To amend sections 4507.071, 4507.21, and 4511.093 of the Revised Code to modify the law related to graduated driver's licenses and to extend the driver education or training course requirement to all applicants under the age of twenty-one.

Section 1. That sections 4507.071, 4507.21, and 4511.093 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4507.071.  (A) No driver's license shall be issued to any person under eighteen years of age, except that a probationary license may be issued to a person who is at least sixteen years of age and who has held a temporary instruction permit for a period of at least six months.

(B)(1)(a) No holder of a probationary driver's license who has not attained the age of seventeen years shall operate a motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking between the hours of midnight and six a.m. unless the holder is accompanied by the holder's parent or guardian.

(b) No holder of a probationary driver's license who has attained the age of seventeen years but has not attained the age of eighteen years shall operate a motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking between the hours of one a.m. ten p.m. and five a.m. unless the holder is accompanied by the holder's parent or guardian.

(2)(a) Subject to division (D)(1)(a) of this section, division (B)(1)(a) of this section does not apply to the holder of a probationary driver's license who is traveling to or from work between the hours of midnight and six a.m. and has in the holder's immediate possession written documentation from the holder's employer.

(b) Division (B)(1)(b) of this section does not apply to the holder of a probationary driver's license who is traveling to or from work between the hours of one a.m. ten p.m. and five a.m. and has in the holder's immediate possession written documentation from the holder's employer.

(3) An employer is not liable in damages in a civil action for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly arises from, or is related to, the fact that the employer provided an employee who is the holder of a probationary driver's license with the written documentation described in division (B)(2) of this section.

The registrar of motor vehicles shall make available at no cost a form to serve as the written documentation described in division (B)(2) of this section, and employers and holders of probationary driver's licenses may utilize that form or may choose to utilize any other written documentation to meet the requirements of that division.

(4) No (a) Except as provided in division (B)(4)(b) of this section, no holder of a probationary driver's license who is less than seventeen years of age has held the license for less than twelve months shall operate a motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking with more than one person who is not a family member occupying the vehicle unless with more than one passenger, and any such passenger shall be twenty-one years of age or older and hold a valid driver's or commercial driver's license.

(b) Subject to division (E) of this section, the holder of a probationary driver's license who has held the license for less than twelve months may operate a motor vehicle with any number of family members occupying the motor vehicle or, if the probationary license holder is accompanied by the probationary license holder's parent, guardian, or custodian, with any number of persons occupying the motor vehicle.

(C) It is an affirmative defense to a violation of division (B)(1)(a) or (b) of this section if, at the time of the violation, the holder of the probationary driver's license was traveling to or from an official function sponsored by the school the holder attends, or an emergency existed that required the holder to operate a motor vehicle in violation of division (B)(1)(a) or (b) of this section, or the holder was an emancipated minor.

(D)(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of this section, if a person is issued who holds a probationary driver's license prior to attaining the age of seventeen years and the person pleads guilty to, is convicted of, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed a moving violation during the six-month period commencing on the date on which the person is issued the probationary driver's license, the holder must be accompanied by the holder's parent or guardian whenever the holder is operating a motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking during whichever of the following time periods applies:

(i) If, on the date the holder of the probationary driver's license pleads guilty to, is convicted of, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed the moving violation, the holder has not attained the age of sixteen seventeen years six months, during the six-month period commencing on that date;

(ii) If, on the date the holder pleads guilty to, is convicted of, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed the moving violation, the holder has attained the age of sixteen seventeen years six months but not seventeen eighteen years, until the person attains the age of seventeen eighteen years.

(b) If the holder of a probationary driver's license commits a moving violation during the six-month period after the person is issued the probationary driver's license and before the person attains the age of seventeen years and on the date the person pleads guilty to, is convicted of, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed the moving violation the person has attained the age of seventeen eighteen years, or if the person commits the moving violation during the six-month period after the person is issued the probationary driver's license and after the person attains the age of seventeen years, the holder is not subject to the restriction described in divisions (D)(1)(a)(i) and (ii) of this section unless the court or juvenile court imposes such a restriction upon the holder.

(2) Any person who is subject to the operating restrictions established under division (D)(1) of this section as a result of a first moving violation may petition the court for occupational or educational driving privileges without being accompanied by the holder's parent or guardian during the period of time specified in that division. The court may grant the person such driving privileges if the court finds reasonable cause to believe that the restrictions established in division (D)(1) will seriously affect the person's ability to continue in employment or educational training or will cause undue hardship on the license holder or a family member of the license holder. In granting the driving privileges, the court shall specify the purposes, times, and places of the privileges and shall issue the person appropriate forms setting forth the privileges granted. Occupational or educational driving privileges under this division shall not be granted to the same person more than once. If a person is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or is adjudicated in juvenile court of having committed a second or subsequent moving violation, any driving privileges previously granted under this division are terminated upon the subsequent conviction, plea, or adjudication.

(3) No person shall violate division (D)(1)(a) of this section.

(E)(1) No holder of a probationary license shall operate a motor vehicle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking unless the total number of occupants of the vehicle does not exceed the total number of occupant restraining devices originally installed in the motor vehicle by its manufacturer, and each occupant of the vehicle is wearing all of the available elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining device.

(2) No person who is a passenger in a motor vehicle being operated by a holder of a probationary license on a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking shall fail to wear all of the available elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining device.

(F) A restricted license may be issued to a person who is fourteen or fifteen years of age upon proof of hardship satisfactory to the registrar of motor vehicles.

(G) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no law enforcement officer shall cause the operator of a motor vehicle being operated on any street or highway to stop the motor vehicle for the sole purpose of determining whether each occupant of the motor vehicle is wearing all of the available elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining device as required by division (E) of this section, or for the sole purpose of issuing a ticket, citation, or summons if the requirement in that division has been or is being violated, or for causing the arrest of or commencing a prosecution of a person for a violation of that requirement.

(H) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no law enforcement officer shall cause the operator of a motor vehicle being operated on any street or highway to stop the motor vehicle for the sole purpose of determining whether a violation of division (B)(1)(a) or (b) of this section has been or is being committed or for the sole purpose of issuing a ticket, citation, or summons for such a violation or for causing the arrest of or commencing a prosecution of a person for such violation.

(I) As used in this section:

(1) "Occupant restraining device" has the same meaning as in section 4513.263 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Family member" of a probationary license holder includes any of the following:

(a) A spouse;

(b) A child or stepchild;

(c) A parent, stepparent, grandparent, or parent-in-law;

(d) An aunt or uncle;

(e) A sibling, whether of the whole or half blood or by adoption, a brother-in-law, or a sister-in-law;

(f) A son or daughter of the probationary license holder's stepparent if the stepparent has not adopted the probationary license holder;

(g) An eligible adult, as defined in section 4507.05 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Moving violation" means any violation of any statute or ordinance that regulates the operation of vehicles, streetcars, or trackless trolleys on the highways or streets. "Moving violation" does not include a violation of section 4513.263 of the Revised Code or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, or a violation of any statute or ordinance regulating pedestrians or the parking of vehicles, vehicle size or load limitations, vehicle fitness requirements, or vehicle registration.

(J) Whoever violates division (B)(1) or (4)(a), (D)(3), or (E) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

Sec. 4507.21.  (A) Each applicant for a driver's license shall file an application in the office of the registrar of motor vehicles or of a deputy registrar.

(B)(1) Each (a) Except as provided in division (B)(1)(b) of this section, each person under eighteen twenty-one years of age applying for a driver's license issued in this state shall present satisfactory evidence of having successfully completed any one of the following:

(a)(i) A driver education course approved by the state department of education prior to December 31, 2003.

(b)(ii) A driver training course approved by the director of public safety.

(c)(iii) A driver training course comparable to a driver education or driver training course described in division (B)(1)(a)(i) or (b)(ii) of this section and administered by a branch of the armed forces of the United States and completed by the applicant while residing outside this state for the purpose of being with or near any person serving in the armed forces of the United States.

(b) As an alternative to division (B)(1)(a) of this section, a person who is at least eighteen but less than twenty-one years of age and is on active duty in or a veteran of the armed forces of the United States may present satisfactory evidence of having successfully completed, while on active duty in the armed forces of the United States, a driver training course to which both of the following apply:

(i) It is comparable to a driver education or driver training course described in division (B)(1)(a)(i) or (ii) of this section; and

(ii) It is administered by a branch of the armed forces of the United States.

(2) Each person under eighteen years of age applying for a driver's license also shall present, on a form prescribed by the registrar, an affidavit signed by an eligible adult attesting that the person has acquired at least fifty hours of actual driving experience, with at least ten of those hours being at night.

(C) If the registrar or deputy registrar determines that the applicant is entitled to the driver's license, it shall be issued. If the application shows that the applicant's license has been previously canceled or suspended, the deputy registrar shall forward the application to the registrar, who shall determine whether the license shall be granted.

(D) All applications shall be filed in duplicate, and the deputy registrar issuing the license shall immediately forward to the office of the registrar the original copy of the application, together with the duplicate copy of the certificate, if issued. The registrar shall prescribe rules as to the manner in which the deputy registrar files and maintains the applications and other records. The registrar shall file every application for a driver's or commercial driver's license and index them by name and number, and shall maintain a suitable record of all licenses issued, all convictions and bond forfeitures, all applications for licenses denied, and all licenses that have been suspended or canceled.

(E) For purposes of section 2313.06 of the Revised Code, the registrar shall maintain accurate and current lists of the residents of each county who are eighteen years of age or older, have been issued, on and after January 1, 1984, driver's or commercial driver's licenses that are valid and current, and would be electors if they were registered to vote, regardless of whether they actually are registered to vote. The lists shall contain the names, addresses, dates of birth, duration of residence in this state, citizenship status, and social security numbers, if the numbers are available, of the licensees, and may contain any other information that the registrar considers suitable.

(F) Each person under eighteen years of age applying for a motorcycle operator's endorsement or a restricted license enabling the applicant to operate a motorcycle shall present satisfactory evidence of having completed the courses of instruction in the motorcycle safety and education program described in section 4508.08 of the Revised Code or a comparable course of instruction administered by a branch of the armed forces of the United States and completed by the applicant while residing outside this state for the purpose of being with or near any person serving in the armed forces of the United States. If the registrar or deputy registrar then determines that the applicant is entitled to the endorsement or restricted license, it shall be issued.

(G) No person shall knowingly make a false statement in an affidavit presented in accordance with division (B)(2) of this section.

(H) As used in this section, "eligible adult" means any of the following persons:

(1) A parent, guardian, or custodian of the applicant;

(2) A person over the age of twenty-one who acts in loco parentis of the applicant and who maintains proof of financial responsibility with respect to the operation of a motor vehicle owned by the applicant or with respect to the applicant's operation of any motor vehicle.

(I) Whoever violates division (G) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor and shall be fined one hundred dollars.

Sec. 4511.093. (A)(1) No law enforcement officer who stops the operator of a motor vehicle in the course of an authorized sobriety or other motor vehicle checkpoint operation or a motor vehicle safety inspection shall issue a ticket, citation, or summons for a secondary traffic offense unless in the course of the checkpoint operation or safety inspection the officer first determines that an offense other than a secondary traffic offense has occurred and either places the operator or a vehicle occupant under arrest or issues a ticket, citation, or summons to the operator or a vehicle occupant for an offense other than a secondary offense.

(2) A law enforcement agency that operates a motor vehicle checkpoint for an express purpose related to a secondary traffic offense shall not issue a ticket, citation, or summons for any secondary traffic offense at such a checkpoint, but may use such a checkpoint operation to conduct a public awareness campaign and distribute information.

(B) As used in this section, "secondary traffic offense" means a violation of division (A) or (F)(2) of section 4507.05, division (B)(1)(a) or (b) or (E) of section 4507.071, division (A) of section 4511.204, division (C) or (D) of section 4511.81, division (A)(3) of section 4513.03, or division (B) of section 4513.263 of the Revised Code.

Section 2.  That existing sections 4507.071, 4507.21, and 4511.093 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3.  Section 4507.21 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. Sub. H.B. 407 and Am. Sub. S.B. 123 of the 124th 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.