2323.44 Ohio subrogation rights commission.
2323.44 Ohio subrogation rights commission.
(A)(1) There is hereby created the Ohio subrogation rights commission consisting of six voting members and ten nonvoting members. To be eligible as a voting member, a person shall be a current member of the general assembly. The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall jointly appoint nine members. The chairperson of the senate committee to which bills pertaining to insurance are referred shall be a member of the commission. The chairperson of the house committee to which bills pertaining to insurance are referred shall be a member of the commission. The chairperson and the ranking minority member of the senate committee to which bills pertaining to civil justice are referred shall each be a member of the commission. The chairperson and the ranking minority member of the house committee to which bills pertaining to civil justice are referred shall each be a member of the commission. Of the nine members jointly appointed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representative, one shall represent a health insuring company doing business in the state , one shall represent a public employees union in the state, one shall represent the Ohio academy of trial lawyers, one shall represent a property and casualty insurance company doing business in the state, one shall represent the Ohio state bar association, and one shall represent a sickness and accident insurer doing business in the state; all of these appointees shall have expertise in insurance law, including subrogation rights. Of the remaining three members jointly appointed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, one shall represent plaintiffs in tort actions who suffered damages as a result of the injury, death, or loss to person or property upon which the tort actions were based, and two shall represent employers whose primary place of business is located in this state, one of which shall represent a small employer. A member of the Ohio judicial conference who is an elected or appointed judge shall be a member of the commission.
(2) As used in this division:
(a) “Small employer” means an employer who employs not more than one hundred persons on a full-time permanent basis, or, if the employer is classified as being in the manufacturing sector by the North American industrial classification system, an employer who employs not more than five hundred persons on a full-time permanent basis.
(b) “Tort action” means a civil action for damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property. “Tort action” includes a product liability claim, as defined in section 2307.71 of the Revised Code, but does not include a civil action for damages for a breach of contract or another agreement between persons.
(B) The commission shall do all of the following:
(1) Investigate the problems posed by, and the issues surrounding, the N. Buckeye Educ. Council Group Health Benefits Plan v. Lawson (2004), 103 Ohio St. 3d 188 decision regarding subrogation;
(2) Prepare a report of recommended legislative solutions to the court decision referred to in division (B)(1) of this section;
(3) Submit a report of its findings to the members of the general assembly not later than December 31, 2005.
(C) Any vacancy in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.
(D) The chairpersons of the house and senate committees to which bills pertaining to insurance are referred shall jointly call the first meeting of the commission not later than thirty days after the effective date of this amendment. The first meeting shall be organizational, and the voting members of the commission shall determine the chairperson from among the commission’s voting members by a majority vote.
(E) The legislative service commission shall provide any technical, professional, and clerical employees that are necessary for the commission to perform its duties.
(F) All meetings of the commission are public meetings and shall be open to the public at all times. A member of the commission must be present in person at a meeting that is open to the public in order to be considered present or to vote at the meeting and for the purposes of determining whether a quorum is present. The commission shall promptly prepare and maintain the minutes of its meetings, and the minutes shall be public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code. The commission shall give reasonable notice of its meetings so that any person may determine the time and place of all scheduled meetings. The commission shall not hold a meeting unless it gives at least twenty-four hours advance notice to the news media organizations that have requested notification of its meetings.
Effective Date: 04-07-2005; 06-27-2006