Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Reimbursement Insurance Required for Consumer Goods Services Contracts and for Warranties on Vehicle Protection Products

New Ohio law H.B. 442 requires that product warranties on vehicle protection products, such as theft alarms, must be covered by a warranty reimbursement insurance policy.  Consumer goods service contracts must also be covered by reimbursement insurance policies. The act subjects consumer goods service contracts and vehicle protection product warranties to the Consumer Sales Practices Act.  Other changes are made concerning consumer goods service contracts, and also with regards to mutual protective associations, group life insurance, and investment and reinvestment exceptions concerning life insurance and annuities.  See Final Bill Analysis; NAMIC Commends Ohio Governor, Legislature for Farm Mutual Modernization Legislation, NAMIC Online, July 19, 2006. 

Competent Adult May Designate Person to Dispose of Their Remains

HB 426 creates a document called a "declaration of the right of disposition", whereby a person can designate someone else to make arrangements for disposal of their remains.  See new ORC 2108.70-90.  New ORC 2108.72 contains a form for a "declaration of the right of disposition".

Ohio Corporate Law Modernization Act

HB 301 makes changes to Ohio corporations law.  The changes include:

1.  Procedures for the conversion of a foreign entity into a domestic entity and conversion of a domestic entity from one type to another (for example, corporation, LLC, partnership) and/or conversion of a domestic to a foreign entity. 

2.  Procedures for a domestic parent and subsidiary company to switch designations as parent and subsidiary. 

3.  Changes in mergers and consolidations of Ohio partnerships.

4.  Changes concerning the enactment and contents of corporations' regulations and articles of incorporation. 

5.  Changes concerning the liability of partners in registered limited liability partnerships, see ORC 1775.14(B). 

6.  Incorporates into Ohio law future amendments to federal securities laws.

See also Final Bill Analysis.  The intent of this legislation is to update and streamline corporations law, to make Ohio competitive with other states.   See Judicial Administration and Legal Reform Update 2006 by William K. Weisenberg at page 50 of the pdf document. 

Articles Summarizing Ohio Trust Code

For an article summarizing the changes made by the new Ohio Trust Code, see "The Evolution of Ohio Trust Law" by Joanne F. Hindel, Cleveland Bar Journal, June 2006.  As we pointed out in a previous post, there are many articles on specific aspects of the Trust Code in the Probate Law Journal of Ohio.  See Final Report on the Trust Code, Ohio Bankers League, 5/25/2006 for citations. "Merrick-Rippner Probate Laws & Rules Annotated, The Ohio Trust Code Supplement", 2006, published by Thomson West, contains the Probate Law Journal of Ohio articles, the text of the act and the new Ohio Revised Code sections.

To see the Uniform Trust Code, upon which the Ohio act is based, see Uniform Trust Code. See our prior post:  Ohio Trust Code Enacted, June 29, 2006.

Another great article is "Ohio Adopts New Trust Code" by Alan Newman, Ohio Lawyer, Sept/Oct 2006, page 9.  For more resources, see Cleveland Law Library's FAQ on Ohio Trust Code. 

Ohio Bill Prohibits Tracking Employees by Radio ID Tags

Ohio SB 349 would prohibit employers from requiring employees to use radio frequency ID tags for tracking.  The tags are inserted into a person's body. Newly Introduced Bill Would Protect Privacy by ACLU of Ohio, July 20, 2006.  For a list of other states with proposed or enacted RFID legislation in various areas, such as consumer products, documents created by the state and requiring a person to insert a tag, see RFID and Privacy, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  See also Wikipedia, RFID.

Governance of Community Based Correction Facilities Changed by New Law

A new act, HB 162, changes the governance of Community Based Correction Facilities from a Judicial Corrections Board to a Facility Governing Board, composed of non-judges, and a Judicial Advisory Board.  The change is a result of  Ohio Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline Opinion 2003-9, which stated:  "it is the Board’s view that a judge’s participation on a Judicial Corrections Board casts doubt on impartiality, demeans the judicial office, and interferes with performance of judicial duties".  The law also changes the liability and immunity of Facility Governing Board and Judicial Advisory Board members.  The act also sets out the application of the Ohio Ethics Law to Facility Governing Board members, CBCF directors and employees and private entities that contract to operate a CBCF.  See OJC Enactment News, HB 162

Changes to Post-Release Control and Juvenile Expungement Statutes

The governor signed H.B. 137, which revises the procedure for the sealing and expunging juvenile records and modifies the post-release control law.  See Governor's News Release, July 11, 2006. One of the changes made to the post-release control law is in response to the Ohio Supreme Court's decision in Hernandez v. Kelly (2006), 108 Ohio St.3d 395.  Hernandez held that post-release control can not be imposed on an offender unless the court notifies the offender at the sentencing hearing and incorporates it into the sentencing entry.  Now, post-release control can be imposed despite the court's failure to notify the offender and/or include it in the sentencing entry if: (1) an offender was sentenced before the effective date of the act, is still in prison, and a hearing prior to release takes place or (2) the offender is sentenced after the effective date. HB 137 also contains specific provisions pertaining to post-release control of sex offenders.  See House Bill 137 (Hernandez Portion) , Ohio Judicial Conference Enactment News.

The bill contains an emergency clause and goes into effect immediately after it is signed by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State.   

New Act Requires Posting of "God Mottos" in Schools

Governor Taft signed H.B. 184, which requires school districts and charter schools to post donated copies of the Ohio state motto (With God, All Things are Possible) and U.S. motto (In God we Trust).  The Final Bill Analysis discusses the constitutionality of the legislation.  The ACLU is considering a lawsuit. See Governor's News Release, July, 11, 2006; Taft Signs Law Requiring Schools To Display "God Mottos" by Bill Cohen, WKSU News, July 11, 2006. 

Two Credit Freeze Bills Pending

There are two bills pending in the Ohio Legislature which will allow consumers to freeze their credit, HB 339 and HB 624.  The bills allow for the credit freeze to be temporarily lifted by the consumer.    Credit Freeze Bill Becomes Subject of Legislative Tiff by Sheryl Harris, The Plain Dealer, July 8, 2006; A Weapon Against Identity Theft by Sheryl Harris, The Plain Dealer, July 6, 2006; Identity-Theft Fears Spur Bill to Freeze Credit Data by Julie Carr Smyth, Plain Dealer, July 1, 2006.

New Statute of Limitations for Collecting Ohio CAT, Corporate and Sales Tax

Governor Taft signed HB 390, which  establishes time limits for assessing certain unpaid state taxes and time limits for judicial proceedings after an assessment.  The act restores a prior time limit for the state to take action on a debt due to it, but the time limit is lengthened to twelve years.  The act also "Provides for relieving "innocent spouses" from joint and several liability for income taxes under a compromise of claim or payment-over-time agreement."  See Final LSC Analysis; Governor Taft News Release, dated June 28, 2006.