To amend section 1541.03 of the Revised Code to prohibit the Division of Parks and Recreation in the Department of Natural Resources from adopting rules establishing a fee for parking a motor vehicle in a state park or for admission to a state park and to declare an emergency.

Section 1. That section 1541.03 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1541.03.  All lands and waters dedicated and set apart for state park purposes shall be under the control and management of the division of parks and recreation, which shall protect, maintain, and keep them in repair. The division shall have the following powers over all such lands and waters:

(A) To make alterations and improvements;

(B) To construct and maintain dikes, wharves, landings, docks, dams, and other works;

(C) To construct and maintain roads and drives in, around, upon, and to the lands and waters to make them conveniently accessible and useful to the public;

(D) To Except as otherwise provided in this section, to adopt, amend, and rescind, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, rules necessary for the proper management of state parks, bodies of water, and the lands adjacent to them under its jurisdiction and control, including the following:

(1) Governing opening and closing times and dates of the parks;

(2) Establishing fees and charges for admission to state parks and for use of facilities in them;

(3) Governing camps, camping, and fees for camps and camping;

(4)(3) Governing the application for and rental of, rental fees for, and the use of cabins;

(5)(4) Relating to public use of state park lands, and governing the operation of motor vehicles, including speeds, and parking on those lands;

(6)(5) Governing all advertising within state parks and the requirements for the operation of places selling tangible personal property and control of food service sales on lands and waters under the control of the division, which rules shall establish uniform requirements;

(7)(6) Providing uniform standards relating to the size, type, location, construction, and maintenance of structures and devices used for fishing or moorage of watercraft, rowboats, sailboats, and powercraft, as those terms are defined in section 1547.01 of the Revised Code, over waters under the control of the division and establishing reasonable fees for the construction of and annual use permits for those structures and devices;

(8)(7) Governing state beaches, swimming, inflatable devices, and fees for them;

(9)(8) Governing the removal and disposition of any watercraft, rowboat, sailboat, or powercraft, as those terms are defined in section 1547.01 of the Revised Code, left unattended for more than seven days on any lands or waters under the control of the division;

(10)(9) Governing the establishment and collection of check collection charges for checks that are returned to the division or dishonored for any reason.

The division shall not adopt rules establishing fees or charges for parking a motor vehicle in a state park or for admission to a state park.

Every resident of this state with a disability that has been determined by the veterans administration to be permanently and totally disabling, who receives a pension or compensation from the veterans administration, and who received an honorable discharge from the armed forces of the United States, and every veteran to whom the registrar of motor vehicles has issued a set of license plates under section 4503.41 of the Revised Code, shall be exempt from the fees for camping, provided that the resident or veteran carries in the state park such evidence of the resident's or veteran's disability as the chief of the division of parks and recreation prescribes by rule.

Every resident of this state who is sixty-five years of age or older or who is permanently and totally disabled and who furnishes evidence of that age or disability in a manner prescribed by division rule shall be charged one-half of the regular fee for camping, except on the weekends and holidays designated by the division. Such a person shall not be charged more than ninety per cent of the regular charges for state recreational facilities, equipment, services, and food service operations utilized by the person at any time of year, whether maintained or operated by the state or leased for operation by another entity.

As used in this section, "food service operations" means restaurants that are owned by the department of natural resources at Hocking Hills, Lake Hope, Malabar Farm, and Rocky Fork state parks or are part of a state park lodge. "Food service operations" does not include automatic vending machines, concession stands, or snack bars.

As used in this section, "prisoner of war" means any regularly appointed, enrolled, enlisted, or inducted member of the military forces of the United States who was captured, separated, and incarcerated by an enemy of the United States. Any person who has been a prisoner of war, was honorably discharged from the military forces, and is a resident of this state is exempt from the fees for camping. To claim this exemption, the person shall present written evidence in the form of a record of separation, a letter from one of the military forces of the United States, or such other evidence as the chief prescribes by rule that satisfies the eligibility criteria established by this section.

Section 2. That existing section 1541.03 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Section 3. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is to ensure the uninterrupted access of the public to state parks for purposes of personal health and fitness and enjoyment of the state's natural resources and to prohibit the adoption of rules that will impede such purposes. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.