130th Ohio General Assembly
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H. B. No. 299  As Introduced
As Introduced

129th General Assembly
Regular Session
2011-2012
H. B. No. 299


Representatives Stinziano, Anielski 

Cosponsors: Representatives Murray, Yuko, O'Brien, Johnson, DeGeeter, McGregor, Baker, Fende, Slesnick, Goyal, Hackett, Grossman, Blair 



A BILL
To amend sections 2921.13 and 2921.22 of the Revised Code to require a parent, legal guardian, or custodian of a child under the age of sixteen to report to a law enforcement agency within twenty-four hours after the child is missing or within one hour after the parent, legal guardian, or custodian discovers that the child is deceased, to increase penalty for falsification to mislead a public official, and to specify that the above provisions are to be known as "Caylee's Law."

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2921.13 and 2921.22 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2921.13.  (A) No person shall knowingly make a false statement, or knowingly swear or affirm the truth of a false statement previously made, when any of the following applies:
(1) The statement is made in any official proceeding.
(2) The statement is made with purpose to incriminate another.
(3) The statement is made with purpose to mislead a public official in performing the public official's official function.
(4) The statement is made with purpose to secure the payment of unemployment compensation; Ohio works first; prevention, retention, and contingency benefits and services; disability financial assistance; retirement benefits; economic development assistance, as defined in section 9.66 of the Revised Code; or other benefits administered by a governmental agency or paid out of a public treasury.
(5) The statement is made with purpose to secure the issuance by a governmental agency of a license, permit, authorization, certificate, registration, release, or provider agreement.
(6) The statement is sworn or affirmed before a notary public or another person empowered to administer oaths.
(7) The statement is in writing on or in connection with a report or return that is required or authorized by law.
(8) The statement is in writing and is made with purpose to induce another to extend credit to or employ the offender, to confer any degree, diploma, certificate of attainment, award of excellence, or honor on the offender, or to extend to or bestow upon the offender any other valuable benefit or distinction, when the person to whom the statement is directed relies upon it to that person's detriment.
(9) The statement is made with purpose to commit or facilitate the commission of a theft offense.
(10) The statement is knowingly made to a probate court in connection with any action, proceeding, or other matter within its jurisdiction, either orally or in a written document, including, but not limited to, an application, petition, complaint, or other pleading, or an inventory, account, or report.
(11) The statement is made on an account, form, record, stamp, label, or other writing that is required by law.
(12) The statement is made in connection with the purchase of a firearm, as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code, and in conjunction with the furnishing to the seller of the firearm of a fictitious or altered driver's or commercial driver's license or permit, a fictitious or altered identification card, or any other document that contains false information about the purchaser's identity.
(13) The statement is made in a document or instrument of writing that purports to be a judgment, lien, or claim of indebtedness and is filed or recorded with the secretary of state, a county recorder, or the clerk of a court of record.
(14) The statement is made in an application filed with a county sheriff pursuant to section 2923.125 of the Revised Code in order to obtain or renew a license to carry a concealed handgun or is made in an affidavit submitted to a county sheriff to obtain a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code.
(15) The statement is required under section 5743.71 of the Revised Code in connection with the person's purchase of cigarettes or tobacco products in a delivery sale.
(B) No person, in connection with the purchase of a firearm, as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code, shall knowingly furnish to the seller of the firearm a fictitious or altered driver's or commercial driver's license or permit, a fictitious or altered identification card, or any other document that contains false information about the purchaser's identity.
(C) No person, in an attempt to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, shall knowingly present to a sheriff a fictitious or altered document that purports to be certification of the person's competence in handling a handgun as described in division (B)(3) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.
(D) It is no defense to a charge under division (A)(6) of this section that the oath or affirmation was administered or taken in an irregular manner.
(E) If contradictory statements relating to the same fact are made by the offender within the period of the statute of limitations for falsification, it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove which statement was false but only that one or the other was false.
(F)(1) Whoever violates division (A)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (10), (11), (13), or (15) of this section is guilty of falsification, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(2) Whoever violates division (A)(3) of this section is guilty of falsification to mislead a public official, a felony of the fifth degree.
(3) Whoever violates division (A)(9) of this section is guilty of falsification in a theft offense. Except as otherwise provided in this division, falsification in a theft offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the value of the property or services stolen is five hundred dollars or more and is less than five thousand dollars, falsification in a theft offense is a felony of the fifth degree. If the value of the property or services stolen is five thousand dollars or more and is less than one hundred thousand dollars, falsification in a theft offense is a felony of the fourth degree. If the value of the property or services stolen is one hundred thousand dollars or more, falsification in a theft offense is a felony of the third degree.
(3)(4) Whoever violates division (A)(12) or (B) of this section is guilty of falsification to purchase a firearm, a felony of the fifth degree.
(4)(5) Whoever violates division (A)(14) or (C) of this section is guilty of falsification to obtain a concealed handgun license, a felony of the fourth degree.
(G) A person who violates this section is liable in a civil action to any person harmed by the violation for injury, death, or loss to person or property incurred as a result of the commission of the offense and for reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other expenses incurred as a result of prosecuting the civil action commenced under this division. A civil action under this division is not the exclusive remedy of a person who incurs injury, death, or loss to person or property as a result of a violation of this section.
Sec. 2921.22.  (A)(1) Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, no person, knowing that a felony has been or is being committed, shall knowingly fail to report such information to law enforcement authorities.
(2) No person, knowing that a violation of division (B) of section 2913.04 of the Revised Code has been, or is being committed or that the person has received information derived from such a violation, shall knowingly fail to report the violation to law enforcement authorities.
(B) Except for conditions that are within the scope of division (E) of this section, no physician, limited practitioner, nurse, or other person giving aid to a sick or injured person shall negligently fail to report to law enforcement authorities any gunshot or stab wound treated or observed by the physician, limited practitioner, nurse, or person, or any serious physical harm to persons that the physician, limited practitioner, nurse, or person knows or has reasonable cause to believe resulted from an offense of violence.
(C) No (1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, no person who discovers the body or acquires the first knowledge of the death of a person shall fail to report the death immediately to a physician whom the person knows to be treating the deceased for a condition from which death at such time would not be unexpected, or to a law enforcement officer, an ambulance service, an emergency squad, or the coroner in a political subdivision in which the body is discovered, the death is believed to have occurred, or knowledge concerning the death is obtained.
(2) No parent, legal guardian, or custodian of a child under the age of sixteen who acquires knowledge of the child's death shall knowingly fail to report the child's death to law enforcement authorities within one hour after acquiring knowledge of the child's death.
(D) No person shall fail to provide upon request of the person to whom a report required by division (C) of this section was made, or to any law enforcement officer who has reasonable cause to assert the authority to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death, any facts within the person's knowledge that may have a bearing on the investigation of the death.
(E)(1) As used in this division, "burn injury" means any of the following:
(a) Second or third degree burns;
(b) Any burns to the upper respiratory tract or laryngeal edema due to the inhalation of superheated air;
(c) Any burn injury or wound that may result in death;
(d) Any physical harm to persons caused by or as the result of the use of fireworks, novelties and trick noisemakers, and wire sparklers, as each is defined by section 3743.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) No physician, nurse, or limited practitioner who, outside a hospital, sanitarium, or other medical facility, attends or treats a person who has sustained a burn injury that is inflicted by an explosion or other incendiary device or that shows evidence of having been inflicted in a violent, malicious, or criminal manner shall fail to report the burn injury immediately to the local arson, or fire and explosion investigation, bureau, if there is a bureau of this type in the jurisdiction in which the person is attended or treated, or otherwise to local law enforcement authorities.
(3) No manager, superintendent, or other person in charge of a hospital, sanitarium, or other medical facility in which a person is attended or treated for any burn injury that is inflicted by an explosion or other incendiary device or that shows evidence of having been inflicted in a violent, malicious, or criminal manner shall fail to report the burn injury immediately to the local arson, or fire and explosion investigation, bureau, if there is a bureau of this type in the jurisdiction in which the person is attended or treated, or otherwise to local law enforcement authorities.
(4) No person who is required to report any burn injury under division (E)(2) or (3) of this section shall fail to file, within three working days after attending or treating the victim, a written report of the burn injury with the office of the state fire marshal. The report shall comply with the uniform standard developed by the state fire marshal pursuant to division (A)(15) of section 3737.22 of the Revised Code.
(5) Anyone participating in the making of reports under division (E) of this section or anyone participating in a judicial proceeding resulting from the reports is immune from any civil or criminal liability that otherwise might be incurred or imposed as a result of such actions. Notwithstanding section 4731.22 of the Revised Code, the physician-patient relationship is not a ground for excluding evidence regarding a person's burn injury or the cause of the burn injury in any judicial proceeding resulting from a report submitted under division (E) of this section.
(F)(1) Any doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine, hospital intern or resident, registered or licensed practical nurse, psychologist, social worker, independent social worker, social work assistant, professional clinical counselor, or professional counselor who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a patient or client has been the victim of domestic violence, as defined in section 3113.31 of the Revised Code, shall note that knowledge or belief and the basis for it in the patient's or client's records.
(2) Notwithstanding section 4731.22 of the Revised Code, the doctor-patient privilege shall not be a ground for excluding any information regarding the report containing the knowledge or belief noted under division (F)(1) of this section, and the information may be admitted as evidence in accordance with the Rules of Evidence.
(G) No parent, legal guardian, or custodian of a child under the age of sixteen who acquires knowledge that the child is missing shall knowingly fail to report that the child is missing to law enforcement authorities within twenty-four hours after acquiring knowledge that the child is missing.
(H) Divisions (A) and (D) of this section do not require disclosure of information, when any of the following applies:
(1) The information is privileged by reason of the relationship between attorney and client; doctor and patient; licensed psychologist or licensed school psychologist and client; member of the clergy, rabbi, minister, or priest and any person communicating information confidentially to the member of the clergy, rabbi, minister, or priest for a religious counseling purpose of a professional character; husband and wife; or a communications assistant and those who are a party to a telecommunications relay service call.
(2) The information would tend to incriminate a member of the actor's immediate family.
(3) Disclosure of the information would amount to revealing a news source, privileged under section 2739.04 or 2739.12 of the Revised Code.
(4) Disclosure of the information would amount to disclosure by a member of the ordained clergy of an organized religious body of a confidential communication made to that member of the clergy in that member's capacity as a member of the clergy by a person seeking the aid or counsel of that member of the clergy.
(5) Disclosure would amount to revealing information acquired by the actor in the course of the actor's duties in connection with a bona fide program of treatment or services for drug dependent persons or persons in danger of drug dependence, which program is maintained or conducted by a hospital, clinic, person, agency, or organization certified pursuant to section 3793.06 of the Revised Code.
(6) Disclosure would amount to revealing information acquired by the actor in the course of the actor's duties in connection with a bona fide program for providing counseling services to victims of crimes that are violations of section 2907.02 or 2907.05 of the Revised Code or to victims of felonious sexual penetration in violation of former section 2907.12 of the Revised Code. As used in this division, "counseling services" include services provided in an informal setting by a person who, by education or experience, is competent to provide those services.
(H)(I) No disclosure of information pursuant to this section gives rise to any liability or recrimination for a breach of privilege or confidence.
(I)(J) Whoever violates division (A) or (B) of this section is guilty of failure to report a crime. Violation of division (A)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. Violation of division (A)(2) or (B) of this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree.
(J)(K)(1) Whoever violates division (C)(1) or (D) of this section is guilty of failure to report knowledge of a death, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(K)(2) Whoever violates division (C)(2) of this section is guilty of failure to report knowledge of a child's death, a felony of the third degree.
(L)(1) Whoever negligently violates division (E) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(2) Whoever knowingly violates division (E) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree.
(M) Whoever violates division (G) of this section is guilty of failure to report knowledge of a missing child. If the child who is the subject of the offense suffered physical harm or was killed during the period of time the child was missing, failure to report knowledge of a missing child is a felony of the second degree. If the child who is the subject of the offense does not suffer any physical harm during the period of time the child was missing, failure to report knowledge of a missing child is a felony of the third degree.
(N) Divisions (C)(2), (G), (K)(2), and (M) of this section and division (F)(2) of section 2921.13 of the Revised Code enacted in the act in which these divisions were enacted shall be known as "Caylee's Law."
Section 2. That existing sections 2921.13 and 2921.22 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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