As Introduced

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
S. B. No. 107


Senators Patton, Turner 

Cosponsors: Senators Hughes, LaRose, Brown, Tavares 

A BILL
To amend sections 2903.13 and 2917.41 and to enact 1
section 306.20 of the Revised Code to increase the 2
penalty for assault when the victim is an employee 3
of an Ohio transit system whom the offender knows 4
or has reasonable cause to know is such an 5
employee engaged in the performance of the 6
victim's duties; to permit the court to impose a 7
fine of up to $5000 and a six-month or lifetime 8
prohibition from riding an Ohio transit system for 9
assault committed in such specified circumstances; 10
to authorize Ohio transit systems to post a 11
warning sign indicating that abuse or assault of 12
staff will not be tolerated and might result in a 13
felony conviction; and to increase the penalty for 14
evading payment of the known fares of a public 15
transportation system.16


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1.  That sections 2903.13 and 2917.41 be amended and 17
section 306.20 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:18

       Sec. 306.20.  (A) Any Ohio transit system may post the notice 19
described in division (B) of this section in accordance with this 20
division. An Ohio transit system that decides to post the notice 21
shall consider posting it in a conspicuous location in all of the 22
transit system's buses and rail cars.23

       (B) A notice posted pursuant to division (A) of this section 24
shall include, at a minimum, all of the following statements and 25
information:26

"WE WILL NOT TOLERATE
27

any form of threatening or
28

aggressive behavior
29

toward our staff.
30

Assaults against our staff might
31

result in a felony conviction.
32

All staff have the right to carry out
33

their work without fearing for their safety."
34

       (C) As used in this section, "Ohio transit system" has the 35
same meaning as in section 2305.33 of the Revised Code.36

       Sec. 2903.13.  (A) No person shall knowingly cause or attempt 37
to cause physical harm to another or to another's unborn.38

       (B) No person shall recklessly cause serious physical harm to 39
another or to another's unborn.40

       (C)(1) Whoever violates this section is guilty of assault, 41
and the court shall sentence the offender as provided in this 42
division and divisions (C)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), 43
and (9), and (10) of this section. Except as otherwise provided in 44
division (C)(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), or (8), or (9) of this 45
section, assault is a misdemeanor of the first degree.46

       (2) Except as otherwise provided in this division, if the 47
offense is committed by a caretaker against a functionally 48
impaired person under the caretaker's care, assault is a felony of 49
the fourth degree. If the offense is committed by a caretaker 50
against a functionally impaired person under the caretaker's care, 51
if the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty 52
to a violation of this section or section 2903.11 or 2903.16 of 53
the Revised Code, and if in relation to the previous conviction 54
the offender was a caretaker and the victim was a functionally 55
impaired person under the offender's care, assault is a felony of 56
the third degree.57

       (3) If the offense is committed in any of the following 58
circumstances, assault is a felony of the fifth degree:59

       (a) The offense occurs in or on the grounds of a state 60
correctional institution or an institution of the department of 61
youth services, the victim of the offense is an employee of the 62
department of rehabilitation and correction, the department of 63
youth services, or a probation department or is on the premises of 64
the particular institution for business purposes or as a visitor, 65
and the offense is committed by a person incarcerated in the state 66
correctional institution, by a person institutionalized in the 67
department of youth services institution pursuant to a commitment 68
to the department of youth services, by a parolee, by an offender 69
under transitional control, under a community control sanction, or 70
on an escorted visit, by a person under post-release control, or 71
by an offender under any other type of supervision by a government 72
agency.73

       (b) The offense occurs in or on the grounds of a local 74
correctional facility, the victim of the offense is an employee of 75
the local correctional facility or a probation department or is on 76
the premises of the facility for business purposes or as a 77
visitor, and the offense is committed by a person who is under 78
custody in the facility subsequent to the person's arrest for any 79
crime or delinquent act, subsequent to the person's being charged 80
with or convicted of any crime, or subsequent to the person's 81
being alleged to be or adjudicated a delinquent child.82

       (c) The offense occurs off the grounds of a state 83
correctional institution and off the grounds of an institution of 84
the department of youth services, the victim of the offense is an 85
employee of the department of rehabilitation and correction, the 86
department of youth services, or a probation department, the 87
offense occurs during the employee's official work hours and while 88
the employee is engaged in official work responsibilities, and the 89
offense is committed by a person incarcerated in a state 90
correctional institution or institutionalized in the department of 91
youth services who temporarily is outside of the institution for 92
any purpose, by a parolee, by an offender under transitional 93
control, under a community control sanction, or on an escorted 94
visit, by a person under post-release control, or by an offender 95
under any other type of supervision by a government agency.96

       (d) The offense occurs off the grounds of a local 97
correctional facility, the victim of the offense is an employee of 98
the local correctional facility or a probation department, the 99
offense occurs during the employee's official work hours and while 100
the employee is engaged in official work responsibilities, and the 101
offense is committed by a person who is under custody in the 102
facility subsequent to the person's arrest for any crime or 103
delinquent act, subsequent to the person being charged with or 104
convicted of any crime, or subsequent to the person being alleged 105
to be or adjudicated a delinquent child and who temporarily is 106
outside of the facility for any purpose or by a parolee, by an 107
offender under transitional control, under a community control 108
sanction, or on an escorted visit, by a person under post-release 109
control, or by an offender under any other type of supervision by 110
a government agency.111

       (e) The victim of the offense is a school teacher or 112
administrator or a school bus operator, and the offense occurs in 113
a school, on school premises, in a school building, on a school 114
bus, or while the victim is outside of school premises or a school 115
bus and is engaged in duties or official responsibilities 116
associated with the victim's employment or position as a school 117
teacher or administrator or a school bus operator, including, but 118
not limited to, driving, accompanying, or chaperoning students at 119
or on class or field trips, athletic events, or other school 120
extracurricular activities or functions outside of school 121
premises.122

       (4) If the victim of the offense is a peace officer or an 123
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 124
investigation, a firefighter, or a person performing emergency 125
medical service, while in the performance of their official 126
duties, assault is a felony of the fourth degree.127

       (5) If the victim of the offense is a peace officer or an 128
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 129
investigation and if the victim suffered serious physical harm as 130
a result of the commission of the offense, assault is a felony of 131
the fourth degree, and the court, pursuant to division (F) of 132
section 2929.13 of the Revised Code, shall impose as a mandatory 133
prison term one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the 134
fourth degree that is at least twelve months in duration.135

       (6) If the victim of the offense is an officer or employee of 136
a public children services agency or a private child placing 137
agency and the offense relates to the officer's or employee's 138
performance or anticipated performance of official 139
responsibilities or duties, assault is either a felony of the 140
fifth degree or, if the offender previously has been convicted of 141
or pleaded guilty to an offense of violence, the victim of that 142
prior offense was an officer or employee of a public children 143
services agency or private child placing agency, and that prior 144
offense related to the officer's or employee's performance or 145
anticipated performance of official responsibilities or duties, a 146
felony of the fourth degree. 147

       (7) If the victim of the offense is a health care 148
professional of a hospital, a health care worker of a hospital, or 149
a security officer of a hospital whom the offender knows or has 150
reasonable cause to know is a health care professional of a 151
hospital, a health care worker of a hospital, or a security 152
officer of a hospital, if the victim is engaged in the performance 153
of the victim's duties, and if the hospital offers de-escalation 154
or crisis intervention training for such professionals, workers, 155
or officers, assault is one of the following:156

        (a) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(7)(b) of 157
this section, assault committed in the specified circumstances is 158
a misdemeanor of the first degree. Notwithstanding the fine 159
specified in division (A)(2)(b)(a) of section 2929.28 of the 160
Revised Code for a misdemeanor of the first degree, in sentencing 161
the offender under this division and if the court decides to 162
impose a fine, the court may impose upon the offender a fine of 163
not more than five thousand dollars.164

        (b) If the offender previously has been convicted of or 165
pleaded guilty to one or more assault or homicide offenses 166
committed against hospital personnel, assault committed in the 167
specified circumstances is a felony of the fifth degree.168

        (8) If the victim of the offense is a judge, magistrate, 169
prosecutor, or court official or employee whom the offender knows 170
or has reasonable cause to know is a judge, magistrate, 171
prosecutor, or court official or employee, and if the victim is 172
engaged in the performance of the victim's duties, assault is one 173
of the following:174

        (a) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(7)(b) of 175
this section, assault committed in the specified circumstances is 176
a misdemeanor of the first degree. In sentencing the offender 177
under this division, if the court decides to impose a fine, 178
notwithstanding the fine specified in division (A)(2)(b)(a) of 179
section 2929.28 of the Revised Code for a misdemeanor of the first 180
degree, the court may impose upon the offender a fine of not more 181
than five thousand dollars.182

        (b) If the offender previously has been convicted of or 183
pleaded guilty to one or more assault or homicide offenses 184
committed against justice system personnel, assault committed in 185
the specified circumstances is a felony of the fifth degree.186

       (9) If the victim of the offense is an operator of an Ohio 187
transit system bus or Ohio transit system rail car, a maintenance 188
worker of an Ohio transit system, or a contracted employee 189
providing any of these services to an Ohio transit system, if the 190
offender knows or has reasonable cause to know that the victim is 191
an operator of an Ohio transit system bus or Ohio transit system 192
rail car, a maintenance worker of an Ohio transit system, or a 193
contracted employee providing any of these services to an Ohio 194
transit system, and if the victim is engaged in the performance of 195
the victim's duties, assault is one of the following:196

       (a) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(9)(b) of 197
this section, assault committed in the specified circumstances is 198
a felony of the fifth degree. Notwithstanding the fine specified 199
in division (A)(3) of section 2929.18 of the Revised Code for a 200
felony of the fifth degree, if the court decides to impose a fine 201
under this division, the court may impose upon the offender a fine 202
of not more than five thousand dollars. Additionally, the court 203
may prohibit the offender from riding any Ohio transit system bus 204
or Ohio transit system rail car for six months.205

       (b) If the offender previously has been convicted of or 206
pleaded guilty to one or more assault or homicide offenses 207
committed against an operator of an Ohio transit system bus or 208
Ohio transit system rail car, a maintenance worker of an Ohio 209
transit system, or a contracted employee providing any of these 210
services to an Ohio transit system, assault committed in the 211
specified circumstances is a felony of the fourth degree. 212
Additionally, the court may prohibit the offender from riding any 213
Ohio transit system bus or Ohio transit system rail car for the 214
offender's lifetime.215

       (10) If an offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to 216
assault when it is a misdemeanor also is convicted of or pleads 217
guilty to a specification as described in section 2941.1423 of the 218
Revised Code that was included in the indictment, count in the 219
indictment, or information charging the offense, the court shall 220
sentence the offender to a mandatory jail term as provided in 221
division (G) of section 2929.24 of the Revised Code.222

       If an offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to 223
assault when it is a felony also is convicted of or pleads guilty 224
to a specification as described in section 2941.1423 of the 225
Revised Code that was included in the indictment, count in the 226
indictment, or information charging the offense, except as 227
otherwise provided in division (C)(5) of this section, the court 228
shall sentence the offender to a mandatory prison term as provided 229
in division (B)(8) of section 2929.14 of the Revised Code.230

       (D) As used in this section:231

       (1) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 232
2935.01 of the Revised Code.233

       (2) "Firefighter" has the same meaning as in section 3937.41 234
of the Revised Code.235

       (3) "Emergency medical service" has the same meaning as in 236
section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.237

       (4) "Local correctional facility" means a county, 238
multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal 239
jail or workhouse, a minimum security jail established under 240
section 341.23 or 753.21 of the Revised Code, or another county, 241
multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal 242
facility used for the custody of persons arrested for any crime or 243
delinquent act, persons charged with or convicted of any crime, or 244
persons alleged to be or adjudicated a delinquent child.245

       (5) "Employee of a local correctional facility" means a 246
person who is an employee of the political subdivision or of one 247
or more of the affiliated political subdivisions that operates the 248
local correctional facility and who operates or assists in the 249
operation of the facility.250

       (6) "School teacher or administrator" means either of the 251
following:252

       (a) A person who is employed in the public schools of the 253
state under a contract described in section 3311.77 or 3319.08 of 254
the Revised Code in a position in which the person is required to 255
have a certificate issued pursuant to sections 3319.22 to 3319.311 256
of the Revised Code.257

       (b) A person who is employed by a nonpublic school for which 258
the state board of education prescribes minimum standards under 259
section 3301.07 of the Revised Code and who is certificated in 260
accordance with section 3301.071 of the Revised Code.261

       (7) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in 262
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.263

       (8) "Escorted visit" means an escorted visit granted under 264
section 2967.27 of the Revised Code.265

       (9) "Post-release control" and "transitional control" have 266
the same meanings as in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.267

       (10) "Investigator of the bureau of criminal identification 268
and investigation" has the same meaning as in section 2903.11 of 269
the Revised Code.270

       (11) "Health care professional" and "health care worker" have 271
the same meanings as in section 2305.234 of the Revised Code.272

       (12) "Assault or homicide offense committed against hospital 273
personnel" means a violation of this section or of section 274
2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.041, 2903.11, 2903.12, or 275
2903.14 of the Revised Code committed in circumstances in which 276
all of the following apply:277

        (a) The victim of the offense was a health care professional 278
of a hospital, a health care worker of a hospital, or a security 279
officer of a hospital.280

        (b) The offender knew or had reasonable cause to know that 281
the victim was a health care professional of a hospital, a health 282
care worker of a hospital, or a security officer of a hospital.283

        (c) The victim was engaged in the performance of the victim's 284
duties.285

        (d) The hospital offered de-escalation or crisis intervention 286
training for such professionals, workers, or officers.287

        (13) "De-escalation or crisis intervention training" means 288
de-escalation or crisis intervention training for health care 289
professionals of a hospital, health care workers of a hospital, 290
and security officers of a hospital to facilitate interaction with 291
patients, members of a patient's family, and visitors, including 292
those with mental impairments. 293

       (14) "Assault or homicide offense committed against justice 294
system personnel" means a violation of this section or of section 295
2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.041, 2903.11, 2903.12, or 296
2903.14 of the Revised Code committed in circumstances in which 297
the victim of the offense was a judge, magistrate, prosecutor, or 298
court official or employee whom the offender knew or had 299
reasonable cause to know was a judge, magistrate, prosecutor, or 300
court official or employee, and the victim was engaged in the 301
performance of the victim's duties.302

        (15) "Court official or employee" means any official or 303
employee of a court created under the constitution or statutes of 304
this state or of a United States court located in this state.305

        (16) "Judge" means a judge of a court created under the 306
constitution or statutes of this state or of a United States court 307
located in this state.308

        (17) "Magistrate" means an individual who is appointed by a 309
court of record of this state and who has the powers and may 310
perform the functions specified in Civil Rule 53, Criminal Rule 311
19, or Juvenile Rule 40, or an individual who is appointed by a 312
United States court located in this state who has similar powers 313
and functions.314

        (18) "Prosecutor" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 315
of the Revised Code. 316

       (19)(a) "Hospital" means, subject to division (D)(19)(b) of 317
this section, an institution classified as a hospital under 318
section 3701.01 of the Revised Code in which are provided to 319
patients diagnostic, medical, surgical, obstetrical, psychiatric, 320
or rehabilitation care or a hospital operated by a health 321
maintenance organization.322

        (b) "Hospital" does not include any of the following:323

        (i) A facility licensed under Chapter 3721. of the Revised 324
Code, a health care facility operated by the department of mental 325
health or the department of developmental disabilities, a health 326
maintenance organization that does not operate a hospital, or the 327
office of any private, licensed health care professional, whether 328
organized for individual or group practice;329

        (ii) An institution for the sick that is operated exclusively 330
for patients who use spiritual means for healing and for whom the 331
acceptance of medical care is inconsistent with their religious 332
beliefs, accredited by a national accrediting organization, exempt 333
from federal income taxation under section 501 of the "Internal 334
Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as amended, 335
and providing twenty-four-hour nursing care pursuant to the 336
exemption in division (E) of section 4723.32 of the Revised Code 337
from the licensing requirements of Chapter 4723. of the Revised 338
Code.339

        (20) "Health maintenance organization" has the same meaning 340
as in section 3727.01 of the Revised Code. 341

       (21) "Ohio transit system bus" means a motor vehicle of an 342
Ohio transit system that is designed for carrying more than nine 343
passengers and used for the transportation of persons but does not 344
mean any school bus.345

       (22) "Ohio transit system rail car" means a street rail car, 346
tramline car, subway car, monorail car, or rapid transit car 347
within a ground transportation system having as its primary 348
purpose the regularly scheduled mass movement of passengers 349
between locations within the territorial boundaries of an Ohio 350
transit system.351

       (23) "Ohio transit system" has the same meaning as in section 352
2305.33 of the Revised Code.353

       (24) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 354
4511.01 of the Revised Code.355

       (25) "Assault or homicide offense committed against an 356
operator of an Ohio transit system bus or Ohio transit system rail 357
car, a maintenance worker of an Ohio transit system, or a 358
contracted employee providing any of these services to an Ohio 359
transit system" means a violation of this section or of section 360
2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.041, 2903.11, 2903.12, or 361
2903.14 of the Revised Code committed in circumstances in which 362
all of the following apply:363

       (a) The victim of the offense was an operator of an Ohio 364
transit system bus or Ohio transit system rail car, a maintenance 365
worker of an Ohio transit system, or a contracted employee 366
providing any of these services to an Ohio transit system.367

       (b) The offender knew or had reasonable cause to know that 368
the victim was an operator of an Ohio transit system bus or Ohio 369
transit system rail car, a maintenance worker of an Ohio transit 370
system, or a contracted employee providing any of these services 371
to an Ohio transit system.372

       (c) The victim was engaged in the performance of the victim's 373
duties.374

       Sec. 2917.41.  (A) No person shall evade the payment of the 375
known fares of a public transportation system.376

       (B) No person shall alter any transfer, pass, ticket, or 377
token of a public transportation system with the purpose of 378
evading the payment of fares or of defrauding the system.379

       (C) No person shall do any of the following while in any 380
facility or on any vehicle of a public transportation system:381

       (1) Play sound equipment without the proper use of a private 382
earphone;383

       (2) Smoke, eat, or drink in any area where the activity is 384
clearly marked as being prohibited;385

       (3) Expectorate upon a person, facility, or vehicle.386

       (D) No person shall write, deface, draw, or otherwise mark on 387
any facility or vehicle of a public transportation system.388

       (E) No person shall fail to comply with a lawful order of a 389
public transportation system police officer, and no person shall 390
resist, obstruct, or abuse a public transportation police officer 391
in the performance of the officer's duties.392

       (F) Whoever violates this section is guilty of misconduct 393
involving a public transportation system.394

       (1) Violation of division (A), (B), or (E) of this section is 395
a misdemeanor of the fourthsecond degree.396

       (2) Violation of division (B) or (E) of this section is a 397
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.398

       (3) Violation of division (C) of this section is a minor 399
misdemeanor on a first offense. If a person previously has been 400
convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of any division of 401
this section or of a municipal ordinance that is substantially 402
similar to any division of this section, violation of division (C) 403
of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.404

       (3)(4) Violation of division (D) of this section is a 405
misdemeanor of the third degree.406

       (G) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, seventy-five 407
per cent of each fine paid to satisfy a sentence imposed for a 408
violation of this section shall be deposited into the treasury of 409
the county in which the violation occurred and twenty-five per 410
cent shall be deposited with the county transit board, regional 411
transit authority, or regional transit commission that operates 412
the public transportation system involved in the violation, unless 413
the board of county commissioners operates the public 414
transportation system, in which case one hundred per cent of each 415
fine shall be deposited into the treasury of the county.416

       (H) As used in this section, "public transportation system" 417
means a county transit system operated in accordance with sections 418
306.01 to 306.13 of the Revised Code, a regional transit authority 419
operated in accordance with sections 306.30 to 306.71 of the 420
Revised Code, or a regional transit commission operated in 421
accordance with sections 306.80 to 306.90 of the Revised Code.422

       Section 2. That existing sections 2903.13 and 2917.41 of the 423
Revised Code are hereby repealed.424

       Section 3.  Section 2903.13 of the Revised Code is presented 425
in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. 426
Sub. H.B. 62 and Sub. H.B. 525 of the 129th General Assembly. The 427
General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of 428
section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be 429
harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds 430
that the composite is the resulting version of the section in 431
effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in 432
this act.433