Busy voting day at Ohio Statehouse sends handful of bills to DeWine's desk

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Ohio House and Ohio Senate moved several bills forward Wednesday afternoon, including a few that now head to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk for a signature or veto.

House Bill 161: Eliminates the spousal rape exception

As it stands, if force or threat of force was used, then someone can take action against their spouse for sexual assault. But if there was any type of intoxication, like alcohol or drugs, that spousal rape case is thrown out.

House Bill 161 would make spousal rape, sexual battery, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, gross sexual imposition, and sexual imposition all punishable by law, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the offense. Lawmakers said this was a “long time coming” after more than a decade of attempts to pass this bill.

“Legislation takes a long time, I hate to say it but sometimes when the majority of the folks who it effects are women, it seems to take a little bit longer,” Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) said.

“Obviously it’s a gap in the law,” Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said. “I’m glad we’re doing it today.”

The bill cleared its final hurdle Wednesday before heading to the governor’s desk when the Ohio Senate passed it 32 to zero.

House Bill 250: Military enlistment diploma seals

House Bill 250 was written to “establish new pathways for a high school student to earn a military enlistment diploma seal.”

The bill passed both the Senate and House with no votes against it, but the Senate did add several unrelated amendments that the House still needs to agree with before the bill can head to the governor’s desk.

Senators added a $19 million appropriation into the legislation for the state's Adoption Grant Program. Senators tried to pass the money back in February, but the House has yet to consider that bill as well. Huffman said the funding originally appropriated for that has run out.

Senators also added a provision to the legislation to require each public school to adopt a policy about cell phone use for students during school hours. The provision also requires the Department of Education and Workforce to adopt a “model policy” that schools can use.

The bill, as passed the Senate, also creates a new pilot program for alternative modes of transportation for students to get to school.

House Bill 322: Creates the offense of grooming

House Bill 322 would create the offense of grooming.The bill passed from the Ohio House on Wednesday, only one Democrat voted against the bill.  

Essie Baird is a survivor of abuse who said she went through a long pattern of grooming by her alleged abuser, and had it been illegal when she was 12, more action could have been taken to possibly prevent the abuse.

“It is another form of justice,” Baird said. “And it actually may open a door back up for my case specifically. But even if it has nothing to do with me anymore it is a huge step forward.”

Lawmakers said this legislation is another way to protect children by keeping them away from potential abusers. The legislation now heads to the Senate for consideration.

House Bill 230: Increases penalties for drug and human trafficking  

This bill garnered the most floor debate on Wednesday. It did end up passing the House with 13 Democrats voting against it and will go to the Senate for consideration.

“The intent is good, some of the details just need to be refined,” Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said. “For example, if someone has an Adderall pill that is laced with fentanyl, if they know or don’t know, the penalties are the same, so there were some concerns about that.”

“Dealing with the fentanyl issue throughout the state, we’ve heard the stories, and we had the bill that was a bipartisan bill,” Stephens said. “I think having those types of real issues that affect everyday Ohioans every day, we are addressing those today.”

House Bill 77: Drone usage regulations  

This bill comes from the Ohio House’s new Aviation and Aerospace Committee.

Right now, drone use regulation is only enforced by the federal government. House Bill 77 would give local governments more authority and spells out instances in which someone could be prosecuted for flying a drone. Those instances include flying in a reckless manner, flying in a way that interferes with first responder activities and operating in a way that disregards FAA rules.

“I think every state has been struggling with this,” Russo said. “We are kind of in the wild, wild west in terms of drone regulation because the technology is changing so quickly, and the feds are stepping up and doing some regulation but not nearly as quickly as we would hope.”

“It kind of buzzes over your head a little because it is a little boring and dry, but it is still incredibly important, forward-thinking legislation,” Stephens said.

Stephens said the House will continue to put out legislation in this area to give local communities “a little more authority with drones.”

Other bills

House Bill 195 creates an adaptive mobility dealer license. The bill would allow license holders to, among other things, sell verifies designed to enable an individual with a disability to operate or be transported in the car. This legislation also heads to DeWine’s desk for a signature.

Senate Bill 90 also passed its last vote before head to the governor’s desk. The bill, if signed, will enter Ohio into the Social Work Licensure Compact “to facilitate the interstate practice of and improve public access to social work services.” By doing this, social workers would be allowed to practice in multiple states with a multistate license.

Senate Bill 214 would allow human trafficking victims to expunge certain records. It passed the Senate with no votes against it and now heads to the House for consideration. House lawmakers have introduced a similar bill.

Senate Bill 109 also passed the Senate with no votes against it and heads to the House for consideration. The bill would give the state medical board more authority to revoke licenses of medical professionals convicted of a sex offense.

House Bill 70 now heads to the Senate for consideration. This legislation requires public and chartered nonpublic schools to adopt a policy regarding the administration of over-the-counter drugs for students.

House Bill 301 passed the House with no votes against it and now heads to the Senate. This bill changes the Nonprofit Corporation law in several ways.