Sub.
H.B. 279
126th General Assembly
(As Passed by the General Assembly)
Reps. Hughes, Seitz, Coley, Willamowski, Core, Mason, Barrett, Beatty, Blessing, Book, Brown, Bubp, Calvert, Carano, Cassell, DeBose, DeGeeter, Distel, Dolan, Domenick, Driehaus, Evans, C., Evans, D., Faber, Fende, Flowers, Garrison, Gibbs, Gilb, Hartnett, Healy, Hoops, Law, Martin, McGregor, J., McGregor, R., Miller, Otterman, Patton, T., Perry, Reidelbach, Sayre, Schaffer, Setzer, Stewart, D., Uecker, Williams, Yates, Yuko
Sens. Fingerhut, Gardner, Goodman, Harris, Padgett, Schuler, Kearney, Stivers, Armbruster
Effective date: *
ACT SUMMARY
· Creates the offense of "defacing identification marks of a firearm" by prohibiting any person from changing, altering, removing, or obliterating the name of the manufacturer, model, manufacturer's serial number, or other mark of identification on a firearm.
· Creates the offense of "possessing a defaced firearm" by prohibiting any person from possessing a firearm knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the name of the manufacturer, model, manufacturer's serial number, or other mark of identification on the firearm has been changed, altered, removed, or obliterated.
· Generally prohibits the preparer of any document to be recorded by a county recorder from including any individual's social security number in any document that is filed for recording in the county recorder's office and the county recorder from accepting such a document for recording if it includes any individual's social security number, and provides that the prohibitions do not apply if an individual who executes such a document executes an affidavit consenting to the inclusion of the individual's social security number in the document.
· Provides that a preparer is not liable in damages for harm allegedly sustained by an individual by inclusion of the individual's social security number on such document if the preparer establishes an affirmative defense that the preparer made a good faith effort to comply with the act.
· Grants qualified civil immunity to the county recorder and to the recorder's employees for harm sustained by an individual as a result of the county recorder or employee accepting a document that includes the individual's social security number.
· Specifies certain types of documents that are excluded from the act's prohibitions and provides that the act does not apply to documents executed prior to its effective date.
· Allows the county recorder or the person who attempted to file a document with the county recorder to redact an individual's social security number from the document if the document includes the individual's social security number and the county recorder refuses to accept that document for recording.
CONTENT AND OPERATION
The act prohibits any person from changing, altering, removing, or obliterating the name of the manufacturer, model, manufacturer's serial number, or other mark of identification on a firearm. A violation of this prohibition is "defacing identification marks of a firearm," a misdemeanor of the first degree or, if the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to defacing identification marks of a firearm, a felony of the fourth degree. (R.C. 2923.201(A)(1) and (B)(1).) (See COMMENT 1.)
The act prohibits any person from possessing a firearm knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the name of the manufacturer, model, manufacturer's serial number, or other mark of identification on the firearm has been changed, altered, removed, or obliterated. A violation of this prohibition is "possessing a defaced firearm," a misdemeanor of the first degree or, if the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to possessing a defaced firearm, a felony of the fourth degree. (R.C. 2923.201(A)(2) and (B)(2).)
The act provides that the prohibition against defacing identification marks of a firearm and the prohibition against possessing a defaced firearm, as described above, do not apply to any firearm on which no manufacturer's serial number was inscribed at the time of its manufacture (R.C. 2923.201(C)).
The act generally prohibits the "preparer" (defined below) of any document to be recorded by a county recorder under R.C. 317.08 (see COMMENT 2) from including any individual's social security number in any document that is filed for recording in the office of the county recorder under that section. The act generally prohibits a county recorder from accepting such a document for recording if it includes any individual's social security number. The act permits an individual who executes a document that must be filed by a preparer for recording in the office of the county recorder to execute an affidavit consenting to the inclusion of the individual's social security number in the document. If an individual executes such an affidavit, the above prohibitions do not apply to the preparer of the document or to the county recorder and the county recorder's employees. If a document presented for recording includes any individual's social security number and the county recorder refuses to accept that document for recording, the county recorder or the person who attempted to file the document with the county recorder may immediately redact the individual's social security number from the document. (R.C. 317.082(B) and (C).)
The act defines "preparer" as any mortgage company, bank, title agency, or other person responsible for filing documents with the office of a county recorder for recording under R.C. 317.08 (see COMMENT 2) (R.C. 317.082(A)).
The act provides that the preparer is not liable in damages in a civil action for any harm an individual allegedly sustains as a result of the inclusion of the individual's social security number on a document in violation of the act if the preparer establishes as an affirmative defense that the preparer made a good faith effort to comply with the act (R.C. 317.082(B)).
Under the act, the county recorder and the county recorder's employees are immune from liability in damages in a civil action brought against the county recorder or an employee of the county recorder to recover damages for any harm an individual allegedly sustains as a result of the county recorder or an employee of the county recorder accepting a document that includes the individual's social security number unless the county recorder or an employee of the county recorder accepted that copy with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner or R.C. 2744.03(A)(6)(a) or (c) applies (see COMMENT 3). (R.C. 317.082(B).)
The act does not apply to any of the following: (1) any document that originates with any court or taxing authority, (2) any document that upon its filing for recording in the office of the county recorder under R.C. 317.08 constitutes a nonconsensual lien against an individual, or (3) any publicly recorded document that is required by federal or state law to include an individual's social security number. The act does not apply to documents that were executed by an individual prior to the act's effective date. (R.C. 317.082(D) and (E).)
COMMENT
1. As used in the
Weapons Offenses Law, which would include the offenses enacted by the act,
"firearm" means any deadly weapon capable of expelling or propelling
one or more projectiles by the action of an explosive or combustible
propellant. "Firearm" includes an unloaded firearm, and any firearm
that is inoperable but that can readily be rendered operable. When determining whether a firearm is
capable of expelling or propelling one or more projectiles by the action of an
explosive or combustible propellant, the trier of fact may rely upon
circumstantial evidence, including, but not limited to, the representations and
actions of the individual exercising control over the firearm. (R.C. 2923.11(B)--not in the act.)
2. Generally,
the county recorder keeps six separate sets of records as follows (R.C.
317.08(A) to (F), not in the act):
(a) A record
of deeds, in which are recorded:
(i) all deeds and other instruments of writing for the absolute and
unconditional sale or conveyance of lands, tenements, and hereditaments, (ii)
all notices as provided in the Marketable Record Title Law, (iii) all judgments
or decrees in actions to quiet title, (iv) all declarations and bylaws, and all
amendments to declarations and bylaws, as provided in the Condominium Law, (v)
affidavits on facts relating to title, (vi) all certificates pertaining to the
removal of property from the provisions of the Condominium Law, (vii) all
articles dedicating archaeological preserves accepted by the Director of the
Ohio Historical Society, (viii) all articles dedicating nature preserves
accepted by the Director of Natural Resources, (ix) all agreements for the
registration of lands as archaeological or historic landmarks, (x) all
conveyances of conservation easements and agricultural easements, (xi) all
instruments extinguishing agricultural easements or pursuant to terms of such
an easement granted to a charitable organization, (xii) all instruments or
orders pertaining to certain mineral interests in real property, (xiii) all no
further action letters issued under the Brownfield Revitalization Law or the
Voluntary Action Program Law, (xiv) all covenants not to sue issued under the
Voluntary Action Program Law, including all covenants not to sue issued
pursuant to the Brownfield Revitalization Law, (xv) any restrictions on the use
of property contained in a no further action letter issued under the Brownfield
Revitalization Law, any restrictions on the use of property identified under
the Voluntary Action Program Law, and any restrictions on the use of property
contained in a deed or other instrument as provided in the Petroleum Underground
Storage Law, (xvi) any easement executed or granted under certain provisions of
the Solid and Hazardous Wastes Law, (xvii) any environmental covenant entered
into in accordance with the Environmental Covenants Law, (xviii) certain
memoranda of trust that describe specific real property, and (xvix) certain
agreements entered into under the Coastal Erosion Loan Program Law;
(b) A record
of mortgages, in which are recorded:
(i) all mortgages, including amendments, supplements, modifications, and
extensions of mortgages, or other instruments of writing by which lands,
tenements, or hereditaments are or may be mortgaged or otherwise conditionally
sold, conveyed, affected, or encumbered, (ii) certain executory installment
contracts for the sale of land, (iii) generally all options to purchase real
estate, including supplements, modifications, and amendments of the options,
and (iv) any tax certificate sold under the law dealing with negotiated
purchases of tax certificates, or memorandum of it, that is presented for
filing of record;
(c) A record
of powers of attorney, including certain memoranda of trust that do not
describe specific real property;
(d) A record
of plats, in which are recorded all plats and maps of town lots, of the
subdivision of town lots, and of other divisions or surveys of lands, any
center line survey of a highway located within the county, and all drawings and
amendments to drawings under the Condominium Law;
(e) A record
of leases, in which are recorded all leases, memoranda of leases, and
supplements, modifications, and amendments of leases and memoranda of leases;
(f) A record
of living wills and durable powers of attorney for health care.
Generally, the county recorder also keeps a separate set of records containing all corrupt activity lien notices filed with the recorder and a separate set of records containing all medicaid fraud lien notices filed with the recorder (R.C. 317.08(H)).
The recorder may
index, keep, and record in one volume unemployment compensation liens, internal
revenue tax liens and other liens in favor of the United States, personal tax
liens, mechanic's liens, agricultural product liens, notices of liens,
certificates of satisfaction or partial release of estate tax liens, discharges
of recognizances, excise and franchise tax liens on corporations, broker's
liens, and liens provided for in R.C. 1513.33, 1513.37, 3752.13, 5111.021, and
5311.08. (R.C. 317.08.)
3. Under R.C. 2744.03(6)(a) and (c), not in the act, the civil immunity of an employee of a political subdivision under the Political Subdivision Sovereign Immunity Law does not apply if the employee's acts or omissions were manifestly outside the scope of the employee's employment or official responsibilities or civil liability is expressly imposed upon the employee by a section of the Revised Code.
HISTORY
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ACTION |
DATE |
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|
|
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Introduced |
05-26-05 |
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Reported, H. Civil & Commercial Law |
10-26-05 |
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Passed House (93-0) |
01-10-06 |
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Reported, S. Judiciary - Civil Justice |
03-29-06 |
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Passed Senate (31-0) |
03-29-06 |
|
House concurred in Senate amendments (95-0) |
05-09-06 |
06-hb279-126.doc/kl
* The Legislative Service Commission had not received formal notification of the effective date at the time this analysis was prepared. Additionally, the analysis may not reflect action taken by the Governor.