As Introduced

134th General Assembly

Regular Session S. B. No. 294

2021-2022

A BILL

To amend sections 4507.50 and 4507.52 of the Revised Code to allow any veteran and any unemployed mobility impaired person to obtain a free identification card that is valid for eight years.

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

Section 1. That sections 4507.50 and 4507.52 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4507.50. (A)(1) The registrar of motor vehicles or a deputy registrar shall issue an identification card to a person when all of the following apply:

(a) The registrar or deputy registrar receives an application completed in accordance with section 4507.51 of the Revised Code and payment of the applicable fees.

(b) The person is a resident or a temporary resident of this state.

(d) The person does not hold an identification card from another jurisdiction.

(2)(a) The registrar of motor vehicles or a deputy registrar may issue a temporary identification card when all of the following apply:

(i) The registrar or deputy registrar receives an application completed in accordance with section 4507.51 of the Revised Code and payment of the applicable fees.

(ii) The person is a resident or temporary resident of this state.

(iii) The person's Ohio driver's or commercial driver's license has been suspended or canceled.

(iv) The person does not hold an identification card from another jurisdiction.

(b) The temporary identification card shall be identical to an identification card, except that it shall be printed on its face with a statement that the card is valid during the effective dates of the suspension or cancellation of the cardholder's license, or until the birthday of the cardholder in the fourth year after the date on which it is issued, whichever is shorter.

(c) The cardholder shall surrender the temporary identification card to the registrar or any deputy registrar before the cardholder's driver's or commercial driver's license is restored or reissued.

(B)(1) Except as provided in division (C) or (D) of this section, an applicant shall pay the following fees prior to issuance of an identification card or a temporary identification card:

(a) A fee of three dollars and fifty cents if the card will expire on the applicant's birthday four years after the date of issuance or a fee of six dollars if the card will expire on the applicant's birthday eight years after the date of issuance;

(b) A fee equal to the amount established under section 4503.038 of the Revised Code if the card will expire on the applicant's birthday four years after the date of issuance or twice that amount if the card will expire on the applicant's birthday eight years after the date of issuance;

(c) A fee of one dollar and fifty cents if the card will expire on the applicant's birthday four years after the date of issuance or three dollars if the card will expire on the applicant's birthday eight years after the date of issuance, for the authentication of the documents required for processing an identification card or temporary identification card. A deputy registrar that authenticates the required documents shall retain the entire amount of the fee.

(2) The fees collected for issuing an identification card under this section, except for any fees allowed to the deputy registrar, shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the public safety - highway purposes fund created in section 4501.06 of the Revised Code.

(C) ~~A disabled~~ Any veteran ~~who has a service-connected disability rated at one hundred per cent by the veterans' administration~~ may apply to the registrar or a deputy registrar for the issuance to that veteran of an identification card or a temporary identification card under this section without payment of any fee prescribed in division (B) of this section.

~~An application made under this division shall be accompanied by such documentary evidence of disability as the registrar may require by rule.~~

(D) A nonveteran resident who is eligible for an identification card with an expiration date that is in accordance with division (A)(8)(b) of section 4507.52 of the Revised Code and who is currently unemployed may apply to the registrar or a deputy registrar for the issuance of an identification card under this section without payment of any fee as prescribed in division (B) of this section.

An application made under division (D) of this section shall be accompanied by such documentary evidence of disability and unemployment as the registrar may require by rule.

Sec. 4507.52. (A)(1) Each identification card issued by the registrar of motor vehicles or a deputy registrar shall display a distinguishing number assigned to the cardholder, and shall display the following inscription:

"STATE OF OHIO IDENTIFICATION CARD

This card is not valid for the purpose of operating a motor vehicle. It is provided solely for the purpose of establishing the identity of the bearer described on the card, who currently is not licensed to operate a motor vehicle in the state of Ohio."

(2) The identification card shall display substantially the same information as contained in the application and as described in division (A)(1) of section 4507.51 of the Revised Code, but shall not display the cardholder's social security number unless the cardholder specifically requests that the cardholder's social security number be displayed on the card. If federal law requires the cardholder's social security number to be displayed on the identification card, the social security number shall be displayed on the card notwithstanding this section.

(3) The identification card also shall display the color photograph of the cardholder.

(4) If the cardholder has executed a durable power of attorney for health care or a declaration governing the use or continuation, or the withholding or withdrawal, of life-sustaining treatment and has specified that the cardholder wishes the identification card to indicate that the cardholder has executed either type of instrument, the card also shall display any symbol chosen by the registrar to indicate that the cardholder has executed either type of instrument.

(5) If the cardholder has specified that the cardholder wishes the identification card to indicate that the cardholder is a veteran, active duty, or reservist of the armed forces of the United States and has presented a copy of the cardholder's DD-214 form or an equivalent document, the card also shall display any symbol chosen by the registrar to indicate that the cardholder is a veteran, active duty, or reservist of the armed forces of the United States.

(6) The card shall be designed as to prevent its reproduction or alteration without ready detection.

(7) The identification card for persons under twenty-one years of age shall have characteristics prescribed by the registrar distinguishing it from that issued to a person who is twenty-one years of age or older, except that an identification card issued to a person who applies no more than thirty days before the applicant's twenty-first birthday shall have the characteristics of an identification card issued to a person who is twenty-one years of age or older.

(8)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(8)(b) of this section, every identification card issued to a resident of this state shall expire, unless canceled or surrendered earlier, on the birthday of the cardholder in the fourth or the eighth year after the date on which it is issued, based on the period of renewal requested by the applicant.

(b) Upon request, the registrar or a deputy registrar shall issue an identification card to a resident of this state who is permanently or irreversibly disabled, a mobility impaired person, or a veteran that shall expire, unless canceled or surrendered earlier, on the birthday of the cardholder in the eighth year after the date on which it is issued. The registrar shall issue a reminder notice to a cardholder, at the last known address of the cardholder, six months before the identification card is scheduled to expire. The registrar shall adopt rules governing the documentation a cardholder shall submit to certify that the cardholder is permanently or irreversibly disabled, a mobility impaired person, or a veteran.

As used in this section~~, "permanently~~:

(i) "Permanently or irreversibly disabled" means a condition of disability from which there is no present indication of recovery.

(ii) "Mobility impaired person" has the same meaning as in section 955.011 of the Revised Code.

(c) Every identification card issued to a temporary resident shall expire in accordance with rules adopted by the registrar and is nonrenewable, but may be replaced with a new identification card upon the applicant's compliance with all applicable requirements.

(9) A cardholder may renew the cardholder's identification card within ninety days prior to the day on which it expires by filing an application and paying the prescribed fee in accordance with section 4507.50 of the Revised Code.

(10) If a cardholder applies for a driver's or commercial driver's license in this state or another licensing jurisdiction, the cardholder shall surrender the cardholder's identification card to the registrar or any deputy registrar before the license is issued.

(B)(1) If a card is lost, destroyed, or mutilated, the person to whom the card was issued may obtain a duplicate by doing both of the following:

(a) Furnishing suitable proof of the loss, destruction, or mutilation to the registrar or a deputy registrar;

(b) Filing an application and presenting documentary evidence under section 4507.51 of the Revised Code.

(2) A cardholder may apply to obtain a reprint of the cardholder's identification card through electronic means in accordance with section 4507.40 of the Revised Code.

(3) Any person who loses a card and, after obtaining a duplicate or reprint, finds the original, immediately shall surrender the original to the registrar or a deputy registrar.

(4) A cardholder may obtain a replacement identification card that reflects any change of the cardholder's name by furnishing suitable proof of the change to the registrar or a deputy registrar and surrendering the cardholder's existing card.

(5)(a) When a cardholder applies for a duplicate or reprint or obtains a replacement identification card, the cardholder shall pay a fee of two dollars and fifty cents. A deputy registrar shall be allowed an additional fee equal to the amount established under section 4503.038 of the Revised Code for issuing a duplicate or replacement identification card.

(b) ~~A disabled~~ Any veteran who is a cardholder ~~and has a service-connected disability rated at one hundred per cent by the veterans' administration~~ may apply to the registrar or a deputy registrar for the issuance of a duplicate or replacement identification card without payment of any fee prescribed in this section or may apply to the registrar for a reprint identification card without payment of any fee prescribed in this section.

(c) A nonveteran resident who is permanently or irreversibly disabled or a mobility impaired person and who is unemployed may apply to the registrar or a deputy registrar for the issuance of a duplicate or replacement identification card without payment of any fee prescribed in this section or may apply to the registrar for a reprint identification card without payment of any fee prescribed in this section.

(6) A duplicate, reprint, or replacement identification card expires on the same date as the card it replaces.

(C) The registrar shall cancel any card upon determining that the card was obtained unlawfully, issued in error, or was altered. The registrar also shall cancel any card that is surrendered to the registrar or to a deputy registrar after the holder has obtained a duplicate, reprint, replacement, or driver's or commercial driver's license.

(D)(1) No agent of the state or its political subdivisions shall condition the granting of any benefit, service, right, or privilege upon the possession by any person of an identification card. Nothing in this section shall preclude any publicly operated or franchised transit system from using an identification card for the purpose of granting benefits or services of the system.

(2) No person shall be required to apply for, carry, or possess an identification card.

(E) Except in regard to an identification card issued to a person who applies no more than thirty days before the applicant's twenty-first birthday, neither the registrar nor any deputy registrar shall issue an identification card to a person under twenty-one years of age that does not have the characteristics prescribed by the registrar distinguishing it from the identification card issued to persons who are twenty-one years of age or older.

(F) Whoever violates division (E) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

Section 2. That existing sections 4507.50 and 4507.52 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.