Ohio Code 3731.06 – Suspension or revocation of license upon notice and hearing – appeal
(A) Upon notice and hearing, the state fire marshal may suspend or revoke any license or impose a fine against an owner, proprietor, or agent of a hotel or SRO facility licensed under this chapter for violation of sections 3731.01 to 3731.21 of the Revised Code, the rules adopted pursuant to those sections, or the state fire code adopted pursuant to section 3737.82 of the Revised Code. The state fire marshal shall impose fines in accordance with the requirements specified in division (E) of this section. The state fire marshal shall not impose a fine, and such suspension or revocation shall not take place, until the state fire marshal first notifies such licensee in writing, calling specific attention to the infractions and until, pursuant to section 3731.05 of the Revised Code, a reasonable time and opportunity is given to reform and correct the matter complained of. Except as provided in division (E) of this section, if such notice proves unavailing for the correction of such matter, the state fire marshal shall then fix a time and place for hearing in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code. Upon the conclusion of such hearing the state fire marshal may suspend or revoke the license in question, impose a fine against an owner, proprietor, or agent of a hotel or SRO facility licensed under this chapter, or dismiss the proceedings against such licensee.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3731.06
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Hotel: includes any structure consisting of one or more buildings containing any combination of more than five guestrooms that are each approved by the building code official having jurisdiction and the state fire marshal as meeting the requirements for transient sleeping rooms or extended stay temporary residence dwelling units, or as having features of such sleeping rooms and dwelling units within the same room, and such structure is specifically constructed, kept, used, maintained, advertised, and held out to the public to be a place where transient sleeping accommodations or temporary residence is offered for pay to persons, but such structure does not otherwise meet the definition of a transient hotel or an extended stay hotel as defined in this section. See Ohio Code 3731.01
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures; this provision does not affect any law relating to signatures. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- SRO facility: means a facility with more than five sleeping rooms that is kept, used, maintained, advertised, or held out to the public as a place where sleeping rooms are offered on a single room occupancy (SRO) basis and that is intended for use as a primary residence for residential guests for a period of more than thirty days. See Ohio Code 3731.01
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
(B) If the state fire marshal proposes to deny or otherwise refuse to grant a license to any person or to permit a license already issued to be transferred, as provided in section 3731.03 of the Revised Code, or proposes to revoke a license, the party aggrieved by such decision or refusal shall be heard upon the question as to the right of the party aggrieved to such license or to a transfer of the same, which hearing shall be had in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code. An appeal may be taken from the action of the state fire marshal in failing to issue said license or permit said transfer in accordance with section 119.12 of the Revised Code.
(C) If the state fire marshal suspends a hotel or SRO facility license in accordance with this section and Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the state fire marshal shall suspend that license for a reasonable period of time as may be necessary to allow the owner, proprietor, or agent of the licensed hotel or SRO facility to reform and correct the violation for which the state fire marshal suspended the license, not to exceed one hundred eighty days. The owner, proprietor, or agent of the hotel or SRO facility whose license is suspended shall not operate the facility as a hotel or SRO facility and shall not open that structure for use by the public during the time period that the license is suspended. If, at the expiration of the suspension period the violation has not been reformed or corrected, the license automatically shall be revoked without the taking of any action by the state fire marshal.
(D) An operator, proprietor, or agent of a hotel or SRO facility whose license has been revoked by the state fire marshal in accordance with this section and Chapter 119. of the Revised Code may apply for a license in accordance with section 3731.03 of the Revised Code. The state fire marshal shall not issue that operator, proprietor, or agent a new license for a period of one year after the date of revocation, unless the state fire marshal determines that it is appropriate to issue that license at an earlier date. The state fire marshal shall issue that hotel or SRO facility a new license only if the hotel or SRO facility satisfies the applicable requirements for licensure specified in this chapter and in the rules adopted pursuant to it and the operator, proprietor, or agent has corrected the violation for which the state fire marshal revoked the license.
(E) If the state fire marshal elects to impose a fine against an owner, proprietor, or agent of a licensed hotel or SRO facility in accordance with this section and Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the state fire marshal shall not impose that fine until thirty days after the state fire marshal sends the written notice in accordance with division (A) of this section or, if the state fire marshal has given the owner, proprietor, or agent more than thirty days to reform or correct the violation, the expiration of that time period. The state fire marshal may impose a fine against an owner, proprietor, or agent in the following amounts:
(1) If, in the opinion of the state fire marshal, the violation is a fire safety issue, two hundred fifty dollars per violation, except that the amount of the fine shall not exceed one thousand dollars per day, regardless of the number of violations.
(2) For all other violations of section 3731.08 of the Revised Code, a fine of ten dollars for each violation.
The state fire marshal shall deposit all fines the state fire marshal collects under this division into the state fire marshal fund created in section 3737.71 of the Revised Code.
(F) If the state fire marshal takes any action against an owner, proprietor, or agent of a licensed hotel or SRO facility pursuant to sections 3737.41 to 3737.51 of the Revised Code, the state fire marshal may take action against the license issued to that hotel or SRO facility that is prompted by or is a result of action taken under sections 3737.41 to 3737.51 of the Revised Code.