House Health Committee Begins Hearings on ORC 'Loophole' Bill

COLUMBUS – The Ohio House Health Committee today began hearings on House Bill 457, legislation sponsored by State Representative Thomas Hall (R-Madison Twp.) which would address a “loophole” in regulatory oversight in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC).                                                  

Hall introduced H.B. 457 after 14-year-old Mykiara Jones was spending the day at a water adventure park in Middletown when she went under water and tragically, never came back up. After life guards and local first responder’s rescued Mykiara, she was airlifted to Dayton Children's Hospital, where she later passed away.

“’Loopholes’ in our ORC are avoidable, and correcting these dangerous issues could have potentially saved Mykiara’s life,” said Hall. “This piece of legislation has just one goal, to provide some oversight to these commercial enterprises to ensure the safety of all Ohioans.” 

Currently, there is no oversight by a regulatory body if commercial facilities that have man-made bodies of water. H.B. 457 would require the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, to establish licensing and safety requirements governing these enterprises.

The requirements adopted by the ODH would address the following activities:

• The design and construction of the facilities, including their components, appurtenant structures, and the surrounding areas;
• Licensing of the enterprises and inspection of their facilities;
• The number and positioning of lifeguards;
• First aid, lifeguard, CPR, and any other training that the owners of the enterprises must require employees to obtain;
• Any records that the owners of the enterprises must keep and maintain;
• Any safety equipment that the owners of the enterprises must maintain; and
• Any other rule governing safety that the Director determines is necessary for the effective implementation of the above provisions.

H.B. 457 now awaits additional committee hearings.