December 21 – The Ohio General Assembly ended its legislative session this month with a flurry of last-minute activity, passing bills that impact many different aspects of Ohioans’ lives.
Republican supermajorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate put the Republican Party in the driver’s seat in passing legislation, tempered by conflict between the leaders of the two chambers.
Here is a summary of notable legislation passed by Ohio lawmakers during a lame duck session that will become law if signed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
—Parents Bill of Rights/Religious Education: One divisive bill was House Bill 8, which included the “Parents Bill of Rights Act” and a bill to require public school districts to allow students to receive third-party religious education during the school term day.
The Parents Bill of Rights framework was originally intended to establish a mandatory line of communication between public schools and students’ parents, but the bill received significant backlash from LGBTQ+ students and proponents of a provision requiring school officials to make significant changes in the mental health of a student. to the student’s parents.
The bill was amended to include a requirement that Ohio’s public school districts adopt a policy to allow students to leave class in the middle of the day to attend third-party religious instruction, which polarized Democrats, who claimed that the law would disrupt the student movement. school days and burden of teachers.
The final bill passed 24-7 in the Senate, with one Republican objector, and 57-31 in the House.
— Expanded school exclusion powers: A bill to give school districts more control over how to punish students who pose “imminent and serious danger” to others passed both chambers Wednesday night, despite Democrats’ concerns that the bill gives too much power to school inspectors.
– Dissolution of Villages: A bill authored by local Reps. Tom Young, R-Washington Twp., and Adam Mathews, R-Lebanon, would establish a county audit of villages conducted once every ten years to determine whether that village has supplies at least five villages. of 10 essential services to its residents and provides at least one candidate for the village’s elected government positions.
Under House Bill 331, villages that fail the audit will be subject to a vote of residents to completely dissolve the village government. The bill passed with bipartisan approval.
– Driver’s License Suspension: Ohio lawmakers have compromised on a measure to limit the circumstances in which Ohioans can have their driver’s licenses suspended as a form of punishment.
Under House Bill 29, which passed both chambers with bipartisan support, Ohioans are significantly less likely to have their license suspended for drug offenses, failure to pay court fines, failure to pay child support and truancy from school.
–Hospital Safety: Lawmakers agreed on a measure to address hospital violence and require hospitals to begin tracking incidents of violence.
House Bill 452, passed with bipartisan support, would require hospitals to establish a safety plan for preventing workplace violence and managing aggressive behavior, along with a reporting system for workplace violence incidents. The bill is sponsored by state Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering, and state Rep. Rachel Baker, D-Cincinnati.
– New powers for Ohio AG: Lawmakers approved a bill that gives Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost new authority to reject statewide ballot initiatives proposed by citizens based on their title.
The new power was folded into House Bill 74. It comes just months after Yost was unanimously told by the Ohio Supreme Court that he exceeded his authority when he rejected a proposed citizen amendment to broaden voter rights based on its title.
– Penalties for OVI, vehicular homicide: Ohio law will soon be updated to increase the minimum criminal fine for OVI violations by $190; allowing courts to more immediately impose auto breathalyzer tests on OVI violators; increase the mandatory minimum prison term for aggravated vehicular homicide caused by a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs; and increase the maximum fine for an OVI-related aggravated murder to $25,000.
The changes fall under House Bill 37, which passed both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support.
– Public Employee Records: With the passage of House Bill 265 Wednesday, police and firefighters will soon have their work schedules shielded from public records laws.
The bill was amended following a Dayton Daily News report to keep this data accessible to journalists, as public employee timesheets and payroll data have been used by this news outlet and others to investigate issues such as government workers misreporting their time, has a second job. while sitting on the clock, or taking excessive vacation time or overtime.
– ‘Grooming’ a criminal offense: Ohio has officially codified a new criminal offense of ‘grooming’.
House Bill 322, passed with bipartisan support, makes it illegal for an adult to engage in a pattern of conduct with a minor under the age of 16 that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the adult is attempting to seduce, coerce the minor or prepare to engage in sexual activity.
Violating the law would constitute at least a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail. However, the penalty may increase in different scenarios. For example, if a victim is under the age of 13, or if the perpetrator used alcohol or drugs in the act, it is a fifth-degree crime.
– Regulation of drones: Ohio House Bill 77 will regulate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles – UAVs or drones – in state law.
The bill would criminalize “operating a UAV in a manner that knowingly endangers any person or property or that intentionally disregards the rights or safety of others,” punishable by a $500 fine and/or six months in prison .
It would also make it illegal to operate a UAV in a manner that interferes with law enforcement or emergency services; or to use a UAV to photograph, record or loiter in a critical facility – such as major utilities or a police station – “for the purpose of furthering another criminal offense” or “for the purpose of destroying the facility destroy or tamper with.”
The bill also authorizes local governments to adopt their own ordinances governing private drone use in or over parks or other public property.
Mental Health in Schools: Following passage of amended Senate Bill 234, Ohio will soon require new school ID cards, planners and electronic portals with information about the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which can be reached in all states by calling 988 .
Higher education institutions will also be required to provide information to new students about the state’s existing process for establishing a mental health “power of attorney,” as White likened it, for new, independent students in the event of a debilitating mental health episode.
–Group homes: Group homes for foster children will face additional reporting requirements and state oversight after a bill aimed at addressing problems in Montgomery County passed the Statehouse.
The bill — sponsored by White and state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp. — establishes reporting requirements to the state when a child in the care of a group home receives emergency medical care or when law enforcement officials have investigative interactions with the foster child.
The bill also tells the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to divide the state into regions, determine the ideal number of group homes in each region and create incentives to help attract group homes to those regions, potentially reducing Montgomery’s oversaturation . The province has suffered from this in recent years.
–Anti-SLAPP bill: Ohio lawmakers passed Senate Bill 237, intended to address the practice of deep-pocketed plaintiffs filing expensive lawsuits against others that are unlikely to win because of the First Amendment but could be costly to defendants. Such lawsuits are often referred to as strategic lawsuits against public participation or SLAPP lawsuits.
Under the bill, a defendant would be able to file a motion to dismiss the case and provide evidence to the judge showing the lawsuit is without merit. If the judge agrees that the complaint is unfounded, the case is dismissed. If the judge allows the case to proceed, everything will continue as normal.
– Open enrollment for military families: Ohio lawmakers have passed legislation that allows military families to enroll in virtually any public school in Ohio, regardless of where they live.
The measure, Senate Bill 208, would require Ohio public schools to allow open enrollment for military families, with some exceptions — such as if the district is full.
– Hospital Transparency: Lawmakers unanimously passed House Bill 173, which would require all Ohio hospitals to maintain a public list of the prices hospitals charge for standard items or services.
– Maternal and Child Health: A bill intended to spend $35 million to improve infant and maternal mortality and development outcomes in Ohio was rejected by the Senate in the final weeks of the crisis and passed without budget appropriations.
Bill sponsor Andrea White, R-Kettering, told this newspaper that she is “disappointed that many of the great, ‘move-the-needle’ policies are not in the final version” of House Bill 7, but noted that she is optimistic its initial spending requests will be included in Governor Mike DeWine’s proposed 2025 budget.
The remaining provisions of HB 7 that will become law include a number of procedural regulations, including one that would impose reporting requirements on the state’s efforts to modernize and publicize its Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food stamp program. % of Ohio mothers and young children eligible for WIC actually receive the benefits, White said.
– Voting issue: One measure lawmakers passed will go to Ohio voters instead of the governor’s desk. House Joint Resolution 8 places on the May 2025 ballot a statewide ballot initiative to ask voters for permission to issue $2.5 billion in bonds to build bridges, roads and other capital projects over a period of to be financed for ten years.
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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, at X, via email, or you can send him a comment/tip via the survey below.
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