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H. B. No. 434 As IntroducedAs Introduced
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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Cosponsor:
Representative Hall
A BILL
To amend sections 2744.02 and 2744.09 of the Revised
Code to require that a political subdivision other
than a county exhaust its own assets to satisfy
its contract or tort liability, before it may seek
contribution out of the assets of the county or
counties having territory within the political
subdivision.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2744.02 and 2744.09 of the Revised
Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2744.02. (A)(1) For the purposes of this chapter, the
functions of political subdivisions are hereby classified as
governmental functions and proprietary functions. Except as
provided in division (B) of this section, a political subdivision
is not liable in damages in a civil action for injury, death, or
loss to person or property allegedly caused by any act or omission
of the political subdivision or an employee of the political
subdivision in connection with a governmental or proprietary
function.
(2) The defenses and immunities conferred under this chapter
apply in connection with all governmental and proprietary
functions performed by a political subdivision and its employees,
whether performed on behalf of that political subdivision or on
behalf of another political subdivision.
(3) Subject to statutory limitations upon their monetary
jurisdiction, the courts of common pleas, the municipal courts,
and the county courts have jurisdiction to hear and determine
civil actions governed by or brought pursuant to this chapter.
(B) Subject to sections 2744.03 and 2744.05 of the Revised
Code, a political subdivision is liable in damages in a civil
action for injury, death, or loss to person or property allegedly
caused by an act or omission of the political subdivision or of
any of its employees in connection with a governmental or
proprietary function, as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, political
subdivisions are liable for injury, death, or loss to person or
property caused by the negligent operation of any motor vehicle by
their employees when the employees are engaged within the scope of
their employment and authority. The following are full defenses to
that liability:
(a) A member of a municipal corporation police department or
any other police agency was operating a motor vehicle while
responding to an emergency call and the operation of the vehicle
did not constitute willful or wanton misconduct;
(b) A member of a municipal corporation fire department or
any other firefighting agency was operating a motor vehicle while
engaged in duty at a fire, proceeding toward a place where a fire
is in progress or is believed to be in progress, or answering any
other emergency alarm and the operation of the vehicle did not
constitute willful or wanton misconduct;
(c) A member of an emergency medical service owned or
operated by a political subdivision was operating a motor vehicle
while responding to or completing a call for emergency medical
care or treatment, the member was holding a valid commercial
driver's license issued pursuant to Chapter 4506. or a driver's
license issued pursuant to Chapter 4507. of the Revised Code, the
operation of the vehicle did not constitute willful or wanton
misconduct, and the operation complies with the precautions of
section 4511.03 of the Revised Code.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in sections 3314.07 and
3746.24 of the Revised Code, political subdivisions are liable for
injury, death, or loss to person or property caused by the
negligent performance of acts by their employees with respect to
proprietary functions of the political subdivisions.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in section 3746.24 of the
Revised Code, political subdivisions are liable for injury, death,
or loss to person or property caused by their negligent failure to
keep public roads in repair and other negligent failure to remove
obstructions from public roads, except that it is a full defense
to that liability, when a bridge within a municipal corporation is
involved, that the municipal corporation does not have the
responsibility for maintaining or inspecting the bridge.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in section 3746.24 of the
Revised Code, political subdivisions are liable for injury, death,
or loss to person or property that is caused by the negligence of
their employees and that occurs within or on the grounds of, and
is due to physical defects within or on the grounds of, buildings
that are used in connection with the performance of a governmental
function, including, but not limited to, office buildings and
courthouses, but not including jails, places of juvenile
detention, workhouses, or any other detention facility, as defined
in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code.
(5) In addition to the circumstances described in divisions
(B)(1) to (4) of this section, a political subdivision is liable
for injury, death, or loss to person or property when civil
liability is expressly imposed upon the political subdivision by a
section of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to,
sections 2743.02 and 5591.37 of the Revised Code. Civil liability
shall not be construed to exist under another section of the
Revised Code merely because that section imposes a responsibility
or mandatory duty upon a political subdivision, because that
section provides for a criminal penalty, because of a general
authorization in that section that a political subdivision may sue
and be sued, or because that section uses the term "shall" in a
provision pertaining to a political subdivision.
(C) An order that denies a political subdivision or an
employee of a political subdivision the benefit of an alleged
immunity from liability as provided in this chapter or any other
provision of the law is a final order.
(D) If a political subdivision other than a county is found
liable in a civil action for damages arising out of a contract, or
for injury, death, or loss to person or property, the political
subdivision must first exhaust all conceivable means of paying the
claims against it, up to and including the sale, lease, or full
liquidation of its own assets, before the political subdivision
may seek contribution out of the assets of the county or counties
having territory within the political subdivision.
Sec. 2744.09. This chapter does not apply to, and shall not
be construed to apply to, the following:
(A) Civil actions that seek to recover damages from a
political subdivision or any of its employees for contractual
liability, except as provided in division (D) of section 2744.02
of the Revised Code;
(B) Civil actions by an employee, or the collective
bargaining representative of an employee, against his the
employee's political subdivision relative to any matter that
arises out of the employment relationship between the employee and
the political subdivision;
(C) Civil actions by an employee of a political subdivision
against the political subdivision relative to wages, hours,
conditions, or other terms of his employment;
(D) Civil actions by sureties, and the rights of sureties,
under fidelity or surety bonds;
(E) Civil claims based upon alleged violations of the
constitution or statutes of the United States, except that the
provisions of section 2744.07 of the Revised Code shall apply to
such claims or related civil actions.
Section 2. That existing sections 2744.02 and 2744.09 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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