Make appropriations for Bureau of Workers' Comp for FY 2026-27

(136th General Assembly)

(Amended
House Bill Number 81)

AN ACT

To amend sections 4121.12,
4121.121, 4121.13, 4123.44, 4123.52, 4123.54, 4123.57, 4123.66,
4125.07, 4133.10, 4167.01, 4167.10, and 5145.163 and to repeal
sections 4167.25, 4167.27, and 4167.28 of the Revised Code to make
appropriations for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation for the
biennium beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027, to provide
authorization and conditions for the operation of the Bureau's
programs, and to make changes to the Workers' Compensation Law.

Be
it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:

Section
1.
That
sections 4121.12, 4121.121, 4121.13, 4123.44, 4123.52, 4123.54,
4123.57, 4123.66, 4125.07, 4133.10, 4167.01, 4167.10, and 5145.163 of
the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec.
4121.12.
(A)
There is hereby created the bureau of workers' compensation board of
directors consisting of eleven members to be appointed by the
governor with the advice and consent of the senate. One member shall
be an individual who, on account of the individual's previous
vocation, employment, or affiliations, can be classed as a
representative of employees; two members shall be individuals who, on
account of their previous vocation, employment, or affiliations, can
be classed as representatives of employee organizations and at least
one of these two individuals shall be a member of the executive
committee of the largest statewide labor federation; three members
shall be individuals who, on account of their previous vocation,
employment, or affiliations, can be classed as representatives of
employers, one of whom represents self-insuring employers, one of
whom is a state fund employer who employs one hundred or more
employees, and one of whom is a state fund employer who employs less
than one hundred employees; two members shall be individuals who, on
account of their vocation, employment, or affiliations, can be
classed as investment and securities experts who have direct
experience in the management, analysis, supervision, or investment of
assets and are residents of this state; one member who shall be a
certified public accountant; one member who shall be an actuary who
is a member in good standing with the American academy of actuaries
or who is an associate or fellow with the casualty actuarial society;
and one member shall represent the public and also be an individual
who, on account of the individual's previous vocation, employment, or
affiliations, cannot be classed as either predominantly
representative of employees or of employers. The governor shall
select the chairperson of the board who shall serve as chairperson at
the pleasure of the governor.

None
of the members of the board, within one year immediately preceding
the member's appointment, shall have been employed by the bureau of
workers' compensation or by any person, partnership, or corporation
that has provided to the bureau services of a financial or investment
nature, including the management, analysis, supervision, or
investment of assets.

(B)
Of the initial appointments made to the board, the governor shall
appoint the member who represents employees, one member who
represents employers, and the member who represents the public to a
term ending one year after June 11, 2007; one member who represents
employers, one member who represents employee organizations, one
member who is an investment and securities expert, and the member who
is a certified public accountant to a term ending two years after
June 11, 2007; and one member who represents employers, one member
who represents employee organizations, one member who is an
investment and securities expert, and the member who is an actuary to
a term ending three years after June 11, 2007. Thereafter, terms of
office shall be for three years, with each term ending on the same
day of the same month as did the term that it succeeds. Each member
shall hold office from the date of the member's appointment until the
end of the term for which the member was appointed.

Members
may be reappointed. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring
prior to the expiration date of the term for which the member's
predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a member for the
remainder of that term. A member shall continue in office subsequent
to the expiration date of the member's term until a successor takes
office or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs
first.

(C)
In making appointments to the board, the governor shall select the
members from the list of names submitted by the workers' compensation
board of directors nominating committee pursuant to this division.
The nominating committee shall submit to the governor a list
containing four separate names for each of the members on the board.
Within fourteen days after the submission of the list, the governor
shall appoint individuals from the list.

At
least thirty days prior to a vacancy occurring as a result of the
expiration of a term and within thirty days after other vacancies
occurring on the board, the nominating committee shall submit an
initial list containing four names for each vacancy. Within fourteen
days after the submission of the initial list, the governor either
shall appoint individuals from that list or request the nominating
committee to submit another list of four names for each member the
governor has not appointed from the initial list, which list the
nominating committee shall submit to the governor within fourteen
days after the governor's request. The governor then shall appoint,
within seven days after the submission of the second list, one of the
individuals from either list to fill the vacancy for which the
governor has not made an appointment from the initial list. If the
governor appoints an individual to fill a vacancy occurring as a
result of the expiration of a term, the individual appointed shall
begin serving as a member of the board when the term for which the
individual's predecessor was appointed expires or immediately upon
appointment by the governor, whichever occurs later. With respect to
the filling of vacancies, the nominating committee shall provide the
governor with a list of four individuals who are, in the judgment of
the nominating committee, the most fully qualified to accede to
membership on the board.

In
order for the name of an individual to be submitted to the governor
under this division, the nominating committee shall approve the
individual by an affirmative vote of a majority of its members.

(D)
All members of the board shall receive their reasonable and necessary
expenses pursuant to section 126.31 of the Revised Code while engaged
in the performance of their duties as members and also shall receive
an annual salary not to exceed sixty thousand dollars in total,
payable on the following basis:

(1)
Except as provided in division (D)(2) of this section, a member shall
receive two thousand five hundred dollars during a month in which the
member attends one or more meetings of the board and shall receive no
payment during a month in which the member attends no meeting of the
board.

(2)
A member may receive no more than thirty thousand dollars per year to
compensate the member for attending meetings of the board, regardless
of the number of meetings held by the board during a year or the
number of meetings in excess of twelve within a year that the member
attends.

(3)
Except as provided in division (D)(4) of this section, if a member
serves on the workers' compensation audit committee, workers'
compensation actuarial committee, or the workers' compensation
investment committee, the member shall receive two thousand five
hundred dollars during a month in which the member attends one or
more meetings of the committee on which the member serves and shall
receive no payment during any month in which the member attends no
meeting of that committee.

(4)
A member may receive no more than thirty thousand dollars per year to
compensate the member for attending meetings of any of the committees
specified in division (D)(3) of this section, regardless of the
number of meetings held by a committee during a year or the number of
committees on which a member serves.

The
chairperson of the board shall set the meeting dates of the board as
necessary to perform the duties of the board under this chapter and
Chapters 4123., 4125., 4127., 4131., 4133., and 4167. of the Revised
Code. The board shall meet at least twelve times a year. The
administrator of workers' compensation shall provide professional and
clerical assistance to the board, as the board considers appropriate.

(E)
Before entering upon the duties of office, each appointed member of
the board shall take an oath of office as required by sections 3.22
and 3.23 of the Revised Code and file in the office of the secretary
of state the bond required under section 4121.127 of the Revised
Code.

(F)
The board shall:

(1)
Establish the overall administrative policy for the bureau for the
purposes of this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4125., 4127., 4131.,
4133., and 4167. of the Revised Code;

(2)
Review progress of the bureau in meeting its cost and quality
objectives and in complying with this chapter and Chapters 4123.,
4125., 4127., 4131., 4133., and 4167. of the Revised Code;

(3)
Submit an annual report to the president of the senate, the speaker
of the house of representatives, and the governor and include all of
the following in that report:

(a)
An evaluation of the cost and quality objectives of the bureau;

(b)
A statement of the net assets available for the provision of
compensation and benefits under this chapter and Chapters 4123.,
4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code as of the last day of the fiscal
year;

(c)
A statement of any changes that occurred in the net assets available,
including employer premiums and net investment income, for the
provision of compensation and benefits and payment of administrative
expenses, between the first and last day of the fiscal year
immediately preceding the date of the report;

(d)
The following information for each of the six consecutive fiscal
years occurring previous to the report:

(i)
A schedule of the net assets available for compensation and benefits;

(ii)
The annual cost of the payment of compensation and benefits;

(iii)
Annual administrative expenses incurred;

(iv)
Annual employer premiums allocated for the provision of compensation
and benefits.

(e)
A description of any significant changes that occurred during the six
years for which the board provided the information required under
division (F)(3)(d) of this section that affect the ability of the
board to compare that information from year to year.

(4)
Review all independent financial audits of the bureau. The
administrator shall provide access to records of the bureau to
facilitate the review required under this division.

(5)
Study issues as requested by the administrator or the governor;

(6)
Contract with all of the following:

(a)
An independent actuarial firm to assist the board in making
recommendations to the administrator regarding premium rates;

(b)
An outside investment counsel to assist the workers' compensation
investment committee in fulfilling its duties;

(c)
An independent fiduciary counsel to assist the board in the
performance of its duties.

(7)
Approve the investment policy developed by the workers' compensation
investment committee pursuant to section 4121.129 of the Revised Code
if the policy satisfies the requirements specified in section
4123.442 of the Revised Code;

(8)
Review and publish the investment policy no less than annually and
make copies available to interested parties;

(9)
Prohibit, on a prospective basis, any specific investment it finds to
be contrary to the investment policy approved by the board;

(10)
Vote to open each investment class and allow the administrator to
invest in an investment class only if the board, by a majority vote,
opens that class;

(11)
After opening a class but prior to the administrator investing in
that class, adopt rules establishing due diligence standards for
employees of the bureau to follow when investing in that class and
establish policies and procedures to review and monitor the
performance and value of each investment class;

(12)
Submit a report annually on the performance and value of each
investment class to the governor, the president and minority leader
of the senate, and the speaker and minority leader of the house of
representatives;

(13)
Advise and consent on all of the following:

(a)
Administrative rules the administrator submits to it pursuant to
division (B)(5) of section 4121.121 of the Revised Code for the
classification of occupations or industries, for premium rates and
contributions, for the amount to be credited to the surplus fund, for
rules and systems of rating, rate revisions, and merit rating;

(b)
The duties and authority conferred upon the administrator pursuant to
section 4121.37 of the Revised Code;

(c)
Rules the administrator adopts for the health partnership program and
the qualified health plan system, as provided in sections 4121.44,
4121.441, and 4121.442 of the Revised Code;

(d)
Rules the administrator submits to it pursuant to Chapter 4167. of
the Revised Code regarding the public employment risk reduction
program

and
the protection of public health care workers from exposure incidents.

As
used in this division, "public health care worker" and
"exposure incident" have the same meanings as in section
4167.25 of the Revised Code
.

(14)
Perform all duties required under this chapter and Chapters 4123.,
4125., 4127., 4131., 4133., and 4167. of the Revised Code;

(15)

Meet
with the governor on an annual basis to discuss the administrator's
performance of the duties specified in this chapter and Chapters
4123., 4125., 4127., 4131., 4133., and 4167. of the Revised Code;

(16)

Develop
and participate in a bureau of workers' compensation board of
directors education program that consists of all of the following:

(a)
An orientation component for newly appointed members;

(b)
A continuing education component for board members who have served
for at least one year;

(c)
A curriculum that includes education about each of the following
topics:

(i)
Board member duties and responsibilities;

(ii)
Compensation and benefits paid pursuant to this chapter and Chapters
4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code;

(iii)
Ethics;

(iv)
Governance processes and procedures;

(v)
Actuarial soundness;

(vi)
Investments;

(vii)
Any other subject matter the board believes is reasonably related to
the duties of a board member.

(17)
(16)

Hold all sessions, classes, and other events for the program
developed pursuant to division
(F)(16)
(F)(15)

of this section in this state.

(G)
The board may do both of the following:

(1)
Vote to close any investment class;

(2)
Create any committees in addition to the workers' compensation audit
committee, the workers' compensation actuarial committee, and the
workers' compensation investment committee that the board determines
are necessary to assist the board in performing its duties.

(H)
The office of a member of the board who is convicted of or pleads
guilty to a felony, a theft offense as defined in section 2913.01 of
the Revised Code, or a violation of section 102.02, 102.03, 102.04,
2921.02, 2921.11, 2921.13, 2921.31, 2921.41, 2921.42, 2921.43, or
2921.44 of the Revised Code shall be deemed vacant. The vacancy shall
be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. A person
who has pleaded guilty to or been convicted of an offense of that
nature is ineligible to be a member of the board. A member who
receives a bill of indictment for any of the offenses specified in
this section shall be automatically suspended from the board pending
resolution of the criminal matter.

(I)

For
the purposes of division (G)(1) of section 121.22 of the Revised
Code, the meeting between the governor and the board to review the
administrator's performance as required under division (F)(15) of
this section shall be considered a meeting regarding the employment
of the administrator.
Notwithstanding
any provision to the contrary in section 3.17 of the Revised Code, a
board member who fails to attend nine or more board meetings,
including regular and special meetings, during any consecutive
twelve-month period forfeits the member's position on the board. The
resulting vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment.

Sec.
4121.121.
(A)
There is hereby created the bureau of workers' compensation, which
shall be administered by the administrator of workers' compensation.
A person appointed to the position of administrator shall possess
significant management experience in effectively managing an
organization or organizations of substantial size and complexity. A
person appointed to the position of administrator also shall possess
a minimum of five years of experience in the field of workers'
compensation insurance or in another insurance industry, except as
otherwise provided when the conditions specified in division (C) of
this section are satisfied. The governor shall appoint the
administrator as provided in section 121.03 of the Revised Code, and
the administrator shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. The
governor shall fix the administrator's salary on the basis of the
administrator's experience and the administrator's responsibilities
and duties under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4125., 4127.,
4131., 4133., and 4167. of the Revised Code. The governor shall not
appoint to the position of administrator any person who has, or whose
spouse has, given a contribution to the campaign committee of the
governor in an amount greater than one thousand dollars during the
two-year period immediately preceding the date of the appointment of
the administrator.

The
administrator shall hold no other public office and shall devote full
time to the duties of administrator. Before entering upon the duties
of the office, the administrator shall take an oath of office as
required by sections 3.22 and 3.23 of the Revised Code, and shall
file in the office of the secretary of state, a bond signed by the
administrator and by surety approved by the governor, for the sum of
fifty thousand dollars payable to the state, conditioned upon the
faithful performance of the administrator's duties.

(B)
The administrator is responsible for the management of the bureau and
for the discharge of all administrative duties imposed upon the
administrator in this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4125., 4127.,
4131., 4133., and 4167. of the Revised Code, and in the discharge
thereof shall do all of the following:

(1)
Perform all acts and exercise all authorities and powers,
discretionary and otherwise that are required of or vested in the
bureau or any of its employees in this chapter and Chapters 4123.,
4125., 4127., 4131., 4133., and 4167. of the Revised Code, except the
acts and the exercise of authority and power that is required of and
vested in the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors or
the industrial commission pursuant to those chapters. The treasurer
of state shall honor all warrants signed by the administrator, or by
one or more of the administrator's employees, authorized by the
administrator in writing, or bearing the facsimile signature of the
administrator or such employee under sections 4123.42 and 4123.44 of
the Revised Code.

(2)
Employ, direct, and supervise all employees required in connection
with the performance of the duties assigned to the bureau by this
chapter and Chapters 4123., 4125., 4127., 4131., 4133., and 4167. of
the Revised Code, including an actuary, and may establish job
classification plans and compensation for all employees of the bureau
provided that this grant of authority shall not be construed as
affecting any employee for whom the state employment relations board
has established an appropriate bargaining unit under section 4117.06
of the Revised Code. All positions of employment in the bureau are in
the classified civil service except those employees the administrator
may appoint to serve at the administrator's pleasure in the
unclassified civil service pursuant to section 124.11 of the Revised
Code. The administrator shall fix the salaries of employees the
administrator appoints to serve at the administrator's pleasure,
including the chief operating officer, staff physicians, staff
certified nurse-midwives, staff clinical nurse specialists, staff
certified nurse practitioners, and other senior management personnel
of the bureau and shall establish the compensation of staff attorneys
of the bureau's legal section and their immediate supervisors, and
take whatever steps are necessary to provide adequate compensation
for other staff attorneys.

The
administrator may appoint a person who holds a certified position in
the classified service within the bureau to a position in the
unclassified service within the bureau. A person appointed pursuant
to this division to a position in the unclassified service shall
retain the right to resume the position and status held by the person
in the classified service immediately prior to the person's
appointment in the unclassified service, regardless of the number of
positions the person held in the unclassified service. An employee's
right to resume a position in the classified service may only be
exercised when the administrator demotes the employee to a pay range
lower than the employee's current pay range or revokes the employee's
appointment to the unclassified service. An employee who holds a
position in the classified service and who is appointed to a position
in the unclassified service on or after January 1, 2016, shall have
the right to resume a position in the classified service under this
division only within five years after the effective date of the
employee's appointment in the unclassified service. An employee
forfeits the right to resume a position in the classified service
when the employee is removed from the position in the unclassified
service due to incompetence, inefficiency, dishonesty, drunkenness,
immoral conduct, insubordination, discourteous treatment of the
public, neglect of duty, violation of this chapter or Chapter 124.,
4123., 4125., 4127., 4131., 4133., or 4167. of the Revised Code,
violation of the rules of the director of administrative services or
the administrator, any other failure of good behavior, any other acts
of misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, or conviction
of a felony while employed in the civil service. An employee also
forfeits the right to resume a position in the classified service
upon transfer to a different agency.

Reinstatement
to a position in the classified service shall be to a position
substantially equal to that position in the classified service held
previously, as certified by the department of administrative
services. If the position the person previously held in the
classified service has been placed in the unclassified service or is
otherwise unavailable, the person shall be appointed to a position in
the classified service within the bureau that the director of
administrative services certifies is comparable in compensation to
the position the person previously held in the classified service.
Service in the position in the unclassified service shall be counted
as service in the position in the classified service held by the
person immediately prior to the person's appointment in the
unclassified service. When a person is reinstated to a position in
the classified service as provided in this division, the person is
entitled to all rights, status, and benefits accruing to the position
during the person's time of service in the position in the
unclassified service.

(3)
Reorganize the work of the bureau, its sections, departments, and
offices to the extent necessary to achieve the most efficient
performance of its functions and to that end may establish, change,
or abolish positions and assign and reassign duties and
responsibilities of every employee of the bureau. All persons
employed by the commission in positions that, after November 3, 1989,
are supervised and directed by the administrator under this section
are transferred to the bureau in their respective classifications but
subject to reassignment and reclassification of position and
compensation as the administrator determines to be in the interest of
efficient administration. The civil service status of any person
employed by the commission is not affected by this section. Personnel
employed by the bureau or the commission who are subject to Chapter
4117. of the Revised Code shall retain all of their rights and
benefits conferred pursuant to that chapter as it presently exists or
is hereafter amended and nothing in this chapter or Chapter 4123. of
the Revised Code shall be construed as eliminating or interfering
with Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code or the rights and benefits
conferred under that chapter to public employees or to any bargaining
unit.

(4)
Provide offices, equipment, supplies, and other facilities for the
bureau.

(5)
Prepare and submit to the board information the administrator
considers pertinent or the board requires, together with the
administrator's recommendations, in the form of administrative rules,
for the advice and consent of the board, for classifications of
occupations or industries, for premium rates and contributions, for
the amount to be credited to the surplus fund, for rules and systems
of rating, rate revisions, and merit rating. The administrator shall
obtain, prepare, and submit any other information the board requires
for the prompt and efficient discharge of its duties.

(6)
Keep the accounts required by division (A) of section 4123.34 of the
Revised Code and all other accounts and records necessary to the
collection, administration, and distribution of the workers'
compensation funds and shall obtain the statistical and other
information required by section 4123.19 of the Revised Code.

(7)
Exercise the investment powers vested in the administrator by section
4123.44 of the Revised Code in accordance with the investment policy
approved by the board pursuant to section 4121.12 of the Revised Code
and in consultation with the chief investment officer of the bureau
of workers' compensation. The administrator shall not engage in any
prohibited investment activity specified by the board pursuant to
division (F)(9) of section 4121.12 of the Revised Code and shall not
invest in any type of investment specified in divisions (B)(1) to
(10) of section 4123.442 of the Revised Code. All business shall be
transacted, all funds invested, all warrants for money drawn and
payments made, and all cash and securities and other property held,
in the name of the bureau, or in the name of its nominee, provided
that nominees are authorized by the administrator solely for the
purpose of facilitating the transfer of securities, and restricted to
the administrator and designated employees.

(8)
In accordance with Chapter 125. of the Revised Code, purchase
supplies, materials, equipment, and services.

(9)
Prepare
and
submit to the board
an
annual budget for internal operating purposes

for
the board's approval
.
The administrator also shall, separately from the budget the
industrial commission submits, prepare and submit to the director of
budget and management a budget for each biennium. The
budgets

budget

submitted
to the
board
and the
director
shall include estimates of the costs and necessary expenditures of
the bureau in the discharge of any duty imposed by law.

(10)
As promptly as possible in the course of efficient administration,
decentralize and relocate such of the personnel and activities of the
bureau as is appropriate to the end that the receipt, investigation,
determination, and payment of claims may be undertaken at or near the
place of injury or the residence of the claimant and for that purpose
establish regional offices, in such places as the administrator
considers proper, capable of discharging as many of the functions of
the bureau as is practicable so as to promote prompt and efficient
administration in the processing of claims. All active and inactive
lost-time claims files shall be held at the service office
responsible for the claim. A claimant, at the claimant's request,
shall be provided with information by telephone as to the location of
the file pertaining to the claimant's claim. The administrator shall
ensure that all service office employees report directly to the
director for their service office.

(11)
Provide a written binder on new coverage where the administrator
considers it to be in the best interest of the risk. The
administrator, or any other person authorized by the administrator,
shall grant the binder upon submission of a request for coverage by
the employer. A binder is effective for a period of thirty days from
date of issuance and is nonrenewable. Payroll reports and premium
charges shall coincide with the effective date of the binder.

(12)
Set standards for the reasonable and maximum handling time of claims
payment functions, ensure, by rules, the impartial and prompt
treatment of all claims and employer risk accounts, and establish a
secure, accurate method of time stamping all incoming mail and
documents hand delivered to bureau employees.

(13)
Ensure that all employees of the bureau follow the orders and rules
of the commission as such orders and rules relate to the commission's
overall adjudicatory policy-making and management duties under this
chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code.

(14)
Manage and operate a data processing system with a common data base
for the use of both the bureau and the commission and, in
consultation with the commission, using electronic data processing
equipment, shall develop a claims tracking system that is sufficient
to monitor the status of a claim at any time and that lists appeals
that have been filed and orders or determinations that have been
issued pursuant to section 4123.511 or 4123.512 of the Revised Code,
including the dates of such filings and issuances.

(15)
Establish and maintain a medical section within the bureau. The
medical section shall do all of the following:

(a)
Assist the administrator in establishing standard medical fees,
approving medical procedures, and determining eligibility and
reasonableness of the compensation payments for medical, hospital,
and nursing services, and in establishing guidelines for payment
policies which recognize usual, customary, and reasonable methods of
payment for covered services;

(b)
Provide a resource to respond to questions from claims examiners for
employees of the bureau;

(c)
Audit fee bill payments;

(d)
Implement a program to utilize, to the maximum extent possible,
electronic data processing equipment for storage of information to
facilitate authorizations of compensation payments for medical,
hospital, drug, and nursing services;

(e)
Perform other duties assigned to it by the administrator.

(16)
Appoint, as the administrator determines necessary, panels to review
and advise the administrator on disputes arising over a determination
that a health care service or supply provided to a claimant is not
covered under this chapter or Chapter 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the
Revised Code or is medically unnecessary. If an individual health
care provider is involved in the dispute, the panel shall consist of
individuals licensed pursuant to the same section of the Revised Code
as such health care provider.

(17)
Pursuant to section 4123.65 of the Revised Code, approve applications
for the final settlement of claims for compensation or benefits under
this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code
as the administrator determines appropriate, except in regard to the
applications of self-insuring employers and their employees.

(18)
Comply with section 3517.13 of the Revised Code, and except in regard
to contracts entered into pursuant to the authority contained in
section 4121.44 of the Revised Code, comply with the competitive
bidding procedures set forth in the Revised Code for all contracts
into which the administrator enters provided that those contracts
fall within the type of contracts and dollar amounts specified in the
Revised Code for competitive bidding and further provided that those
contracts are not otherwise specifically exempt from the competitive
bidding procedures contained in the Revised Code.

(19)
Adopt, with the advice and consent of the board, rules for the
operation of the bureau.

(20)
Prepare and submit to the board information the administrator
considers pertinent or the board requires, together with the
administrator's recommendations, in the form of administrative rules,
for the advice and consent of the board, for the health partnership
program and the qualified health plan system, as provided in sections
4121.44, 4121.441, and 4121.442 of the Revised Code.

(C)
The administrator, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall
appoint a chief operating officer who has a minimum of five years of
experience in the field of workers' compensation insurance or in
another similar insurance industry if the administrator does not
possess such experience. The chief operating officer shall not
commence the chief operating officer's duties until after the senate
consents to the chief operating officer's appointment. The chief
operating officer shall serve in the unclassified civil service of
the state.

Sec.
4121.13.
The
administrator of workers' compensation shall:

(A)
Investigate, ascertain, and declare and prescribe what hours of
labor, safety devices, safeguards, or other means or methods of
protection are best adapted to render the employees of every
employment and place of employment and frequenters of every place of
employment safe, and to protect their welfare as required by law or
lawful orders
,
and establish and maintain museums of safety and hygiene in which
shall be exhibited safety devices, safeguards, and other means and
methods for the protection of life, health, safety, and welfare of
employees
;

(B)
Ascertain and fix reasonable standards and prescribe, modify, and
enforce reasonable orders for the adoption of safety devices,
safeguards, and other means or methods of protection to be as nearly
uniform as possible as may be necessary to carry out all laws and
lawful orders relative to the protection of the life, health, safety,
and welfare of employees in employments and places of employment or
frequenters of places of employment;

(C)
Ascertain, fix, and order reasonable standards for the construction,
repair, and maintenance of places of employment as shall render them
safe;

(D)
Investigate, ascertain, and determine reasonable classifications of
persons, employments, and places of employment as are necessary to
carry out the applicable sections of sections 4101.01 to 4101.16 and
4121.01 to 4121.29 of the Revised Code;

(E)
Adopt reasonable and proper rules relative to the exercise of
his

the
administrator's

powers and authorities, and proper rules to govern
his

the
administrator's

proceedings and to regulate the mode and manner of all investigations
and hearings, which rules shall not be effective until ten days after
their publication; a copy of the rules shall be delivered at cost to
every citizen making application therefor;

(F)
Investigate all cases of fraud or other illegalities pertaining to
the operation of the workers' compensation system and its several
insurance funds and for that purpose, the administrator has every
power of an inquisitorial nature granted to the industrial commission
in this chapter and Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code;

(G)
Do all things convenient and necessary to accomplish the purposes
directed in sections 4101.01 to 4101.16 and 4121.01 to 4121.28 of the
Revised Code;

(H)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede section
4105.011 of the Revised Code in particular, or Chapter 4105. of the
Revised Code in general.

Sec.
4123.44.
The
members of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors,
the administrator of workers' compensation, and the bureau of
workers' compensation chief investment officer are
the
trustees of
fiduciaries
to
the
state insurance fund. The administrator, in accordance with sections
4121.126 and 4121.127 of the Revised Code and the investment policy
approved by the board pursuant to section 4121.12 of the Revised
Code, and in consultation with the bureau of workers' compensation
chief investment officer, may invest any of the surplus or reserve
belonging to the state insurance fund. The administrator and the
bureau of workers' compensation chief investment officer shall not
deviate from the investment policy approved by the board without the
approval of the workers' compensation investment committee and the
board.

The
administrator shall not invest in any type of investment specified in
divisions (B)(1) to (10) of section 4123.442 of the Revised Code. The
administrator shall not make an investment decision with the primary
purpose of influencing any social or environmental policy or
attempting to influence the governance of any corporation.

The
administrator and other fiduciaries shall discharge their duties with
respect to the funds with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence
under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting
in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the
conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims, and
by diversifying the investments of the assets of the funds so as to
minimize the risk of large losses, unless under the circumstances it
is clearly prudent not to do so.

The
administrator and other fiduciaries, in accordance with their
fiduciary duties described under this section, shall make investment
decisions with the sole purpose of maximizing the return on
investments and that are consistent with any other fiduciary
responsibilities of the administrator and other fiduciaries under
this chapter and Chapters 4121., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised
Code.

To
facilitate investment of the funds, the administrator may establish a
partnership, trust, limited liability company, corporation, including
a corporation exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code,
100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as amended, or any other legal entity
authorized to transact business in this state.

When
reporting on the performance of investments, the administrator shall
comply with the performance presentation standards established by the
association for investment management and research.

All
investments shall be purchased at current market prices and the
evidences of title to the investments shall be placed in the custody
of the treasurer of state, who is hereby designated as custodian, or
in the custody of the treasurer of state's authorized agent.
Evidences of title of the investments so purchased may be deposited
by the treasurer of state for safekeeping with an authorized agent
selected by the treasurer of state who is a qualified trustee under
section 135.18 of the Revised Code. The treasurer of state or the
agent shall collect the principal, dividends, distributions, and
interest as they become due and payable and place them when collected
into the state insurance fund.

The
treasurer of state shall pay for investments purchased by the
administrator on receipt of written or electronic instructions from
the administrator or the administrator's designated agent authorizing
the purchase, and pending receipt of the evidence of title of the
investment by the treasurer of state or the treasurer of state's
authorized agent. The administrator may sell investments held by the
administrator, and the treasurer of state or the treasurer of state's
authorized agent shall accept payment from the purchaser and deliver
evidence of title of the investment to the purchaser, on receipt of
written or electronic instructions from the administrator or the
administrator's designated agent authorizing the sale, and pending
receipt of the moneys for the investments. The amount received shall
be placed in the state insurance fund. The administrator and the
treasurer of state may enter into agreements to establish procedures
for the purchase and sale of investments under this division and the
custody of the investments.

No
purchase or sale of any investment shall be made under this section,
except as authorized by the administrator.

Any
statement of financial position distributed by the administrator
shall include the fair value, as of the statement date, of all
investments held by the administrator under this section.

When
in the judgment of the administrator it is necessary to provide
available funds for the payment of compensation or benefits under
this chapter, the administrator may borrow money from any available
source and pledge as security a sufficient amount of bonds or other
securities in which the state insurance fund is invested. The
aggregate unpaid amount of loans existing at any one time for money
so borrowed shall not exceed ten million dollars. The bonds or other
securities so pledged as security for such loans to the administrator
shall be the sole security for the payment of the principal and
interest of any such loan. The administrator shall not be personally
liable for the payment of the principal or the interest of any such
loan. No such loan shall be made for a longer period of time than one
year. Such loans may be renewed but no one renewal shall be for a
period in excess of one year. Such loans shall bear such rate of
interest as the administrator determines and in negotiating the
loans, the administrator shall endeavor to secure as favorable
interest rates and terms as circumstances will permit.

The
treasurer of state may deliver to the person or governmental agency
making such loan, the bonds or other securities which are to be
pledged by the administrator as security for such loan, upon receipt
by the treasurer of state of an order of the administrator
authorizing such loan. Upon payment of any such loan by the
administrator, the bonds or other securities pledged as security
therefor shall be returned to the treasurer of state as custodian of
such bonds.

The
administrator may pledge with the treasurer of state such amount of
bonds or other securities in which the state insurance fund is
invested as is reasonably necessary as security for any certificates
issued, or paid out, by the treasurer of state upon any warrants
drawn by the administrator.

The
administrator may secure investment information services, consulting
services, and other like services to facilitate investment of the
surplus and reserve belonging to the state insurance fund. The
administrator shall pay the expense of securing such services from
the state insurance fund.

The
board and administrator shall not take any action to promote a policy
under which the administrator makes investment decisions with the
primary purpose of influencing any social or environmental policy or
attempting to influence the governance of any corporation.

Sec.
4123.52.
(A)
The jurisdiction of the industrial commission and the authority of
the administrator of workers' compensation over each case is
continuing, and the commission may make such modification or change
with respect to former findings or orders with respect thereto, as,
in its opinion is justified. No modification or change nor any
finding or award in respect of any claim shall be made with respect
to disability, compensation, dependency, or benefits, after five
years from the date of injury in the absence of medical benefits
being provided under this chapter or in the absence of payment of
compensation under section 4123.57, 4123.58, or division (A) or (B)
of section 4123.56 of the Revised Code or wages in lieu of
compensation in a manner so as to satisfy the requirements of section
4123.84 of the Revised Code, in which event the modification, change,
finding, or award shall be made within five years from the date of
the last medical services being rendered or the date of the last
payment of compensation or from the date of death, nor unless written
notice of claim for the specific part or parts of the body injured or
disabled has been given as provided in section 4123.84 or 4123.85 of
the Revised Code. The commission shall not make any modification,
change, finding, or award which shall award compensation for a back
period in excess of two years prior to the date of filing application
therefor.

(B)
(B)(1)
As used in this division, "prosthetic device" means a
custom fabricated or fitted device used to replace a missing
appendage or other external body part. "Prosthetic device"
includes an artificial limb, hand, foot, or eye or an intraocular
lens. "Prosthetic device" does not include a dental
appliance, eyeglasses, hearing aid, ostomy product, or any other item
that does not have a significant impact on the musculoskeletal
functions of the body such as breast prostheses, eyelashes, wigs, and
other cosmetic devices.

(2)
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in division (A) of this
section, the commission or administrator may, regardless of the date
of injury or the last payment of compensation or benefits, order
payment to purchase, repair, or replace a prosthetic device if the
purchase, repair, or replacement is necessary due to an amputation or
loss that resulted from an allowed injury or occupational disease.

(3)
Ordering a payment under division (B)(2) of this section does not
extend the time period during which the commission or administrator
may modify or change a former finding or order in a claim as provided
under division (A) of this section.

(C)

Notwithstanding division (A) of this section, and except as otherwise
provided in a rule that shall be adopted by the administrator, with
the advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board
of directors, neither the administrator nor the commission shall make
any finding or award for payment of medical or vocational
rehabilitation services submitted for payment more than one year
after the date the services were rendered or more than one year after
the date the services became payable under division (I) of section
4123.511 of the Revised Code, whichever is later. No medical or
vocational rehabilitation provider shall bill a claimant for services
rendered if the administrator or commission is prohibited from making
that payment under this division.

(C)
(D)

Division
(B)
(C)

of this section does not apply to requests made by the centers for
medicare and medicaid services in the United States department of
health and human services for reimbursement of conditional payments
made pursuant to section 1395y(b)(2) of title 42, United States Code
(commonly known as the "Medicare Secondary Payer Act").

(D)
(E)

This section does not affect the right of a claimant to compensation
accruing subsequent to the filing of any such application, provided
the application is filed within the time limit provided in this
section.

(E)
(F)

This section does not deprive the commission of its continuing
jurisdiction to determine the questions raised by any application for
modification of award which has been filed with the commission after
June 1, 1932, and prior to the expiration of the applicable period
but in respect to which no award has been granted or denied during
the applicable period.

(F)
(G)

The commission may, by general rules, provide for the destruction of
files of cases in which no further action may be taken.

(G)
(H)

The commission and administrator of workers' compensation each may,
by general rules, provide for the retention and destruction of all
other records in their possession or under their control pursuant to
section 121.211 and sections 149.34 to 149.36 of the Revised Code.
The bureau of workers' compensation may purchase or rent required
equipment for the document retention media, as determined necessary
to preserve the records. Photographs, microphotographs, microfilm,
films, or other direct or electronic document retention media, when
properly identified, have the same effect as the original record and
may be offered in like manner and may be received as evidence in
proceedings before the industrial commission, staff hearing officers,
and district hearing officers, and in any court where the original
record could have been introduced.

Sec.
4123.54.
(A)
Except as otherwise provided in this division or divisions (I) and
(K) of this section, every employee, who is injured or who contracts
an occupational disease, and the dependents of each employee who is
killed, or dies as the result of an occupational disease contracted
in the course of employment, wherever the injury has occurred or
occupational disease has been contracted, is entitled to receive the
compensation for loss sustained on account of the injury,
occupational disease, or death, and the medical, nurse, and hospital
services and medicines, and the amount of funeral expenses in case of
death, as are provided by this chapter. The compensation and benefits
shall be provided, as applicable, directly from the employee's
self-insuring employer as provided in section 4123.35 of the Revised
Code or from the state insurance fund. An employee or dependent is
not entitled to receive compensation or benefits under this division
if the employee's injury or occupational disease is either of the
following:

(1)
Purposely self-inflicted;

(2)
Caused by the employee being intoxicated, under the influence of a
controlled substance not prescribed by a physician, certified
nurse-midwife, clinical nurse specialist, or certified nurse
practitioner, or under the influence of marihuana if being
intoxicated, under the influence of a controlled substance not
prescribed by a physician, certified nurse-midwife, clinical nurse
specialist, or certified nurse practitioner, or under the influence
of marihuana was the proximate cause of the injury.

(B)
For the purpose of this section, provided that an employer has posted
written notice to employees that the results of, or the employee's
refusal to submit to, any chemical test described under this division
may affect the employee's eligibility for compensation and benefits
pursuant to this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, there
is a rebuttable presumption that an employee is intoxicated, under
the influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by the
employee's physician, certified nurse-midwife, clinical nurse
specialist, or certified nurse practitioner, or under the influence
of marihuana and that being intoxicated, under the influence of a
controlled substance not prescribed by the employee's physician,
certified nurse-midwife, clinical nurse specialist, or certified
nurse practitioner, or under the influence of marihuana is the
proximate cause of an injury under either of the following
conditions:

(1)
When any one or more of the following is true:

(a)
The employee, through a qualifying chemical test administered within
eight hours of an injury, is determined to have an alcohol
concentration level equal to or in excess of the levels established
in divisions (A)(1)(b) to (i) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code.

(b)
The employee, through a qualifying chemical test administered within
thirty-two hours of an injury, is determined to have a controlled
substance not prescribed by the employee's physician, certified
nurse-midwife, clinical nurse specialist, or certified nurse
practitioner or marihuana in the employee's system at a level equal
to or in excess of the cutoff concentration level for the particular
substance as provided in section
40.87

40.85

of
Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 49 C.F.R.
40.87
40.85
,
as
amended
it
existed on January 1, 2024, or as subsequently amended as a result of
a statute or rule
.

(c)
The employee, through a qualifying chemical test administered within
thirty-two hours of an injury, is determined to have barbiturates,
benzodiazepines, or methadone in the employee's system that tests
above levels established by laboratories certified by the United
States department of health and human services.

(2)
When the employee refuses to submit to a requested chemical test, on
the condition that that employee is or was given notice that the
refusal to submit to any chemical test described in division (B)(1)
of this section may affect the employee's eligibility for
compensation and benefits under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the
Revised Code.

(C)(1)
For purposes of division (B) of this section, a chemical test is a
qualifying chemical test if it is administered to an employee after
an injury under at least one of the following conditions:

(a)
When the employee's employer had reasonable cause to suspect that the
employee may be intoxicated, under the influence of a controlled
substance not prescribed by the employee's physician, certified
nurse-midwife, clinical nurse specialist, or certified nurse
practitioner, or under the influence of marihuana;

(b)
At the request of a police officer pursuant to section 4511.191 of
the Revised Code, and not at the request of the employee's employer;

(c)
At the request of a licensed physician, certified nurse-midwife,
clinical nurse specialist, or certified nurse practitioner who is not
employed by the employee's employer, and not at the request of the
employee's employer.

(2)
As used in division (C)(1)(a) of this section, "reasonable
cause" means, but is not limited to, evidence that an employee
is or was using alcohol, a controlled substance, or marihuana drawn
from specific, objective facts and reasonable inferences drawn from
these facts in light of experience and training. These facts and
inferences may be based on, but are not limited to, any of the
following:

(a)
Observable phenomena, such as direct observation of use, possession,
or distribution of alcohol, a controlled substance, or marihuana, or
of the physical symptoms of being under the influence of alcohol, a
controlled substance, or marihuana, such as but not limited to
slurred speech; dilated pupils; odor of alcohol, a controlled
substance, or marihuana; changes in affect; or dynamic mood swings;

(b)
A pattern of abnormal conduct, erratic or aberrant behavior, or
deteriorating work performance such as frequent absenteeism,
excessive tardiness, or recurrent accidents, that appears to be
related to the use of alcohol, a controlled substance, or marihuana,
and does not appear to be attributable to other factors;

(c)
The identification of an employee as the focus of a criminal
investigation into unauthorized possession, use, or trafficking of a
controlled substance or marihuana;

(d)
A report of use of alcohol, a controlled substance, or marihuana
provided by a reliable and credible source;

(e)
Repeated or flagrant violations of the safety or work rules of the
employee's employer, that are determined by the employee's supervisor
to pose a substantial risk of physical injury or property damage and
that appear to be related to the use of alcohol, a controlled
substance, or marihuana and that do not appear attributable to other
factors.

(D)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the rights of an
employer to test employees for alcohol or controlled substance abuse.

(E)
For the purpose of this section, laboratories certified by the United
States department of health and human services or laboratories that
meet or exceed the standards of that department for laboratory
certification shall be used for processing the test results of a
qualifying chemical test.

(F)
The written notice required by division (B) of this section shall be
the same size or larger than the proof of workers' compensation
coverage furnished by the bureau of workers' compensation and shall
be posted by the employer in the same location as the proof of
workers' compensation coverage or the certificate of self-insurance.

(G)
If a condition that pre-existed an injury is substantially aggravated
by the injury, and that substantial aggravation is documented by
objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or
objective test results, no compensation or benefits are payable
because of the pre-existing condition once that condition has
returned to a level that would have existed without the injury.

(H)(1)
Whenever, with respect to an employee of an employer who is subject
to and has complied with this chapter, there is possibility of
conflict with respect to the application of workers' compensation
laws because the contract of employment is entered into and all or
some portion of the work is or is to be performed in a state or
states other than Ohio, the employer and the employee may agree to be
bound by the laws of this state or by the laws of some other state in
which all or some portion of the work of the employee is to be
performed. The agreement shall be in writing and shall be filed with
the bureau of workers' compensation within ten days after it is
executed and shall remain in force until terminated or modified by
agreement of the parties similarly filed. If the agreement is to be
bound by the laws of this state and the employer has complied with
this chapter, then the employee is entitled to compensation and
benefits regardless of where the injury occurs or the disease is
contracted and the rights of the employee and the employee's
dependents under the laws of this state are the exclusive remedy
against the employer on account of injury, disease, or death in the
course of and arising out of the employee's employment. If the
agreement is to be bound by the laws of another state and the
employer has complied with the laws of that state, the rights of the
employee and the employee's dependents under the laws of that state
are the exclusive remedy against the employer on account of injury,
disease, or death in the course of and arising out of the employee's
employment without regard to the place where the injury was sustained
or the disease contracted. If an employer and an employee enter into
an agreement under this division, the fact that the employer and the
employee entered into that agreement shall not be construed to change
the status of an employee whose continued employment is subject to
the will of the employer or the employee, unless the agreement
contains a provision that expressly changes that status.

(2)
If an employee or the employee's dependents receive an award of
compensation or benefits under this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127.,
or 4131. of the Revised Code for the same injury, occupational
disease, or death for which the employee or the employee's dependents
previously pursued or otherwise elected to accept workers'
compensation benefits and received a decision on the merits as
defined in section 4123.542 of the Revised Code under the laws of
another state or recovered damages under the laws of another state,
the claim shall be disallowed and the administrator or any
self-insuring employer, by any lawful means, may collect from the
employee or the employee's dependents any of the following:

(a)
The amount of compensation or benefits paid to or on behalf of the
employee or the employee's dependents by the administrator or a
self-insuring employer pursuant to this chapter or Chapter 4121.,
4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code for that award;

(b)
Any interest, attorney's fees, and costs the administrator or the
self-insuring employer incurs in collecting that payment.

(3)
If an employee or the employee's dependents receive an award of
compensation or benefits under this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127.,
or 4131. of the Revised Code and subsequently pursue or otherwise
elect to accept workers' compensation benefits or damages under the
laws of another state for the same injury, occupational disease, or
death the claim under this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131.
of the Revised Code shall be disallowed. The administrator or a
self-insuring employer, by any lawful means, may collect from the
employee or the employee's dependents or other-states' insurer any of
the following:

(a)
The amount of compensation or benefits paid to or on behalf of the
employee or the employee's dependents by the administrator or the
self-insuring employer pursuant to this chapter or Chapter 4121.,
4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code for that award;

(b)
Any interest, costs, and attorney's fees the administrator or the
self-insuring employer incurs in collecting that payment;

(c)
Any costs incurred by an employer in contesting or responding to any
claim filed by the employee or the employee's dependents for the same
injury, occupational disease, or death that was filed after the
original claim for which the employee or the employee's dependents
received a decision on the merits as described in section 4123.542 of
the Revised Code.

(4)
If the employee's employer pays premiums into the state insurance
fund, the administrator shall not charge the amount of compensation
or benefits the administrator collects pursuant to division (H)(2) or
(3) of this section to the employer's experience. If the
administrator collects any costs incurred by an employer in
contesting or responding to any claim pursuant to division (H)(2) or
(3) of this section, the administrator shall forward the amount
collected to that employer. If the employee's employer is a
self-insuring employer, the self-insuring employer shall deduct the
amount of compensation or benefits the self-insuring employer
collects pursuant to this division from the paid compensation the
self-insuring employer reports to the administrator under division
(L) of section 4123.35 of the Revised Code.

(5)
If an employee is a resident of a state other than this state and is
insured under the workers' compensation law or similar laws of a
state other than this state, the employee and the employee's
dependents are not entitled to receive compensation or benefits under
this chapter, on account of injury, disease, or death arising out of
or in the course of employment while temporarily within this state,
and the rights of the employee and the employee's dependents under
the laws of the other state are the exclusive remedy against the
employer on account of the injury, disease, or death.

(6)
An employee, or the dependent of an employee, who elects to receive
compensation and benefits under this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127.,
or 4131. of the Revised Code for a claim may not receive compensation
and benefits under the workers' compensation laws of any state other
than this state for that same claim. For each claim submitted by or
on behalf of an employee, the administrator or, if the employee is
employed by a self-insuring employer, the self-insuring employer,
shall request the employee or the employee's dependent to sign an
election that affirms the employee's or employee's dependent's
acceptance of electing to receive compensation and benefits under
this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code
for that claim that also affirmatively waives and releases the
employee's or the employee's dependent's right to file for and
receive compensation and benefits under the laws of any state other
than this state for that claim. The employee or employee's dependent
shall sign the election form within twenty-eight days after the
administrator or self-insuring employer submits the request or the
administrator or self-insuring employer shall dismiss that claim.

In
the event a workers' compensation claim has been filed in another
jurisdiction on behalf of an employee or the dependents of an
employee, and the employee or dependents subsequently elect to
receive compensation, benefits, or both under this chapter or Chapter
4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code, the employee or dependent
shall withdraw or refuse acceptance of the workers' compensation
claim filed in the other jurisdiction in order to pursue compensation
or benefits under the laws of this state. If the employee or
dependents were awarded workers' compensation benefits or had
recovered damages under the laws of the other state, any compensation
and benefits awarded under this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or
4131. of the Revised Code shall be paid only to the extent to which
those payments exceed the amounts paid under the laws of the other
state. If the employee or dependent fails to withdraw or to refuse
acceptance of the workers' compensation claim in the other
jurisdiction within twenty-eight days after a request made by the
administrator or a self-insuring employer, the administrator or
self-insuring employer shall dismiss the employee's or employee's
dependents' claim made in this state.

(I)
If an employee who is covered under the federal "Longshore and
Harbor Workers' Compensation Act," 98 Stat. 1639, 33 U.S.C. 901
et seq., is injured or contracts an occupational disease or dies as a
result of an injury or occupational disease, and if that employee's
or that employee's dependents' claim for compensation or benefits for
that injury, occupational disease, or death is subject to the
jurisdiction of that act, the employee or the employee's dependents
are not entitled to apply for and shall not receive compensation or
benefits under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code.
The rights of such an employee and the employee's dependents under
the federal "Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act,"
98 Stat. 1639, 33 U.S.C. 901 et seq., are the exclusive remedy
against the employer for that injury, occupational disease, or death.

(J)
Compensation or benefits are not payable to a claimant or a dependent
during the period of confinement of the claimant or dependent in any
state or federal correctional institution, or in any county jail in
lieu of incarceration in a state or federal correctional institution,
whether in this or any other state for conviction of violation of any
state or federal criminal law.

(K)
An employer, upon the approval of the administrator, may provide for
workers' compensation coverage for the employer's employees who are
professional athletes and coaches by submitting to the administrator
proof of coverage under a league policy issued under the laws of
another state under either of the following circumstances:

(1)
The employer administers the payroll and workers' compensation
insurance for a professional sports team subject to a collective
bargaining agreement, and the collective bargaining agreement
provides for the uniform administration of workers' compensation
benefits and compensation for professional athletes.

(2)
The employer is a professional sports league, or is a member team of
a professional sports league, and all of the following apply:

(a)
The professional sports league operates as a single entity, whereby
all of the players and coaches of the sports league are employees of
the sports league and not of the individual member teams.

(b)
The professional sports league at all times maintains workers'
compensation insurance that provides coverage for the players and
coaches of the sports league.

(c)
Each individual member team of the professional sports league,
pursuant to the organizational or operating documents of the sports
league, is obligated to the sports league to pay to the sports league
any workers' compensation claims that are not covered by the workers'
compensation insurance maintained by the sports league.

If
the administrator approves the employer's proof of coverage submitted
under division (K) of this section, a professional athlete or coach
who is an employee of the employer and the dependents of the
professional athlete or coach are not entitled to apply for and shall
not receive compensation or benefits under this chapter and Chapter
4121. of the Revised Code. The rights of such an athlete or coach and
the dependents of such an athlete or coach under the laws of the
state where the policy was issued are the exclusive remedy against
the employer for the athlete or coach if the athlete or coach suffers
an injury or contracts an occupational disease in the course of
employment, or for the dependents of the athlete or the coach if the
athlete or coach is killed as a result of an injury or dies as a
result of an occupational disease, regardless of the location where
the injury was suffered or the occupational disease was contracted.

Sec.
4123.57.
Partial
disability compensation shall be paid as follows.

Except
as provided in this section, not earlier than twenty-six weeks after
the date of termination of the latest period of payments under
section 4123.56 of the Revised Code or twenty-six weeks after the
termination of wages in lieu of those payments, or not earlier than
twenty-six weeks after the date of the injury or contraction of an
occupational disease in the absence of payments under section 4123.56
of the Revised Code or wages in lieu of those payments, the employee
may file an application with the bureau of workers' compensation for
the determination of the percentage of the employee's permanent
partial disability resulting from an injury or occupational disease.

Whenever
the application is filed, the bureau shall send a copy of the
application to the employee's employer or the employer's
representative and shall schedule the employee for a medical
examination by the bureau medical section. The bureau shall send a
copy of the report of the medical examination to the employee, the
employer, and their representatives. Thereafter, the administrator of
workers' compensation shall review the employee's claim file and make
a tentative order as the evidence before the administrator at the
time of the making of the order warrants. If the administrator
determines that there is a conflict of evidence, the administrator
shall send the application, along with the claimant's file, to the
district hearing officer who shall set the application for a hearing.

If
an employee fails to respond to an attempt to schedule a medical
examination by the bureau medical section, or fails to attend a
medical examination scheduled under this section without notice or
explanation, the employee's application for a finding shall be
dismissed without prejudice. The employee may refile the application.
A dismissed application does not toll the continuing jurisdiction of
the industrial commission under section 4123.52 of the Revised Code.
The administrator shall adopt rules addressing the manner in which an
employee will be notified of a possible dismissal and how an employee
may refile an application for a determination.

The
administrator shall notify the employee, the employer, and their
representatives, in writing, of the tentative order and of the
parties' right to request a hearing. Unless the employee, the
employer, or their representative notifies the administrator, in
writing, of an objection to the tentative order within twenty days
after receipt of the notice thereof, the tentative order shall go
into effect and the employee shall receive the compensation provided
in the order. In no event shall there be a reconsideration of a
tentative order issued under this division.

If
the employee, the employer, or their representatives timely notify
the administrator of an objection to the tentative order, the matter
shall be referred to a district hearing officer who shall set the
application for hearing with written notices to all interested
persons. Upon referral to a district hearing officer, the employer
may obtain a medical examination of the employee, pursuant to rules
of the industrial commission.

(A)
The district hearing officer, upon the application, shall determine
the percentage of the employee's permanent disability, except as is
subject to division (B) of this section, based upon that condition of
the employee resulting from the injury or occupational disease and
causing permanent impairment evidenced by medical or clinical
findings reasonably demonstrable. The employee shall receive
sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the employee's average weekly
wage, but not more than a maximum of thirty-three and one-third per
cent of the statewide average weekly wage as defined in division (C)
of section 4123.62 of the Revised Code, per week regardless of the
average weekly wage, for the number of weeks which equals the
percentage of two hundred weeks. Except on application for
reconsideration, review, or modification, which is filed within ten
days after the date of receipt of the decision of the district
hearing officer, in no instance shall the former award be modified
unless it is found from medical or clinical findings that the
condition of the claimant resulting from the injury has so progressed
as to have increased the percentage of permanent partial disability.
A staff hearing officer shall hear an application for reconsideration
filed and the staff hearing officer's decision is final. An employee
may file an application for a subsequent determination of the
percentage of the employee's permanent disability. If such an
application is filed, the bureau shall send a copy of the application
to the employer or the employer's representative. No sooner than
sixty days from the date of the mailing of the application to the
employer or the employer's representative, the administrator shall
review the application. The administrator may require a medical
examination or medical review of the employee. The administrator
shall issue a tentative order based upon the evidence before the
administrator, provided that if the administrator requires a medical
examination or medical review, the administrator shall not issue the
tentative order until the completion of the examination or review.

The
employer may obtain a medical examination of the employee and may
submit medical evidence at any stage of the process up to a hearing
before the district hearing officer, pursuant to rules of the
commission. The administrator shall notify the employee, the
employer, and their representatives, in writing, of the nature and
amount of any tentative order issued on an application requesting a
subsequent determination of the percentage of an employee's permanent
disability. An employee, employer, or their representatives may
object to the tentative order within twenty days after the receipt of
the notice thereof. If no timely objection is made, the tentative
order shall go into effect. In no event shall there be a
reconsideration of a tentative order issued under this division. If
an objection is timely made, the application for a subsequent
determination shall be referred to a district hearing officer who
shall set the application for a hearing with written notice to all
interested persons. No application for subsequent percentage
determinations on the same claim for injury or occupational disease
shall be accepted for review by the district hearing officer unless
supported by substantial evidence of new and changed circumstances
developing since the time of the hearing on the original or last
determination.

No
award shall be made under this division based upon a percentage of
disability which, when taken with all other percentages of permanent
disability, exceeds one hundred per cent. If the percentage of the
permanent disability of the employee equals or exceeds ninety per
cent, compensation for permanent partial disability shall be paid for
two hundred weeks.

Compensation
payable under this division accrues and is payable to the employee
from the date of last payment of compensation, or, in cases where no
previous compensation has been paid, from the date of the injury or
the date of the diagnosis of the occupational disease.

When
an award under this division has been made prior to the death of an
employee, all unpaid installments accrued or to accrue under the
provisions of the award are payable to the surviving spouse, or if
there is no surviving spouse, to the dependent children of the
employee, and if there are no children surviving, then to other
dependents as the administrator determines.

(B)
For purposes of this division, "payable per week" means the
seven-consecutive-day period in which compensation is paid in
installments according to the schedule associated with the applicable
injury as set forth in this division.

Compensation
paid in weekly installments according to the schedule described in
this division may only be commuted to one or more lump sum payments
pursuant to the procedure set forth in section 4123.64 of the Revised
Code.

In
cases included in the following schedule the compensation payable per
week to the employee is the statewide average weekly wage as defined
in division (C) of section 4123.62 of the Revised Code per week and
shall be paid in installments according to the following schedule:

For
the loss of a first finger, commonly known as a thumb, sixty weeks.

For
the loss of a second finger, commonly called index finger,
thirty-five weeks.

For
the loss of a third finger, thirty weeks.

For
the loss of a fourth finger, twenty weeks.

For
the loss of a fifth finger, commonly known as the little finger,
fifteen weeks.

The
loss of a second, or distal, phalange of the thumb is considered
equal to the loss of one half of such thumb; the loss of more than
one half of such thumb is considered equal to the loss of the whole
thumb.

The
loss of the third, or distal, phalange of any finger is considered
equal to the loss of one-third of the finger.

The
loss of the middle, or second, phalange of any finger is considered
equal to the loss of two-thirds of the finger.

The
loss of more than the middle and distal phalanges of any finger is
considered equal to the loss of the whole finger. In no case shall
the amount received for more than one finger exceed the amount
provided in this schedule for the loss of a hand.

For
the loss of the metacarpal bone (bones of the palm) for the
corresponding thumb, or fingers, add ten weeks to the number of weeks
under this division.

For
ankylosis (total stiffness of) or contractures (due to scars or
injuries) which makes any of the fingers, thumbs, or parts of either
useless, the same number of weeks apply to the members or parts
thereof as given for the loss thereof.

If
the claimant has suffered the loss of two or more fingers by
amputation or ankylosis and the nature of the claimant's employment
in the course of which the claimant was working at the time of the
injury or occupational disease is such that the impairment or
disability resulting from the loss of fingers, or loss of use of
fingers, exceeds the normal impairment or disability resulting from
the loss of fingers, or loss of use of fingers, the administrator may
take that fact into consideration and increase the award of
compensation accordingly, but the award made shall not exceed the
amount of compensation for loss of a hand.

For
the loss of a hand, one hundred seventy-five weeks.

For
the loss of an arm, two hundred twenty-five weeks.

For
the loss of a great toe, thirty weeks.

For
the loss of one of the toes other than the great toe, ten weeks.

The
loss of more than two-thirds of any toe is considered equal to the
loss of the whole toe.

The
loss of less than two-thirds of any toe is considered no loss, except
as to the great toe; the loss of the great toe up to the
interphalangeal joint is co-equal to the loss of one-half of the
great toe; the loss of the great toe beyond the interphalangeal joint
is considered equal to the loss of the whole great toe.

For
the loss of a foot, one hundred fifty weeks.

For
the loss of a leg, two hundred weeks.

For
the loss of the sight of an eye, one hundred twenty-five weeks.

For
the permanent partial loss of sight of an eye, the portion of one
hundred twenty-five weeks as the administrator in each case
determines, based upon the percentage of vision actually lost as a
result of the injury or occupational disease, but, in no case shall
an award of compensation be made for less than twenty-five per cent
loss of uncorrected vision. "Loss of uncorrected vision"
means the percentage of vision actually lost as the result of the
injury or occupational disease.

For
the permanent and total loss of hearing of one ear, twenty-five
weeks; but in no case shall an award of compensation be made for less
than permanent and total loss of hearing of one ear.

For
the permanent and total loss of hearing, one hundred twenty-five
weeks; but, except pursuant to the next preceding paragraph, in no
case shall an award of compensation be made for less than permanent
and total loss of hearing.

In
case an injury or occupational disease results in serious facial or
head disfigurement which either impairs or may in the future impair
the opportunities to secure or retain employment, the administrator
shall make an award of compensation as it deems proper and equitable,
in view of the nature of the disfigurement, and not to exceed the sum
of ten thousand dollars. For the purpose of making the award, it is
not material whether the employee is gainfully employed in any
occupation or trade at the time of the administrator's determination.

When
an award under this division has been made prior to the death of an
employee all unpaid installments accrued or to accrue under the
provisions of the award shall be payable to the surviving spouse, or
if there is no surviving spouse, to the dependent children of the
employee and if there are no such children, then to such dependents
as the administrator determines.

When
an employee has sustained the loss of a member by severance, but no
award has been made on account thereof prior to the employee's death,
the administrator shall make an award in accordance with this
division for the loss which shall be payable to the surviving spouse,
or if there is no surviving spouse, to the dependent children of the
employee and if there are no such children, then to such dependents
as the administrator determines.

(C)
Compensation for partial impairment under divisions (A) and (B) of
this section is in addition to the compensation paid the employee
pursuant to section 4123.56 of the Revised Code. A claimant may
receive compensation under divisions (A) and (B) of this section.

In
all cases arising under division (B) of this section, if it is
determined by any one of the following: (1) the amputee clinic at
University hospital, Ohio state university; (2) the opportunities for
Ohioans with disabilities agency; (3) an amputee clinic or
prescribing physician approved by the administrator or the
administrator's designee, that an injured or disabled employee is in
need of an artificial appliance, or in need of a repair thereof,
regardless of whether the appliance or its repair will be serviceable
in the vocational rehabilitation of the injured employee, and
regardless of whether the employee has returned to or can ever again
return to any gainful employment, the bureau shall pay the cost of
the artificial appliance or its repair out of the surplus created by
division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code.

Notwithstanding
any provision in this division to the contrary, when a claimant has
sustained an amputation or a loss enumerated in division (B) of this
section as a result of an injury or occupational disease, the
administrator shall pay the cost to purchase, repair, or replace a
prosthetic device as defined in division (B) of section 4123.52 from
the surplus fund account created pursuant to division (B) of section
4123.34 of the Revised Code, even if no award has been made under
division (B) of this section.

In
those cases where an opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
agency's recommendation that an injured or disabled employee is in
need of an artificial appliance would conflict with their state plan,
adopted pursuant to the "Rehabilitation Act of 1973," 87
Stat. 355, 29 U.S.C.A. 701, the administrator or the administrator's
designee or the bureau may obtain a recommendation from an amputee
clinic or prescribing physician that they determine appropriate.

(D)
If an employee of a state fund employer makes application for a
finding and the administrator finds that the employee has contracted
silicosis as defined in division (Y), or coal miners' pneumoconiosis
as defined in division (Z), or asbestosis as defined in division (BB)
of section 4123.68 of the Revised Code, and that a change of such
employee's occupation is medically advisable in order to decrease
substantially further exposure to silica dust, asbestos, or coal dust
and if the employee, after the finding, has changed or shall change
the employee's occupation to an occupation in which the exposure to
silica dust, asbestos, or coal dust is substantially decreased, the
administrator shall allow to the employee an amount equal to fifty
per cent of the statewide average weekly wage per week for a period
of thirty weeks, commencing as of the date of the discontinuance or
change, and for a period of one hundred weeks immediately following
the expiration of the period of thirty weeks, the employee shall
receive sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the loss of wages
resulting directly and solely from the change of occupation but not
to exceed a maximum of an amount equal to fifty per cent of the
statewide average weekly wage per week. No such employee is entitled
to receive more than one allowance on account of discontinuance of
employment or change of occupation and benefits shall cease for any
period during which the employee is employed in an occupation in
which the exposure to silica dust, asbestos, or coal dust is not
substantially less than the exposure in the occupation in which the
employee was formerly employed or for any period during which the
employee may be entitled to receive compensation or benefits under
section 4123.68 of the Revised Code on account of disability from
silicosis, asbestosis, or coal miners' pneumoconiosis. An award for
change of occupation for a coal miner who has contracted coal miners'
pneumoconiosis may be granted under this division even though the
coal miner continues employment with the same employer, so long as
the coal miner's employment subsequent to the change is such that the
coal miner's exposure to coal dust is substantially decreased and a
change of occupation is certified by the claimant as permanent. The
administrator may accord to the employee medical and other benefits
in accordance with section 4123.66 of the Revised Code.

(E)
If a firefighter or police officer makes application for a finding
and the administrator finds that the firefighter or police officer
has contracted a cardiovascular and pulmonary disease as defined in
division (W) of section 4123.68 of the Revised Code, and that a
change of the firefighter's or police officer's occupation is
medically advisable in order to decrease substantially further
exposure to smoke, toxic gases, chemical fumes, and other toxic
vapors, and if the firefighter, or police officer, after the finding,
has changed or changes occupation to an occupation in which the
exposure to smoke, toxic gases, chemical fumes, and other toxic
vapors is substantially decreased, the administrator shall allow to
the firefighter or police officer an amount equal to fifty per cent
of the statewide average weekly wage per week for a period of thirty
weeks, commencing as of the date of the discontinuance or change, and
for a period of seventy-five weeks immediately following the
expiration of the period of thirty weeks the administrator shall
allow the firefighter or police officer sixty-six and two-thirds per
cent of the loss of wages resulting directly and solely from the
change of occupation but not to exceed a maximum of an amount equal
to fifty per cent of the statewide average weekly wage per week. No
such firefighter or police officer is entitled to receive more than
one allowance on account of discontinuance of employment or change of
occupation and benefits shall cease for any period during which the
firefighter or police officer is employed in an occupation in which
the exposure to smoke, toxic gases, chemical fumes, and other toxic
vapors is not substantially less than the exposure in the occupation
in which the firefighter or police officer was formerly employed or
for any period during which the firefighter or police officer may be
entitled to receive compensation or benefits under section 4123.68 of
the Revised Code on account of disability from a cardiovascular and
pulmonary disease. The administrator may accord to the firefighter or
police officer medical and other benefits in accordance with section
4123.66 of the Revised Code.

(F)
An order issued under this section is appealable pursuant to section
4123.511 of the Revised Code but is not appealable to court under
section 4123.512 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
4123.66.
(A)
In addition to the compensation provided for in this chapter, the
administrator of workers' compensation shall disburse and pay from
the state insurance fund the amounts for medical, nurse, and hospital
services and medicine as the administrator deems proper and, in case
death ensues from the injury or occupational disease, the
administrator shall disburse and pay from the fund reasonable funeral
expenses in an amount not to exceed seven thousand five hundred
dollars. The bureau of workers' compensation shall reimburse anyone,
whether dependent, volunteer, or otherwise, who pays the funeral
expenses of any employee whose death ensues from any injury or
occupational disease as provided in this section. The administrator
may adopt rules, with the advice and consent of the bureau of
workers' compensation board of directors, with respect to furnishing
medical, nurse, and hospital service and medicine to injured or
disabled employees entitled thereto, and for the payment therefor. In
case an injury or industrial accident that injures an employee also
causes damage to the employee's eyeglasses, artificial teeth or other
denture, or hearing aid, or in the event an injury or occupational
disease makes it necessary or advisable to replace, repair, or adjust
the same, the bureau shall disburse and pay a reasonable amount to
repair or replace the same.

(B)
The administrator, in the rules the administrator adopts pursuant to
division (A) of this section, may adopt rules specifying the
circumstances under which the bureau may make immediate payment for
the first fill of prescription drugs for medical conditions
identified in an application for compensation or benefits under
section 4123.84 or 4123.85 of the Revised Code that occurs prior to
the date the administrator issues an initial determination order
under division (B) of section 4123.511 of the Revised Code. If the
claim is ultimately disallowed in a final administrative or judicial
order, and if the employer is a state fund employer who pays
assessments into the surplus fund account created under section
4123.34 of the Revised Code, the payments for medical services made
pursuant to this division for the first fill of prescription drugs
shall be charged to and paid from the surplus fund account and not
charged through the state insurance fund to the employer against whom
the claim was filed.

(C)(1)
If an employer or a welfare plan has provided to or on behalf of an
employee any benefits or compensation for an injury or occupational
disease and that injury or occupational disease is determined
compensable under this chapter, the employer or a welfare plan may
request that the administrator reimburse the employer or welfare plan
for the amount the employer or welfare plan paid to or on behalf of
the employee in compensation or benefits. The administrator shall
reimburse the employer or welfare plan for the compensation and
benefits paid if, at the time the employer or welfare plan provides
the benefits or compensation to or on behalf of employee, the injury
or occupational disease had not been determined to be compensable
under this chapter and if the employee was not receiving compensation
or benefits under this chapter for that injury or occupational
disease. The administrator shall reimburse the employer or welfare
plan in the amount that the administrator would have paid to or on
behalf of the employee under this chapter if the injury or
occupational disease originally would have been determined
compensable under this chapter. If the employer is a merit-rated
employer, the administrator shall adjust the amount of premium next
due from the employer according to the amount the administrator pays
the employer. The administrator shall adopt rules, in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, to implement this division.

(2)
As used in this division, "welfare plan" has the same
meaning as in division (1) of 29 U.S.C.A. 1002.

(D)(1)
Subject to the requirements of division (D)(2) of this section, the
administrator may make a payment of up to five hundred dollars to
either of the following:

(a)
The centers of medicare and medicaid services, for reimbursement of
conditional payments made pursuant to the "Medicare Secondary
Payer Act," 42 U.S.C. 1395y;

(b)
The Ohio department of medicaid, or a medical assistance provider to
whom the department has assigned a right of recovery for a claim for
which the department has notified the provider that the department
intends to recoup the department's prior payment for the claim, for
reimbursement under sections 5160.35 to 5160.43 of the Revised Code
for the cost of medical assistance paid on behalf of a medical
assistance recipient.

(2)
The administrator may make a payment under division (D)(1) of this
section if the administrator makes a reasonable determination that

both

all

of
the following apply:

(a)
The payment is
for
reimbursement of benefits for an injury or occupational disease
in
response to a request from a party listed in division (D)(1) of this
section
.

(b)

The

There
is an
injury
or occupational disease
that

is
compensable, or is likely to be compensable, under this chapter or
Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code.

(c)
The payment will resolve the request from a party listed in division
(D)(1) of this section.

(3)
Any payment made pursuant to this division shall be charged to and
paid from the surplus fund account created under section 4123.34 of
the Revised Code.

(4)
Nothing in this division shall be construed as limiting the centers
of medicare and medicaid services, the department, or any other
entity with a lawful right to reimbursement from recovering sums
greater than five hundred dollars.

(5)
The administrator may adopt rules, with the advice and consent of the
bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, to implement this
division.

Sec.
4125.07.
(A)
As used in this section, "self-insuring employer" has the
same meaning as in section 4123.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)
Not later than thirty calendar days after the date on which a
professional employer organization agreement is terminated, the
professional employer organization is adjudged bankrupt, the
professional employer organization ceases operations within the state
of Ohio, or the registration of the professional employer
organization is revoked, the professional employer organization shall
submit to the administrator of workers' compensation and each client
employer associated with that professional employer organization a
completed workers' compensation lease termination notice form
provided by the administrator.
The

If
a professional employer organization is not a self-insuring employer,
the
completed
form shall include all client payroll and claim information listed in
a format specified by the administrator and notice of all workers'
compensation claims that have been reported to the professional
employer organization in accordance with its internal reporting
policies.

(C)(1)
If a professional employer organization that is a self-insuring
employer is required to submit a workers' compensation lease
termination notice form under division (B) of this section, not later
than thirty calendar days after the lease termination the
professional employer organization shall submit all of the following
to the administrator for any years necessary for the administrator to
develop a state fund experience modification factor for each client
employer involved in the lease termination:

(a)
The payroll of each client employer involved in the lease
termination, organized by manual classification and year;

(b)
The medical and indemnity costs of each client employer involved in
the lease termination, organized by claim;

(c)
Any other information the administrator may require to develop a
state fund experience modification factor for each client employer
involved in the lease termination.

(2)
The administrator may require a professional employer organization to
submit the information required under division (C)(1) of this section
at additional times after the initial submission if the administrator
determines that the information is necessary for the administrator to
develop a state fund experience modification factor.

(3)
The administrator may revoke or refuse to renew a professional
employer organization's status as a self-insuring employer if the
professional employer organization fails to provide information
requested by the administrator under division (C)(1) or (2) of this
section.

(D)
The administrator shall use the information provided under division
(C) of this section to develop a state fund experience modification
factor for each client employer involved in a lease termination with
a professional employer organization that is a self-insuring
employer.

(E)
(C)

A professional employer organization shall report any transfer of
employees between related professional employer organization entities
or professional employer organization reporting entities to the
administrator within fourteen calendar days after the date of the
transfer on a form prescribed by the administrator.
The

If
the professional employer organization is not a self-insuring
employer, the
professional
employer organization or professional employer organization reporting
entity shall include in the form all client payroll and claim
information regarding the transferred employees listed in a format
specified by the administrator and a notice of all workers'
compensation claims that have been reported to the professional
employer organization or professional employer organization reporting
entity in accordance with the internal reporting policies of the
professional employer organization or professional employer
organization reporting entity.

(F)
Prior to entering into a professional employer organization agreement
with a client employer, a professional employer organization shall
disclose in writing to the client employer the reporting requirements
that apply to the professional employer organization under division
(C) of this section and that the administrator must develop a state
fund experience modification factor for each client employer involved
in a lease termination with a professional employer organization that
is a self-insuring employer.

Sec.
4133.10.
(A)
As used in this section, "self-insuring employer" has the
same meaning as in section 4123.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)
Not later than thirty calendar days after the date on which an
alternate employer organization agreement is terminated, the
alternate employer organization is adjudged bankrupt, the alternate
employer organization ceases operations within the state of Ohio, or
the registration of the alternate employer organization is revoked,
the alternate employer organization shall submit to the administrator
of workers' compensation and each client employer associated with
that alternate employer organization a completed workers'
compensation lease termination notice form provided by the
administrator.
The

If
an alternate employer organization is not a self-insuring employer,
the
completed
form shall include all client payroll and claim information listed in
a format specified by the administrator and notice of all workers'
compensation claims that have been reported to the alternate employer
organization in accordance with its internal reporting policies.

(C)(1)
If a alternate employer organization that is a self-insuring employer
is required to submit a workers' compensation lease termination
notice form under division (B) of this section, not later than thirty
calendar days after the lease termination the alternate employer
organization shall submit all of the following to the administrator
for any years necessary for the administrator to develop a state fund
experience modification factor for each client employer involved in
the lease termination:

(a)
The payroll of each client employer involved in the lease
termination, organized by manual classification and year;

(b)
The medical and indemnity costs of each client employer involved in
the lease termination, organized by claim;

(c)
Any other information the administrator may require to develop a
state fund experience modification factor for each client employer
involved in the lease termination.

(2)
The administrator may require an alternate employer organization to
submit the information required under division (C)(1) of this section
at additional times after the initial submission if the administrator
determines that the information is necessary for the administrator to
develop a state fund experience modification factor.

(3)
The administrator may revoke or refuse to renew an alternate employer
organization's status as a self-insuring employer if the alternate
employer organization fails to provide information requested by the
administrator under division (C)(1) or (2) of this section.

(D)
The administrator shall use the information provided under division
(C) of this section to develop a state fund experience modification
factor for each client employer involved in a lease termination with
an alternate employer organization that is a self-insuring employer.

(E)
(C)

An alternate employer organization shall report any transfer of
employees between related alternate employer organization entities to
the administrator within fourteen calendar days after the date of the
transfer on a form prescribed by the administrator.
The

If
the alternate employer organization is not a self-insuring employer,
the
alternate
employer organization shall include in the form all client payroll
and claim information regarding the transferred employees listed in a
format specified by the administrator and a notice of all workers'
compensation claims that have been reported to the alternate employer
organization in accordance with the internal reporting policies of
the alternate employer organization.

(F)
Prior to entering into an alternate employer organization agreement
with a client employer, an alternate employer organization shall
disclose in writing to the client employer the reporting requirements
that apply to the alternate employer organization under division (C)
of this section and that the administrator must develop a state fund
experience modification factor for each client employer involved in a
lease termination with an alternate employer organization that is a
self-insuring employer.

Sec.
4167.01.
As
used in this chapter:

(A)
"Public employer" means any of the following:

(1)
The state and its instrumentalities;

(2)
Any political subdivisions and their instrumentalities, including any
county, county hospital, municipal corporation, city, village,
township, park district, school district, state institution of higher
learning, public or special district, state agency, authority,
commission, or board;

(3)
Any other branch of public employment not mentioned in division
(A)(1) or (2) of this section.

(B)
"Public employee" means any individual who engages to
furnish services subject to the direction and control of a public
employer, including those individuals working for a private employer
who has contracted with a public employer and over whom the national
labor relations board has declined jurisdiction. "Public
employee" does not mean any of the following:

(1)
A peace officer employed by a public employer as defined in division
(A)(2) of this section or any member of the organized militia ordered
to duty by state authority pursuant to Chapter 5923. of the Revised
Code;

(2)
Any person who engages to furnish services subject to the direction
and control of a public employer but does not receive compensation,
either directly or indirectly, for those services;

(3)
Any forest-fire investigator, natural resources officer, wildlife
officer, or preserve officer
;

(4)
Any person incarcerated in an alternative residential facility,
community-based correctional facility, jail, halfway house, or
prison, as those terms are defined in section 2929.01 of the Revised
Code
.

(C)
"Public employee representative" means an employee
organization certified by the state employment relations board under
section 4117.05 of the Revised Code as the exclusive representative
of the public employees in a bargaining unit.

(D)
"Employment risk reduction standard" means a standard which
requires conditions, or the adoption or use of one or more practices,
means, methods, operations, or processes, reasonably necessary or
appropriate to provide safe and healthful employment and places of
employment.

(E)
"Ohio employment risk reduction standard" means any risk
reduction standard adopted or issued under this chapter.

(F)
"Undue hardship" means any requirement imposed under this
chapter or a rule or order issued thereunder that would require a
public employer to take an action with significant difficulty or
expense when considered in light of all of the following factors:

(1)
The nature and cost of the action required under this chapter;

(2)
The overall financial resources of the public employer involved in
the action;

(3)
The number of persons employed by the public employer at the
particular location where the action may be required;

(4)
The effect on expenses and resources or the impact otherwise of the
action required upon the operations of the public employer at the
location where the action may be required;

(5)
The overall size of the public employer with respect to the number of
its public employees;

(6)
The number, type, and location of the public employer's operations,
including the composition, structure, and functions of the workforce
of the public entity;

(7)
The geographic separateness, administrative, or fiscal relationship
of the public employer's operations to the whole public employer.

Sec.
4167.10.
(A)
In order to carry out the purposes of this chapter, the administrator
of workers' compensation or the administrator's designee shall, as
provided in this section, enter without delay during normal working
hours and at other reasonable times, to inspect and investigate any
plant, facility, establishment, construction site, or any other area,
workplace, or environment where work is being performed by a public
employee of a public employer, and any place of employment and all
pertinent conditions, structures, machines, apparatus, devices,
equipment, and materials therein, and question privately any public
employer, administrator, department head, operator, agent, or public
employee. The authority to inspect and investigate includes the
taking of environmental samples, the taking and obtaining of
photographs related to the purposes of the inspection or
investigation, the examination of records required to be kept under
section 4167.11 of the Revised Code and other documents and records
relevant to the inspection and investigation, the issuance of
subpoenas, and the conducting of tests and other studies reasonably
calculated to serve the purposes of implementing and enforcing this
chapter. Except as provided in this section, the administrator or the
administrator's designee shall conduct
scheduled

the

inspections
and investigations only pursuant to rules adopted under section
4167.02 of the Revised Code, a request to do so by a public employee
or public employee representative, or the notification the
administrator receives pursuant to division (B) of section 4167.06 of
the Revised Code and only if the administrator or the administrator's
designee complies with this section. The administrator or the
administrator's designee shall conduct all requested or required
inspections within a reasonable amount of time following receipt of
the request or notification.

(B)(1)
Any public employee or public employee representative who believes
that a violation of an Ohio employment risk reduction standard exists
that threatens physical harm, or that an imminent danger exists, may
request an inspection by giving written notice to the administrator
or the administrator's designee of the violation or danger. The
notice shall set forth with reasonable particularity the grounds for
the notice, and shall be signed by the public employee or public
employee representative. The names of individual public employees
making the notice or referred to therein shall not appear in the copy
provided to the public employer pursuant to division (B)(2) of this
section and shall be kept confidential.

(2)
If, upon receipt of a notification pursuant to division (B)(1) of
this section, the administrator determines that there are no
reasonable grounds to believe that a violation or danger exists, the
administrator shall inform the public employee or public employee
representative in writing of the determination. If, upon receipt of a
notification, the administrator determines that there are reasonable
grounds to believe that a violation or danger exists, the
administrator shall, within one week, excluding Saturdays, Sundays,
and any legal holiday as defined in section 1.14 of the Revised Code,
after receipt of the notification, notify the public employer, by
certified mail, return receipt requested, of the alleged violation or
danger. The notice provided to the public employer or the public
employer's agent shall inform the public employer of the alleged
violation or danger and that the administrator or the administrator's
designee will investigate and inspect the public employer's workplace
as provided in this section. The public employer must respond to the
administrator, in a method determined by the administrator,
concerning the alleged violation or danger, within thirty days after
receipt of the notice. If the public employer does not correct the
violation or danger within the thirty-day period or if the public
employer fails to respond within that time period, the administrator
or the administrator's designee shall investigate and inspect the
public employer's workplace as provided in this section. The
administrator or the administrator's designee shall not conduct any
inspection prior to the end of the thirty-day period unless requested
or permitted by the public employer. The administrator may, at any
time upon the request of the public employer, inspect and investigate
any violation or danger alleged to exist at the public employer's
place of employment.

(3)
The authority of the administrator or the administrator's designee to
investigate and inspect a premises pursuant to a public employee or
public employee representative notification is not limited to the
alleged violation or danger contained in the notification. The
administrator or the administrator's designee may investigate and
inspect any other area of the premises where there is reason to
believe that a violation or danger exists. In addition, if the
administrator or the administrator's designee detects any obvious or
apparent violation at any temporary place of employment while en
route to the premises to be inspected or investigated, and that
violation presents a substantial probability that the condition or
practice could result in death or serious physical harm, the
administrator or the administrator's designee may use any of the
enforcement mechanisms provided in this section to correct or remove
the condition or practice.

(4)
If, during an inspection or investigation, the administrator or the
administrator's designee finds any condition or practice in any place
of employment that presents a substantial probability that the
condition or practice could result in death or serious physical harm,
after notifying the employer of the administrator's intent to issue
an order, the administrator shall issue an order, or the
administrator's designee shall issue an order after consultation with
the administrator and upon the recommendation of the administrator,
which prohibits the employment of any public employee or any
continuing operation or process under such condition or practice
until necessary steps are taken to correct or remove the condition or
practice. The order shall not be effective for more than fifteen
days, unless a court of competent jurisdiction otherwise orders as
provided in section 4167.14 of the Revised Code.

(C)
In making any inspections or investigations under this chapter, the
administrator or the administrator's designee may administer oaths
and require, by subpoena, the attendance and testimony of witnesses
and the production of evidence under oath. Witnesses shall receive
the fees and mileage provided for under section 119.094 of the
Revised Code. In the case of contumacy, failure, or refusal of any
person to comply with an order or any subpoena lawfully issued, or
upon the refusal of any witness to testify to any matter regarding
which the witness may lawfully be interrogated, a judge of the court
of common pleas of any county in this state, on the application of
the administrator or the administrator's designee, shall issue an
order requiring the person to appear and to produce evidence if, as,
and when so ordered, and to give testimony relating to the matter
under investigation or in question. The court may punish any failure
to obey the order of the court as a contempt thereof.

(D)
If, upon inspection or investigation, the administrator or the
administrator's designee believes that a public employer has violated
any requirement of this chapter or any rule, Ohio employment risk
reduction standard, or order adopted or issued pursuant thereto, the
administrator or the administrator's designee shall, with reasonable
promptness, issue a citation to the public employer. The citation
shall be in writing and describe with particularity the nature of the
alleged violation, including a reference to the provision of law,
Ohio employment risk reduction standard, rule, or order alleged to
have been violated. In addition, the citation shall fix a time for
the abatement of the violation, as provided in division (H) of this
section. The administrator may prescribe procedures for the issuance
of a notice with respect to minor violations and for enforcement of
minor violations that have no direct or immediate relationship to
safety or health.

(E)
Upon receipt of any citation under this section, the public employer
shall immediately post the citation, or a copy thereof, at or near
each place an alleged violation referred to in the citation occurred.

(F)
The administrator may not issue a citation under this section after
the expiration of six months following the final occurrence of any
violation.

(G)
If the administrator issues a citation pursuant to this section, the
administrator shall mail the citation to the public employer by
certified mail, return receipt requested. The public employer has
fourteen days after receipt of the citation within which to notify
the administrator that the employer wishes to contest the citation.
If the employer notifies the administrator within the fourteen days
that the employer wishes to contest the citation, or if within
fourteen days after the issuance of a citation a public employee or
public employee representative files notice that the time period
fixed in the citation for the abatement of the violation is
unreasonable, the administrator shall hold an adjudication hearing in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

(H)
In establishing the time limits in which a public employer must abate
a violation under this section, the administrator shall consider the
costs to the public employer, the size and financial resources of the
public employer, the severity of the violation, the technological
feasibility of the public employer's ability to comply with
requirements of the citation, the possible present and future
detriment to the health and safety of any public employee for failure
of the public employer to comply with requirements of the citation,
and such other factors as the administrator determines appropriate.
The administrator may, after considering the above factors, permit
the public employer to comply with the citation over a period of up
to two years and may extend that period an additional one year, as
the administrator determines appropriate.

(I)
Any public employer may request the administrator to conduct an
employment risk reduction inspection of the public employer's place
of employment. The administrator or the administrator's designee
shall conduct the inspection within a reasonable amount of time
following the request. Neither the administrator nor any other person
may use any information obtained from the inspection for a period not
to exceed three years in any proceeding for a violation of this
chapter or any rule or order issued thereunder nor in any other
action in any court in this state.

Sec.
5145.163.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Customer model enterprise" means an enterprise conducted
under a federal prison industries enhancement certification program
in which a private party participates in the enterprise only as a
purchaser of goods and services.

(2)
"Employer model enterprise" means an enterprise conducted
under a federal prison industries enhancement certification program
in which a private party participates in the enterprise as an
operator of the enterprise.

(3)
"Injury" and "occupational disease" have the same
meanings as in section 4123.01 of the Revised Code if sustained or
contracted in the course of, and arising out of, participation in
authorized work activity in the federal prison industries enhancement
certification program.

(4)

"Inmate"
"Incarcerated
worker"

means any person who is committed to the custody of the department of
rehabilitation and correction and who is participating in an Ohio
penal industries program that is under the federal prison industries
enhancement certification program.

(5)
"Federal prison industries enhancement certification program"
means the program authorized pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1761.

(6)
"Injured incarcerated worker" means an individual to which
division (G) of this section applies.

(7)
"Compensation" means compensation as provided in sections
4123.56 to 4123.58 of the Revised Code.

(B)
No private party shall participate in an employer model enterprise in
this state unless the private party is approved by the director of
rehabilitation and correction in accordance with division (C) of this
section.

(C)
The director may approve a private party to participate in an
employer model enterprise only if the private party meets the
following requirements:

(1)

The
private party provides proof of workers' compensation coverage
furnished by the bureau of workers' compensation.

(2)

The
private party carries liability insurance in an amount the director
determines to be sufficient.

(3)
(2)

The private party does not have an unresolved finding for recovery by
the auditor of state under section 9.24 of the Revised Code.

(D)(1)
If the enterprise for which an inmate works is a customer model
enterprise, the
(D)
The
department

may

shall

treat

the
inmate
an
incarcerated worker, regardless of whether the incarcerated worker
works in a customer model enterprise or an employer model enterprise,

as
an employee of the department for the purpose of workers'
compensation coverage in accordance with Chapters 4121.
,

and

4123.
,
4127., and 4131.

of the Revised Code.

(2)
If the enterprise for which an inmate works is an employer model
enterprise, the private participant may treat the inmate as an
employee of the private participant for the purpose of workers'
compensation coverage in accordance with Chapters 4121., 4123.,
4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code.

(E)
Except as provided in division (D) of this section,
inmates

incarcerated
workers
are
not employees of the department
of
rehabilitation and correction or the private participant in an
enterprise
.

(F)(1)
An
inmate

incarcerated
worker
who
is injured or who contracts an occupational disease
in
the course of and
arising
out of participation in authorized work activity in the federal
prison industries enhancement certification program may

request
the department

file a claim

for
compensation or benefits
with
the bureau of workers' compensation
under
Chapters 4121.
,

and

4123.
,
4127., and 4131.

of the Revised Code

while
the claimant is in the custody of the department

within
the timeframe provided for in section 4123.84 or 4123.85 of the
Revised Code
.

(2)
The dependent of an
inmate

incarcerated
worker
who
is killed or dies as the result of an
injury
or
occupational
disease contracted in the course of
and
arising out of
participation
in authorized work activity in the federal prison industries
enhancement certification program may
request
the department
file
a claim
for
compensation and benefits
with
the bureau
under
Chapters 4121.
,

and

4123.
,
4127., and 4131.

of the Revised Code

within
the timeframe provided for in section 4123.84 or 4123.85 of the
Revised Code
.

A
party may use the appeals process under Chapters 4121. and 4123. of
the Revised Code regarding applications filed under division (F)(2)
of this section.

(G)
Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 4121. or 4123. of the
Revised Code to the contrary,
an
inmate who files a claim pursuant to this section
if
the department determines that an incarcerated worker was injured or
contracted an occupational disease in the course of and arising out
of participation in authorized work activity in the federal prison
industries enhancement certification program, whether by external
accidental means or accidental in character or result, both of the
following apply to the individual

while
that
individual is
in
the custody of the department
:

(1)
The individual may receive medical treatment for the injury or
occupational disease.

(2)
The individual is barred from filing for compensation with the
department or the bureau.

shall
receive
(H)
While an injured incarcerated worker is in the custody of the
department, medical recommendations pertaining to, and
medical
treatment
and
have medical determinations for purposes of Chapter 4121. and 4123.
of the Revised Code made by the department's medical providers
for,
the injured incarcerated worker shall be provided exclusively through
the department's network of providers
.

Medical

(I)
Claim allowance
determinations
made by the
department's
providers
department

shall
be limited to initial claim allowances and requests for additional
conditions.
The
claimant
An
injured incarcerated worker
may

request

appeal
the department's claim allowance determination or medical treatment
determination by requesting
a
review by the department's chief medical officer. In the event of
an

a
further
appeal,
the
claimant

injured
incarcerated worker
may
receive a medical evaluation from a medical practitioner affiliated
within the department's network of third-party medical contractors
or
a medical practitioner in a managed care organization certified by
the bureau of workers' compensation under section 4121.44 of the
Revised Code and
located
in Franklin county.

(H)
In
(J)
Except for appeals regarding determinations under division (I) of
this section, and notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 4121. or
4123. of the Revised Code to the contrary, an injured incarcerated
worker is barred from appealing a determination made under this
section while incarcerated.

(K)
After an injured incarcerated worker is released from incarceration,
all of the following apply:

(1)
A party may use the appeals process under Chapters 4121. and 4123. of
the Revised Code regarding any application filed by an injured
incarcerated worker.

(2)
The released individual may receive medical treatment consistent with
Chapters 4121. and 4123. of the Revised Code.

(3)
The released individual may seek compensation through the bureau
consistent with Chapters 4121. and 4123. of the Revised Code.

(L)
Except for medical treatment as allowed under division (G) of this
section, in
accordance
with division (J) of section 4123.54 of the Revised Code,
compensation or
medical

benefits
are not payable to or on behalf of
a
claimant
an
injured incarcerated worker
during
the period of confinement of the
claimant

injured
incarcerated worker
in
any correctional institution

or
county jail
.

Any
remaining amount of an award of compensation or benefits for an
injury or occupational disease arising out of participation in
authorized work activity in the federal prison industries enhancement
certification program shall be paid to or on behalf of a claimant
after the claimant is released from imprisonment.
If

a
claimant
an
injured incarcerated worker
is
reimprisoned

within
the custody of the department
,
compensation
and
benefits
shall
be suspended during the
claimant's

injured
incarcerated worker's
imprisonment
but
shall

may

resume
on the
claimant's

worker's

release
from imprisonment.
The
department may pay for medical benefits in accordance with division
(G) of this section.

(I)
(M)
After an injured incarcerated worker is released from the
department's custody, regardless of whether the worker worked in a
customer model enterprise or an employer model enterprise, all claim
costs, other than medical costs paid by the department while the
worker was in the department's custody, shall be paid by the
department in accordance with the requirements of Chapters 4121. and
4123. of the Revised Code.

(N)

An
inmate

incarcerated
worker
shall
voluntarily consent to participate in a federal prison industries
enhancement certification program prior to commencing participation
in the program. Such consent disclaims the
inmate's

worker's

ability
to choose a medical provider while the
inmate

worker

is
imprisoned and subjects the
inmate

worker

to
the requirements of this section.

Section
2.
That
existing sections 4121.12, 4121.121, 4121.13, 4123.44, 4123.52,
4123.54, 4123.57, 4123.66, 4125.07, 4133.10, 4167.01, 4167.10, and
5145.163 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section
3.
That
sections 4167.25, 4167.27, and 4167.28 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.

Section
4.
All
items in this act are hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the
state treasury to the credit of the designated fund. For all
appropriations made in this act, those in the first column are for
fiscal year 2026 and those in the second column are for fiscal year
2027.

1

2

3

4

5

A

BWC
BUREAU OF WORKERS COMPENSATION

B

Dedicated
Purpose Fund Group

C

7023

855407

Claims,
Risk and Medical Management

$123,887,269

$128,050,202

D

7023

855409

Administrative
Services

$167,215,851

$168,637,822

E

7023

855410

Attorney
General Payments

$6,384,084

$6,607,527

F

8220

855606

Coal
Workers' Fund

$197,040

$197,040

G

8230

855608

Marine
Industry

$75,000

$75,000

H

8250

855605

Disabled
Workers Relief Fund

$201,000

$201,000

I

8260

855609

Safety
and Hygiene Operating

$21,471,244

$23,281,721

J

8260

855610

Safety
Grants

$41,300,000

$41,300,000

K

8260

855611

Health
and Safety Initiative

$3,000,000

$3,000,000

L

8260

855612

Safety
Campaign

$250,000

$250,000

M

8260

855619

Safety
and Health Workforce Safety Innovation Center

$14,700,000

$14,700,000

N

Dedicated
Purpose Fund Group Total

$378,681,488

$386,300,312

O

Federal
Fund Group

P

3490

855601

OSHA
Enforcement

$1,751,293

$1,751,293

Q

3FW0

855614

BLS
SOII Grant

$199,000

$199,000

R

Federal
Fund Group Total

$1,950,293

$1,950,293

S

TOTAL
ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS

$380,631,781

$388,250,605

Section
5.
WORKERS'
COMPENSATION FRAUD UNIT

Of
the foregoing appropriation item 855410, Attorney General Payments,
$869,610 in fiscal year 2026 and $900,046 in fiscal year 2027 shall
be used to fund the expenses of the Workers' Compensation Fraud Unit
within the Attorney General's Office. These payments shall be
processed at the beginning of each quarter of each fiscal year and
deposited into the Workers' Compensation Section Fund (Fund 1950)
used by the Attorney General.

SAFETY
AND HYGIENE

Notwithstanding
section 4121.37 of the Revised Code, as directed by the Bureau of
Workers' Compensation, the Treasurer of State shall remit up to

$80,721,244

cash
in fiscal year 2026 and up to
$82,531,721

cash
in fiscal year 2027 from the State Insurance Fund to the state
treasury to the credit of the Safety and Hygiene Fund (Fund 8260) to
be used to fund appropriation lines 855609 for the purpose of
operating a Safety and Hygiene program, 855610 to be used for Safety
Grants, 855611 for the purpose of operating a Health and Wellness
Program, 855612 for the purpose of operating a statewide safety
awareness and education campaign, and 855619 for the purpose of
funding a workforce safety innovation center program.

FEDERAL
GRANT PROGRAMS

The
foregoing appropriation item 855609, Safety and Hygiene Operating,
may be used to provide the state match for federal grant funding
received by the Division of Safety and Hygiene.

VOCATIONAL
REHABILITATION

The
Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Opportunities for Ohioans
with Disabilities Agency may enter into an interagency agreement for
the provision of vocational rehabilitation services and staff to
mutually eligible clients. The Bureau may provide funds from the
State Insurance Fund to fund vocational rehabilitation services and
staff in accordance with the interagency agreement.

Section
6.
DEPUTY
INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR BWC AND OIC FUNDING

To
pay for the FY 2026 costs related to the Deputy Inspector General for
the Bureau of Workers' Compensation and Industrial Commission, on
July 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter,
the Director of Budget and Management shall transfer $212,500 cash
from the Workers' Compensation Fund (Fund 7023) to the Deputy
Inspector General for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation and
Industrial Commission Fund (Fund 5FT0).

To
pay for the FY 2027 costs related to the Deputy Inspector General for
the Bureau of Workers' Compensation and Industrial Commission, on
July 1, 2026, and January 1, 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter,
the Director of Budget and Management shall transfer $212,500 cash
from the Workers' Compensation Fund (Fund 7023) to the Deputy
Inspector General for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation and
Industrial Commission Fund (Fund 5FT0).

If
additional amounts are needed, the Inspector General may seek
Controlling Board approval for additional transfers of cash and to
increase the amount appropriated in appropriation item 965604, Deputy
Inspector General for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation and
Industrial Commission.

Section
7.
The
amendment of sections 4123.52 and 4123.57 of the Revised Code by this
act applies to claims pending on or arising on or after the effective
date of this section.

Section
8.
This
Section and Sections 4, 5, and 6 of this act are exempt from the
referendum under Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1d and
section 1.471 of the Revised Code and therefore take effect
immediately when this act becomes law.

Section
9.
The
General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of
section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized
if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the
following sections, presented in this act as composites of the
sections as amended by the acts indicated, are the resulting versions
of the sections in effect prior to the effective date of the sections
as presented in this act:

Section
4123.52 of the Revised Code as amended by both H.B. 33 of the 135th
General Assembly and H.B. 81 of the 133rd General Assembly.

Section
4123.57 of the Revised Code as amended by both H.B. 75 and H.B. 281
of the 134th General Assembly.

Speaker
___________________ of the House of Representatives.

President
___________________ of the Senate.

Passed
________________________, 20____

Approved
________________________, 20____

Governor.

The section numbering of law
of a general and permanent nature is complete and in conformity with
the Revised Code.

Director, Legislative
Service Commission.

Filed
in the office of the Secretary of State at Columbus, Ohio, on the
____ day of ___________, A. D. 20____.

Secretary of State.

File
No. _________ Effective Date ___________________