Note: This list includes House bills sent to the governor by the General Assembly, including those that have been subject to whole or partial vetoes. The Ohio Revised Code provides details on sections of law affected by session laws. Carefully read all disclaimers that appear in documents not published by Gongwer News Service, Inc.

HB 1 JUVENILE CRIMES (Thomas) Creates a new bindover procedure for certain children charged with certain violent or habitual felonious acts and extends the existing bindover procedure to certain children and makes other changes in the juvenile justice system. Effective: November 9, 1995 (Sections 1,2,3,4, & 5 on January 1, 1996)

HB 4 VIOLENCE (Salerno) Adopts the recommendations of the Ohio Task Force on Gun Violence with certain modifications. Effective: November 9, 1995

HB 5 DNA DATABASE (Tiberi) Permits the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation to establish a DNA database and requires certain persons who commit certain crimes to submit blood samples for DNA testing. Effective: August 30, 1995

HB 7 WORKERS' COMP (Corbin) Abolishes the Worker's Compensation Board, transfers the Workers' Compensation Board's powers and duties to the Administrator of Workers' Compensation and the Workers' Compensation Oversight Commission; creates the Workers' Compensation Oversight Commission and the Workers' Compensation Oversight Commission Nominating Committee; and makes other changes in the Workers' Compensation law. Effective: September 1, 1995

HB 10 PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT (Wachtmann) Allows certain public employers to obtain seven-year exemptions from the Public Employment Risk Reduction Program (PERRP) as administered by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, exempts emergency medical technicians, paramedics, law enforcement personnel of the Department of Natural Resources, and volunteers employed by public employers from the PERRP, authorizes removal of members of the PERRP Commission for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance, revises the manner of appointment of Commission members, separately sets out the conditions under which a public employer may request an inspection under PERRP, revises the time frame governing notification of a public employer of an alleged violation under PERRP, and eliminates certain reporting requirements imposed upon public employers under PERRP. Effective: November 1, 1995

HB 12 TOWNSHIP ROADS (Luebbers) Authorizes a board of township trustees to contract for extra work on certain road improvement projects without competitive bidding. Effective: September 14, 1995

HB 18 PARENTAL LIABILITY (Mottl) Increases parental liability for physical injury caused by a child and corrects a reference in the law governing the victim's bill of rights, to the maximum liability of parents for property damage caused by a child. Effective: November 24, 1995

HB 23 VEHICLE SAFETY COMPACT (Mottl) Withdraws Ohio from the Vehicle Equipment Safety Compact. Effective: October 25, 1995 (Section 1 on February 25, 1997)

HB 29 PUPIL TRANSPORTATION (Kasputis) Specifically authorizes two school districts to contract to share transportation of a pupil. Effective: August 23, 1995

HB 33 COUNTY TAXES (Lawrence) Permits a county deemed to be in fiscal distress to propose a sales and use tax at a special election to be held in May 1995, and repeals this act on May 3, 1995. Effective: March 13, 1995

HB 37 OIL SPILL LIABILITY (Haines) Provides persons responding to oil spills with a qualified immunity from liability for removal costs or damages resulting from the response. Effective: August 23, 1995

HB 39 HEARING AIDS (Reid) Requires hearing aid dealers, hearing aid fitters, physicians, and audiologists to provide a refund to a consumer who returns a hearing aid for any reason within 30 days of its original delivery, requires that hearing aid dealers and fitters complete 10 hours of continuing professional education each year, and requires the manufacturer of an assistive device that proves defective within one year of the consumer's initial possession to repair or replace the device. Effective: October 31, 1996 (Certain sections on other dates)

HB 40 HIV TESTING (Reid) Establishes the offense of loitering to engage in solicitation, prohibits a person who knows he or she has tested HIV positive from engaging in soliciting, loitering to solicit, or prostitution, authorizes a court to require a person charged with certain sex offenses or in limited circumstances, with another offense to be tested for HIV, and changes the conditions under which certain alleged sex offenders must be examined for venereal disease. Effective: May 30, 1996

HB 44 EMPLOYER IMMUNITY (Corbin) Creates a qualified immunity from civil liability for employers in connection with job performance information provided to prospective employers of current or former employees. Effective: July 3, 1996

HB 50 TOWNSHIP REGULATION (Gardner) Authorizes township trustees to adopt resolutions that regulate or restrict adult-oriented businesses in the unincorporated area of the township; grants township voters the power to initiate such resolutions; and allows township trustees to abate as nuisances adult-oriented businesses in the unincorporated area of the township where such resolutions are repeatedly violated. Effective: October 25, 1995

HB 56 TOWNSHIP POLICE (Vesper) Increases the fees charged for certain services rendered by township constables and makes the same fees applicable to the services of members of the police force of a township police district or joint police district. Effective: August 23, 1995

HB 57 LIQUOR STORES (Harris) Allows state agency liquor stores to be located in any municipal corporation and in the unincorporated area of any township with a population of at least 2,000. Effective: July 20, 1995

HB 60 GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS (Olman) Eliminates the requirement that a central office of each state department be located in Columbus, requires a cost-benefit analysis and legislative approval before the central office of a department is relocated from Columbus; prohibits the relocation of a state department that will increase the total number of employees of that department or the total number of employees of all state departments; establishes the Legislative Committee on Decentralization of State Government, requires the committee to issue a written report of its findings and recommendations within 18 months after the effective date of this act and abolishes the committee upon submission of its report, and exempts an application for a D liquor permit for any of the public buildings and facilities of Capitol Square from population quota restrictions. Effective: March 4, 1996 (Certain sections on other dates)

HB 61 TRANSIT SYSTEMS (Batchelder) Permits a board of county commissioners in lieu of a county transit board to operate a county transit system and permits the board to change the governing board of the county transit system from the board to a county transit board and vice versa. Effective: October 25, 1995

HB 62 DAY-CARE (Wachtmann) Establishes a pilot program in Paulding County that would certify certain family day-care homes as certified type-C family day-care homes. Effective: November 24, 1995

HB 64 SCHOOL TUITION (Krebs) Requires school districts to expel for one year students who bring firearms to school; allows school boards to authorize their superintendents to expel students for up to one year for bringing knives to school; and permits school districts to temporarily deny admittance to students who have been expelled for any reason from other school districts until the expulsion periods expire. Effective: September 14, 1995

HB 67 LAND CONVEYANCE (Myers) Authorizes the conveyance of real estate owned by the Ohio Historical Society and located in Fairfield County to the Fairfield County Board of Park Commissioners for use as a county park. Effective: November 1, 1995

HB 72 WEAPONS POSSESSION (Tiberi) Prohibits conveyance, attempted conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance to or on a school bus; prohibits the possession of an object that is indistinguishable from a firearm on school premises or a school bus or at any school activity; repeals certain provisions enacted in Am.Sub.SB 166 of the 121st General Assembly relative to the administration of certain oaths and the acknowledgment of certain court-related documents by peace officers and State Highway Patrol Troopers and the adoption of rules governing the training of the officers and Troopers in those matters; permits peace officers who have completed certain course of in-service training approved by the appropriate chief legal officer to administer oaths and acknowledge certain court-related documents; permits a court to impose a term of up to 305 days in jail or a term of electronically monitored house arrest, in addition to the 60 days of mandatory local incarceration, upon an offender who commits a fourth degree felony state OMVI offense for the first time; permits building operation and maintenance cost savings, in addition to energy cost savings, to be used by a school district to offset the cost of financing the implementation of energy conservation measures and requires school districts to comply with certain requirements prior to entering into installment contracts for energy conservation measures; and changes the date by which the Attorney General must adopt rules pertaining to the use of information obtained under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Law to be consistent with the date by which the Attorney General must adopt all other rules under that Law. Effective: March 18, 1997

HB 73 LAND CONVEYANCE (Jacobson) Authorizes the conveyance of state-owned real estate in Montgomery County to Harrison Township. Effective: November 1, 1995

HB 81 SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS (Haines) Authorizes boards of education to conditionally employ and pay substitute teachers while their applications for teacher's certification are being processed, authorizes school districts to authorize their superintendents to expel students for up to one year for possessing a firearm or knife on school property, authorizes school districts within certain limits to temporarily deny admittance to students expelled from an out of state school during the remainder of the expulsion period, authorizes joint vocational school boards to adopt by resolution the rate per mile at which board members are to be reimbursed for mileage to and from board meetings, and revise temporary language regarding intensive, systematic phonics. Effective: June 5, 1996

HB 86 LOCAL FUNDS (Carey) Permits counties to accumulate funds in a reserve balance account for one of several purposes; prohibits a county budget commission from reducing the taxing authority of a county or municipal corporation because it has created a reserve balance account; provides that money in such accounts cannot be considered for purposes of reducing subdivisions' share of local government funds; and provides that money held by a municipal corporation for the purpose of investment only cannot be considered for purposes of reducing the municipal corporation's share of local government funds. Effective: November 1, 1995

HB 88 WEAPONS POSSESSION (Schuler) Creates the offenses of illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse, illegal possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse, and modifies the elements of the offenses of intimidation and retaliation of a crime victim or witness to cover prohibited conduct directed at an attorney. Effective: September 3, 1996

HB 98 VETERANS COMMISSIONS (Padgett) Specifies that applications and related documents filed with a veterans service commission by persons seeking financial assistance and other benefits are not public records; provides that meetings of a veterans service commission dealing with the award of such assistance are not open to the public; allows the release of information in such applications and documents if the subject of the information consents; and authorizes the Governor's Office of Veterans Affairs to examine certain files of veterans service commissions. Effective: November 9, 1995

HB 99 ELECTIONS LAWS (Nein) Makes changes in the elections laws. Effective: August 22, 1995 (Certain sections on other dates)

HB 103 EMPLOYMENT TORT (Thompson) Creates an employment intentional tort. Effective: November 1, 1995

HB 106 ENVIRONMENTAL RULES (Sines) Requires that specified information be submitted with state legislation dealing with environmental protection at the time the legislation is first heard in committee; requires agencies filing rules dealing with environmental protection to submit specified information at the time of the filing; requires that policies established by the Environmental Protection Agency comply with specified requirements and be reviewed every five years; and requires the director of EPA to submit a report regarding the Agency's compliance assistance activities. Effective: March 5, 1996

HB 107 TRANSPORTATION BUDGET (Core) Makes appropriations and reappropriations for highways for the 1996-97 biennium and provides authorizations and conditions for the operation of state transportation-related programs. Effective: March 31, 1995 (Certain sections June 30, 1995)

HB 110 VETERANS HOME (Opfer) Permits the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Veterans' Home to use the services of volunteers for specified purposes at the home and designate the volunteers as state employees for purposes of indemnification from liability incurred in the performance of their duties. Effective: November 24, 1995

HB 117 BIENNIAL BUDGET (Johnson) Makes appropriations for the biennium beginning July 1, 1995 and ending June 30, 1997 and provides authorization and conditions for the operation of state programs. Effective: June 30, 1995 (Certain sections later- Certain items were subject to line item vetoes) Note: On May 27, 1999, the Supreme Court of Ohio invalidated a portion of this act regarding the Cleveland School Voucher Program - See Ohio Report No. 101, May 27, 1999)

HB 119 LAKE ERIE (Cain) Changes the term Lake Erie erosion hazard area to Lake Erie coastal erosion area, establishes a six-year sunset of rules adopted under the coastal management program in the Department of Natural Resources, and expands the membership of the Coastal Resources Advisory Council in the Department. Effective: May 8, 1996

HB 122 SANITARY LANDFILLS (Krebs) Provides for arbitration between certain political subdivisions and solid waste management districts for the purpose of compensating the political subdivisions for specified expenses with regard to certain sanitary landfills. Effective: October 31, 1996

HB 123 RETIREMENT FUNDS (Krebs) Allows certain spouses of deceased members of the Public Employee Retirement System, State Teachers Retirement System and School Employees Retirement System to continue to receive survivor's benefits despite remarriage if the remarriage occurs after age 55. Effective: June 5, 1996

HB 124 DRIVING PRIVILEGES (O'Brien) Requires the suspension for a period of 12 to 36 months of the driver's license or permit or nonresident operating privilege of any person under age 19 who is convicted of, or adjudicated a delinquent child for, conveying a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance onto school property or possessing a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance on school property; requires a person who commits a felony while under 18 and who is not apprehended until after the person is 21 to be tried as an adult; requires a child bound over for prosecution as an adult and held in an adult detention facility to remain beyond the range of touch of detained adults instead of being separated from them by sight and sound; clarifies court jurisdiction regarding certain mandatory bindovers; clarifies the procedures when both a mandatory and a discretionary bindover are at issue; clarifies the manner of imprisonment of a child who is bound over, convicted and sentenced to prison; eliminates warnings given to children before they plead to certain charges; permits all juvenile court dispositional orders to extend until the child is 21; specifies that the prohibitions against selling or furnishing a handgun to, or the purchase of a handgun by, a person under 21 years of age do not apply if the person is over 18 and under 21, is a properly appointed or employed law enforcement officer, and has received specified firearms training; expands the scope of the provisions regarding the taking of fingerprints of juvenile offenders to include all juvenile offenders from whom a DNA sample must be taken under Am.Sub.HB 5 of the 121st General Assembly; and conforms the law governing the provisions of Am.Sub.HB 445 of the 121st General Assembly. Effective: March 31, 1997 (Certain sections later)

HB 125 DRUG LAW (Jacobson) Increases penalties for certain drug offenses. Effective: May 15, 1996 (Sections 1 & 2 on July 1, 1996)

HB 135 ABORTION (Luebbers) Prohibits performing a brain suction abortion, makes any physician who performs such procedure subject to disciplinary action, and creates a cause of action against the person who conducts or attempts to conduct such a procedure. Effective: November 15, 1995 Note: This act was declared unconstitutional in the federal courts - See Ohio Report No. 234, Dec. 5, 1997)

HB 136 SCHOOL DEBT (Mottley) Provides for the issuance of certain obligations by school districts in anticipation of receiving tax revenues. Effective: June 20, 1995

HB 143 BINGO (Schuler) Authorizes certain amateur athletic organizations that support or operate athletic activities for persons training for Olympic competition to qualify to receive a charitable bingo license. Effective: May 15, 1996 (Allowed to become law without governor's signature)

HB 144 MALPRACTICE INSURANCE (Schuring) Requires a physician or podiatrist not covered by medical malpractice insurance to obtain a patient's signature on a notice informing the patient of the lack of such insurance coverage prior to providing nonemergency professional services; requires the physician or podiatrist to maintain the signed notice in the patient's file; and provides for enforcement of these requirements by the State Medical Board. Effective: November 21, 1995

HB 151 COURT ADMINISTRATION (Thomas) Eliminates the authority of a court of common pleas with more than two judges to designate one of their number as the chief justice of the court, amends the definition of legal aid society, changes the disposition of legal aid fund monies reserved to pay for the actual, reasonable costs of administering legal aid society funding that are not used to pay for actual, reasonable administrative costs, creates two additional judgeships in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, one of which is a drug court judgeship for one term beginning in 1997 and a general division judgeship thereafter, creates an additional judgeship in the Court of Appeals of the 7th District and declares an emergency. Effective: December 4, 1995

HB 152 PRISONER ACTIVITIES (Thomas) Prohibits prisoners in state correctional institutions and county, municipal, and joint county and municipal jails, workhouses and correctional centers from using certain exercise equipment and from participating in boxing, wrestling, or marital arts programs designed to improve fighting skills. Effective: October 4, 1996

HB 154 PRISON WEAPONS (Terwilleger) Creates the offense of possession of a deadly weapon while under detention and revises the definition of detention. Effective: October 4, 1996

HB 156 PROBATE (Terwilleger) Permits under specified circumstances a surviving spouse to select and to inherit outside of the probate process up to two automobiles that were owned by the deceased spouse at the time of death and that have a combined appraised value of $40,000 or less and requires an adjustment to any family support allowance to account for the transfer of a second automobile. Effective: March 11, 1996

HB 162 HARMFUL INTOXICANTS (Brading) Relative to harmful intoxicants. Effective: October 4, 1996 (Certain sections on January 1, 1997)

HB 167 WELFARE REFORM (Lawrence) Requires the suspension of, certain professional and occupational licenses, permits, certificates, and motor vehicle licenses of an individual who has been found by a court to be in default under a support order; establishes the Directory of New Hires, the Adult Emergency Assistance Program, an employment assistance program, and a nursing facility recognition program; and makes changes in laws governing paternity establishment, ADC, Disability Assistance, Medicaid estate recovery, the JOBS Training Program, food stamps, and counties' share of public assistance expenditures. Effective: November 15, 1995 (Certain sections on other dates)

HB 169 PUBLIC CONTRACTS (Krebs) Eliminates the requirement that a public agency award separate contracts for each separate and distinct trade or kind of labor on a public works project, increases the bidding threshold on state public works projects from $10,000 to $50,000 and requires that the notice seeking bids on state public works projects be published only once rather than once a week for four consecutive weeks. Effective: April 9, 1996

HB 171 TEACHERS RETIREMENT BOARD (Sines) Changes the membership of the State Teachers Retirement Board. VETOED (See Ohio Report #85, May 2, 1996 for story)

HB 179 MEDICAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS (Van Vyven) Provides for the creation and administration of Medical Savings Accounts and provides tax advantages to the holders of such accounts. Effective: October 1, 1996

HB 180 SEX OFFENDER (Jacobson) Establishes sentencing, imprisonment, assessment and monitoring procedures for persons who are convicted of certain sexually violent sex offenses and also are convicted of being sexually violent predators and establishes a comprehensive law for the registration of persons who commit sexually oriented offenses and for the notification of victims and certain members of the public regarding the place of residence of sexual predators and of habitual sex offenders. Effective: October 16, 1996 (Sections 1 & 2 on January 1, 1997; except certain sections on July 1, 1997)

HB 181 WIRETAPS (Jacobson) Makes changes in the Wiretapping Law. Effective: June 13, 1996 (Sections 3 & 4 on July 1, 1996)

HB 182 FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE (Olman) Requires that the financial disclosure statement filed with the Ohio Ethics Commission by the president or other chief administrative officer of a state institution of higher education be available for public inspection. Effective: August 15, 1996

HB 183 COMPETITIVE BIDDING (Colonna) Exempts from competitive bidding the purchase of services from nonprofit organizations whose purpose is to assist handicapped individuals and the purchase of services of handicapped individuals from nonprofit organizations to work in commissaries and concessions owned by or operated by regional transit authorities. Effective: October 25, 1995

HB 186 DESTROYER ESCORT DAY (Netzley) Establishes the third Saturday in June as "Destroyer Escort Day in Ohio" in honor of the destroyer escort ships and the Ohioans who served on them. Effective: March 11, 1996

HB 192 FIRE/AMBULANCE DISTRICTS (Schuler) Permits joint fire districts and joint ambulance districts that encompass the same geographical territory to combine into a fire and ambulance district to provide both fire and ambulance services. Effective: November 21, 1995

HB 193 CREDIT COUNSELING (Hottinger) Changes the term "consumer credit counseling service" to "budget and debt counseling services" throughout the Revised Code. Effective: November 24, 1995

HB 194 LOCAL BUDGETS (Mottley) Allows political subdivisions to adopt a different fiscal year for certain limited purposes, and permits county budget commissions to waive the adoption of tax budgets by political subdivisions, or modify the form of tax budgets, under certain circumstances and provides that certain local government employees are members of the unclassified service. Effective: March 5, 1996

HB 197 HIGHWAY SIGNAGE (Mottl) Eliminates one of the names of I-77 from Cuyahoga County through Washington County and requires the Director of Transportation to erect two road markers along portions of that route indicating that the road has been designated as the "Vietnam Veterans' of America Highway." Effective: June 13, 1996

HB 200 UNAUTHORIZED STRIKES (Wachtmann) Defines "unauthorized strike" for the purpose of the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Law and prohibits public employees from engaging in partial or intermittent strikes, whether conducted during or after the expiration of the term of a collective bargaining agreement or during or after the pendency of a settlement procedure under the law. Effective: September 21, 1995

HB 202 LIVESTOCK TAMPERING (Haines) Allows the Director of Agriculture to adopt rules governing exhibitions; prohibits tampering with livestock, sabotage of livestock and use of unapproved drugs on animals; creates the Advisory Committee on Livestock Exhibitions; and declares an emergency. Effective: June 14, 1995

HB 209 WILDLIFE DAMAGE (Krebs) Creates a legislative study committee to inquire into the feasibility and means of implementing a wildlife indemnification program that would provide compensation to owners of property that has been damaged by wildlife or other possible alternatives to solving the problem of property damage by wildlife. Effective: November 21, 1995

HB 215 PRECINCT WORKERS (O'Brien) Permits the appointment of registered voters who are at least 17 years of age as precinct workers. Effective: October 17, 1996

HB 217 TOURIST SIGNS (Padgett) Makes changes in the provisions governing the Tourist-Oriented Directional Sign program of the Department of Transportation. Effective: November 1, 1995

HB 218 HEALTH PROVIDER IMMUNITY (Roman) Provides certain health care professionals and workers and nonprofit shelter or health care facilities with qualified immunities from civil liability for providing free health care services to indigent or uninsured persons and ends the program after five years. Effective: November 15, 1995

HB 223 SCHOOL MANDATES (Gardner) Reduces or eliminates certain mandates for the State Board of Education, the Department of Education, and school districts; makes irrevocable school board members' elections of whether to be members of the School Employees Retirement System for particular periods; and earmarks a portion of an appropriation for proficiency testing remediation for certain students. Effective: November 15, 1995

HB 226 POLICE & FIREMEN'S FUND (Sines) Makes changes related to disability benefits under the Police and Firemen's Disability and Pension Fund; permits a member, in lieu of receiving partial disability benefits, to request employment in the same police or fire department with duties he is physically and mentally capable of performing, clarifies the process by which a PERS member purchases service credit for prior service covered by PFDPF or the State Highway Patrol Retirement System, requires each public retirement system board to adopt by rule an expense reimbursement policy, makes irrevocable school board members' elections of whether to be members of SERS for particular periods, and declares an emergency. Effective: August 25, 1995 (Certain sections on other dates)

HB 228 STATE REPTILE (Reid) Adopts the black racer as the state reptile. Effective: November 24, 1995

HB 229 PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS (Reid) Exempts from licensure under the Private Investigators and Security Services Law independent insurance adjusters, experts hired by attorneys for consultation or litigation purposes, and persons who locate individuals who are due money from the State of Ohio in the form of warrants that the State voided but subsequently reissued. Effective: March 11, 1996

HB 231 BUILDING PERMITS (Tiberi) Specifies that plans and other materials relative to obtaining building permits are not required to be prepared by registered architects for certain buildings and structures; requires certain contractors to demonstrate proof of financial responsibility; specifies the bonding requirements of construction managers; and permits third parties to contract with a registered architect to provide architectural services for another person. Effective: November 24, 1995

HB 239 FOOD STAMP FRAUD (Schuring) Requires the refusal to issue and the revocation of a liquor permit or lottery license upon conviction for the offense of illegal use of food stamps, increases the penalty for the offenses of trafficking in food stamps and illegal use of food stamps, includes the value of electronically transferred food stamp benefits within these offenses, and provides for the regulation of sales and the taxation of certain types of alcoholic cider. Effective: November 24, 1995

HB 242 SPECIAL ELECTION (Hodges) Authorizes the holding of a special election on May 23, 1995 for submission of a zoning referendum and declares an emergency. Effective: April 12, 1995

HB 245 PAYROLL TAXES (Hodges) Permits interested parties to bring an action for injunctive relief against an employer who fails to pay workers' compensation premiums or unemployment compensation contributions from the compensation of an employee as required by law; bars any suit by a construction contractor or subcontractor arising from a contract to which the person is a party; abolishes the position of deputy administrator for medical management and cost containment and transfers the deputy administrator's duties to the administrator of Workers' Compensation, authorizes the administrator to certify, rather than contract with, external vendors under the health partnership program and modifies other provisions relative to that program, permits a self-insuring employer to self-insure its own construction project upon approval of the administrator of Workers' Compensation, modifies authority relative to the classification of specified employees of the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, permits licensed private investigators and security guard providers who are not subject to the workers' compensation law or unemployment compensation law to renew their licenses without submitting evidence of compliance with those laws, redefines "employee" for purposes of the Workers' Compensation Law and "employment" for the purpose of the Unemployment Compensation Law. Effective: September 17, 1996

HB 248 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (Netzley) Delays, until October 20, 1995, the application of certain provisions of the Financial Responsibility Law that require motor vehicle insurers to provide policyholders with financial responsibility identification cards and authorizes peace officers to request motor vehicle owners and operators to produce such cards as proof of financial responsibility and declares an emergency. Effective: April 12, 1995

HB 249 GENERAL ASSISTANCE (Lawrence) Abolishes the General Assistance program and makes changes in the law governing the Disability Assistance program. Effective: July 17, 1995 (Contains partial veto)

HB 251 PUBLIC DEPOSITORY (Schuler) Eliminates the requirement that a public depository have an office in Columbus to be eligible as a public depository of active deposits of state public moneys and makes conforming changes. Effective: November 24, 1995

HB 254 TEACHER RETIREMENT (Campbell) Permits members of the State Teachers Retirement System, for a one year period, to purchase up to two years of service credit for time while on leave of absence for pregnancy approved prior to July 1, 1982, or for time away from employment covered by the system because of a resignation due to pregnancy prior to that date. Effective: August 1, 1996

HB 263 PUBLIC HEALTH COUNCIL (Terwilleger) Requires the membership of the Public Health Council to include a registered sanitarian, allows a person employed as a sanitarian on July 20, 1987, to receive automatic registration as a sanitarian, and specifies the meaning of serving and preparing food for purposes of the laws pertaining to licensure of food service operations. Effective: November 21, 1995 (Certain sections on other dates)

HB 265 JUVENILE DETENTION (Boyd) Prevents alleged or adjudicated abused, neglected, dependent, or unruly children from being placed in secure detention facilities and reduces the number of placement options that permit an alleged or adjudicated juvenile traffic offender to be placed in secure detention facilities. Effective: March 3, 1997

HB 266 ADOPTION (Mottley) Allows a court to issue an adoption decree, requires the Department of Health to issue a foreign birth record with respect to a child for which an adoption decree has been issued by a court in a foreign country, provides for the correction of a certificate of marriage, permits the director of health, the state registrar, or a local registrar to issue an heirloom certificate of birth, and permits the director of health to prescribe a fee to offset the cost of issuing heirloom certificates of birth. Effective: May 15, 1996

HB 268 PARK DISTRICTS (Schuler) Permits county commissioners and the county prosecuting attorney jointly to contract with a board of park commissioners of a metropolitan for the prosecuting attorney to provide legal services to the district park district and allows park districts and state universities and colleges to enter into mutual aid agreements for law enforcement purposes. Effective: May 8, 1996

HB 269 DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS (Schuring) Specifies a procedure under which two or more municipal corporations may designate a joint economic development zone; permits additional municipal corporations and townships to enter into contracts creating a joint economic development district; revises and unifies the procedures under which certain municipal corporations and townships may create a joint economic development district, and makes other changes to the Joint Economic Development District Law. Effective: November 15, 1995

HB 274 ABUSED CHILDREN (Mason) Makes changes to the law governing abused, neglected and dependent children and adoption. Effective: August 8, 1996 (Sections 7 & 8 on November 15, 1996; certain provisions on September 18, 1996)

HB 275 UNEMPLOYMENT RESERVE (Corbin) Creates a state unemployment benefit reserve fund; revises requirements concerning unemployment compensation eligibility determinations; revises the time frame within which administrator of Bureau of Employment Services must issue overpayment orders; permits benefits pursuant to certain interstate claims to be charged to the mutualized account; requires administrator to withhold federal income tax from benefits of individuals who so request; and makes other changes in the Unemployment Compensation Law. Effective: November 24, 1995

HB 278 WORKER COMP BUDGET (Thompson) Makes appropriations for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation for the biennium beginning July 1, 1995 and ending June 30, 1997. Effective: June 30, 1995 (Certain sections effective September 29, 1995)

HB 279 INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION BUDGET (Thompson) Requires district and staff hearing officers to be admitted to the practice of law in this state and makes appropriations for the Industrial Commission for the biennium beginning July 1, 1995 and ending June 30, 1997. Effective: June 30, 1995 (Certain sections effective September 29, 1995)

HB 280 ARTS FACILITIES (Carey) Enables the Appalachian Public Facilities Task Force to proceed with making recommendations for certain Appalachian facilities improvements and transfers a portion of the appropriation authority for such improvements from the Ohio Arts Facilities Commission to the Ohio Board of Regents and the Department of Natural Resources; authorizes local administration of exhibit design and fabrication services for the Center of Science and Industry-Toledo; allows the director of budget and management to provide an exception to travel reimbursement rules for project contracts between the Ohio Arts Facilities Commission and the Ohio Historical Society; authorizes the transfer of certain bond proceeds to the school building assistance fund; and declares an emergency. Effective: September 5, 1995

HB 281 TUITION WAIVERS (Mallory) Extends university tuition waivers to spouses and certain former spouses of fire fighters and peace officers killed in the line of duty. Effective: November 20, 1996

HB 282 MORTGAGE BROKERS (Schuler) Makes changes in the Mortgage Broker Law, including increasing registration application fees, specifying certain qualifications for registration, authorizing the charging of certain service fees, and specifying the limited liability of mortgage brokers with respect to buyers upon completion of the mortgage broker services, and eliminates the separate registration, net worth, and record-keeping requirements and certain fee limitations applicable to brokers under the Mortgage Lender Law. Effective: March 4, 1996

HB 284 LIBRARIES (Bateman) Authorizes boards of library trustees to finance the acquisition, construction or renovation of permanent improvements or the acquisition of motor vehicles or other personal property by issuing notes and anticipation notes to be repaid from the library's distributions from the Library and Local Government Support Fund; provides that the notes and anticipation notes are lawful investments; removes a cap of $500 a year on the compensation of certain county law library association librarians; and amends Sec. 69 of Am. Sub. HB 117 of the 121st General Assembly to specify the purchasing of standardized products to create the OPLIN project. Effective: March 4, 1996

HB 288 GUARDIANSHIP (Tavares) Creates a standby guardianship for a minor. Effective: January 14, 1997

HB 291 ZONING AUTHORITY (Schuler) Authorizes counties under specified conditions to zone certain telecommunications towers owned or used by public utilities and proposed to be located in unincorporated residential areas of townships and conforms to such zoning authority existing township authority to zone cellular towers. Effective: October 31, 1996

HB 304 LAND APPRAISERS (Blessing) Provides for the certification of residential real estate appraisers and the registration of real estate appraiser assistants and makes other changes in the Real Estate Appraisal Law. Effective: March 5, 1996

HB 305 FUEL DEALERS (Thomas) Changes the licensing requirements for motor vehicle fuel dealers and others and makes other changes in the collection and administration of the motor vehicle fuel tax. Effective: March 11, 1996 (Certain sections on October 1, 1996)

HB 308 HIGHWAY PATROL FUND (Blessing) Increases pensions and benefits paid to certain State Highway Patrol Retirement System retirants and survivors, reduces the employee contribution rate, reduces the age of eligibility for cost of living increases to 53, changes the manner in which certain transfers of service credit are made to the Public Employees Retirement System, clarifies the participants in a certain election for membership in the School Employees Retirement System, requires Ohio's five public retirement system boards to furnish certain records to the Joint Legislative Committee to Study Ohio's Public Retirement Plans, and declares an emergency. Effective: March 6, 1996 (Certain sections later)

HB 313 SMALL LOANS (Schuler) Authorizes a check-cashing business to obtain a license to make six-month loans of $500 or less; provides for interest rates and other fees and charges in connection with the loans; authorizes the Superintendent of Consumer Finance to license, regulate and examine check-cashing businesses making these loans; provides for enforcement by the Attorney General; provides civil remedies and a criminal penalty for failing to comply with these licensing and lending provisions; and makes conforming changes in the Small Loan Law. Effective: December 5, 1995 (Allowed to become law without governor's signature)

HB 328 DISINTERMENT (Wachtmann) Establishes procedures for the disinterment of remains, pursuant to court order, upon the application of a person other than the decedent's surviving spouse and permits a person to apply for a court order to prevent the deceased's surviving spouse from having the remains of the deceased disinterred. Effective: November 24, 1995

HB 330 LIFE INSURANCE (Buchy) Provides that an employer has an insurable interest in the lives of its employees, directors and retired employees, and allows employers, upon receiving the consent of the prospective insureds, to procure individual or group insurance on the lives of its employees, directors, and retired employees. Effective: November 3, 1995

HB 333 MONEY LAUNDERING (Jacobson) Relates to transaction reporting and money laundering. Effective: September 19, 1996

HB 335 OHIO TURNPIKE (Perz) Creates the Turnpike Oversight Committee, limits the authority of the Ohio Turnpike Commission to expend toll revenues for projects other than the project that generated the funds; requires the Commission to hold public hearings before it votes to increase tolls on a toll project or takes any action that will increase its sphere of responsibility beyond the Ohio Turnpike; allows the Committee to review future projects of the Commission and to recommend future projects; requires a procedure to be established for a political subdivision or other government agency to apply to the Commission for the construction of a turnpike project; and requires each member of the Committee and the legislative members of the Commission to represent a district in which is located or through which passes a portion of a turnpike project that is located in the vicinity of a turnpike project that is part of the Ohio Turnpike System. Effective: October 17, 1996

HB 337 LAND CONVEYANCE (Gardner) Authorizes the conveyance of real estate owned by the state for the use of Bowling Green State University and located in Wood County to the City of Bowling Green. Effective: November 1, 1995

HB 343 MANUFACTURING CREDIT (Harris) Expands eligibility for the credits for purchasing new manufacturing equipment by requiring taxpayers' purchases of such equipment to equal 20% of their existing manufacturing equipment rather than 20% of all of their existing property. Effective: March 5, 1996

HB 347 HOTEL LAW (Healy) Defines Single Room Occupancy (SRO) facilities under the Ohio Hotel Law; provides for the separate licensure and regulation of SRO facilities under the Ohio Hotel Law; and exempts certain SRO facilities and emergency shelters from the Ohio Landlord and Tenant Law. Effective: October 16, 1996

HB350 TORT LAW (Tiberi) Relative to changes in the laws pertaining to tort and other civil actions. Effective: January 27, 1997 (Certain sections on other dates) Note: This act was invalidated by the Ohio Supreme Court on April 14, 1999 - See Ohio Report No. 70, April 14, 1999

HB 351 SHERIFF CANDIDATES (Tiberi) Changes certain qualifications for being a candidate for or being elected or appointed sheriff, changes requirements governing the completion of the basic training course by newly-elected sheriffs, and authorizes the Auditor of State to appoint investigators to discharge the duties of the Auditor of State. Effective: January 14, 1997

HB 352 AGRICULTURE PRODUCT TORT (Buchy) Relative to a tort action for disparagement of a perishable agricultural product. Effective: May 8, 1996

HB 353 MOTOR VEHICLES (Bateman) Makes changes in certain laws relating to the titling, registration, operation and equipment of motor vehicles. Effective: September 17, 1996 (Sections 4 & 5 on May 15, 1997)

HB 354 REAL ESTATE LAW (Terwilleger) Revises the Real Estate Brokers Law, including changes to provide statutory standards and penalties governing the agency relationships and duties of real estate agents; establishes disciplinary sanctions to be imposed by the Ohio Real Estate Commission upon real estate licensees who violate the Real Estate Brokers Law; establishes staggered deadlines for license renewal applications; adopts guidelines to permit organizations that sponsor continuing education classes to offer members a fee reduction; provides continuing education requirements for certain licensees 70 years of age or older; enables real estate licensees engaged in the management of property to exercise signatory authority for withdrawals from property management accounts; and enables property management accounts to earn interest. Effective: June 13, 1996 (Sections 3 & 4 on November 15, 1996; certain provisions on December 13, 1996)

HB 355 HEALTH DISTRICTS (Van Vyven) Modifies the powers, duties and procedures of district advisory councils for general health districts, requires the Department of Health to issue a new birth record when any correction is made in the original birth record, permits the Director of Health to collect fees for conducting initial Medicare certifications, increases the number of days certain volunteer organizations may serve meals without a food service operation license, and declares an emergency. Effective: April 2, 1996

HB 356 DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT (Carey) Makes miscellaneous changes to the laws governing the organization and responsibilities of the Department of Development. Effective: September 26, 1996

HB 357 PATERNITY TESTS (Doty) Permits the use of DNA tests on buccal cell samples as an alternative to blood tests in the establishment of paternity. Effective: September 19, 1996 (Certain sections on November 15, 1996)

HB 363 FELONY CONVICTIONS (Womer Benjamin) Prohibits granting an award of reparations if the victim or claimant is convicted of a felony, or engaged in felonious conduct during the pendency of the claim or if the victim through who a claimant claims an award was convicted of a felony or engaged in felonious conduct within ten years prior to the criminally injurious conduct that is the basis of the claim, authorizes the Attorney General to issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum to compel the production of materials relevant to an application for an award of reparations, reduces the minimum amount of unreimbursed allowable expenses that may be the subject of an assignment of an award of reparations, authorizes the Attorney General to seek recovery of an award of reparations if it was wrongfully paid or the claimant is compensated for the expenses covered by the award, and extends the period of time for the Attorney General to investigate and issue a recommendation regarding a claim. Effective: August 1, 1996

HB 365 RETIREMENT BENEFITS (Vesper) Revises the cost-of-living formula for the five state retirement systems and increases certain benefits payable to members of the Public Employees Retirement System and requires continuation of survivor benefits, despite remarriage, to the surviving spouse of a deceased member of the Police and Firemen's Disability and Pension Fund when remarriage occurs after the spouse attains age 55. Effective: September 27, 1996

HB 368 DIVORCE COUNSELING (Brading) Permits courts to require divorcing parents to attend parenting classes or obtain counseling. Effective: September 10, 1996

HB 371 I.U.D. LIABILITY (Grendell) Extends the statute of limitations for certain claimants who have filed claims against the Dalkon Shield Claimants Trust to bring an action for bodily injury or wrongful death caused by the effects of the Dalkon Shield intrauterine device and declares an emergency. Effective: August 16, 1995

HB 374 INSURANCE LAW (Tiberi) Adopts, with modifications, proposals of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, relative to Risk-Based Capital for Insurers Model Act, the Disclosure of Material Transactions Model Act, and the model Standard Valuation Law; adopts portions of the Credit for Reinsurance Model Act and removes certain limitations on the reinsurance authority of fire insurance companies and associations; makes changes in the investment authority of domestic insurers; permits health maintenance organizations and all domestic insurers to receive advances of funds from persons for business purposes and modifies the limit on interest permitted for the use of the funds; makes confidential examination working papers of the Department of Insurance available to insurance regulatory authorities in other states that will maintain the confidentiality of the papers; subjects HMOs and prepaid dental plan organizations to Ohio's Holding Company Systems Law and makes other changes to this law; requires foreign insurers licensed to write home warranty business to meet the same capital and surplus requirements as domestic insurers writing home warranty business, authorizes the Superintendent of Insurance to establish notice requirements for health insurance coverages that are sold to persons eligible for Medicare and that are not Medicare supplement coverages, revises the order of distribution of claims filed in insurer liquidation proceedings, and declares an emergency. Effective: December 4, 1995 (Certain sections on other dates)

HB 376 ADJUTANT GENERAL PROPERTY (White) Authorizes the Adjutant General to transfer certain parcels no longer needed for military purposes to the grantor of each parcel pursuant to the reversionary clause in each parcel's deed; authorizes the conveyance of state-owned real estate under the control of the Adjutant General to a buyer or buyers to be determined at a later date if the Adjutant General determines that the property is no longer required for military or armory purposes; and authorizes the conveyance of state-owned real estate under the control of the Adjutant General to Frank E. and Marilyn A. Hill. Effective: November 5, 1995

HB 377 COURT JURISDICTION (Myers) Relative to the jurisdiction of the domestic relations divisions of the Courts of Common Pleas of Licking and Fairfield counties to enter certain types of child support and child custody orders and changes the reference from "referees" to "magistrates" for small claims divisions and probate courts. Effective: October 17, 1996

HB 378 PROPERTY TITLES (Myers) Permits joint tenants in real property to hold title in unequal shares. Effective: March 11, 1996

HB 379 PERS LAW ENFORCEMENT (Gerberry) Includes Public Employees Retirement System members who are state university law enforcement officers and Hamilton County Court bailiffs in the system's law enforcement division. Effective: November 6, 1996

HB 391 PROBATE (Mason) Clarifies the personal liability of guardians, conservators and attorneys in fact with respect to the contracts and debts of wards, physically infirm, competent adults, or principals; specifies that a spendthrift provision in an inter vivos or testamentary trust that holds shares of an S Corporation generally does not cause forfeiture or postponement of certain interests in the shares held; generally prohibits an inter vivos or testamentary trust from requiring or permitting the accumulation of income on certain property for more than one year, permits a to establish a trust for the benefit of any beneficiary of proceeds from a wrongful death action who is less than 25 years of age; changes the period of time after which a bona fide purchaser, lessee or encumbrancer, for value, obtains a title, estate or interest in land that is acquired from an heir or beneficiary of a decedent; extends the time within which an executor, administrator or special administrator is required to file an inventory of an estate from one month after appointment to three months after appointment; permits a surviving spouse to elect to receive the decedent spouse's interest in the mansion house as part of the surviving spouse's share of the decedent's intestate estate and the statutory allowance for support; specifies that the consent of the Tax Commissioner is not required before transferring or delivering certain intangible personal property of a decedent spouse to the surviving spouse; and modifies the types of institutions covered by, and the endowment fund net appreciation expenditure of, the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act. Effective: October 1, 1996

HB 402 KOREAN WAR (Reid) Establishes Korean War Veterans' Day. Effective: March 11, 1996

HB 405 EMERGENCY SERVICES (Logan) Authorizes the State Board of Emergency Medical Services to certify first responders and first responder training and continuing education instructors and programs, makes other changes in the law governing emergency medical services, allows nonadjoining political subdivisions to form joint fire districts, and makes changes in the law governing the certification of firefighters. Effective: October 1, 1996

HB 408 PAY RAISES (Corbin) Provides increased compensation to prosecuting attorneys in counties with a population of 70,000 or less who choose not to engage in the private practice of law and for payment of part of the cost by the state; increases the compensation of elected executive state officials, township trustees and clerks, elected county officials, members of the boards of elections, justices of the Supreme Court and common pleas, municipal and county court judges; allows coroners to employ in the coroner's office persons with whom they are associated or whom they employ in their private medical practice; creates the Elected Officials Compensation Commission; and makes an appropriation. Effective: May 8, 1996 (Sections 3 &4 on February 7, 1996)

HB 409 INFORMATION DEPOSITORY (Tiberi) Authorizes the Treasurer of State to designate a private entity as the State Information Depository in accordance with federal securities law, requires the State Information Depository to maintain certain information pertaining to municipal securities offerings and specifies that the State Information Depository is not a state agency or instrumentality. Effective: August 1, 1996

HB 413 INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION (Schuring) Allows the Industrial Commission to designate staff hearing officers to determine whether to hear appeals to the Commission, to assign claims to particular Industrial Commission service offices, to change the time requirements for publication of hearing decisions, to suspend any payment of temporary, total compensation to an individual who obstructs the vocational evaluation process, to permit the Commission, temporarily, to hire attorneys to serve as district and staff hearing officers, and to permit the Commission to establish an alternative dispute resolution process and to hire individuals as facilitators in that process. Effective: October 1, 1996

HB 419 ADOPTION RECORDS (Winkler) Revises the law governing adoptions, access to adoption records and child custody. Effective: June 20, 1996 (Certain sections August 18, 1996)

HB 423 LEGAL AID (Batchelder) Extends for five more years through December 31, 2002 the $15 filing fee add-on charged for filing civil actions in municipal, county, and common pleas courts, and the $7 filing fee add-on charged for filing civil actions in small claims divisions, which are used for providing financial assistance to legal aid societies, provides that the judges of a domestic relations division of a court of common pleas who exercise the powers and jurisdiction of a juvenile court generally are to serve as the clerk regarding all juvenile court-related records filed with the court, changes the date by which municipal court judges must render a report concerning the court's operations, establishes a one-year pilot program to determine the feasibility of using consumer reporting agencies to determine whether an applicant for free legal representation is indigent, and makes an appropriation. Effective: August 1, 1996 (Certain sections on October 31, 1996)

HB 435 HAZARDOUS WASTE (White) Revises the requirements and procedures governing modifications of hazardous waste facility installation and operation permits. Effective: August 20, 1996

HB 438 MUNICIPAL & COUNTY COURTS (Wise) Increases the monetary jurisdiction of a municipal court to $15,000 and of a county court to $15,000; increases the monetary jurisdiction of the small claims division of a municipal court or county court to $3,000; makes other revisions in the Municipal Court and County Court Law; makes changes to the salaries of common pleas, municipal, and county court judges; revises certain procedures of the Financial Responsibility Law; specifically authorizes each municipal court and each county court to establish procedures for the resolution of disputes between parties to actions or proceedings within the court's jurisdiction and to charge a reasonable fee for those procedures; creates a testimonial privilege for persons who participate in mediation, and permits certain persons to file more than 24 consumer-related claims in a small claims division in a calendar year. Effective: October 31, 1996 (Certain sections on July 1, 1997)

HB 440 RURAL DEVELOPMENT (Carey). Creates the rural industrial park loan program and the Rural Industrial Park Loan Fund in the Department of Development to promote economic development in rural areas, makes an appropriation and terminates the provisions of this act on January 1, 1999. Effective: March 28, 1996

HB 441 VOLUNTARY CLEANUP (Schuring) Allows credits against the corporation franchise and state income taxes for a taxpayer that completes the voluntary environmental clean-up of a contaminated site, permits special improvement districts to undertake voluntary clean-ups and to levy special assessments to pay the costs of those clean-ups, modifies the locational criteria governing recently-enacted manufacturing investment tax credits, clarifies the application of those manufacturing tax credits for investments made in eligible areas, and generally prohibits firms receiving jobs tax credits from relocating employees within the state. Effective: August 22, 1996

HB 442 INDUSTRIAL PARKS (Metzger) Creates the Urban and Rural Initiative Fund in the Department of Development to promote economic development in this state by providing grants for land acquisition, infrastructure improvements, voluntary actions, and renovation of property in certain areas; commissions an economic development study to evaluate the existing and future economic development activities in the state; provides an alternative procedure by which certain municipal corporations may enter into a contract creating a joint economic development zone, authorizes zones so created to levy an income tax within the zone, terminates the provisions of this act on January 1, 1999, and makes an appropriation. Effective: July 9, 1996

HB 445 SEXUAL OFFENSES (Womer Benjamin) Redefines sexual conduct to include the insertion of any body part or object into the vaginal or anal cavity of another and merges the offense of felonious sexual penetration into the offense of rape. Effective: September 3, 1996

HB 447 DEFENSIVE ACTS (Womer Benjamin) Codifies the common law principles pertaining to self-defense and defense of third persons within the home and on owned, leased or rented real property. Effective: March 18, 1997

HB 449 SCHOOL ATTENDANCE (Myers) Prohibits city, exempted village, local, or joint vocational school districts from receiving an open enrollment payment for a student counted in the district's ADM. Effective: May 15, 1996

HB 450 RETIREMENT CREDIT (Netzley) Bases the cost of purchasing military service credit under the Public Employees Retirement System on a member's first year of employment after that service is covered by the Cincinnati Retirement System, permits a member of the Public Employees Retirement System to qualify for free military service credit based on re-employment in the Cincinnati Retirement System, and makes changes to the laws of the five state retirement systems in accordance with federal law regarding military service credit. Effective: October 29, 1996

HB 455 INMATE SUITS (Roman) Establishes procedures for handling a civil action commenced against the state, a political subdivision, or an employee of either in a court of common pleas, court of appeals, county court, or municipal court or in the Supreme Court by an inmate or an appeal of such an action filed by an inmate in an applicable court; broadens the costs and expenses that may be awarded for frivolous conduct in a civil action; and provides that the exemption from process to satisfy a judgment or order that is provided regarding certain payments n account of personal bodily injury does not apply if the payments are made to a person who is an inmate and resulted from an action or proceeding against the state or an officer or employee of the state. Effective: October 17, 1996

HB 456 INFECTIOUS SUBSTANCES (Beatty) Prohibits the improper handling of infectious substances. Effective: September 10, 1996

HB 461 BICYCLE SIGNALS (Reid) Permits the operator of a bicycle to give a right turn signal by extending the right hand and arm horizontally and to the right side of the bicycle. Effective: September 10, 1996

HB 462 FISCAL EMERGENCIES (Thomas) Expands the Local Fiscal Emergencies Law to include counties and townships and authorizes for a limited period of time certain boards of county commissioners to grant partial tax exemptions on homesteads and manufactured homes and to reimburse the exempted taxes with other county revenue. Effective: September 3, 1996

HB 468 FRATERNAL SOCIETIES (Suster) Revises the Fraternal Benefit Societies Law, eliminates the requirement that CPA examination papers be available for inspection or copying, and declares an emergency. Effective: May 6, 1996 (Certain sections on July 1, 1997)

HB 473 AGENCY RULES (Netzley) Requires the review, at least every five years, of certain rules subject to review by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. Effective: September 26, 1996

HB 476 UTILITY VALUATION (Sawyer) Authorizes the Public Utilities Commission, upon application of a natural gas company to provide a general exemption from ORC Chapters 4905., 4909., and 4935. except sections 4905.10, 4935.01, and 4935.03, and from specified sections of Chapter 4933. of the ORC for any natural gas commodity sales service or ancillary service; authorizes the Commission, in a proceeding for a rate change, to permit the natural gas company to use alternative methods of fixing rates and charges; provides that only the commodity sales services, distribution services, and ancillary services of a natural gas company are subject to Commission jurisdiction; permits automatic adjustments in the rates of regulated natural gas services based on fluctuations in a specified cost or costs; provides exceptions similar to those of existing law regarding the public records of the Commission and the Consumers' Counsel; makes nonjurisdictional and exempt services of natural gas companies subject to the Consumer Sales Practices Act; excludes amounts billed on behalf of other entities from the gross receipts of a natural gas company, for the purpose of computing its public utility excise tax, exempts a natural gas company having 15,000 or fewer Ohio customers from certain purchased gas adjustment audit requirements, unless otherwise ordered by the Commission for good cause shown; and exempts, from long-term energy forecasting requirements, persons furnishing gas, natural gas, and electricity to 15,000 or fewer Ohio customers and persons owning or operating a majority utility facility and furnishing gas or natural gas directly to 15,000 or fewer Ohio customers. Effective: September 17, 1996

HB 479 PFDPF BOARD (Vesper) Modifies the composition of the Board of Trustees of the Police and Firemen's Disability and Pension Fund. Effective: March 3, 1997

HB 480 CORRECTIONS (Hodges) Makes certain changes regarding the reimbursement of the cost of expenses incurred by a jail, workhouse or other local correctional facility as determined in a court proceeding; clarifies the authority of a court to require a felon it sentences to a local correctional facility to pay the costs of confinement; permits local and community correctional facilities to adopt their own prisoner reimbursement programs; permits local and community correctional facilities to charge fees for medical treatments and services requested by an inmate; permits juveniles to remain within the sight and sound but not the range of touch of adult inmates during processing; prohibits physically securing a child to a stationary object during processing in an adult facility and requires visual supervision of the child during the processing; provides for inmate commissaries and commissary funds for local facilities; provides for the hiring of civilian corrections officers for local facilities; permit jails to contract for medical and other services necessary for the care and welfare of the prisoners and other persons placed in the sheriff's charge; makes certain changes regarding work-release programs; subjects minimum security jails to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's minimum standards for jails; establishes the Felon Medical Care Committee; clarifies the amount of a sheriff's "furtherance of justice fund"; grants investigators of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, while assisting a law enforcement authority, the same arrest authority as peace officers of that law enforcement authority and specifies when those investigators may render emergency assistance to a peace officer; and makes other changes regarding jails, workhouses, and other correctional facilities. Effective: October 16, 1996

HB 494 DEED RECORDING (Core) Prohibits a county recorder from recording deeds or other instruments in writing executed or certified in a foreign language unless the deed or instrument is accompanied by a certified and complete English translation. Effective: August 20, 1996

HB 495 LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS (Thompson) Makes changes in the Partnership Having Limited Liability Law, including adopting the term "limited liability partnerships," modifying the application requirements and clarifying the liability of partners of such partnerships, requiring foreign limited liability partnerships to register with the Secretary of State and to comply with annual reporting and name restrictions, eliminating certain reporting requirements for registered limited liability partnerships; making changes in the Limited Liability Company Law with respect to formation and duration requirements, operating agreements, membership interests, appointment of statutory agents and name restrictions; making changes in the Limited Partnership Law with respect to the liability of limited partners, the assignment of partnership interests and trade name filings; making modifications in the General Corporation Law with respect to agreements of merger or consolidation and dissenting shareholders rights; permitting lenders under the Small Loan Law to provide a copy of a completed loan agreement to an obligor; permitting certain copies of original signatures to the submitted with the Secretary of State filings and in certain mortgage filings; requiring corporate filings to be on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State; and makes other changes in the General Corporation, Limited Liability Company, General Partnership and Limited Partnership Laws. Effective: October 4, 1996

HB 501 COUNTY PAYMENTS (Schuler) Authorizes a board of county commissioners to delegate by resolution any or all of its personnel functions to the county administrator, authorizes a county administrator to contract and pay claims on behalf of the board of county commissioners without requiring that a separate resolution of the board authorize each action, specifies that persons employed by and directly responsible to a county administrator and holding a fiduciary or administrative relationship to the county administrator are in the unclassified service, authorizes a board of county commissioners to enter into a three-year employment contract with a county human services director, provides for an alternative method for allocating county library and local government support fund monies among subdivisions in a county, requires the attorney general to advise township law directors, and allows townships with the limited self-government form of government to contract with the county prosecuting attorney to have the prosecuting attorney serve as the township law director. Effective: November 6, 1996

HB 510 DRIVER LICENSE REVOCATION (White) Provides that whenever a court is permitted or required to suspend or revoke a person's driver's license for violation of a state statute, a court may suspend or revoke a person's driver's license for violation of a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to the state statute. Effective: September 19, 1996

HB 511 LIQUOR CERTIFICATES (Krebs) Permits the exchange of gift certificates for beer or intoxicating liquor for off-premises consumption. Effective: August 20, 1996 (Sections 3 & 4 on July 1, 1997)

HB 516 AGRICULTURAL LAND TAX (Schuck) Exempts from the agricultural-use, value-conversion charge the conversion of land acquired by a public entity by means other than eminent domain that is located within the boundaries of the public entity or, in the case of land acquired and converted by a public entity other than a park district created under the Park Districts Law, within the boundaries of a city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district wholly or partially located within the boundaries of the public entity and that thereafter is used exclusively for a public purpose that leaves the land principally undeveloped; abolishes the prohibition against a public entity directly or indirectly transferring that conversion charge to the person from who agricultural land was acquired with respect to agricultural land that was acquired by means other than eminent domain, that is converted for use for public educational, recreational, or similar open space uses, and that is located outside the boundaries of the public entity that acquired and converted the land or, in the case of agricultural land that was so acquired and converted by a public entity other than such a park district, is located outside the boundaries of the school districts located wholly or partially within the boundaries of the public entity that acquired and converted the agricultural land; and changes the amount of the penalty required to be paid for withdrawal of land from an agricultural district. Effective: September 3, 1996

HB 517 PROPERTY TAX CREDITS (Garcia) Authorizes municipal corporations and townships to grant real property tax credits to persons who purchase and abate nuisances on tax foreclosed property and prohibits municipal corporations from placing on the tax list the cost of abating a nuisance on property that has been forfeited to the state. Effective: September 10, 1996

HB 523 EPHEDRINE (Schuck) Excepts from the Schedule V controlled substances schedule a food product or dietary supplement that contains a limited quantity of ephedrine and conforms to specified criteria; excepts from the schedule a drug product that contains pseudoephedrine and conforms to specified criteria, and permits the State Pharmacy Board to except from the schedule products or classes of products containing ephedrine. Effective: March 31, 1997

HB 535 SKIING LAW (Wachtmann) Changes the name of the Safety in Skiing Board to the Ski Tramway Board and makes changes regarding the compensation and terms of office of members of the Board, the annual registration fees paid by passenger tramway operators, the obligations of ski area operators to skiers, the legal responsibilities for losses or damages that result from skiing and other provision of the Skiing Safety Law, and exempts from the Amusement Ride Law all rides that are operated solely at trade shows for a limited period of time. Effective: November 20, 1996

HB 536 LAND CONVEYANCE (Perz) Authorizes the Board of Trustees of the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo to convey a parcel or portions of a parcel of real estate located in Lucas County, authorizes the governor to convey a parcel of real estate located in Lucas County and owned by the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo Foundation, authorizes the governor to convey state-owned residential real estate located in Lucas County and held for the use of the University of Toledo, and declares an emergency. Effective: May 6, 1996

HB 538 BANKING LAW (Batchelder) For the purpose of enacting a revised banking law for the State of Ohio, maintaining the provisions of this act on and after July 1, 1997, by amending the version of Sec. 166.08 of the Revised Code that takes effect on that date, and maintaining the provisions of this act on and after July 1, 1996, by amending the version of sec. 1123.14 of the Revised Code that takes effect on that date. Effective: September 27, 1996 (Certain sections on July 1, 1997)

HB 540 LAND CONVEYANCE (Opfer) Permits the Ohio Veterans' Home to open up to 25 additional long-term care beds without a certificate of need, authorizes the conveyance of real estate owned by the Ohio Veterans Home and located in Lucas County to the City of Toledo, and declares an emergency. Effective: May 6, 1996 (Section 3 on August 4, 1996)

HB 545 SCRAP TIRES (Schuck) Reduces the amount of financial assurance required of scrap tire transporters, temporarily exempts certain facilities from some requirements of the Scrap Tire Recovery Facility Law, specifies that individuals required to be fingerprinted as part of a disclosure statement prior to the issuance of a permit to install for a solid, hazardous, or infectious waste facility will only be required to be fingerprinted once and not on a yearly basis, requires the submission of an affidavit if there have been no changes to a disclosure statement at the end of each annual update period, and declares an emergency. Effective: February 29, 1996

HB 552 AGENCY SUNSET (Terwilleger) Eliminates a requirement that bills renewing or terminating agencies subject to certain sunset provisions must generally deal only with one agency, eliminates certain annual reports required of agencies and declares an emergency. Effective: March 14, 1996 (Sections 3 & 4 on January 1, 1997)

HB 555 POLLWORKER TAX EXEMPTION (Thomas) Prohibits municipal corporations from subjecting to income taxation compensation paid to persons serving as precinct election officials, or compensation paid to transit system employees solely on the basis of operating transit vehicles in the municipality on an irregular basis, and declares an emergency. Effective: March 6, 1996

HB 561 HORSE RACING (Blessing) Authorizes a track to receive additional simulcast horse races, establishes the Ohio combined simulcast horse racing purse pool, provides for the collection and distribution of fees and taxes relating to these simulcast races, and makes other changes in the Horse Racing and Satellite Facility Laws. Effective: September 19, 1996 (Allowed to become law without governor's signature)

HB 564 QUALIFIED IMMUNITY (Sines) Relative to qualified immunities from civil liability for equine activity sponsors, participants, professionals and other persons in connection with harm sustained by equine activity participants from inherent risks of an equine activity. Effective: March 3, 1997

HB 565 SPEED LIMITS (Bateman) Maintains on certain freeways the 55 or 65 mile per hour speed limits established for those freeways prior to Oct. 1, 1995, provides a procedure whereby the speed limit of 55 mph on a portion of such a freeway can be increased, provides a procedure whereby the speed limit of 65 mph on a portion of such a freeway can be decreased, establishes a procedure whereby the speed limit on certain rural, divided, multi-lane highways can be evaluated and increased up to 65 mph, authorizes the director of Transportation to establish a reasonable and safe prima-facie speed limit for any street or highway under the director's jurisdiction, and declares an emergency. Effective: February 29, 1996

HB 566 PEACE OFFICERS (Reid) Precludes the award of certificates of training to persons convicted of a felony, precludes the appointment or employment of such persons as peace officers, provides for the suspension or revocation after notice and hearing of the certificates of and the appointment or employment of peace officers who are convicted or plead guilty to a felony, grants investigators of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, while assisting a law enforcement authority, the same arrest authority as peace officers of that law enforcement authority, specifies the circumstances in which those investigators may render emergency assistance to a peace officer, and authorizes the Ohio Peace Officer Training Council executive director to certify and revoke certificates of qualified commanders at peace officer training schools. Effective: October 16, 1996

HB 567 INSANITY PLEA/LAND CONVEYANCE (Ogg) Eliminates provisions that specify that, if a person found not guilty by reason of insanity is committed, the Attorney General must represent the entity to which the person was committed at all hearings after the initial hearing; authorizes the conveyance of state-owned real estate in Scioto County to Lawrence County General Hospital, dba River Valley Health System; authorizes the conveyance of state-owned real estate in Warren County to the Shaker Run Golf Club in exchange for other real estate; authorizes the conveyance of state-owned real estate located in Hocking County to Robert K. and Kathy M. Shaw; authorizes the conveyance of state-owned real estate in Ashland County to the City of Ashland; and authorizes the conveyance of a parcel of state-owned real estate in Ross County to the City of Chillicothe in exchange for a parcel of real estate. Effective: October 29, 1996

HB 568 UNIVERSITY POLICE (Womer Benjamin) Permits a state university or college to establish a police or security force and permits a state university or college, including a state community college, to enter into an agreement to provide police services to another state university or college. Effective: November 6, 1996

HB 570 VEXATIOUS LITIGATORS (Mason) Creates a civil action to have certain habitual and persistent litigators declared vexatious litigators and authorizes court orders restricting their future commencement or continuous of litigation. Effective: March 18, 1997

HB 572 TRANSPORTATION DEPT. (Bateman) Reorganizes the Department of Transportation and authorizes the Department of Transportation to oversee the safety of rail fixed guideway systems. Effective: September 17, 1996 (Sections 3 & 4 on March 4, 1998)

HB 581 VETERANS' HOME (Carey) Creates the Veterans' Care Committee to study the feasibility of locating a veterans' home in southern Ohio. Effective: September 19, 1996

HB 586 RETIREMENT SYSTEMS (Batchelder) Requires the State Teachers Retirement System to pay interest on a withdrawal of member contributions due to death or termination of service and creates an alternative retirement system for academic or administrative employees of public institutions of higher education covered by the Public Employees Retirement System, the State Teachers Retirement System, or School Employees Retirement System. Effective: March 31, 1997

HB 591 SENTENCING COMMISSION (Taylor) Expands the membership and responsibilities of the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission. Effective: March 13, 1997

HB 595 DIALYSIS DRUGS (Van Vyven) Exempts the sale of peritoneal dialysis solutions from the requirements that registered pharmacists sell the drugs and control their pharmacies and permits retail sellers to sell peritoneal dialysis solutions under specified conditions. Effective: October 16, 1996

HB 601 SCHOOL DISCIPLINE (Gardner) Authorizes the boards of education of a school district to create alternative disciplinary K-12, permits boards of education to adopt certain policies related to student conduct, dress and discipline and parental education programs, increases parental liability for physical injury caused by a child to a maximum of $10,000, authorizes joint education service boards to add appointed members to these boards, makes failure to attend a required parental education program a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, and authorizes students to attend school without tuition payment in districts other than the districts where they are otherwise entitled to attend school if the superintendents of the districts involved agree that the attendance is justified. Effective: October 29, 1996

HB 614 COURT DECISION (Wise) Refutes the decision of the First District Court of Appeals of Ohio, Hamilton County, in State v. Wilson insofar as the decision failed to take judicial notice of the harmonized version of R.C. 2903.13 as amended by Am. Sub. SB 116 and Am. Sub. HB 571 of the 120th General Assembly and declares an emergency. Effective: June 17, 1996

HB 627 TAX INCREMENT FINANCING (Thomas) Permits impacted cities, under a tax increment financing ordinance, to use payments in lieu of taxes from a tax-exempt parcel to finance public improvements that do not directly benefit that parcel; requires notice to school boards 45 days, instead of 30 calendar days, in advance of granting certain development-motivated property tax exemptions; allows school boards to waive the requirement that they be notified of possible tax exemptions by the county, township, or municipal corporation granting the exemption; provides a manner for school districts to be held harmless for property tax exemptions granted under the municipal tax increment financing law; and declares an emergency. Effective: December 2, 1997 (Certain sections later - Line item veto)

HB 629 MRDD (Terwilleger) Makes changes in the laws regarding individuals with mental retardation, developmental disabilities, and mental illness. Effective: March 13, 1997

HB 644 PUBLIC OFFICIAL INTIMIDATION (Schuck) Permits the secretary of state to refuse to accept for filing or to record a document that is not authorized by the Revised Code to be filed or recorded with the secretary of state or that the secretary of state has reasonable cause to believe is materially false or fraudulent, permits a county recorder to record instruments of writing electronically and to refuse to record an instrument of writing if the instrument is not required or authorized by the Revised Code to be recorded or the county recorder has reasonable cause to believe the instrument is materially false or fraudulent; permits the clerk of a court of record to refuse to accept for filing and to refuse to docket and index a document that is not required or authorized to be filed or to be docketed and indexed with the clerk or that the clerk has reasonable cause to believe is materially false or fraudulent; provides for judicial review when the secretary of state refuses to accept a document for filing or to record a document, a county recorder refuses to record an instrument of writing, or the clerk of a court of record refuses to accept a document for filing or refuses to docket and indexing a document, provides qualified civil immunity to the secretary of state, a county recorder, and a clerk of a court of record, under certain circumstances; expands the offense of falsification to prohibit knowingly filing or recording a false document with a county recorder or the clerk of a court of record; expands the offense of intimidation to prohibit knowingly filing, recording, or otherwise using a materially false or fraudulent writing with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner in an attempt to influence, intimidate, or hinder a public servant, party official, or witness in the discharge of the person's duty; creates the offense of knowingly using sham legal process; authorizes a victim of the expanded offense of falsification, the expanded offense of intimidation, or the offense of using sham legal process to commence a civil action for damages and for reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other expenses incurred as a result of bringing the civil action; authorizes a county recorder to keep a record of living wills and durable powers of attorney for health care; and permits a county recorder to distribute free of charge copies of the printed forms for a living will and durable power of attorney for health care. Effective: November 6, 1996

HB 651 FERTILIZER (Haines) Revises the law governing fertilizers and liming materials. Effective: October 29, 1996

HB 668 SCHOOL RETIREMENT (Van Vyven) Allows the payment of restitution to a victim of a sex offense committed by a member of a public retirement system in the course of employment from the member's contributions, or pension, annuity, or allowance and declares an emergency. Effective: December 6, 1996

HB 670 AGENCY SUNSET (Terwilleger) Abolishes, retains and changes the name of certain agencies; repeals criminal penalties for violating the fuel conservation standards or the energy conservation standards adopted by the Board of Building Standards; extends until January 1, 1998, the moratorium on the issuance of new licenses of manufacturers and wholesalers of fireworks; temporarily authorizes a special election on December 10, 1996, exclusively for the purpose of allowing certain municipal corporation property tax levies to appear on the ballot; and declares an emergency. Effective: December 2, 1996 (Certain sections later)

HB 676 VEHICLE SEIZURES (Core) Modifies the definition of the term "vehicle owner" for purposes of the motor vehicle pre-trial seizure and post-conviction immobilization provisions, allows courts to prohibit the registration of a vehicle in an offender's name during the time that the offender's driver's license or operating privilege is suspended, and allows a court to fine an offender the value of a vehicle that has been ordered to be criminally forfeited to the state if the vehicle has been assigned or transferred under certain circumstances. Effective: October 4, 1996 (Certain sections on other dates)

HB 710 WELFARE CORRECTION (Lawrence) Revises the law governing the Adult Emergency Assistance, Aid to Dependent Children, Disability Assistance, Food Stamps, JOBS and Medicaid programs; accelerates the effective dates of certain Revised Code sections concerning child support enforcement and declares an emergency. Effective: June 11, 1996 (Certain provisions on other dates)

HB 748 CAPITAL APPROPRIATIONS (Johnson) Makes capital appropriations for the biennium beginning July 1, 1996 and ending June 30, 1998. Effective: June 18, 1996 (Certain provisions on September 17, 1996 - Certain line items vetoed)

• Am. (Amends): Indicates the chapter of the Ohio Revised Code that the bill seeks to amend.
• En. (Enacts): Indicates the chapter of the Ohio Revised Code that the bill seeks to enact.
• Rep. (Repeals): Indicates chapter of the Ohio Revised Code that the bill seeks to repeal.

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