OPAA Legislative Newsletter
Stay informed on rapid floor updates, committee testimonies, and comprehensive statutory analyses impacting county prosecutor offices across Ohio.
Pending Senate Legislation
Establish Election Integrity Unit
To establish the Election Integrity Unit in the Office of the Secretary of State and to modify the law governing the prosecution of Election Law violations.
Expedite Removal of Unauthorized Residential Occupants
To provide for the expedited removal of unauthorized occupants from residential property and to prohibit the use and sale of fraudulent deeds.
Regarding Civil Actions - Vandalism, Riots
Regarding civil actions by persons who suffer injury or loss due to vandalism or riot activity.
Change OVI Laws - Marihuana
To change the laws pertaining to operating a vehicle or watercraft while under the influence of marihuana and the admissibility of evidence for purposes of OVI statutes.
Relative to Courts, Court Procedures
Relative to courts and court procedures.
School Bus Safety - Penalties, Month Designation
To authorize a civil penalty system related to drivers who illegally pass a school bus but cannot be identified, to designate August as "School Bus Safety Awareness Month," and enact the School Bus Safety Act.
Increase Penalties - Animal Cruelty
To increase the penalties for violating companion animal cruelty offenses and to prohibit a felony animal abuse offender from owning a companion animal in certain circumstances.
Define Anti-Semitism, Expand Ethnic Intimidation
To define antisemitism for specific purposes and to expand the offense of ethnic intimidation to include the offenses of riot and aggravated riot committed by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin.
Ohio Property Protection Act
To modify the law that prohibits certain foreign governments, businesses, and individuals from acquiring certain real property and to name this act the Ohio Property Protection Act.
Law Changes - Foreclosures, Land Reutilization (Gus Frangos Act)
To make changes to the law relating to tax foreclosures and county land reutilization corporations, and to name this act the Gus Frangos Act.
Penalties - Transit Systems
To increase the penalty for assault when the victim is an operator of an Ohio transit system bus or rail car; to authorize signs regarding abuse or assault; and to increase penalties for evading known transit fares.
Abolish Death Penalty, Court Changes
To abolish the death penalty and to modify the number of jurors that may be challenged in cases where a defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Abolish Death Penalty, Prohibit Lethal Injection Drugs
To abolish the death penalty, modify challenged juror allotments for life-sentencing offenses, and prohibit public funding for lethal injection drugs.
Various Regulations - Artificial Intelligence
To require AI-generated products to carry watermarks, prohibit simulated child sexual abuse material, and ban identity fraud using digital replicas of individuals.
Age Verification - Software Applications
To establish age verification compliance and enforcement requirements for software applications.
Expanded Offense - Failure to Comply
To expand the scope and penalties of the offense of failure to comply with an lawful order or signal of a law enforcement officer.
Eviction Records Suppression - Certain Circumstances
To provide for the suppression and restriction of eviction court records under certain designated circumstances.
Remove Dangerous Classification - Firearm Mufflers, Suppressors
To remove firearm mufflers and sound suppressors from the statutory definition and classification of dangerous ordnance.
Expand Address Confidentiality Program
To expand the Address Confidentiality Program, exempt judicial and prosecutorial residential addresses from public disclosure, and enact related Election Law amendments.
Modify Commitment of Delinquent Children
To modify provisions relating to the commitment parameters and procedures for delinquent youth committed to the Department of Youth Services.
Change Sanctions - Community Control
To change maximum authorized community control sanction terms for felonies and misdemeanors and amend incarceration sanctions for technical condition violations.
Restoration of Competency - Criminal Cases
Relative to the procedural timelines for restoration of competency in criminal proceedings and to declare an emergency.
Allow Handgun Purchase - 18-21 Year Olds
To allow a person between eighteen and twenty-one years of age to purchase or receive a handgun from a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL).
Expand Aggravated Menacing - Utility Workers
To expand aggravated menacing to prohibit threatening a public utility worker, cable operator worker, or broadband worker with intent to obstruct utility operations.
Expand Violent Offender Database - LEADS System
To expand the violent offender database, publish designated public registry records online, and integrate entries directly through the state LEADS network.
Enhance Criminal Penalties - Victim with Disability
To establish statutory sentencing enhancements for specified criminal offenses committed against a person with an identified physical or developmental disability.
Freedom to Carry Act - Concealed Weapons & Vehicle Transport
To enact the Freedom to Carry Act, revise license naming, allow broader concealed carry of weapons, and permit transportation of loaded firearms in motor vehicles or vessels.
Sexual Offenses - Juvenile Victims
To strengthen prosecution tools and modify statutory standards across various sexually oriented offenses involving juvenile victims.
Require Electronic Hearing Notifications - Criminal & Traffic
To require municipal, county, and common pleas courts to supply electronic notifications of court hearings to defendants in criminal and traffic cases.
Transport Firearm - Motor Vehicle
To modify legal circumstances and affirmative defenses under which a person may transport a firearm inside a motor vehicle.
Expedited Sealing - Certain Criminal Records
To establish statutory criteria and abbreviated court processes allowing expedited sealing of selected criminal conviction records.
Prohibit Sex Offenders - School & Child Care Premises
To prohibit designated sex offenders and child-victim offenders from knowingly entering or being present on school, preschool, or child care premises.
Grant Program - Violent Crime Reduction
To establish state funding guidelines and administrative regulations for a violent crime reduction grant program.
Modify Offense - Abuse of Corpse
To revise and update elements and penalty grades related to the statutory offense of abuse of a corpse.