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Am. H. B. No. 207 As Reported by the House Transportation, Public Safety, and Homeland Security CommitteeAs Reported by the House Transportation, Public Safety, and Homeland Security Committee
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Representative Damschroder
Cosponsors:
Representatives Adams, J., Beck, Becker, Hood, Huffman, Stebelton, Thompson, Mallory, DeVitis, Green
A BILL
To amend sections 2743.58 and 2744.02 and to enact
section 4561.50 of the Revised Code to limit the
use of drones by law enforcement agencies and
prohibit the defense of sovereign immunity with
regard to a prohibited use of drones.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2743.58 and 2744.02 be amended and
section 4561.50 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 2743.58. The prosecuting attorney and any officer or
employee of the office of the prosecuting attorney or of the law
enforcement agency shall be immune from any civil liability that
might otherwise be incurred as the result of providing information
on criminally injurious conduct and related matters to the
attorney general, unless such information was obtained in
violation of division (A) of section 4561.50 of the Revised Code.
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, division (C) of section 4561.50, and section
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.
Sec. 4561.50. (A) No law enforcement agency, or any person
acting on behalf of a law enforcement agency, shall operate a
drone in order to obtain evidence or any other information, except
in circumstances in which any of the following apply:
(1) The United States secretary of homeland security has
determined that credible intelligence indicates that there is high
risk of a terrorist attack by a specific person or organization
and the operation of the drone is necessary to address the threat
of that terrorist attack;
(2) The law enforcement agency has obtained a search warrant
pursuant to section 2933.21 of the Revised Code and the operation
of the drone is in accordance with that warrant;
(3) The operation of a drone by a law enforcement agency, or
any person acting on behalf of the law enforcement agency, is
based upon a reasonable suspicion that swift action is needed to
prevent imminent harm to life or serious damage to property, or to
forestall the imminent escape of a suspect or the destruction of
evidence.
(B) No information collected while operating a drone, and no
evidence derived therefrom, shall be used as evidence in any
trial, hearing, or other proceeding before any court, agency, or
other authority of the state or a political subdivision of the
state if the information was obtained in violation of this section
or if the information was obtained pursuant to an authorized use
under divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section but was beyond the
scope of that authorized use.
(C) Any person aggrieved or adversely affected by an alleged
violation of division (A) of this section may commence a civil
action for damages, including reasonable attorney's fees, against
any person, the state, or the political subdivision alleged to be
in violation of this section. If a violation has occurred,
sovereign immunity shall not apply to the proceeding or limit or
bar recovery of damages.
(D) No drone shall be equipped with any weapon of any kind.
(E) As used in this section:
(1) "Drone" means any aircraft to which all of the following
apply:
(a) The aircraft does not carry a human operator;
(b) The aircraft uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle
lift;
(c) The aircraft can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely.
(2) "Law enforcement agency" means a police department, the
office of a sheriff, the state highway patrol, a county
prosecuting attorney, the attorney general, or a state or local
governmental body that enforces criminal laws and that has
employees who have a statutory power of arrest.
Section 2. That existing sections 2743.58 and 2744.02 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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