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SENATE |
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SENATE |
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Information Pertinent to Legislative and State Department Activities Since 1906 |
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005
PASSED
HB 11 VETERAN DIPLOMAS/SCHOOL FUEL (Schlichter) to grant high school diplomas to certain veterans of the Vietnam Conflict and to permit school districts, educational service centers, and county MR/DD boards in fiscal year 2006 to apply to use funds appropriated for school bus purchases to pay the cost of purchasing fuel for buses. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
31-0
HB 79 TEACHER MISCONDUCT (Raga) To require that information about specified professional misconduct or child abuse or neglect committed by a person licensed by the State Board of Education be submitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to require the State Board to request a criminal records check prior to renewing an educator license, and to require the State Board to request a criminal records check every five years for a person teaching under an eight-year professional teaching certificate or permanent teaching certificate issued under former law. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
31-0
HB 108 VICTIM'S RIGHTS LAW (Hagan) To allow certain victims of an accident proximately caused by a person committing OVI to receive the rights of a victim under the Victim's Rights Law. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
31-0 (Amended-clerk's) Earlier REPORTED-AMENDED (No testimony)
HB 162 COMMUNITY CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES (Peterson) To revise the law governing community-based correctional facilities. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
31-0 Earlier REPORTED-SUBSTITUTE
HB 209 LIQUOR PERMIT ELIGIBILITY (Combs) To qualify the owner or operator of a community arts center for issuance of a D-5h liquor permit and to create an additional qualification under which a D-5j liquor permit may be issued within a community entertainment district. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
31-0 Earlier REPORTED-AMENDED
SB 40 CHIROPRACTIC SOLICITATIONS (Jordan) Regarding solicitation of chiropractic business. Full Text
28-3 (Wachtmann, Goodman & Jacobson)
SB 117 CRIMINAL FINDINGS (Mallory) To provide that a final judgment, entered after a trial or upon a plea of guilty in certain criminal actions generally precludes the offender from denying any fact essential to sustain that judgment when entered in evidence in a civil proceeding that is based on the criminal act. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
31-0 Earlier REPORTED-AMENDED (No testimony)
SB 141 DUI SUSPENSIONS (Hottinger) To increase the administrative license suspension periods for persons who are arrested for OVI and refuse a request of a law enforcement officer to consent to a chemical test of the person's whole blood, blood serum or plasma, breath, or urine to determine its alcohol content. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
28-3 (Roberts, Brady & Prentiss) Earlier REPORTED-AMENDED
SB 153 MAUMEE RIVER BRIDGE NAME (Wachtmann) To designate a bridge on State Route 108 over the Maumee River as the "Henry County Veterans Bridge." Full Text Gongwer Coverage
31-0 Earlier REPORTED-NO TESTIMONY
SB 171 NORTHAMPTON COURT JURISDICTION (Coughlin) To clarify that the former township of Northampton is no longer within the jurisdiction of the Akron Municipal Court. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
31-0 Earlier REPORTED-AMENDED (No testimony)
SENATE CONCURS IN HOUSE AMENDMENTS
SB 167 EMINENT DOMAIN MORATORIUM (Grendell) To establish, until December 31, 2006, a moratorium on the use of eminent domain by any entity of the state government or any political subdivision of the state to take, without the owner's consent, private property that is in an unblighted area when the primary purpose for the taking is economic development that will ultimately result in ownership of the property being vested in another private person, to create the Legislative Task Force to Study Eminent Domain and Its Impact on Land Use Planning in the State, and to declare an emergency. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
Emergency: 31-0; Concurrence: 31-0
CONFERENCE REPORT ADOPTED
HB 122 LOTTERY PRIZES (Wagoner) To prohibit the claiming and payment of a lottery prize award with a value in excess of $599 until the beneficial owner's name, address, and Social Security number are disclosed to the State Lottery Commission, to make changes in the procedure for the deduction of support from lottery prize awards, to change the income tax withholding percentage for certain lottery prize award payments, to modify the basis upon which the withholding computation is made, to require that final, nonappealable unpaid judgments be deducted from certain unpaid lottery prize award payments pursuant to a specified procedure, and to specify the method of payment of lottery prize award installments. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
31-0
SENATE INSISTS ON ITS AMENDMENTS
HB 107 TEACHER EDUCATION STANDARDS (Setzer) To require the State Board of Education to adopt standards that require the curricula of teacher preparation programs to be aligned with the state academic content standards and with the value-added progress dimension developed by the Department of Education; to extend the deadline for the Department and the Educator Standards Board to propose a career ladder program for teachers; and to set aside $247,000 in each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007 for the Center for Learning Excellence. Full Text
ADOPTED
SCR 17 SUDAN (Jacobson) To focus on the Darfur genocide, which the U.S. Department of State has concluded is genocide, occurring n the Darfur region of Sudan, to encourage the U.S. to continue its support of humanitarian efforts in and contributions of humanitarian aid to the region; to encourage the U.S. to lead multilateral efforts to bring those responsible for the egregious human rights violations to justice and to encourage Ohio companies and institutions, multinational corporations operating in Ohio and agencies and political subdivisions of the state to divest themselves of interests in any companies that conduct business in Sudan. Full Text Gongwer Coverage
31-0 Earlier REPORTED-NO TESTIMONY
INTRODUCED
SB 214 VETERAN HONORS (Dann) To require the Director of the Governor's Office of Veterans Affairs to develop the Ohio Veterans Legion of Honor Program. Am. & En. 5902.02, 5902.08 & 5902.09 Full Text
SB 215 AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES (Gardner) To ensure that investment earnings of the Agricultural Commodity Depositors Fund are credited to that Fund. Am. Sec. 312.06 of Am. Sub. HB 66 Full Text
SB 216 APPOINTMENT BOOKS (Dann) To require certain state officers to keep a personal calendar and an appointment book containing certain information and to provide that their calendars and appointment books are public records subject to inspection and copying. Am. & En. 3.18 & 149.43 Full Text
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE
Health, Human Services & Aging:
HB 257 NURSING HOME VACCINATIONS (Hagan) To require nursing homes and other homes for the elderly to offer residents vaccinations against influenza and pneumonia and to require hospitals to offer certain patients vaccinations against influenza and pneumonia. Full Text
SB 213 COUNSELOR CUSTODY (Clancy) To permit a licensed professional clinical counselor to take certain persons into custody and transport those persons to a hospital. Full Text
Highways & Transportation:
SB 211 SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES (Carey) To create "Gold Star Family" license plates and to permit local jurisdictions to request the Director of Transportation to designate a name for a bridge that is part of the highway system. Full Text
Ways & Means & Economic Development:
HB 142 DEBT COLLECTION (Willamowski) To authorize the Tax Commissioner to collect from state income tax refunds certain debts owed to courts, counties, municipal corporations, and townships, and to provide "innocent spouse" relief from joint and several liability for income tax under prescribed circumstances. Full Text
SB 212 CAT TAX FEE (Schuler) To eliminate the commercial activity tax one-time registration fee. Full Text
COMMITTEE HEARING
ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES
SB 196 LAKE ERIE DRILLING (Brady) To ban the taking or removal of oil or natural gas from and under the bed of Lake Erie. Full Text
CONTINUED
In sponsor testimony, Sen. Brady noted that the Governor's executive order banning drilling under Lake Erie is set to expire in January 2007 and that rising gas prices have caused renewed interest in drilling. He said ODNR's estimated reserves of natural gas under the lake equal only 2% of the state's annual needs. "However, with this 2% potential of natural gas comes irreparable harm to the area's tourism, the threat of oil spills, damage to marine industries, health risks, and injury to the environment.... There are no quick solutions to the state's current energy crisis. Instead of despoiling Lake Erie, Ohio should take a long-term approach to the present situation."
Sen. Spada said that Canada allows drilling in the lake and he hadn't heard of any disastrous spills. Sen. Hagan pointed to a report showing 51 incidents of natural gas leaks and 83 oil spills on the lake.
SB 193 LAND RESOURCE LEASES (Armbruster) To create the Oil, Gas and Timber Leasing Board and to establish a procedure by which the Board may enter into leases for oil and gas production and timber harvesting on land owned or under the control of a state agency for the purpose of providing funding for capital costs for the agency. Full Text
SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
Chairman Niehaus announced that the panel discussion would be postponed until next week's meeting.
SB 191 MINERAL SEVERANCE TAX (Mumper) To revise the distribution of revenues from the severance tax on minerals, to exempt industrial minerals mining operations from the state mine safety laws and instead provide for the adoption of federal mine safety requirements for those operations, to revise the zoning laws concerning industrial minerals mining, and to make other changes governing the mining of industrial minerals. Full Text
CONTINUED
The committee heard testimony from five proponents of the measure, all representing various industry groups. Pat Jacomet, executive director of the Ohio Aggregates and Industrial Minerals Association, said aggregate mining is critical to the economic recovery of the state and the proposal would reduce the costs of aggregate which double for every ten miles it is transported.
The OAIMA's legal counsel Brian Barger gave detailed testimony saying his organization worked with the County Commissioner's Association and Ohio Township Trustees' Association in drafting the bill which would change zoning laws to address new and expanded surface mining operations with the conditional use process. "This legislation does not take away any authority local governments currently possess and, in many cases, actually strengthens those powers." He added that the bill establishes an infrastructure impact fund for the maintenance of roads near mining operations.
He said new legislation was necessary because in the last 10 years the industry has met with strong resistance from city people who have moved to the countryside where the majority of mining operations are located.
Angela Van Fossen, director of legislative affairs for the Ohio Contractors Association, said the legislation is especially important now, "Because with the addition of new funding from the federal highway reauthorization, the increase in Ohio's gas tax, and the anticipated passage of Issue 1, Ohio has a great deal of upcoming construction for which we'll need adequate supplies of aggregates." She added that taxpayer money pays for more than half of the total aggregates sold.
Kenneth Caubble, executive director of the Ohio Ready Mixed Concrete Association, said the only other option was to stop building or to import aggregates, neither of which would be good for the state's economy.
Fred Frecker, executive director of Flexible Pavements of Ohio, said the proposal "only seeks to focus these decisions on relevant criteria rather than emotional feeling so rational decisions can be made."
Jan L. Smolinski, a resident of Yellow Springs, said the measure would toss out new compromise regulations on surface mining agreed upon a year ago. "To throw out all of these regulations in favor of a 'one size fits all' federal standard is an insult."
He contradicted the often-repeated claim that the cost of aggregate increases exponentially for every 10 miles traveled. He also took issue with the industry's claims of an aggregate shortage in Ohio noting that other states recycle asphalt. "Because of its aggregate abundance, Ohio still finds it easier to fill construction debris landfill with our old roads and then convert irreplaceable farmland into larger quarries to produce more future rubble," he said, adding that Ohio is losing farmland at a rate second only to Texas. "It seems strange that we'd destroy our future for a bucket of rock or a pile of coal."
HB 100 SOLID WASTE FEES (Taylor) To authorize a solid waste management district to exempt automotive shredder residue from the district's generation fee. Full Text
REPORTED (No testimony)
HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES & AGING
SB 175 ELDER ABUSE (Goodman) To require that each county department of job and family services prepare a memorandum of understanding setting forth the normal operating procedures to be used when investigating abuse, neglect, and exploitation reports of older adults. Full Text
CONTINUED (No testimony)
SB 206 HPRS DEFERRED COMPENSATION (Coughlin) To provide for the establishment of the State Highway Patrol Retirement System deferred retirement option plan. Full Text
CONTINUED
Chairman Coughlin said the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) is an alternative retirement system that would allow members of the Highway Patrol to continue working and defer benefits that otherwise would be paid. Legislation that took effect last month increased the mandatory retirement age for troopers from 55 to 60. Currently, troopers reach the maximum pension benefit level after 34 years of service. Those who join the patrol at age 21 achieve the maximum benefit level at age 55. "The trooper in this situation retires rather than continue working without increasing pension benefits. DROP is the answer to this dilemma," Sen. Coughlin said.
Troopers between 48 and 57 years of age with at least 20 years of service would be eligible to enter the DROP program. They would have to make a three to eight year commitment of participation. Once enrolled, employee and employer pension contributions would flow into a trooper's DROP account. Sen. Coughlin said the DROP is drafted as a neutral cost benefit, with mandatory actuarial studies every five years to ensure it's cost neutrality. "The patrol will also save money on recruitment of new officers by extending the longevity of proven troopers already in the force," he said.
SB 98 ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE (Clancy) Regarding provision of complementary or alternative health care services. Full Text
CONTINUED
Dr. Jeffrey Bachtel, a family practitioner from Tallmadge, delivered opposition testimony on behalf of the Ohio State Medical Association and the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Bachtel said alternative and complementary therapy is currently being taught in some medical schools and in continuing medical education programs. "Unfortunately, the benefit of these treatments is largely anecdotal. Only a handful of herbal remedies have been studied in well-designed clinical trials," he said. "These herbal remedies technically are not drugs, but they clearly have drug-like effects." Dr. Bachtel said the bill would allow "virtually anyone" to claim to have sufficient knowledge and expertise in their use without any specific educational requirements or oversight by the state or any regulatory agency. "If alternative and complementary care is indeed beneficial and necessary, then it should be subject to the same level of oversight and regulations as all other forms of health care," he said.
Judith Brachman, the consumer member of the Ohio Board of Nursing and former director of the Ohio Department of Aging, said the board opposes the bill because it exempts from state licensure a specific group of health care practitioners. "This bill not only permits unregulated health care, but by its very nature actually endorses these providers, whose techniques and substances may, at the very least, delay proper treatment, or even more worrisome, impose actual harm on the unknowing consumer," Ms. Brachman said. She said the bill would put the public at risk and in danger.
Executive Director Richard Whitehouse of the State Medical Board of Ohio said there is more involved in the legislation than consumer choice regarding healthcare. "In the end, this well intentioned legislation is a giant step backwards in terms of government's obligation to protect the public," Mr. Whitehouse said. He predicted it would clear the way for the return of "snake oil tonics and elixirs sold by traveling medicine shows," the kind that government drove out of business a century ago. "Putting witchcraft, voodoo, and urine therapy on a par with legitimate medical practices by declaring it to be 'the public policy of the state', and then removing any meaningful oversight, will put Ohio citizens at risk," Mr. Whitehouse said.
Gary Fetgatter delivered opposition testimony on behalf of the Ohio Provider Coalition, a group of health care associations representing more than 70,000 providers. Members include the Ohio Podiatric Medical Association, of which Mr. Fetgatter is executive director, the OSMA, the Ohio Chiropractic Association, the Ohio Pharmacy Association, and the Ohio Osteopathic Association, among others. "While we have a number of concerns with this bill, our opposition can be summarized in one statement: health care providers in Ohio should be regulated," Mr. Fetgatter said.
The Ohio Chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association said the bill was deeply flawed, and would set back the regulation of massage therapy. John Spack of Columbus, a licensed massage therapist, said that while Ohio was the first state to license massage therapy in 1915, the law affords "very weak" title protection. "If SB 98 becomes law it says that anyone who completes any unspecified course of study in massage therapy may call themselves not just a masseur, but a massage therapist," Mr. Spack said.
SB 188 DRUG COMPOUNDING (Grendell) To require the Board of Pharmacy to establish a drug compounding licensing program for terminal distributors of dangerous drugs. Full Text
CONTINUED
George Fiderio, president of Teregen Labs Pharmaceuticals in Willoughby, defined compounding as the practice of combining, mixing, or altering ingredients to create a customized medication for an individual patient in response to a licensed practitioner's prescription. Pharmacists at Teregen Labs compound medications that physicians use daily, but that manufacturing companies no longer produce for financial reasons. Mr. Fiderio said he hopes to expand his company to become a manufacturer of a drug that it now specializes in compounding, an endeavor that would take considerable time and money. "And until Ohio creates a regulatory framework for a company like Teregen-that truly falls in the middle between adding flavoring to an antibiotic for a child and large-scale drug manufacturing-it will be difficult for me to reach my goal," he said.
Christopher Kiel, a pharmacist with a retail drug store chain who previously was director of pharmacy for Teregen Labs, said the bill would allow a company that can compound as a majority of its business to follow special regulations and safety checks to produce a quality drug. "This bill has a number of important provisions to ensure safety while allowing the opportunity for an innovative, high-tech company that provides economical health care alternatives to grow," Mr. Kiel said.
Janice Lipscomb, community development manager for the City of Willoughby, provided the link between passage of the bill and economic growth. She said the bill would allow Teregen to continue to create jobs and investment in Willoughby. "There are other states in the country that have legislation in place to allow Teregen to operate successfully," Ms. Lipscomb said. "The most important part of my job is to retain businesses and help them expand. I don't want to lose this business to another state."
HB 87 PHYSICIAN LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM (Willamowski) To require the Director of Health to designate state correctional institutions as health resource shortage areas for the purposes of the Physician Loan Repayment Program. Full Text
CONTINUED (No testimony)
HCR 13 MEDICAID (Hoops) To memorialize the Congress of the United States and the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to reform the Medicaid program to ensure the programs' solvency for future generations Full Text
REPORTED (No testimony)
HB 143 DENTAL HYGIENIST ANESTHESIA (Willamowski) To allow a dental hygienist under the supervision of a dentist to administer local anesthesia to a patient. Full Text
CONTINUED
Rep. Willamowski said 36 states already delegate administration of local anesthesia to registered dental hygienists. "This proposal alleviates the need for the dentist to leave one patient during a dental procedure to administer anesthesia to another patient," he said. Dental hygiene students currently are exposed to at least 30 hours of pharmacology, the study of drugs and their effects. The bill provides for additional education necessary for a hygienist to administer local anesthesia. The bill cleared the House without opposition.
STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT & VETERANS AFFAIRS
HB 162 COMMUNITY CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES (Peterson) To revise the law governing community-based correctional facilities. Full Text
REPORTED-SUBSTITUTE
The bill received unanimous support in committee and later cleared the Senate floor. The substitute bill:
--retains the composition of community-based correctional facility (CBCF) governing boards;
--declares that Judicial Advisory Board and CBCF board members are public considered officials for the purpose of state ethics laws;
--removes immunity language for governing board members and redefines CBCFs as political subdivisions in regard to sovereign immunity laws;
--requires CBCF residents, in most cases, to pay their own medical expenses;
--declares that CBCFs must follow competitive bidding procedures for the purchase of goods and services, and;
--requires governing board members to attend orientation and mandatory ethics training.
Before the vote, Ohio Ethics Commission Director David Freel told the panel he is amenable to the new version, telling the panel the commission generally feels that disclosure requirements should apply to entities that use public funds to provide public services.
Differing opinions, however, were offered by Quintin Lindsmith and Brooke Cheney, both representing the Ohio Community Corrections Association.
Mr. Lindsmith said provisions requiring disclosure of financial holdings of volunteer board members takes state ethics laws farther then they have ever gone, arguing that the change would serve as a disincentive for community leaders to serve. He said the bill adds "all burden and no benefit" to the role of board member, suggesting that the action would be struck down in courts. "You have a phenomenally ambiguous statute here," he said.
Mr. Cheney also noted that the change subjects volunteer board members - many of whom he said bring significant benefits to boards - to public scrutiny. He urged the panel to delay the vote, noting that time pressures are non-existent because CBCF contracts aren't up until June.
HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORTATION
SB 153 MAUMEE RIVER BRIDGE NAME (Wachtmann) To designate a bridge on State Route 108 over the Maumee River as the "Henry County Veterans Bridge." Full Text
REPORTED-NO TESTIMONY
SB 121 BRIDGE NAMING (Hottinger) Designates a bridge on State Route 13 in Licking County as the "K.I.A. Memorial Bridge" and to declare an emergency. Full Text
REPORTED-AMENDED
The amendment removed the emergency clause from the bill.
SB 114 PURPLE HEART TRAIL (Goodman) To designate Interstate Routes 70 and 71 as the "Purple Heart Trail." Full Text
REPORTED-NO TESTIMONY
SB 184 ISLAND SPEED LIMITS (Gardner) To establish a 35 mile-per-hour speed limit for highways outside municipal corporations within island jurisdictions. Full Text
CONTINUED
Sen. Gardner said the Ottawa County sheriff's office told him of speeding problems on township roads on Lake Erie Islands, particularly Put-In-Bay. He hopes the measure can be adopted so limits will be in place next spring. Sen. Padgett said she has been asked repeatedly to allow townships to set speed limits in Amish areas. Sen. Gardner said he's not sure how enabling legislation would result in uniformity between several townships although he would favor allowing speed limits to be adopted locally.
SB 163 BICYCLE HELMETS (Roberts) To require bicycle operators and passengers under 18 years of age to wear protective helmets when the bicycle is operated on a roadway and to establish the Bicycle Safety Fund to be used by the Department of Public Safety to assist low-income families in the purchase of bicycle helmets. Full Text
CONTINUED
HB 56 TRAFFICLIGHT CAMERAS (Raussen) To allow the use of a traffic law photo-monitoring device to detect traffic law violations only if a law enforcement officer is present at the location of the device and issues tickets at the time and location of the violations. Full Text
CONTINUED
John Gideon, president of the Central Ohio Bicycle Advocacy Coalition, opposed the bill saying local governments should be allowed to decide on their own enforcement policies without state restrictions. Police should be allowed to use the latest technology to enforce traffic laws, he said. Ric Oxender, representing the Ohio Conference of AAA Clubs, said the organization favors traffic signal cameras if they are not used just to generate money for local governments and that penalties are levied against a driver, not a vehicle owner, among other concerns. He said he's not sure cameras can identify drivers and said that's an issue with citations against owners of leased vehicles.
SB 174 BATEMAN HIGHWAY (Niehaus) To designate a portion of State Route 131 within Clermont County as the "Sam Bateman Memorial Highway." Full Text
REPORTED-NO TESTIMONY
JUDICIARY-CIVIL JUSTICE
HB 144 PRIVILEGE WAIVERS (Buehrer) To waive the physician-patient and attorney-client privileges in probate cases under certain circumstances. Full Text
CONTINUED (No testimony)
Chairman Goodman announced parties were still working on a substitute version, therefore, the bill was continued until a future hearing date.
SB 171 NORTHAMPTON COURT JURISDICTION (Coughlin) To clarify that the former township of Northampton is no longer within the jurisdiction of the Akron Municipal Court. Full Text
REPORTED-AMENDED (No testimony)
The amendment, by Sen. Zurz, authorizes an additional common pleas judge in Summit County She said the new judgeship was supported by all parties and the new language authorizes only one new position, eligible for election in 2006, even though the county could be eligible for as many as three additional judges based on caseload and backlog.
HB 226 COURT COSTS (Hoops) To authorize the legislative authority of a municipal corporation to establish a schedule of fees to be taxed as costs in a civil, criminal, or traffic proceeding in a municipal court for services performed by officers or employees of the municipal corporation's police department or marshal's office. Full Text
REPORTED
Support for the bill was offered by Napoleon City Law Director David Grahn. He said the bill simply allows a municipal corporation, by and through their local councils, to establish a schedule of fees associated with delivery of legal papers in civil, criminal or traffic actions or proceedings in municipal court. He said the fees are not unlike those currently authorized by law to be charged when performed by sheriffs and constables. He said the bill further will direct the clerk of counts to pay the fees to the specified municipal corporation's general fund. Mr. Grahn said the bill simply puts municipal officers on a level playing field with township constables and sheriffs.
HB 246 POWER OF ATTORNEY (Oelslager) To permit a surviving spouse to take a motorcycle as one of the two automobiles the surviving spouse may receive outside of probate, to create a statutory form for the creation of a power of attorney, to set forth the general powers of an attorney in fact under a power of attorney, and to provide for the construction of the powers of an attorney in fact under a power of attorney created by use of the statutory form. Full Text
REPORTED-AMENDED (No testimony)
The amendment, offered by Sen. Wachtmann and with the blessing of the Ohio Retirement Study Council, provides for the creation of a statutory power of attorney relative to the withdrawal of funds from state retirement plans.
HB 136 CHILD SUPPORT (Gilb) Relative to paternity actions and interest on child support arrearages. Full Text
CONTINUED (No testimony)
Questions surfaced surrounding an amendment attempting to clarify interest calculations on lump sum judgments and Chairman Goodman delayed further action on the bill until discussions could be completed with the bill's prime sponsor. The amendment was designed to clarify calculation of interest on a lump sum payment from the date judgment is rendered until paid. Controversy surrounded a provision providing that child support enforcement agencies would not be responsible for calculating interest but only responsible for posting the judgment and making sure it was collected and then paid back out. Sen. Dann suggested that, in fact, CSEAs should be more proactive in determining interest charges and represent children and families in making sure collections are appropriately made.
SB 117 CRIMINAL FINDINGS (Mallory) To provide that a final judgment, entered after a trial or upon a plea of guilty in certain criminal actions generally precludes the offender from denying any fact essential to sustain that judgment when entered in evidence in a civil proceeding that is based on the criminal act. Full Text
REPORTED-AMENDED (No testimony)
The amendment clarifies information available to the court. Sen. Dann, who offered the amendment on behalf of the bill's sponsor, Sen. Mallory, explained the amendment was intended to give the best information available to the courts while speeding up the process of civil cases following a criminal conviction. He said the amendment provides that both evidence from a criminal conviction and the fact that an appeal is pending are admissible in the civil proceeding.
SB 181 PRICE GOUGING (Padgett) To prohibit under the Consumer Sales Practices Act the selling or leasing of specified goods or services during a federal or state emergency at a price substantially higher than that which occurred in the 30 days preceding the emergency. Full Text
CONTINUED
Doug Crew, legislative liaison for Attorney General Petro, testified in support of the measure saying the measure gives the attorney general specific authority to investigate reported price gougings during periods of a federal or state disaster declaration. He said the legislation would put a price gouging statute on the books and give retailers parameters as to what the attorney general would be watching for when investigating reported price gouging, such as selling or leasing specified goods or services during the declared disaster at prices substantially higher than the prices in place 30 days preceding the emergency. Mr. Crew reported Attorney General Petro supports the change in the Consumer Sales Practice Act and believes the legislation would help protect consumers from price gouging situations when a national or state emergency takes place. Goods and services covered in the bill include consumer food items, goods or services used for emergency cleanup, emergency supplies, medical supplies, home heating oil, propane, building materials, housing, repair or reconstruction services, transportation, freight and storage services and gasoline or other motor fuels.
Sen. Wachtmann cautioned that the bill could impact certain marketplace actions. Noting time he spent helping victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, the senator reported that he observed people waiting in lines at gas stations only to top off their tanks when other people were in line because they legitimately needed the product. He suggested that market prices could have kept some people out of those lines making the situation more manageable. "Sometimes the marketplace has reasons to do certain things others may think to be unreasonable," he said.
HB 235 CORONER'S LAW (Wagner) To make changes to the Coroner's Law and associated provisions of the Death and Fetal Certificate Law, to require that the rules of the State Medical Board allow a coroner's investigator who is not a physician to recite facts permitting a physician to pronounce a person dead without a personal examination, and to remove the prohibition against a sheriff or coroner practicing as an attorney at law in a court. Full Text
CONTINUED
Rep. Wagner presented sponsor testimony noting the bill makes several changes and codifications in somewhat antiquated coroner's law that will allow them to better perform their statutory duties. Among the updates: a provision allowing coroners to contract for deputy coroner services allowing coroners in smaller and medium size counties to attract deputies when the coroner is out of the area; a provision to allow coroners to appoint certain types of employees, such as investigators, even though they do not maintain a morgue in the county; a provision shielding coroner photos, suicide notes, preliminary autopsy and investigative notes from the public; clarification of fetal death reporting and certification; submission of evidence gathered in an investigation to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation for assisting in determining whether the death resulted from criminal activity; and adding coroner investigators to the list of competent observers for "pronouncement of death" situations. Rep. Wagner also noted the bill, for the first time, adds a definition of "autopsy" to the code.
Governor's appointment: Again without minority party assistance, the committee recommended to the full Senate confirmation of the appointment of Aaron Wheeler Sr. as a member of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
JUDICIARY-CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SB 141 DUI SUSPENSIONS (Hottinger) To increase the administrative license suspension periods for persons who are arrested for OVI and refuse a request of a law enforcement officer to consent to a chemical test of the person's whole blood, blood serum or plasma, breath, or urine to determine its alcohol content. Full Text
REPORTED-AMENDED
The committee adopted a previously discussed amendment offered by Sen. Dann. Generally, it "equalizes" DUI and the possession of marijuana for juvenile offenders to allow juvenile judges and prosecutors to divert juveniles caught with small amounts of marijuana into treatment. Sen. Dann explained current law treats possession of a small amount of marijuana as a minor misdemeanor that is not a delinquency offense where judges have the "90-day hammer" to get juveniles into treatment and rehabilitation programs.
Staff Lieutenant Shawn Davis, commander of the Jackson Ohio State Highway Patrol Post, said one frustrating issue law enforcement continues to run into is people refusing to submit to a chemical test when stopped for OVI. Citing statistics showing a growing trend of refusals - over 20,000 in 2004 and more than 99,000 in the past five years - Lt. Davis said the tactic of refusing to submit to a chemical test continues to hamper law enforcement officers in gaining OVI convictions and currently has no correlation to progressive OVI penalties. He concluded the patrol believes the legislation could ultimately improve highway safety and aid in enforcement efforts to remove impaired drivers from the roadways.
HB 108 VICTIM'S RIGHTS LAW (Hagan) To allow certain victims of an accident proximately caused by a person committing OVI to receive the rights of a victim under the Victim's Rights Law. Full Text
REPORTED-AMENDED (No testimony)
The committee adopted two separate amendments before reporting the bill. One amendment expands coverage to include accidents involving underage drinkers and also to include accidents involving operators of aircraft and watercraft and where there is treatment administered at the scene. The second amendment expands the coverage to all drivers under the age of 21 and not just those under the influence of alcohol.
SB 152 CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS (Clancy) To include "tax exempt fire museum" within the Gambling Law's definition of "charitable organization." Full Text
CONTINUED (No testimony)
Governor's appointments: The panel, again on a routine party-line vote, recommended confirmation of the appointments of Stanley Borgia, James Canepa and Kathleen Sommers to the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission; and David Gangwer and Ronald O'Brien to the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission.
The vote prompted Sen. Goodman to question members of the minority party continuing to vote against the appointments of "highly qualified and experienced" individuals. Referring to the appointees' resumes, he said he couldn't understand why anyone would vote against any of the appointments given the continued need to have qualified people serve on the various boards and commissions.
Assistant Minority Leader Mark Mallory reiterated that the minority party was not questioning the competence and qualifications of the appointees but they were voting against all appointments based on "broader questions about the process." He said it was about having access to appointees earlier in the process and being able to bring them in for thorough questioning. "It's very important we make this point. We want to be a full and equal partner in the confirmation process," he said mentioning no one in particular.
The spat began following Governor Taft's appointment of Development Director Bruce Johnson as lieutenant governor who was not subject to a confirmation hearing. It intensified following the governor's conviction of ethics violations and his continuation in office including making ongoing appointments that must come before the Senate for advise and consent.
FINANCE & FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
SCR 17 SUDAN (Jacobson) To focus on the Darfur genocide, which the U.S. Department of State has concluded is genocide, occurring n the Darfur region of Sudan, to encourage the U.S. to continue its support of humanitarian efforts in and contributions of humanitarian aid to the region; to encourage the U.S. to lead multilateral efforts to bring those responsible for the egregious human rights violations to justice and to encourage Ohio companies and institutions, multinational corporations operating in Ohio and agencies and political subdivisions of the state to divest themselves of interests in any companies that conduct business in Sudan. Full Text
REPORTED-NO TESTIMONY
SB 210 THIRD FRONTIER/STEM CELL (Jordan) To impose restrictions on the Third Frontier Commission making grants or loans for activities involving embryonic stem cell research. Full Text
CONTINUED-NO TESTIMONY
HB 81 CREDIT UNION LAW (Smith, G.) To make changes in the Credit Union Law relating to fields of membership, expansion of authorities, meetings of directors, compensation of officers, fees and interest chargeable on loans, record keeping, eligible investments, liquidity fund requirements, public records, amendments to articles, and use of name; to authorize accounts to be held by credit unions under laws relating to probate and intestate succession; to authorize a credit union insured by a credit union guaranty corporation to maintain interest-bearing trust accounts on behalf of attorneys; and to authorize credit union designees acting for or on the premises of a credit union to be appointed as police officers. Full Text
CONTINUED
Chairman Carey said he planned to vote the bill out next week unless there were objections. He said the panel would meet to hear the bill and predatory lending measures regardless of whether session is canceled or not.
Sponsor Rep. Geoff Smith said his bill would revise laws that were last updated in 1987. "While the financial needs of credit union members have changed, the laws regulating credit unions have not," he said. "It is important to modernize our state laws to ensure credit unions have the necessary authority to serve their members in the best way possible."
Mr. Smith said his "consensus-driven" bill would: allow credit unions to provide guardianship accounts for members and probate accounts for deceased members; allow members to have retirement accounts and health savings accounts; allow K-12 students to be student members of a credit union; allow electronic means for meetings; exempt credit unions from the Consumer Sales Practices act and the Retail Installment Sales Act; require security personnel to go through peace officer training, and; expedite the granting of parity to state-chartered credit unions and banks to federally-chartered credit unions and banks.
Sen. Wilson questioned whether the payment of taxes should enter into a bill that appears to "level the playing field" with banks. "They want to be a bank, why don't they pay taxes like a bank," he said.
The sponsor responded with a question: Why don't banks want to be credit unions? He said that credit unions are different types of entities and are non-profit in nature
WAYS & MEANS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
HB 245 STATE VEHICLES/FUELS (Reinhard) To require that half of all motor vehicles purchased for state agency fleets be capable of using alternative fuels and makes other changes. Full Text
CONTINUED
Rep. Reinhard said the bill, almost identical to one sponsored by Sen. Mumper, would increase the use of cleaner fuel and reduce wasteful consumption to improve air quality. It would establish grants and tax incentives to increase retail supplies of biodiesel and ethanol fuel. Based on an estimated 150,000 flex fuel vehicles, Ohio consumers could save an estimated $37.5 million annually and much more as the number of vehicles increases, the sponsor said.
Still unknown, Mr. Reinhard said during questioning, is the source of money for grants and tax credits the bill would allow or their cost. Also up in the air is how a provision would work that allows biofuel users to obtain credits they could sell to others.
SB 208 MILITARY TAX EXEMPTION (Amstutz) To exempt from state and school district income taxation military pay and allowances received by individuals who are stationed outside Ohio and who do not have any immediate family members residing in Ohio. Full Text
CONTINUED
Chairman Amstutz said the bill was spurred by recent stories in The Columbus Dispatch about a military family that was billed for school income taxes although they have not lived in the state for 13 years although retaining a local address as required by the military. The bill would grant exemption to the state and school income taxes so long as the military member has no immediate family - spouse, dependent or person who claimed them as a dependent on their federal tax return - living in the state. He warned that covering the cost of the bill might be a problem although he's not sure yet of the impact of the measure.
SB 200 SCHOOL FUEL TAX (Hagan, R.) To exempt from the motor fuel tax any sales of motor fuel sold to school districts or educational service centers for school district or service center operations. Full Text
CONTINUED
Sen. Hagan said the bill would allow school districts an outright exemption to the entire 28-cents per gallon state gasoline tax. School districts now may get refunds of a six-cent tax increase adopted in 2003, an allowance he sponsored, and are exempt from the 18.4-cent federal tax. He presented Department of Education figures showing school fuel costs have gone from $41.52 million in 2004 to an estimated $57.88 million in 2005 as prices have skyrocketed. Educational service centers and MR/DD boards also would be granted the exemption. The tax raises $63 million per penny or nearly $1.8 billion that state and local governments share.
AGRICULTURE
HB 209 LIQUOR PERMIT ELIGIBILITY (Combs) To qualify the owner or operator of a community arts center for issuance of a D-5h liquor permit. Full Text
REPORTED-AMENDED
One amendment, explained by Chairman Mumper, would change percentage limits for liquor sales in establishments selling beer and wine. Another would allow liquor permits for community theaters under certain conditions. Sen. Wilson, the amendment sponsor, said the Youngstown Community Theater's membership fell by 4,600 when it lost its license but it has increased by 1,600 this year in anticipation of getting another license.
SB 189 SEED LAW (Grendell) To make changes to the Agricultural Seed Law. Full Text
CONTINUED
Chairman Mumper said the Department of Agriculture is in no rush so the bill will be held.
THE SENATE ADJOURNED UNTIL 11 A.M., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2005 (SKELETON SESSION)
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005
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