Five Key Legal Changes in Ohio Budget Passes Through House

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH – The Ohio House approved a more than 5,000-page biannual budget bill This month features not just $61 billion in state expenditures but also legal alterations covering issues such as abortion, adult websites, and drivers' education.

On April 9, following two months of testimony and discussions,House lawmakers successfully passed the legislation. proposed state budget For the next two years, this was approved with a 60-39 vote. The bill will now move on to review by state senators, providing them a chance to suggest amendments prior to it being submitted to Governor Mike DeWine for his final decision.

Ohio Supreme Court to Rule on Same-Sex Parental Rights Case

The budget version approved by the House contained several contentious measures, most of which do not deal with allocating funds but instead establish or revise state legislation. Below are five such provisions.

Age confirmation required for sites intended for adults

The budget bill would require pornography websites or any site that hosts content that is “obscene or harmful to juveniles” to verify visitors are over 18 years old through photo identification or other documentation.

Specifically, users would verify their age using a government-issued photo identification or an alternative personal document like evidence of a mortgage or employment. Businesses would have to "promptly" remove these documents once the age confirmation process is finished.

Nonetheless, websites could retain the documents if someone creates an account. For residents with profiles, they must undergo age verification every two years following the account’s establishment. Should a user fail to renew their account within this period, all age-verification records will be discarded.

Ohio State professors cast ballots to align with the Big Ten conference in opposing President Trump.

Adult websites would need to implement a system to track the locations of their visitors to confirm the age verification of Ohio residents. Should an adult site fail to validate a user's age and consequently allow minors to view its content, the Ohio attorney general could initiate a civil legal case against the organization. The clause also states that only the state attorney general has permission to pursue such civil actions.

Legislators proposed comparable legislation advocating for this alteration. in both this General Assembly and the past legislative session.

Driver’s license requirements

The version of the state budget approved by the House stipulates that everyone under 21 must undergo driver’s education before they can get a license, whereas the present legislation mandates this requirement solely for those below 18 years old.

Drivers under the age of 18 in Ohio who are getting their license for the first time are required to undergo at least 24 hours of classroom education, eight hours of driving lessons with an instructor, and 50 hours of practical driving experience guided by a supervisor prior to taking the road test. However, individuals who are considered legal adults do not have to fulfill these criteria; instead, they only need to successfully pass the road test to obtain a license.

LGBTQ+ issues

The budget bill would encode within the legislation that the state acknowledges solely two genders. , males and females, with these genders being "immutable and rooted in an essential and undeniable truth."

The legislation describes gender identity as a person’s internal and personal understanding of their own identity, which may not align with physiological characteristics and should not serve as a substitute for sex. Additionally, it clarifies that the state identifies females as those belonging biologically to the sex that generates eggs from the point of conception, whereas males are defined as being part of the sex that produces sperm.

This legislation would mandate that public libraries designate an area for materials concerning "sexual orientation or gender identity or expression" which should be separate from spaces generally accessible to young people.

Ohio University strives to incorporate student and faculty feedback in countering DEI initiatives.

Additionally, this rule would prevent state agencies from showing any banners such as Pride flags or other political emblems. The only exceptions allowed at public buildings would be the flags of the United States, Ohio, and those representing POW/MIA personnel.

Removing elections for county coroners

If the budget bill passes unchanged, Ohio residents would no longer see county coroners On the ballot, since boards of commissioners would start appointing the role instead.

Coroners examine and determine the reasons for deaths occurring within their jurisdiction, particularly those with non-natural or questionable origins. This role is generally an elective position across nearly all of the county jurisdictions in the state. However, both Summit County and Cuyahoga County use appointed medical examiners instead; these professionals usually possess more specialized education in forensic pathology.

Many coroners have spoken out against this provision, voicing their worry that appointments might allow political interference in death investigations.

Judge rejects parents' lawsuit against Hilliard schools regarding LGBTQ+ policies

We believe that the most suitable system for the state of Ohio and its residents is to have the coroner elected, which helps maintain impartiality, integrity, and independence in death investigations within the state," said David Corey, executive director of the Ohio State Coroners Association, during a recent interview with NBC4. "When a coroner is appointed, they owe their allegiance to the individual or group who made the appointment rather than solely focusing on uncovering the truth and representing the interests of the county voters.

The County Commissioners Association of Ohio has been advocating for this modification for a considerable time, arguing that numerous counties struggle with finding suitable applicants for the position. They also assert that implementing such a change could enable commissioners to "pool, merge, or realign" the responsibilities of the coroner over a broader geographical region, thereby fostering a more effective operational framework.

Changes to abortion reporting

Under Ohio law, specific details regarding abortions conducted within the state must be disclosed to the Department of Health via a private questionnaire provided to individuals seeking abortion services. This form encompasses both their medical background and personal statistics. These completed documents are then compiled into summaries for analysis. annual reports Those that are made public, providing abortion statistics for the state. Patient identities are not disclosed.

The proposed budget bill mandates that the department create an accessible online dashboard and release abortion-related information collected through specific forms on a monthly basis. This regularly updated platform will mirror much of what’s included in yearly reports—such as overall abortion counts, patient age brackets, whether individuals are local or from another state, and their marital statuses. Additionally, this monthly dashboard intends to introduce fresh metrics: specifically, detailing how many abortions were conducted for minor patients at each clinic. It should be noted that rather than superseding the annual report, this initiative aims to complement it with more frequent updates.

By June 30, the Senate plans to deliver a finalized edition of the bill to DeWine for his review. Similar to other appropriation measures, DeWine has the option to decline specific parts of this legislative proposal.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This content must not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed.

To get the most recent updates on news, weather, sports, and live videos, visit WOWK 13 News.