COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Multiple new Ohio laws are going into effect on Wednesday, including a statute that requires public schools to allow religious release time and another that increases penalties for drunk driving.
On Jan. 8, Gov. Mike DeWine announced he signed 29 bills into law, all of which are set to go into effect on Wednesday. A list of six notable new laws can be found below.
'Parents' Bill of Rights'
House Bill 8, dubbed the Parents' Bill of Rights, requires school districts to adopt a policy that allows students to attend off-premise religious classes during the school day. Formerly, districts were allowed to permit religious release time, but not required to.
In Ohio, religious release time programs are legally allowed to teach public school students during the school day as long as they have parental permission, do not use school resources and teach off of school property. The new law does not change these requirements.
How Gov. DeWine, Ohio parents feel about proposed bill to ban cellphones in schoolsAlthough districts are required to have a religious release time policy enacted by Wednesday, schools have until July 1 to implement most other newly required policies in the law. This includes a policy ensuring content depicting “sexual concepts or gender ideology” is available for parents to review, in case they would like their children to opt out.
Starting in July, staff will also be required to “promptly notify” a parent if their child requests to be referred to with a name or pronouns that vary from their biological sex at school.
Harsher drunk driving penalties
Liv’s Law increases the fines for the offense of Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence (OVI). Specifically, the statute adds an extra $190 compared with the previous law. For example, the minimum fine for a first-time offense rises from $375 to $565.
Video shows disagreement between Columbus principal, police officerThe law also increases the maximum fine for aggravated vehicular homicide to $25,000, which is $10,000 more than the law previously allowed.
Additionally, Liv’s Law allows police to collect oral fluid samples from drivers suspected of driving under the influence, while the law previously only permitted blood, urine and breath testing. Similar to the other kinds of testing used in the state, refusing an oral fluid swab can result in criminal charges.
Indefinite school expulsions
House Bill 206 allows public schools to indefinitely expel a student who poses an “imminent and severe endangerment” to others’ safety. Ohio law previously allowed schools to expel students up to 180 days – or one school year – for bringing a gun or knife to school, making a bomb threat or causing serious physical harm to another person. Students aged 16 years or older could be permanently expelled only if they were convicted in court of a serious criminal offense, according to the nonprofit Ohio Legal Help.
The new law allows expulsions past 180 days for students who bring a firearm or knife to school, make a bomb threat, cause serious physical harm to someone at school, make a hitlist, create a threatening manifesto or share a menacing post on social media.
Organization offering ‘bounty’ for removal of invasive trees in central OhioUnder the statute, after 180 days, a student’s expulsion can be extended for 90 days at a time, with no limit on how many extensions are allowed. To be reinstated, students are required to undergo a psychological evaluation by a psychiatrist.
After the expulsion period, the superintendent, along with a “multidisciplinary team” they select, will decide whether to reinstate the student. To make a decision, school officials will determine if the student has shown “sufficient rehabilitation,” while taking the psychological assessment into consideration.
‘Sextortion’ criminalized
House Bill 531, named Braden’s Law, classifies sextortion, short for sexual extortion, as a felony in Ohio. Sextortion occurs when an individual is blackmailed over intimate images.
The law categorizes sextortion as a third-degree felony; however, the charge could be upgraded to a second- or first-degree felony depending on a variety of factors, including if the victim is a minor or disabled, and if the perpetrator is a repeat offender.
In Ohio, a third-degree felony carries a prison sentence of nine months to three years, and a judge may impose a maximum fine of $10,000. A first-degree felony is punishable by 3-11 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $20,000.
Will speeding fines in Ohio increase?The law also provides immunity from prosecution to victims who sent explicit images, and implements fines for telecommunications companies who fail to give parents or guardians access to a device that belonged to a deceased minor within 30 days.
Driver’s license suspensions lifted for certain offenses
House Bill 29 ends the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for failure to pay court fines or fees, along with some other minor offenses such as school truancy. Residents whose driver’s license or motor vehicle registration was suspended for such offenses before the law was passed are able to have their license reinstated.
The law also allows those who have had their license suspended for being in default on child support payments to prove that a suspended license prevents them from making the payments and they could be granted “limited driving privileges.”
Within 30 days, impacted individuals will be notified and provided instructions on how to get their license reinstated.
Companies banned from tracking firearms purchases
Senate Bill 58 enacts the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, which bars credit card companies, banks and other institutions from categorizing or tracking firearm-related purchases.
Mail carriers say new contract failed union wishesThe law states companies also cannot compile lists of gun purchasers and share such information with third parties, including government agencies, unless required by law through due process.
The statute also prohibits the state or any local government from requiring liability insurance to possess a firearm. The legislation was a proactive move, as no local governments in Ohio required firearm liability insurance for gun owners before the law’s passage. Nationally, some jurisdictions such as New Jersey and San Jose, California, have enacted such mandates.
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