The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office in the Continental Plaza, 180 East Broad St., Columbus.
|
H. B. No. 516 As IntroducedAs Introduced
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
| |
Representatives Henne, Hottinger
Cosponsors:
Representatives Sears, Butler, Conditt, Boose, Buchy, Amstutz, Adams, J., Rosenberger, Brenner, Sprague, Roegner, Stebelton, Hackett, Beck, Kozlowski, McGregor
A BILL
To amend sections 4121.30, 4123.20, 4123.29,
4123.291, 4123.35, 4123.37, and 4123.411 and to
repeal section 4121.18 of the Revised Code to make
changes to Ohio's Workers' Compensation Law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4121.30, 4123.20, 4123.29, 4123.291,
4123.35, 4123.37, and 4123.411 of the Revised Code be amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 4121.30. (A) All rules governing the operating
procedure of the bureau of workers' compensation and the
industrial commission shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter
119. of the Revised Code, except that determinations of the
bureau, district hearing officers, staff hearing officers, and the
commission, with respect to an individual employee's claim to
participate in the state insurance fund are governed only by
Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code.
The administrator of workers' compensation and commission
shall proceed jointly, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code, including a joint hearing, to adopt joint rules
governing the operating procedures of the bureau and commission.
The bureau shall publish the joint rules in a single publication.
(B) Upon submission to the bureau or the commission of a
petition containing not less than fifteen hundred signatures of
adult residents of the state, any individual may propose a rule
for adoption, amendment, or rescission by the bureau or the
commission. If, upon investigation, the bureau or commission is
satisfied that the signatures upon the petition are valid, it
shall proceed, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised
Code, to consider adoption, amendment, or rescission of the rule.
(C) The administrator shall publish make available
electronically all rules adopted by the bureau and the commission
in a single publication and shall make available in a timely
manner and at cost copies of all rules adopted by the bureau and
the commission that are currently in force. For that purpose, the
administrator shall maintain a mailing list of all persons
requesting copies of the rules.
(D) The rule-making authority granted to the administrator
under this section does not limit the commission's rule-making
authority relative to its overall adjudicatory policy-making and
management duties under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127.,
and 4131. of the Revised Code. The administrator shall not
disregard any rule adopted by the commission, provided that the
rule is within the commission's rule-making authority.
Sec. 4123.20. The administrator of workers' compensation
shall cause to be printed, in proper form for distribution make
available electronically to the public, its classifications,
rates, rules, and rules of procedure, and shall furnish the same
to any person upon application therefor, and the fact that the
classifications, rates, rules, and rules of procedure are printed
ready for distribution to all who apply for the same is a
sufficient publication of the same as required by this chapter
request.
Sec. 4123.29. (A) The administrator of workers'
compensation, subject to the approval of the bureau of workers'
compensation board of directors, shall do all of the following:
(1) Classify occupations or industries with respect to their
degree of hazard and determine the risks of the different classes
according to the categories the national council on compensation
insurance establishes that are applicable to employers in this
state;
(2)(a) Fix the rates of premium of the risks of the classes
based upon the total payroll in each of the classes of occupation
or industry sufficiently large to provide a fund for the
compensation provided for in this chapter and to maintain a state
insurance fund from year to year. The administrator shall set the
rates at a level that assures the solvency of the fund. Where the
payroll cannot be obtained or, in the opinion of the
administrator, is not an adequate measure for determining the
premium to be paid for the degree of hazard, the administrator may
determine the rates of premium upon such other basis, consistent
with insurance principles, as is equitable in view of the degree
of hazard, and whenever in this chapter reference is made to
payroll or expenditure of wages with reference to fixing premiums,
the reference shall be construed to have been made also to such
other basis for fixing the rates of premium as the administrator
may determine under this section.
(b) If an employer elects to obtain other-states' coverage
pursuant to section 4123.292 of the Revised Code through either
the administrator, if the administrator elects to offer such
coverage, or an other-states' insurer, calculate the employer's
premium for the state insurance fund in the same manner as
otherwise required under division (A) of this section and section
4123.34 of the Revised Code, except that when the administrator
determines the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both upon which
to base the employer's premium, the administrator shall use only
the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both attributable to the
labor performed and services provided by that employer's employees
when those employees performed labor and provided services in this
state only and to which the other-states' coverage does not apply.
(c) The administrator in setting or revising rates shall
furnish to employers an adequate explanation of the basis for the
rates set.
(3) Develop and make available to employers who are paying
premiums to the state insurance fund alternative premium plans.
Alternative premium plans shall include retrospective rating
plans. The administrator may make available plans under which an
advanced deposit may be applied against a specified deductible
amount per claim and may make available other alternative premium,
rate, or discount plans that the administrator determines are
necessary to encourage employers to participate in safety or
compliance programs, including drug-free workplace, workplace
wellness, safety, job development, or claims management.
(4)(a) Offer to insure the obligations of employers under
this chapter under a plan that groups, for rating purposes,
employers, and pools the risk of the employers within the group
provided that the employers meet all of the following conditions:
(i) All of the employers within the group are members of an
organization that has been in existence for at least two years
prior to the date of application for group coverage;
(ii) The organization was formed for purposes other than that
of obtaining group workers' compensation under this division;
(iii) The employers' business in the organization is
substantially similar such that the risks which are grouped are
substantially homogeneous;
(iv) The group of employers consists of at least one hundred
members or the aggregate workers' compensation premiums of the
members, as determined by the administrator, are expected to
exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars during the coverage
period;
(v) The formation and operation of the group program in the
organization will substantially improve accident prevention and
claims handling for the employers in the group;
(vi) Each employer seeking to enroll in a group for workers'
compensation coverage has an industrial insurance account in good
standing with the bureau of workers' compensation such that at the
time the agreement is processed no outstanding premiums,
penalties, or assessments are due from any of the employers.
(b) If an organization sponsors more than one employer group
to participate in group plans established under this section, that
organization may submit a single application that supplies all of
the information necessary for each group of employers that the
organization wishes to sponsor.
(c) In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4)
of this section, the administrator shall consider an employer
group as a single employing entity for purposes of group rating.
No employer may be a member of more than one group for the purpose
of obtaining workers' compensation coverage under this division.
(d) At the time the administrator revises premium rates
pursuant to this section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code,
if the premium rate of an employer who participates in a group
plan established under this section changes from the rate
established for the previous year, the administrator, in addition
to sending the invoice with the rate revision to that employer,
shall send a copy of that invoice to the third-party administrator
that administers the group plan for that employer's group.
(e) In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4)
of this section, the administrator shall establish a program
designed to mitigate the impact of a significant claim that would
come into the experience of a private, state fund group-rated
employer or a taxing district employer for the first time and be a
contributing factor in that employer being excluded from a
group-rated plan. The administrator shall establish eligibility
criteria and requirements that such employers must satisfy in
order to participate in this program. For purposes of this
program, the administrator shall establish a discount on premium
rates applicable to employers who qualify for the program.
(f) In no event shall division (A)(4) of this section be
construed as granting to an employer status as a self-insuring
employer.
(g) The administrator shall develop classifications of
occupations or industries that are sufficiently distinct so as not
to group employers in classifications that unfairly represent the
risks of employment with the employer.
(5) Generally promote employer participation in the state
insurance fund through the regular dissemination of information to
all classes of employers describing the advantages and benefits of
opting to make premium payments to the fund. To that end, the
administrator shall regularly make employers aware of the various
workers' compensation premium packages developed and offered
pursuant to this section.
(6) Make available to every employer who is paying premiums
to the state insurance fund a program whereby the employer or the
employer's agent pays to the claimant or on behalf of the claimant
the first fifteen thousand dollars of a compensable workers'
compensation medical-only claim filed by that claimant that is
related to the same injury or occupational disease. No formal
application is required; however, an employer must elect to
participate by telephoning the bureau after July 1, 1995. Once an
employer has elected to participate in the program, the employer
will be responsible for all bills in all medical-only claims with
a date of injury the same or later than the election date, unless
the employer notifies the bureau within fourteen days of receipt
of the notification of a claim being filed that it does not wish
to pay the bills in that claim, or the employer notifies the
bureau that the fifteen thousand dollar maximum has been paid, or
the employer notifies the bureau of the last day of service on
which it will be responsible for the bills in a particular
medical-only claim. If an employer elects to enter the program,
the administrator shall not reimburse the employer for such
amounts paid and shall not charge the first fifteen thousand
dollars of any medical-only claim paid by an employer to the
employer's experience or otherwise use it in merit rating or
determining the risks of any employer for the purpose of payment
of premiums under this chapter. A certified health care provider
shall extend to an employer who participates in this program the
same rates for services rendered to an employee of that employer
as the provider bills the administrator for the same type of
medical claim processed by the bureau and shall not charge,
assess, or otherwise attempt to collect from an employee any
amount for covered services or supplies that is in excess of that
rate. If an employer elects to enter the program and the employer
fails to pay a bill for a medical-only claim included in the
program, the employer shall be liable for that bill and the
employee for whom the employer failed to pay the bill shall not be
liable for that bill. The administrator shall adopt rules to
implement and administer division (A)(6) of this section. Upon
written request from the bureau, the employer shall provide
documentation to the bureau of all medical-only bills that they
are paying directly. Such requests from the bureau may not be made
more frequently than on a semiannual basis. Failure to provide
such documentation to the bureau within thirty days of receipt of
the request may result in the employer's forfeiture of
participation in the program for such injury. The provisions of
this section shall not apply to claims in which an employer with
knowledge of a claimed compensable injury or occupational disease,
has paid wages in lieu of compensation or total disability.
(B) The administrator, with the advice and consent of the
board, by rule, may do both establish alternative premium, rate,
or discount plans, including any of the following:
(1) Grant an employer who makes the employer's semiannual
premium payment at least one month prior to the last day on which
the payment may be made without penalty, a discount as the
administrator fixes from time to time;
(2) Levy a minimum annual administrative charge upon risks
where semiannual premium reports develop a charge less than the
administrator considers adequate to offset administrative costs of
processing;
(3) Establish any other alternative premium, rate, or
discount plans the administrator considers necessary.
Sec. 4123.291. (A) An adjudicating committee appointed by
the administrator of workers' compensation to hear any matter
specified in divisions (B)(1) to (7) of this section shall hear
the matter within sixty days of the date on which an employer
files the request, protest, or petition. An employer desiring to
file a request, protest, or petition regarding any matter
specified in divisions (B)(1) to (7) of this section shall file
the request, protest, or petition to the adjudicating committee on
or before twenty-four months after the administrator sends notice
of the determination about which the employer is filing the
request, protest, or petition.
(B) An employer who is adversely affected by a decision of an
adjudicating committee appointed by the administrator may appeal
the decision of the committee to the administrator or the
administrator's designee. The employer shall file the appeal in
writing within thirty days after the employer receives the
decision of the adjudicating committee. The administrator or the
designee shall hear the appeal and hold a hearing, provided that
the decision of the adjudicating committee relates to one of the
following:
(1) An employer request for a waiver of a default in the
payment of premiums pursuant to section 4123.37 of the Revised
Code;
(2) An employer request for the settlement of liability as a
noncomplying employer under section 4123.75 of the Revised Code;
(3) An employer petition objecting to the an assessment of a
premium pursuant to section 4123.37 of the Revised Code and the
rules adopted pursuant to that section;
(4) An employer request for the abatement of penalties
assessed pursuant to section 4123.32 of the Revised Code and the
rules adopted pursuant to that section;
(5) An employer protest relating to an audit finding or a
determination of a manual classification, experience rating, or
transfer or combination of risk experience;
(6) Any decision relating to any other risk premium matter
under Chapters 4121., 4123., and 4131. of the Revised Code;
(7) An employer petition objecting to the amount of security
required under division (C) of section 4125.05 of the Revised Code
and the rules adopted pursuant to that section.
(C) The bureau of workers' compensation board of directors,
based upon recommendations of the workers' compensation actuarial
committee, shall establish the policy for all adjudicating
committee procedures, including, but not limited to, specific
criteria for manual premium rate adjustment.
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 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 including 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 may adopt rules establishing the criteria
that a public employer shall satisfy in order for the
administrator to waive any of the requirements listed in divisions
(B)(2)(a) to (j) of this section. The rules may require additional
security from that employer pursuant to division (E) of section
4123.351 of the Revised Code. The administrator shall not waive
any of the requirements listed in divisions (B)(2)(a) to (j) of
this section for a public employer who does not satisfy the
criteria established in the rules the administrator adopts.
(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) 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;
(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) 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. 4123.37. In (A) As used in this section "amenable:
(1) "Amenable employer" has the same meaning as "employer" as
defined in division (J) of section 4123.32 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Assessment" means any determination by the administrator
of workers' compensation that a specific sum of money is owed by
an employer under this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131.
of the Revised Code, except for amounts owed by an employer
pursuant to section 4123.75 of the Revised Code.
(B) If the administrator of workers' compensation finds that
any person, firm, or private corporation, including any public
service corporation, is, or has been at any time after January 1,
1923, an amenable employer and has not complied with section
4123.35 of the Revised Code the administrator shall determine the
period during which the person, firm, or corporation was an
amenable employer and shall forthwith give notice of the
determination to the employer. Within twenty days thereafter the
employer shall furnish the bureau of workers' compensation with
the payroll covering the period included in the determination and,
if the employer is an amenable employer at the time of the
determination, shall pay a premium security deposit for the eight
months next succeeding the date of the determination and shall pay
into the state insurance fund the amount of premium applicable to
such payroll.
If the employer does not furnish the payroll and pay the
applicable premium and premium security deposit within the twenty
days, the administrator shall forthwith make an assessment of the
premium due from the employer for the period the administrator
determined the employer to be an amenable employer including the
premium security deposit according to section 4123.32 of the
Revised Code if the employer is an amenable employer at the time
of the determination, basing the assessment amount due upon the
information in the possession of the administrator.
(C) The administrator shall give to the employer assessed
written notice of the an assessment and include in that notice a
demand for payment in accordance with this division. The notice
shall be mailed to the employer at the employer's residence or
usual place of business by certified mail. Unless the employer to
whom the notice of assessment is directed files with the bureau
within twenty days after receipt thereof, a petition in writing,
verified under oath by the employer, or the employer's authorized
agent having knowledge of the facts, setting forth with
particularity the items of the assessment objected to, together
with the reason for the objections, the assessment shall become
conclusive and the amount thereof shall be due and payable from
the employer so assessed to the state insurance fund. When a
petition objecting to an assessment is filed the bureau shall
assign a time and place for the hearing of the same and shall
notify the petitioner thereof
by certified mail. When an employer
files a petition the assessment made by the administrator shall
become due and payable ten days after the bureau sends notice of
the finding made at the hearing
has been sent by certified mail
to the party assessed. An employer may first appeal an adverse
decision to the administrator or the designee of the administrator
as provided in section 4123.291 of the Revised Code, and
subsequently an appeal may be taken from any finding to the court
of common pleas of Franklin county upon the execution by the party
assessed of a bond to the state in
double the amount found due
and ordered paid by the bureau conditioned that the party will pay
any judgment and costs rendered against it for the
premium
assessment.
(D) When no petition objecting to an assessment is filed or
when a finding is made affirming or modifying an assessment after
hearing, a certified copy of the assessment as affirmed or
modified may be filed by the administrator in the office of the
clerk of the court of common pleas in any county in which the
employer has property or in which the employer has a place of
business. The clerk, immediately upon the filing of the
assessment, shall enter a judgment for the state against the
employer in the amount shown on the assessment. The judgment may
be filed by the clerk in a loose leaf book entitled "special
judgments for state insurance fund." The judgment shall bear the
same rate of interest, have the same effect as other judgments,
and be given the same preference allowed by law on other judgments
rendered for claims for taxes. An assessment or judgment under
this section shall not be a bar to the adjustment of the
employer's account upon the employer furnishing the employer's
payroll records to the bureau.
(E) The administrator, for good cause shown, may waive a
default in the payment of premium where the default is of less
than sixty days' duration, and upon payment by the employer of the
premium for the period, the employer and the employer's employees
are entitled to all of the benefits and immunities provided by
this chapter.
Sec. 4123.411. (A) For the purpose of carrying out sections
4123.412 to 4123.418 of the Revised Code, the administrator of
workers' compensation, with the advice and consent of the bureau
of workers' compensation board of directors, shall levy an
assessment against all employers at a rate, of at least five but
not to exceed ten cents per one hundred dollars of payroll, such
rate to be determined annually for each employer group listed in
divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section, which will produce an
amount no greater than the amount the administrator estimates to
be necessary to carry out such sections for the period for which
the assessment is levied. In the event the amount produced by the
assessment is not sufficient to carry out such sections the
additional amount necessary shall be provided from the income
produced as a result of investments made pursuant to section
4123.44 of the Revised Code.
Assessments shall be levied according to the following
schedule:
(1) Private fund employers, except self-insuring
employers--in January and July of each year upon gross payrolls of
the preceding six months;
(2) Counties and taxing district employers therein, except
county hospitals that are self-insuring employers--in January of
each year upon gross payrolls of the preceding twelve months;
(3) The state as an employer--in January, April, July, and
October of each year upon gross payrolls of the preceding three
months.
Amounts assessed in accordance with this section shall be
collected from each employer as prescribed in rules the
administrator adopts.
The moneys derived from the assessment provided for in this
section shall be credited to the disabled workers' relief fund
created by section 4123.412 of the Revised Code. The administrator
shall establish by rule classifications of employers within
divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section and shall determine rates
for each class so as to fairly apportion the costs of carrying out
sections 4123.412 to 4123.418 of the Revised Code.
(B) For all injuries and disabilities occurring on or after
January 1, 1987, the administrator, for the purposes of carrying
out sections 4123.412 to 4123.418 of the Revised Code, shall levy
an assessment against all employers at a rate per one hundred
dollars of payroll, such rate to be determined annually for each
classification of employer in each employer group listed in
divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section, which will produce an
amount no greater than the amount the administrator estimates to
be necessary to carry out such sections for the period for which
the assessment is levied. The administrator annually shall
establish the contributions due from employers for the disabled
workers' relief fund at rates as low as possible but that will
assure sufficient moneys to guarantee the payment of any claims
against that fund.
Amounts assessed in accordance with this division shall be
billed at the same time premiums are billed and credited to the
disabled workers' relief fund created by section 4123.412 of the
Revised Code. The administrator shall determine the rates for each
class in the same manner as the administrator fixes the rates for
premiums pursuant to section 4123.29 of the Revised Code.
(C) For a self-insuring employer, the bureau of workers'
compensation shall pay to employees who are participants
regardless of the date of injury, any amounts due to the
participants under section 4123.414 of the Revised Code and shall
bill the self-insuring employer, semiannually, for all amounts
paid to a participant.
Section 2. That existing sections 4121.30, 4123.20, 4123.29,
4123.291, 4123.35, 4123.37, and 4123.411 and section
4121.18 of
the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. Section 4123.35 of the Revised Code is presented
in this act as a composite of the section as amended by Sub. H.B.
123, Am. Sub. H.B. 153, and Sub. S.B. 171 of the 129th 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.
|
|