COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed 29 bills into law on Wednesday, putting an official end to the 135th General Assembly.
Each bill signed will become law effective in 90 days.
House Bill 8 drew opposition at the statehouse for nearly two years. The law now allows parents to opt their students out of “sexuality content;” requires that parents be notified about changes in their child’s mental, emotional, or physical health; and prohibits school personnel from encouraging a student to withhold information from a parent, unless it would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect.
Before passing, a second provision was added to it, allowing students to leave their public school's campus for religious instruction.
“This is a parent’s decision,” DeWine said. “Kids leave for many reasons. I think what we wanted to say is if the parents want this done, then it should happen. It’s up to the school to put the confines on it and can limit how that is done or when that is done.”
“There are some underlying concerns that we have about what does it do to instructional time, liability issues, things like that,” President of the Ohio Education Association Scott DiMauro said. “There needs to be a lot more study on this.”
Braden’s Law, or House Bill 531, is named after a central Ohio teenager who died by suicide after falling victim to sexual extortion.
Braden Markus was contacted by someone on social media in 2021. The person sent him revealing photos posing as a 15-year-old girl, then convinced Markus to send the photos back. After Markus sent the photos, the user demanded nearly $2,000, threatening to release the photo on social media if he did not. Markus died by suicide less than 30 minutes later.
The legislation passed the statehouse without a single vote against it and was championed by Markus’ family.
“I know that this is not an easy thing to do but what they have done will make a huge difference,” DeWine said. “We wanted to make sure that people could see and hear about this horrible, horrible story so they can be aware and influence how they deal with their own family.”
When this becomes law, it will make sexual extortion a felony.
House Bill 206 lays out guidelines for expelling a student who poses an “imminent and severe endangerment” to other students and staff. Before the student can be re-admitted, they must receive psychiatric or psychological help, then be evaluated by their superintendent alongside a multi-disciplinary team.
When DeWine was asked if, given the shortage of mental health resources in the state, he believes this legislation will still be effective, he said it is something they will be “monitoring.”
“We have some kids who are very disruptive, and they have to go somewhere, and so having a plan that a principal implements is vitally important,” he said. “It’s an ongoing discussion. This issue did not end with the passage and the signing of that provision in the bill.”
Other bills that will become effective in 90 days include:
Senate Bill 58 will prohibit anyone from being required to have firearm insurance or liability and prohibits government entities from keeping any list of privately owned firearms or owners.
House Bill 7 is a measure to support mothers and babies. It originally had a multi-million-dollar appropriation in it, but all the spending was stripped before passing the statehouse. The soon-to-be law has several policies in it, to do things like update the Medicaid program’s coverage of “evidence-based mental health and dyadic family therapy services for young children and their caregivers.”
House Bill 29 will, in part, allow a person who is in default on child support payments to present evidence that a driver’s license suspension would effectively prevent that person from paying child support.
House Bill 37, known as “Liv’s Law,” increases penalties for OVI and aggravated vehicular homicide. The bill also authorizes law enforcement to collect an oral fluid sample from a person arrested for OVI.
House Bill 77 will establish new laws for operating drones in Ohio.
House Bill 106, known as the “Pay Stub Protection Act,” requires employers to provide pay stubs.
House Bill 322 creates the offense of grooming by prohibiting a person who is 18 years or older from engaging in a pattern of conduct with a minor if the person and the minor are in any sort of relationship, like a relative, teacher or coach.
