Ohio
Entries where the acting authority was Ohio (OH), whatever state or country the events took place in.
Jurisdiction is who acted, not where it happened. Federal conduct inside Ohio is filed under Federal, not here.
Institutions seated here (1)
Bodies whose own seat of authority is Ohio. They appear in entries under other jurisdictions too — an institution acts outside its own seat constantly — so this is not the same set as the entries below.
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Ohio General Assembly 9 entries
The Ohio General Assembly is the state's bicameral legislature, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
2026 Events (5)
Highland Heights, Ohio police dispatcher misused Flock license-plate cameras in 20,292 unauthorized searches, resigned
A part-time Highland Heights, Ohio police dispatcher resigned on August 20, 2026, after Police Chief Dennis Matejcic found she had repeatedly misused the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system for searches unconnected to any Highland Heights case. Records obtained by the public-records tracker HaveIBeenFlocked showed the dispatcher's account carried out 20,292 Flock searches between October 24, 2024 and November 22, 2025, including more than 5,000 searches on a single license plate, and the chief said she continued the unauthorized searches in the 30 days before he discovered them. Highland Heights had never audited its Flock system, in use since 2021, before this incident, and the department has since made monthly audits mandatory for every employee with Flock access.
Ohio Capital Journal investigation reveals JobsOhio chairman lobbied for Intel despite 2023 pledge
On August 7, 2026, Ohio Capital Journal reported that Josh Rubin, chairman of the JobsOhio board and principal of lobbying firm The CJR Group, continued lobbying Gov. Mike DeWine's office and other executive agencies on behalf of Intel after joining the board in September 2023, despite pledging to the governor's office that he and his firm would cease work for clients with matters before JobsOhio. JobsOhio, the quasi-private Ohio economic-development agency Rubin chairs, disbursed more than $2 million to Intel in fiscal years 2023-2024 as part of a $150 million incentive package for the company's delayed Ohio chip plant. Ohio Ethics Commission Executive Director Paul Nick said Rubin's continued lobbying registrations and active work for Intel appeared to violate his 2023 pledge.
Reynoldsburg, Ohio officer searched same plate 53 times without case numbers, resigned before misconduct interview
On July 16, 2026, Reynoldsburg, Ohio police officer Alissa Birkhimer resigned one day before she was scheduled to be interviewed by Internal Affairs investigators about her use of the department's Flock Safety license-plate-reader system. A department audit found she had searched the same Ohio license plate 53 times between January and June 2026, mostly without the case number her searches were supposed to be tied to, and that a case number she eventually cited in June belonged to an unrelated missing-person investigation with no established connection to the plate. Unlike a fellow officer caught in a parallel audit, Reynoldsburg police released no internal-affairs finding on whether Birkhimer's searches violated policy before she left.
Reynoldsburg, Ohio officer Mark Nichols made 46 unauthorized Flock searches on ex-partner's plate, resigned before IA interview
Reynoldsburg, Ohio police officer Mark Nichols resigned on July 13, 2026, the day before he was scheduled to be interviewed in an internal-affairs investigation that found he made 47 unauthorized searches of the department's Flock Safety license-plate-reader system between September 2025 and June 2026. Investigators determined 46 of those searches targeted a vehicle belonging to his former domestic partner, with Nichols logging the reason as "23," the department's code for an errand, rather than a case number; Deputy Chief Mike Binder sustained the finding that Nichols had violated department policy. Because Nichols resigned before his interview he faced no discipline, and the department held off referring the case for criminal prosecution because of a medical diagnosis, though officials said that could change if his health improved.
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 (6)
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.
Cuyahoga County jail staff failed to give dying detainee Jennifer Wade CPR for more than 20 minutes
On February 23, 2025, corrections staff at the Cuyahoga County jail found 41-year-old Jennifer Wade unresponsive in her mental-health-unit cell but waited more than 20 minutes to begin CPR, and none of the responding officers or contracted MetroHealth nurses performed chest compressions as she died. Body-camera video later showed staff had left Wade on the concrete floor of her cell for hours, with one officer telling her to "stop playing," before anyone sounded an alarm. An initial state review cleared the jail, but after the withheld footage surfaced Ohio's Bureau of Adult Detention reopened the case and found the staff had failed to render aid.
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 (2)
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.
Ohio legislature overrode DeWine's veto to enact HB68, banning trans youth gender-affirming care and trans athletes in girls' sports
On January 24, 2024, the Ohio Senate voted 24-8 to override Governor Mike DeWine's veto of House Bill 68, the "Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act," completing an override the Ohio House began on January 10 and enacting the bill over the governor's objection. HB68 bans gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery for transgender minors and bars transgender women and girls from female K-12 and collegiate sports. The law was set to take effect roughly 90 days later, on April 24, 2024.
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.
2004 Events (1)
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft signed HB 272, barring recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions
On February 6, 2004, Ohio Governor Bob Taft signed House Bill 272 into law, amending the Ohio Revised Code to declare same-sex marriages against state public policy, prohibit Ohio from recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages and civil unions, and bar the extension of marriage-like statutory benefits to nonmarital relationships. The Ohio House passed the bill 73–23 on December 10, 2003, and the Ohio Senate followed 18–15 on January 21, 2004. The law took effect on May 7, 2004, and remained in force until the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015.