Ohio legislators tackle laws on sex offenses, distracted driving and more to start new session

Nov. 15—State legislators kicked off their five-week lame-duck session with a full day of hearings, though those bills coming up for the first time Tuesday face an uphill battle to get through both chambers before the session ends. Any bills not making the grade would have to be re-filed for consideration by the 135th General Assembly, which convenes in January.

Bills discussed Tuesday included the following:

Sex offenders

A bill to modify the state's law on people charged civilly, but not criminally, with child sexual abuse had its first hearing Tuesday in the House Criminal Justice Committee.

House Bill 689 would double the statute of limitations, from two years to four, for prosecuting a mandatory reporter who failed to report child abuse, said the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati. That is the longest period for any misdemeanor offense, he said.

For cases in which the statute of limitations for prosecuting sex offenders has expired, legislation in 2006 established a civil-judgment process that allowed accused offenders to be put on a civil sex offender registry at any time, separate from the registry for those who were criminally convicted, Seitz said.

That law established a criminal penalty for not complying with the registry, but courts said a criminal penalty couldn't be attached to a civil offense, he said. So HB 689 makes noncompliance with registering a civil violation, punishable by a fine up to $2,500.

"It doesn't change the criminal penalties on child sexual abuse at all," Seitz said.

Likewise, the bill repeals the earlier law's criminal prohibition for a person on the civil registry to live within 1,000 feet of a school; but it allows civil actions against a person who does so, according to a bill analysis by the state Legislative Service Commission.

The bill also allows victims to bring legal action to put someone on the civil registry in cases where a prosecutor declines to file criminal charges, Seitz said.

Distracted driving

A bill to change Ohio's distracted-driving law passed the House Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday, headed for a vote on the House floor.

House Bill 283, sponsored by state Reps. Cindy Abrams, R-Harrison, and Brian Lampton, R-Beavercreek, would allow police to stop and ticket drivers solely for using mobile phones on the road.

The bill would prohibit drivers from "holding or physically supporting an electronic wireless communications device with any part of the body, with certain exceptions," according to a news release from the bill's sponsors.

It was amended in committee by Seitz to say that it's not a violation for a driver to hold a cell phone to their ear — only to be looking at it while driving. That would supersede current law, he said. Seitz also amended the bill to say that people could still use their phones while stopped at a traffic signal.

Forty-four states have distracted driving laws, and Abrams noted that traffic deaths declined in those states within two years of the laws' passage.

In Ohio there were more than 91,000 distracted-driving crashes from 2013 through 2019, causing more than 47,000 injuries and 305 deaths, the news release said.

Vehicle seizure

A bill sponsored by state Rep. Thomas Patton, R-Strongsville, says if a driver fails to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, police can seize their vehicle. It had a first hearing Tuesday as House Bill 626, in the House Criminal Justice Committee.

Patton said police in Parma saw a big increase in failure to comply with officers' orders in the last few years, sometimes resulting in police chases that resulted in injury or death, but violators of that specific charge typically got probation. The possibility of having their vehicles seized would be a deterrent, he said.

A different bill sponsored by Rep. Kevin Miller, R-Newark, which has had one committee hearing, says much the same — but also that the offender's drivers license would be suspended. Patton's bill leaves that out, just taking the vehicle.