Committee amends SB343 to clarify workers’‑comp status for Ohio Task Force 1 during state activations

The committee amended Senate Bill 343 on the motion of Senator Manning and heard proponent testimony from Evan Sherman, program manager for Ohio Task Force 1.

Senator Manning said the amendment specifies that there must be a written agreement with the executive director of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency for the association to be considered the employer of an urban search and rescue team member for workers' compensation law purposes and that the amendment corrects a cross‑reference error.

Evan Sherman described Task Force 1 as one of FEMA's 28 urban search and rescue teams and said the team has been deployed 19 times since 2020 for out‑of‑state responses under FEMA direction. Sherman told the committee that when the team is deployed inside Ohio, state law currently leaves responsibility for workers' compensation coverage to a member's local government employer or to the member's personal insurance. "Under current law, when Task Force 1 is deployed within Ohio, responsibility for workers' compensation coverage falls to the individual responders' local government employer or to the team member's personal insurance," he said, and argued the bill will provide clarity and fairness for members.

Sherman said the change would reduce uncertainty and administrative challenges that can deter participation in statewide response efforts. He also said Task Force 1 members operate in high‑risk environments and deserve certainty that they will be covered when injured in service to the state.

Committee members were reminded by the witness that Task Force 1 has been deployed within Ohio once in recent history (the 2019 Dayton tornado response) and that much of the team's work is in response to out‑of‑state disasters under FEMA.

The amendment was adopted and Senate Bill 343 as amended will proceed as the working document. The committee closed the second hearing after taking written testimony into the record.