Latest news with #OhioHousePublicSafetyCommittee
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers weigh changes to Ohio vicious dog laws
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio lawmakers are looking to change vicious dog laws, which have not changed in years. 'Story after story after story of sad situations where folks were seriously, seriously injured and/or killed,' Rep. Kevin Miller (R-Newark) said. Miller is sponsoring House Bill 247, which makes several changes to the law, but he said one major portion of it allows a dog who attacks someone to be seized immediately by the dog warden. Franklin County deputy attacked by dog in traffic stop 'So, in many cases, those dogs that maybe bit a neighbor, they remained in the community because the dog warden couldn't remove them,' he said. Some members of the Ohio House Public Safety Committee raised concerns about these dogs being immediately removed from a home. 'When [animal shelters] are full, they don't take dogs,' Rep. Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) said. 'That's why people are quarantining them at home.' 'You're taking them out of the home without due process or going through the hearing process,' Rep. Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) said. Ohio again ranks among worst states in country in list by U.S. News & World Report But Miller said that the provision acts in the best interest of the victim of the attack. Under the bill, once the dog is seized, there is a ten-day period in which the case must be heard; then if the dog is deemed vicious, the court will decide whether the dog must be humanely put down. 'The responsibility is on the owner,' Miller said. 'However, if they've done such an egregious thing, I feel that the dog should be euthanized.' The bill also increases legal penalties, but not in all cases of attacks. 'If my dog has been a loving animal, no issues of any aggression, but one day it happens to lash out, this bill doesn't change the penalties for that,' Miller said. 'It keeps those the exact same. The increased penalties in this bill are for the repeat offenders.' Ohio's power grid operator warns of potential power shortages this summer This is not the only bill being worked on — there are two Democrat-led bills, House Bill 240 and 241, and a Senate bill also being worked on. Lawmakers hope this helps fast track some sort of action. 'Bottom line is what we're trying to do is come up with something that we all can agree on that makes sense,' Rep. Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) said. The House bills are being heard in the House Public Safety Committee. Those three bills all had sponsor testimony on Tuesday and now await both proponent and opponent testimony. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Will speeding fines in Ohio increase?
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A bill in the Ohio House that would increase speeding fines for excessive speeding had its first hearing on Tuesday afternoon. Under House Bill 111, if someone exceeds the speed limit by more than 30 miles per hour, they will receive an additional $200 fine. Organization offering 'bounty' for removal of invasive trees in central Ohio 'We all know that as speed increases, so does the severity of the traffic crashes,' Rep. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria), one of the bill's sponsors, said. 'This legislation seeks to deter reckless driving and reduce the number of severe accidents on the roads.' 'This legislation does not affect current penalties for the vast majority of speeding offenses; in fact, penalties for 96% of speeding offenses would remain unchanged,' Rep. Kevin Miller (R-Newark), a sponsor of the bill, said. 'This bill targets the worst of the worst.' Generally, under current law, a speeding violation is a minor misdemeanor with a fine up to $150. Miller, who formerly served on the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said Tuesday that, according to OSHP, troopers issue about 250,000 speeding tickets a year; about 4%, or 10,000, are for speeding more than 30 mph. 'These are the individuals who put our families at extreme risk as they travel our interstate at triple-digit speeds,' Miller said. 'Data has consistently shown that excessive speed contributes to many traffic fatalities and injuries.' Miller said that, for example, speeding by more than 30 mph can mean reaching triple-digit speeds on a highway in a 70 mph zone, putting other drivers 'at extreme risk of injury and/or death.' Why Ohio leaders aren't 'clawing back' grants after Intel delays 'I personally have witnessed the devastation and made those death notifications to folks,' he said. 'So, what we're saying is if you're going to engage in this extremely risky behavior, then you're going to risk having a fine that's $200 more than what the average fine would be.' The bill faced little pushback during its first hearing by the Ohio House Public Safety Committee. Rep. Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) said she worries that 'the fines are just not enough.' Brent asked what data the sponsors have, from other states with similar laws, that shows higher fines would be effective in Ohio. 'I'm not sure that that data is out there, we can check and look,' Miller said. 'What we've done is we have modeled this bill off of highly risky driving behavior, such as speeding in construction zones.' A bill to increase penalties for reckless driving in construction zones is also being debated in the statehouse right now. Ohio House Public Safety Committee Chairperson Rep. Cindy Abrams (R-Harrison) said she knows from personal experience that extra fines and tickets can be effective. How Gov. DeWine, Ohio parents feel about proposed bill to ban cellphones in schools 'Once you get a ticket for something, I mean, when I was young, I also got a speeding ticket, and guess what? Guess who slowed down? I did,' Abrams said. Other members of the committee emphasized that a bill like this needs a strong public campaign to ensure that Ohioans know about it, with the hope that it would work as a deterrent from that type of speeding. The legislation does have one exception to the fine in a provision that prohibits the additional $200 fine if a court determines that an offender is indigent, or unable to pay. The bill now awaits its second committee hearing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
