To amend section 2329.66 and to enact sections 143.01 to 143.11 of the Revised Code to create the Volunteer Police Officers' Dependents Fund to provide death benefits to survivors of volunteer police officers killed in the line of duty and disability benefits to disabled volunteer police officers.

Section 1. That section 2329.66 be amended and sections 143.01, 143.02, 143.03, 143.04, 143.05, 143.06, 143.07, 143.08, 143.09, 143.10, and 143.11 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 143.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Killed in the line of duty" means either of the following:

(1) Death in the line of duty;

(2) Death from injury sustained in the line of duty, including heart attack or other fatal injury or illness caused while in the line of duty.

(B) "Totally and permanently disabled" means unable to engage in any substantial gainful employment for a period of not less than twelve months by reason of a medically determinable physical impairment that is permanent or presumed to be permanent.

(C) "Volunteer police officer" means any person who is employed as a police officer or sheriff's deputy in a part-time, reserve, or volunteer capacity by a county sheriff's department or the police department of a municipal corporation, township, township police district, or joint police district and is not a member of the public employees retirement system, Ohio police and fire pension fund, state highway patrol retirement system, or the Cincinnati retirement system.

Sec. 143.02.  (A) There is hereby established the volunteer police officers dependents fund.

Each county, municipal corporation, township, township police district, and joint police district with a police or sheriff's department that employs volunteer police officers is a member of the volunteer police officers' dependents fund and shall establish a volunteer police officers' dependents fund board. Each board shall consist of the following board members:

(1) Two board members, elected by the legislative authority of the fund member that maintains the police or sheriff's department;

(2) Two board members, elected by the volunteer police officers of the police or sheriff's department;

(3) One board member, elected by the board members elected pursuant to divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section. The board member must be an elector of the fund member in which the police or sheriff's department is located, but not a public employee, member of the legislative authority, or police officer of that police or sheriff's department.

(B) The term of office of a board member begins the first day of January and is one year.

(C)(1) The election of the board members specified in division (A)(1) of this section shall be held each year not earlier than the first day of November and not later than the second Monday in December. The election of the member specified in division (A)(3) of this section shall be held each year on or before the thirty-first day of December.

(2) The members specified in division (A)(2) of this section shall be elected on or before the second Monday in December, as follows:

(a) The secretary of the board shall give notice of the election by posting it in a conspicuous place at the headquarters of the police or sheriff's department. Between nine a.m. and nine p.m. on the day designated, each person eligible to vote shall send in writing the name of two persons eligible to be elected to the board who are the person's choices.

(b) All votes cast at the election shall be counted and recorded by the board, which shall announce the result. The two persons receiving the highest number of votes are elected. If there is a tie vote for any two persons, the election shall be decided by lot or in any other way agreed on by the persons for whom the tie vote was cast.

(D) Any vacancy occurring on a board shall be filled at a special election called by the board's secretary.

Sec. 143.03.  A volunteer police officers' dependents fund board shall meet promptly after election of the board's members and organize. The board shall select from among its members a chairperson and a secretary.

The secretary of the board shall keep a complete record of the board's proceedings, which shall be maintained as a permanent file.

Board members shall serve without compensation.

The legislative authority of the fund member shall provide sufficient meeting space and supplies for the board to carry out its duties.

The secretary shall submit all of the following to the director of commerce:

(A) The name and address of each board member and an indication of the group or authority that elected the member;

(B) The names of the chairperson and secretary;

(C) A certificate indicating the current assessed property valuation of the fund member that is prepared by the clerk of the fund member.

Sec. 143.04.  Each volunteer police officers' dependents fund board may adopt rules as necessary for handling and processing claims for benefits.

The board shall perform such other duties as are necessary to implement this chapter.

Sec. 143.05.  The prosecuting attorney of the county in which a fund member is located shall serve as the legal advisor for the volunteer police officer's dependents' board.

Sec. 143.06.  (A) The volunteer police officers' dependents fund shall be maintained in the state treasury. All investment earnings of the fund shall be collected by the treasurer of state and placed to the credit of the fund.

(B) Each fund member shall pay to the treasurer of state, to the credit of the fund, an initial premium as follows:

(1) Each member with an assessed property valuation of less than seven million dollars, three hundred dollars;

(2) Each member with an assessed property valuation of seven million dollars but less than fourteen million dollars, three hundred fifty dollars;

(3) Each member with an assessed property valuation of fourteen million dollars but less than twenty-one million dollars, four hundred dollars;

(4) Each member with an assessed property valuation of twenty-one million dollars but less than twenty-eight million dollars, four hundred fifty dollars;

(5) Each member with an assessed property valuation of twenty-eight million dollars or over, five hundred dollars.

Sec. 143.07.  The total of all initial premiums collected by the treasurer of state under section 143.06 of the Revised Code is the basic capital account of the volunteer police officers' dependents fund. No further contributions are required of fund members until claims against the fund have reduced it to ninety-five per cent or less of its basic capital account. In that event, the director of commerce shall cause the following assessments, based on current property valuation, to be made and certified to the legislative authority of each member of the fund:

(A) Each member with an assessed property valuation of less than seven million dollars, ninety dollars;

(B) Each member with an assessed property valuation of seven million dollars but less than fourteen million dollars, one hundred five dollars;

(C) Each member with an assessed property valuation of fourteen million dollars but less than twenty-one million dollars, one hundred twenty dollars;

(D) Each member with an assessed property valuation of twenty-one million dollars but less than twenty-eight million dollars, one hundred thirty-five dollars;

(E) Each member with an assessed property valuation of twenty-eight million dollars or more, one hundred fifty dollars.

Sec. 143.08.  (A) If a premium is not paid as provided in section 143.06 of the Revised Code, the director of commerce shall certify the failure as an assessment against the fund member to the auditor of the county within which the member is located. The county auditor shall withhold the amount of the assessment, together with interest at the rate of six per cent from the due date of the premium, from the next ensuing tax settlement due the member and pay the amount to the treasurer of state to the credit of the volunteer police officers' dependents fund.

If the secretary of a volunteer police officers' dependents fund board fails to submit to the director a certificate of the current assessed property valuation in accordance with section 143.03 of the Revised Code, the director shall use division (A)(5) of section 143.06 of the Revised Code as a basis for the assessment.

(B) If a fund member does not pay the assessment provided in section 143.07 of the Revised Code within forty-five days after notice, the director shall proceed with collection in accordance with division (A) of this section.

Sec. 143.09.  (A) A volunteer police officer who is totally and permanently disabled as a result of discharging the duties of a volunteer police officer shall receive a benefit from the volunteer police officers' dependents fund of three hundred dollars per month, except that no payment shall be made to a volunteer police officer who is receiving the officer's full salary during the time of the officer's disability.

(B) Regardless of whether the volunteer police officer received a benefit under division (A) of this section, death benefits shall be paid from the fund to the surviving spouse or dependent children of a volunteer police officer who is killed in the line of duty. Death benefits shall be paid as follows:

(1) To the surviving spouse of a volunteer police officer killed in the line of duty, an award of one thousand dollars, and in addition, a benefit of three hundred dollars per month;

(2) To the parent, guardian, or other persons on whom a child of a volunteer police officer killed in the line of duty is dependent for chief financial support, a benefit of one hundred twenty-five dollars per month for each dependent child under age eighteen, or under age twenty-two if attending an institution of learning or training pursuant to a program designed to complete in each school year the equivalent of at least two-thirds of the full-time curriculum requirements of the institution.

(C) An individual eligible for benefits payable under this section shall file a claim for benefits with the appropriate volunteer police officers' dependents fund board on a form provided by the board. All of the following information shall be submitted with the claim:

(1) In the case of a totally and permanently disabled volunteer police officer, the following:

(a) The name of the police or sheriff's department for which the officer was a volunteer police officer;

(b) The date of the injury;

(c) Satisfactory medical evidence that the officer is totally and permanently disabled.

(2) In the case of a surviving spouse or a parent, guardian, or other person in charge of a dependent child, the following:

(a) The full name of the deceased volunteer police officer;

(b) The name of the police or sheriff's department for which the deceased officer was a volunteer police officer;

(c) The name and address of the surviving spouse, as applicable;

(d) The names, ages, and addresses of any dependent children;

(e) Any other evidence required by the board.

(D) All claimants shall certify that neither the claimant nor the person on whose behalf the claim is filed qualifies for other benefits from any of the following based on the officer's service as a volunteer police officer: the public employees retirement system, Ohio police and fire pension fund, state highway patrol retirement system, Cincinnati retirement system, or Ohio public safety officers death benefit fund.

(E) Initial claims shall be filed with the volunteer police officers' dependents fund board of the fund member in which the officer was a volunteer police officer. Thereafter, on request of the claimant or the board, claims may be transferred to a board near the claimant's current residence, if the boards concerned agree to the transfer.

Sec. 143.10.  (A)(1) Not later than five days after receipt of a claim for benefits, a volunteer police officers' dependents fund board shall meet and determine the validity of the claim. If the board determines that the claim is valid, it shall make a determination of the amount due and certify its determination to the director of commerce for payment. The certificate shall show the name and address of the board, the name and address of each beneficiary, the amount to be received by or on behalf of each beneficiary, and the name and address of the person to whom payments are to be made.

(2) If the board determines that a claimant is ineligible for benefits, the board shall deny the claim and issue to the claimant a copy of its order.

(B) The board may make a continuing order for monthly payments to a claimant for a period not exceeding three months from the date of the determination. The determination may be modified after issuance to reflect any changes in the claimant's eligibility. If no changes occur at the end of the three-month period, the director may provide for payment if the board certifies that the original certificate is continued for an additional three-month period.

Sec. 143.11.  The right of an individual to a benefit under this chapter shall not be subject to execution, garnishment, attachment, the operation of bankruptcy or insolvency laws, or other process of law whatsoever, and shall be unassignable except as specifically provided in this chapter and sections 3105.171, 3105.65, and 3115.32 and Chapters 3119., 3121., 3123., and 3125. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 2329.66.  (A) Every person who is domiciled in this state may hold property exempt from execution, garnishment, attachment, or sale to satisfy a judgment or order, as follows:

(1)(a) In the case of a judgment or order regarding money owed for health care services rendered or health care supplies provided to the person or a dependent of the person, one parcel or item of real or personal property that the person or a dependent of the person uses as a residence. Division (A)(1)(a) of this section does not preclude, affect, or invalidate the creation under this chapter of a judgment lien upon the exempted property but only delays the enforcement of the lien until the property is sold or otherwise transferred by the owner or in accordance with other applicable laws to a person or entity other than the surviving spouse or surviving minor children of the judgment debtor. Every person who is domiciled in this state may hold exempt from a judgment lien created pursuant to division (A)(1)(a) of this section the person's interest, not to exceed one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, in the exempted property.

(b) In the case of all other judgments and orders, the person's interest, not to exceed one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, in one parcel or item of real or personal property that the person or a dependent of the person uses as a residence.

(c) For purposes of divisions (A)(1)(a) and (b) of this section, "parcel" means a tract of real property as identified on the records of the auditor of the county in which the real property is located.

(2) The person's interest, not to exceed three thousand two hundred twenty-five dollars, in one motor vehicle;

(3) The person's interest, not to exceed four hundred dollars, in cash on hand, money due and payable, money to become due within ninety days, tax refunds, and money on deposit with a bank, savings and loan association, credit union, public utility, landlord, or other person, other than personal earnings.

(4)(a) The person's interest, not to exceed five hundred twenty-five dollars in any particular item or ten thousand seven hundred seventy-five dollars in aggregate value, in household furnishings, household goods, wearing apparel, appliances, books, animals, crops, musical instruments, firearms, and hunting and fishing equipment that are held primarily for the personal, family, or household use of the person;

(b) The person's aggregate interest in one or more items of jewelry, not to exceed one thousand three hundred fifty dollars, held primarily for the personal, family, or household use of the person or any of the person's dependents.

(5) The person's interest, not to exceed an aggregate of two thousand twenty-five dollars, in all implements, professional books, or tools of the person's profession, trade, or business, including agriculture;

(6)(a) The person's interest in a beneficiary fund set apart, appropriated, or paid by a benevolent association or society, as exempted by section 2329.63 of the Revised Code;

(b) The person's interest in contracts of life or endowment insurance or annuities, as exempted by section 3911.10 of the Revised Code;

(c) The person's interest in a policy of group insurance or the proceeds of a policy of group insurance, as exempted by section 3917.05 of the Revised Code;

(d) The person's interest in money, benefits, charity, relief, or aid to be paid, provided, or rendered by a fraternal benefit society, as exempted by section 3921.18 of the Revised Code;

(e) The person's interest in the portion of benefits under policies of sickness and accident insurance and in lump sum payments for dismemberment and other losses insured under those policies, as exempted by section 3923.19 of the Revised Code.

(7) The person's professionally prescribed or medically necessary health aids;

(8) The person's interest in a burial lot, including, but not limited to, exemptions under section 517.09 or 1721.07 of the Revised Code;

(9) The person's interest in the following:

(a) Moneys paid or payable for living maintenance or rights, as exempted by section 3304.19 of the Revised Code;

(b) Workers' compensation, as exempted by section 4123.67 of the Revised Code;

(c) Unemployment compensation benefits, as exempted by section 4141.32 of the Revised Code;

(d) Cash assistance payments under the Ohio works first program, as exempted by section 5107.75 of the Revised Code;

(e) Benefits and services under the prevention, retention, and contingency program, as exempted by section 5108.08 of the Revised Code;

(f) Disability financial assistance payments, as exempted by section 5115.06 of the Revised Code;

(g) Payments under section 24 or 32 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as amended.

(10)(a) Except in cases in which the person was convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of section 2921.41 of the Revised Code and in which an order for the withholding of restitution from payments was issued under division (C)(2)(b) of that section, in cases in which an order for withholding was issued under section 2907.15 of the Revised Code, in cases in which an order for forfeiture was issued under division (A) or (B) of section 2929.192 of the Revised Code, and in cases in which an order was issued under section 2929.193 or 2929.194 of the Revised Code, and only to the extent provided in the order, and except as provided in sections 3105.171, 3105.63, 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code, the person's rights to or interests in a pension, benefit, annuity, retirement allowance, or accumulated contributions, the person's rights to or interests in a participant account in any deferred compensation program offered by the Ohio public employees deferred compensation board, a government unit, or a municipal corporation, or the person's other accrued or accruing rights or interests, as exempted by section 143.11, 145.56, 146.13, 148.09, 742.47, 3307.41, 3309.66, or 5505.22 of the Revised Code, and the person's rights to or interests in benefits from the Ohio public safety officers death benefit fund;

(b) Except as provided in sections 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code, the person's rights to receive or interests in receiving a payment or other benefits under any pension, annuity, or similar plan or contract, not including a payment or benefit from a stock bonus or profit-sharing plan or a payment included in division (A)(6)(b) or (10)(a) of this section, on account of illness, disability, death, age, or length of service, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the person and any of the person's dependents, except if all the following apply:

(i) The plan or contract was established by or under the auspices of an insider that employed the person at the time the person's rights or interests under the plan or contract arose.

(ii) The payment is on account of age or length of service.

(iii) The plan or contract is not qualified under the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as amended.

(c) Except for any portion of the assets that were deposited for the purpose of evading the payment of any debt and except as provided in sections 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code, the person's rights or interests in the assets held in, or to directly or indirectly receive any payment or benefit under, any individual retirement account, individual retirement annuity, "Roth IRA," "529 plan," or education individual retirement account that provides payments or benefits by reason of illness, disability, death, retirement, or age or provides payments or benefits for purposes of education, to the extent that the assets, payments, or benefits described in division (A)(10)(c) of this section are attributable to or derived from any of the following or from any earnings, dividends, interest, appreciation, or gains on any of the following:

(i) Contributions of the person that were less than or equal to the applicable limits on deductible contributions to an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity in the year that the contributions were made, whether or not the person was eligible to deduct the contributions on the person's federal tax return for the year in which the contributions were made;

(ii) Contributions of the person that were less than or equal to the applicable limits on contributions to a Roth IRA or education individual retirement account in the year that the contributions were made;

(iii) Contributions of the person that are within the applicable limits on rollover contributions under subsections 219, 402(c), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), 408(b), 408(d)(3), 408A(c)(3)(B), 408A(d)(3), and 530(d)(5) of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 1, as amended;

(iv) Contributions by any person into any plan, fund, or account that is formed, created, or administered pursuant to, or is otherwise subject to, section 529 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as amended.

(d) Except for any portion of the assets that were deposited for the purpose of evading the payment of any debt and except as provided in sections 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code, the person's rights or interests in the assets held in, or to receive any payment under, any Keogh or "H.R. 10" plan that provides benefits by reason of illness, disability, death, retirement, or age, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the person and any of the person's dependents.

(e) The person's rights to or interests in any assets held in, or to directly or indirectly receive any payment or benefit under, any individual retirement account, individual retirement annuity, "Roth IRA," "529 plan," or education individual retirement account that a decedent, upon or by reason of the decedent's death, directly or indirectly left to or for the benefit of the person, either outright or in trust or otherwise, including, but not limited to, any of those rights or interests in assets or to receive payments or benefits that were transferred, conveyed, or otherwise transmitted by the decedent by means of a will, trust, exercise of a power of appointment, beneficiary designation, transfer or payment on death designation, or any other method or procedure.

(f) The exemptions under divisions (A)(10)(a) to (e) of this section also shall apply or otherwise be available to an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) or other similar court order.

(g) A person's interest in any plan, program, instrument, or device described in divisions (A)(10)(a) to (e) of this section shall be considered an exempt interest even if the plan, program, instrument, or device in question, due to an error made in good faith, failed to satisfy any criteria applicable to that plan, program, instrument, or device under the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as amended.

(11) The person's right to receive spousal support, child support, an allowance, or other maintenance to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the person and any of the person's dependents;

(12) The person's right to receive, or moneys received during the preceding twelve calendar months from, any of the following:

(a) An award of reparations under sections 2743.51 to 2743.72 of the Revised Code, to the extent exempted by division (D) of section 2743.66 of the Revised Code;

(b) A payment on account of the wrongful death of an individual of whom the person was a dependent on the date of the individual's death, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the person and any of the person's dependents;

(c) Except in cases in which the person who receives the payment is an inmate, as defined in section 2969.21 of the Revised Code, and in which the payment resulted from a civil action or appeal against a government entity or employee, as defined in section 2969.21 of the Revised Code, a payment, not to exceed twenty thousand two hundred dollars, on account of personal bodily injury, not including pain and suffering or compensation for actual pecuniary loss, of the person or an individual for whom the person is a dependent;

(d) A payment in compensation for loss of future earnings of the person or an individual of whom the person is or was a dependent, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any of the debtor's dependents.

(13) Except as provided in sections 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code, personal earnings of the person owed to the person for services in an amount equal to the greater of the following amounts:

(a) If paid weekly, thirty times the current federal minimum hourly wage; if paid biweekly, sixty times the current federal minimum hourly wage; if paid semimonthly, sixty-five times the current federal minimum hourly wage; or if paid monthly, one hundred thirty times the current federal minimum hourly wage that is in effect at the time the earnings are payable, as prescribed by the "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938," 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1), as amended;

(b) Seventy-five per cent of the disposable earnings owed to the person.

(14) The person's right in specific partnership property, as exempted by the person's rights in a partnership pursuant to section 1776.50 of the Revised Code, except as otherwise set forth in section 1776.50 of the Revised Code;

(15) A seal and official register of a notary public, as exempted by section 147.04 of the Revised Code;

(16) The person's interest in a tuition unit or a payment under section 3334.09 of the Revised Code pursuant to a tuition payment contract, as exempted by section 3334.15 of the Revised Code;

(17) Any other property that is specifically exempted from execution, attachment, garnishment, or sale by federal statutes other than the "Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978," 92 Stat. 2549, 11 U.S.C.A. 101, as amended;

(18) The person's aggregate interest in any property, not to exceed one thousand seventy-five dollars, except that division (A)(18) of this section applies only in bankruptcy proceedings.

(B) On April 1, 2010, and on the first day of April in each third calendar year after 2010, the Ohio judicial conference shall adjust each dollar amount set forth in this section to reflect any increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers, as published by the United States department of labor, or, if that index is no longer published, a generally available comparable index, for the three-year period ending on the thirty-first day of December of the preceding year. Any adjustments required by this division shall be rounded to the nearest twenty-five dollars.

The Ohio judicial conference shall prepare a memorandum specifying the adjusted dollar amounts. The judicial conference shall transmit the memorandum to the director of the legislative service commission, and the director shall publish the memorandum in the register of Ohio. (Publication of the memorandum in the register of Ohio shall continue until the next memorandum specifying an adjustment is so published.) The judicial conference also may publish the memorandum in any other manner it concludes will be reasonably likely to inform persons who are affected by its adjustment of the dollar amounts.

(C) As used in this section:

(1) "Disposable earnings" means net earnings after the garnishee has made deductions required by law, excluding the deductions ordered pursuant to section 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, or 3123.06 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Insider" means:

(a) If the person who claims an exemption is an individual, a relative of the individual, a relative of a general partner of the individual, a partnership in which the individual is a general partner, a general partner of the individual, or a corporation of which the individual is a director, officer, or in control;

(b) If the person who claims an exemption is a corporation, a director or officer of the corporation; a person in control of the corporation; a partnership in which the corporation is a general partner; a general partner of the corporation; or a relative of a general partner, director, officer, or person in control of the corporation;

(c) If the person who claims an exemption is a partnership, a general partner in the partnership; a general partner of the partnership; a person in control of the partnership; a partnership in which the partnership is a general partner; or a relative in, a general partner of, or a person in control of the partnership;

(d) An entity or person to which or whom any of the following applies:

(i) The entity directly or indirectly owns, controls, or holds with power to vote, twenty per cent or more of the outstanding voting securities of the person who claims an exemption, unless the entity holds the securities in a fiduciary or agency capacity without sole discretionary power to vote the securities or holds the securities solely to secure to debt and the entity has not in fact exercised the power to vote.

(ii) The entity is a corporation, twenty per cent or more of whose outstanding voting securities are directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or held with power to vote, by the person who claims an exemption or by an entity to which division (C)(2)(d)(i) of this section applies.

(iii) A person whose business is operated under a lease or operating agreement by the person who claims an exemption, or a person substantially all of whose business is operated under an operating agreement with the person who claims an exemption.

(iv) The entity operates the business or all or substantially all of the property of the person who claims an exemption under a lease or operating agreement.

(e) An insider, as otherwise defined in this section, of a person or entity to which division (C)(2)(d)(i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this section applies, as if the person or entity were a person who claims an exemption;

(f) A managing agent of the person who claims an exemption.

(3) "Participant account" has the same meaning as in section 148.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Government unit" has the same meaning as in section 148.06 of the Revised Code.

(D) For purposes of this section, "interest" shall be determined as follows:

(1) In bankruptcy proceedings, as of the date a petition is filed with the bankruptcy court commencing a case under Title 11 of the United States Code;

(2) In all cases other than bankruptcy proceedings, as of the date of an appraisal, if necessary under section 2329.68 of the Revised Code, or the issuance of a writ of execution.

An interest, as determined under division (D)(1) or (2) of this section, shall not include the amount of any lien otherwise valid pursuant to section 2329.661 of the Revised Code.

Section 2.  That existing section 2329.66 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Section 3. (A) Not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section, the legislative authority of the fund member described in section 143.02 of the Revised Code, as enacted by this act, that maintains the police or sheriff's department shall hold the initial election of members to a volunteer police officers dependents' fund board. A board member shall serve an initial term of office beginning on the day after the member is elected to the board and ending on the thirty-first day of December of the year in which the member is elected. Thereafter, members shall be elected to the board and serve terms of office in accordance with section 143.02 of the Revised Code, as enacted by this act.

(B) For the initial election of board members specified in division (A)(2) of section 143.02 of the Revised Code, the legislative authority of the fund member that maintains the police or sheriff's department shall do both of the following:

(1) Give notice of the election by posting it in a conspicuous place at the headquarters of the police or sheriff's department. Between nine a.m. and nine p.m. on the day designated, each person eligible to vote shall send in writing the name of two persons eligible to be elected to the board who are the person's choices.

(2) Count and record all votes cast at the election and announce the result. The two persons receiving the highest number of votes are elected. If there is a tie vote for any two persons, the election shall be decided by lot or in any other way agreed on by the persons for whom the tie vote was cast.

Section 4.  Section 2329.66 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Sub. H.B. 479 and Sub. S.B. 343 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.