Section 4921.15. Definitions for sections 4921.15, 4921.16, and 4921.19

(A) As used in sections 4921.15, 4921.16, and 4921.19 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Uniform registration" has the same meaning as "registration" as used in the final report submitted to the United States secretary of transportation, pursuant to subsection (c) of section 22 of the "Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 3244, 49 U.S.C.A. App. 1819.

(2) "Uniform permit" has the same meaning as "permit" as used in the final report submitted to the United States secretary of transportation, pursuant to subsection (c) of section 22 of the "Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 3244, 49 U.S.C.A. App. 1819.

(B)

(1) The public utilities commission may adopt rules applicable to the uniform registration and uniform permitting of persons engaged in the highway transportation of hazardous materials into, through, or within this state. The rules shall include rules staggering the registration date for those persons and reducing or extending, by no more than one year, the permit renewal period for those persons.

(2) For the purpose of minimizing filing requirements regarding any background investigation required for the issuance of a uniform permit as a carrier of hazardous wastes, the commission shall accept from any applicant for the permit any refiling of information the applicant has filed with the office of the attorney general under section 3734.42 of the Revised Code or any reference to that information if the refiled or referenced information is on file with the office of the attorney general, is accurate and timely for the commission's purposes under this section, and is supplemented by any additional information the commission requires. The office of the attorney general, as necessary for a background investigation, shall make accessible to the commission any information referenced or refiled in an application for a uniform permit as a carrier of hazardous wastes that the attorney general determines may be disclosed in accordance with section 3734.42 of the Revised Code. Nothing in sections 4921.15, 4921.16, and division (H) of section 4921.19 of the Revised Code affects any limitations under section 3734.42 of the Revised Code on the disclosure of that information.

(C) The commission, as necessary to implement the rules adopted under division (B) of this section, may enter into agreements, contracts, arrangements, or declarations with other states and with the national repository, established pursuant to the final report submitted to the United States secretary of transportation, pursuant to subsection (c) of section 22 of the "Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 3244, 49 U.S.C.A. App. 1819. The agreements, contracts, arrangements, or declarations shall include, but not be limited to, the determination of a base state, the collection of uniform registration fees, the frequency of distribution of uniform registration fees, procedures for dispute resolution, and protection of trade secrets and confidential business information.

(D) No person shall knowingly falsify or fail to submit any data, reports, records, or other information required to be submitted to the commission pursuant to this section or a rule adopted under it. For purposes of this division, a person acts knowingly if either of the following applies:

(1) The person has actual knowledge of the facts giving rise to the violation.

(2) A reasonable person acting in the circumstances and exercising due care would have such knowledge.

(E) After notice and opportunity for a hearing, the commission, pursuant to criteria set forth in rules adopted under division (B) of this section, may suspend, revoke, or deny the uniform permit as a carrier of hazardous materials of any person that has obtained or applied for such a uniform permit from the commission pursuant to rules adopted under that division, or the commission may order the suspension of the transportation of hazardous materials into, through, or within this state by a carrier that has obtained a uniform permit from another state that has a reciprocity agreement with the commission pursuant to division (C) of this section.

(F)

(1) The proceedings specified in division (E) of this section are subject to and governed by Chapter 4903. of the Revised Code, except as otherwise provided in this section. The court of appeals of Franklin county has exclusive original jurisdiction to review, modify, or vacate any order of the commission suspending, revoking, or denying a uniform permit as a carrier of hazardous materials of any person that has obtained or applied for a uniform permit from the commission pursuant to rules adopted under division (B) of this section, or any order of the commission suspending the transportation of hazardous materials into, through, or within this state by a carrier that has obtained a uniform permit from another state that has a reciprocity agreement with the commission under division (C) of this section. The court of appeals shall hear and determine those appeals in the same manner and under the same standards as the Ohio supreme court hears and determines appeals under Chapter 4903. of the Revised Code. The judgment of the court of appeals is final and conclusive unless reversed, vacated, or modified on appeal. Such appeals may be taken either by the commission or the person to whom the order was issued and shall proceed as in the case of appeals in civil actions as provided in Chapter 2505. of the Revised Code.

(2) Section 4903.11 of the Revised Code does not apply to appeals of any order of the commission suspending, revoking, or denying a uniform permit of a person that has obtained or applied for a uniform permit from the commission pursuant to rules adopted under division (B) of this section, or of any order of the commission suspending the transportation of hazardous materials into, through, or within this state by a carrier that has obtained a uniform permit from another state that has a reciprocity agreement with the commission pursuant to division (C) of this section. Any person to whom such an order is issued who wishes to contest the order shall file, within sixty days after the entry of the order upon the journal of the commission, a notice of appeal, setting forth the order appealed from and the errors complained of. The notice of appeal shall be served, unless waived, upon the chairperson of the commission or, in the event of the chairperson's absence, upon any public utilities commissioner, or by leaving a copy at the office of the commission at Columbus. On appeal, the court shall reverse, vacate, or modify the order if, upon consideration of the record, the court is of the opinion that the order was unlawful or unreasonable.

Added by 129th General AssemblyFile No.127, HB 487, §101.01, eff. 6/11/2012.