121.44, 4121.444, 4123.15, 4123.25, 4123.342, 4123.343, 4123.351, 4123.411, 4123.46, 4123.50, 4123.51, 4123.511, 4123.512, 4123.54, 4123.56, 4123.63, 4123.65, 4123.70, 4123.74, 4123.75, 4123.79, 4123.84, 4123.85, 4123.93, and 4123.931 of the Revised Code apply to a self-insuring consortium or employers that are members of a self-insuring consortium in the same manner those sections apply to self-insuring employers.

Sec. 4123.82.  (A) All contracts and agreements are void which undertake to indemnify or insure an employer against loss or liability for the payment of compensation to workers or their dependents for death, injury, or occupational disease occasioned in the course of the workers' employment, or which provide that the insurer shall pay the compensation, or which indemnify the employer against damages when the injury, disease, or death arises from the failure to comply with any lawful requirement for the protection of the lives, health, and safety of employees, or when the same is occasioned by the willful act of the employer or any of the employer's officers or agents, or by which it is agreed that the insurer shall pay any such damages. No license or authority to enter into any such agreements or issue any such policies of insurance shall be granted or issued by any public authority in this state. Any corporation organized or admitted under the laws of this state to transact liability insurance as defined in section 3929.01 of the Revised Code may by amendment of its articles of incorporation or by original articles of incorporation, provide therein for the authority and purpose to make insurance in states, territories, districts, and counties, other than the state of Ohio, and in the state of Ohio in respect of contracts permitted by division (B) of this section, indemnifying employers against loss or liability for payment of compensation to workers and employees and their dependents for death, injury, or occupational disease occasioned in the course of the employment and to insure and indemnify employers against loss, expense, and liability by risk of bodily injury or death by accident, disability, sickness, or disease suffered by workers and employees for which the employer may be liable or has assumed liability.

(B) Notwithstanding division (A) of this section:

(1) No contract because of that division is void which undertakes to indemnify a self-insuring employer or an employer that is a member of a self-insuring consortium against all or part of such employer's loss in excess of at least fifty thousand dollars from any one disaster or event arising out of the employer's liability under this chapter, but no insurance corporation shall, directly or indirectly, represent an employer in the settlement, adjudication, determination, allowance, or payment of claims. The superintendent of insurance shall enforce this prohibition by such disciplinary orders directed against the offending insurance corporation as the superintendent of insurance deems appropriate in the circumstances and the administrator of workers' compensation shall enforce this prohibition by such disciplinary orders directed against the offending employer as the administrator deems appropriate in the circumstances, which orders may include revocation of the insurance corporation's right to enter into indemnity contracts and revocation of the employer's status as a self-insuring employer or ability to participate in a self-insuring consortium.

(2) The administrator may enter into a contract of indemnity with any such employer upon such terms, payment of such premium, and for such amount and form of indemnity as the administrator determines and the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors may procure reinsurance of the liability of the public and private funds under this chapter, or any part of the liability in respect of either or both of the funds, upon such terms and premiums or other payments from the fund or funds as the administrator deems prudent in the maintenance of a solvent fund or funds from year to year. When making the finding of fact which the administrator is required by section 4123.35 of the Revised Code to make with respect to the financial ability of an employer, no contract of indemnity, or the ability of the employer to procure such a contract, shall be considered as increasing the financial ability of the employer.

(C) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the administrator or an other-states' insurer from providing to employers in this state other-states' coverage in accordance with section 4123.292 of the Revised Code.

(D) Notwithstanding any other section of the Revised Code, but subject to division (A) of this section, the superintendent of insurance shall have the sole authority to regulate any insurance products, except for the bureau of workers' compensation and those products offered by the bureau, that indemnify or insure employers against workers' compensation losses in this state or that are sold to employers in this state.

Section 2. That existing sections 1739.02, 4115.04, 4123.01, 4123.35, and 4123.82 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3.  Section 4115.04 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Sub. H.B. 443 and Am. Sub. H.B. 699 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.