CHAPTER 5502: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

(A) The department of public safety shall administer and enforce the laws relating to the registration, licensing, sale, and operation of motor vehicles and the laws pertaining to the licensing of drivers of motor vehicles.

The department shall compile, analyze, and publish statistics relative to motor vehicle accidents and the causes of them, prepare and conduct educational programs for the purpose of promoting safety in the operation of motor vehicles on the highways, and conduct research and studies for the purpose of promoting safety on the highways of this state.

(B) The department shall administer the laws and rules relative to trauma and emergency medical services specified in Chapter 4765. of the Revised Code.

(C) The department shall administer and enforce the laws contained in Chapters 4301. and 4303. of the Revised Code and enforce the rules and orders of the liquor control commission pertaining to retail liquor permit holders.

(D) The department shall administer the laws governing the state emergency management agency and shall enforce all additional duties and responsibilities as prescribed in the Revised Code related to emergency management services.

(E) The department shall conduct investigations pursuant to Chapter 5101. of the Revised Code in support of the duty of the department of job and family services to administer food stamp programs throughout this state. The department of public safety shall conduct investigations necessary to protect the state’s property rights and interests in the food stamp program.

(F) The department of public safety shall enforce compliance with orders and rules of the public utilities commission and applicable laws in accordance with Chapters 4919., 4921., and 4923. of the Revised Code regarding commercial motor vehicle transportation safety, economic, and hazardous materials requirements.

(G) Notwithstanding Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code, the department of public safety may establish requirements for its enforcement personnel, including its enforcement agents described in section 5502.14 of the Revised Code, that include standards of conduct, work rules and procedures, and criteria for eligibility as law enforcement personnel.

(H) The department shall administer, maintain, and operate the Ohio criminal justice network. The Ohio criminal justice network shall be a computer network that supports state and local criminal justice activities. The network shall be an electronic repository for various data, which may include arrest warrants, notices of persons wanted by law enforcement agencies, criminal records, prison inmate records, stolen vehicle records, vehicle operator’s licenses, and vehicle registrations and titles.

(I) The department shall coordinate all homeland security activities of all state agencies and shall be a liaison between state agencies and local entities for those activities and related purposes.

(J) Beginning July 1, 2004, the department shall administer and enforce the laws relative to private investigators and security service providers specified in Chapter 4749. of the Revised Code.

(K) The department shall administer criminal justice services in accordance with sections 5502.61 to 5502.66 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003; 07-01-2004; 06-30-2005

(A) As used in this section, “department of public safety” and “department” include all divisions within the department of public safety.

(B) The director of the department of public safety is the chief executive and administrative officer of the department. The director may establish policies governing the department, the performance of its employees and officers, the conduct of its business, and the custody, use, and preservation of departmental records, papers, books, documents, and property. The director also may authorize and approve investigations to be conducted by any of the department’s divisions. Whenever the Revised Code imposes a duty upon or requires an action of the department, the director may perform the action or duty in the name of the department or direct such performance to be performed by the director’s designee.

(C) In addition to any other duties enumerated in the Revised Code, the director or the director’s designee shall do all of the following:

(1) Administer and direct the performance of the duties of the department;

(2) Pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, approve, adopt, and prescribe such forms and rules as are necessary to carry out the duties of the department;

(3) On behalf of the department and in addition to any authority the Revised Code otherwise grants to the department, have the authority and responsibility for approving and entering into contracts, agreements, and other business arrangements;

(4) Make appointments for the department as needed to comply with requirements of the Revised Code;

(5) Approve employment actions of the department, including appointments, promotions, discipline, investigations, and terminations;

(6) Accept, hold, and use, for the benefit of the department, any gift, donation, bequest, or devise, and may agree to and perform all conditions of the gift, donation, bequest, or devise, that are not contrary to law;

(7) Do all other acts necessary or desirable to carry out this chapter.

(D)(1) The director of public safety may assess a reasonable fee, plus the amount of any charge or fee passed on from a financial institution, on a drawer or indorser for each of the following:

(a) A check, draft, or money order that is returned or dishonored;

(b) An automatic bank transfer that is declined, due to insufficient funds or for any other reason;

(c) Any financial transaction device that is returned or dishonored for any reason.

(2) The director shall deposit any fee collected under this division in an appropriate fund as determined by the director based on the tax, fee, or fine being paid.

(3) As used in this division, “financial transaction device” has the same meaning as in section 113.40 of the Revised Code.

(E) The director shall establish a homeland security advisory council to advise the director on homeland security, including homeland security funding efforts. The advisory council shall include, but not be limited to, state and local government officials who have homeland security or emergency management responsibilities and who represent first responders. The director shall appoint the members of the council, who shall serve without compensation.

(F) The director of public safety shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code as required by section 2909.28 of the Revised Code and division (A)(1) of section 2909.32 of the Revised Code. The director shall adopt rules as required by division (D) of section 2909.32 of the Revised Code, division (E) of section 2909.33 of the Revised Code, and division (D) of section 2909.34 of the Revised Code. The director may adopt rules pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2909.32 of the Revised Code, division (A)(2) of section 2909.33 of the Revised Code, and division (A)(2) of section 2909.34 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-16-2004; 04-14-2006

All expenditures for the administration and enforcement of motor vehicle and traffic laws by the department of public safety shall be paid out of moneys derived from fees, excises, or license taxes relating to registration, operation, or use of vehicles on public highways or to fuels used for propelling such vehicles as provided in Section 5a of Article XII, Ohio Constitution.

Effective Date: 03-31-2003

(A) There is hereby created in the department of public safety a division of homeland security.

(B) The division shall do all of the following:

(1) Coordinate all homeland security activities of all state agencies and be the liaison between state agencies and local entities for the purposes of communicating homeland security funding and policy initiatives;

(2) Collect, analyze, maintain, and disseminate information to support local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, other government agencies, and private organizations in detecting, deterring, preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from threatened or actual terrorist events. This information is not a public record pursuant to section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(3) Coordinate efforts of state and local governments and private organizations to enhance the security and protection of critical infrastructure and key assets in this state;

(4) Develop and coordinate policies, protocols, and strategies that may be used to prevent, detect, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist acts or threats;

(5) Develop, update, and coordinate the implementation of an Ohio homeland security strategic plan that will guide state and local governments in the achievement of homeland security in this state.

(C) The director of public safety shall appoint an executive director, who shall be head of the division of homeland security and who regularly shall advise the governor and the director on matters pertaining to homeland security. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the director of public safety. To carry out the duties assigned under this section, the executive director, subject to the direction and control of the director of public safety, may appoint and maintain necessary staff and may enter into any necessary agreements.

(D) Except as otherwise provided by law, nothing in this section shall be construed to give the director of public safety or the executive director of the division of homeland security authority over the incident management structure or responsibilities of local emergency response personnel.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003; 04-14-2006; 2007 HB67 07-03-2007

Every law enforcement agency representing a township, county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision investigating a motor vehicle accident involving a fatality, personal injury, or property damage in an amount greater than four hundred dollars shall, within five days, forward a written report of such accident to the director of public safety on a form which the director shall adopt subject to sections 119.01 to 119.13 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 11-12-1992; 09-16-2004

The accident reports submitted pursuant to section 5502.11 of the Revised Code shall be for the use of the director of public safety for purposes of statistical, safety, and other studies. The law enforcement agency that submitted a report shall furnish a copy of such report and associated documents to any person claiming an interest arising out of a motor vehicle accident, or to the person’s attorney, upon the payment of a nonrefundable fee that shall not exceed four dollars. With respect to accidents investigated by the state highway patrol, the director of public safety shall furnish to such person all related reports and statements upon the payment of a nonrefundable fee of four dollars. The cost of photographs shall be in addition to the nonrefundable four-dollar fee.

Such state highway patrol reports, statements, and photographs, in the discretion of the director of public safety, may be withheld until all criminal prosecution has been concluded; the director of public safety may require proof, satisfactory to the director, of the right of any applicant to be furnished such documents.

Effective Date: 06-29-2001

The department of public safety shall maintain an investigative unit in order to conduct investigations and other enforcement activity authorized by Chapters 4301., 4303., 5101., 5107., 5108., and 5115. and sections 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.14, 2907.09, 2913.46, 2917.11, 2921.13, 2921.31, 2921.32, 2921.33, 2923.12, 2923.121, 2925.11, 2925.13, 2927.02, and 4507.30 of the Revised Code. The director of public safety shall appoint the employees of the unit who are necessary, designate the activities to be performed by those employees, and prescribe their titles and duties.

Effective Date: 06-26-2003

(A) As used in this section, “felony” has the same meaning as in section 109.511 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) Any person who is employed by the department of public safety and designated by the director of public safety to enforce Title XLIII of the Revised Code, the rules adopted under it, and the laws and rules regulating the use of food stamps shall be known as an enforcement agent. The employment by the department of public safety and the designation by the director of public safety of a person as an enforcement agent shall be subject to division (D) of this section. An enforcement agent has the authority vested in peace officers pursuant to section 2935.03 of the Revised Code to keep the peace, to enforce all applicable laws and rules on any retail liquor permit premises, or on any other premises of public or private property, where a violation of Title XLIII of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under it is occurring, and to enforce all laws and rules governing the use of food stamp coupons, women, infants, and children’s coupons, electronically transferred benefits, or any other access device that is used alone or in conjunction with another access device to obtain payments, allotments, benefits, money, goods, or other things of value, or that can be used to initiate a transfer of funds, pursuant to the food stamp program established under the “Food Stamp Act of 1977,” 91 Stat. 958, 7 U.S.C.A. 2011, as amended, or any supplemental food program administered by any department of this state pursuant to the “Child Nutrition Act of 1966,” 80 Stat. 885, 42 U.S.C.A. 1786. Enforcement agents, in enforcing compliance with the laws and rules described in this division, may keep the peace and make arrests for violations of those laws and rules.

(2) In addition to the authority conferred by division (B)(1) of this section, an enforcement agent also may execute search warrants and seize and take into custody any contraband, as defined in section 2901.01 of the Revised Code, or any property that is otherwise necessary for evidentiary purposes related to any violations of the laws or rules described in division (B)(1) of this section. An enforcement agent may enter public or private premises where activity alleged to violate the laws or rules described in division (B)(1) of this section is occurring.

(3) Enforcement agents who are on, immediately adjacent to, or across from retail liquor permit premises and who are performing investigative duties relating to that premises, enforcement agents who are on premises that are not liquor permit premises but on which a violation of Title XLIII of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under it allegedly is occurring, and enforcement agents who view a suspected violation of Title XLIII of the Revised Code, of a rule adopted under it, or of another law or rule described in division (B)(1) of this section have the authority to enforce the laws and rules described in division (B)(1) of this section, authority to enforce any section in Title XXIX of the Revised Code or any other section of the Revised Code listed in section 5502.13 of the Revised Code if they witness a violation of the section under any of the circumstances described in this division, and authority to make arrests for violations of the laws and rules described in division (B)(1) of this section and violations of any of those sections.

(4) The jurisdiction of an enforcement agent under division (B) of this section shall be concurrent with that of the peace officers of the county, township, or municipal corporation in which the violation occurs.

(C) Enforcement agents of the department of public safety who are engaged in the enforcement of the laws and rules described in division (B)(1) of this section may carry concealed weapons when conducting undercover investigations pursuant to their authority as law enforcement officers and while acting within the scope of their authority pursuant to this chapter.

(D)(1) The department of public safety shall not employ, and the director of public safety shall not designate, a person as an enforcement agent on a permanent basis, on a temporary basis, for a probationary term, or on other than a permanent basis if the person previously has been convicted of or has pleaded guilty to a felony.

(2)(a) The department of public safety shall terminate the employment of a person who is designated as an enforcement agent and who does either of the following:

(i) Pleads guilty to a felony;

(ii) Pleads guilty to a misdemeanor pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement as provided in division (D) of section 2929.43 of the Revised Code in which the enforcement agent agrees to surrender the certificate awarded to that agent under section 109.77 of the Revised Code.

(b) The department shall suspend the employment of a person who is designated as an enforcement agent if the person is convicted, after trial, of a felony. If the enforcement agent files an appeal from that conviction and the conviction is upheld by the highest court to which the appeal is taken or if no timely appeal is filed, the department shall terminate the employment of that agent. If the enforcement agent files an appeal that results in that agent’s acquittal of the felony or conviction of a misdemeanor, or in the dismissal of the felony charge against the agent, the department shall reinstate the agent. An enforcement agent who is reinstated under division (D)(2)(b) of this section shall not receive any back pay unless the conviction of that agent of the felony was reversed on appeal, or the felony charge was dismissed, because the court found insufficient evidence to convict the agent of the felony.

(3) Division (D) of this section does not apply regarding an offense that was committed prior to January 1, 1997.

(4) The suspension or termination of the employment of a person designated as an enforcement agent under division (D)(2) of this section shall be in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 01-01-2004

Any funding provided or made available by the United States or by any agency designated and authorized by the United States government for the purposes of enforcing compliance with food stamp laws shall be expended by the department of public safety for those purposes.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

The director of public safety, on behalf of enforcement agents, may enter into cooperative or contractual arrangements with the United States, any agency or department of the United States, other states, other departments and political subdivisions of this state, or any other person or body politic to accomplish the purposes of the investigative unit of the department of public safety. The director shall cooperate with and not infringe upon the rights of other state departments, divisions, boards, commissions, and agencies, and private agencies, in the conduct of enforcement plans and other matters in which the department of public safety and those departments and agencies have common interests.

Effective Date: 06-30-1999

Enforcement agents of the department of public safety shall comply with the certification requirements established in section 109.77 of the Revised Code, take an oath of office, and receive from the governor, upon recommendation of the director of public safety, a commission indicating authority to make arrests as provided in section 5502.14 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 06-30-1999

Enforcement agents of the department of public safety may render assistance to a state or local law enforcement officer at the request of that officer or may render assistance to a state or local law enforcement officer in the event of an emergency. An enforcement agent who serves outside the department under this section shall be considered as performing services within the agent’s regular employment for purposes of compensation, indemnity fund rights, workers’ compensation, and any other rights and benefits to which the agent may be entitled as incidents of the agent’s regular employment. Such an enforcement agent retains personal immunity from civil liability under section 9.86 of the Revised Code and shall not be considered an employee of a political subdivision for purposes of Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code.

A political subdivision that receives the assistance of an enforcement agent under this section is not subject to civil liability under Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code as a result of any action or omission of the agent.

Effective Date: 06-30-1999

The department of public safety shall conduct inspections of retail liquor permit premises to determine their compliance with Chapters 4301. and 4303. of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under them by the liquor control commission pertaining to retail liquor permit holders.

Except as otherwise provided in this section, those inspections may be conducted only during those hours in which the permit holder is open for business and only by authorized enforcement agents of the department of public safety or by any peace officer, as defined in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code. Inspections may be conducted at other hours only to determine compliance with laws or commission rules that regulate the hours of sale of beer and intoxicating liquor and only if the enforcement agent or peace officer involved has reasonable cause to believe that those laws or rules are being violated. Any inspection conducted pursuant to this section is subject to all of the following requirements:

(A) The only property that may be confiscated is contraband, as defined in section 2901.01 of the Revised Code, or property that is otherwise necessary for evidentiary purposes.

(B) A complete inventory of all property confiscated from the premises shall be given to the permit holder or the permit holder’s agent or employee by the confiscating enforcement agent or peace officer at the conclusion of the inspection. At that time, the inventory shall be signed by the confiscating enforcement agent or peace officer, and the enforcement agent or peace officer shall give the permit holder or the permit holder’s agent or employee the opportunity to sign the inventory.

(C) Inspections conducted pursuant to this section shall be conducted in a reasonable manner. A finding by any court of competent jurisdiction that the inspection was not conducted in a reasonable manner in accordance with this section or any rules promulgated by the liquor control commission may be considered grounds for suppression of evidence. A finding by the liquor control commission that the inspection was not conducted in a reasonable manner in accordance with this section or any rules promulgated by the commission may be considered grounds for dismissal of the commission case.

If any court of competent jurisdiction finds that property confiscated as the result of an inspection is not necessary for evidentiary purposes and is not contraband, as defined in section 2901.01 of the Revised Code, the court shall order the immediate return of the confiscated property, if such property is not otherwise subject to forfeiture, to the permit holder. However, the return of this property is not grounds for dismissal of the case. The commission likewise may order the return of confiscated property if no criminal prosecution is pending or anticipated.

Effective Date: 06-30-1999

As used in sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code:

(A) “Agency” means any administrative or operational division, including an office, department, bureau, board, commission, or authority, of the state or of a political subdivision thereof, including volunteer agencies, organizations, or departments.

(B) “Attack” means any attack, either actual or imminent, or a series of attacks by an actual or potential enemy of the United States or by a foreign nation upon the United States that causes or may cause substantial damage to or destruction of life, property, or the environment within the United States or that is designed to injure the military or economic strength of the United States. “Attack” includes, without limitation, acts of sabotage, acts of terrorism, invasion, the use of bombs or shellfire, conventional, nuclear, chemical, or biological warfare, and the use of other weapons or processes.

(C) “Chief executive” means the president of the United States, the governor of this state, the board of county commissioners of any county, the board of township trustees of any township, or the mayor or city manager of any municipal corporation within this state.

(D) “Civil defense” is an integral part of emergency management that includes all those activities and measures designed or undertaken to minimize the effects upon the civilian population caused or that would be caused by any hazard and to effect emergency repairs to, or the emergency restoration of, vital equipment, resources, supplies, utilities, and facilities necessary for survival and for the public health, safety, and welfare that would be damaged or destroyed by any hazard. “Civil defense” includes, but is not limited to:

(1) Those measures to be taken during a hazard, including all of the following:

(a) The enforcement of those passive defense regulations necessary for the protection of the civilian population and prescribed by duly established military or civil authorities;

(b) The evacuation of personnel to shelter areas;

(c) The control of traffic and panic situations;

(d) The control and use of emergency communications, lighting, and warning equipment and systems.

(2) Those measures to be taken after a hazard has occurred, including all of the following:

(a) Activities necessary for firefighting, rescue, emergency, medical, health, and sanitation services;

(b) Monitoring for secondary hazards that could be caused from the initiating event;

(c) Damage assessment and disaster analysis operations;

(d) Coordination of disaster assistance programs;

(e) Monitoring for effects from weapons;

(f) Unexploded bomb reconnaissance;

(g) Essential debris clearance;

(h) Decontamination operations;

(i) Documentation of operations and financial expenses;

(j) Resource control;

(k) Any other activities that may be necessary for survival and the overall health, safety, and welfare of the civilian population.

(E) “Disaster” means any imminent threat or actual occurrence of widespread or severe damage to or loss of property, personal hardship or injury, or loss of life that results from any natural phenomenon or act of a human.

(F) “Emergency” means any period during which the congress of the United States or a chief executive has declared or proclaimed that an emergency exists.

(G) “Emergency management” includes all emergency preparedness and civil defense activities and measures, whether or not mentioned or described in sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code, that are designed or undertaken to minimize the effects upon the civilian population caused or that could be caused by any hazard and that are necessary to address mitigation, emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.

(H) “Emergency preparedness” is an integral part of emergency management that includes those activities and measures designed or undertaken in preparation for any hazard, including, but not limited to, natural disasters and hazards involving hazardous materials or radiological materials, and that will enhance the probability for preservation of life, property, and the environment. “Emergency preparedness” includes, without limitation:

(1) The establishment of appropriate agencies and organizations;

(2) The development of necessary plans and standard operating procedures for mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery purposes, including, without limitation, the development of supporting agreements and memorandums of understanding;

(3) Hazard identification;

(4) Capability assessment;

(5) The recruitment, retention, and training of personnel;

(6) The development, printing, and distribution of emergency public information, education, and training materials and programs;

(7) The necessary conduct of research;

(8) The development of resource inventories;

(9) The procurement and stockpiling of equipment, food, water, medical supplies, and any other supplies necessary for survival and for the public health, safety, and welfare;

(10) The development and construction of public shelter facilities and shelter spaces;

(11) The development and construction of emergency operations centers for the conduct and support of coordination, direction, and control activities;

(12) When appropriate and considered necessary, the nonmilitary evacuation or temporary relocation of the civilian population.

(I) “Hazard” means any actual or imminent threat to the survival or overall health, safety, or welfare of the civilian population that is caused by any natural, human-made, or technological event. “Hazard” includes, without limitation, an attack, disaster, and emergency.

(J) “Hazard identification” means an identification, historical analysis, inventory, or spatial distribution of risks that could affect a specific geographical area and that would cause a threat to the survival, health, safety, or welfare of the civilian population, the property of that population, or the environment.

(K) “Law” includes a general or special statute, law, local law, ordinance, resolution, rule, order, or rule of common law.

(L) “Mitigation” means all those activities that reduce or eliminate the probability of a hazard. “Mitigation” also includes long-term activities and measures designed to reduce the effects of unavoidable hazards.

(M) “Political subdivision” means a county, township, or municipal corporation in this state.

(N) “Recovery” includes all those activities required and necessary to return an area to its former condition to the extent possible following the occurrence of any hazard.

(O) “Response” includes all those activities that occur subsequent to any hazard and that provide emergency assistance from the effects of any such hazard, reduce the probability of further injury, damage, or destruction, and are designed or undertaken to speed recovery operations.

(P) “Structure” includes shelters, additions to or alterations of existing buildings, and portions of existing buildings dedicated to public use, made and designed exclusively for protection against the shock or other effects of nuclear, biological, or chemical warfare, special housing for equipment, and all other structural means of protection of individuals and property against any hazard.

(Q) “Equipment” includes fire-fighting, first-aid, emergency medical, hospital, salvage, and rescue equipment and materials, equipment for evacuation or relocation of individuals, radiological monitoring equipment, hazardous materials response gear, communications equipment, warning equipment, and all other means, in the nature of personal property, to be used exclusively in the protection of individuals and property against the effects of any hazard.

(R) “Certifying authority” means the executive director of the emergency management agency provided for by section 5502.22 of the Revised Code.

(S) “Civil defense certificate” means a civil defense certificate of necessity issued pursuant to section 5502.42 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

(A) There is hereby established within the department of public safety an emergency management agency, which shall be governed under rules adopted by the director of public safety under section 5502.25 of the Revised Code. The director, with the concurrence of the governor, shall appoint an executive director, who shall be head of the emergency management agency. The executive director may appoint a chief executive assistant, executive assistants, and administrative and technical personnel within that agency as may be necessary to plan, organize, and maintain emergency management adequate to the needs of the state. The executive director shall coordinate all activities of all agencies for emergency management within the state, shall maintain liaison with similar agencies of other states and of the federal government, shall cooperate with those agencies subject to the approval of the governor, and shall develop a statewide emergency operations plan that shall meet any applicable federal requirements for such plans. The executive director shall have such additional authority, duties, and responsibilities as are prescribed by the governor and the director or provided by law in all matters relating to emergency management that may be reflected in other sections of the Revised Code. The executive director shall advise the governor and director on matters pertaining to emergency management on a regular basis.

Whenever the disaster services agency or director is referred to or designated in any statute, rule, contract, or other document, the reference or designation shall be deemed to refer to the emergency management agency or executive director, as the case may be.

(B) For the purposes of emergency management, the executive director, with the approval of the director, may participate in federal programs, accept grants from, and enter into cooperative agreements or contractual arrangements with any federal, state, or local department, agency, or subdivision thereof, or any other person or body politic. Whenever the duties of the emergency management agency overlap with rights or duties of other federal, state, or local departments, agencies, subdivisions, or officials, or private agencies, the executive director shall cooperate with, and not infringe upon the rights and duties of, the other public or private entities.

Funds made available by the United States for the use of the emergency management agency shall be expended by that agency only for the purposes for which the funds were appropriated. In accepting federal funds, the emergency management agency shall abide by the terms and conditions of the grant, cooperative agreement, or contractual arrangement and shall expend the funds in accordance with the laws and regulations of the United States.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

Effective Date: 12-02-1996

(A) The governor may designate by written proclamation an emergency temporary location, or locations, for the seat of government for use in the event an emergency renders it imprudent, inexpedient, or impossible to conduct the affairs of state government at the normal location of the seat thereof. He shall take such action and issue such orders as may be necessary for an orderly transition of the affairs of state government to that emergency temporary location, or locations. The emergency location, or locations, shall be within this state, may be changed at any time, either before or during the emergency, if the governor considers the change advisable, and shall remain as the seat of government until the general assembly by law establishes a new location, or locations, or until the emergency is declared to be ended by the governor and the seat of government is returned to its normal location. During such time as the seat of government remains at the emergency temporary location, or locations, all official acts now or hereafter required by law to be performed at the seat of government by any officer or agency of this state, including the convening and meeting of the general assembly in regular, extraordinary, or emergency session, shall be as valid and binding when performed at the emergency temporary location, or locations, as if performed at the normal location of the seat of government.

(B) The governing body of each political subdivision of this state may establish and designate, by ordinance, resolution, or other manner, alternate or substitute sites or places as the emergency location, or locations, of government and may make any necessary arrangements for the use of those sites or places. Whenever due to an emergency it becomes imprudent, inexpedient, or impossible to conduct the affairs of local government at the regular or usual place or places thereof, the governing bodies may meet at those previously designated sites or places, or at any other convenient site or place, on the call of the presiding officer or any two members of the governing bodies. The sites or places may be within or without the territorial limits of the political subdivisions and shall be within this state. All, or any part, of the public business may be transacted and conducted at the sites or places during the emergency situation. During the period when the public business is being conducted at the emergency temporary location, or locations, the governing body and other officers of a political subdivision of this state have and possess and shall exercise, at the location, or locations, all of the executive, legislative, and judicial powers and functions conferred upon that body and officers by or under the laws of this state. Such powers and functions may be exercised in the light of the exigencies of the emergency without regard to or compliance with time-consuming procedures and formalities prescribed by law pertaining thereto, and all acts of that body and officers shall be as valid and binding as if performed within the territorial limits of their political subdivision.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

The director of public safety, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt, may amend or rescind, and shall enforce rules with respect to the emergency management of the state for the purpose of providing protection for its people against any hazard. The rules shall be made available for public inspection at the emergency operations center/joint dispatch facility and at such other places and during such reasonable hours as fixed by the executive director of emergency management.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

(A) The board of county commissioners of a county and the chief executive of all or a majority of the other political subdivisions within the county may enter into a written agreement establishing a countywide emergency management agency.

A representative from each political subdivision entering into the agreement, selected by the political subdivision’s chief executive, shall constitute a countywide advisory group for the purpose of appointing an executive committee under this section through which the countywide agency shall implement emergency management in the county in accordance with this section and for the purpose of advising the executive committee on matters pertaining to countywide emergency management. The executive committee shall consist of at least the following seven members: one county commissioner representing the board of county commissioners entering into the agreement; five chief executives representing the muncipal corporations and townships entering into the agreement; and one nonelected representative. The countywide agreement shall specify how many additional members, if any, shall serve on the executive committee and their manner of selection.

The agency shall be supported financially by the political subdivisions entering into the countywide agreement. The executive committee shall appoint a director/coordinator of emergency management who shall pursue a professional development training program in accordance with rules adopted under section 5502.25 of the Revised Code. The director/coordinator of emergency management may be an official or employee of any political subdivision entering into the countywide agreement, except that the director/coordinator shall not be the chief executive of any such political subdivision.

A countywide emergency management agency organized under this section shall establish a program for emergency management that:

(1) Is in accordance with sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code, rules adopted under those sections, local ordinances pertaining to emergency management, the “Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act,” 88 Stat. 143, 42 U.S.C. 5121, et. seq., as amended, and all applicable rules and regulations adopted under that act;

(2) Includes, without limitation, development of an all-hazards emergency operations plan that has been coordinated with all agencies, boards, and divisions having emergency management functions within the county;

(3) Includes the preparation and conduct of an annual exercise of the county’s all-hazards emergency operations plan;

(4) Is applicable to all political subdivisions entering into the countywide agreement.

The director/coordinator of emergency management for a countywide agency organized under this section shall be responsible for coordinating, organizing, administering, and operating emergency management in accordance with the agency’s program established under this section, subject to the direction and control of the executive committee. All agencies, boards, and divisions having emergency management functions within each political subdivision within the county shall cooperate in the development of the all-hazards emergency operations plan and shall cooperate in the preparation and conduct of the annual exercise.

(B) Nothing in this section requires any political subdivision that is located within a county that has entered into a written agreement under this section establishing a countywide emergency management agency to enter into that agreement, provided that the political subdivision has established a program for emergency management in accordance with section 5502.271 of the Revised Code.

(C) A countywide emergency management agency shall be considered a county board and shall receive the services of the auditor, treasurer, and prosecuting attorney of the county in the same manner as other county agencies, boards, or divisions.

Effective Date: 05-15-2002

A board of county commissioners that has entered into an agreement to establish a countywide emergency management agency may appropriate money from its general fund to support the functions and operations of the agency, including the development, acquisition, operation, and maintenance of a countywide public safety communication system and any communication devices, radios, and other equipment necessary for the system’s operation and use. Money appropriated under this section may be expended to purchase and maintain the assets or equipment of the agency, including equipment used by the personnel of other political subdivisions that have entered into the agreement with the board establishing the agency. Money also may be appropriated under this section directly to a political subdivision that has entered into the agreement with the board establishing the agency, to enable the political subdivision to purchase communication devices, radios, and other equipment necessary for the countywide public safety communication system’s operation and use.

Effective Date: 03-30-2006

(A) In lieu of establishing a countywide emergency management agency under section 5502.26 of the Revised Code, the boards of county commissioners of two or more counties, with the consent of the chief executives of a majority of the participating political subdivisions of each county involved, may enter into a written agreement establishing a regional authority for emergency management.

A representative from each political subdivision entering into the agreement, selected by the political subdivision’s chief executive, shall constitute a regional advisory group for the purpose of appointing an executive committee under this section through which the regional authority shall implement emergency management in the counties in accordance with this section and for the purpose of advising the executive committee on matters pertaining to regional emergency management. The executive committee shall consist of at least the following nine members: two county commissioners representing the boards of county commissioners entering into the agreement; six chief executives representing the municipal corporations and townships entering into the agreement; and one nonelected representative. The regional agreement shall specify how many additional members, if any, shall serve on the executive committee and their manner of selection.

The authority shall be supported financially by the political subdivisions entering into the regional agreement. The executive committee shall appoint a director/coordinator of emergency management who shall pursue a professional development training program in accordance with rules adopted under section 5502.25 of the Revised Code. The director/coordinator of emergency management may be an official or employee of any political subdivision entering into the regional agreement, except that the director/coordinator shall not be the chief executive of any such political subdivision.

A regional authority for emergency management organized under this section shall establish a program for emergency management that:

(1) Is in accordance with sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code, rules adopted under those sections, local ordinances pertaining to emergency management, the “Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act,” 88 Stat. 143, 42 U.S.C. 5121, et. seq., as amended, and all applicable rules and regulations adopted under that act;

(2) Includes, without limitation, development of an all-hazards emergency operations plan that has been coordinated with all agencies, boards, and divisions having emergency management functions within the regional authority;

(3) Includes the preparation and conduct of an annual exercise of the regional authority’s all-hazards emergency operations plan;

(4) Is applicable to all political subdivisions entering into the regional agreement.

The director/coordinator of emergency management for a regional authority organized under this section shall be responsible for coordinating, organizing, administering, and operating emergency management in accordance with the authority’s program established under this section, subject to the direction and control of the executive committee. All agencies, boards, and divisions having emergency management functions within each political subdivision within the regional authority shall cooperate in the development of the all-hazards emergency operations plan and shall cooperate in the preparation and conduct of the annual exercise.

(B) Nothing in this section requires any political subdivision that is located within a county that has entered into a written agreement under this section establishing a regional authority for emergency management to enter into that agreement, provided that the political subdivision has established a program for emergency management in accordance with section 5502.271 of the Revised Code.

(C) A regional authority for emergency management may designate the county auditor and county treasurer of one of the counties in the region as fiscal officers for the regional authority and may designate the prosecuting attorney of one of the counties in the region as legal advisor for the regional authority.

Effective Date: 05-15-2002

The chief executive of any political subdivision that has not entered into a written agreement establishing either a countywide emergency management agency under section 5502.26 of the Revised Code or a regional authority for emergency management under section 5502.27 of the Revised Code shall establish a program for emergency management within that political subdivision that meets all of the following criteria:

(A) Is in accordance with sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code, rules adopted under those sections, local ordinances pertaining to emergency management, the “Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act,” 88 Stat. 143, 42 U.S.C. 5121, et. seq., as amended, and all applicable rules and regulations adopted under that act;

(B) Includes, without limitation, development of an all-hazards emergency operations plan that has been coordinated with all agencies, boards, and divisions having emergency management functions within the political subdivision;

(C) Includes the preparation and conduct of an annual exercise of the political subdivision’s all-hazards emergency operations plan;

(D) Is not inconsistent with the program for emergency management established for the county in which the political subdivision is located by a countywide emergency management agency under section 5502.26 of the Revised Code or a regional authority for emergency management under section 5502.27 of the Revised Code.

All agencies, boards, and divisions having emergency management functions within the political subdivision shall cooperate in the development of the all-hazards emergency operations plan and shall cooperate in the preparation and conduct of the annual exercise.

The chief executive shall appoint a director/coordinator of emergency management who shall pursue a professional development training program in accordance with rules adopted under section 5502.25 of the Revised Code. The director/coordinator of emergency management may be an official or employee of the political subdivision, but shall not be the chief executive of the political subdivision.

The director/coordinator shall be responsible for coordinating, organizing, administering, and operating emergency management in accordance with the political subdivision’s program established under this section, subject to the direction and control of the chief executive.

Effective Date: 05-15-2002

(A) In carrying out sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code, the governor shall utilize the services, equipment, supplies, and facilities of existing agencies of the state and of political subdivisions to the maximum extent practicable, and the officers and personnel of all such agencies shall cooperate with and extend such services, equipment, supplies, and facilities to the governor and to the executive director of the emergency management agency upon request.

(B) Every agency for emergency management established pursuant to sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code and every political subdivision that has established a program for emergency management under section 5502.271 of the Revised Code, and the officers thereof, shall execute and enforce any emergency management orders and rules issued or adopted by the director of public safety.

(C) The national incident management system (NIMS) is hereby adopted as the standard procedure for incident management in this state. All departments, agencies, and political subdivisions within the state shall utilize the system for incident management.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999; 04-14-2006

Political subdivisions, in collaboration with other public and private agencies within this state, may develop mutual aid arrangements for reciprocal emergency management aid and assistance in case of any hazard too great to be dealt with unassisted. Such arrangements shall be consistent with the rules adopted by the director of public safety under section 5502.25 of the Revised Code. In time of any hazard, each political subdivision may render assistance in accordance with such mutual aid arrangements. Such mutual aid arrangements shall not in any manner relieve the chief executive of any political subdivision of the responsibility for either entering into a written agreement establishing a countywide emergency management agency under section 5502.26 of the Revised Code, entering into a written agreement establishing a regional authority for emergency management under section 5502.27 of the Revised Code, or establishing a program for emergency management under section 5502.271 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

The governor may enter into mutual aid arrangements for reciprocal emergency management aid and assistance with other states and shall coordinate mutual aid plans between political subdivisions, between this state and other states, or between this state and the United States.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

(A) The state, any political subdivision, any municipal agency, any emergency management volunteer, another state, or an emergency management agency thereof or of the federal government or of another country or province or subdivision thereof performing emergency management services in this state pursuant to an arrangement, agreement, or compact for mutual aid and assistance, or any agency, member, agent, or representative of any of them, or any individual, partnership, corporation, association, trustee, or receiver, or any of the agents thereof, in good faith carrying out, complying with, or attempting to comply with any state or federal law or any arrangement, agreement, or compact for mutual aid and assistance, or any order issued by federal or state military authorities relating to emergency management, is not liable for any injury to or death of persons or damage to property as the result thereof during training periods, test periods, practice periods, or other emergency management operations, or false alerts, as well as during any hazard, actual or imminent, and subsequent to the same except in cases of willful misconduct. As used in this division, “emergency management volunteer” means only an individual who is authorized to assist any agency performing emergency management during a hazard.

(B) The state, any political subdivision, any individual, partnership, corporation, association, trustee, or receiver, or any agent, agency, representative, officer, or employee of any of them that owns, maintains, occupies, operates, or controls all or part of any building, structure, or premises shall not be liable for any injury or death sustained by any person or damage caused to any property while that person or property is in the building, structure, or premises for duty, training, or shelter purposes during a hazard, drill, test, or false warning, or is entering therein for such purposes or departing therefrom, or for any injury, death, or property damage as the result of any condition in or on the building, structure, or premises or of any act or omission with respect thereto, except a willful act intended to cause injury or damage.

(C) This section does not affect the right of any person to receive benefits to which he may be entitled under Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code or any pension law, nor the rights of any person to receive any benefits or compensation under any act of congress or under any law of this state.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

Each political subdivision may make appropriations for the payment of the expenses of its local activities for emergency management and for the payment of the expenses chargeable to that political subdivision by agreement in any county wherein a countywide agency or regional authority for emergency management has been established pursuant to section 5502.26 or 5502.27 of the Revised Code, respectively.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

When any person, firm, or corporation offers to the state or to any political subdivision thereof services, equipment, supplies, materials, or funds by way of gift, grant, or loan for purposes of emergency management, the state or the political subdivision may accept the offer and, upon acceptance, may authorize any officer of the state or of the political subdivision, as the case may be, to receive the services, equipment, supplies, materials, or funds on behalf of the state or political subdivision.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

No agency for emergency management established under sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code shall participate in any form of political activity, nor shall it be employed directly or indirectly for any political purposes.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

No person shall be employed or associated in any capacity in any position or agency established under sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code who advocates or has advocated a change by force or violence in the constitutional form of the government of the United States or of this state or who has been convicted of or is under indictment or information charging any subversive act against the United States or this state. Each person who is appointed to serve in any position in emergency management or in an agency for emergency management, before entering upon the person’s duties, shall register, in writing, the person’s name, address, and any other necessary information pertaining to the person’s qualifications and choice of type of service and shall take an oath before the executive director of the emergency management agency or local emergency management director or deputy director, or any other person authorized to administer oaths in this state, which oath shall be as follows:

“I,............., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Ohio, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will obey the orders of the governor of the state of Ohio; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.

“And I do further swear (or affirm) that I do not advocate, nor am I a member of any political party or organization that advocates, the overthrow of the government of the United States or of this state by force or violence; and that during such time as I am engaged in emergency management employment or activities, I will not advocate nor become a member of any political party or organization that advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States or of this state by force or violence.”

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of law, persons engaged in emergency management activities, members of emergency management agencies in this state, and members of the emergency management agencies of other states or of the federal government or of another country or of a province or subdivision thereof performing emergency management services at any place in this state pursuant to agreements, compacts, or arrangements for mutual aid and assistance, to which the state or a political subdivision thereof is a party, shall possess the same powers, duties, immunities, and privileges they would ordinarily possess if performing their duties in the jurisdiction in which normally employed or rendering services.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

All courts shall take judicial notice of plans, ordinances, resolutions, rules, or orders adopted pursuant to sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code.

Such a plan, ordinance, resolution, rule, or order may be read in evidence, at any time, from a copy thereof, if there is contained on the same page or in the same publication in which the copy is contained a printed certificate of the secretary of state or of the clerk of the political subdivision that the copy is a correct transcript of the text of the original.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

(A) No person shall wear or display an emergency management insignia, bear official emergency management identification, or identify himself as being affiliated with or otherwise a member of an emergency management agency established under this chapter who is not a registered member of such an agency.

(B) No person shall willfully and knowingly spread false rumors of a hazard for the purpose of instigating public panic or disorder.

(C) No person shall destroy, attempt to destroy, or tamper with any hazard warning system.

(D) No person shall willfully and knowingly send or cause to be sent an unauthorized hazard warning on any warning system or simulate any official hazard signal.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

Except as provided in this section, sections 5502.21 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under those sections do not apply to any activity carried out under Chapter 3750. of the Revised Code.

A countywide or regional director/coordinator of emergency management appointed under section 5502.26 or 5502.27, or a director/coordinator appointed under 5502.271 of the Revised Code, respectively, may serve on the local emergency planning committee appointed under Chapter 3750. of the Revised Code for the emergency planning district that includes his county or counties and may, if so appointed, also serve as chairperson of that committee. Any director/coordinator serving on such a committee shall incorporate any plans developed by the committee into his county’s or counties’ planning and preparedness activities with regard to hazards involving hazardous materials.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

There is hereby created in the state treasury the emergency management agency service and reimbursement fund. The fund shall consist of money collected under sections 5502.21 to 5502.38 of the Revised Code. All money in the fund shall be used to pay the costs of administering programs of the emergency management agency.

Effective Date: 03-31-2003

The emergency management assistance compact is hereby ratified, enacted into law, and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joining in it, in the following form:

“ARTICLE I – PURPOSE AND AUTHORITIES

This compact is made and entered into by and between the participating member states which enact this compact, hereinafter called party states. For the purposes of this agreement, the term “states” is taken to mean the several states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territorial possessions.

The purpose of this compact is to provide for mutual assistance between the states entering into this compact in managing any emergency or disaster that is duly declared by the governor of the affected state(s), whether arising from natural disaster, technological hazard, man-made disaster, civil emergency aspects of resources shortages, community disorders, insurgency, or enemy attack.

This compact shall also provide for mutual cooperation in emergency-related exercises, testing, or other training activities using equipment and personnel simulating performance of any aspect of the giving and receiving of aid by party states or subdivisions of party states during emergencies, such actions occurring outside actual declared emergency periods. Mutual assistance in the compact may include the use of the states’ National Guard forces, either in accordance with the National Guard Mutual Assistance Compact or by mutual agreement between states.

ARTICLE II – GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION

Each party state entering into this compact recognizes many emergencies transcend political jurisdictional boundaries and that intergovernmental coordination is essential in managing these and other emergencies under this compact. Each state further recognizes that there will be emergencies which require immediate access and present procedures to apply outside resources to make a prompt and effective response to such an emergency. This is because few, if any, individual states have all the resources they may need in all types of emergencies or the capability of delivering resources to areas where emergencies exist.

The prompt, full, and effective utilization of resources of the participating states, including any resources on hand or available from the Federal Government or any other source, that are essential to the safety, care, and welfare of the people in the event of any emergency or disaster declared by a party state, shall be the underlying principle on which all articles of this compact shall be understood.

On behalf of the governor of each state participating in the compact, the legally designated state official who is assigned responsibility for emergency management will be responsible for formulation of the appropriate interstate mutual aid plans and procedures necessary to implement this compact.

ARTICLE III – PARTY STATE RESPONSIBILITIES

(A) It shall be the responsibility of each party state to formulate procedural plans and programs for interstate cooperation in the performance of the responsibilities listed in this article. In formulating such plans, and in carrying them out, the party states, insofar as practical, shall:

(i) Review individual state hazards analyses and, to the extent reasonably possible, determine all those potential emergencies the party states might jointly suffer, whether due to natural disaster, technological hazard, man-made disaster, emergency aspects of resource shortages, civil disorders, insurgency, or enemy attack.

(ii) Review party states’ individual emergency plans and develop a plan which will determine the mechanism for the interstate management and provision of assistance concerning any potential emergency.

(iii) Develop interstate procedures to fill any identified gaps and to resolve any identified inconsistencies or overlaps in existing or developed plans.

(iv) Assist in warning communities adjacent to or crossing the state boundaries.

(v) Protect and assure uninterrupted delivery of services, medicines, water, food, energy and fuel, search and rescue, and critical lifeline equipment, services, and resources, both human and material.

(vi) Inventory and set procedures for the interstate loan and delivery of human and material resources, together with procedures for reimbursement or forgiveness.

(vii) Provide, to the extent authorized by law, for temporary suspension of any statutes or ordinances that restrict the implementation of the above responsibilities.

(B) The authorized representative of a party state may request assistance of another party state by contacting the authorized representative of that state. The provisions of this agreement shall only apply to requests for assistance made by and to authorized representatives. Requests may be verbal or in writing. If verbal, the request shall be confirmed in writing within 30 days of the verbal request. Requests shall provide the following information:

(i) A description of the emergency service function for which assistance is needed, such as but not limited to fire services, law enforcement, emergency medical, transportation, communications, public works and engineering, building inspection, planning and information assistance, mass care, resource support, health and medical services, and search and rescue.

(ii) The amount and type of personnel, equipment, materials and supplies needed, and a reasonable estimate of the length of time they will be needed.

(iii) The specific place and time for staging of the assisting party’s response and a point of contact at that location.

(C) There shall be frequent consultation between state officials who have assigned emergency management responsibilities and other appropriate representatives of the party states with affected jurisdictions and the United States Government, with free exchange of information, plans, and resource records relating to emergency capabilities.

ARTICLE IV – LIMITATIONS

Any party state requested to render mutual aid or conduct exercises and training for mutual aid shall take such action as is necessary to provide and make available the resources covered by this compact in accordance with the terms hereof; provided that it is understood that the state rendering aid may withhold resources to the extent necessary to provide reasonable protection for such state. Each party state shall afford to the emergency forces of any party state, while operating within its state limits under the terms and conditions of this compact, the same powers (except that of arrest unless specifically authorized by the receiving state), duties, rights, and privileges as are afforded forces of the state in which they are performing emergency services. Emergency forces will continue under the command and control of their regular leaders, but the organizational units will come under the operational control of the emergency services authorities of the state receiving assistance. These conditions may be activated, as needed, only subsequent to a declaration of a state of emergency or disaster by the governor of the party state that is to receive assistance or commencement of exercises or training for mutual aid and shall continue so long as the exercises or training for mutual aid are in progress, the state of emergency or disaster remains in effect or loaned resources remain in the receiving state(s), whichever is longer.

ARTICLE V – LICENSES AND PERMITS

Whenever any person holds a license, certificate, or other permit issued by any state party to the compact evidencing the meeting of qualifications for professional, mechanical, or other skills, and when such assistance is requested by the receiving party state, such person shall be deemed licensed, certified, or permitted by the state requesting assistance to render aid involving such skill to meet a declared emergency or disaster, subject to such limitations and conditions as the governor of the requesting state may prescribe by executive order or otherwise.

ARTICLE VI – LIABILITY

Officers or employees of a party state rendering aid in another state pursuant to this compact shall be considered agents of the requesting state for tort liability and immunity purposes; and no party state or its officers or employees rendering aid in another state pursuant to this compact shall be liable on account of any act or omission in good faith on the part of such forces while so engaged or on account of the maintenance or use of any equipment or supplies in connection therewith. Good faith in this article shall not include willful misconduct, gross negligence, or recklessness.

ARTICLE VII – SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENTS

Inasmuch as it is probable that the pattern and detail of the machinery for mutual aid among two or more states may differ from that among the states that are party hereto, this instrument contains elements of a broad base common to all states, and nothing herein contained shall preclude any state from entering into supplementary agreements with another state or affect any other agreements already in force between states. Supplementary agreements may comprehend, but shall not be limited to, provisions for evacuation and reception of injured and other persons and the exchange of medical, fire, police, public utility, reconnaissance, welfare, transportation and communications personnel, and equipment and supplies.

ARTICLE VIII – COMPENSATION

Each party state shall provide for the payment of compensation and death benefits to injured members of the emergency forces of that state and representatives of deceased members of such forces in case such members sustain injuries or are killed while rendering aid pursuant to this compact, in the same manner and on the same terms as if the injury or death were sustained within their own state.

ARTICLE IX – REIMBURSEMENT

Any party state rendering aid in another state pursuant to this compact shall be reimbursed by the party state receiving such aid for any loss or damage to or expense incurred in the operation of any equipment and the provision of any service in answering a request for aid and for the costs incurred in connection with such requests; provided, that any aiding party state may assume in whole or in part such loss, damage, expense, or other cost, or may loan such equipment or donate such services to the receiving party state without charge or cost; and provided further, that any two or more party states may enter into supplementary agreements establishing a different allocation of costs among those states. Article VIII expenses shall not be reimbursable under this provision.

ARTICLE X – EVACUATION

Plans for the orderly evacuation and interstate reception of portions of the civilian population as the result of any emergency or disaster of sufficient proportions to so warrant, shall be worked out and maintained between the party states and the emergency management/services directors of the various jurisdictions where any type of incident requiring evacuations might occur. Such plans shall be put into effect by request of the state from which evacuees come and shall include the manner of transporting such evacuees, the number of evacuees to be received in different areas, the manner in which food, clothing, housing, and medical care will be provided, the registration of the evacuees, the providing of facilities for the notification of relatives or friends, and the forwarding of such evacuees to other areas or the bringing in of additional materials, supplies, and all other relevant factors. Such plans shall provide that the party state receiving evacuees and the party state from which the evacuees come shall mutually agree as to reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred in receiving and caring for such evacuees, for expenditures for transportation, food, clothing, medicines and medical care, and like items. Such expenditures shall be reimbursed as agreed by the party state from which the evacuees come. After the termination of the emergency or disaster, the party state from which the evacuees come shall assume the responsibility for the ultimate support of repatriation of such evacuees.

ARTICLE XI – IMPLEMENTATION

(A) This compact shall become operative immediately upon its enactment into law by any two (2) states; thereafter, this compact shall become effective as to any other state upon its enactment by such state.

(B) Any party state may withdraw from this compact by enacting a statute repealing the same, but no such withdrawal shall take effect until 30 days after the governor of the withdrawing state has given notice in writing of such withdrawal to the governors of all other party states. Such action shall not relieve the withdrawing state from obligations assumed hereunder prior to the effective date of withdrawal.

(C) Duly authenticated copies of this compact and of such supplementary agreements as may be entered into shall, at the time of their approval, be deposited with each of the party states and with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other appropriate agencies of the United States Government.

ARTICLE XII – VALIDITY

This Act shall be construed to effectuate the purposes stated in Article I hereof. If any provision of this compact is declared unconstitutional, or the applicability thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the constitutionality of the remainder of this act and the applicability thereof to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

ARTICLE XIII – ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS

Nothing in this compact shall authorize or permit the use of military force by the National Guard of a state at any place outside that state in any emergency for which the President is authorized by law to call into federal service the militia, or for any purpose for which the use of the Army or the Air Force would in the absence of express statutory authorization be prohibited under Section 1385 of title 18, United States Code.”

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Countywide emergency management agency” means a countywide emergency management agency established under section 5502.26 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Participating political subdivision” means each political subdivision in this state except a political subdivision that enacts, by appropriate legislation signed by its chief executive, a declaration not to participate in the intrastate mutual aid program created by this section and that provides a copy of the legislation to the emergency management agency and to the countywide emergency management agency, regional authority for emergency management, or program for emergency management within the political subdivision, which is responsible for emergency management in the political subdivision.

(3) “Program for emergency management within a political subdivision” means a program for emergency management created by a political subdivision under section 5502.271 of the Revised Code.

(4) “Regional authority for emergency management” means a regional authority for emergency management established under section 5502.27 of the Revised Code.

(B) There is hereby created the intrastate mutual aid program to be known as “the intrastate mutual aid compact” to complement existing mutual aid agreements in the event of a disaster that results in a formal declaration of emergency by a participating political subdivision. The program shall provide for mutual assistance among the participating political subdivisions in response to and recovery from any disaster that results in a formal declaration of emergency by a participating political subdivision; shall provide for mutual cooperation among the participating political subdivisions in conducting disaster-related exercises, testing, or other training activities using the services, equipment, supplies, materials, personnel, and other resources of the participating political subdivisions to simulate the provision of mutual aid; and shall embody a method by which a participating political subdivision may seek assistance in the event of a formally declared emergency, which resolves many of the common issues facing political subdivisions at the time of a formally declared emergency and will ensure, to the extent possible, eligibility for available state and federal disaster funding.

(C) Each countywide emergency management agency, regional authority for emergency management, and program for emergency management within a political subdivision, which is responsible for emergency management in a participating political subdivision shall, as part of its program for emergency management under sections 5502.22, 5502.26, 5502.27, and 5502.271 of the Revised Code, as applicable, and in coordination with all departments, divisions, boards, commissions, agencies, and other instrumentalities of, and having emergency response functions within, each participating political subdivision served by that agency, authority, or program, establish procedures or plans that, to the extent possible, accomplish both of the following:

(1) Identify hazards that potentially could affect the participating political subdivisions served by that agency, authority, or program;

(2) Identify and inventory the current services, equipment, supplies, personnel, and other resources related to response and recovery activities of the participating political subdivisions served by that agency, authority, or program.

(D)(1) Within one year after December 23, 2002, the executive director of the emergency management agency shall coordinate with the countywide emergency management agencies, regional authorities for emergency management, and programs for emergency management within a political subdivision, which are responsible for emergency management in participating political subdivisions, in identifying and formulating appropriate procedures or plans to resolve resource shortfalls, as part of their respective programs for emergency management under sections 5502.22, 5502.26, 5502.27, and 5502.271 of the Revised Code, as applicable.

(2) During and after the formulation of the procedures or plans to resolve resource shortfalls, there shall be ongoing consultation and coordination among the executive director of the emergency management agency; the countywide emergency management agencies, regional authorities for emergency management, and programs for emergency management within a political subdivision, which are responsible for emergency management in participating political subdivisions; and all departments, divisions, boards, commissions, agencies, and other instrumentalities of, and having emergency response functions within, each participating political subdivision, regarding this section, local procedures and plans, and the resolution of the resource shortfalls.

(E) Participating political subdivisions may request assistance of other participating political subdivisions in response to and recovery from a disaster during formally declared emergencies or in disaster-related exercises, testing, or other training activities. Requests for assistance shall be made through the emergency management agency or an official designated by the chief executive of the participating political subdivision from which the assistance is requested. Requests may be verbal or in writing. If verbal, the request shall be confirmed in writing within seventy-two hours after the verbal request is made. Requests shall provide the following information:

(1) A description of the disaster;

(2) A description of the assistance needed;

(3) An estimate of the length of time the assistance will be needed;

(4) The specific place and time for staging of the assistance and a point of contact at that location.

(F) A participating political subdivision’s obligation to provide assistance in response to and recovery from a disaster or in disaster-related exercises, testing, or other training activities under this section is subject to the following conditions:

(1) A participating political subdivision requesting assistance must have either declared a state of emergency by resolution of its chief executive or scheduled disaster-related exercises, testing, or other training activities.

(2) A responding participating political subdivision may withhold resources necessary to provide for its own protection.

(3) Personnel of a responding participating political subdivision shall continue under their local command and control structure, but shall be under the operational control of the appropriate officials within the incident management system of the participating political subdivision receiving assistance.

(4) Responding law enforcement officers acting pursuant to this section have the same authority to enforce the law as when acting within the territory of their regular employment.

(G)(1) Nothing in this section alters the duties and responsibilities of emergency response personnel.

(2) This section does not preclude a participating political subdivision from entering into a mutual aid or other agreement with another political subdivision, and does not affect any other agreement to which a participating political subdivision may be a party, or any request for assistance that may be made, under any other section of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, any mutual aid arrangement under this chapter, any fire protection or emergency medical services contract under section 9.60 of the Revised Code, sheriffs’ requests for assistance to preserve the public peace and protect persons and property under section 311.07 of the Revised Code, agreements for mutual aid in police protection under section 737.04 of the Revised Code, and mutual aid agreements among emergency planning districts for hazardous substances or chemicals response under sections 3750.02 and 3750.03 of the Revised Code.

(H)(1) Personnel of a responding participating political subdivision who suffer injury or death in the course of, and arising out of, their employment while rendering assistance to another participating political subdivision under this section are entitled to all applicable benefits under Chapters 4121. and 4123. of the Revised Code.

(2) Personnel of a responding participating political subdivision shall be considered, while rendering assistance in another participating political subdivision under this section, to be agents of the participating political subdivision receiving the assistance for purposes of tort liability and immunity from tort liability under the law of this state.

(3)(a) A responding participating political subdivision and the personnel of that political subdivision, while rendering assistance, or while in route to or from rendering assistance, in another participating political subdivision under this section, shall be deemed to be exercising governmental functions as defined in section 2744.01 of the Revised Code, shall have the defenses to and immunities from civil liability provided in sections 2744.02 and 2744.03 of the Revised Code, and shall be entitled to all applicable limitations on recoverable damages under section 2744.05 of the Revised Code.

(b) A participating political subdivision requesting assistance and the personnel of that political subdivision, while requesting or receiving assistance from any other participating political subdivisions under this section, shall be deemed to be exercising governmental functions as defined in section 2744.01 of the Revised Code, shall have the defenses to and immunities from civil liability provided in sections 2744.02 and 2744.03 of the Revised Code, and shall be entitled to all applicable limitations on recoverable damages under section 2744.05 of the Revised Code.

(I) If a person holds a license, certificate, or other permit issued by a participating political subdivision evidencing qualification in a professional, mechanical, or other skill, and if the assistance of that person is asked for by a participating political subdivision receiving assistance under this section, the person shall be deemed to be licensed or certified in or permitted by the participating political subdivision receiving the assistance to render the assistance, subject to any limitations and conditions the chief executive of the participating political subdivision receiving the assistance may prescribe by executive order or otherwise.

(J) Except as otherwise provided in this division, any participating political subdivision rendering assistance in another participating political subdivision under this section shall be reimbursed by the participating political subdivision receiving the assistance for any loss or damage to, or expense incurred in the operation of, any equipment used in rendering the assistance, for any expense incurred in the provision of any service used in rendering the assistance, and for all other costs incurred in responding to the request for assistance. However, a participating political subdivision rendering assistance may assume in whole or in part the loss, damage, expense, or costs, or may loan the equipment or donate the service to the participating political subdivision receiving the assistance without charge or cost; any two or more participating political subdivisions may enter into agreements establishing a different allocation of loss, damage, expense, or costs among themselves; and expenses incurred under division (H)(1) of this section are not reimbursable under this division. To avoid duplication of payments, insurance proceeds available to cover any loss or damage to equipment of a participating political subdivision rendering assistance shall be considered in the reimbursement by the participating political subdivision receiving the assistance.

Effective Date: 12-23-2002; 04-14-2006

Application for a civil defense certificate of necessity shall be filed at such time, in such manner, and in such office as may be prescribed by rule adopted pursuant to section 5502.51 of the Revised Code, but no later than the expiration of six months after the beginning of construction, reconstruction, erection, or installation of the structure or the acquisition of the equipment. The application shall be in such form as may be prescribed by that rule and shall contain plans and specifications of the structure or structures, including all materials incorporated or to be incorporated therein, and a descriptive list of all equipment acquired or to be acquired. If the certifying authority finds that the facility or proposed facility is necessary in the interest of civil defense, is designed exclusively as a civil defense facility, and is suitable and reasonably adequate for the intended purpose, it shall issue a certificate to that effect. No structure or equipment shall be considered suitable and adequate unless it is constructed to provide reasonable protection against modern methods of warfare including nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare in accordance with any standards of adequacy furnished by the federal emergency management agency.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

Before issuing any civil defense certificate, the certifying authority shall give notice in writing by registered mail to the tax commissioner, and, in case the application relates to a structure, written notice to the county auditor of the county in which such structure is or is to be located, and shall afford to the applicant and the tax commissioner and the county auditor to whom such notice has been given an opportunity for a hearing. On like notice to the applicant and opportunity for hearing the certifying authority, on its own initiative or on complaint by the tax commissioner or the county auditor of the county in which any property to which a civil defense certificate relates is located, shall revoke such civil defense certificate whenever any of the following appears:

(A) That the certificate was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation;

(B) That the holder of the certificate has failed substantially to proceed with the construction, reconstruction, installation, or acquisition of the civil defense facility contemplated by the certificate;

(C) That the structure, or the equipment, or both, to which the certificate relates is being used for the ordinary and usual purposes of the holder, and is no more than sufficient for such ordinary and usual purposes; provided, that where the circumstances so require, the certifying authority in lieu of revoking such certificate may modify the same by restricting its operation.

Upon the mailing of notice of the action of the certifying authority revoking or modifying a civil defense certificate, as provided in section 5502.44 of the Revised Code, such certificate shall cease to be in force, or shall remain in force only as modified, as the case may require.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

A civil defense certificate, when issued, shall be sent by registered mail to the applicant and notice of such issuance, in the form of certified copies thereof, shall be sent by registered mail by the certifying authority to the tax commissioner and to the county auditor of the county in which any property to which the same relates is located. Notice of the order of the certifying authority denying, revoking, or modifying a civil defense certificate, in the form of certified copies thereof, shall be sent by registered mail to the applicant or holder thereof and to the tax commissioner and such county auditor. The applicant or holder and the tax commissioner and such county auditor are parties for the purpose of the review afforded by section 5502.45 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

Any party aggrieved by the issuance, the refusal to issue, the revocation, or the modification of a civil defense certificate may appeal to the common pleas court of the county in which the property to which the same relates, or would relate, is located. The party desiring to appeal shall file a notice of appeal with the certifying authority setting forth the order appealed from and the grounds of his appeal. A copy of such notice of appeal shall also be filed by appellant with the court. Such notice of appeal shall be filed within fifteen days after mailing of notice as provided in section 5505.44 of the Revised Code.

The filing of a notice of appeal shall not operate as a suspension of the order of the certifying authority. Within ten days after receipt of notice of appeal the certifying authority shall prepare and certify to the court a complete record of its proceedings in the matter. Upon demand by any party the certifying authority shall furnish at the cost of such party a copy of the stenographic report of testimony offered and evidence submitted at any hearing.

In the hearing of the appeal the court shall be confined to the record as certified to it. The court shall determine the rights of the parties in accordance with sections 5502.42 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code, and may affirm, reverse, vacate, or modify the action of the certifying authority complained of in the appeal. The court shall certify its judgment to the parties to the appeal or take such other action in connection therewith as may be required to give its judgment effect.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

Whenever a civil defense certificate is revoked because it was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation, all taxes that would have been payable had no certificate been issued shall be assessed with maximum penalties prescribed by the law applicable thereto.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

No civil defense structure shall be considered an improvement on the land on which the same is located for the purpose of real property taxation, if and from the time that a certified copy of the civil defense certificate shall have been filed in the office of the county auditor of the county in which the same is situated, and so long as such civil defense certificate shall be in force.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

No civil defense structure or equipment shall be considered as “used in business” for the purpose of personal property taxation.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

No civil defense structure or equipment for which a civil defense certificate has been issued shall be considered as an asset of any corporation in determining the value of its issued and outstanding shares or the value of the property owned and used by it in this state for the purpose of the franchise tax.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

Where for reasons of national defense, a structure is constructed by an industry that is included on the list of critical industries as furnished by the federal emergency management agency, and the structure is located underground or in such similar fashion so as to provide superior protection against attack, that portion of the cost of the structure that is attributable to the added protection shall not be considered in determining the value of the structure for purposes of property taxation.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

The director of public safety shall adopt and may amend or rescind rules and standards, consistent with sections 5502.42 to 5502.51 of the Revised Code, to govern the issuance of civil defense certificates and carry out the purposes of those sections.

Effective Date: 10-29-1995

(A) There is hereby created the statewide emergency alert program to aid in the identification and location of children who are under eighteen years of age, who are abducted, and whose abduction, as determined by a law enforcement agency, poses a credible threat of immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death to a child. The program shall be a coordinated effort among the governor’s office, the department of public safety, the attorney general, law enforcement agencies, the state’s public and commercial television and radio broadcasters, and others as deemed necessary by the governor.

(B) The statewide emergency alert program shall not be implemented unless all of the following activation criteria are met:

(1) The local investigating law enforcement agency confirms that an abduction has occurred.

(2) An abducted child is under eighteen years of age.

(3) The abduction poses a credible threat of immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death to a child.

(4) A law enforcement agency determines that the child is not a runaway and has not been abducted as a result of a child custody dispute, unless the dispute poses a credible threat of immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death to the child.

(5) There is sufficient descriptive information about the child, the abductor, and the circumstances surrounding the abduction to indicate that activation of the alert will help locate the child.

(C) Nothing in division (B) of this section prevents the activation of a local or regional emergency alert program that may impose different criteria for the activation of a local or regional plan.

(D) Any radio broadcast station, television broadcast station, or cable television system participating in the statewide emergency alert program or in any local or regional emergency alert program, and any director, officer, employee, or agent of any such station or system, shall not be liable to any person for damages for any loss allegedly caused by or resulting from the station’s or system’s broadcast or cablecast of, or failure to broadcast or cablecast, any information pursuant to the statewide emergency alert program or the local or regional emergency alert program.

(E) No person shall knowingly make a false report that a child has been abducted and that leads to the implementation of the statewide emergency alert program created under this section or that leads to the implementation of a local or regional emergency alert program. Whoever violates this division is guilty of a felony of the fourth degree.

(F) As used in this section:

(1) “Abducted child” means a child for whom there is credible evidence to believe that the child has been abducted in violation of section 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.03, or 2905.05 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Cable television system” means a cable system, as defined in section 2913.04 of the Revised Code.

(3) “Law enforcement agency” includes, but is not limited to, a county sheriff’s office, the office of a village marshal, a police department of a municipal corporation, a police force of a regional transit authority, a police force of a metropolitan housing authority, the state highway patrol, a state university law enforcement agency, the office of a township police constable, and the police department of a township or joint township police district.

Effective Date: 01-09-2003; 03-31-2005; 04-05-2007

(A) There is hereby created the AMBER alert advisory committee, consisting of members to be appointed by the governor. The committee shall advise the governor, the attorney general, the department of public safety, and law enforcement agencies on an ongoing basis on the implementation, operation, improvement, and evaluation of the statewide emergency alert program created under section 5502.52 of the Revised Code.

(B) Initial appointments to the committee shall be made within thirty days after the effective date of this section. Terms of office shall be for two years. Members may be reappointed. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as provided for original appointments.

(C) The committee shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) The governor’s designee;

(2) A representative from the department of public safety, representing the emergency management agency;

(3) A representative from the department of public safety, representing the state highway patrol;

(4) A representative from the attorney general’s office — missing children clearing house;

(5) A representative from the state emergency communications committee;

(6) A representative from the federal bureau of investigation;

(7) A representative from the buckeye state sheriffs association;

(8) A representative from the Ohio association of chiefs of police;

(9) A broadcast industry designee;

(10) A victim or a victim’s advocate;

(11) A representative from a local or regional AMBER plan;

(12) A representative of any other agency or organization as deemed appropriate by the governor.

(D) The governor shall select one member to serve as chairperson for a two-year term.

(E) The committee may meet periodically to review and evaluate the operation and effectiveness of the statewide emergency alert program, develop recommendations for procedures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the program, and work in a coordinated effort to make recommendations for needed legislative change.

(F) Members of the committee shall serve without compensation.

Effective Date: 01-09-2003

As used in sections 5502.61 to 5502.66 of the Revised Code:

(A) “Federal criminal justice acts” means any federal law that authorizes financial assistance and other forms of assistance to be given by the federal government to the states to be used for the improvement of the criminal and juvenile justice systems of the states.

(B)(1) “Criminal justice system” includes all of the functions of the following:

(a) The state highway patrol, county sheriff offices, municipal and township police departments, and all other law enforcement agencies;

(b) The courts of appeals, courts of common pleas, municipal courts, county courts, and mayor’s courts, when dealing with criminal cases;

(c) The prosecuting attorneys, city directors of law, village solicitors, and other prosecuting authorities when prosecuting or otherwise handling criminal cases, and the county and joint county public defenders and other public defender agencies or offices;

(d) The department of rehabilitation and correction, probation departments, county and municipal jails and workhouses, and any other department, agency, or facility that is concerned with the rehabilitation or correction of criminal offenders;

(e) Any public or private agency whose purposes include the prevention of crime or the diversion, adjudication, detention, or rehabilitation of criminal offenders;

(f) Any public or private agency, the purposes of which include assistance to crime victims or witnesses.

(2) The inclusion of any public or private agency, the purposes of which include assistance to crime victims or witnesses, as part of the criminal justice system pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section does not limit, and shall not be construed as limiting, the discretion or authority of the attorney general with respect to crime victim assistance and criminal justice programs.

(C) “Juvenile justice system” includes all of the functions of the juvenile courts, the department of youth services, any public or private agency whose purposes include the prevention of delinquency or the diversion, adjudication, detention, or rehabilitation of delinquent children, and any of the functions of the criminal justice system that are applicable to children.

(D) “Comprehensive plan” means a document that coordinates, evaluates, and otherwise assists, on an annual or multi-year basis, any of the functions of the criminal and juvenile justice systems of the state or a specified area of the state, that conforms to the priorities of the state with respect to criminal and juvenile justice systems, and that conforms with the requirements of all federal criminal justice acts. These functions may include, but are not limited to, any of the following:

(1) Crime and delinquency prevention;

(2) Identification, detection, apprehension, and detention of persons charged with criminal offenses or delinquent acts;

(3) Assistance to crime victims or witnesses, except that the comprehensive plan does not include the functions of the attorney general pursuant to sections 109.91 and 109.92 of the Revised Code;

(4) Adjudication or diversion of persons charged with criminal offenses or delinquent acts;

(5) Custodial treatment of criminal offenders, delinquent children, or both;

(6) Institutional and noninstitutional rehabilitation of criminal offenders, delinquent children, or both.

(E) “Metropolitan county criminal justice services agency” means an agency that is established pursuant to division (A) of section 5502.64 of the Revised Code.

(F) “Administrative planning district” means a district that is established pursuant to division (A) or (B) of section 5502.66 of the Revised Code.

(G) “Criminal justice coordinating council” means a criminal justice services agency that is established pursuant to division (D) of section 5502.66 of the Revised Code.

(H) “Local elected official” means any person who is a member of a board of county commissioners or township trustees or of a city or village council, judge of the court of common pleas, a municipal court, or a county court, sheriff, county coroner, prosecuting attorney, city director of law, village solicitor, or mayor.

(I) “Juvenile justice coordinating council” means a juvenile justice services agency that is established pursuant to division (D) of section 5502.66 of the Revised Code.

(J) “Mcgruff house program” means a program in which individuals or families volunteer to have their homes or other buildings serve as places of temporary refuge for children and to display the mcgruff house symbol identifying the home or building as that type of place.

(K) “Mcgruff house symbol” means the symbol that is characterized by the image of “mcgruff,” the crime dog, and the slogan “take a bite out of crime,” and that has been adopted by the national crime prevention council as the symbol of its national citizens’ crime prevention campaign.

(L) “Sponsoring agency” means any of the following:

(1) The board of education of any city, local, or exempted village school district;

(2) The governing board of any educational service center;

(3) The governing authority of any chartered nonpublic school;

(4) The police department of any municipal corporation, township, township police district, or joint township police district;

(5) The office of any township constable or county sheriff.

Effective Date: 06-30-2005; 04-01-2007

(A) There is hereby created in the department of public safety a division of criminal justice services. The director of public safety, with the concurrence of the governor, shall appoint an executive director of the division of criminal justice services. The executive director shall be the head of the division. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the director of public safety. To carry out the duties assigned under this section and to comply with sections 5502.63 to 5502.66 of the Revised Code, the executive director, subject to the direction and control of the director of public safety, may appoint and maintain any necessary staff and may enter into any necessary contracts and other agreements. The executive director of the division, and all professional and technical personnel employed within the division who are not public employees as defined in section 4117.01 of the Revised Code, shall be in the unclassified civil service, and all other persons employed within the division shall be in the classified civil service.

(B) Subject to division (F) of this section and subject to divisions (D) to (F) of section 5120.09 of the Revised Code insofar as those divisions relate to federal criminal justice acts that the governor requires the department of rehabilitation and correction to administer, the division of criminal justice services shall do all of the following:

(1) Serve as the state criminal justice services agency and perform criminal justice system planning in the state, including any planning that is required by any federal law;

(2) Collect, analyze, and correlate information and data concerning the criminal justice system in the state;

(3) Cooperate with and provide technical assistance to state departments, administrative planning districts, metropolitan county criminal justice services agencies, criminal justice coordinating councils, agencies, offices, and departments of the criminal justice system in the state, and other appropriate organizations and persons;

(4) Encourage and assist agencies, offices, and departments of the criminal justice system in the state and other appropriate organizations and persons to solve problems that relate to the duties of the division;

(5) Administer within the state any federal criminal justice acts that the governor requires it to administer;

(6) Administer funds received under the “Family Violence Prevention and Services Act,” 98 Stat. 1757 (1984), 42 U.S.C.A. 10401, as amended, with all powers necessary for the adequate administration of those funds, including the authority to establish a family violence prevention and services program;

(7) Implement the state comprehensive plans;

(8) Audit grant activities of agencies, offices, organizations, and persons that are financed in whole or in part by funds granted through the division;

(9) Monitor or evaluate the performance of criminal justice system projects and programs in the state that are financed in whole or in part by funds granted through the division;

(10) Apply for, allocate, disburse, and account for grants that are made available pursuant to federal criminal justice acts, or made available from other federal, state, or private sources, to improve the criminal justice system in the state. All money from such federal grants that require that the money be deposited into an interest-bearing fund or account, that are intended to provide funding to local criminal justice programs, and that require that investment earnings be distributed for program purposes shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the federal justice programs funds, which are hereby created. A separate fund shall be established each federal fiscal year. All investment earnings of a federal justice programs fund shall be credited to that fund and distributed in accordance with the terms of the grant under which the money is received. If the terms under which the money is received do not require the money to be deposited into an interest-bearing fund or account, all money from such federal grants shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the federal justice grants fund, which is hereby created. Money credited to the fund shall be used or distributed pursuant to the federal grant programs under which the money is received.

(11) Contract with federal, state, and local agencies, foundations, corporations, businesses, and persons when necessary to carry out the duties of the division;

(12) Oversee the activities of metropolitan county criminal justice services agencies, administrative planning districts, and criminal justice coordinating councils in the state;

(13) Advise the director of public safety, general assembly, and governor on legislation and other significant matters that pertain to the improvement and reform of criminal and juvenile justice systems in the state;

(14) Prepare and recommend legislation to the director of public safety, general assembly, and governor for the improvement of the criminal and juvenile justice systems in the state;

(15) Assist, advise, and make any reports that are requested or required by the governor, director of public safety, attorney general, or general assembly;

(16) Develop and maintain the Ohio incident-based reporting system in accordance with division (C) of this section;

(17) Subject to the approval of the director of public safety, adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code;

(18)(a) Not later than June 1, 2007, and subject to the approval of the director of public safety, adopt rules for the establishment and maintenance of a mcgruff house program by any sponsoring agency. The rules shall include the following:

(i) The adoption of the mcgruff house symbol to be used exclusively in all mcgruff house programs in this state;

(ii) The requirements for any sponsoring agency to establish and maintain a mcgruff house program;

(iii) The criteria for the selection of volunteers to participate in a mcgruff house program that shall include, but not be limited to, criminal background checks of those volunteers;

(iv) Any other matters that the division of criminal justice services considers necessary for the establishment and maintenance of mcgruff house programs by sponsoring agencies and the participation of volunteers in those programs.

(b) The division of criminal justice services shall distribute materials and provide technical assistance to any sponsoring agency that establishes and maintains a mcgruff house program, any volunteer group or organization that provides assistance to that sponsoring agency, or any volunteer who participates in a mcgruff house program.

(C) The division of criminal justice services shall develop and maintain the Ohio incident-based reporting system to facilitate the sharing of information with the federal bureau of investigation and participating law enforcement agencies in Ohio. The Ohio incident-based reporting system shall be known as OIBRS. In connection with OIBRS, the division shall do all of the following:

(1) Collect and organize statistical data for reporting to the national incident-based reporting system operated by the federal bureau of investigation for the purpose of securing federal criminal justice grants;

(2) Analyze and highlight mapping data for participating law enforcement agencies;

(3) Distribute data and analyses to participating law enforcement agencies;