To amend sections 148.02, 148.04, and 3105.87 and to enact section 148.05 of the Revised Code to provide for confidentiality of certain records maintained by the Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Board, to require the Treasurer of State to be the custodian of contributions into the deferred compensation program, to require new employees to be notified of the deferred compensation program and provided with the opportunity to elect to participate or not participate in the program, and to make other changes to the Deferred Compensation Law.

Section 1. That sections 148.02, 148.04, and 3105.87 be amended and section 148.05 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 148.02.  The Ohio public employees deferred compensation board shall be comprised of a member of the house of representatives and a member of the senate, who shall not be of the same political party, each to be appointed to serve at the pleasure of the member's respective leadership, and the members of the public employees retirement board as constituted by section 145.04 of the Revised Code, who are hereby created as a separate legal entity for the purpose of administering a deferred compensation system for all eligible employees. The public employees retirement board may utilize its employees and property in the administration of the system on behalf of the Ohio public employees deferred compensation board, in consideration of a reasonable service charge to be applied in a nondiscriminatory manner to all amounts of compensation deferred under this system.

The Ohio public employees deferred compensation board may exercise the same powers granted by section 145.09 of the Revised Code necessary to its functions. The attorney general shall be the legal adviser of the board. The treasurer of state shall be the custodian of contributions into the deferred compensation program.

Sec. 148.04.  (A) The Ohio public employees deferred compensation board shall initiate, plan, expedite, and, subject to an appropriate assurance of the approval of the internal revenue service, promulgate and offer to all eligible employees, and thereafter administer on behalf of all participating employees and continuing members, and alter as required, a program for deferral of compensation, including a reasonable number of options to the employee for the investment of deferred funds, including life insurance, annuities, variable annuities, pooled investment funds managed by the board, or other forms of investment approved by the board, always in such form as will assure the desired tax treatment of such funds. The members of the board are the trustees of any deferred funds and shall discharge their duties with respect to the funds solely in the interest of and for the exclusive benefit of participating employees, continuing members, and their beneficiaries. With respect to such deferred funds, section 148.09 of the Revised Code shall apply to claims against participating employees or continuing members and their employers.

(B)(1) Whenever an individual becomes employed in a position paid by warrant of the director of budget and management, the individual's employer shall do both of the following at the time the employee completes the employee's initial employment paperwork:

(a) Provide information to the employee either verbally or in writing regarding the benefits of long-term savings through deferred compensation;

(b) Secure, in writing, the employee's election to participate or not participate in a deferred compensation program offered by the board.

If the employee elects to participate in the deferred compensation program, the employee also shall execute a participation agreement to become a member of the program.

An election regarding participation under this section shall be made in such manner and form as is prescribed by the Ohio public employees deferred compensation program and shall be filed with the program.

The employer shall forward each election completed under this division to the deferred compensation program not later than thirty days after the date on which the employee's employment begins.

(2) Every employer of an eligible employee shall contract with the employee upon the employee's application for participation in a deferred compensation program offered by the board. Every retirement system serving an eligible employee shall serve as collection agent for compensation deferred by any of its members and account for and deliver such sums to the board.

(C) The board shall, subject to any applicable contract provisions, undertake to obtain as favorable conditions of tax treatment as possible, both in the initial programs and any permitted alterations of them or additions to them, as to such matters as terms of distribution, designation of beneficiaries, withdrawal upon disability, financial hardship, or termination of public employment, and other optional provisions.

(D) In no event shall the total of the amount of deferred compensation to be set aside under a deferred compensation program and the employee's nondeferred income for any year exceed the total annual salary or compensation under the existing salary schedule or classification plan applicable to the employee in that year.

Such a deferred compensation program shall be in addition to any retirement or any other benefit program provided by law for employees of this state. The board shall adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to provide any necessary standards or conditions for the administration of its programs, including any limits on the portion of a participating employee's compensation that may be deferred in order to avoid adverse treatment of the program by the internal revenue service or the occurrence of deferral, withholding, or other deductions in excess of the compensation available for any pay period.

Any income deferred under such a plan shall continue to be included as regular compensation for the purpose of computing the contributions to and benefits from the retirement system of such employee. Any sum so deferred shall not be included in the computation of any federal and state income taxes withheld on behalf of any such employee.

(E) This section does not limit the authority of any municipal corporation, county, township, park district, conservancy district, sanitary district, health district, public library, county law library, public institution of higher education, or school district to provide separate authorized plans or programs for deferring compensation of their officers and employees in addition to the program for the deferral of compensation offered by the board. Any municipal corporation, township, public institution of higher education, or school district that offers such plans or programs shall include a reasonable number of options to its officers or employees for the investment of the deferred funds, including annuities, variable annuities, regulated investment trusts, or other forms of investment approved by the municipal corporation, township, public institution of higher education, or school district, that will assure the desired tax treatment of the funds.

Sec. 148.05.  (A)(1) As used in this division, "personal history record" means information maintained by the Ohio public employees deferred compensation board on an individual who is a participating employee or continuing member that includes the address, telephone number, social security number, record of contributions, records of benefits, correspondence with the Ohio public employees deferred compensation program, or other information the board determines to be confidential.

(2) The records of the board shall be open to public inspection, except that the following shall be excluded, except with the written authorization of the individual concerned:

(a) Information pertaining to an individual's participant account;

(b) The individual's personal history record.

(B)(1) All medical reports, records, and recommendations of a participating employee or a continuing member that are in the possession of the board are privileged.

(2) All tax information of a participating employee, continuing member, or former participant or member that is in the possession of the board shall be confidential to the extent the information is confidential under Title LVII or any other provision of the Revised Code.

(C) Notwithstanding the exceptions to public inspection in division (A)(2) of this section, the board may furnish the following information:

(1) If a participating employee, continuing member, or former participant or member is subject to an order issued under section 2907.15 of the Revised Code or is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of section 2921.41 of the Revised Code, on written request of a prosecutor as defined in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, the board shall furnish to the prosecutor the information requested from the individual's personal history record or participant account.

(2) Pursuant to a court or administrative order issued pursuant to Chapter 3119., 3121., 3123., or 3125. of the Revised Code, the board shall furnish to a court or child support enforcement agency the information required under that section.

(3) Pursuant to an administrative subpoena issued by a state agency, the board shall furnish the information required by the subpoena.

(4) The board shall comply with orders issued under section 3105.87 of the Revised Code.

(D) A statement that contains information obtained from the program's records that is signed by the executive director or the director's designee and to which the board's official seal is affixed, or copies of the program's records to which the signature and seal are attached, shall be received as true copies of the board's records in any court or before any officer of this state.

Sec. 3105.87.  The court may order a public retirement program or the Ohio public employees deferred compensation program to provide information from a participant's personal history record necessary to determine the amounts described in division (D) of section 3105.82 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 148.02, 148.04, and 3105.87 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.