Mike DeWine
Mike DeWine is the Governor of Ohio, in office since 2019, and previously served as a U.S. senator and as Ohio's attorney general. Entries naming him record his signature on bills passed by the Ohio General Assembly, spanning both policy affecting transgender residents and restrictions on conduct near police officers.
2026 Events (1)
Ohio Gov. DeWine signed House Bill 20, creating a 15-foot buffer around police and criminalizing close observation after an officer's warning
On July 7, 2026, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Substitute House Bill 20, creating a criminal offense for coming within 15 feet of an emergency service responder, including police, after a warning to back away if the person also interferes with the responder or threatens physical harm. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail, rising to a felony if the conduct risks harm. The bill's chief sponsors named "First Amendment auditors" and citizens who film police during committee testimony, and press-freedom advocates warned the discretionary warning can be used to curb recording of officers.
2025 Events (5)
Ohio Gov. DeWine signed S.B. 293, eliminating four-day grace period for mailed absentee ballots
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed S.B. 293 on December 19, 2025, eliminating the state's four-day grace period that had allowed absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive and be counted up to four days after the election. DeWine acknowledged signing reluctantly, citing a pending U.S. Supreme Court case from Mississippi he feared might require elimination of all grace periods if left in place. An estimated 7,800 absentee ballots in Ohio's 2024 election had arrived within that window and would have been discarded under the new law.
Ohio Gov. DeWine signed HB96, barring Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming care and enacting two-sexes policy
On June 30, 2025, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 96, the state's FY2026-27 operating budget, into law. The budget bars Ohio's Medicaid program from covering gender-affirming mental health care for transgender adults, bans menstrual products in men's restrooms of public buildings, and declares a state policy that only two "unchangeable" sexes exist. DeWine used his line-item veto to strike three related provisions from the bill, including restrictions on LGBTQ-themed library materials and a ban on Pride flag displays on state property.
Ohio Gov. DeWine signed transportation-budget rider requiring BMV proof of citizenship to register to vote
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 54, the state's two-year transportation budget, on March 31, 2025, without vetoing a Senate-added provision requiring Bureau of Motor Vehicles applicants to provide documented proof of U.S. citizenship before BMV staff may offer them the opportunity to register to vote. The requirement, which took effect that June, applies only to BMV registrations and adds a paperwork burden on top of the sworn citizenship attestation Ohio already requires of every registrant regardless of channel.
Ohio Gov. DeWine signed SB1, banning college DEI programs and forcing closure of LGBTQ campus centers
On March 28, 2025, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 1, the "Advance Ohio Higher Education Act," into law, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, offices, and staff positions at Ohio's public colleges and universities. The law does not name LGBTQ programs directly, but its DEI-infrastructure ban forced Ohio University to close its Pride Center, Women's Center, and Multicultural Center and eliminate all eight center staff positions, while Ohio State University took down its LGBTQ student-services website.
Ohio Gov. DeWine signed HB8, barring K-3 gender-identity instruction and requiring schools to report students' well-being changes to parents
On January 8, 2025, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 8, the "Parents' Bill of Rights," which the General Assembly had passed during the lame-duck session on December 18, 2024. The law prohibits "sexuality content," defined to include "gender ideology," in kindergarten-through-third-grade classroom instruction and requires advance parental notice with an opt-out for such material in other grades. It also directs school personnel to notify a parent of any change in a student's counseling, monitoring, or health-and-well-being services and bars staff from encouraging a student to withhold that information from a parent.
2024 Events (1)
Ohio Gov. DeWine signed SB 104, requiring K-12 and college facilities be designated by birth sex and barring transgender students
On November 26, 2024, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 104, which enacted the "Protect All Students Act" requiring K-12 schools and higher-education institutions to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations for the exclusive use of one sex assigned at birth. The bathroom-ban language, originally a separate bill, was merged into SB 104 — nominally a bill about the College Credit Plus program — by House floor amendment. The law took effect February 25, 2025.
2021 Events (1)
Ohio Gov. DeWine signed HB 110 budget rider letting medical providers refuse care on moral or religious grounds
On June 30, 2021, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 110, the state's FY2022-2023 operating budget, into law, retaining a last-minute rider -- Amendment SC3909, the "Medical Practitioner Conscience" clause -- that lets any health care practitioner, institution, or payer refuse to perform or pay for a service that conflicts with their moral, ethical, or religious beliefs, with immunity from liability. DeWine declined to line-item veto the provision despite public pressure from LGBTQ+ and reproductive-rights groups, who said the facially neutral clause functions as a license to deny care, including gender-affirming treatment, to LGBTQ+ patients.