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.
|
Sub. S. J. R. No. 1 As Adopted by the House
As Adopted by the House
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
| |
Senators Grendell, Wilson
Cosponsors:
Senators Harris, Patton, Schuler, Schaffer, Hughes, Fedor, Miller, D., Smith, Widener, Miller, R., Wagoner, Carey, Cates, Stewart, Faber, Buehrer, Cafaro, Gibbs, Gillmor, Goodman, Kearney, Morano, Roberts, Sawyer, Schiavoni, Schuring, Turner
Representatives Adams, R., Amstutz, Bacon, Balderson, Batchelder, Blair, Blessing, Bolon, Book, Boose, Boyd, Burke, Carney, Celeste, Chandler, Coley, Combs, Daniels, DeBose, DeGeeter, Derickson, Dodd, Dolan, Domenick, Driehaus, Dyer, Evans, Fende, Foley, Gardner, Garland, Garrison, Gerberry, Goodwin, Goyal, Grossman, Hackett, Hagan, Harris, Harwood, Heard, Hite, Hottinger, Huffman, Jordan, Koziura, Letson, Luckie, Lundy, Maag, Mallory, Martin, McClain, McGregor, Mecklenborg, Miller, Moran, Murray, Newcomb, Oelslager, Okey, Otterman, Patten, Phillips, Pillich, Pryor, Ruhl, Sayre, Schneider, Skindell, Slesnick, Snitchler, Stautberg, Stewart, Szollosi, Uecker, Wachtmann, Weddington, Williams, B., Williams, S., Winburn, Yates, Yuko, Zehringer, Budish
A JOINT RESOLUTION
|
Proposing to enact Section 2r of Article VIII of the
Constitution of the State of Ohio to provide
compensation to veterans of the Persian Gulf,
Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts.
|
Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio,
three-fifths of the members elected to each house concurring
herein, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the
state, in the manner prescribed by law at the general election to
be held on November 3, 2009, a proposal to enact Section 2r of
Article VIII of the Constitution of Ohio to read as follows: |
2r. (A) Upon the request of the department of
veterans services, the Ohio public facilities
commission shall
proceed to issue and sell, from time
to
time,
bonds or
other
obligations of the state in such amounts as
are
necessary
to
provide all or part of the funds as may be
required
to pay the
compensation established by, and the expenses
of
administering,
this section. The original principal amount of
obligations so
issued
shall not exceed two hundred million
dollars, provided
that obligations issued under this section to
retire or refund
obligations previously issued under this section
shall not be
counted against that issuance limitation. The full
faith and
credit, revenue, and taxing power of the state is
hereby pledged
for payment of debt service on such obligations
issued under this
section, and the state covenants to continue the
levy,
collection, and application of sufficient state excises,
taxes,
and revenues to the extent needed for those purposes;
provided
that moneys referred to in Section 5a of Article XII of
the
Constitution of the State of Ohio may not be pledged or used
for
the payment of debt service. As used in
this section, "debt
service" means principal and interest and
other accreted amounts
payable on the obligations authorized
by this section. |
Each obligation so issued shall mature not later than the
thirty-first day of December of the fifteenth calendar year after
its issuance, except that obligations issued to refund obligations
under this section shall mature not later than
the thirty-first
day of December of the fifteenth calendar year
after the year in
which the original obligation was issued.
Except for obligations
issued under this section to retire
or refund obligations
previously issued under this section, no obligations shall
be
issued under this
section later than
December 31, 2013. |
In the case of the issuance of any obligations under this
section as bond anticipation notes, provision shall be made in the
bond or note proceedings for the establishment, and the
maintenance during the period the notes are outstanding, of
special funds into which there shall be paid, from the sources
authorized for payment of the bonds anticipated, the amount that
would have been sufficient to pay the principal that would have
been payable on those bonds during that period if bonds maturing
serially in each year over the maximum period of maturity referred
to in this section had been issued without the prior issuance of
the notes. Those special funds and investment income on them shall
be used solely for the payment of debt service on those notes or
the bonds anticipated. |
The obligations issued under this section, their transfer,
and the interest, interest equivalent, and
other income thereon,
including any
profit made on their sale,
exchange, or other
disposition, shall at
all times be free from
taxation within the
state. |
Such obligations may be sold at public or private
sale as
determined by the Ohio public facilities commission. |
(B) Out of the proceeds of the sale of all obligations,
except those issued to refund or retire obligations previously
issued under this section,
the amount that represents accrued
interest, if any, shall be paid
into the state treasury into the
Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and
Iraq conflicts compensation bond
retirement fund, which is hereby
created. As determined at the
time of sale, the amount that represents premium shall be paid
into either the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts
compensation bond retirement fund or the Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts compensation fund, which is hereby
created in the state treasury. The balance of the proceeds shall
be paid into the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts
compensation fund. All proceeds of the sale of any obligations
issued under this section to refund or retire obligations
previously issued under this section shall be paid into the
Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts compensation bond
retirement fund and used to pay debt service on those outstanding
obligations so refunded. The general assembly
may appropriate and
cause to be paid into the Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, and Iraq
conflicts compensation bond retirement fund
or the Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts compensation
fund, out of money
in the treasury not otherwise appropriated,
such amount as is
proper for use for the purposes for
which such funds are created.
Except for amounts advanced by the general assembly to the Persian
gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts compensation fund with the
express expectation of reimbursement from the proceeds of
obligations paid into that fund, and except for amounts
transferred under division (E) of this section for the purpose of
defraying the immediate cost of administration and compensation,
if the
general
assembly
appropriates any funds to the Persian
gulf,
Afghanistan,
and
Iraq conflicts compensation fund prior
to the
time obligations have been issued in the original
principal amount authorized in this section, that original
principal amount authorized in this section shall be reduced by
the
amount of funds
appropriated. |
(C) On or before the fifteenth day of July of each fiscal
year, the Ohio public facilities commission shall certify, or
cause to be certified, to the director of budget and
management
the total amount of money required during the current fiscal year,
together with all
other money
that will
be
available in the
Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, and Iraq
conflicts
compensation bond
retirement
fund, to meet in full all debt service and related
financing costs on the obligations issued under this section.
The
director shall transfer from the general
revenue fund to the
Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts
compensation bond
retirement fund, without necessity of
appropriation by the
general assembly, an
amount equal to the
amount so certified,
and those funds shall be used for the payment
of the debt
service. |
(D)(1) The Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts
compensation fund shall be paid out upon the order of the
department of veterans services,
without necessity of
appropriation by the general
assembly, in payment
of the
expenses of administering this
section and as compensation
as
follows to each person who meets
all of the following
requirements: |
(a) The person has served in active duty in the United States
armed forces, except active duty for training only, at any
time
between August 2, 1990, and March 3, 1991, at any time
between
October 7, 2001, and the date determined by the president
of the
United States as the end of involvement of the
United States
armed forces in Afghanistan, or at any time between
March 19,
2003, and the date determined by the president of the United
States as the end of the involvement of the
United States armed
forces in Iraq. |
(b) The person was an Ohio resident at the start of active
duty service and is
currently an Ohio resident. |
(c) The person was separated from the United States armed
forces under
honorable conditions, is still serving in active
duty service, or remains in any reserve component of the United
States armed forces or in
the Ohio national guard after serving
on
active duty. |
A person who meets the requirements of divisions (D)(1)(a),
(b), and (c) of this section is entitled to, and may apply to
receive, compensation of fifty dollars for each month of active
domestic or foreign service and one hundred dollars for each month
of Persian gulf, Afghanistan, or Iraq service during the
compensable periods. A person who is medically discharged or
medically retired from service due to combat-related disabilities
sustained during Persian gulf, Afghanistan, or Iraq service is
entitled to, and may apply to receive, compensation of one
thousand dollars. The
maximum amount of cash payable to any
person in active domestic or
foreign service is five hundred
dollars and the maximum amount of
cash payable to any person in
Persian gulf, Afghanistan, or Iraq
service is one thousand
dollars, unless the person qualifies for a
survivor's payment or
a payment based on missing in action or
prisoner of war status
under division (D)(2) or (D)(3) of this
section. Compensation for
a fraction of a month of service shall
be paid on the basis of
one-thirtieth of the appropriate monthly
amount for each day of
service. |
(2) The surviving spouse, surviving child or children, or
surviving parent or parents, including a person or persons
standing in loco parentis for at least one year preceding
commencement of
service in the United States armed forces, is
entitled to, and may
apply to receive, the
same amount of
compensation that the person
who served in the
armed forces
would have received under division
(D)(1) of this
section. If
the United States department of
veterans' affairs
determines
that the person's death was the
result of injuries or
illness
sustained in Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, or Iraq service,
the
person's survivors are entitled
to, and may apply for, a
survivor's payment of
five thousand
dollars, regardless of the
amount of compensation
that the
deceased would have been
entitled to receive under this
section,
if living. The
survivor's payment shall be made to the
surviving
spouse. If
there is no surviving spouse, the payment
shall go to
the
surviving child or children. If there are no
surviving
children,
the payment shall go to the surviving parent
or parents
or
person or persons standing in loco parentis for at least one year
preceding commencement of service in the United States armed
forces. |
(3) A person designated by the United States department of
defense as missing in action as a result of honorable service or
held in enemy captivity, or the spouse, child, or parent,
including
a person standing in loco parentis for at least one
year
preceding
commencement of service in the United States
armed forces, of a person
designated as
missing in action or
held in enemy captivity, is
entitled to, and
may apply for, a
payment of five thousand
dollars. This payment
replaces any
other
cash benefit payable
under this section. While
the person
is
missing or held captive,
the payment shall be made
to the
person's
spouse. If there is no
spouse to claim the
payment,
payment shall
be made to the
person's child or children.
If the
person does not
have
children, payment shall be made to
the
person's parent or
parents or person or persons standing in
loco
parentis for at least one year preceding commencement of service
in the United States armed forces. |
No payment to a spouse, child, parent, or person in loco
parentis of a person designated as missing in action as a result
of honorable service or held in enemy captivity, while the person
is missing in action or held captive, shall prevent the missing or
captive person from claiming and receiving a bonus of an equal
amount on the person's release or location. |
(4) Compensation shall not be paid under this section as
follows: |
(a) To any person who received from
another state a bonus or
compensation of a similar nature; |
(b) To any person who served less than
ninety days in the
United States armed forces, unless active duty
was terminated as
a result of injuries or illness sustained during
Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, or Iraq service during the compensable
period; |
(c) To any person for any
time period spent under penal
confinement during the compensable
period. |
(5) No sale or assignment of any right or claim to
compensation under this section shall be valid. No claims of
creditors shall be enforceable against rights or claims to or
payments of compensation under this section. No fees shall be
charged for services in connection with the prosecution of any
right or claim to compensation or the collection of any
compensation under this section. |
(6) All applications for payment of compensation under this
section shall be made to the department of veterans services
according to
the following
schedule: |
(a) For Persian gulf service, not later than December 31,
2013; |
(b) For Afghanistan service, not later than three years after
the date determined by the president of the United
States as the
end of involvement of the United States armed forces
in
Afghanistan; |
(c) For Iraq service, not later than three years after the
date determined by the president of the United States
as the end
of involvement of the United States armed forces in
Iraq. |
(7) As used in this section: |
"Afghanistan service" means military service within
Afghanistan during the period between October 7, 2001, and the
date
determined by the president of the United States
as
the
end of the involvement of the United States armed forces
in
Afghanistan. |
"Domestic service" means service within the territorial
limits of the fifty states. |
"Foreign service" means service in locations other than the
territorial limits of the fifty states, excluding Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, or Iraq service. |
"Iraq service" means military service within Iraq during the
period between March 19, 2003, and the date determined by the
president of the United States as the end of the
involvement of
the United States armed forces in Iraq. |
"Persian gulf service" means military service within the
Persian gulf theater of operations during the period between
August 2, 1990, and March 3, 1991. |
"United States armed forces" includes the army, air force,
navy, marine corps, and coast guard; any active reserve component
of such forces; and members of the Ohio
national guard serving on
active duty. |
(E) The department of veterans services (hereinafter
referred to as the "department") shall have complete charge of
making
payment of compensation under division (D) of this section
and
shall adopt rules, including rules regarding the amounts to
which
beneficiaries are entitled, residency requirements for
purposes of division (D)(1)(b) of this section, and any
other
rules necessary to implement this section. These rules
shall be
adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised
Code. |
The department shall select and appoint legal counsel
and
employees as are necessary and fix their compensation and
prescribe their duties. All appointees shall serve at the
pleasure of the director of veterans services. When practical, the
department shall
employ
Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, and Iraq
conflict
veterans to
fill such
positions.
The general assembly
shall
transfer
necessary funds to
the
Persian gulf,
Afghanistan, and
Iraq
conflicts compensation
fund
and to the
department's
operating
budget, for the purpose of
defraying the
immediate cost
of
administration and compensation.
Any funds so
transferred shall
not reduce the original principal
amount of
obligations that may
be issued under this section. |
On payment of all valid claims for cash compensation made
within the time limitations under this section, the department
may
transfer any funds remaining in the Persian gulf,
Afghanistan,
and
Iraq conflicts compensation fund to the Persian
gulf,
Afghanistan,
and Iraq conflicts compensation bond
retirement
fund. |
On retirement of all of the obligations issued under this
section and payment of all valid claims for cash compensation made
within the time limitations under this section, the department
shall
make a final report to the general assembly. Any
balance
remaining in the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq
conflicts
compensation fund or the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and
Iraq
conflicts compensation bond retirement fund shall be
transferred
or disposed of as provided by law. |
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the
contrary, valid claims for cash compensation made within the time
limitations under this section shall be paid only if adequate
funds remain in the Persian gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts
compensation fund. |
(F) The people of this state declare it to be their intention
that this amendment in no manner affects or changes any of the
existing provisions of the Constitution except as set forth in
this section. The provisions of this section shall be
self-executing. |
(G) Debt service on obligations issued pursuant to this
section shall not be included in the calculation of total debt
service for purposes of division (A) of Section 17 of Article VIII
of the Constitution of the State of Ohio. |
(H) As provided in divisions (C) and (D)(1) of this section,
no further act of appropriation is necessary, notwithstanding
Section 22 of Article II of the Constitution of the State of Ohio. |
(I) Any reference in this section to a public office,
officer, or body shall include any successor thereto. |
If adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this
proposal at the general election held November 3, 2009, Section 2r
of Article VIII of the Constitution of the State of Ohio shall
take effect immediately. |
|
|