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OhioHB 96136th General Assembly (2025-2026)HouseWALLET
Make state operating appropriations for FY 2026-27
Sponsored By: Brian Stewart (Republican)
Signed by Governor
Finance and Appropriations
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1,448 provisions identified: 846 benefits, 286 costs, 316 mixed.
Adoptive parents get one-time state grants
Ohio funds grants for eligible adoptive parents through the Adoption Grant Program appropriation. The Department of Children and Youth must pay the applicable one-time grant when state funds are available. Qualifying adoptions receive $10,000 or $15,000, depending on the applicable adoption requirements. The payment is $20,000 when additional special-needs requirements are met.
Child care vouchers help working families
Ohio funds child care vouchers with $50 million in TANF money each fiscal year, plus part of its Child Care appropriation. Families must miss the initial income rules for publicly funded care and earn no more than 200% of the federal poverty line. The caretaker parent must work or attend education or training related to the care hours; additional state conditions and funding limits apply. Beginning November 1, 2026, payments use standard publicly funded child care rates, without enhanced rates. Type A and licensed Type B homes accepting vouchers do not need a Step Up to Quality rating.
Homeless families get longer child care
A child and caretaker who qualify for homeless child care can receive it for 12 months. They must otherwise be ineligible for publicly funded child care. Previously, support lasted no more than 90 days and ended sooner when shelter stays or identified homelessness ended.
College grants provide up to $5,000
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, annual Ohio College Opportunity Grants are $4,000 at state colleges and $5,000 at eligible nonprofits. Awards are $2,000 at private for-profit career colleges or schools. Students must have a federal student aid index, or successor measure, of $3,750 or less. Year-round awards require exhausted Pell grants, and the Chancellor can reduce awards proportionally across institution sectors when funding falls short. Eligible colleges cannot change their aid programs to shift their costs to these state grants.
Final-year nursing students get scholarship opportunities
The Ohio Council for Home Care and Hospice receives $500,000 each budget year for competitive final-year nursing scholarships. Awards are $20,000 for registered nursing or bachelor's nursing students, $10,000 for practical-to-registered nursing bridge students, and $6,000 for practical nursing students. The Council and higher education chancellor set award guidelines and procedures. Being eligible does not guarantee an award.
Higher scholarship support for children with disabilities
For awarded autism scholarships, the calculation uses the lower of program tuition or $34,000, up from the $32,445 limit. Awarded Jon Peterson scholarships use a $7,190 base plus the applicable disability-service amount. Those amounts are $2,855, $5,879, $12,879, $16,890, $22,560, or $31,932. The Jon Peterson award is the lowest of that combined amount, provider fees, or $34,000. Future category amounts track corresponding special education funding changes; the base rises with statewide average base cost per pupil.
More children qualify for disability scholarships
Jon Peterson scholarships expand to eligible children ages 3 through 21 with disabilities and individualized education programs, covering preschool through grade 12. Enrollment or eligibility to enter those grades counts; children and parents must follow compulsory attendance law. Autism scholarships also cover eligible school entrants under 22 and additional private-school or home-educated students with autism-related plan services and transition eligibility. For 2025–2026, the state must accept and award both scholarships to qualifying students ages 18–21 who remain eligible for transition services. These older students must meet the specified private-school or home-education criteria, including no-diploma requirements where applicable; autism applicants need autism-related plan services.
New education accounts for private-school families
Beginning in the 2026–2027 school year, Ohio provides education savings accounts for students at participating nonchartered private schools. The Treasurer must approve complete applications for eligible kindergarten through grade 12 students who receive no state scholarship that year. Applications open February 1 before each school year, and parents must reapply annually. Applications require student and parent information, enrollment proof, tuition and fee schedules, and an assessment affirmation. Participants cannot also attend a district, community, STEM, or chartered private school.
Research grants for faculty and graduates
The chancellor must establish a public policy research consortium and maintain a statewide research agenda every two years. Faculty and post-graduate students can compete for tiered grants of up to $10,000 per award for research matching that agenda. Awards use a scoring rubric and peer review involving academic experts and relevant practitioners. Half is paid upon approval; the rest follows successful research completion and a final report.
Top students get $5,000 college scholarships
The Governor's Merit Scholarship provides $5,000 per academic year for up to four years when funding is sufficient. Students must rank in their public or nonpublic school's top 5% at junior year's end; homeschoolers use comparable Chancellor-set criteria. Recipients must make satisfactory academic progress at a state college or an authorized private nonprofit college. Awards can pay eligible expenses in the college's published cost of attendance. Participating colleges cannot shift their aid costs to this scholarship and must maintain prior-year total or per-student institutional merit aid.
Pass-through owners get refundable tax credits
An electing pass-through business can claim specified refundable credits available to one or more owners when calculating its Ohio tax. Owners also receive a refundable credit: their proportionate share times the smaller of the business's entity-level tax due or paid. Owners claim it for their tax year containing the last day of the business's tax year. Any credit above the owner's tax due is refunded. Owners must provide supporting information requested by the Tax Commissioner to receive the credit.
Tax deduction for qualifying military pay
Ohio allows a deduction for qualifying active-duty military pay and allowances included in federal adjusted gross income. Qualifying service includes the armed forces, reserve components, and National Guard. Pay received while stationed in Ohio does not qualify.
Larger tax credits for qualifying homes
Eligible developers or electing local governments get a larger credit for qualifying residential property they rehabilitate or build and sell. The credit is the lesser of $90,000 or 90% of qualifying costs, replacing the old one-third-of-cost limit. Construction or rehabilitation and sale must comply with the program’s statutory requirements. This is not a direct tax credit for the homebuyer or occupant.
Lottery profits support Ohio education funding
The law directs estimated lottery-profit transfers of about $1.465 billion to the education fund in fiscal year 2026. The estimated transfer is about $1.472 billion in fiscal year 2027. These transfers follow state law and do not set a payment for each student or household.
State funds existing property tax relief
Ohio funds state costs for homestead exemptions, property tax rollbacks, and specified related payments. School districts receive about $1.292 billion in FY 2026 and $1.313 billion in FY 2027 through the education department. Eligible non-school taxing districts receive about $687.764 million and $698.817 million, respectively, through the Tax Commissioner, including manufactured-home rollback costs. Districts allocate these payments as property-tax receipts, and the law also provides any additional amounts needed. These payments fund relief obligations but do not set new household savings amounts.
Federal funding drop triggers Medicaid cutoff
Ohio must immediately end all medical assistance for the Medicaid expansion group if its federal matching share falls below 90%. This is a binding funding trigger, not a statement that coverage has already ended. Within 15 business days, Ohio must certify state and federal spending shares for the most recently completed month. The state share remains in the general revenue fund until fiscal year-end, or the specified biennium-end, before transfer under state law.
Income limits for family child care
Through June 30, 2027, initial publicly funded child care eligibility is limited to income at or below 145% of the federal poverty line. The starting limit is 150% for special-needs child care. Families already receiving aid face a continued eligibility limit of 300% of the federal poverty line.
Medicaid eligibility faces limits and reviews
Ohio must cover mandatory Medicaid groups and optional groups required by state law. It may cover optional groups expressly allowed by state law or covered on November 22, 2017. It generally cannot cover other optional groups or groups state law prohibits. Ohio must also review expansion-group eligibility every six months, to the extent federal law allows. More frequent reviews can affect continued coverage when eligibility is not confirmed.
Stricter Medicaid asset checks for eligibility
The Auditor of State must review eligibility in Medicaid's aged, blind, and disabled group, including assets above federal limits. After the audit, Medicaid must implement a corrective plan aimed at reducing spending. The plan must address ineligible enrollees, electronically verify assets for all applicants and enrollees in this group, and pursue other spending reductions. People found ineligible can lose coverage. The law does not set a new asset limit.
Stricter work rules for benefit recipients
Ohio cannot seek or renew one federal SNAP work-rule waiver. A separate exemption option is limited to preventing federal penalties and maintaining compliance; counties cannot receive delegated waiver authority. The state must notify legislative committee chairs when using that option. Ohio Works First and SNAP participants reporting illness or impairment can be referred for a vocational rehabilitation assessment. Unless found unable to work by Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, they must join rehabilitation services or meet minimum work rules; otherwise, benefits end under federal rules.
Ocularists lose an out-of-state licensing route
Ocularists lose the specified route to an Ohio license based on credentials or experience from another state. The removed route covered an out-of-state ocularist license. It also covered qualifying work experience or certification from states that do not license ocularists. This change removes that pathway, not every way to obtain an Ohio license.
Pass-through owners face tax credit limits
An investor's refundable credit is limited to their share of the lesser of the pass-through business's tax due or tax paid. This applies when the business elects to file a single return. The investor must file an annual return because of other income or choose to file one. Payments above the business's tax due do not increase the investor's credit.
Small-business investment credit window closes
Only qualifying small-business investments made from July 1, 2019, through November 3, 2025, qualify for a credit allocation application. Investors must pledge not to sell or otherwise dispose of the investment during the two-year holding period. Investments made after November 3, 2025, fall outside this window. This provision does not state the credit amount.
Unused home savings can raise taxes
Ohio homeownership savings account owners must add certain unused funds to Ohio adjusted gross income. This applies when funds are withdrawn or transferred, or an account with unused funds closes. It covers funds not used for eligible expenses. The addition cannot exceed the owner's account deductions plus deposits made by other contributors.
Vendors face sales tax discount cap
Vendors that file and pay sales tax on time retain a discount equal to 0.75% of eligible tax remitted. For sales other than motor vehicle sales or leases, the discount is capped at $750 per vendor's license per monthly return. Vendors whose calculated discount exceeds that ceiling retain less money.
Supported homebuyers face price and resale limits
Homes supported by Welcome Home Ohio rehabilitation grants or tax credits have a $220,000 sale-price ceiling. Buyers must earn no more than qualifying median income and show they can afford the purchase. Buyers must use the home as their primary residence and cannot rent any part as a dwelling for three years. A 15-year deed restriction limits resale to designated public or nonprofit entities or buyers meeting the same income limit. That period begins with the applicant's first qualifying transfer and also binds later buyers.
Rural attorneys get conditional loan relief
Ohio's rural practice program repays up to $30,000 for three years of service as an attorney in a named underserved community. An optional fourth or fifth year can add up to $20,000. Qualifying loans cover tuition, reasonable education expenses, and room and board at law schools meeting Ohio Supreme Court accreditation standards. This school standard replaces the earlier, narrower school rules. Participants must sign a promissory note stating the service period and maximum repayment; failure to complete service makes it payable to Ohio.
Bigger lead credits, smaller statewide pool
The maximum lead-abatement tax credit certificate rises from $10,000 to $40,000 per eligible dwelling. It cannot exceed eligible costs incurred during the taxable year or costs listed on the application. The Ohio home must be built before 1978 and pass a clearance exam. Eligible lead-removal or occupant-relocation costs cannot be reimbursed, deducted, or excluded from income. Statewide certificate issuance falls from $5 million to $3 million per fiscal year.
Business income changes interstate tax credits
Ohio changes the income measure for its nonresident credit and resident credit for income taxed by another state or Washington, D.C. The measure now combines adjusted gross income with taxable business income, rather than business income. The effect on eligible taxpayers' credits depends on their income amounts.
Opportunity zone credits retain funding limits
The credit remains 10% of qualifying investments that Ohio opportunity funds place in eligible projects during the preceding investment period. Investments must use non-grant money to improve opportunity-zone property with an expectation of profit; the same investment cannot receive a small-business investment certificate. Applications run January 10–17 and July 10–17, with required next-business-day adjustments. Issuance is capped at $50 million in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027, with unused 2026 authority carried into 2027; certificates for one project cannot exceed $5 million. New credits require legislative authorization after fiscal year 2027, but July-round recipients can claim credits for the preceding tax year through an original or amended return.
Unclaimed money shifts to facility grants
Beginning January 1, 2026, or as soon as possible afterward, Ohio directs $1 billion to cultural and sports facility grants. The money comes from unclaimed funds and interest that become state property on that date. The remainder becoming state property that day goes into the new Ohio Escheatment Fund. Later unclaimed funds and interest becoming state property go to the facility grant fund. This is a funding transfer, not a direct household payment.
Fake sexual image victims gain protection
Victims are presumed harmed when someone shares a qualifying fabricated sexual image without consent. Covered images are created or altered to show a recognizable person nude or engaged in a sexual act. The presumption can support a civil claim, but the provision sets no damages amount.
Legal aid funded for vulnerable Ohioans
Ohio transfers $1 million each fiscal year from the General Revenue Fund to the Legal Aid Fund. The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation distributes the money. Each year, $500,000 is reserved for economically disadvantaged people and families with legal issues arising from substance abuse disorders. Another $250,000 is reserved for veterans' legal services. Transfers occur July 1 or as soon as possible afterward, and none of the money can pay administrative costs.
Private lawyers available for revocation cases
The State Public Defender may hire private counsel for covered parole, probation, community-control, or post-release-control revocation cases. This applies when the office is designated or asked to represent someone who cannot afford counsel, but lacks capacity. The office must pay the lawyer’s fees and expenses from the indigent defense support fund. These payments join the purposes receiving at least 83% of that fund.
Regional defense hub serves low-income defendants
During fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the Ohio Public Defender operates a Northwest Regional Hub for indigent defense. Allen, Hardin, and Putnam counties can join by resolution, transferring administration to the hub. Funding covers the transferred services. The Public Defender generally handles no more than 80% of cases directly, with appointed lawyers handling the rest. It can exceed 80% if local lawyers are insufficient, after consulting county commissioners, judges, and local attorneys.
Public employee savings gain collection protection
Interests in Ohio Public Employees Retirement Board deferred compensation accounts are protected from execution, garnishment, attachment, and sale. Statutory exceptions in section 2329.66(A)(10) still apply. The provision sets no account balance limit.
Recovery funding for securities fraud victims
Through June 30, 2027, Ohio may transfer up to $2.5 million yearly to the Ohio Investor Recovery Fund. Extra transfers require enough cash and agreement by the Commerce and Budget directors. Assistance covers purchasers named as harmed in a final securities agency order or court order from a Division-initiated case. The order must involve an Ohio securities-law violation, and full ordered restitution must remain unpaid by the application deadline. Individual payment amounts are not stated.
Care residents keep more personal money
Medicaid residents in nursing facilities or intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual disabilities keep a larger personal allowance. The individual monthly minimum rises from $50 to $75. The married-couple minimum rises from $100 to $150 when both spouses live in the same facility type and incomes count together. This money is deducted from income otherwise used to pay for care.
Community transition help for hospital patients
The Medicaid Director may designate available cash for transfer to the Department of Behavioral Health's Sale of Goods and Services Fund. Transferred money is appropriated for Access Success II, which helps non-Medicaid patients move from inpatient care to community settings. Eligible patients must be in hospitals established, controlled, or supervised by the Department of Behavioral Health. Funding depends on available cash, and the provision does not set a per-person payment.
County help for families and protection
County agencies use distributed funds for self-sufficiency help, preventing dependency, protective services, and help accessing public benefits. Self-sufficiency help is limited to people with family income at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines. Outreach about home and community services serves people at risk of group-home or institutional placement. Protective services need no income limit or written application when case records document actual or possible abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
Dedicated summer food funds for children
Ohio creates a fund outside the state treasury to hold federal Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children awards. Job and Family Services must use it only to pay eligible charges for children and families who qualify and participate. The provision does not set each household's benefit amount.
Disability service staff can give medicines
Staff serving people under Ohio's developmental-disability laws may give prescribed epinephrine by autoinjector or nasal delivery for severe allergic reactions. This does not require nursing delegation or a certificate. Staff still need applicable and person-specific training and must follow manufacturer instructions and employer safety restrictions. For early-intervention, preschool, and school-age recipients, staff may also give prescribed medication for a metabolic glycemic disorder by subcutaneous injection. Those injections require nursing delegation and the required certificate.
Disaster fund supports recovery and households
Ohio's State Disaster Relief Fund supports emergency response, recovery and mitigation matching costs, interstate aid missions, and disaster assistance programs. Eligible local governments and private nonprofits can receive disaster-cost reimbursements, and the fund can accept government reimbursements. State Disaster Relief Program aid requires written approval from the Governor. Individual assistance also requires a federal Small Business Administration disaster declaration and written gubernatorial approval. The law sets no household award amount.
Employers and state share child care
The program divides eligible child care costs: employees pay 40%, employers pay 40%, and the state pays 20% if funds are available. Employers can also pay some or all of the employee's share. Employees must live in Ohio, have family income at or below 400% of the federal poverty line, and be selected by an eligible Ohio employer. Employees and employers must apply jointly and keep meeting program requirements. Families can keep an existing licensed or county-certified provider; Step Up To Quality participation is not required.
Eye care helps eligible young students
The law creates the Ohio Student Eye Exam Program, administered by the Department of Health. It may provide vision screenings, eye exams, and glasses to students in kindergarten through third grade. Students must fail a vision screening and lack access to follow-up care. The provision does not state a funding amount or individual benefit value.
Families can authorize unlicensed home care
For county disability-board-funded in-home care, families may authorize a self-employed worker who is not a health professional and employs no other caregiver. The family member must be the primary supervisor and cannot act as a paid provider while authorizing or supervising. The family member or care recipient must select the worker. The family member must obtain applicable prescriptions and professional instructions, provide written authorization and training, and remain available during care. The worker must accept authorization before starting. Tasks cannot require specialized health judgment or complex observation; outcomes must be predictable, with only minimal, non-life-threatening complications if done improperly.
Family caregivers can give covered medications
Family members can give covered medications and perform specified health-related tasks for a person with a developmental disability. They do not need nursing delegation or the state certificate otherwise required for these activities. This permission applies only to the medication and health-related activities listed in the law.
Funding supports disability residents' personal allowances
At the Medicaid Director's request, Ohio may transfer money to support higher personal needs allowances. The limits are $2.2 million in fiscal 2026 and $4.4 million in fiscal 2027. The money serves people with intellectual disabilities living in intermediate care facilities. This provision does not state each resident's increase.
Higher care rates for qualifying disability services
From July 1, 2025, through July 1, 2027, qualifying Individual Options waiver care earns providers 52 cents extra per 15 minutes. This covers homemaker and personal care during the provider's first 12 service months in that period, consecutive or not. The enrollee must have lived in a developmental center, converted facility, or public hospital immediately before joining the waiver. The enrollee must not have received routine services from that provider before July 1, 2011. The Director must also find that the enrollee's special circumstances warrant the increase.
Home visits and support for parents
Ohio must establish Help Me Grow to provide parent support and home visits to families meeting state eligibility rules. Families in designated urban and rural communities, and families involved in child welfare, receive priority. Visits must use evidence-based models or promising models recommended by the Children and Youth Advisory Council. The Department of Children and Youth may fund providers through contracts, grants, or subsidies.
Home-care recipients lose worker-screening duties
People receiving community-based long-term care are no longer responsible parties under the specified worker-screening law. They no longer bear that law's duties for database reviews and criminal-record checks of direct-care applicants and employees. The provision does not state a dollar savings.
Income discounts lower state hospital charges
State behavioral health hospital bills generally use the daily rate times admitted days in that cycle, excluding earlier unpaid bills. Listed statutory exceptions still apply. First-30-day discounts require assets within the statutory limit and annual income no higher than 400% of the federal poverty level. At income up to 175%, discounts are 100%; at 350–400%, they are 10% for days 1–14 and 15% for days 15–30. After day 30, patients at or below 175% owe nothing; those above it owe the applicable ancillary daily rate plus earlier unpaid charges.
Insurance premium help for hemophilia patients
Ohio must fund insurance premium help for people eligible for the Hemophilia Insurance Premium Payment Program. Spending cannot exceed $100,000 each fiscal year. The provision does not set each person's payment.
Insurance transition help for Medicaid members
Ohio must implement a phased transition plan if the federal Medicaid expansion match falls below 90% in fiscal 2026 or 2027 and expansion members lose eligibility. The plan must direct affected people to private insurance subsidies or charity care. It sets no subsidy amount and does not guarantee replacement coverage. Separately, the Department of Insurance must provide Medicaid recipients private-insurance information and transition help during fiscal 2027. That outreach does not itself change Medicaid eligibility or provide insurance.
Kinship families gain access and protections
State kinship guardianship assistance no longer depends on the deleted federal state-plan approval condition. Relatives must first provide at least six consecutive months of foster care and commit to permanent care. They need a non-temporary custody or guardianship order and must sign a state assistance agreement before taking custody or guardianship. The child must have entered care through voluntary placement or a court finding that staying home threatened the child's welfare. Return home or adoption must be unsuitable, the child must be strongly attached to the relative, and federal kinship assistance must be unavailable. Children age 14 or older must be consulted; payments depend on available state funds and annual review of need. Benefits and services from the listed kinship guardianship, extended guardianship, support, and permanency incentive programs cannot be transferred or seized through garnishment or similar collection.
Long-term care planning and earlier services
The Department of Aging must offer consultations to help people plan for long-term health care. It must also seek early, temporary eligibility for the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE. Applicants found temporarily eligible may start services upon application while the PACE organization completes its full review. If an applicant is later found ineligible, that organization pays for the interim services.
Low-income households get energy assistance support
The law creates an electric partnership plan fund for approved low-income energy customers and specified program costs. It supports supplier payments, weatherization, and energy-saving services through authorized providers. Job and Family Services can adopt rules for eligibility, payment credits, and eligibility checks for the income-based electric payment plan. Those rules must prohibit enrollment waiting periods for eligible customers and base their payment responsibility on income. The provisions state no income threshold, payment percentage, or household benefit amount.
Medicaid adds genetic testing for infants
Beginning one year after the section takes effect, Medicaid must reimburse rapid whole genome sequencing, subject to federal approval. Eligible infants are under one, receive intensive or other high-acuity hospital care, and have a complex or acute illness of unknown cause. The illness cannot be confirmed as caused by the specified environmental, toxic, infectious, or traumatic causes; medical-necessity criteria can apply. Labs must return preliminary positive results within seven days and final results within 15 days after receiving samples. Data primarily supports diagnosis and treatment and remains subject to health privacy laws. Research requires express guardian consent; written revocation requires users to stop research use and erase repository data. The Medicaid director can add qualifying conditions or expand sequencing and genetic-testing coverage.
Medicaid funding supports disability care settings
Ohio may use its Medicaid Services appropriation for home and community-based services for people with developmental disabilities. It may also fund intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual disabilities and programs identified by the developmental disabilities director. Spending remains subject to the governing Ohio statute. This provision does not set individual service levels or payment amounts.
Medicaid members choose managed care plans
Ohio Medicaid must let care management participants choose their managed care plan. Participants who miss the state's selection deadline receive a randomly assigned plan. The department cannot favor a particular plan or group of plans when assigning members.
Medicaid patients keep more pharmacy choice
Medicaid plans and their administrators cannot interfere with patients choosing a qualifying federal 340B grantee for prescriptions. They cannot use contracts to pay those grantees less or impose fees unavailable to, or higher than for, non-grantee providers. Qualifying grantees must be active entities in the specified federal categories and listed in the federal covered-entity report. Covered 340B drugs from non-grantee providers must receive the Medicaid state-plan rate; payments are subject to state audit. Ohio's pharmacy benefit manager contract must also bar forced use of a specialty pharmacy it owns or is associated with.
Medicaid providers gain visit verification safeguards
Through June 30, 2027, Ohio's electronic visit verification system cannot exceed federal minimum requirements. Medicaid and developmental disability agencies must offer provider education and technical help. A payer cannot deny a claim solely because visit-verification data does not support it. Providers must receive notice and a chance to review and correct the claim and data. Audits can consider the data but cannot rely on it alone.
Medicare access review for kidney patients
Ohio's insurance superintendent must review Medicare application rules and state policies affecting kidney-failure patients age 65 or younger. The review covers people with end-stage renal disease and must identify eligibility gaps and take steps to address them. The department must assess a process to help these patients apply and report to lawmakers by September 1, 2026. This does not guarantee Medicare coverage.
Mental health help for nonpublic students
Districts may use state auxiliary-services money for diagnostic mental health or psychological services and therapeutic mental health services at eligible nonpublic schools. Diagnostic services take place at the student's school; therapy must take place at an authorized site. For fiscal 2026, districts and chartered nonpublic schools may also use this funding for diagnostic or therapeutic mental health services. That authority covers students enrolled in chartered nonpublic schools at any time during that fiscal year.
More access to special health care
Ohio cannot exclude anyone younger than 26 from its special health care needs program based on age. Previously, the age limit excluded people 25 and older; medical and financial eligibility rules still apply. The law also funds services and essential medicines for eligible Cystic Fibrosis Program adults over age 21. It funds specified Medicare Part D drug copayments for qualifying special health care needs program participants receiving cystic fibrosis medicines. Those drugs must be approved by the Ohio Department of Health and covered by Medicare Part D.
More paid leave for state emergency responders
Eligible Ohio state employees get 120 paid leave hours per calendar year for emergency responder duties, up from 40. Covered employees are EMT-basics, EMT-Is, first responders, paramedics, and volunteer firefighters. They can use the leave for emergency medical or firefighting service, related training, or continuing education.
MyCare members gain long-term-care complaint help
The state long-term-care ombudsman's authority extends to MyCare Ohio. People receiving MyCare services gain access to the office's applicable oversight and assistance. This coverage lasts while the federal financial alignment demonstration program remains in effect.
Nursing residents can receive penalty waivers
Ohio may waive all or part of a Medicaid ineligibility period caused by transferring assets below fair market value. The person must be institutionalized and face a proposed nursing facility transfer or discharge for unpaid care. The person or sponsor must request a hearing, and a final decision must uphold the transfer or discharge. No further appeal can remain available. The waiver is discretionary, not guaranteed.
Ohio seeks Medicaid care before release
Ohio must seek federal approval for reentry services for Medicaid-eligible people in prison during the 90 days before expected release. Services include mental health, behavioral health, and substance use care, plus a 30-day prescription supply at release. Ohio must implement the program within one year after federal approval. If approval is denied, Ohio must reapply within four years after the section's effective date.
Required checks on publicly funded home care
Publicly funded home-care contracts must require checks that employees provide care at the right place and time. Covered adults are ages 21–59 with a physical disability or mental impairment, or age 60 and older. They must live in a private home or another unlicensed, noninstitutional setting and need regular care for health and safety. Providers must arrange substitutes, keep records, report annually, and conduct random accuracy checks. Exemptions cover self-employed providers without employees, designated non-agency providers, and providers using the specified federal electronic visit verification system.
Required medical care for state prisoners
The Ohio State University Medical Center must provide necessary care to people confined in Ohio's state adult correctional facilities. Care must be requested by the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. For necessary inpatient care, the department cannot pay more than the Medicaid rate for the same service.
Short-term child care before work starts
The law requires procedures for up to 30 days of publicly funded child care during work or education preparation. Covered activities include seeking work, attending job orientation, or taking steps toward education or training. The job or program must be expected to start within those 30 days. This authority applies only to the extent federal law allows.
Treatment funding for special health needs
The special health care needs audit fund may pay for diagnosis and treatment for children and youth meeting Ohio's statutory definition. It may also pay for services for Ohio residents age 21 or older with cystic fibrosis or hemophilia. Permitted uses include audits, recovering payments from other payers, benefit-application help, and program administration. The provision does not state a total funding amount or an individual coverage limit.
Veterans and responders gain treatment program
Ohio must establish a program combining brain-wave testing with magnetic brain stimulation for eligible veterans, first responders, and law enforcement officers. Eligible issues include substance use, mental health, sleep problems, brain trauma, sexual trauma, and post-traumatic stress. A qualified medical practitioner can also identify another issue warranting treatment. The supplier must provide monitoring, counseling and wellness access, peer support, and at least two brain-wave tests plus one per ten treatments. The program operates only with a General Assembly appropriation designated for it.
Workers with disabilities avoid Medicaid premiums
Ohio no longer requires a premium to qualify for its Medicaid buy-in program for workers with disabilities. Applicants must be at least 16 and under 65. Countable income cannot exceed 250% of the federal poverty line. Disability or medically improved disability, employment, resource, application, and other program requirements remain.
Housing discrimination claims gain court backup
After a timely election to take a housing discrimination claim to court, the Civil Rights Commission has 30 days to authorize state action. The Attorney General then has 30 days after authorization to start the case. If either required step is missed, the complainant or another harmed person may file directly. That filing window runs from 30 to 60 days after the election is mailed.
More buyers qualify for Welcome Home Ohio
Welcome Home Ohio raises the buyer income limit from 80% to 120% of county median income. Eligible units need at least 800 square feet of habitable space. They can be stand-alone homes or part of buildings with up to ten single-family units. Some manufactured homes qualify, but mobile homes do not. A residential unit in a building with nonresidential uses can also qualify.
Rent help for people with disabilities
Ohio's developmental disabilities director can fund county boards to offer rental assistance to people with developmental disabilities. Eligible people receive specified home and community-based services. People also qualify by enrolling in a Medicaid waiver providing those services after required preadmission counseling. The law sets no assistance amount or start date.
Adults gain another high school diploma path
Adults 18 or older who officially left school and lack a diploma or equivalency certificate can enter a competency-based diploma program. Qualifying providers include school and adult education programs and community schools offering dropout prevention and recovery. Enrollment lasts up to three consecutive school years, with hardship extensions available through the adult pathway. Participants complete required skill activities or a skills-and-coursework pathway, including financial literacy; recovery-school programs also require career plans. Adult participants cannot share classes with minors, and providers receive up to $7,500 per participant each school year based on diploma completion.
Annual raises for judges and local officials
Covered judges, county officers, election board members, township trustees, and township fiscal officers get 5% annual compensation increases during 2026–2029. Judicial increases begin January 1, 2026, covering Supreme Court, appeals, common pleas, and specified municipal and county judges. Election board compensation depends on county census population; township fiscal officer pay follows township budget brackets. County, election board, and township schedules retain their prior 1.75% annual increases through 2025. Township trustees’ annual salaries remain capped at the maximum available under daily-rate pay.
Autism scholarship families gain service choices
Autism scholarship families can use multiple approved providers, including more than one provider for the same service. Services must support the child's education or education plan. Covered tutoring, academic, aide, intervention, and related special education services can be delivered online by eligible providers. Required supervision of qualified credentialed providers can also happen online. Services from state-licensed teachers or substitute teachers count as academic services, not aide services, for billing and monthly audits.
Children gain a broader truancy defense
Children facing an unruly-child complaint based only on habitual truancy have a broader legal defense. They can show participation in, or satisfactory progress on, a covered school intervention or alternative to court judgment. The defense is no longer limited to an absence intervention plan.
Children with reading plans get tutoring
Students with reading improvement and monitoring plans must receive tutoring matched to classroom lessons. Tutoring must provide at least three days of instruction weekly or at least 50 hours over 36 weeks. Schools can use a state-approved vendor or a locally approved program following state-identified best practices. Tutoring can take place during regular classroom instruction.
College aid supports eligible veterans' children
War Orphans and Severely Disabled Veterans' Children Scholarship funding can reimburse state colleges for instructional and general fee waivers. It can also fund grants to authorized institutions and additional scholarship benefits allowed by law. The Chancellor can certify canceled prior-year commitments for transfer from the General Revenue Fund to the scholarship reserve. Transfers cannot exceed the certified canceled amount. This provision does not set individual scholarship amounts.
College credit funding for home-schooled students
The law makes up to $3.5 million available each fiscal year for College Credit Plus participation by eligible home-instructed students. It also makes up to $2.6 million available annually for participating private secondary school students. Funding pays program costs, not a fixed household award. These totals do not guarantee a particular amount of college credit for each student.
College funding for veterans’ children and advocates
War Orphans and Severely Disabled Veterans’ Children Scholarship funding rises from $25 million in fiscal 2026 to $30 million in fiscal 2027. Individual awards and eligibility are unchanged by this funding provision. Separately, up to $213,750 each fiscal year supports $2,500 awards for selected Military Community Advocates at Ohio Veterans Education Council-member schools. Awards are limited to six students at member public universities and three at member community colleges or private nonprofit colleges.
College support for former foster youth
Cleveland State University receives $100,000 each fiscal year for the Sullivan-Deckard Scholarship Opportunity Program and Helen Packer Scholarship Program. They provide tuition help and related support services to young adults who aged out of foster care and attend the university. No individual award amount is stated.
Colleges must maintain needs-based student aid
Eligible Ohio colleges enrolling Ohio College Opportunity Grant recipients must maintain at least the prior academic year’s needs-based aid level. Colleges can measure that level as total aid across students or aid per student. The chancellor can grant temporary waivers for exceptional circumstances. The rule does not guarantee each student’s award.
County college students get tuition breaks
A state community college must charge county residents lower tuition when voters approve a qualifying levy for current operating expenses. Students living in the county paying the levy must pay less than students from other Ohio counties. The law does not set the size of the tuition difference.
Dropout recovery students gain credential support
Dropout prevention and recovery community schools can offer credential-only programs to students in grades 11 and 12. Programs must use school classroom teachers and align with an approved career-technical program and an approved industry-recognized credential. Each enrolled student counts as full-time and category one career-technical enrollment for funding. Schools can use some career-technical funds for eligible graduates' placement support during the year after graduation. They can also provide short-term emergency help with child care, housing, food, transportation, or specified services during that year.
Education guaranteed for youth in treatment
Ohio-resident youth assigned by a juvenile court or authorized agency to participating residential treatment facilities must receive approved education. The elementary, secondary, or special education program must be in or near the facility, which can choose the provider. If no voluntary agreement exists and the facility provides no program, the county educational service center must teach residents under 22 at the facility.
Enrolled students keep program completion options
Students enrolled in the covered education programs can finish under the earlier rules by June 30, 2027. Coverage includes programs under Ohio Revised Code sections 3313.902, 3314.38, 3345.86, 3317.23, 3317.231, and 3317.24. Students can also finish under the new versions of the first three sections. The education department pays eligible schools or providers under the rules for the program completed.
Federal training opens nurse aide pathway
People trained at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs community living center gain a route to Ohio's nurse aide registry. Ohio's health director must find the course similar to the state's nurse aide training and evaluation program. Applicants must also successfully complete the director's competency evaluation.
Fellowship stipends for pediatric therapy students
Dayton Children’s Hospital receives $250,000 in fiscal year 2026 for pediatric therapy student fellowship stipends. Students must be interested in regional needs the hospital identifies as priorities. No per-student stipend amount is stated.
Grants and loans for truck-driving students
The Chancellor of Higher Education must use program funding to run Ohio’s Commercial Truck Driver Student Aid Program. Eligible students can receive grants or loans for commercial truck driver training. The provision does not state individual award amounts or full eligibility details.
Higher pay for covered exempt state workers
The law raises hourly and annual pay under Ohio’s E-1 and E-2 salary schedules. Changes apply to pay periods including July 1, 2024, July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026. Coverage includes qualifying permanent full- and part-time state workers outside Chapter 4117’s public-employee definition and qualifying constitutional-officer staff. Employees must be covered by the schedules and the law’s employment and classification requirements. The provided provisions do not state the pay rates or individual raise amounts.
Income sets families’ education account payments
Education account awards use family adjusted gross income, federal poverty guidelines, and the student’s grade. At or below 450% of those guidelines, the award equals 75% of the maximum educational choice scholarship for that grade. Above 450%, a formula applies, with a minimum award of 10% of that base amount. Income records carry forward unless parents request a new calculation with updated records. The state deposits one annual payment, before school starts when practical.
Job seekers get regional workforce support
Ohio provides $10 million in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for the GRIT workforce program. It serves unemployed and underemployed people in distressed or at-risk Appalachian areas and similar Ohio counties. Services include assessments, coaching, career development, training, and help addressing barriers to work. The program also creates virtual workforce centers with business and public-sector partners.
Military families get center tuition cap
Wright State's Center for Civics, Culture, and Workforce Development caps fees for covered military students at in-state instructional and general fees. Current and honorably discharged U.S. service members, their spouses, and their dependents qualify. Ohio residency is not required. The cap applies only to programs offered by that center.
Military learning gets college credit pathways
The chancellor can require state or private colleges to evaluate veterans' military training, experience, and coursework for equivalent college credit. Colleges must create that process when the chancellor requires it. Wright State's civics center must develop standards to maximize academic credit for military learning. The law sets no credit amount or guaranteed tuition savings.
More caregivers can seek autism scholarships
Eligible custodians, court-appointed guardians, qualifying grandparents, and appointed surrogate parents can apply for autism scholarships. Grandparents need the specified power of attorney or caretaker authorization affidavit. Qualified students ages 18–21 can apply themselves when they have no custodian or guardian. The law also applies its specified parent-application rules for custody arrangements.
More programs can qualify for training grants
For first Work Ready Grants received on or after the amendment's effective date, programs can qualify through new workforce-based criteria. The Chancellor sets those criteria with the workforce transformation office based on Ohio's emerging workforce needs. Earlier recipients remain under the existing credential and job criteria. Applicants must live in Ohio, complete the grant-year FAFSA, and enroll in a qualified program at an eligible institution.
More rural attorneys qualify for loan help
Rural attorney loan-repayment eligibility expands from fewer than eight years after Ohio bar admission to fewer than twelve years. Applicants must remain in good standing; final-year law students can also apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents. Joining another government loan program is no longer a general bar, but Public Service Loan Forgiveness and John R. Justice enrollment still disqualify applicants. The application language still requires verification of admission less than eight years ago, despite the expanded eligibility rule.
More students qualify for school scholarships
More students qualify for educational choice scholarships without attending a school building normally required for eligibility. Routes include specified sibling, foster-care, guardian, kinship-care, household, and homelessness situations. Some household-based routes require living together for at least 45 consecutive days in the last calendar year. Recipients can keep the scholarship through grade 12 while meeting the continuing eligibility requirements. The state can request proof of eligibility.
Mutual aid responders gain injury benefits
Local personnel providing aid elsewhere in Ohio under authorized mutual-aid agreements receive workers' compensation protections. For these claims, they are treated as employees of the Ohio emergency management agency. Agreement-based responders receive applicable rights and benefits as when serving their own subdivision. Compact responders qualify for applicable benefits for injury or death arising from their work while providing aid.
Preschool grants support eligible young children
Ohio creates preschool grants tied to the number of qualifying children served, subject to available funds. Providers must meet the required Step Up To Quality rating and additional state rules. Each child needs an available slot and must be a U.S. citizen or qualified alien. Children qualify through family income at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, an individualized education program, documented resource-caregiver placement, or homelessness, plus additional state rules. No more than 2% of funding may support program administration and technical assistance; the rest goes to grant recipients.
Public safety pay gets funding flexibility
The Controlling Board can approve extra spending and appropriation transfers to help fund Department of Public Safety compensation increases. This authority excludes the general revenue fund. Covered increases come from collective bargaining agreements or the specified exempt-employee pay law. Requests must come from the budget director or have that director's approval; approved amounts are appropriated. This provision sets no raise amount.
Rural incentives now include civil attorneys
Private-practice civil attorneys are included in the rural practice incentive program's service-attorney pathway. They must work at least 520 hours each service year in a designated underserved community. Other program requirements still apply.
Second Chance grants support returning students
The Chancellor must distribute Second Chance Grant funding to qualifying colleges and Ohio Technical Centers. Those institutions provide grants to students eligible under the existing Second Chance Grant Program. This provision does not state an individual award amount.
Shorter college degrees for career paths
By the 2027–2028 academic year, each Ohio state university must establish at least one accelerated 90-hour degree for an in-demand career. Programs must receive required approvals and accreditation. Universities must accept incoming credits meeting the chancellor’s rules, including qualifying high school, training, Ohio college, or work experience credits. Universities must also develop related College Credit Plus pathways with education partners. The chancellor must provide technical help.
Special needs scholarships offer service flexibility
Jon Peterson scholarship families can contract with multiple approved providers for services that carry out the child's individualized education program. Covered education, tutoring, aide, intervention, and related special education services can be delivered online. Teachers and substitute teachers providing services must hold state licenses; other providers must meet their applicable requirements. The state pays the eligible applicant, who can authorize direct payment to the child's provider instead.
State colleges must develop transfer policies
The Chancellor must work with the transfer advisory council to develop policies for coursework transfers between Ohio state colleges. The policies aim to apply transferred classes toward majors and degrees without needless repeated coursework or institutional barriers. The law does not set a tuition, fee, or financial-aid change.
Students gain skills-based diploma programs
Eligible providers can offer competency-based programs that enroll eligible people for up to three consecutive school years. Providers must follow state standards, create individual career plans, and report enrollment. The Education and Workforce Department certifies enrollment and attendance and pays providers up to $7,500 per student per school year. Payment depends on successful completion of diploma requirements and goes to providers, not students. The department must award diplomas to enrollees meeting the law's qualifying diploma conditions.
Teacher retirement board members receive benefits
State Teachers Retirement Board members in the specified statutory seats receive $200 for each regular meeting attended, up to $400 monthly. Special and committee meetings do not qualify for payment. Eligible members also receive health coverage on the same terms and at the same cost as retirement system employees.
Teachers get computer science training support
Teach CS grants support eligible teachers and other participants seeking computer science credentials or continuing education. Supported paths include supplemental licenses, university endorsements, and alternative resident educator licenses. Grants can cover coursework, materials, exams, stipends, performance rewards, and other approved computer science education costs. Awards follow an application process, with possible priority for groups serving disadvantaged schools with limited courses or credentialed-teacher shortages. The law states no individual award amount.
Top graduates gain state college admission
Ohio high school graduates in the top 10% of their class are entitled to admission at any state higher-education institution. The Chancellor determines class rank for this rule. Top 5% graduates are entitled to main-campus admission when they meet application and acceptance deadlines. Universities can delay main-campus admission for top 10% graduates who miss unconditional-admission standards and admit them to a branch campus.
Transportation pilots help qualifying students
Two pilots let educational service centers transport some students instead of their resident districts. The southwest Ohio pilot covers the 2024–2025, 2025–2026, and 2026–2027 school years. The district and center must identify transportation problems; students must attend a different assigned school or need disability-related transportation. Centers must follow individualized education plans, while community and chartered nonpublic schools do not have to participate. Subject to a statutory exception, the state pays centers the applicable statewide-average amount from district transportation payments. State reports are due September 15, 2025, for one pilot and September 15, 2027, for southwest Ohio.
Veterans-home clinicians can get loan help
Ohio's veterans services department can run a program repaying some or all qualifying education loans for veterans-home clinicians. Eligible costs include tuition, specified reasonable school expenses, and room and board during up to four years of enrollment. Clinicians need Ohio licensure, at least one year of veterans-home work without formal discipline, and proof of accredited education. Participants must accept contract terms, keep their licenses, and provide at least one year of contracted care to residents.
Work experience counts in college admissions
For enrollment applications after July 1, 2025, Ohio state colleges must treat work experience and credentials positively in admissions. This applies even when the experience does not match the intended program. Upon acceptance, colleges must grant prior-learning credit or explain possible credit and required documentation. Admission and credit are not guaranteed.
Work preparation for people with disabilities
Up to $1 million each fiscal year supports transition services for students with disabilities beginning at age 14. Services include job exploration, work-based learning, college counseling, workplace readiness, independent-living skills, and self-advocacy. Eligible students can receive services regardless of partner-agency eligibility rules. Regional training must support transition-to-work endorsements for school specialists. Remaining Employment First money supports a lasting community-employment system for people with developmental disabilities; the remaining amount is not stated.
Younger drivers gain hazardous-cargo credential access
Applicants under 21 can receive, renew, upgrade, or transfer a hazardous materials driving endorsement for commerce within Ohio only. They must meet all other federal and state endorsement requirements.
Counties can add homestead tax relief
Counties can approve an extra tax reduction for homesteads already receiving a homestead exemption. The reduction equals the applicable exemption and is applied at the same time. For the specified income-tested exemptions, owners or qualifying occupants must meet the income limit and report income if not already reported. County approval by July 1 starts relief that tax year for real property and the next year for manufactured homes. Later approval starts relief the next tax year for real property and the second following year for manufactured homes.
Damaged manufactured homes get filing help
Manufactured-home park operators can notify the county auditor and file for damage-related tax relief on an owner's behalf. The home must be taxed for that year and damaged or destroyed after January 1. An operator's notice must include photos. The required form is due January 31 of the following year. The deduction or waiver depends on when the damage happened and its extent.
Estates pay less Ohio income tax
For estates with Ohio taxable income of $26,050 or less, the rate falls from 1.38462% to 1.31287% for tax years beginning in 2025. For tax years beginning in 2026 and later, it is 1.27448%. Beginning January 1, 2026, school district income taxes no longer apply to estates. This covers taxes in effect, levied, or renewed on or after that date, without new district resolutions or voter approval. Properly enacted taxes otherwise remain valid, and school district income taxes still apply to individuals.
Larger home education credit for families
Ohio raises the home education tax credit from one $250 cap to $250 per qualifying dependent student. The credit cannot exceed eligible expenses or the tax owed; it is not refundable. Students must be exempt from compulsory attendance for home education for the school year. Expenses must directly support home education, and expenses paid from a section 3310.24 scholarship account do not count. Families must provide supporting information requested by the tax commissioner.
Less tax withheld from gambling winnings
Ohio lowers withholding on lottery prizes, video lottery prizes, casino winnings, and sports gaming winnings that require IRS reporting. After the amendments take effect in 2025, the rate falls from 4% to 3.125%. For calendar years 2026 and later, it is 2.75%. Winners receive more money when paid, but withholding alone does not set their final tax bill.
Local governments can lower property collections
The minimum local levy for current expenses and debt service stays at two-thirds of the specified average levy. Local taxing units can request a lower rate or forgo collections. A lower-rate request lasts only the next fiscal year unless expressly made permanent. County budget commissions must adjust levy rates to match declared reductions in collections. Any property-tax savings depend on local decisions.
Lower Ohio income taxes for households
Ohio lowers individual income taxes using the balance after subtracting taxable business income and exemptions. No tax applies when that balance is $26,050 or less. For tax years beginning in 2025, tax above that threshold through $100,000 is $342 plus 2.75% of the excess over $26,050. Above $100,000, it is $2,394.32 plus 3.125% of the excess over $100,000. For tax years beginning in 2026 and later, tax above $26,050 is $332 plus 2.75% of the excess.
School cash reserves trigger tax cuts
County budget commissions must reduce covered school districts' current-expense taxes when carryover exceeds 40% of prior-year general fund spending. The collection cut equals that excess times a percentage based on the total carryover balance: 0% below $2 million; 25% from $2 million to under $4 million; 50% from $4 million to under $6 million; 75% from $6 million to under $10 million; and 100% at $10 million or more. Districts spending below 80% of the state average per pupil are exempt unless carryover exceeds 50% of prior-year spending. Island and joint state school districts are exempt, and the separate statutory tax-reduction limit does not apply. For tax year 2025, commissions must review fiscal-year 2025 certifications by October 31, 2025. Districts can reserve certain carryover funds for permanent improvements by certifying a resolution by October 1, 2025.
Some replacement levies qualify for relief
The law changes which replacement levies can qualify for Ohio's 10% partial property-tax exemption. The exclusion for replacement levies refers to the old law, not replacement levies under the amended law. Property must still otherwise qualify for the exemption. Actual savings depend on the property and levy.
Tax holiday covers purchases through $500
During an Ohio sales tax holiday, qualifying goods priced at $500 or less per item are exempt from state and local sales and use taxes. Motor vehicles, titled watercraft and outboard motors, alcohol, tobacco, vapor products, and items containing marijuana do not qualify. The exemption applies only to purchases made during a holiday held under Ohio law.
Taxpayers can correct prior income additions
Eligible taxpayers can amend Ohio returns to correct amounts added under former division (A)(43) of section 5747.01. This applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2024. The amended return must be filed within one year after this section's effective date. The correction can reduce or otherwise revise the income amount used to calculate Ohio tax.
Workers get updated Ohio tax withholding
Ohio's Tax Commissioner must update income-tax withholding tables to reflect the law's income-tax rate changes. The resulting state General Revenue Fund revenue forgone cannot exceed $100 million in fiscal year 2026 or $215 million in fiscal year 2027. This provision does not provide enough information to calculate your withholding or take-home-pay change.
Dealers get compensation for recalled vehicles
Franchisors must compensate eligible dealers holding used vehicles under stop-sale or do-not-drive recalls when remedies remain unavailable for 30 days. Dealers must be authorized to sell or repair the same brand and have bought the vehicle before the notice or order. Beginning 30 days after the notice and order, payment is at least 1.25% of average trade-in value monthly, with partial months prorated. Payments stop when remedy parts become available or the dealer disposes of the vehicle, whichever comes first. Total compensation cannot exceed average trade-in value, and recreational vehicles are excluded.
Vehicle dealers gain covered loss protection
Franchisors must cover dealers' qualifying losses and damages from matters beyond the dealer's control. Covered matters include the franchisor's choice of vehicle parts and its decisions to make features or equipment optional. For a covered lawsuit, dealers must notify the franchisor within 28 days after receiving the summons. Dealers must also cooperate in the defense.
Vehicle dealers get customer rental reimbursement
Vehicle franchisors must fully repay dealers for customer rentals the franchisor required, offered, advertised as available, or agreed to provide. They cannot reduce or deny repayment because a particular vehicle type, brand, size, or category was unavailable. The law shifts these covered rental costs from the dealer to the franchisor.
All emergency call centers face standards
All Ohio public safety answering points taking 9-1-1 calls must follow state operating rules. The requirement extends beyond centers that answer wireless calls. Newly covered centers must comply by October 3, 2025, two years after October 3, 2023.
Counties get funding for defense lawyers
Ohio provides $173.71936 million in fiscal year 2026 and $178.93094 million in fiscal year 2027 for county defense reimbursements. The money covers qualifying public defender offices, appointed counsel, capital-case defense, and contracts for legal representation of indigent people. Payments support county defense systems rather than going directly to households.
Fabricated sexual images trigger felony penalties
Knowingly sharing another person's fabricated sexual image without consent is a fourth-degree felony. Knowingly creating or ordering one is also covered when there is no consent and intent to distribute it. For creation or solicitation, the purpose must be harassment, extortion, threats, or physical, emotional, reputational, or economic harm. A prior conviction or guilty plea for this offense, a sexually oriented offense, or a child-victim oriented offense raises it to a third-degree felony.
Home visitors must report suspected abuse
Help Me Grow home-visiting employees must immediately report suspected abuse or neglect when acting in their work role. The duty covers children under 18 and people under 21 with a developmental disability or physical impairment. It applies when employees know or reasonably suspect abuse, neglect, or a threat of either. Reports go to the specified public children services agency or a peace officer.
Invasive search rules cover more people
Body-cavity-search rules now apply without the former limit tied to detention or arrest for misdemeanors or traffic offenses. The definition covers visual, manual, instrument-assisted, and other inspections of anal or vaginal cavities. For body cavity or strip searches, officials assessing probable cause must consider the charged offense and arrest circumstances. The assessment concerns hidden evidence that cannot otherwise be discovered; known prior convictions are no longer a specifically listed factor.
Ohio authorizes more water quality funding
The budget director can transfer $165 million from the General Revenue Fund to the H2Ohio Fund. The authorized transfer date is July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward. The money supports water-quality and related programs. This provision does not specify project awards or direct household payments.
Ohio funds contaminated site cleanup
Ohio must transfer $200 million from the All Ohio Future Fund to the Brownfield Remediation Fund. The transfer is due July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward. The money supports contaminated-site cleanup, not direct household payments.
Counties receive child welfare service funding
Ohio directs up to $180 million in fiscal year 2026 and $185 million in 2027 to public children services agencies. The Department of Children and Youth coordinates the funding with Job and Family Services. Each year, $17.6 million provides an initial $200,000 to every county. Remaining money follows the state’s child-services distribution rule, rather than going directly to households.
Fentanyl test strips escape paraphernalia ban
Ohio exempts fentanyl and fentanyl-related compound test strips from its ban on using or possessing drug paraphernalia. Other testing tools qualify if the State Board of Pharmacy approves them for detecting compounds and reducing drug poisoning.
Funding supports children and foster families
Each fiscal year, up to $35.30999 million supports foster-parent recruitment, kinship providers, family preservation, prevention, and direct children’s services. Up to $25 million yearly helps youth needing services from multiple systems, including those in or at risk of agency custody. Up to $7.5 million yearly encourages best practices in children’s services. Up to $17 million yearly meets federal matching requirements for Title IV-B and Title IV-E child welfare programs. The Children and Youth director must adopt rules for the complex-needs and best-practices funding.
State funding supports mental health recovery
Local boards receive up to $69.5 million each fiscal year through a Mental Health State Block Grant. It funds mental health services and recovery supports, with allowed uses set by the Director of Behavioral Health. At the Medicaid Director's request, up to $2.2 million each fiscal year may also support behavioral health Centers of Excellence. Beginning January 15, 2027, or as soon as possible afterward, Ohio must transfer its remaining McKesson settlement proceeds to the Targeted Addiction Assistance Fund. These provisions fund services and organizations rather than set household payment amounts.
Funding for special education student transportation
Ohio makes about $176.9 million available in fiscal year 2026 for special education transportation operating costs. It makes about $194.8 million available in fiscal year 2027. Reimbursements go to school districts, educational service centers, and county developmental disability boards for transportation covered by the specified law. Families do not receive these payments directly.
Power-plant districts receive tax-loss school aid
Qualifying school districts with a power plant receive aid after a certified utility-property value decline. The decline must exceed 10% against tax year 2017 or the prior tax year, with an overall utility-property value loss. Ohio recalculates fiscal year 2019 aid and pays the greater of the specified capped aid difference or 50% of the certified tax change's absolute value. Certifications are due May 15, 2026, for tax year 2025 and May 15, 2027, for tax year 2026. Payments follow in June 2026 and June 2027, respectively.
School aid reaches full phase-in
The general school aid phase-in is 83.33% in fiscal year 2026 and 100% in fiscal year 2027. The same rates apply to disadvantaged pupil aid. For qualifying schools, disadvantaged student counts blend fiscal year 2025 economically disadvantaged enrollment with current-year directly certified enrollment. The blend is 75% and 25% in fiscal year 2026, then 65% and 35% in fiscal year 2027. Community schools first opening in either year use current-year directly certified enrollment instead.
School staff receive revised safety training
City and exempted village school boards and educational service centers must develop youth suicide and child sexual abuse prevention courses. They must consult relevant agencies or people. Covered staff must take suicide prevention training every two years; it counts toward professional development but cannot be self-review. Child sexual abuse prevention must be included in required staff training. The law removes the prior option for experienced law enforcement officers or prosecutors to present that training at their discretion.
Funding and loans for local infrastructure
Ohio provides $415 million for local public infrastructure, including $15 million for emergency road-slip projects. Those emergency projects cover nonstate roads, locally maintained routes, and portions of interstates. Up to $10 million in FY 2026 supports capital projects in qualifying townships with fewer than 5,000 unincorporated-area residents. A separate $100 million appropriation funds revolving capital improvement loans for eligible local governments and public entities. These programs fund public projects, not household grants or loans.
Ohio funds higher infrastructure bond payments
Ohio sets aside $225 million in FY 2026 and $240 million in FY 2027 for infrastructure improvement bond costs. The money covers debt service and related financing costs from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027. This appropriation pays bond obligations rather than direct household benefits or specified new projects.
Medicaid gets reserve funding and transparency
In fiscal years 2026 and 2027, Ohio may transfer up to $250 million yearly from health reserves to the general fund. Transfers require Controlling Board approval and a finding that specified Medicaid funds will run out and more funding is needed for obligations. Approved transfers and related federal-share adjustments are appropriated to meet those obligations. Starting with the first budget introduced after the section takes effect, Ohio must propose separate Medicaid funding items for listed services. These include care management, hospitals, nursing facilities, behavioral health, drugs, physicians, and specified waiver services; eligibility and benefits do not change.
More loan funding for residential development
Ohio must transfer $100 million from its General Revenue Fund to the Residential Development Revolving Loan Fund. The transfer date is July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward. This provision does not set borrower eligibility, loan terms, or changes to home prices and rents.
College funding rewards Ohio job outcomes
The law distributes up to $100 million yearly in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 based on graduates’ employment outcomes. The Chancellor’s formula uses U.S. Census employment data, including results by broad field of study, and prioritizes retention. Ohio residents working for Ohio employers receive the greatest weight. University campuses receive 76.8%; community and technical colleges receive 23.2%.
Funding for school service centers
Ohio reserves up to $49.152105 million in FY 2026 and $51.023465 million in FY 2027 for educational service center reimbursements. It also sets aside up to $5.733404 million each year for gifted education, distributed through a unit-based formula. Another $3.5 million each year supports school improvement and technical help; the Department can award this money competitively. These funds support schools and service centers, not direct household payments.
More funding for Ohio college operations
State Share of Instruction funding rises from about $2.156 billion in fiscal 2026 to $2.178 billion in fiscal 2027. Central State University’s supplement rises from about $12.769 million to $13.152 million. State and Non-Federal Grants and Awards funding rises from about $1.406 million to $1.413 million. The Chancellor must also distribute funding for the Midwest Higher Education Compact. These provisions do not set tuition changes or individual student payments.
More state funding for school transportation
Covered school districts get higher minimum state shares in transportation base-payment calculations: 45.83% in fiscal 2026 and 50% in fiscal 2027. These replace floors of 37.5% and 41⅔%; a district’s higher state share still applies. Calculations use qualifying ridership, bus service costs, and mileage. Educational service centers and county disability boards receive 45.83% and 50% of approved prior-year special-education transportation costs, respectively. These payments go to districts and providers, not families.
Ohio authorizes transfers for student funding
Ohio’s budget director can transfer up to $600 million each fiscal year from the General Revenue Fund. The money goes to the Foundation Funding - All Students Fund to support student and school district funding. This authority does not guarantee the full transfer or set payments for individual students or districts.
Counties gain power to trim property taxes
County budget commissions can adjust property-tax estimates to avoid unnecessary or excessive collections, subject to statutory limits. For units outside the qualifying-subdivision category, collections generally cannot fall below last year's unless specified balances cover the difference. Covered school districts generally retain a 20-mill operating floor, with exceptions. The law removes protections that limited county review of reserve balances and removes the specified reserve-review process. Local taxing authorities also set budget-estimate forms, without the Auditor of State's required details or extra information.
Investors get single-family housing tax credits
Ohio can reserve nonrefundable credits for qualifying single-family housing projects owned by a government unit until sale to qualified buyers. Annual reservations are capped at $50 million, plus specified unused and recaptured amounts; each reservation cannot exceed estimated costs minus estimated completed-home market value. Eligible investors or equity owners claim credits over 10 years after certification and required annual reporting, within the certified annual amount. Qualified buyers must use the home as their main residence throughout the 10-year affordability period. No new reservations are allowed after June 30, 2027.
Local governments gain funding and repayment time
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the Local Government Fund gets 1.75% of specified state tax revenue, up from 1.7%. Listed fund amounts are $530.9 million for 2026 and $541.2 million for 2027. Ohio can spread recovery of specified local-tax refunds or wrongly distributed money over 72 months, up from 36. That option applies when recovery exceeds 25% of the local taxing jurisdiction’s next distribution. It changes repayment timing, not the amount owed, and does not create household payments.
Mixed-use developers get capped tax credits
Ohio can preliminarily approve transformational mixed-use development credits up to 10% of estimated eligible costs. New estimated credits are capped at $125 million in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Generally, limits are $85 million within ten miles of a major city, $40 million outside that area, and $20 million per project; rescinded-credit rules can increase applicable limits. Applicants must own the Ohio project land and meet development, location, financing-need, funding-plan, and projected-tax requirements; projects cannot overlap a transformational major sports facility mixed-use district. Preliminary approvals after fiscal year 2027 require specific legislative authorization.
State funds municipal tax payments
The law funds municipal net-profit tax payments with $241.33 million in fiscal year 2026 and $253.4 million in 2027. A separate municipal income-tax payment program gets $8.1 million in each year. Additional money needed for both payment programs is also appropriated. These payments go to municipalities, not directly to households.
Criminal cases can freeze deferred compensation
Deferred compensation programs must stop account payments after receiving notice of charges under sections 2907.02 through 2907.05 or 2921.41. The hold ends when charges are dismissed or the participant is found not guilty. After conviction or a guilty plea, it ends 30 days after sentencing if no restitution-withholding motion was filed. If a motion was filed, the hold ends when the court decides it. Programs must also follow withholding orders under sections 2907.15 or 2921.41(C)(2)(b) for payments other than survivorship benefits.
Health licensing violations bring criminal penalties
Criminal penalties now cover every part of Ohio Revised Code section 4758.02, rather than only divisions (A) and (B). A first offense is a fourth-degree misdemeanor; later offenses are third-degree misdemeanors. Covered dietetics reporting violations under section 4759.14(B)(1) or (2) are fourth-degree misdemeanors for a first offense. Each later dietetics offense is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Restitution rules cover government deferred savings
Restitution withholding rules cover deferred compensation programs offered by the Ohio Public Employees Retirement Board, cities, or other government units. They apply only to participants covered by the restitution-withholding law. This definition sets no withholding amount or formula.
Families lose child care during reviews
The law ends the option to receive publicly funded child care while a county decides an applicant's eligibility. That option was previously available once in 12 months. It also ends provider payment for up to five days after an ineligibility decision when the provider appeals a payment denial.
Health providers can refuse particular services
Health practitioners, institutions, and payers can refuse to provide, participate in, or pay for a particular health service. The refusal must rest on their moral, ethical, or religious beliefs or principles. This protection applies even when a court orders the service.
Hospital insurance payments must reach state
People with an interest in coverage for mental health care at a state-operated hospital must assign all assignable benefits to the department. Anyone receiving those insurance benefits must pay them to the department within 10 days of receipt.
Less child care support for families
The Child Care Cred Program gets $10 million in FY 2026 and no funding in FY 2027. That funding change does not itself repeal the program. The law also removes required provider payments for care between a completed public child care application and the eligibility decision. Families later found eligible may have to pay for that waiting-period care.
Medicaid fraud can bring double repayment
Courts can order someone convicted of Medicaid eligibility fraud to repay 200% of services paid for an ineligible person. Interest runs from the date Medicaid paid for those services until repayment. The court decides whether to order this restitution; it is not automatic.
Medicaid limits social gender transition funding
To the extent federal law allows, Ohio bars Medicaid funding for mental health services promoting or affirming social gender transition. The restriction uses the act’s definition of social gender transition. It limits funding for these services without changing general Medicaid eligibility.
Ohio seeks SNAP sweetened drink limits
Ohio must ask federal officials to bar specified sweetened drinks from SNAP purchases. The request covers certain flavored, carbonated drinks with food additives, sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Exceptions include drinks containing milk or substitutes, more than 50% fruit or vegetable juice, or less than 5 grams of added sugar. The purchase restriction takes effect only with federal approval. Ohio must submit the request again each year if approval is denied.
Residency and proof for adoption grants
An Ohio adoption grant requires the adoptive parent to have lived in Ohio when the adoption became final. The adoption must have been finalized on or after January 1, 2023, and other grant requirements still apply. The director may require certified court or legal papers proving the final adoption order. The director may also require adoption documents from state agencies and courts.
Shorter support payments for kinship caregivers
Kinship support payments last no more than six months after a child is placed with a caregiver. This replaces earlier rules allowing up to nine months for certain placements.
School maintenance taxes can last longer
Eligible school districts receiving additional facilities aid can seek voter approval to extend an existing, unexpired maintenance tax. Boards must act before the tax expires and before entering the facilities assistance agreement. The extension must last 23 years at a rate of at least one-half mill per dollar of taxable value. It starts in the agreement year or the following year, as the board's resolution specifies. A majority of voters voting on the extension must approve it.
Supported homebuyers face three-year repayment penalties
Buyers of covered grant- or tax-credit-supported homes must keep ownership, live there as their main home, and rent no portion for at least three years. Breaking the agreement triggers a penalty paid to the state development director. The penalty starts at the grant or credit amount tied to the home. It falls by one-third of that amount for each full year the buyer owned the property.
Civics course required for bachelor’s degrees
Ohio state colleges must develop an American civic literacy course worth at least three credit hours. It must cover capitalism, the American economy, required historical and civic documents, and include a cumulative final exam. The bachelor’s degree requirement takes effect for spring 2029–2030 graduates or the equivalent quarter; associate’s degrees are exempt. Qualifying College Credit Plus coursework or an approved advanced placement course with an exam score of at least three provides exemptions. Qualifying American history or government coursework also provides an exemption, but only through the 2030–2031 academic year.
College opportunity grants have time limits
Ohio College Opportunity Grant eligibility is limited to 10 semesters, 15 quarters, or the equivalent of five academic years. Terms funded by an Ohio Instructional Grant count toward this limit. Those earlier grants reduce the time left for College Opportunity Grant awards.
Education accounts block same-year school scholarships
A student cannot receive specified school scholarships for a year when the state treasurer establishes that student's educational savings account. The ban covers educational choice, pilot project, autism, and Jon Peterson special needs scholarships. It applies when the account and scholarship cover the same school year.
Higher fees for nursing home administrators
Nursing home administrator license fees rise from $250 to $800; renewal fees rise from $600 to $800. Base reinstatement fees rise from $300 to $800. Applications cost $250, plus another $250 when a resident training role is required; temporary licenses cost $350. Reinstatement adds $50 per calendar quarter, up to $200. Applicants must seek reinstatement within one year after their license expires.
Merit scholars must pledge Ohio residency
Students accepting a Governor's Merit Scholarship first awarded for fiscal year 2027 or later must sign an Ohio residency commitment. They must agree to live in Ohio for three years immediately after graduating from an Ohio college. This provision states no scholarship amount or consequence for breaking the commitment.
Nonresident college students must pay surcharges
Ohio state colleges must charge a tuition surcharge to students who are not Ohio residents. Colleges can set a lower surcharge for nonresidents taking only online courses, but cannot eliminate it. The law does not state the surcharge amount.
Nursing investigations carry stronger cooperation penalties
Nurses, dialysis technicians, and applicants face discipline for failing to cooperate with an Ohio Board of Nursing investigation. This includes ignoring a board subpoena or order, or failing to answer investigative questions truthfully. Sanctions include license or certificate denial, suspension, restriction, and fines up to $500 per violation. Discipline does not apply when a court cancels the subpoena or permits withholding the testimony or evidence.
Paid poll workers lose retirement status
Appointed precinct officials paid for that service are excluded from public-employee status under the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. This limits retirement membership, service credit, and related benefits for that paid precinct service. The law does not state the dollar value of affected benefits.
Public college fee waivers need approval
State college boards cannot waive instructional or general fees for students unless a law allows it or the Chancellor approves. Students without an authorized waiver can face higher out-of-pocket costs. Colleges can still pay students for services and budget fee income for staff benefits or student assistance.
School absences can trigger court complaints
Attendance officers must file juvenile-court complaints after 30 consecutive unexcused hours, 42 hours in one school month, or 72 hours in one school year. Filing is paused while the school finds satisfactory attendance progress; it is required without that finding or when progress stops. Complaints must allege habitual truancy and a parental attendance-law violation. After notice, officers may also file against responsible adults when school leaders direct them. The law removes this section's required absence-intervention-team steps.
Schools cannot cover administrators' retirement contributions
School boards cannot pay teachers' retirement-system contributions on behalf of their superintendents or principals. They also cannot pay school employees' retirement-system contributions on behalf of their treasurers. The contributions can still receive the specified federal or state income-tax-deferred treatment. These provisions do not themselves create a new personal payment duty for these employees.
State colleges can furlough employees
Ohio state college and university boards can adopt policies requiring employee furloughs, including for faculty. Furloughs must achieve spending cuts needed because of institutional budget deficits. They can reduce affected employees' work time and pay. The law does not require every institution to use furloughs.
High earners lose two income-tax breaks
Ohio's personal exemption and joint-return credit require modified adjusted gross income below $750,000 for tax years beginning in 2025. The limit drops to below $500,000 for tax years beginning in 2026 and later. The personal exemption amount still depends on income. For the joint-return credit, each spouse must also have at least $500 in qualifying adjusted gross income. Interest, dividends and distributions, royalties, rent, and capital gains do not count toward that $500.
Marijuana buyers pay ten percent taxes
Adult-use marijuana carries a 10% retail excise tax, in addition to applicable sales and use taxes. Buyers pay the vendor at purchase. A separate 10% tax covers vendor sales of marijuana classified as neither adult-use nor medical marijuana. For that separate tax, buyers and vendors are liable for tax, interest, and penalties. Vendors with no adult-use sales during a reporting period need not file a separate adult-use tax return.
Ohio freezes income tax inflation adjustments
Ohio bars inflation adjustments to specified income-tax bracket amounts and personal exemptions in 2025 and 2026. Affected taxpayers lose those adjustments and can pay more than under an inflation-adjusted schedule.
Tax refunds can pay judgment debts
Ohio tax refunds can be taken to pay qualifying court judgments owed to creditors outside government. Creditors must first make reasonable collection efforts. The principal balance, excluding interest and later fees, must exceed $250; the judgment must be one to seven years old. Overdue child support and specified state debts take priority. A smaller refund can partly pay the judgment; money left after payment is returned to the taxpayer.
Voters can fund community college operations
State community college districts can ask voters to approve an operating tax above the ten-mill limit. The tax can apply only in the county containing the main campus. Its proceeds must fund operating costs associated with that county. Property owners there face added taxes only when voters approve a levy; the law sets no levy rate.
Livestock violations carry escalating civil fines
Ohio’s agriculture director may assess civil fines for covered livestock violations after offering an adjudication hearing. The maximum is $500 with no prior penalty under this provision in the preceding five years. It rises to $2,500 after one prior penalty and $10,000 after two or more. Collected fines go to the animal and consumer protection fund.
Higher pesticide registration fees and penalties
The nonrefundable pesticide registration and inspection fee rises from $150 to $250 per product name and brand. The late renewal penalty rises from $75 to $125 after the deadline set by rule. Distributing an unregistered pesticide in Ohio also carries a $125 penalty per product name and brand, up from $75. The applicable penalty is added to the registration fee.
Social equity cannabis applicants lose preference
Certified Cannabis Social Equity and Jobs Program participants no longer receive a required preference for specified adult-use cannabis licenses. The change covers up to 40 level III cultivator licenses and up to 50 additional dispensary licenses. It does not end the program or change those license limits.
Suspended retailers cannot get new licenses
A person with a suspended Ohio retail license cannot obtain a new license during the suspension. The Tax Commissioner can cancel a license issued during that time. For corporations, the restriction also covers officers or employees responsible for filing returns and paying taxes.
One school aid payment stops temporarily
Ohio does not calculate or pay school district aid under Revised Code section 3317.028 for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Districts that otherwise qualify receive no payments under that section during those years. This pause runs through June 30, 2027.
School districts face tighter budget limits
Districts cannot spend more than 15% of their annual operating budgets on administrative salaries, benefits, and office costs. They must also deposit money into a capital and maintenance fund. The deposit equals 3% of the prior year's statewide average base cost per pupil, multiplied by prior-year district enrollment. The state auditor cannot set a different percentage. Specified exceptions and waivers remain for districts in fiscal emergency, fiscal watch, or fiscal caution.
Federal cuts can pause Ohio services
Ohio may reduce, end, or pause a state program when its federal funding program is reduced, ended, or paused. This authority also covers contracts and agreements that depend on that federal money. People using affected services may face interruptions. The law does not identify specific programs or benefit amounts.
Medicaid hospital funding faces tighter limits
Ohio cannot use general revenue or other state funds for the covered Medicaid state-directed payment programs. Before an agreement, the budget director must certify unobligated appropriations cover the program’s current fiscal year cost. Enough money must also be obligated and appropriated for hospital participation. Medicaid must end or decline programs when local funding falls short or federal restrictions require state funding. Program administration is capped at 2% of support funds, including federal contributions; a separate 2% cap covers department and Medicaid administration.
College grant funding falls next year
Ohio College Opportunity Grant funding falls from $220.6 million in FY 2026 to $207.4 million in FY 2027. The grants serve Ohio college students who meet program eligibility requirements. The funding change does not specify how any student's award changes.
College support budgets shrink next year
Higher education bond debt-service funding falls from $250 million in FY 2026 to $210 million in FY 2027. Super RAPIDS workforce support falls from $10 million to zero. Strategic Square Footage Reduction funding falls from $82.65 million to zero. Higher education Program and Project Support falls from $9.435 million to $1.05 million. These budget changes do not establish specific changes to tuition, student awards, or bondholder payments.
Universities face funding compliance checks
Access to a $75 million university allocation for fiscal year 2027 depends on legislative findings of full statutory compliance. Universities must report by March 1, 2026; legislative committees must decide compliance by March 31, 2026. Noncompliant universities lose their calculated share, and the Controlling Board must approve the money’s release. Separately, the Chancellor must withhold instruction funding for any year a state university fails accelerated college and career pathway requirements.
Group homes protect placements, limit admissions
Group homes cannot displace children placed there when this section took effect just to meet the required ratios. However, homes cannot accept additional children until they meet those ratios. This protects existing placements while limiting new admissions during noncompliance.
Drivers face checks before assigned-risk insurance
Agents must check regular coverage before applying to Ohio’s assigned-risk auto insurance plan for a driver. They must contact five authorized auto insurers they represent, or all such insurers if they represent fewer than five. An insurer counts as declining if it says no or does not answer within 10 days. An agent cannot apply if any insurer eligible to operate in Ohio says it will cover the driver. The plan manager may revoke an agent’s registration for breaking these rules.
Unclaimed money faces new ownership deadlines
Unclaimed funds and interest reported by January 1, 2016, become state property January 1, 2026, unless validly claimed beforehand. Later-reported funds become state property on their tenth reporting anniversary unless validly claimed by then. Former owners and other claimants can still seek an equivalent payment with sufficient proof through January 1, 2036. The state deducts its ownership-related expenses and costs. Claims filed after January 1, 2036, are void.
Family-authorized care brings duties and reviews
Families authorizing unlicensed in-home care remain responsible for the person's health, safety, and proper care. Funding or monitoring entities are not liable for care results under this law. Workers are protected from injury liability unless they depart from training or instructions, or engage in willful or wanton misconduct. County disability boards may review authorizations and must do so after complaints, using appropriately licensed health professionals. If a board finds the family member acted unsafely, authorization ends and that family member cannot authorize other unlicensed workers for the care. The board must authorize licensed or certified providers for those tasks and give the family member an opportunity to file a complaint.
Insurance rules affect hospital bills and discounts
Insurance does not erase state hospital care liability for patients, their estates, or legally liable relatives. When assigned insurance payments fall short, Ohio charges the lesser of remaining actual costs or the charge after statutory exceptions. Liability cannot exceed actual costs or that calculated charge. The department can deny future discounts when a patient or liable relative fails to assign required benefits and keeps third-party funds. That denial is not automatic.
Limits on guardians providing supported living
A guardian cannot provide supported living to a person with a developmental disability under their guardianship. The ban also covers services through a certified provider the guardian owns or operates. It does not apply when the guardian and recipient are related by blood, adoption, or marriage.
Medicaid care coordination expands with limits
During fiscal years 2026–2027, Ohio must expand its Integrated Care Delivery System, or a federally approved successor, statewide. Selected entities must employ area agencies on aging to coordinate covered home and community-based waiver services for eligible people over 59. People can instead choose the selected entity or its designee; Ohio can approve alternatives for agency shortcomings or defined groups' needs. Long-term waiver and nursing facility services generally need legislative approval for inclusion in care management, with exceptions for system participants and successors. Recipients of the specified cognitive behavioral therapy must join care management; Ohio can designate others, while Healthy Ohio members are generally excluded.
Police and fire survivors share coverage costs
Ohio provides $40 million each fiscal year for Police and Fire Death Benefits. Additional funding is allowed in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 when the administrative services director certifies it is needed. For recipients enrolled in covered health, medical, hospital, dental, surgical, or vision benefits, the pension fund forwards the state-employer share. It withholds and forwards the state-employee share from recipients’ benefit payments. Administrative costs cannot exceed 2% of total benefit costs.
State disability leave expands, protections shrink
Full-time permanent state employees gain a disability-leave eligibility route after one year of continuous service immediately before disability. They must be entitled to disability benefits under a union contract, even without meeting the separate sick-leave-credit test. The law removes the protection against charging disability-leave time to other leave. Program rules must still allow available sick, personal, compensatory, or vacation leave to supplement benefits up to 100% of pay.
Higher price ceiling for grant-funded homes
The sale-price limit for homes purchased with Welcome Home Ohio grant funds rises from $180,000 to $220,000 per property. Higher-priced homes can qualify, but sales still cannot exceed the new ceiling. Buyers can face a higher purchase price.
Homebuyers get shorter commitments with safeguards
Welcome Home Ohio grant buyers must own and occupy the home for three years, down from five, without renting any portion. Annual certification is required; buyers must meet income limits and show they can afford the purchase. Resale limits last 15 years, down from 20, generally allowing income-qualified buyers or eligible public and nonprofit buyers. Breaking the three-year rules brings a grant-based penalty, reduced by one-third for each full year of ownership. Grant and tax-credit buyers receive at least six months of qualified counseling, down from one year; grant courses cover money and home maintenance, with up to $2,000 per grant available for counseling.
Mineral owners get damages with limits
For unlawfully taken minerals, damages generally equal mine-mouth or wellhead sale revenue minus extraction costs and amounts already paid. In bad-faith cases, extraction costs cannot be deducted, increasing the owner's recovery. Punitive damages are unavailable. Bad faith requires knowing unlawful entry and extraction, or willful or wanton disregard of rights with intent to deprive the owner. It is not presumed and excludes entry or extraction based on a reasonable belief that it was lawful.
School upkeep taxes require voter approval
Districts using specified state school-facility aid options must ask voters for a maintenance property tax lasting 23 years. The proposed rate must be at least one-half mill, or $0.50 per $1,000 of taxable value. Proceeds maintain project classrooms; upgrades need Ohio Facilities Construction Commission approval. Districts unable to continue agreed maintenance-fund transfers must also seek a voter-approved levy before ending that agreement. That levy has the same minimum rate, lasts for the required statutory period, and funds project classroom maintenance.
Digital training comes with service commitment
Administrative Services can spend up to $1.2 million in fiscal years 2026–2027 to create, staff, and run the Ohio Digital Academy. This includes training and specified tuition or continuing-education reimbursements. Candidates selected with CyberOhio must pass applicable background checks and commit to three years of state service. The department can recover some or all program funds from participants who do not complete that service. Related pre-acceptance courses or certifications qualify for reimbursement only when completed within one year before the section's effective date.
Drug bans restrict commercial driving licenses
Drivers under a federal drug-related commercial-driving ban cannot drive commercial vehicles in Ohio. The registrar cannot issue, renew, transfer, or upgrade their commercial license or temporary permit. The registrar must notify drivers and downgrade their credentials if they do not resolve the ban within 30 days after notice. The registrar must stop or reverse a downgrade after notice that the ban ended or was wrong, if other eligibility requirements are met.
Families face education account spending rules
Account money must pay participating-school tuition and fees first; leftovers can pay for curriculum, textbooks, learning materials, and supplies. Parents can request approved vendor payments or reimbursement for documented, allowed expenses; refunds must return to the account. Renewing for the next school year preserves the balance through a June 30 transfer to the new account. Remaining money returns to Ohio's general fund on statutory dates when parents do not reapply for the next year. That also happens when students leave and do not enroll in another participating school during that school year.
Temporary workers face revised unemployment rules
The law removes a special rule treating temporary workers who failed to ask about available assignments as able to obtain work. The general requirement to be unable to obtain suitable work remains. Separately, temporary workers are treated as quitting without just cause when their agreement requires asking about new assignments and they fail to ask. Suitable assignments must be available for that quit rule to apply. That classification can disqualify workers from unemployment benefits despite removal of the earlier rule.
Tax notices change delivery and deadlines
Ohio's Tax Commissioner can serve notices by ordinary mail; secure electronic service requires your consent. When certified or ordinary mail is undeliverable, the commissioner must first make reasonable efforts to find a new address. If those efforts fail, the assessment becomes final 60 days after the first return. You can petition for reassessment within 60 days after the commissioner's or attorney general's initial contact. A notice resent by ordinary mail after another return reason or failure to access electronic notice is presumed served after 10 days.
Temporary protection for mistaken property reductions
During the screening system's first operational year, owners generally avoid charges, penalties, and interest for ineligible property-tax reductions it finds. This covers real property, manufactured homes, and mobile homes. Protection does not apply if the auditor finds fraud, a false statement, or a knowing omission. After a final ineligibility finding, the property loses the reduction starting with that tax year.
Child care homes gain larger limits
Type A homes can serve 8–14 children, up from 7–12, or 4–14 when at least four are under two. An extra adult must be present above seven children total or three children under two. Type B homes can serve seven children instead of six, with no more than three under two. Related children under six count toward capacity when present: those related to Type A staff or the Type B provider. Ohio must encourage licensed family care homes, especially in high-need areas, and connect families with homes below capacity.
Cannabis businesses face license and tax checks
Some medical cannabis businesses have a transitional path to adult-use licenses. The applicant or the same owners must have held a qualifying operating certificate or medical provisional license by December 7, 2023. Applicants relying only on a related provisional license need an operating certificate issued by December 7, 2025. Applicants must also follow Ohio's adult-use cannabis requirements. Tax officials must share tax compliance, violation, and penalty information when cannabis regulators request it; requests about existing licensees cover adult-use operators only.
Resort businesses get fixed liquor permit fees
A resort-area D-7 liquor permit now has a fixed $2,814 fee instead of a $469 monthly fee. The change can raise or lower total costs, depending on how many months were previously charged. This provision does not state the permit period or how often the fixed fee is collected.
Vehicle dealers gain warranty payment protections
Motor-vehicle franchisors must pay dealers at least retail rates for covered warranty and recall diagnosis, labor, and parts. Covered work includes repairs, servicing, updates, and initialization of vehicle parts, systems, accessories, or functions. A franchisor disputing a rate or parts markup must give reasons, evidence, and a proposed adjustment, without later changing its grounds. Extra records can cover 60 days before or after the repair-order period, down from 90 days; resolved rates apply retroactively from 30 days after submission. Dealers can set or change rates or markups only once per calendar year. Recreational-vehicle businesses are excluded from the specified diagnostic-payment and rate-setting provisions.
Business tax duties and penalty relief
All pass-through businesses electing Ohio's entity-level tax must follow return and estimated-tax rules, even with only Ohio-resident owners. For covered entities, cumulative payments must reach 22.5%, 45%, and 67.5% by the fourth, sixth, and ninth months' 15th days. Payments must reach 90% by the 15th day of the next tax year's first month. Underpayment penalties are discretionary, and no penalty applies when reasonable cause explains the shortfall. The Tax Commissioner can reduce or remove a penalty.
Adult websites must verify user ages
Covered providers of obscene or harmful-to-juveniles online material or performances must reasonably verify that users are at least 18. Checks apply to access, account creation, and subscriptions; account holders and subscribers must be rechecked every two years. Providers must use a licensed location-technology provider and block Ohio users until their age is verified. They must notify users when a location check fails. Listed news-media workers and specified internet, mobile, cable, satellite, video, interactive, and cloud service providers are excluded.
Career training schools get funding formulas
For fiscal years 2026–2027, career-technical funding uses category enrollment, statewide career-technical base cost per pupil, and district state-share percentages. The five category multipliers are 0.6230, 0.5905, 0.2154, 0.1830, and 0.1570. Associated services funding uses a 0.0294 multiplier and enrollment across categories one through five, with district state-share percentages. Category payments require statutory approval, and associated services calculations remain subject to statutory limits. Beginning in fiscal year 2028, the General Assembly determines how both amounts are calculated.
Schools use time-limited base funding formulas
Ohio sets school district base-cost formulas for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 only. City, local, and exempted village districts use specified fiscal year 2022 data for teachers, student support, leadership, and buildings. Eligible districts also receive an athletic activities base-cost calculation. Joint vocational districts add teacher, student support, leadership and accountability, and building leadership and operations costs. Their formulas also use specified fiscal year 2022 data, including salaries, benefits, spending, and student counts.
Counties can seek criminal-justice property taxes
Counties can ask voters to approve bonds and property taxes outside the ten-mill limit for qualifying criminal-justice facilities. Money can cover facility improvements, bond payments, operations, and other criminal-justice services. County commissioners must adopt and certify required resolutions; elections must occur at least 90 days after certification. Bonds and levies require voter approval. Specified-term operating or improvement taxes can be renewed, but not replaced through this procedure.
Brook Park sports funding carries safeguards
Ohio directs $600 million to Brook Park's major sports and mixed-use project, with no disbursement before February 1, 2026. Major sports grants cover up to 25% of initial construction costs, excluding site acquisition, and require specific legislative authorization or an appropriation. Other sources must cover at least 75%, including at least 50% from the franchise, owner, or authorized affiliate. An approved financial plan, escrow equal to 8⅓% of the grant, and an equal supplemental reserve are required; the state cannot borrow for the facility. District tax revenue targets equal the grant over 16 years: 10%, 26%, 32%, and 32% in successive four-year periods. The district must be contiguous, contain only one qualifying project, have every property and business owner's signature, and cannot expand afterward.
Costly agency rules face legislative review
An added review process covers rules raising biennial agency spending by at least $100,000 or costing a directly affected person at least $100,000. It also covers rules with an annual Ohio economic effect of at least $1 million. The legislative review committee may question agencies and refer rules to the General Assembly. After referral, an agency cannot revise or adopt the rule without an authorizing law before final adjournment; otherwise, it is invalidated but can be refiled. Rules specifically authorized or required by statute, and rules otherwise exempt from legislative review, are excluded.
Named funds move into general budget
On July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward, Ohio must shift named balances into the General Revenue Fund. Transfers include $250 million from All Ohio Future and $35 million from Adult Use Tax. They also include up to $10 million from Super RAPIDS, up to $9 million from Grow Your Own Teacher, and $4 million from Audit Settlements and Contingency. Further transfers are $20 million from Pre-Securitization Tobacco Payments, up to $10 million from Literacy Improvement, and $15 million from Broadband Pole Replacement. Workforce Development Projects supplies $1 million, and Rail Safety Crossing supplies $15 million.
Ohio can shift special fund balances
Through June 30, 2027, the budget director can move up to $200 million into the General Revenue Fund. The money must come from non-General Revenue Funds that are not constitutionally restricted. Each transfer must be reported to the Controlling Board within 30 days.
Ohio sets spending limit growth formula
Ohio's appropriation limit grows by 3.5% from the prior year's limit in a non-recast fiscal year. In a recast year, the base is the prior year's total General Revenue Fund appropriations. The governor must identify covered non-General Revenue Fund items and propose general-fund support to the greatest extent possible. The budget submission must include a table, and the main operating budget must list all covered items.
Sports and culture grants carry commitments
Ohio creates a facility performance grant fund receiving specified Commerce Department remittances, appropriations, and investment earnings. The law directs $400 million to sports and cultural construction or renovation; unused, uncommitted FY 2026 money carries into FY 2027. Grants cover up to 15% of initial costs below $500 million, or 25% at $500 million or more, capped at $250 million. Permanent improvements must cost at least $50 million for sports or $5 million for culture, with qualifying public, nonprofit, or new-community-authority ownership of the facility or land. Awards require an approved application and development plan, available funding, budget office approval, and Controlling Board approval. Performance-based agreements require 5% escrow and can include repayment duties; tax-revenue measurement cannot exceed 30 years. Professional franchises cannot move most home games until targets are met or 30 years pass after the first regular-season home game; motorsports and tennis agreements also set event-use and notice duties.
Ohio bars local broadband rate rules
Ohio state and local agencies cannot regulate broadband internet rates, terms, or conditions. They also cannot treat broadband providers as public utilities or telecommunications carriers. Grant programs, general consumer-protection and fair-competition laws, and local management of public rights-of-way remain allowed. The law sets no internet price or promised bill savings.
Medicaid provider funding grows within cap
The Medicaid Director can certify that the State Directed Payment Program needs additional funding. The budget director must then increase the appropriation and corresponding federal share. Total spending from this appropriation cannot exceed $850 million each fiscal year, including federal money. Payments go to participating providers, not directly to households.
College funding rewards student completion
The law reserves 25% of specified community and technical colleges’ yearly instruction funding for student completion milestones. Degrees count at model cost; technical certificates over 30 credits count at half an associate degree’s cost. Transfers to four-year schools count at one-fourth after students earn at least 12 college-level credits. One, two, three, or four access factors add weights of 25%, 66%, 150%, or 200%. Those factors cover financial need, minority status, age, and academic under-preparation. Additional degrees or qualifying certificates count at 50% of model cost. Colleges use three-year averages, generally count Ohio residents, and must report completion and matching course records.
Schools share withheld special education funding
In FY 2026 and FY 2027, Ohio withholds 10% of specified special education funding from covered traditional and joint vocational districts. It withholds 5% from community and STEM schools, subject to enacted funding limits. Withheld money supports designated special education purposes; unused community and STEM funds return in proportion to each school's contribution. Starting in FY 2028, lawmakers determine district withholding amounts and community and STEM withholding and uses.
Bigger historic credits but approvals end
Historic rehabilitation certificate holders can claim 35% of listed qualified costs for projects in municipalities with fewer than 300,000 people. Projects in unincorporated township areas also qualify for that rate. Ohio raises its annual approval cap from $60 million to $75 million in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Reallocated credits from earlier years do not count toward the cap. New approvals after fiscal year 2027 require specific authorization by the General Assembly; applicants must meet the program’s qualification requirements.
Agency deadlines limit enforcement of rules
After a written rule-review committee recommendation, an agency must start replacing a policy principle with a rule within three months. Missing that deadline, neglecting or abandoning rulemaking, or failing to file a final rule within one year bars reliance on the principle. The same bar applies when the agency tells the committee it plans to file a revised proposed rule. Separately, an existing rule becomes invalid when its required review is more than one year overdue. Agencies must stop enforcing or citing invalid rules in rights decisions and agency materials, but can begin new rulemaking.
Authority for centralized vehicle registration
Ohio's motor vehicle registrar can adopt rules for a centralized registration system using mail or electronic services. The system can cover first registrations, renewals, and transfers. The law does not require the registrar to create it or set a start date.
Boaters can show digital registration proof
Watercraft registration certificates can be carried on paper or digitally. After a stop, operators of qualifying unnumbered paddlecraft have 72 hours to present either form. Covered craft include canoes, kayaks, rowboats, and inflatable watercraft that meet the paddlecraft definition. The registration must have been obtained before the stop.
Cat care donations support households in need
The Ohio Registrar sends contributions collected under the designated program to Weirdo Cat Lovers of Cleveland. The group uses them for emergency cat veterinary bills, food and litter for people in economic need, and trap-neuter-return efforts. The law sets no individual award amount or detailed eligibility formula.
Child welfare records require notice policies
People can request a search for their name in Ohio's child welfare information system. Children and Youth must send a match letter when that search finds a substantiated abuse or neglect record. The department must also work with stakeholders on a central-registry record-removal policy, with a stated deadline of March 1, 2024. This provision does not state who qualifies for removal or which records it covers.
Development referendum petitioners get review deadlines
Election boards must review referendum petitions on ordinances establishing or changing planned-unit development rules within 30 days after certification. If valid signatures are too few, the board must notify the petition presenter. The presenter then has 10 days after notice to submit more signatures.
Drivers can request remote suspension hearings
People seeking an administrative hearing on the covered financial-responsibility suspension orders can request a remote hearing by electronic means. They must specifically ask for the remote format. The provision changes hearing access, not the suspension rules.
Drivers get more replacement and review options
Valid Ohio credentials issued after July 2, 2018 qualify for two online reprints between issuance and renewal, or between renewals. The old limit was one. Applicants must report loss, destruction, or damage, provide identifying information, and pay applicable fees; reprints keep the original expiration date. People affected by covered insurance-related suspension orders have 15 days after issuance to request a hearing, up from 10.
Families get updated death certification rules
A coroner or medical examiner certifies deaths and fetal deaths covered by Ohio's coroner-reporting law. Otherwise, the attending physician certifies the cause. Without one, the last physician who examined or treated the person, including by telehealth, may certify and sign electronically. The certificate generally must be completed and signed within 48 hours after notice. A coroner or medical examiner can list the cause as pending, then must sign within 48 hours after determining it.
Foster caregivers can apply sooner to adopt
Foster caregivers can use the prescribed adoption application when the foster child lives in their home. They also qualify for the specified home-study exemption. The child no longer needs to live there for six months before the application. Caregivers must submit the application to the agency arranging the adoption.
Landowner families gain hunting permit exemptions
Parents of qualifying Ohio resident landowners can hunt on that Ohio land without a hunting license. Deer, wild turkey, and fur taker permit exemptions cover spouses, parents, children of any age, and grandchildren under 18. These permit exemptions apply on qualifying land whose individual owner is an Ohio resident or exempt under the hunting-license law. Family exemptions also cover qualifying resident members or partners of LLCs or LLPs with no more than three individual members or partners. Trusts qualify with no more than three trustees and beneficiaries, through a qualifying Ohio resident trustee or beneficiary.
More court records must appear online
Common pleas courts must provide remote online access and printing for covered case dockets and individual case documents. Covered civil cases are those filed on or after April 6, 2023; criminal cases qualify from the amendment’s effective date. Online access is due within 18 months of the applicable date. Probate dockets are included, but domestic-relations and juvenile dockets remain excluded, including domestic-relations cases in courts without a separate division. Courts need not post internal documents or records restricted by court rules.
Ohio governors can perform marriage ceremonies
Ohio’s current governor and any former Ohio governor can perform marriage ceremonies. The people marrying must be legally allowed to marry.
Out-of-state emergency helpers gain immunity
People deployed by Ohio's emergency management agency to help another state receive Emergency Management Assistance Compact immunity. For that protection, they count as Ohio officers or employees. Deployment must be under section 5502.40. This status does not grant other state employee rights or benefits.
Post-release supervision requires state prison commitment
For covered prison terms, post-release control requires a qualifying commitment to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. This prerequisite applies to both mandatory and discretionary post-release control under the covered law.
School candidates face lower filing barriers
State Board of Education candidates' listed filing fees fall from $55 to $35, including for write-in declarations. Candidates seeking party nomination for local or exempted village school boards need at least 25 signatures instead of 50. The same threshold applies to city school boards in districts below 20,000 people, based on the latest federal census. Signers must be qualified voters who belong to the candidate's party.
State park ice permits stay free
The parks chief cannot charge to issue a permit to prevent or limit ice formation on qualifying state park water. This fee ban applies when the chief adopts rules requiring such permits on property the Division of Parks and Watercraft owns or manages. The law does not require the chief to create permit rules.
Temporary residents lose license transfer barriers
Ohio removes its stated ban on transferring a limited-term driver's license. It also removes the ban on using that license to seek a license in another state. The law does not determine whether another state accepts the Ohio license.
Alternative emissions certificates require federal approval
Beginning June 30, 2025, Ohio must submit an alternative emissions certificate program for federal approval. Ohio cannot use it until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approves it. Covered vehicle owners or lessees can then request a certificate by signing a statement that their vehicle follows emissions laws. Qualifying certificates must arrive within 30 business days for mailed forms or five business days for electronic forms. Specified substantial damage or citations within two years, or false information, require rejection; the specified penalty for false statements is a notice.
Animal owners gain veterinary telehealth access
Veterinarians can establish the required care relationship by examining an animal through live telehealth. This adds an option alongside an in-person exam or a medically appropriate, timely visit to the animal's premises. The live examination must follow Ohio's veterinary telehealth requirements.
Buyers get flexible installment payment schedules
Consumer installment contracts can use roughly equal consecutive payments or periodic payments that vary within a set limit. Under the periodic option, no scheduled payment can be more than 50% greater than any other. The limit does not apply to adjustments matching a buyer’s seasonal or irregular income. Periodic-payment contracts can allow refinancing on terms no worse than the original, after the required refund credit.
College students get clearer billing disclosures
State colleges must list instructional fees, general fees, tuition, and tuition surcharges separately on student bills. Private colleges using an online program manager must disclose that use on each online degree program website they maintain. They must also require the manager to identify itself when serving students. These disclosures do not reduce tuition or fees.
Court judgment money repays fraud victims
The law funds payments to consumers harmed by fraud covered by qualifying court judgments against sellers. The judgments must come from Ohio Attorney General actions under the specified business-opportunity, vehicle, or consumer-sales laws. Money from those judgments goes toward restitution, and additional amounts needed for distributions are appropriated. Individual payment amounts are not stated.
Disabled veterans avoid vehicle transfer fees
Veterans qualifying for the disabled-veteran registration exemption also avoid registration-transfer fees. The exemption covers no more than two vehicles. It adds to the registration taxes and fees already waived.
Forged state payments can be replaced
Rightful recipients can obtain replacement state payment warrants after the originals are certified as forgeries. Certification must come from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and the Treasurer of State. Once funds covering replacement are received, the budget director must issue a warrant for the same amount. The law funds these replacements, including additional amounts needed for covered cases.
Less personal data for vehicle titles
Applicants can use the last four Social Security number digits for an owner-retained vehicle’s salvage title application. The same option applies when a title application includes a transfer application to an insurance company or nonprofit corporation. These applicants do not need to provide the full number.
Lottery transfers lose two access barriers
The law removes the former $500,000 minimum remaining award for installment-prize transfers. Winners can transfer the remaining award, rather than only part of that remainder. Required withholding and deductions still apply. The law also removes the court-approval barrier for awards transferred within the prior 12 months unless the Lottery Commission did not object.
More vehicle protection contracts face safeguards
Insurance-backing and disclosure rules now cover qualifying contracts for leased-vehicle wear, damage, and excess-mileage charges. They also cover qualifying vehicle value protection agreements, and vehicles include under-speed vehicles. A covered lease-related charge cannot exceed the vehicle’s purchase price at lease end. Vehicle value protection agreements exclude debt suspension and debt cancellation products.
Newer and electric vehicles skip inspections
In emissions-testing counties, vehicles six years old or newer are exempt from inspections. Battery electric vehicles are exempt regardless of age. Hybrids seven years old or newer are also exempt. Age-based exemptions continue even when the vehicle changes owners.
Notice before Ohio collects overdue debts
The state must serve notice 45 to 60 days after an amount owed under Ohio law becomes due. You then have 30 days after receiving notice to pay and prevent referral to the Attorney General. Any lien filed by the Attorney General must include the notice and proof of service.
Online age checks require privacy safeguards
Organizations checking age for specified online material must immediately delete information gathered for verification after the check. They must maintain a legally compliant privacy policy and reasonable data security. Transfers are allowed only for age verification, and recipients must immediately delete the information afterward. Account and billing details may be kept for account access and billing. Information related to account creation and billing must be deleted two years after account or subscription creation unless renewed.
Outreach helps owners find unclaimed money
Ohio directs $1 million each fiscal year toward finding and notifying owners of unclaimed funds. The effort uses technology, outreach, advertising, and other methods. It helps owners and people with an established right to the funds file claims. The law does not guarantee a recovery amount.
Patients pay limited sequencing results fees
Patients or legal guardians can request sequencing results in a format usable in other clinical settings. Another provider can also request them with the patient’s or guardian’s consent. The provider supplying the results cannot charge more than the direct cost of producing that format.
Some primary care facility fees end
Beginning January 1, 2028, qualifying hospital-owned or operated primary care practices cannot require patients or third-party payors to pay facility fees. The hospital or system must have bought the practice after January 1, 2010. At purchase, the practice must have been owned or operated solely by a doctor or doctor group. Practices started by a hospital or hospital system are not covered.
Vehicle buyers can refuse optional add-ons
Sellers cannot require a debt cancellation or suspension product to obtain credit terms or buy or lease a vehicle. Its price and terms must be written, with its charge listed as a specific good rather than interest or finance charges. The product can include a replacement-vehicle credit or waiver, with or without a separate charge. Lessors also cannot require payment for an excess wear waiver, which can cancel wear, use, or mileage charges. That waiver is not insurance and can be discounted or free with other noncredit goods or services.
Vehicle inspections end when termination conditions apply
Ohio's vehicle inspection and maintenance program cannot continue after all contracts made under the program law have ended. The environmental director must also immediately discontinue it and take termination steps after a qualifying federal finding. That finding must say the program is unnecessary for Clean Air Act compliance in Ohio or any Ohio area. The law does not establish a fixed ending date or immediately remove every driver's inspection duty.
Wildlife gift certificates gain more uses
Ohio wildlife gift certificates can pay for approved licenses, permits, stamps, user fees, and conservation-related items. The Division of Wildlife chief decides which purchases qualify. The law removes the required one-year expiration, so certificates can remain usable beyond that period. The chief may adopt rules to administer the program.
More funding flexibility for investor recovery
The law removes the $2.5 million annual limit on transfers from the Division of Securities Fund to Ohio's investor recovery fund. The recovery fund remains limited to restitution assistance awards and related administrative costs. Removing the limit does not guarantee an award or set an individual payment.
Public workers get separate savings account
Ohio creates a separate receiving account for public employees' deferred compensation, held by the Treasurer outside the state treasury. It holds money for program participants and beneficiaries and is separate from statutory public employee retirement funds. This provision sets no new contribution, investment return, or benefit amount.
Assistance recipients get clearer privacy choices
Public-assistance information authorizations must explain how you or your representative can stop future authorized use or sharing. Revocation must be in writing and applies going forward. The form can instead point to the Department of Children and Youth's privacy notice if it gives those instructions.
Assistance recipients get information privacy safeguards
Job and Family Services and Children and Youth must set rules for storing, using, sharing, and keeping public assistance information. The rules cover participating contractors, grantees, and other entities. Other agencies holding recipient information must adopt consistent safeguards against publication or disclosure. All rules must follow applicable federal law.
Burial help funded for people in need
Ohio provides $250,000 in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for Indigent Burial and Cremation Support. The money goes to the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. The provision does not state who qualifies or how much help a household receives.
Collected contributions support Dublin food assistance
The Ohio Registrar must send contributions collected under the designated program to the Dublin Food Pantry. The pantry uses this money for food, hygiene products, and other resources for people facing food insecurity. The law sets no contribution total or benefit amount per household.
Community service funding for older adults
Remaining Senior Community Services funds can support older-adult services and grants to community groups that support or expand programming. Priority goes to people age 60 or older with low incomes, high needs, or cognitive impairments. The Department of Aging cannot use this money for administrative costs.
Contract dates limit conscience-based payment refusals
A health care payer's statutory right to decline payment on conscience grounds applies only to specified contracts. The payer-policyholder contract must have been entered into on or after September 30, 2021. Earlier contracts are outside this payment-refusal right.
Diabetes warning information for children's caregivers
The Department of Health must create information about type 1 diabetes in children. Materials must cover risk factors, warning signs, screening, diagnosis, and treatment guidance. Parents, educators, and caregivers can download and print the materials from the department's website. The provision does not provide medical treatment or financial assistance.
Disability grants support services and activities
Special Olympics of Ohio receives $250,000 each fiscal year for its Summer Games. Hudson Community Living receives $225,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $54,000 in fiscal year 2027. Its funding supports maintenance and operations serving adults with developmental disabilities through June 30, 2027. The Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence receives $100,000 each fiscal year through June 30, 2027. That money creates a lifespan autism support hub for families and professionals; these grants do not set individual payments.
Disability savings accounts get fee support
The Ohio Treasurer pays ABLE account fees on behalf of Ohio account owners or beneficiaries. The law also provides $900,000 in each fiscal year to subsidize eligible STABLE account holders' monthly fees. Neither provision states a per-account payment amount. Treasurer-held records identifying Ohio ABLE beneficiaries or showing account balances and activity are not public records.
Disability savings protected from Medicaid recovery
Money in an ABLE disability savings account is protected from Ohio Medicaid estate recovery claims. The protection does not apply when federal law requires recovery.
Early intervention advisers get expense support
The Early Intervention Services Advisory Council can use budgeted program money for forums, hearings, staff, and professional services. Funds can also cover reasonable, necessary member expenses and child care for parent representatives. Members can receive compensation when unemployed or giving up wages to do council work. These uses must follow federal law; members otherwise serve without compensation or expense repayment.
Easier intake and complaints for treatment
Addiction providers must track waiting lists, notify people about openings, and report waits, referrals, and unmet needs by each month's last day. State rules must let providers keep returning patients active without repeating intake after gaps longer than 30 days. Boards must ensure contracted mental health and addiction providers offer complaint procedures to people seeking or receiving covered services. Ohio must also make All Roads Lead to Home recovery announcements available at least twice yearly: January–March and September. These rules do not guarantee a treatment slot or money for a complaint.
Families can receive abuse prevention referrals
Children services agencies can refer families involved in abuse or neglect reports for assessment and prevention services. The agency must find that the family may benefit, and suitable services must be available locally or from another reasonable source. When an agency makes a covered referral, it must contract with the service provider. Referrals are not guaranteed.
Families get help buying hearing devices
Ohio may use up to $200,000 each fiscal year to help families buy hearing aids and hearing technology. The child must be under 26 and have hearing loss or a hearing disorder. Eligibility criteria must include families earning up to 400% of federal poverty guidelines. Awards follow an income-based sliding scale; the law does not set an individual award amount.
Family benefits gain delivery and appeals
Ohio's children and youth department may deliver eligible recipients' benefits electronically, including through debit cards. It must follow state and federal law; this does not change benefit amounts. The law also extends the state hearing and appeal system to the department and additional covered family-service programs. Applicants and current or former recipients can seek hearings when state or federal law grants that right. Further agency and court review remains available as provided by law.
Foster children's benefits cannot repay care
When a Title IV-E agency takes responsibility for a child's care and placement, it must check for specified benefits. The check covers eligibility for, or receipt of, benefits from the listed federal agencies and Ohio public retirement systems. The agency cannot use those benefits to pay or repay the agency, county, or state for the child's care.
Funding helps children get shoes
The law provides Shoes 4 the Shoeless $50,000 in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The nonprofit uses the money to provide shoes and socks to children in need. The law sets no per-child payment or number of children served.
Funding supports Ohio Holocaust survivors
The law provides $285,000 in fiscal year 2026 to Jewish Family Services to support Ohio’s Holocaust survivors. The money funds services through the organization. It does not establish a direct payment amount for individual survivors.
Hospital lodging support helps children's families
Ohio directs $2.5 million each fiscal year toward continuing lodging linked to Ohio children's hospitals. The Medicaid Director must work with federal Medicaid officials to continue lodging as an administrative service. It serves families of children with special health care needs. The law does not set a per-family lodging benefit.
Hotline helps explain mental health coverage
Ohio insurance officials must work with behavioral health officials to explain mental health and addiction insurance parity to consumers and payers. Parity means rules for treating this coverage fairly compared with other medical coverage. Officials must establish and promote a consumer hotline and report on outreach and access barriers annually by January 30. The provision does not change coverage or require payment of a particular claim.
Local grants support seniors' daily needs
The Iconnect Program receives $150,000 each fiscal year for services in Richland, Medina, Lorain, and Cuyahoga Counties. The Neighborhood Centers Association administers the program. The Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging receives $200,000 in fiscal year 2026. It must address food insecurity, mental health, and financial literacy among disadvantaged seniors. These grants fund services, not direct household payments.
Low-income households get coordinated energy assistance
Beginning July 1, 2026, Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services administers low-income energy assistance programs. It must coordinate programs toward a local, one-stop application and eligibility process, to the greatest extent possible. It also runs energy-efficiency and weatherization programs and can provide consumer education. The Public Utilities Commission keeps responsibility for the percentage-of-income payment plan rider. This provision does not set new benefit amounts or eligibility limits.
Medical practitioners can refuse conflicting procedures
Medical practitioners do not have to perform procedures that conflict with their expert medical opinion. Courts and other people cannot order practitioners to perform those procedures.
More vision and dental funding for kids
At the Medicaid Director's request, Ohio can transfer money to the Health Department for low-income children's health services. Transfers can reach $4.66 million in fiscal 2026 and $4.295 million in fiscal 2027. Vision care can receive up to $2.66 million and $2.295 million, respectively. Dental care can receive up to $2 million each year. Funding supports preventive care and related public-health services, not guaranteed household payments.
Newborn families get crib and referral help
Hospitals and birthing centers must screen newborns for access to a safe crib before discharge home. Covered facilities must try to arrange a free crib, with safe-sleep education and assembly instructions for cribs from specified sources. Critical access hospitals and facilities identified as lacking a designated crib-program site are exempt from arranging cribs; Cribs for Kids referrals depend on funds. Ohio must also create a central home-visiting intake and referral system. If Ohio hires an operator, its contract must require one entry point, family-needs assessments, and referrals suited to location and need.
Ohio funds support for ALS patients
Ohio provides $1 million each fiscal year to qualifying organizations serving residents with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Organizations must provide clinical care, case management, medical and communication devices, advocacy, support groups, and patient grants. Funds are divided based on county coverage and ALS prevalence, using the latest available Census population estimates. The money may serve only Ohio residents; the law does not set individual grant amounts.
Parents get safe infant delivery information
Ohio's Department of Children and Youth distributes medical-information forms and written materials about safe infant delivery and deserted children. It develops an education plan with the Ohio Family and Children First Cabinet Council. The department can use Putative Father Registry Fund money only after finding that registry duties leave surplus money.
Past Medicaid repayments gain hearing rights
Recipients who made qualifying Medicaid repayments between April 6 and September 28, 2007, can request a hearing on recovery allocation. Requests are due within 180 days after the amendment's effective date. A different allocation requires clear and convincing evidence. Recipients or legally authorized representatives, estate administrators, guardians, or directly retained attorneys can submit requests. The law does not guarantee a refund or specify an amount.
Respite funding supports children and families
Ohio allows Multi-System Youth funds to support respite and community services through eligible county developmental disability boards. The developmental disabilities director sets funding, distribution, and eligibility rules for services helping complex-needs youth stay at home or in their communities. Achievement Centers for Children receives $190,000 each fiscal year from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027. Friendship Circle of Cleveland receives $150,000 for fiscal year 2026, ending June 30, 2026. Both grants support family services and respite for children with disabilities; neither sets a per-family payment.
SNAP hotline must offer card locks
Ohio must add a lock-and-unlock process to its existing benefits customer-service telephone hotline. The process covers electronic benefit cards reported lost or stolen. It helps households protect benefits on missing cards. The law does not set a launch date or change SNAP benefit amounts.
Support for transplant patients and caregivers
The law provides $300,000 in fiscal 2026 to the Transplant House of Cleveland. The money supports organ transplant recipients and caregivers. The law does not specify the form or amount of help each person receives.
Teacher retirement board members keep benefits
Serving on the State Teachers Retirement Board does not cause members to lose qualifying retirement allowances or benefits. This protection covers benefits under the four public retirement provisions named in the law. It does not create a new benefit or set its amount.
Technology and skills support for disabled people
Ohio can use part of its Technology First funding to expand technology access for people with developmental disabilities. That support must follow Ohio’s Technology First Policy. Best Buddies Ohio funding supports and expands skills-building services in schools and communities. These provisions do not state funding totals or individual benefit amounts.
Transportation help for domestic violence survivors
Ohio provides $25,000 in fiscal year 2026 for domestic violence shelters to buy transportation help for eligible clients. Shelters can buy transportation vouchers, rideshare credits, or gas cards. The Attorney General must adopt program rules. The law sets no assistance amount per client.
Clients can use nonexclusive realtors
The law recognizes nonexclusive broker agreements for buyers, tenants, and sellers. Agreements must state compensation terms and meet state agency-agreement requirements. They may allow clients to use other brokers, subject to the agreement and state law. The provision does not set commission amounts.
Energy aid can fund home weatherization
The state can use up to 25% of federal Home Energy Assistance Block Grant funds for home weatherization. State officials decide which weatherization services are provided. These provisions do not set a household payment amount or specific household eligibility rules.
Funding supports Lorain County homeless shelter
Neighborhood Alliance receives $250,000 in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for its Lorain County homeless shelter. The money supports shelter services. The provision sets no individual eligibility rules or direct household payment.
Home savers can move account money
Homeownership savings participants can transfer money to another eligible account they own at a different eligible institution. A withdrawal also counts as an eligible home cost when redeposited within 90 days. The money must return to the same account or another qualifying account owned by that participant.
Homebuyers gain higher-rate savings accounts
Ohio residents can open premium-rate homeownership savings accounts at participating eligible savings institutions. Active-duty service members who elect Ohio residency or domicile also qualify. Participants must certify that funds are only for eligible home costs. Each account has one owner, and each participant can hold no more than one account per five-year program period. The provision sets no specific interest rate or deposit match.
Housing priority helps hard-to-place parolees
Reentry, Housing, and Support Services funding gives priority to providers accepting people whom all other residential providers rejected. The person must leave a Department-operated institution for Adult Parole Authority supervision. This funding priority does not guarantee a housing placement.
Lake districts limit overlapping property taxes
When a lake facilities authority levies its covered tax, other local taxing bodies cannot impose a substantially similar levy. The restriction covers property in the affected lake district during that tax year. It also applies to port authorities. This prevents overlapping levies for substantially the same purpose, without setting a household savings amount.
Landowners gain protection against trail takings
The law generally bars taking private property through eminent domain for nonmotorized recreation trails. This includes hiking, biking, horseback riding, ski touring, and canoeing trails. Exceptions cover certain regional transit rights-of-way and agency sidewalk projects within 150 feet of and parallel to a public road.
Owners can close completed construction notices
After an improvement is complete, the contracting owner, part owner, lessee, or agent can file an affidavit with the county recorder. It must identify the filer, reference the recorded notice of commencement, and state that work is complete. The recorder must mark the notice expired. The contracting party must mail the recorded affidavit to the original contractor and participants who filed furnishing notices. Failure to mail it does not affect expiration or other lien rights and deadlines.
Property owners lose minimum conservancy charge
Ohio removes the $2 annual minimum conservancy maintenance assessment on covered land and public corporations. Assessments still depend on total appraised benefits. They generally cannot exceed 1% of those benefits each year unless a court approves a higher percentage.
Septic applicants avoid mandated specialist soil reviews
Ohio's health director cannot adopt rules requiring a soil evaluator or soil scientist to assess soil type and slope. The restriction covers existing and proposed sewage treatment systems. It does not eliminate other possible evaluations or guarantee a specific cost saving.
Well plugging applicants avoid permit fees
The law removes the $250 nonrefundable application fee for permits to plug and abandon Ohio oil and gas wells. It also expressly waives the permit fee for landowners using the specified orphaned-well plugging process. These are permit-fee savings, not payments toward the full cost of plugging a well.
Zoning petitioners get review and correction deadlines
The law sets deadlines for referendum petitions on township zoning changes that establish or change planned-unit-development rules. Election boards must decide whether petitions are valid and sufficient within 30 days after township trustees certify them. If signatures fall short, the board must notify the petitioner immediately. The petitioner then has 10 days to add signatures.
Advanced math access for qualifying students
Districts must provide advanced math opportunities the next school year to students scoring advanced on qualifying state math tests. This applies only when the district offers an advanced course or opportunity for the student’s next grade. Parents can opt out through a written request.
After-school accounts get continued program support
The education department must use specified federal pandemic-relief funds as needed to support the After School Child Enrichment account program. This support covers fiscal year 2026, ending June 30, 2026. The department can extend the existing vendor's contract through that year and pay more than 3% of the program appropriation. This provision sets no new family account amount or eligibility rules.
Attendance support and driver training absences
By August 1, 2026, districts must adopt absence policies with prevention, tiered support, intervention teams, and no exclusion for absences. Districts must consult families, the specified juvenile court, and agencies, and align policies with school improvement plans. Parent notice must begin at a district-set threshold no higher than 5% of required annual school hours. Students also get up to eight excused hours for state-approved private driver training: two hours daily over four days. They cannot miss core classes for this training and must complete missed work.
Bank programs can satisfy financial literacy
Districts and chartered nonpublic schools can adopt an alternative to the half-unit financial literacy graduation requirement. Students must complete a program offered through a student bank branch or by a bank. The program must meet or exceed state financial literacy and entrepreneurship standards and last the equivalent of at least one-half unit. The state education department must post a model policy and guidelines by July 1, 2026.
Career students get credentials and grading support
Covered public schools must tell students in career-technical courses about industry credentials those courses lead to and pay credential costs. Schools with career-technical courses meeting state credit-transfer rules must also provide grading and class-standing treatment equivalent to specified advanced or honors courses. That includes any weighted-grade or enhanced class-standing procedures.
Chardon club contributions fund student scholarships
The state registrar sends the designated contributions to the Chardon Hilltopper Gridiron Club. The club must use that money for student college and career training scholarships. The law sets no award amounts or payment dates.
Classical school students gain paper testing
Qualifying Ohio classical schools can give all covered assessments on paper. A student can test online when their individualized education program or Section 504 plan identifies it as an appropriate accommodation. Eligible schools must belong to the Ohio classical school association or its successor. They must also use a substantially similar curriculum from a nationally recognized classical-school network.
College access efforts after Gateway closure
The chancellor must monitor college access in the four-county area formerly served by Eastern Gateway Community College. The law requires efforts, where practical, to maintain access, especially to programs tied to regional workforce needs. The chancellor can involve other colleges when needed. The law does not guarantee a specific program or placement.
College support for former foster youth
Ohio Reach receives $150,000 each fiscal year for mentoring and support services for former foster youth attending college. The law funds services rather than a direct cash payment to each student.
Colleges must protect student records
Ohio state colleges must submit annual plans to preserve student records indefinitely if they close. Each plan must name a records custodian and include that person’s signed confirmation. The chancellor can also require a fully paid, signed agreement with the custodian.
Colleges retain control of student aid
Career colleges, schools, and state higher education institutions cannot let hired online program managers control student financial aid. Managers cannot make aid decisions, administer aid, or pay it out. The institution keeps responsibility for those tasks.
Counselor certificates become available again
Ohio's licensing board can issue, renew, or restore chemical dependency counselor I certificates. A separate restriction remains on issuing another registered applicant certificate after an earlier certificate expires.
County defender staff can join state
When a county transfers indigent-defense services, the Ohio Public Defender can appoint county defender-office staff as state employees. The county must have operated that office when services transferred, and appointments must support the Northwest Regional Hub. The Public Defender can set job classes, pay, and service credit with the Department of Administrative Services. Transferring staff may qualify for state benefits, with coverage timing set by that department's director.
Deaf and blind students gain diploma paths
Students at Ohio's state schools for the blind or deaf can satisfy diploma curriculum rules through their individualized education program. Completing a high-school curriculum remains another route. Students must still meet applicable assessment and other requirements for regular or honors diplomas. A student receiving a regular diploma under this rule cannot also receive an honors diploma under it.
Dropout recovery students gain testing flexibility
Ohio must set rules explaining how its assessment system applies to dropout prevention and recovery programs and community schools. Recovery community schools can give required end-of-course tests online or on paper based on student needs. Beyond regular testing windows, Ohio must establish 10-week fall and spring windows. A summer window is available for students receiving summer instruction. Other in-person testing requirements remain.
Electric-industry workers get focused job help
State job-assistance and training agencies must focus attention on workers affected by electric-industry restructuring. The law names the Department of Job and Family Services for this responsibility, replacing the former employment bureau and development department references. It sets no individual payment or new funding amount.
Emergency responders can record retired status
Retiring emergency medical certificate holders can ask their service organization to request a retired designation in state records. Firefighters and fire safety inspectors can make a similar request through the department they serve. The designation applies when they retire. These provisions do not establish changes to retirement payments or benefits.
Families accepting cash instead of buses
When families accept a district’s payment offer instead of pupil transportation, the district must pay 50% to 100% of the department-set amount. That amount uses the most recent school-year data available. Payments can be prorated for part of a school year. The backing provision does not state the dollar amount.
Families gain education program complaint protections
Ohio's education department must investigate educational savings account program complaints and update both complainants and those named. It reports findings to both sides and the state Treasurer, who determines resolutions and can require corrective action. People and participating schools facing noncompliance action receive notice, a hearing opportunity, and appeal rights. The department must also maintain a public list of registered private providers and their locations.
Fewer screening steps for covered workers
People whose only duties are transporting individuals under Ohio's Chapter 306 are outside these direct-care screening rules. Ohio-licensed attorneys and nonlawyers providing legal help at their direction are also excluded. Separately, covered developmental-disability workers can prove five years of Ohio residency without a notarized statement. They still need accepted supporting documents, such as a driver's license, voter-registration notice, or filed tax form showing permanent residence.
Flexible recruitment aid for veterans-home clinicians
The veterans services director or designee can divide recruitment-program funds among recruited veterans-home clinicians to meet staffing needs. Allocations can account for federal or other incentives available to each clinician and the overall benefit to veterans’ homes. The law sets no individual allocation amount or formula.
Free firefighter classes for selected students
Ohio authorizes up to $1.3 million each fiscal year for free firefighter I certification or other approved classes. The State Fire Marshal selects students and can set qualifications and selection procedures. Classes must come from the Ohio Fire Academy or another approved provider.
Funding for public workers’ pay changes
Starting with the pay period containing July 1, 2025, state agencies can fund pay changes required by approved labor agreements or amended law. They can also fund comparable pay changes for employees outside collective bargaining. Separate appropriations fund required annual pay supplements for county sheriffs and covered county prosecutors. At the Attorney General’s request, the budget director can transfer operating funds for those supplements. These provisions state no individual pay amounts.
Graduation credentials shift away from points
State committee criteria replace a total-points threshold for using industry credentials and licenses toward diploma requirements. The committee must align criteria with in-demand jobs and other demand data, and determine when credentials qualify. Students who miss competency on an Algebra I or English language arts II retake can use qualifying credentials plus another supporting option. Their credential route no longer specifies a required points total. State report cards count only credentials that meet committee criteria.
Healthcare job training for Cleveland adults
NewBridge Cleveland Center for Arts and Technology receives $500,000 in fiscal year 2026. The grant supports healthcare certification and job placement for at-risk adult learners. The law does not set individual payments or detailed participant eligibility rules.
Home-educated students keep scholarships with JROTC
Joining a resident district's qualifying Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program alone does not count as district enrollment. This protects the enrollment status of home-educated children for autism and Jon Peterson scholarship eligibility. Home education must follow Ohio law, and the district program must meet the specified federal requirement.
Low-income students get exam cost help
The law sets aside up to $622,713 each fiscal year for students the Department identifies as low-income. The money reimburses part of Advanced Placement and College-Level Examination Program test costs. If this money and available federal funds fall short, school districts and other public schools must cover remaining costs. That school obligation also covers International Baccalaureate tests for low-income students.
Military families get school deadline relief
Districts cannot enforce the usual interdistrict enrollment application deadline for qualifying students whose active-duty parent is stationed in Ohio. The exception covers students who are not native students of the receiving district. Parents must provide official written orders proving active-duty status.
Military veterans get teaching career support
The law sets aside up to $1,612,500 each budget year for the Ohio Military Veteran Educators Program. Eligible military individuals can receive education grants, course support, recruitment or hiring bonuses, and fellowship opportunities. The fellowship pilot recruits and trains participants to teach in low-performing public schools. Schools receive employment bonus reimbursement only after the person completes at least one year of employment. The program consults Veterans Services; individual award amounts are not set.
More teachers can teach computer science
District, community, and STEM schools can let educators licensed for any K–12 grade teach computer science after course-specific training. The superintendent or principal must approve the training, completed within the preceding five years. Educators must repeat it every five years. This permission applies only at the school or district that employed the educator when the training was completed.
New-township workers get binding representation rules
Covered collective bargaining agreements involving a new township must include specified bargaining-unit and exclusive-representation rules. This applies to agreements entered into on or after September 29, 2011. Those rules override conflicting agreement terms.
Ohio funds overdue student aid obligations
The Chancellor of Higher Education must certify the money needed to pay outstanding state financial aid obligations from earlier years. Certification is due September 1 each fiscal year, or as soon as possible afterward. The certified amount is appropriated from the State Financial Aid Reconciliation Fund. The law does not state individual payment amounts.
Online contractors cannot control student aid
Private colleges cannot let online program managers control, decide, administer, or pay out student financial aid. Responsibility for these functions must stay outside those managers. The restriction does not change award amounts or student eligibility.
Parents receive health information at enrollment
Public and chartered private elementary schools must give parents or guardians the health information materials specified by law at enrollment. Schools can provide paper or electronic copies.
Pay rules for county public officers
Public officers whose pay cannot change during their term keep the prior pay amount until that term ends. Changed pay can apply in a new term when the Ohio Constitution allows it. County engineers contracted to serve another county receive extra pay of 80% to 100% of that county's population-based salary. That extra pay is prorated for the contract's length. This applies when a death or resignation leaves an unfillable vacancy, or nobody runs for the office.
Pharmacy technicians get two-year registrations
Registered and certified pharmacy technician registrations last two years by default. The Pharmacy Board can set another period by rule. It can adjust periods for initial registrations, renewal schedules, or other matters it considers appropriate.
Psychology interns get added stipend support
The law provides $125,000 each budget year for a doctoral psychology internship grant pilot. Eligible programs must have American Psychological Association accreditation and offer nonresidential or community mental health and health care rotations. Grants must add to stipends for doctoral students coming to Ohio internship sites. The law sets no per-student amount.
Public college fee increases face caps
At state universities with undergraduate tuition guarantees, entering 2025–2026 and 2026–2027 cohorts face a 3% cap above the prior cohort's guaranteed fees. Community, state community, and technical colleges face a $10-per-credit-hour annual increase cap for in-state undergraduate instructional and general fees in those years. Excluded charges include health insurance, cost-based auxiliary services, pass-through exam fees, elective travel courses and services, fines, and voluntary sales. Required covenant increases, qualifying earlier obligations or commitments, and unfunded legal mandates are exempt; exempt increases must be reported to the Controlling Board. Applicable tuition-guarantee rules remain, and the Chancellor can modify the $10 cap for exceptional circumstances with Controlling Board approval.
Recovery graduates get job reentry help
The law provides $1.5 million each budget year for a workforce reentry pilot for behavioral health recovery program graduates. It operates in Meigs, Athens, Morgan, Noble, Monroe, and Washington counties. The Appalachian Ohio Manufacturers Coalition and Appalachian Children Coalition jointly develop and run it, consulting the state behavioral health director. The program seeks to reduce work barriers but guarantees no job or individual payment.
Refunds for first high school equivalency tests
Beginning July 1, 2026, career-technical planning districts reimburse fees for a first state-approved, nationally recognized high school equivalency exam. Reimbursement covers application or exam fees above $40, up to $80 per person. Districts must designate registration and testing sites and offer career counseling, including adult education information. Eligible people in state youth or adult correctional facilities can also receive reimbursement within the same limit.
Religious instruction gains credit and protections
Districts can award up to two high school credit units for completing released-time religious instruction. Courses must be judged using substantially the same secular standards as comparable nonpublic courses, without testing religious content or affiliation. The credit can replace an equal amount in specified subjects; courses need not take place at a nonpublic school. District released-time policies cannot bar students from bringing outside educational or program materials to school.
Schools must allow religious instruction breaks
Districts must allow release for religious instruction for at least one school period weekly, with written parental consent. Students cannot miss core subjects and remain responsible for missed work. Sponsors must keep attendance records available to districts and assume liability. Sponsors, parents, guardians, or students must handle transportation, including transportation for students with disabilities. Public money and school staff cannot provide the instruction.
Selected students can get lower tuition
College boards can set lower tuition for specified nonpublic or homeschooled College Credit Plus students and students taking only online courses. They can also set lower rates for high school courses not eligible for College Credit Plus funding. Covered nonpublic and homeschooled students' rates can use the stated default options or alternative-payment agreements. Rates for unfunded high school courses must align with the college's College Credit Plus rates. Lower rates are optional, and nonresident online students still pay a surcharge.
State colleges must create internship programs
By the 2027–2028 academic year, each Ohio state college must start a cooperative internship program. Programs must connect students with Ohio employers for work tied to their studies and JobsOhio target industries. Colleges must work with JobsOhio and identify employer partners. Annual reports must cover participation, partners, and resulting job offers or acceptances after graduation. The first report is due June 30 after the program's first academic year.
State dredging workers get license exemptions
People operating dredging equipment or related watercraft do not need state licenses, registrations, or certifications for covered work. The exemption applies when Ohio’s natural resources department conducts the dredging or hires a contractor to do it. Federal licensing, registration, and certification requirements still apply.
State workers keep jury service pay
Ohio state employees on the specified paid leave can keep jury-duty or subpoenaed court-appearance compensation and reimbursements. An appointing authority or other body cannot require employees to turn over that money as a condition of paid leave.
Student records protected after school closures
Covered authorized institutions and career schools must annually certify plans to keep student records indefinitely after closing. Each plan must name a custodian who confirms the role in writing. State officials can require a signed, fully paid agreement with that custodian. For Eastern Gateway Community College, the chancellor becomes the permanent records custodian upon closure or can authorize a third party.
Students can play hockey across districts
Students can play interscholastic ice hockey in another district without living or enrolling there when both superintendents agree. Their home district must lack interscholastic hockey and be less than 20 miles from the host district. Students must meet the host’s age, grade, academic, nonacademic, and financial requirements, including tryouts.
Students gain advanced study and seal options
Qualifying career-technical transfer courses and the College-Level Examination Program count as advanced standing options schools can offer. Passing College-Level Examination Program exams can also help students earn college-ready, citizenship, science, and technology diploma seals. The education department sets passing scores. College-ready and technology seal scores must align with current statewide scores identified by the higher education chancellor.
Students get clearer college entry pathways
Public and participating nonpublic secondary schools must share College Credit Plus pathways tied to accelerated 90-hour university degrees. A new direct-admissions pilot uses academic records to tell students whether they meet participating colleges' entry rules. The chancellor must try to include students graduating in the 2026–2027 school year. Participation is voluntary; schools and colleges must apply, and the chancellor can set eligibility rules or end an impractical pilot. The pilot guarantees neither admission nor financial aid.
Students get protected religious absence days
Districts must allow K–12 students up to three faith-related absence days each school year without academic penalties. Students can still join extracurricular activities on those days. For test or assignment accommodations, parents must give the principal written notice identifying up to three dates. Notice is due within 14 school days after school starts, or after later enrollment. Districts must publish and share the policy annually and provide a complaint process.
Students must know online program managers
Career colleges, covered schools, and state colleges hiring online program managers must ensure contracts follow relevant program standards. They must disclose the manager's use on each online degree program website they maintain. Managers must also identify themselves when serving students.
Teachers gain licensing and training flexibility
Districts can use their authorized teacher evaluation system to assess teacher residency participants. An additional statutory exception applies to computer science teacher license, endorsement, and exam requirements. Science-of-reading training must count toward license renewal, and hours above the required minimum must carry into the next renewal period. The state board cannot restrict alternative resident educator licenses by subject area. That restriction on the board no longer expires on July 1, 2028.
Water operator exam fees fall later
Existing water and wastewater operator exam fees continue through November 30, 2028. Beginning December 1, 2028, fees fall to $50 for Class A, $70 for Class I, and $80 for Class II. Class III costs $90, and Class IV costs $100. Applicants pay when applying for an exam administered by the state director.
Workers gain remote unemployment appeal options
Unemployment appeals at hearing-officer or review level can take place in person, by phone, or by interactive video. Commission rules govern video use and objections. A party can choose an in-person hearing by accepting the commission's time and place. Interested parties regularly employed throughout normal business hours can request evening video hearings. When an evening request conflicts with an in-person hearing, the commission must schedule an evening remote hearing.
Workers get notice before covered layoffs
Ohio employers must comply with federal mass-layoff notice law and regulations. Covered employers have at least 100 employees collectively working at least 4,000 hours weekly. They generally must give 60 days' written notice before laying off at least 50 workers at one site within 30 days. Notice goes to affected workers or their representatives and specified state and local officials. Federal strike or lockout exceptions and grounds for reduced or waived notice still apply.
Wright State adds civics education center
The law creates an independent Center for Civics, Culture, and Workforce Development at Wright State's Dayton campus. It teaches and researches American constitutional ideas, history, leadership, the armed forces, and defense workforce topics. It also provides university-wide programs on free speech and civil discussion.
Beekeepers stop paying two registration fees
People who own or possess bees no longer pay Ohio’s $5 apiary registration fee or $10 late filing fee. Apiary registration requirements still apply.
Clearer deadlines for municipal tax refunds
The general municipal income-tax refund deadline is three years after payment or the return due date, whichever is later. A valid filing extension counts when setting that due date. Covered overpayments and illegal or mistaken payments under sections 718.80–718.95 also receive the later-date rule. Any additional claim period allowed by section 718.90(A) also applies.
Clearer property bills and levy estimates
Ohio real-property tax bills must show the net amount due after the listed tax reductions. For qualifying school levies, ballot estimates per $100,000 must use the county auditor's market value rather than appraised value. These disclosure changes do not themselves change the tax owed or the levy rate.
Clearer tax rules for personal sales
Ohio expressly includes qualifying online and in-person personal-property sales in its casual-sale rules. Sellers must have obtained the item for personal use, and its sale or use must previously have been subject to a state's taxing authority. Sales through an auctioneer hired directly by the seller cannot occur at the auctioneer's permanent business location. That location means a place where the auctioneer conducted more than two auctions during the year.
Counties can expand homeowner tax reductions
Counties can approve an added exemption for homes already receiving the specified partial property-tax exemption, without a separate application. It cannot exceed 2.5% of qualifying-levy taxes after the required tax adjustment. Counties granting the specified partial real-property exemption must also reduce manufactured-home taxes by the percentage used for real property the prior year. That manufactured-home reduction ends if the county repeals its exemption resolution. Counties reimburse the auditor in two semiannual payments for distribution to taxing districts.
County tax relief can start sooner
County-authorized partial exemptions and tax reductions can start with real-property tax year 2025 or manufactured-home tax year 2026. Each requires the county to adopt the matching resolution by October 31, 2025. For manufactured or mobile homes taxed under the covered calculation, applicable county tax reductions must be included. The provisions do not state relief amounts.
Disaster workers get local tax exemption
Qualifying employees of out-of-state disaster businesses do not owe Ohio municipal income tax on covered disaster-work pay. The work must occur in Ohio during a disaster-response period. It must concern critical infrastructure owned or used by the employer.
Easier municipal tax filing and appeals
A federal filing extension automatically extends the covered municipal return deadline to the 15th day of the 11th month after year-end. Taxpayers without a requested or granted federal extension can request a seven-month extension by the original due date. The tax commissioner must grant a timely request. Filing extensions do not delay payment unless the commissioner separately extends payment. Written reassessment petitions remain due within 60 days after assessment notice service, but no longer require personal or certified-mail filing.
Electronic notices for tax refund applicants
The tax commissioner can send covered refund or compensation notices electronically, but only with the applicant's consent. Secure delivery uses the applicant's or authorized representative's last known email address. Applicants have 60 days after electronic or mailed notice is sent to provide information or request a hearing.
Estates leave school income-tax definitions
Estates are no longer included in the specified school district income-tax definitions; those definitions now cover individuals. School tax ballots reflect that change and identify resident earned income when that tax base applies. Covered replacement taxes must follow the revised statutory procedure and income definitions. Proposals under section 5748.09 must identify their income base and receive voter approval. The law does not set a new school income-tax rate.
Home transfers require tax relief disclosures
Covered property-transfer statements must explain tax-reduction eligibility and tell new owners to notify the auditor when they stop qualifying. They must also confirm the seller was asked about specified tax reductions and said none applies. Otherwise, they must include the seller's sworn statement giving the expected reduction, its estimated amount, and the parties' agreement on accounting for it. The auditor must endorse and distribute accompanying documents. These notices do not change tax-reduction eligibility or amounts.
Homeowners get clearer tax relief notices
Tax bills must identify school-tax reductions caused by excess district carry-over balances and explain that they last only that year. In the year the property-tax relief screening system first operates, covered bills must also explain relief eligibility. Those bills must tell owners about the one-year amnesty for reporting improperly received reductions. These notices cover affected parcels and manufactured homes; they do not themselves change tax amounts.
Large school reserves block new operating levies
School districts cannot pursue operating levies when certified carryover equals at least 100% of the prior year's general fund spending. Renewal levies remain allowed. Districts can exclude carryover designated for permanent improvements from this calculation. The designation uses the latest statutory certification, and the money must be spent within three years.
More relief from estimated tax penalties
The tax commissioner has discretion over estimated municipal income-tax underpayment charges and cannot impose them when reasonable cause applies. Ohio estimated-tax interest penalties are also discretionary and can be reduced or removed. No penalty applies when payments reach 90% of current-year liability calculated by annualizing income. Another safe harbor covers 100% of the liability shown on a filed prior-year return for a 12-month taxable year.
Port levy ballots use market values
Certain port authority ballot questions must state the effective levy rate per $100,000 using the county auditor's market value. This replaces the appraised-value basis. It applies to votes on joining a port authority and extending its existing property-tax levy. The change concerns ballot information and does not itself change a household's tax bill.
Pregnancy-center donors can deduct qualifying gifts
Ohio taxpayers can deduct up to $750 in gifts to qualifying pregnancy resource centers. The center must meet the criteria in Ohio Revised Code section 5101.804(B). Gifts already deducted or excluded elsewhere do not qualify. This reduces taxable income, not the tax bill by $750.
Registration fee relief for disabled veterans
Veterans can qualify with a service-connected disability rated or compensated at 100% by the Veterans Administration. Eligible veterans avoid specified vehicle registration fees and local motor vehicle taxes. The exemption also covers registration-transfer fees. It applies only to the first registration; additional registrations remain subject to the applicable fees and taxes.
School levy renewals cannot raise combined rates
A school district cannot increase a single levy through renewal under the affected law. For covered district-and-partner-school renewals, each school's share can change, but the combined rate cannot increase. The law also limits proportional rate-reduction rules for certain continuing levies. For replacement levies, those rules apply only under the replacement-levy law as it existed before this amendment.
Smaller counties cannot raise specified lodging tax
Counties with 700,000 or fewer residents cannot levy the increased lodging-tax rate described in division (D)(2). The ban starts on the first day of the first month beginning after the amendment's effective date. It blocks that specified increase, not every county lodging tax.
Teachers can deduct more classroom costs
Qualifying Ohio educators can deduct up to $300 in eligible educator expenses from Ohio taxable income, up from $250. The deduction covers only qualifying expenses above the amount the educator is authorized to deduct federally. The allowed deduction is the lesser of that excess or $300. This is a deduction, not a $300 tax refund; savings depend on the educator’s tax circumstances.
Tuition credits reach business owners' returns
The credit for tuition paid to a nonchartered nonpublic school is available through a pass-through business's single return. The business must elect to file that return for its investors. Eligible investors receive only their distributive share of the credit. This provision does not state the credit amount.
Workers can request employer tax numbers
Current and former employees can ask the Ohio Tax Commissioner for an employer's Ohio withholding tax account number. The commissioner can disclose it for preparing the employee's Ohio income tax return. Proof of current or past employment can be required.
Health providers get fee-free payment choices
Health plans must offer providers all reasonably available payment methods, including fee-free checks and electronic transfers. Plans cannot charge for changing methods and must let providers opt out of credit-card payments. Fees for other methods and selection instructions must be disclosed before the first payment or when available methods change. Plans must make a requested switch within 31 business days. The selected method stays until the provider requests another or the plan generates no payment for more than one year.
Older sewage systems keep approval protections
Covered treatment-and-dispersal systems with approvals in effect December 31, 2020, are protected from added special-device approval requirements. These systems disperse directly into soil, sand beds, or gravel; protections exclude discharges into state waters. Revocation or new application or monitoring duties require clear, independent, statistically significant evidence of consistent underperformance against gravel trenches. Manufacturers can request changes meeting the intent of applicable standards while keeping original approval terms. Separately, systems approved before September 17, 2010, need no new approval unless manufacturers change their design or seek changed approval terms.
Supported living applicants skip residency notarization
Supported living certificate applicants and renewing providers no longer need to notarize their five-year Ohio residency statement. They must still submit the statement and an accepted proof-of-residency document. Accepted proof includes a valid driver's license, voter-registration notice, filed tax form showing permanent residence, or another director-approved document.
Auction accounts protect owners from charges
Ohio auction licensees can deposit and keep money in trust or escrow accounts to cover necessary bank charges. They cannot use money belonging to the property owner or consignee to pay those charges. This allows account upkeep while protecting client funds.
Drug wholesalers qualify through license authority
Licensed wholesalers with controlled-substance authority can sell those substances to the buyer groups allowed by law. The law uses that license authority instead of the former category III license label. Sellers and purchasers must still meet the requirements for each buyer group.
Fireworks sellers can shelter curbside customers
Licensed fireworks manufacturers and wholesalers can put temporary shelters at curbside delivery points on their licensed premises. Shelters can protect employees and buyers. The state fire marshal must approve them, and they must meet state and local building, fire, and zoning rules.
Funding supports minority business loan awards
The law directs funding to Minority Business Enterprise Loan Program awards and Minority Business Development Division operations. Repayments from the Minority Development Financing Advisory Board Loan Program go into the Minority Business Enterprise Loan Fund. These provisions do not specify award amounts or individual loan terms.
Loan support for women and minority businesses
The law provides operating funding for the Women Owned Business Loan Program and the Minority Business Micro-Loan Program. Eligible women-owned businesses can seek loans, and eligible minority-owned businesses can seek microloans. These provisions do not state funding totals, loan terms, or detailed eligibility rules.
Nuclear plant guards gain licensing exemption
Covered nuclear plant security personnel and contractors are excluded from specified Ohio private-investigation and security-service licensing definitions. The plant must have a federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission license, and its security program must be approved. The exclusion applies while workers protect the plant and nuclear material against threats, theft, and sabotage.
Pesticide businesses face narrower training prohibition
The prohibited failure to train pesticide servicepersons now covers only training in general-use pesticide applications. This specific prohibition no longer covers failures to train on other pesticide applications. The provision narrows this compliance rule, not all pesticide training requirements.
Seed and feed businesses pay less
Seed labeler permit holders owe no seed fee when the calculated total is below $50, replacing the former $5 minimum rule. Commercial-feed inspection fees exclude the first 200 tons sold each calendar year; the rate afterward is 25 cents per ton. The first distributor generally pays unless an exempt buyer is responsible, and fees already paid are not charged again. Customer-formula feed is exempt when its commercial-feed components' fees have been paid. Feed tonnage statements and fees are filed annually with registration for the previous calendar year.
Seed labelers file fewer sales reports
Seed labeler permits now expire January 31 instead of December 31, regardless of when issued during the preceding year. Permit holders file sales reports once a year instead of twice. Reports cover the previous January 1 through December 31 and are due before February 1.
Simpler applications for insurance professionals
Managing general agent applicants no longer need to swear to or affirm applications before a notary or another authorized person. They still must submit the Superintendent of Insurance's written form and obtain a license. Public insurance adjuster applicants no longer need to verify applications under oath. They still must sign their applications and obtain a certificate of authority.
Small egg farms avoid processing rules
Egg producers who maintain 500 or fewer birds each year are excluded from this rule’s definition of food processing establishments. Producers with more than 500 birds do not qualify for this exemption.
Small-town businesses get broader liquor permit access
The law changes access to D-5j liquor permits in community entertainment districts in municipalities with 7,000 to 20,000 people. A historic downtown business district replaces the requirement that the municipality became a village before 1880. Another municipality in the same county must also have at least one community entertainment district.
Soft drink syrup sellers lose fees
Covered sellers and possessors of soft drink syrup or extract no longer register or pay the $100 annual license fee. Licensed soft drink manufacturers and bottlers were already excluded. The former rule also excluded local sellers using syrup or extract made only for their own use.
Transportation bidders submit less qualification paperwork
Covered Ohio transportation contract bidders no longer must submit an affirmative-action compliance certificate with their qualification application. That certificate is also no longer a stated condition for receiving a qualification certificate. The change removes this specific bidding requirement.
Wine shippers stop paying renewal fees
Wine shippers with an S-2 permit no longer pay the $100 renewal fee. This permit covers shipments to Ohio consumers for personal use. The initial permit fee remains $250.
Building designers get faster deduction decisions
Primary designers of energy-efficient property in public buildings can send written requests for allocation of the federal energy-efficiency deduction. The public building owner must respond within 15 days; no response counts as approval. Allocation documents no longer go to the Ohio Tax Commissioner, whose documentation role is removed. This provision sets no deduction amount.
Businesses report fewer municipal tax details
Required municipal income tax annual reports no longer need incorporation locations, principal business locations, or specified officers' and agents' names and addresses. Reports still need the taxpayer's name, taxable-year dates, federal taxable income, and other information required by the Tax Commissioner. This reduces paperwork without changing the tax owed.
Eligible sales tax refunds include interest
Sales tax refunds under Ohio's refund law include interest under the state's interest rules. The exception covers refunds for illegal or mistaken payments made under the specified direct payment permits. This provision does not state the interest rate or refund amount.
Employers can use approved payroll filers
Employers can choose an approved bulk filer to handle Ohio and school district income-tax withholding. They must notify the Tax Commissioner within five days of becoming a client and keep required electronic registrations. Bulk filers must file and pay electronically and follow employer tax rules and penalties. Employers remain responsible for late or missing filings and payments made on their behalf.
Abuse findings reach more state oversight
Suspected abuse or neglect of children or people with developmental disabilities in state correctional institutions goes to the Highway Patrol. When abuse or neglect probably occurred, the patrol must notify corrections officials, the sentencing court, and the Attorney General. For institutionalized delinquent children, probable-cause findings of abuse, neglect, or threats must also go to the Attorney General. That notice replaces notice to the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee's chair and vice-chair; other required recipients remain.
Address confidentiality services receive funding authority
At the Secretary of State's request, the budget director can transfer money to Ohio's Address Confidentiality Program. Transfers come from the Business Services Operating Expenses Fund and cannot exceed $400,000 per fiscal year. This money supports program services, not a stated payment to each participant.
Agencies face tighter rulemaking safeguards
Agencies cannot finalize covered rules until legislative review ends without a blocking resolution, except where the specified authorizing-law exception applies. After deciding to turn an unwritten policy into a rule, agencies must start rulemaking within three months. They cannot rely on that policy when advising on or deciding rights or liabilities after missing that deadline or abandoning rulemaking. The same limit applies after one year without a final rule or notice of plans to file a revised proposal. These deadlines and limits also apply after an agency grants a petition to put an unwritten policy into a rule.
Agriculture lab records receive privacy protections
Records furnished, obtained, or used for Ohio Department of Agriculture laboratory services are not public records. Details identifying the person, business, or location submitting a specimen must remain confidential. The director may share information with government agencies for official duties or with colleges and universities.
Annual transfers support state park upkeep
The budget director can transfer up to $2.2 million each fiscal year to the State Park Maintenance Fund. The amount is based on 5% of average State Park Fund deposits over the previous five years. The natural resources director certifies that amount on July 1, or as soon as possible afterward.
Appalachian veterans and first responders get support
The law funds the Veterans and First Responders Appalachian Assistance Program with $500,000 in fiscal year 2026. Funding rises to $875,000 in fiscal year 2027. The development director sets distribution rules with the veterans services director. The provision does not specify individual eligibility or assistance amounts.
Ashland academy receives security improvement funding
Empowering to Elevate Academy receives $750,000 in fiscal year 2026. The money must improve security and facilities at the former Mohican Young Star Academy in Ashland County. It does not fund household payments.
Care options for children in custody
Youth Services can place committed children aged 10 or 11 in facilities licensed by Children and Youth. This replaces the reference to Job and Family Services licensing. Youth Services selects a facility suited to rehabilitation, training, and public protection. Children must stay separate from those aged 12 or older until release, discharge, or age 12, whichever comes first. The agencies can also make agreements for separate care or special treatment of children under Youth Services control.
Charitable settlement money follows court orders
The law funds distributions required by court orders or settlements in charitable cases involving Ohio’s Attorney General. On July 1, 2025, or soon afterward, the Attorney General must certify eligible receipts in the General Holding Account. The budget director must transfer only that certified amount to the Charitable Settlements Holding Account Fund. Additional money needed for required distributions is appropriated.
Charter governments face political spending limits
Covered charter cities and counties must follow restrictions on public spending for communications and transactions benefiting candidates or political organizations. Coverage requires governmental activity within an area smaller than Ohio and the state's sovereign-immunity protection.
Child protection gains coordination and startup grants
Children services agencies can share abuse or neglect investigation information with prevention providers serving the family. Providers must need it to protect children and must keep it confidential. Eligible organizations can request up to $5,000 in one-time startup funding per children’s advocacy center, with Children’s Trust Fund Board approval. Centers must serve at least one county, include a primary prevention strategy, and follow state requirements. Using the money in another fiscal year or for another center requires board approval.
Child welfare training centers can get grants
Children and Youth can award grants to public children services agencies that establish and maintain regional training centers. Grants can cover all or part of operating costs and must spell out the centers' duties, including legally required duties. The law sets no grant amount and does not guarantee an award.
Children’s group homes face staffing safeguards
Ohio must adopt group-home certification rules within 270 days after the section takes effect. Rules must cover background or criminal-record checks using the Ohio professional registry and behavioral training that includes de-escalation. Homes need at least one staff member per seven children, or one per six if they accept fewer than seven children. Violations can lead to certificate suspension or revocation.
Cleveland organizations receive community investment grants
The law provides $750,000 to Say Yes Cleveland and $250,000 to University Circle. It provides $500,000 to Cleveland Neighborhood Progress for the Middle Neighborhood Investment Project and $500,000 to Great Lakes Science Center. Each recipient must sign a grant agreement before payment and submit a final report on spending. Unspent, uncommitted fiscal year 2026 money carries into fiscal year 2027 for the same purpose.
Community groups can seek security grants
Eligible nonprofits, houses of worship, chartered nonpublic schools, and licensed preschools can compete for security grants up to $125,000. Awards cover two years and can fund security upgrades, personnel, equipment, training, and costs continued from prior grants. Certain nonprofits can also receive support for community antiterrorism services. Applicants must document threats, site risks, preparedness links, and a qualifying vulnerability assessment or threat analysis. Grantees generally have 24 months from the first payment to meet program requirements.
Conservation districts can receive extra funding
The Department of Agriculture can provide soil and water conservation districts up to $40,000 each year in additional funding. Districts must request and justify payments, and the state conservation commission must approve them. County auditors must credit the money to district special funds. Districts must use it for district purposes.
Controlled access to child welfare records
The youth and family ombudsmen office can obtain necessary records from Children and Youth and Job and Family Services. This includes child welfare system records and information from agency work units. The office must protect complainants, information providers, public entities, and confidential records. Child welfare system access, use, and disclosure must follow law and state rules. Children and Youth must set rules for private agencies' access, data entry, and use; public agencies must follow department rules.
Correctional facilities face ongoing state inspections
The Attorney General’s inspection office must maintain ongoing inspections of state, private, and local correctional institutions and youth facilities. Inspections must check grievance procedures and meal requirements, plus at least one rehabilitation or education program. Findings are due annually by January 31. The Attorney General must recover inspection costs from the relevant state department.
Counties get jail construction grants
The law provides $75 million in FY 2026 for county jail construction and renovation, with $0 in FY 2027. The corrections department selects projects and must award funds by July 1, 2027. Counties must document project need and meet submission deadlines. Priority goes to the greatest needs, major improvements to jail condition, safety, and operations, and facilities serving multiple counties.
Counties get partial electronic pollbook reimbursements
County election boards receive the lesser of 85% of eligible electronic pollbook acquisition costs or their county allocation. Allocations follow each county's share of registered voters recorded on July 1, 2022. Covered purchases after this section takes effect require certified equipment on the Secretary of State's list from competitively selected vendors. They also require an agreement among the election board, county commissioners, and Secretary of State. Purchases from December 31, 2019, through July 1, 2023, qualify when they comply with applicable directives and laws.
Counties receive prison prosecution cost reimbursements
The corrections department must allocate up to $250,000 each budget year to reimburse counties for eligible felony prosecution costs. The felony must occur on the grounds of a state prison operated by the department. Covered costs include prosecution, indigent defense, common pleas court, court clerk, and sheriff expenses. Counties receive the money, not households.
Counties receive voting system and training funding
County election boards receive $500,000 in fiscal year 2027 to train precinct election officials. From July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027, the state also funds county voting systems under specified existing leases and agreements. Those payments cover acquiring, developing, installing, and putting voting systems into use. The provision does not state a total voting-system payment amount.
County funds reserved for children services
Counties must place money received for children services into a separate county treasury fund. This includes county appropriations and money from other sources. Counties may spend that money only on children-services expenses.
County officers face in-person attendance rules
A county office becomes vacant after 30 consecutive days without the officer performing official duties. Those duties include appearing at the principal office at least once during each 30-day period. Sickness or injury absences follow certificate and continued-absence rules. Officers in active U.S. military service are exempt from these rules.
County prosecutors can leave budget commissions
A county prosecutor can recuse from serving on the county budget commission. County commissioners then select someone to serve in the prosecutor's place. This membership change does not itself alter household taxes or benefits.
Courts can seize sexual-image offense proceeds
Courts can order forfeiture of proceeds or property tied to a covered sexual-image offense, in addition to other penalties. This applies after a conviction or a juvenile delinquency finding. Courts can also take specified interests or rights in an enterprise involved in the violation. Forfeiture is optional and requires a connection to the offense.
Dedicated fund supports vehicle emissions testing
Ohio creates an auto emissions test fund for its motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program. The fund receives cash transfers, state and local grants, and other contributions. The environmental protection director can use it only to run, oversee, administer, and enforce that program. No funding amount is stated.
Dedicated funding for parks and nature
Interest from the oil and gas resolution and remediation fund can support any Department of Natural Resources purpose. Payments need Technical Advisory Council on Oil and Gas approval and written notice to the state treasurer. The natural areas division can sell ecology-related educational and branded items, including native plants and seeds, to support its fund. A new park fund receives contract money from lodge, restaurant, and marina service providers and concessionaires. That money must maintain and repair the facilities those operators run.
Disaster relief and hazard planning receive funding
The budget director must transfer $1 million each budget year from the Controlling Board emergency contingency fund to State Disaster Relief. Transfers occur July 1 or as soon as possible afterward. The SARA Title III Hazmat Planning Fund is also entitled to Emergency Response Commission grants for state hazardous-materials planning duties. No hazardous-materials grant amount or direct household payment is stated.
Domestic violence group gets educator funding
Domestic Violence Project, Inc. receives $62,500 each fiscal year to add a Community Educator position. The provision does not create a specific household service entitlement or cash payment.
Donations support emergency medical response in Israel
The Ohio Registrar sends contributions collected under the designated program to Friends of United Hatzalah of Israel. The money supports free emergency medical first response throughout Israel. The provision sets no contribution total or distribution end date.
Donations support Westerville parks foundation programs
The Ohio Registrar sends contributions collected under the designated program to the Westerville Parks Foundation. The foundation uses them for its programs, activities, and mission. The provision sets no funding total or end date.
Driver fees help fund legal defense
Part of certain motor-vehicle reinstatement fees goes to the indigent defense support fund. The state sends $10 from each $40 fee, $50 from each $300 fee, and $100 from each $600 fee. This provision does not itself raise drivers' fees.
Election commission faces public accountability rules
Specified state officials can ask the Ohio Supreme Court to remove election integrity commission members. Grounds include failing membership rules, breaking member restrictions, three or more absences in a calendar year, or misconduct. The court must review complaints quickly and remove members when charges are proven; replacements follow the original appointment process. The commission must also maintain a website with its decisions and advisory opinions, earlier commission decisions and opinions, and updated election laws.
Election opinions protect people who rely
The Ohio election integrity commission can issue advisory opinions about election laws listed in section 3517.15(A). People addressed by an opinion, and similarly situated people, are protected from criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits. They must reasonably rely on the opinion, and their facts must match the circumstances it covers. Existing Ohio elections commission opinions remain valid unless changed or withdrawn.
Electric service counts toward village reviews
County officials now count electric service when reviewing whether villages provided at least five listed services between consecutive census releases. Services can be provided directly, by contract, or through other arrangements. The review also checks whether each elected position had a ballot candidate whenever that position was up for election. The law does not change utility rates.
Emergency radio systems lose certification hurdle
Ohio communications systems qualify as P25 systems when they meet P25 standards and support communication between mission-critical services. They no longer need certification from the MARCS steering committee. The law retains the technical standards and interoperability requirements.
Extra funding supports lottery prize payments
Additional money is appropriated for direct lottery prizes when the lottery director determines it is needed. The same authority covers deferred prizes and interest, without a stated maximum. At the commission's request, the budget director can transfer lottery cash into the deferred-prize trust fund. Prize eligibility does not change.
Father registry gains outreach and access
The state must set rules and a registration form for the putative father registry used in adoptions. It must also create an awareness campaign and information materials within 90 days after the section takes effect. State and local child support agencies gain registry access for the purpose specified in Ohio law. This access does not itself change child support eligibility.
Fathers and families get parenting resources
Children and Youth must contract with an experienced nonprofit with statewide capacity to run the Responsible Fatherhood Initiative. Working with relevant groups, it must provide a media campaign and resources available to every Ohio father. The department can also make nonprofit funding agreements recommended by the Fatherhood Commission when federal law permits. State agencies and boards must receive information to share about evidence-based parenting programs with parents, caregivers, and child care providers. These provisions set no funding amount or direct family payment.
Fire Marshal fund receives $8 million
The law directs an $8 million transfer to the State Fire Marshal Fund on July 1, 2025, or soon afterward. The money comes from the Ohio Highway and Transportation Safety Fund. It supports the Fire Marshal Fund and fire-department grant activities, not direct household payments.
Free training funded for defense lawyers
The Ohio Public Defender can spend up to $50,000 each budget year on free legal training. Eligible participants include state and county public defenders, qualifying private appointed lawyers, and lawyers contracting with the Ohio Public Defender. Private appointed lawyers must represent at least one indigent defendant at no cost to qualify.
Funding for Challenge Ministries and Refuge
Challenge Ministries receives $150,000 in each budget year from the Community Projects appropriation. The Refuge receives $250,000 in each budget year for its existing programs and services. The provisions do not describe the services or set individual eligibility rules.
Funding for drug and theft investigations
Ohio may use up to $3.4 million each fiscal year for cartel-trafficking task forces, equipment, and operating costs. These task forces must have Ohio Organized Crime Commission designation, approval, and supervision. Another allocation allows up to $2.5 million yearly for narcotics task forces, local partnerships, and operating costs. The law also funds retail theft task forces and reimburses local governments for officers’ organized-crime task force expenses. It appropriates additional necessary amounts for that work without stating a dollar limit.
Funding for local family service facilities
Ohio funds named facilities serving children, families, and people facing behavioral health needs, domestic violence, or homelessness. Awards include $2.5 million for Gracehaven, $1 million for Dayton's Miami Chapel Inspire Zone, and $500,000 for Whitney Manor. Another project list includes $50,000 for the Veterans Resource Center and $1.5 million for Cleveland Christian Home's Child Wellness Campus. The law also carries forward specified unused balances measured on June 30, 2024, with listed amounts subject to release before that date. Additional unused C58001 funds can help finish projects when the budget director determines they are needed.
Funding for local parks and conservation
Ohio provides $75.3 million for Clean Ohio conservation projects, plus grant repayments deposited into that fund. Named park awards include $5 million for Cleveland lakefront access, $3 million for Mentor erosion work, and $2.5 million for Heritage Trail Extension. The natural resources department can use an amount equal to 2% of listed park projects for administration. The law carries forward specified unused project balances measured on June 30, 2024. Listed park amounts remain subject to the June 30, 2024 release cutoff.
Funding for Ohio’s opioid response
The Attorney General must maintain opioid-response grants, funded at $1.8 million in FY 2026 and $1.5 million in FY 2027. Grants support successful law enforcement programs and may require private or nonprofit matching money. Recipients must report results within six months after their grant ends. The law also creates the Targeted Addiction Assistance Fund for court-ordered money addressing the opioid crisis. Beginning January 15, 2027, the Attorney General must certify qualifying McKesson settlement receipts for deposit through the state budget office.
Funding helps local electronic warrant systems
Beginning July 1, 2025, Ohio may transfer $750,000 from its General Revenue Fund to the eWarrant Local Integration Fund. The money supports local integration of the electronic warrant system. It does not create direct household payments.
Funding supports African immigrant commission operations
Ohio provides $250,000 in each fiscal year of the biennium for New African Immigrants Commission operating expenses. The money supports commission operations. It does not create direct payments or individual benefits for immigrants.
Funding supports Appalachian children and court advocates
The law directs designated Community Innovations funding to the Appalachian Children Coalition. That money must address systemic challenges facing children in Appalachian Ohio; no amount is stated. Separately, existing court-appointed special advocate programs can use up to $333,333 each budget year for administrative costs. These provisions fund organizations, not direct family payments.
Funding supports child court advocate programs
Up to $666,667 each fiscal year can support court-appointed special advocate programs. The money can start programs in areas without one and support existing programs.
Funding supports crime survivors and investigations
Qualifying domestic violence programs receive $10 million yearly, plus up to $100,000 yearly from Attorney General operating funds. Up to $4.531 million each fiscal year supports human-trafficking prosecutions, victim services, prevention, and policy work. This includes help for child victims and must follow the Governor’s human-trafficking task force priorities. Up to $1 million each fiscal year funds law enforcement investigations tied to sexual assault kit results and related costs.
Funding supports first responder hiring and wellness
Up to $2.2 million each fiscal year supports officer hiring, training, retention, and first responder wellness. This includes $500,000 yearly each for First Responders’ Bridge and Save A Warrior Foundation. Tri-State Peer Support Team receives $200,000 yearly within that allocation. The named groups must use the money for the specified mental health, peer support, and program costs.
Funding supports prison treatment and reentry
Part of criminal justice funding must support treatment, recovery, reentry, forensic services, jail care, specialized courts, and alternatives to incarceration. The behavioral health director sets allowed block grant uses; no grant amount is stated. Relink receives $112,500 each budget year to connect people with recovery, anti-trafficking, and reentry services. The Frederick Douglass Project for Justice receives $350,000 in fiscal 2026 and $150,000 in fiscal 2027. That money supports its work in all prisons.
Funding supports small fire departments
The law provides $30,000 in fiscal year 2026 for volunteer training at the Northwestern Ohio Volunteer Firemen’s Association Fire School. Through June 30, 2027, Ohio can transfer up to $600,000 from the State Fire Marshal Fund to a small-government fire department loan fund. That transfer requires a written request from the commerce director and Controlling Board approval. Individual loan amounts and terms are not specified.
Grand River receives sidewalk repair funding
The law gives the Village of Grand River $15,000 in fiscal year 2026. The grant must pay for sidewalk improvements and repairs.
Grants support civil legal aid access
Ohio’s Supreme Court can fund nonprofit groups and agencies providing civil legal aid to underserved people. Grants can also support new legal-aid approaches and better access to court services. The fund receives voluntary $50 attorney-registration donations and $150 portions of fees paid by out-of-state attorneys. These are provider grants, not household cash payments.
Grants support cleanup and building demolition
The law funds grants through Ohio’s Brownfield Remediation and Building Demolition and Site Revitalization programs. Brownfield program administration can use no more than 2.5% of its appropriation each fiscal year. Demolition funding also covers related administrative costs. Unspent, uncommitted demolition funds from fiscal year 2026 carry into fiscal year 2027 for the same purpose. The supplied provisions do not state total funding or individual grant amounts.
Grants support fire and emergency communications
Up to $4 million each fiscal year can fund MARCS emergency communications systems, equipment, services, and user access fees. Each recipient can receive up to $50,000 yearly and submit only one application, alone or jointly. The State Fire Marshal may favor projects connecting regional emergency communications. Separately, FY 2026 provides $8 million for volunteer fire departments in counties with 70,000 people or fewer. Those grants are capped at $50,000 per recipient for firefighting or rescue equipment, gear, or fire-protection service costs.
Grants support swimming and water safety
The law provides $250,000 in fiscal year 2026 for grants supporting the YMCA’s Safety Around Water program. Nonprofit and community organizations receive the grants. Funding supports swim lessons for at-risk youth and water-safety education for at-risk youth and adults.
Help navigating expedited pardons receives funding
The corrections department can spend up to $500,000 each budget year on community connections and help seeking expedited pardons. Projects connect rehabilitated people with community partners and help eligible applicants navigate the pardon process and seek clemency. This funding does not guarantee a pardon.
Historic oil sites require unanimous work approval
Ohio’s natural resources department cannot physically work on or alter covered historic oil and gas sites without unanimous approval. Every member of the specified county commissioners board, county historical society, and technical advisory council must consent. A covered site must have an Ohio History Connection brown historical marker and significance to Ohio’s oil and gas history.
Hocking County FosterHub receives state funding
The law provides FosterHub in Hocking County with $375,000 each fiscal year. The provision does not describe funded activities, service eligibility, or direct household assistance.
Juvenile courts can pool service funds
County juvenile courts can move part of their RECLAIM Ohio or Youth Services allocations into an authorized flexible funding pool. Courts must work with their county family and children first council. This permission does not create a direct household payment.
Kindland initiative receives state grant funding
The Values-In-Action Foundation receives $2 million each fiscal year of the 2026–27 budget for its Kindland initiative. This funding provision does not describe the initiative's activities or identify individual benefits.
Lake Erie funding supports farm runoff reduction
Healthy Lake Erie Program money supports conservation and nutrient runoff reduction in the Western Lake Erie Basin. Uses include soil testing, winter cover crops, field-edge testing, stream monitoring, and animal waste control. The natural resources director chooses measures and additional runoff reduction efforts. Recommendations encouraging farmers to adopt 4R nutrient stewardship practices receive priority. The provision does not state the funding amount.
Lasting protections for American Indian burial sites
The Ohio History Connection must create permanent legal protections for American Indian burial sites established from the section’s effective date onward. It must also protect earlier sites when establishing an easement is legally feasible. The Connection or its assignee can enforce these protections.
Library funds support technology and operations
The law directs regional library funding to systems eligible under Ohio law. It transfers about $3.69 million each fiscal year from the Public Library Fund to the Ohio Public Library Information Network’s technology fund. It also transfers about $4.53 million from the Public Library Fund to State Library operations in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The budget director sets transfer schedules. The network, INFOhio, and OhioLINK must coordinate electronic database purchases when feasible and contribute funds fairly.
Local fire departments receive grant funding
Fire department grants get $15.515 million in fiscal year 2026 and $7.515 million in 2027. Eligible recipients include volunteer and small-community departments, qualifying joint districts, local governments, and qualifying contracted private fire companies. Grants cover firefighting or rescue equipment, documented training, and fire-protection services approved by the State Fire Marshal. Equipment or service grants are generally capped at $15,000 yearly, or $25,000 after a qualifying disaster declaration in the current or previous fiscal year. Training reimbursement can reach $15,000 yearly, and each recipient or contracted firefighting entity can join only one application per fiscal year.
Local water and flood projects funded
Coshocton receives $250,000 each fiscal year to design and build a water line serving Warsaw and River View School. The law also provides Boardman Township with matching funds for its FEMA flood mitigation grant. That money must serve as the grant match. The supplied provision does not state Boardman’s funding amount or household water connection costs.
Lower radio fees for public responders
Ohio must use $10.5 million each year of the biennium to reduce Multi-Agency Radio Communications System subscriber fees. The reductions cover villages, cities, townships, counties, and regional public safety and first-response agencies. The law does not specify how much any one subscriber saves.
More coordinated help for vulnerable children
Ohio provides up to $3 million each fiscal year for child advocacy center grants through their statewide network. Grants support child sexual abuse investigations, prosecution, treatment, and healing services. State departments must also coordinate help, using available resources, for youth served by at least two listed systems. Those systems are child protection, behavioral health, developmental disabilities, juvenile courts, and Medicaid. Within one year after the section takes effect, departments must report youth counts, licensed placements, tracking, actions, and recommendations.
More funding for gas pipeline safety
Federal funding for Ohio's gas pipeline safety program rises from about $1.68 million in FY 2026 to $1.73 million in FY 2027. The money supports the Public Utilities Commission's safety program. This provision does not set household payments or change gas service rates.
More funding for pipeline and materials oversight
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio receives higher funding for three programs in fiscal year 2027. State pipeline safety funding rises from $350,000 in fiscal 2026 to $360,000 in fiscal 2027. Non-hazardous materials civil forfeiture funding rises from $278,202 to $286,548. Hazardous materials civil forfeiture funding rises from $1.167567 million to $1.178594 million. These allocations do not change forfeiture rules or provide household payments.
More funding for truck safety oversight
Ohio increases funding for four Public Utilities Commission carrier programs between fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Motor Carrier Enforcement rises from about $5.68 million to $5.79 million; federal Motor Carrier Safety rises from $16.10 million to $16.29 million. Intrastate Registration rises from $230,298 to $237,207, and Unified Carrier Registration rises from $451,794 to $465,348. These funding provisions do not specify new safety rules or registration requirements.
More state boards face sunset review
More state boards and commissions are subject to review of whether they should continue operating. Boards cannot avoid review merely because they issue final decisions appealable to a common pleas court. The Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Board also loses its exclusion. Each entity must still meet the law's definition of an agency.
Museums and historic sites receive support
The Nancy and David Wolf Holocaust and Humanity Center receives $125,000 in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The Western Reserve Historical Society and Cincinnati Museum Center each receive $350,000 in each year. The law provides $150,000 in fiscal year 2026 for the Wadsworth Area Historical Society and preservation of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. A separate appropriation pays operating costs at approved UNESCO World Heritage sites in Ohio. The supplied provision does not state that appropriation’s amount.
Nature fund can support river systems
Ohio can use its natural areas and preserves fund to administer the wild, scenic, and recreational river system. Permitted uses include scenic river lands and related facilities or improvements. The law does not specify a funding amount.
New fund supports orphaned well cleanup
Ohio creates an oil and gas resolution and remediation fund for plugging orphaned wells and necessary health, safety, and environmental work. At each fiscal year’s start, it receives the oil and gas well fund balance exceeding that year’s appropriation. It also receives specified payments and recovered corrective-action costs. The responsible chief orders quarterly payments from the fund; no fixed funding amount is stated.
New fund treats abandoned mine pollution
Ohio creates a long-term abandoned mine reclamation fund, administered by the Division of Mineral Resources Management. It receives federal mine-reclamation grants and investment earnings. The fund supports acid mine drainage treatment and work to prevent land collapse and coal mine fires. Its money must address the causes and effects of acid mine drainage from coal mining; no dollar amount is specified.
Officers earn credit for prevention lessons
Attorney General rules must let officers and troopers earn up to four training hours for on-duty drug-use prevention lessons. Lessons must use evidence-based materials at district, community, STEM, or college-preparatory boarding schools. Rules must also let extra trainer hours count toward other officers’ required hours within the same agency. These credits cannot replace mandatory hands-on training.
Ohio expands well cleanup funding options
The oil and gas well fund can send money to the oil and gas resolution and remediation fund. Owners of exempt Mississippian or domestic wells retain the choice to pay $50 once instead of providing listed financial assurance. That fee now goes to the remediation fund rather than the well plugging fund. Both the well fund and remediation fund can buy property or remove structures to reach wells under the law’s listed exceptions. The general ban on those access expenses remains outside those exceptions.
Ohio funds America’s anniversary events
The law directs Ohio’s U.S. Semiquincentennial commission funding to grants supporting the nation’s 250th anniversary across Ohio. It dedicates $250,000 in fiscal year 2026 to marketing and operations for America’s River Roots Festival. The supplied provisions do not state the total statewide grant funding.
Ohio funds cannabis oversight and prevention
The law directs at least $5 million each fiscal year from the Medical Marijuana Control Program appropriation to adult-use marijuana regulation. The Division of Cannabis Control must also partner with a statewide nonprofit on cannabis and related drug misuse prevention. That partnership uses the Drug Addiction Partnership appropriation for education and public awareness. The division must report annually to lawmakers on activities, spending, and measurable results.
Ohio funds Lake Erie research
Sea Grant funding must match federal dollars and attract additional support for Ohio State's program, including Stone Laboratory. The money supports research, education, and outreach on Lake Erie and Ohio's coastal resources. The stated goals include public use, economic value, and responsible management.
Ohio funds libraries and shared connections
The Ohioana Library Association receives $191,000 each fiscal year for operating expenses, with its remaining appropriation paying rent. State library-network funding supports telecommunications linking public libraries and other participants. The network's board decides how to use that appropriation.
Ohio funds public defense performance audit
The law reserves up to $500,000 in fiscal year 2026 for an audit of legal defense for people unable to afford lawyers. It must cover the Public Defender’s office and at least five counties using different service models. The audit examines costs, accounting, payment processes, and service challenges. A report is due to legislative leaders by January 1, 2027. The audit itself does not change eligibility or access to lawyers.
Ohio funds water quality protection work
Ohio’s environmental agency can award grants to regional agencies doing water quality planning under the federal Clean Water Act. The law provides $900,000 for Lake Erie protection in fiscal year 2026 and $940,000 in fiscal year 2027. The budget director can also transfer up to $25,000 yearly from each of five specified funds to the Lake Erie Protection Fund. Those transfers can total up to $125,000 yearly, on July 1 or soon afterward.
Ohio parks and lakes receive project funding
Mosquito Lake State Park receives $250,000 each budget year for improvements. Lake Loramie receives $250,000 annually for a vendor to excavate channels and remove hard pan sediment and hard clay debris. The natural resources director must consult the Loramie Watershed Association to identify work areas. In fiscal 2026, Grand Lake St. Marys receives $172,000 for channel excavation and sediment removal. The Indian Lake Watershed Project also receives $250,000 in fiscal 2026.
People can donate directly to preserves
Anyone can donate directly to Ohio's natural areas and preserves fund. Donations can be separate from, or in addition to, gifts through an Ohio income tax refund. Giving is voluntary, and the law sets no donation amount.
Police grants fund cameras and crime prevention
Up to $5 million each fiscal year supports grants to start or improve police body-worn camera programs. Up to $4 million each fiscal year supports state and local law enforcement crime-reduction grants. Crime-reduction grants must use promising or proven strategies. They can cover eligible overtime, equipment, technical help, and crime analysis.
Police receive data and hearing protection funding
The law allows up to $600,000 each budget year for a shared narcotics task force data system with state technology officials. It supports case management, collaboration, data sharing, and analysis. Up to $1 million annually funds competitive purchases of ready-made, fully in-canal hearing protection directly from manufacturers. Products need a noise reduction rating of at least 25 decibels and maximum output of 80 decibels; agencies receive them first come, first served. Up to $200,000 annually funds implementation of the Governor's Warrant Task Force recommendations.
Political parties gain restricted-fund spending options
Ohio state and county political parties can use separate restricted funds for headquarters operations and maintenance. Allowed uses also include voter registration, get-out-the-vote work, fundraising administration, certain communications with registered party voters, and required reports. The permission applies only to money held in those separate restricted funds.
Priority regions receive soil and water support
Ohio provides $4.2 million in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to conservation districts in agriculture-director-designated priority regions. Funding supports staffing, soil testing, nutrient plans, manure technologies, filter strips, water management, and H2Ohio work. The agriculture department must also create programs reducing phosphorus, sediment, and other nutrients in the Western Lake Erie Basin and other designated critical regions. H2Ohio money may support practices, equipment, tributary monitoring, revolving loans, and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program matching funds. No separate nutrient-program total or individual payment formula is stated.
Prison crowding reviews gain backup route
The corrections director can seek Attorney General review after finding a prison exceeds capacity and an overcrowding emergency exists. The director must first find no other reasonable solution. The Attorney General reviews that finding and can recommend sentence reductions to the governor. The director can recommend reductions if the Attorney General disagrees, makes no recommendation, or does not act within 30 days. The governor retains authority to declare an emergency; the process does not guarantee sentence reductions.
Probate records become easier to access
Probate courts must put their general dockets online for remote viewing and printing within 18 months after the amendment takes effect. Individual documents must also be available for cases filed on or after that effective date. Internal court documents and records restricted by court order are excluded. Common pleas court clerks must choose methods for storing, maintaining, and retrieving paper and electronic records. Those methods must follow Ohio's court record-management rule.
Probation grants prioritize drug addiction services
The corrections department allocates probation improvement and incentive grants to municipalities. Grants emphasize services for people addicted to opiates or other illegal drugs. They also supplement services funded through Community Nonresidential Programs.
Regional civic and recreation programs funded
The law provides $1 million each fiscal year to Ohio University’s Voinovich School for the Mayor’s Partnership for Progress. Shawnee State University receives $500,000 yearly for its Civic and Culture Program for Appalachia. The Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia receives $750,000 yearly. These provisions do not specify individual eligibility or household payments.
Rescue teams and first responders receive funding
Ohio Task Force One receives $250,000 each budget year for operating costs and new urban search-and-rescue programs. Another $200,000 annually supports it, similar rescue units, and an agency-recognized entity maintaining the statewide fire emergency response plan. The mortuary response team headquarters in Montgomery County receives $75,000 annually for maintenance and training. The Drones for First Responders pilot receives $2.5 million in fiscal 2026. Any pilot money left unspent and uncommitted carries into fiscal 2027.
Residents get online waste facility notices
Ohio's environmental agency can post specified solid-waste and infectious-waste proceeding notices on its official website. This replaces newspaper publication only when no newspaper of general circulation is published in the county. Residents can look there for notices about the covered facility proceedings.
Retirement board campaigns must disclose case outcomes
Ohio Public Employees Retirement Board campaigns face a disclosure rule for claims about candidates’ indictments or election-enforcement findings. Speakers must include the outcome of resulting legal proceedings when knowingly making these claims to affect a nomination or election. Covered findings come from the Ohio Elections Commission, secretary of state, or Ohio Election Integrity Commission.
Retirement board campaigns must disclose case outcomes
In teachers’ retirement board campaigns, knowing claims meant to affect nominations or campaigns must include related legal outcomes. This covers claims about criminal indictments or Ohio Election Integrity Commission findings. School employees’ retirement board campaigns have a similar disclosure rule for indictments and findings by that commission, the Ohio Elections Commission, or Secretary of State. The law also removes the requirement to send specified campaign fines to the Ohio Elections Commission fund, without naming a replacement destination.
School safety grants support students
The law provides $10 million each fiscal year for school safety, school climate, and training grants. Grants can fund equipment, learning materials, and support for students with mental health needs. The Attorney General consults state education and behavioral health leaders. Specified school programs and training must involve the county sheriff or local police. A law enforcement agency’s grant cannot fund a similar request by a school in its area.
School staff receive shooter-response training support
The law sets aside $200,000 each fiscal year for selected school staff through the FASTER Saves Lives Program. Training covers stopping active shooters and treating casualties.
Security grant records stay confidential
Covered security-grant submissions are not public records. Ohio's public-records law does not require their release. The protection applies to submissions described in the specified school-safety and security-record laws.
Security grants support nonprofits and private schools
The Emergency Management Agency can prioritize up to $1 million each budget year for counterterrorism partnerships serving eligible nonprofits at risk of attack. It can use another allowance of up to $1 million annually for community-police partnerships protecting at-risk nonprofits. Those partnerships must include a nonprofit and law enforcement, emergency management, or homeland security agencies. Chartered nonpublic schools can compete for $300,000 in fiscal 2026 for school resource officer or special duty officer programs. School grants last two years, with preference for schools showing high terror attack risk.
Security officers gain broader arrest powers
Highway Patrol officers on covered security details can arrest people whose crimes threaten protected people or state property. Officers authorized to protect the General Assembly or covered executive officials gain similar powers for threats to protected people. These powers apply wherever the threatening crime occurs. Local officers retain their own authority.
Settlement recipients receive court-directed money
The state must distribute money from cases involving the Attorney General according to court orders or settlements. Separate funding covers distributions from antitrust cases and matters on the same basis. The law appropriates additional amounts needed to make both types of distributions. Recipients and payment amounts depend on each order or settlement, not a general household eligibility rule.
Shelters and trafficking services receive funding
The law provides $300,000 in each of FY 2026 and FY 2027 to Cleveland Rape Crisis Center's Human Trafficking Drop-in Center for at-risk youth. Each year, the Battered Women's Shelter of Summit and Medina Counties receives $300,000 for its Finding My Childhood Again pilot. That shelter also receives $50,000 each year to operate its Market Street Facility commercial kitchen. The Battered Women's Shelter of Portage County receives $50,000 each year from domestic violence program funding. These allocations fund organizations and programs, not direct household payments.
Simpler filings for state education campaigns
State Board of Education campaign committees can replace finance statements with a certificate filed within 10 days of the candidate’s filing. During the election period, total contributions and spending each cannot exceed $2,000, and no individual can give over $100. Exceeding any limit voids the certificate and requires statements. Committees that must file statements now use the board of elections where the candidate files election papers, not the secretary of state.
Smaller counties get court technology funding
The Attorney General must use $4.505 million each fiscal year for court information sharing and data storage. Courts and common pleas court clerks can receive funding in counties with 125,000 people or fewer. Population is measured by the latest federal decennial census.
Some convictions gain record relief access
People with convictions listed in Ohio Revised Code section 2953.32(A)(1) are no longer excluded by this provision from relief under section 2953.33. Exclusions under sections 2953.32 and 2953.34 remain. The change does not guarantee relief in any individual case.
Some election prosecutions require completed review
For election-law violations covered by the complaint-first rule, prosecution cannot begin until a complaint reaches the secretary of state. The required administrative proceedings must also finish first. This gives accused people a required review process before prosecution.
Specialty plates support named community groups
The registrar sends designated specialty-plate contributions to Healthy New Albany for community activities and Hilliard Davidson's baseball club for team support. Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation receives funds for advocacy, education, and professional development. The Ohio arboriculture chapter receives funds for tree-care awareness and education. Eastern European Congress of Ohio receives charitable and educational funds; Summit Metro Parks Foundation receives funds for county parks. Fund investment income stays in the fund and reaches listed groups by May 1, proportional to their previous calendar-year receipts.
State can fund election notices and mailings
The law allows emergency contingency fund transfers to pay for public notices about statewide ballot initiatives. It also allows transfers for printing and mailing unsolicited absentee-ballot applications for the November 2026 general election. Both require a Secretary of State request and Controlling Board approval. No transfer amount is stated, and the law does not guarantee an application mailing to every voter.
State devices face foreign app restrictions
Ohio’s state-device restrictions cover apps owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by federally identified foreign adversaries. The rules apply to state agencies, officers, employees, and contractors, not household devices. Qualified people may use covered apps for law enforcement or security when they take steps to reduce security risks.
State education candidates lose campaign restrictions
State Board of Education candidates leave several state-office and statewide-candidate campaign-finance definitions. Specified contribution limits, disclosure duties, excess-fund disposal rules, and related ballot restrictions no longer apply on those grounds. The office alone also no longer triggers the listed restrictions on contributions from specified state employees. Candidates leave personal-fund deposit rules; covered candidates still have a $500 direct-spending exception and a ballot-restriction exception for excess contributions below $5,000. A permitted excess-fund disposal payment now goes to the Ohio election integrity commission fund.
State funding supports narcotics task forces
The law directs funding to narcotics task forces supported by the Ohio Attorney General. The supplied provision does not state the funding amount or establish a household payment.
State funds required police training
The law directs training funds to required state training for peace officers and troopers. Up to $150,000 each fiscal year can cover related administrative costs, including curriculum development.
State funds support election administration
The Secretary of State can use the Board of Elections Fund to reimburse listed election expenses or make recoverable advances. The fund can also pay for training board members and employees. Cash transfers into it need Controlling Board approval. A separate Ohio Election Integrity Commission Fund can pay only the commission’s operating expenses. Neither provision states a funding amount.
State funds support Ohio library programs
The law transfers Public Library Fund money to two library programs in each fiscal year of the 2026–27 budget. The Ohioana Library Association Fund receives $310,516 each year. The Regional Library Systems Fund receives $494,000 each year to support eligible systems. The budget director sets the transfer schedule.
State matches festival public safety spending
The law makes up to $200,000 available in fiscal year 2026 for Voices of America Country Music Festival public safety. The festival is in West Chester Township. Local government must match every state dollar used.
State money supports crime victim services
The Attorney General's Crime Victim Services Section gets $6.7 million in fiscal year 2026 and $5.7 million in 2027. Federal Victims of Crime Act money must be used first when possible. The provision does not set individual benefit amounts.
State money supports fairs and construction
Ohio reserves up to $380,000 each fiscal year to reimburse county and independent agricultural societies for Junior Fair expenses. It also provides $500,000 in fiscal year 2026 for construction of the Mercer County Fairgrounds Grand Events Center. The money goes to organizations and the facility project, not directly to households.
State repays island towns for services
The natural resources department must contract with qualifying Lake Erie island towns when it does not provide covered services. These include emergency response, trash and debris removal, and snow removal at state parks or department-owned or managed facilities. Contracts are also required when the department requests other services. The state must repay service and administrative costs. Only island municipalities with resort attractions and activities qualify.
Stronger penalties protect private sexual images
Sharing an identifiable adult's private nude or sexual image without consent and with intent to harm is a fifth-degree felony. A prior conviction or guilty plea for this offense, a sexually oriented offense, or a child-victim oriented offense raises it to a fourth-degree felony. The law removes the exception for offenders under 18 when the depicted person was no more than five years older.
Three counties receive baby box grants
The law provides $45,000 in fiscal year 2026 to install baby boxes for newborn safety. The development director selects one local fire department in each of Geauga, Lake, and Portage counties. Each selected department receives $15,000 for installation.
Unused funds support juvenile community programs
The Department of Youth Services can use up to $1.375 million each fiscal year for juvenile community programs. Money must come from unused, uncommitted RECLAIM Ohio balances allocated to juvenile correctional facilities. It supports Targeted RECLAIM, the Behavioral Health Juvenile Justice Initiative, and other evidence-based programs carrying out juvenile sentencing reforms.
USA Cares Ohio receives annual funding
The Department of Veterans Services must give USA Cares - Ohio $250,000 each fiscal year. This provision does not specify how the group must spend the money or who qualifies for help.
Vista Village grant bypasses procurement rules
The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health must distribute the Community Support grant earmarked for Vista Village. For this distribution, the law sets aside procurement requirements in Revised Code sections 153.06 and 153.07. This provision does not state the grant amount.
Youngstown-area military and airport facilities receive funding
The Eastern Ohio Military Affairs Commission receives $2 million in fiscal year 2026 for construction or repairs. Eligible sites are Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, and Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center. The money supports facility projects, not household payments.
Animal oversight funds receive dedicated revenue
The animal and consumer protection fund receives livestock dealer and broker fees, specified penalties, captive whitetail deer license money, and other designated revenue. It supports the agriculture department’s listed animal-protection programs. The commercial dog breeding fund receives program fees and penalties, including pet store license application fees. It also receives specified court-ordered inspection reimbursements and witness fees, and can support program administration. These provisions do not state new fee amounts.
Electronic sweepstakes face broader gambling rules
Ohio gambling laws cover more electronic devices that reveal game-entry results when players pay directly or indirectly for prize chances. Any of nine listed conditions can establish that payment counts. Examples include simulated-game prize reveals, extra entry purchases, specified low redemption or use rates, and payouts above 20% of a location’s gross revenue.
Exempt buildings get fire code notices
Building or zoning officials must give written notice when a qualifying determination exempts a building from Board of Building Standards rules. The notice must explain that the state fire code still applies at the location. It must include the applicable fire code provisions.
Food safety gains another funding route
Ohio’s agriculture department can put qualifying contract and cooperative-agreement money into the food safety fund. Agreements can involve federal agencies or other public or private groups. Money must support specified department duties or projects within those duties. The law sets no funding amount.
Large fireworks stores need stronger sprinklers
Public retail fireworks showrooms must meet a stronger sprinkler standard when they first exceed 5,000 square feet after February 7, 2022. Construction, expansion, or similar changes can trigger the rule. Licensed manufacturers and wholesalers operating these showrooms must install systems meeting NFPA 13 extra hazard, group 2 criteria.
State enforces age checks protecting minors
The Attorney General can sue when failed age checks or data-handling violations let a minor access the covered material. Written notice must come first. Organizations generally have 45 days to fix every listed problem and give written assurance of future compliance. That chance does not apply to late compliance or repeat violations of the same type. Only the Attorney General can enforce this rule; individuals cannot sue under it.
Unspent relief money remains available
Unspent FY 2025 relief funds remain available in FY 2026, and unspent FY 2026 funds remain available in FY 2027. They must stay with the same budget items and purposes. Covered funds include CARES Act school relief, Governor's Emergency Education Relief, and Emergency Rental Assistance. ARPA capital projects and home- and community-based services funds are also covered; available amounts depend on unspent balances.
Addiction programs and marijuana oversight receive funding
Beginning July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward, Ohio must make two transfers from its general fund. The Targeted Addiction Program Fund receives $12.5 million. The Medical Marijuana Control Fund receives $10 million. These transfers do not set individual benefit amounts or eligibility.
Behavioral health clinics can gain certification
The Department of Behavioral Health can create a state certification process and standards for community behavioral health clinics. It can base standards on the federal 2014 law governing these clinics. If it creates the process, it can coordinate with local, state, and federal entities to develop clinics. The law does not require a certification process or a new clinic.
Behavioral health investments must show results
Ohio's behavioral health department may invest in programs run by state agencies, government entities, or private nonprofits. Investments must aim to reduce state general revenue spending or improve outcomes without a net increase in that spending. The director evaluates proposals for expected savings or measurable improvements for people with mental illness or addictions. Recipient agreements must set allowed spending, other resource commitments, expected results, measurement, and reporting.
Behavioral health support for court participants
Ohio can use Hospital Services funds for psychiatric telehealth consultations for jails and their health providers. Specialized Docket Support funds can cover part of court payroll and participants’ treatment and recovery support costs. Eligible specialized dockets must serve people with behavioral health needs and have initial or final Ohio Supreme Court certification. They must be common pleas, municipal, county, juvenile, or family court dockets. The Department of Behavioral Health can use no more than 1% of annual docket funding for administration.
Better coordination for early childhood services
The Department of Children and Youth must make interagency agreements to implement Help Me Grow and coordinate early childhood programs. Agreements must also seek to maximize federal reimbursement. The department must ensure consistent statewide screening and connections to services, and review coordination at least annually. The law sets no household payment or specific increase in services.
Better online tools for addiction help
Ohio’s addiction campaign website must list contacts for local alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health boards. The All Roads Lead to Home website must be interactive and offer treatment, provider, recovery-support, and clinical information. It must include an evidence-based self-check tool when reasonably available and approved by the department’s medical director.
Brain injury survivors receive service funding
The law provides $800,000 each fiscal year of the 2026–27 budget for brain injury services. Ohio State University's College of Medicine receives $450,000 annually for its Brain Injury Program. The remaining $350,000 goes to the Brain Injury Association of Ohio for direct services and support for survivors and caregivers.
Camps can stock emergency allergy medicines
Residential and child day camps can stock epinephrine autoinjectors and inhalers for specified emergencies. Camps must consult a licensed prescriber before adopting required storage, training, access, and use policies. Epinephrine procurement must involve a prescriber or prescriber-issued protocol; camps must report each procurement and use to the state. Epinephrine policies must require an immediate request for emergency medical help after use. Inhaler policies must include a prescriber's protocol covering doses and disposal.
Care facilities can operate during review
Independent living and residential facilities applying for a residential care facility license can keep operating during application review. This permission allows care for no more than two residents while the application is pending.
Children’s crisis care funding follows stays
Ohio calculates children’s crisis care funding twice yearly and distributes it quarterly to qualifying facilities. Each facility’s share is based on resident children’s total days of care. Admission days count; discharge days do not. Facilities can decline the money, but those accepting it must follow the applicable crisis care law and rules.
Community funding helps families handle crises
The law directs up to $2 million each fiscal year to community family-support projects across Ohio. Projects help families avoid crises and provide crisis intervention. The provision does not set household payment amounts or individual eligibility rules.
Community groups receive family assistance grants
For each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the law funds several community programs under Ohio's family-assistance requirements. The African American Male Wellness Agency receives $500,000 yearly for Uplift Her, and Child Focus receives $500,000 yearly. Dads2Be receives $150,000 yearly, Ohio Guidestone receives $250,000 yearly, and Country Neighbor receives $100,000 yearly. Dads2Be, Child Focus, Ohio Guidestone, and Country Neighbor receive TANF funds. These grants do not specify individual eligibility or household payment amounts.
Contributions support prostate cancer patients
The Ohio Registrar sends the specified collected contributions to Zero, the End of Prostate Cancer, Inc. The organization must use them for prostate cancer awareness, research, and support for patients and their families. The law does not state a contribution total or direct household payment.
Coordinated services for autism and rare disabilities
When applicable, the Department of Children and Youth must contract for coordinated programs for people with autism and low-incidence disabilities. These programs cover infants, preschoolers, school-age children, and adults. The director selects the provider with input from the education and workforce director and advisory board. Contracts must describe programs, expected results, and performance measures.
Counties get help covering jail medications
State assistance helps counties cover eligible behavioral health drugs in county jails and community-based correctional facilities. Covered drugs include psychiatric medicines, medication-assisted treatment, and medicines for withdrawal or detoxification. The department can fund costs already incurred or expected. This provision states no funding amount.
Counties get public assistance fraud-prevention funding
The law provides an additional $2.5 million in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for county departments. Departments must have approved plans for public assistance fraud prevention, early detection, and investigation. This funding does not itself change household eligibility or benefit amounts.
Counties receive adult protective services funding
The law directs $7.04 million each fiscal year toward initial county allocations for adult protective services. Each county receives an initial $80,000. The rest of the adult protective services appropriation follows the state’s existing distribution formula.
Counties receive overdose toxicology reimbursements
The law reimburses counties where coroners performed toxicology screenings on drug overdose victims. Ohio’s health department divides the funds among eligible counties based on their share of screenings performed. The supplied provision does not state total funding.
Counties receive quarterly protective services funding
Within available funds, Job and Family Services must distribute protective-services money within 30 days after each calendar quarter begins. Funding no greater than the prior year follows prior-year allocation levels. When funding rises, counties receive a base allocation plus shares of the increase. Of that increase, 12% is split equally, 48% follows residents age 60 or older, and 40% follows residents below poverty. Counties must deposit the money in their public assistance funds; no total appropriation is stated.
County disability boards get payment notices
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the state must estimate county boards' quarterly nonfederal home and community-based service costs. Each board must receive written quarterly notices stating its amount due and payment date. This rule does not create a household payment duty.
Disability care facilities retain workforce support
For fiscal year 2026, Ohio must use part of its Medicaid Services budget to maintain workforce development payment rates. The payments support intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual disabilities and their professional workforces. Funding runs from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026; the provision does not state an amount.
Disability service staff must complete training
County disability board superintendents must ensure service and support administrators, conditional-status administrators, and their supervisors complete state online training. Training is due within 30 days after hire. Administrators and supervisors must also complete it before renewing certification.
Disability services receive targeted state funding
In each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027, Assistive Technology of Ohio receives $26,000 for grants and services. Services for the Deaf receives $527,000 each year to support community centers for deaf people. The Columbus Speech and Hearing Center receives $200,000 each year through the DeafBlind Fund. It must recruit and train support providers and connect them with DeafBlind Ohioans.
Early support for children with disabilities
Ohio may provide county disability boards up to $7 million in fiscal 2026 and $9 million in fiscal 2027. The money supports early-intervention evaluations, assessments, and service coordination; boards accepting it must maintain the prior year's local funding level. Separately, $1 million each fiscal year funds special instruction and family support for children under three with blindness or low vision. Contracts go to the Cleveland Sight Center, Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Sight Center of Northwest Ohio.
East Side dental clinic gets funding
The Ohio State University East Side Dental Clinic receives $250,000 in each fiscal year. The money supports the clinic, but the provision does not set patient eligibility, coverage, or individual benefits.
Faster discipline reports for mental-health assistants
Health facilities must report formal discipline of certified mental health assistants within 30 days, down from 60. Reports must name the person, describe the action, and give facts approved by a review committee or facility board. Professional associations also have 30 days after their final decision to report membership suspensions or revocations. That duty covers ethics violations, incompetence, or malpractice, and reports must include the action and underlying facts.
Fatherhood grants preserve money for services
Ohio funds Responsible Fatherhood Initiative grants, with no more than 2% used for administration. On June 30 each fiscal year, unused money must be committed to the same purposes in the following year. The provision does not state a total appropriation or individual benefit amount.
Food bank grants support low-income families
Ohio must make a subgrant agreement with the Ohio Association of Foodbanks to buy and distribute food to low-income people. It also supports transportation for children's summer meals and equipment for food pantries and soup kitchens. Equipment purchases must expand partners' ability to serve TANF-eligible families with perishable foods, fruits, and vegetables. The Association must report spending, distribution, services, and performance within 60 days after each quarter and 120 days after each fiscal year. The provision does not state a grant amount.
Foster children get adoption recruitment support
Ohio can provide the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption up to $10 million in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The total comes from the Family and Children Services, Child Welfare, and Adoption Program appropriations. It supports statewide Wendy's Wonderful Kids recruitment to find permanent homes for children in Ohio foster care. The money funds professional, child-focused recruiters rather than direct household payments.
Foundation must support medical monitoring programs
Ohio's monitoring organization must create a foundation with the Ohio State Medical Association and Ohio Hospital Association. The foundation supports approved medical monitoring programs and must be created within 30 days after the section takes effect. Its three-member board must approve a yearly spending plan that considers monitoring costs, participant revenue, and service use. Creating the foundation is required to enter or keep the organization's Medical Board contract.
Funding expands Applewood foster care
Applewood Centers, Inc. receives $100,000 each fiscal year to expand its foster care program. The law does not set a per-child payment or say how many children the expansion serves.
Funding expands peer-led mental health support
Ohio reserves up to $3 million each fiscal year to create and expand peer-run programs for people with mental illness. Programs must offer work, housing, education, and access to medical and psychiatric services, including for people with substance use disorders. Programs and facilities must follow state-selected standards and benchmarks. A separate reservation provides up to $1.5 million each fiscal year for behavioral health access and opportunities.
Funding expands school-based youth crisis support
Ohio provides $700,000 each fiscal year to the Social Advocates for Youth Program at Bellefaire Jewish Children's Bureau. The money expands school-based prevention and crisis intervention. It supports crisis and trauma services, counselors, behavioral health-trained teachers and intervention specialists, and a dedicated outcomes researcher.
Funding helps mothers and infants
The law directs up to $5 million each fiscal year to community and local faith-based maternal-health programs. These programs must support pregnant mothers and aim to improve maternal and infant health. It directs up to $1 million yearly to daily nonmedical services at residential infant care centers. Remaining Infant Vitality money supports efforts to prevent infant deaths, including safe sleep, prenatal support, home visits, and care coordination. This funds providers and services, not guaranteed cash payments to families.
Funding supports addiction treatment and medicines
The Criminal Justice Services appropriation may allocate up to $6.5 million each fiscal year to the Behavioral Health Drug Reimbursement Program. It must also use $1.25 million each fiscal year for the Addiction Treatment Program. These are program allocations, not stated individual reimbursement amounts or new eligibility rules.
Funding supports children and family programs
Each fiscal year, Ohio directs up to $195,000 in federal grants to child advocate training and research. The research examines volunteer advocates' effects on children in custody because of abuse, neglect, or dependency. Annual TANF funding includes up to $1 million for the Ohio Children's Trust Fund and $2.5 million for the Commission on Fatherhood. The TANF spending must follow the state rules named in the law. These funds support programs rather than direct household payments.
Funding supports crisis and trauma response
Integrated Services for Behavioral Health receives $250,000 for an emergency pilot; the provision does not name a fiscal year. Cornerstone of Hope receives $750,000 each fiscal year to launch and expand the Ohio Traumatic Loss Response Team. Cordata Healthcare Innovations receives $1.5 million each fiscal year for case management, assessments, and evaluation of law enforcement deflection sites and quick response teams. These grants do not establish household payments.
Funding supports crisis calls and response
Ohio uses its 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline appropriation for statewide operations, related activities, and mental health treatment and response. The Department of Behavioral Health must help develop a statewide mobile crisis system for adults and children. It must coordinate with local, state, and federal partners. Development depends on available state and federal funding. When funding limits development, the department must assess possible pilot projects or other initiatives.
Funding supports disability independence and family programs
The Statewide Independent Living Council receives $252,000 each budget year for operations under the state independent living plan. Centers for Independent Living receive $1.5 million each year, including federal matching funds. The law also provides up to $1.355608 million annually in state vocational rehabilitation matching funds, plus $74,124 for innovation and expansion. OHIO SIBS receives $50,000 in fiscal 2026 to support people involved in the lives of siblings with developmental disabilities. These funds support programs, not stated individual payment amounts.
Funding supports pregnancy and birth services
Unspent and uncommitted fiscal year 2026 Parenting and Pregnancy Program money is carried into fiscal year 2027 for the same purpose. Birthing Beautiful Communities receives $500,000 in fiscal year 2026. That grant supports at-risk mothers and children around birth in Cuyahoga and Summit counties.
Funding supports reading access for disabilities
Qualified Ohio radio reading services can receive up to $256,394 in fiscal 2026 and $218,789 in fiscal 2027. The broadcast commission distributes support using a formula developed with those services. Each year, the law transfers $1.274194 million from the Public Library Fund to the Library for the Blind Fund for Talking Books. It also provides VOICEcorps Reading Services $50,000 each year. Another $30,000 annually supports blind and low-vision outreach, divided equally among Cleveland Sight Center, Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Sight Center of Northwest Ohio.
Grants help women stop using tobacco
Ohio provides $1 million each fiscal year for grants helping women stop using tobacco. Grants prioritize groups serving communities with the state's highest infant mortality rates. Recipients must show they can deliver evidence-based tobacco cessation services. The health and children and youth directors decide how to distribute the money.
Grants recruit and mentor childcare providers
Ohio directs childcare recruitment funds to grants supporting licensed providers, including recruitment of at least 120 new family childcare homes. Eligible organizations must offer recruitment events, information materials, a provider-accessible software platform, coaching, and training. Grants help providers start, operate, and improve their businesses, but awards depend on available money and continued progress reports. The program runs until July 1, 2027; each grant expires at the close of fiscal year 2027. It does not guarantee a family's childcare place or price.
Health funding supports mothers and infants
Ohio directs up to $5 million each fiscal year to Title V maternal and child health activities. The funding covers health services during pregnancy, childbirth, and infancy. It supports programs rather than a set cash payment to families.
Hospitals must arrange birthing center transfers
Hospitals with maternity units that participate in Medicaid must enter written transfer agreements when a qualifying birthing center requests one. The freestanding birthing center must be within 30 miles. Agreements must provide safe, immediate transfers when patients need care beyond the center's capacity. The center must file the agreement with Ohio's health director.
Kinship caregivers get navigation program funding
Ohio directs up to $8.5 million in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to the Kinship Care Navigator Program. The money comes from the Family and Children Services appropriation. It can also match eligible federal Title IV-E funds. This is program support, not a specified payment to each caregiver.
Kinship caregivers get permanent-care program funding
The law directs up to $5 million each fiscal year from the TANF Block Grant to the Kinship Permanency Incentive Program. The program supports permanent commitments by kinship caregivers for children who are unsafe or at risk in their homes. This appropriation does not set individual caregiver payment amounts.
Local grants support treatment and recovery
In fiscal years 2026–2027, Ohio may allocate state grants through local boards for behavioral health services, including harm reduction. Required prevention grants support evidence-based or evidence-informed services, with up to $3 million yearly through the grant and up to $2.5 million yearly for suicide prevention. A required crisis grant supports stabilization centers, crisis prevention, and community efforts across service systems. Required substance-use and recovery grants support treatment, medication for low-income residents, peer services, specified housing costs, and community reintegration. The behavioral health director sets allowable uses; the provisions do not state totals for the crisis, substance-use, or recovery grants.
Local health departments get operating support
Local health departments share $2.16 million each fiscal year if accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board or seeking accreditation. Accredited departments share another $1.84 million each fiscal year. Both amounts are distributed based on population. City and general health district boards may also create home health services funds, without a required funding amount or promised services.
Medicaid waiver notices require compliance confirmation
Before submitting a federal section 1115 Medicaid waiver request, the Medicaid director must confirm compliance with section 5162.08. That confirmation belongs in written notice to the Ohio House speaker and Senate president. Notice remains due at least 10 days before submission and must explain the waiver in detail. This requirement does not itself change Medicaid eligibility or benefits.
Medical Board gains patient oversight tools
The Medical Board can discipline physicians who fail to properly supervise certified mental health assistants. It can also discipline practitioners who break cause-of-death certification or medical death-certificate rules.
Memorial Hospital gets heart health funding
Memorial Hospital receives $1 million each fiscal year for the Mid-Ohio Cardiovascular Health Improvement Initiative. The provision does not describe its services, eligibility rules, or individual assistance amounts.
Mental health funding helps young children
St. Vincent Family Services receives $100,000 each fiscal year for its Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program. Remaining early childhood mental health funds support early identification, intervention, healthy social-emotional development, credentialed professionals, and consultation services. They also support administration, workforce development, and program evaluation. The Departments of Children and Youth and Behavioral Health must coordinate this work. The Mental Health Block Grant appropriation is reserved for infant and early childhood mental health activities.
Miami University receives care research funds
Ohio directs the Long-term Care Research appropriation to Miami University for research. This provision does not specify the amount or research requirements. It does not establish direct household benefits.
More counties can provide patient rides
Counties with up to 60,000 residents can operate or contract for nonemergency patient transport, up from 40,000. Counties starting service or first contracting on or after March 1, 1993, must show a need for public funding. They must also get approval from the state emergency medical, fire, and transportation services board or its successor. The law permits these services but does not guarantee rides or set passenger charges.
Nonprofit grants support fathers and parenting
Ohio must award nonprofit grants through the Commission on Fatherhood for comprehensive services or evidence-based parenting education for fathers. Comprehensive services must include case management, directly or by subcontract; parenting-education grants cannot require it. Grants may last up to three years, with later funding tied to compliance and performance. Recipients must assess service gaps, carry out action plans, work with the commission, and report at least annually. Priority factors include community need, experience, capacity, involvement, and planned service numbers and costs; no grant amount is specified.
Ohio broadens addiction support funding authority
Ohio's mental health and addiction director must support addiction services, related services, and research. Supported treatment and prevention services must be certified by the department. The law removes the requirement naming the substance abuse and addiction fund as the funding source. It does not specify a funding amount or provide direct payments to individuals.
Ohio funds childhood cancer research
The law directs up to $5 million in fiscal year 2026 to qualified Ohio organizations conducting pediatric cancer research. Funds can support research on causes, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and new approaches. This research funding does not guarantee treatment or payments to families.
Ohio sets drug poisoning prevention rules
The Pharmacy Board must create an approval process for drug-detection tools that qualify as not being drug paraphernalia. Tools must show they can reduce poisoning by detecting a specific compound or group of compounds. Ohio's overdose reversal drug definition includes naloxone and other drugs designated by the board. Other drugs must have federal approval to reverse known or suspected opioid overdoses. These rules do not themselves approve a tool or guarantee access to a drug.
Out-of-state care providers gain certification paths
The Aging Director must certify providers who qualify under Ohio’s licensing reciprocity law. Providers can qualify through another state’s license or certificate. Where that state issues neither, specified satisfactory work experience, government certification, or private certification under a state program can qualify. This does not change households’ eligibility for care.
Parkinson’s and stroke registries receive funding
The law provides $1.2 million in fiscal year 2026 and $200,000 in fiscal year 2027 for Parkinson’s and stroke registries. The Parkinson’s registry must use an existing public health population system managed by Ohio’s health department. This money supports health data systems, not payments to patients.
Pharmacies gain benefit manager complaint process
Ohio pharmacies can file formal complaints alleging pharmacy benefit manager violations of section 3959.111 and submit supporting evidence. The Superintendent of Insurance must evaluate those complaints. Filing does not guarantee a remedy or change a household's drug coverage.
Pharmacy Board can share investigation records
The Pharmacy Board can make agreements with other states, federal agencies, and other entities to share drug-distributor records. Agreements can cover licensing, inspections, and investigations of suspected drug-distribution violations. Received information remains subject to the source's confidentiality rules and Ohio's applicable confidentiality law.
Plate contributions help military families in need
The Ohio Registrar sends specialty-plate contributions collected under section 4503.92 to Support Our Troops, Inc. The organization must use them for servicemembers and their families in financial need, consistent with its articles of incorporation. The provision sets no individual award amount.
Rural medical practices receive incentive funding
The state must transfer $3 million from the General Revenue Fund to the Rural Practice Incentive Fund. The transfer date is July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward. The money supports incentives for eligible rural medical practices and health professionals. This provision does not set individual awards or guarantee additional care.
School meal funds prioritize lunch support
Ohio uses school meal funds for federal school-lunch matching funds and required reimbursements. After lunch matching funds are provided, remaining money may support required school breakfasts or Summer EBT food benefits. Breakfast reimbursements are partial, at a state-set rate, and limited to buildings required to offer breakfast. The provision does not set a household benefit amount.
State funding supports free clinic care
Ohio sends Free Clinic Safety Net Services funding to the Charitable Healthcare Network to reimburse free clinics. The money covers care, administration, technology, building repairs, and other clinic needs. The Department of Health can use up to 5% each fiscal year for program administration. The provided text does not state the total funding amount.
State funds cannabis misuse prevention partnership
The Division of Cannabis Control must contract with a statewide nonprofit for cannabis and related drug misuse prevention. The work uses research, data, education, and public awareness. The nonprofit must raise at least 10% of total initiative funding through private contributions. The division must oversee and evaluate the work and report activities, spending, and measurable results to lawmakers each year.
State funds research on strong cannabis
The law sets aside $300,000 each fiscal year of the 2026–27 budget to study high-THC cannabis impacts. The money must follow the law's requirements for that study. It funds research, not household payments or a right to services.
Stronger oversight of mental health assistants
Certified mental health assistants face suspension without a prior hearing for specified serious risks. The board's secretary and supervising member must find clear and convincing evidence of a violation and immediate, serious danger. Verified felony charges also qualify when the charged conduct is a disciplinary violation; six other board members must approve suspension. Trafficking offenses trigger automatic suspension after a guilty plea, finding of guilt, or court finding of eligibility for intervention instead of conviction. Equivalent out-of-state offenses count, and failure to request a timely hearing requires permanent license revocation.
Students get funded school health programs
Ohio provides $10 million each fiscal year for school health centers in counties state health and education agencies identify as high-need. Ohio Adolescent Health Centers receives $7.8 million each fiscal year from Federal Public Health Programs. It also receives $125,000 each fiscal year for school programs on avoiding sexual risk. The 1N5 Foundation receives $175,000 each fiscal year for suicide prevention in schools. These provisions do not set individual student payments or eligibility rules.
Treatment campuses help children lacking placements
Ohio uses $10 million each fiscal year to help establish regional child wellness campuses near children's communities. These campuses provide short-term treatment for children in agency custody or found by a public children services agency at risk of custody. Children must lack a licensed residential placement and spend at least one night in an unlicensed setting. Applicants compete for funding and must show local startup funding commitments and ongoing community support.
Unsafe drug handling allows emergency suspensions
The Pharmacy Board can suspend covered drug licenses without a prior hearing for immediately dangerous drug possession or distribution practices. Clear and convincing evidence is required, and the board must follow the state's suspension procedure. A suspension ends when removed or when a final order takes effect. Without a final order within 120 days, the suspension becomes void on day 121.
Veterans homes keep unused modernization funds
Unused, uncommitted money for Ohio veterans homes modernization remains available in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Qualifying cash returned by the end of the applicable fiscal year is also included. The money must stay dedicated to the same modernization purpose. The provision does not state the available amount.
Funding supports safer homes and repairs
People Working Cooperatively receives $4 million in FY 2026 and $4 million in FY 2027 for Safe and Healthy at Home. The Health Department also distributes Lead Abatement funds to local governments for lead hazard control, prevention, and housing repairs. Those projects must expand the department's lead safety efforts. The provided provisions do not state the lead funding total or household award amounts and eligibility.
Housing projects support pregnant families
The law directs up to $500,000 in each fiscal year to stable-housing projects for pregnant mothers and their families. The money comes from the Maternal and Infant Housing Assistance appropriation. Projects aim to improve maternal and infant health. Funding does not guarantee a family a payment or housing placement.
Housing services help homeless young people
Star House receives $250,000 in each of FY 2026 and FY 2027 for services to homeless youth. Funding supports its drop-in centers, Carol Stewart Village, or other expansion projects. Youth Homelessness funds also support active outreach to homeless youth and pregnant women for stable housing, including recovery housing. The provisions do not set payments for each person or state the Youth Homelessness funding total.
Local tax estimates use market value
Local general obligation bond questions must show estimated yearly property taxes using the county auditor's market value instead of appraised value. This applies to the auditor's certification, election notices, and ballots. Certain park district levy rates also use market value. These changes concern how taxes are stated, not a specified increase or decrease in household taxes.
Ohio funds demolition and site renewal
Ohio transfers $20 million each fiscal year to the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Fund. The money comes from the Local Government Tangible Property Tax Replacement Fund. Transfers occur July 1, or as soon as possible afterward. This supports the state demolition and site renewal program, not direct household payments.
Private property dispute payment deals banned
Local legislative authorities and their representatives cannot make private payment deals over covered property-value complaints. Agreements exchanging payment for not filing, dropping, or settling a complaint are void and cannot be enforced.
Sewage applicants get soil-depth approval standards
Ohio rules must set testing methods for sewage systems seeking a 12-inch soil-depth credit. Evaluations require at least 144 consecutive data points and an upper-confidence-limit method using log-transformed data and a two-sided 95% confidence interval. Rules must allow approval when that upper limit falls below the applicable fecal coliform or E. coli treatment standard. They can use a two-sided 99% confidence interval with no more than 10% of individual points above the standard. Another equally protective method is also allowed.
Adaptive sports support for disabled students
The state funds adaptive sports programs for students with disabilities in Ohio school districts. Programs operate with the Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio. The backing provision does not state the funding amount.
Addiction credential training mandate is removed
The Chemical Dependency Professionals Board no longer has an express duty to require 40 hours of diagnostic-manual training by rule. The removed mandate covered substance-related disorders, chemical dependency, and other mental and emotional disorders. The provision does not state what training requirements apply instead.
Autism professionals get expanded training support
Ohio provides S.U.C.C.E.S.S. for Autism $100,000 in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to expand its professional training pilot. The program teaches The S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Approach, a neurodevelopmental learning model. The money pays for training, not direct household payments.
Broader quality support for early learning
Ohio's Step Up To Quality system covers all early learning and development programs, not just licensed child care programs. The law also directs Early Childhood Education funding to grants for qualifying preschool providers under state law. These grants support quality instruction intended to prepare children for kindergarten. These provisions do not set a required quality rating or a direct payment to families.
Career education grants support students and adults
Ohio sets aside up to $5 million each fiscal year for career awareness and exploration, reducing payments proportionally if funds fall short. Another $2.563 million annually funds secondary career-technical education at institutions and Ohio Deaf and Blind Education Services through grants. Up to $4 million annually supports competitive grants to an entity in each JobsOhio region. Regional grants support career-technical access, school support, mentoring, advising, and eligible adults with diplomas who never enrolled in postsecondary education. Regional award expenses can be covered for up to two years under state guidelines.
Career education programs get matching funds
Part of Ohio's Career-Technical Education appropriation must provide matching funds under the applicable federal career-education law. The money supports eligible career-technical education programs. This provision does not state the matching amount or payment timing.
Charter funds reserved for English learners
In fiscal years 2026 and 2027, community schools must spend their specified English learner funding only on English learner services. The restriction applies to school spending, not to students or families.
Children’s agency gains service data authority
Ohio’s Director of Children and Youth can request data verification codes for children younger than compulsory school age. The children must receive services through publicly funded programs. The codes support sending children’s information to the Department of Education and Workforce, only as federal law permits.
Coding program serves students across Ohio
Southern State Community College must run the Ohio Code-Scholar program for students in grades 4 through 12. It provides hands-on computer science, coding, and digital-literacy activities. Appropriated money can support curriculum, teacher training, statewide expansion, operations, technology, infrastructure, and community outreach. Expansion gives priority to underserved and rural areas. This provision does not state a funding amount.
College hiring guidance supports veterans' preference
The Chancellor of Higher Education and Ohio Department of Veterans Services must develop veterans-preference hiring guidelines for colleges. The guidance aligns college hiring practices with Ohio's veterans-preference laws. It does not guarantee a job or payment.
Colleges receive support for student safety
Campus Security Support funds go to college-approved student groups linked to communities facing increased violence, terrorism, hate crimes, or harassment. Groups can be on or off campus, and some funds may cover administration. Separate funding supports the Campus Student Safety Grant Program; neither provision states an amount. The Chancellor must continue developing research-based practices to prevent and respond to campus sexual violence. The Chancellor must convene public and authorized private nonprofit colleges for training and implementation.
Community colleges can enter former service-area
Ohio community colleges other than Eastern Gateway can serve counties that Eastern Gateway previously served. Required academic program approvals and other approval rules still apply. No college must offer services there, and no particular program is guaranteed.
Community schools can share student transportation
Two or more community school governing boards can form a group to provide or arrange student transportation. The group must follow transportation laws and name one participating school to handle its finances. It can make agreements with school districts or accept transportation duties for participating schools. Ohio calculates and pays the group as a community school for transportation purposes. Its financial agent must report combined school data through the state's system so payments can be calculated.
Community schools face health and financial safeguards
Community schools serving elementary students must follow the health requirements referenced in state law. Community school contracts must also require governing boards to adopt internal financial controls. These requirements address student health and oversight of school money; they do not provide household payments.
Contributions support Ohio historical education projects
The Ohio Registrar sends designated collected contributions to the Ohio Society, Sons of the American Revolution. The organization must use the money for special historical education projects. The law sets no payment amount or direct household benefit.
Cybersecurity centers offer free student training
Beginning July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward, Administrative Services can fund a Digital Analyst Training Academy Center. The selected Ohio college must be regionally accredited and have significant cybersecurity coursework and programs. It provides the specified training and student support at no cost to students. The college must report spending and outcomes, and additional centers need the director's approval. The law does not state a grant amount.
Disabled students' education gets matching grant
The Showers Family Foundation receives a $400,000 fiscal year 2026 grant when an equal $400,000 local match is provided. The money supports high school education for students with multiple disabilities, including autism and Down syndrome. It does not create a direct payment or individual entitlement for families.
District funding eligibility and calculations change
Districts remain eligible for state school payments when specified state tax laws reduce operating levies below 20 mills. Annual enrollment used for payments now comes from three required enrollment reports, not the separate reports previously included. Building leadership support funding uses the prior fiscal year's building count instead of the current year's count. These rules govern district funding, not direct payments to families.
Education agency technology gets funding support
The Information Technology Development and Support appropriation supports technology at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. The systems aim to improve agency performance, help school districts, and give the public information sooner. This provision does not state the funding amount or implementation date.
Education board members lose district residency requirement
Elected voting members of Ohio's State Board of Education no longer must live in the districts they represent while serving. The change removes a qualification for holding those seats.
Funding for money skills and job readiness
Ohio provides $1.25 million each fiscal year for the Financial Literacy and Workforce Readiness Programming Initiative. The money supports programming, not a set household payment. The provision does not state individual eligibility rules.
Funding for school psychology interns
Ohio makes up to $3 million available each fiscal year for school psychology interns. The funding supports intern placements or related school services. It does not guarantee each student a specific service or payment.
Funding helps parents navigate special education
Ohio provides up to $1.35 million each budget year for special education parent mentoring programs. The provision does not set a payment or amount of mentoring for each family.
Funding supports coding and career planning
Ohio allows up to $650,000 each budget year for career planning and reporting through the OhioMeansJobs website. Tech Corps receives $100,000 each year for career-connected computer science programs in rural areas. Southern State Community College receives $1 million in fiscal year 2026 for the Ohio Code-Scholar Program. That program receives $1.5 million in fiscal year 2027. These funds support programs and services, not specified payments to participants.
Funding supports financial literacy education
Ohio provides up to $500,000 in each budget year for the University of Cincinnati's SmartOhio Financial Literacy Program. The provision does not state participant eligibility or individual payments.
Funding supports hands-on student career training
Ohio directs STEM Initiatives funding to the Alliance for Working Together Foundation for youth and adult STEAM to Career programs. Agriculture programs get up to $600,000 each budget year for a fifth quarter based on supervised agricultural experience. The state sets eligibility and reporting rules and funds as many programs as the money allows. Supervised experience can take place outside the regular school day. Ohio ProStart receives $250,000 each year for student training in culinary arts and restaurant management.
Funding supports health professional training
Ohio funds the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers to run clinical rotations at federally qualified health centers. Rotations serve medical, dental, behavioral health, physician assistant, and advanced practice nursing students. The Department of Health can use up to 5% of that appropriation each year for administration. Hospitals receive $1 million each budget year for family medicine or psychiatry residency slots under state distribution rules. The Board of Nursing receives $1.35 million in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for nurse education grants.
Funding supports school finances and maintenance
Ohio funds financial help and training for school district managers. The money also supports state oversight of districts in fiscal caution, fiscal watch, or fiscal emergency. Separate maintenance equalization funds pay eligible school districts, with payments reduced proportionally when funding falls short. These provisions do not state the funding totals.
Funding supports school reading and libraries
Ohio provides up to $2.5 million each budget year for the Union Catalog, InfOhio Network, and electronic resources. Priority goes to resources supporting state school standards and Ohio's literacy plan. Literacy Improvement funds support coordinated reading efforts, regional staff training, technical help, research, and evaluation. Separate funds support coaches at schools with the lowest English language arts proficiency rates. Coaches must use Ohio's Coaching Model and have science-of-reading and evidence-based training; the state directs but does not employ them.
Funding supports school technology and security
In each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027, Ohio provides up to $8.4255 million for school network connections. It also provides up to $6.305 million yearly for designated technology centers, with state-set funding rules for both programs. Cybersecurity gets up to $1.65 million yearly, led by the Ohio Computer Education Network's Management Council with state cybersecurity-adviser consultation. School data work gets up to $950,000 yearly for processing, storage, and transfers, plus up to $405,000 for staff training. Remaining network funds support shared systems, student records, transcripts, and joint purchases of equipment and services.
Funding supports student transportation and safety
Ohio allows up to $1.08893 million each budget year for state-prescribed bus driver training and retained fingerprint database enrollment costs. It sets aside up to $450,000 yearly for rural transportation grants and $250,000 for Montgomery County's pupil transportation pilot. A separate bus safety grant program supports repairs, replacement or addition of safety features, and safety enhancements on new buses. Transportation providers must apply through the state and own the buses receiving improvements. The state must consider local capacity and can set minimum or maximum awards.
Funding supports two Audubon education centers
Ohio reserves $100,000 each budget year for education programs at Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm and Grange Insurance Audubon Center. The funding supports the centers' programs, not direct household grants.
Growing school districts receive extra funding
City, local, and exempted village school districts qualify for enrollment-growth supplements using the state's enrollment measure. In fiscal year 2026, districts get $225 per enrolled student if enrollment grew at least 5% from 2022 to 2025. In fiscal year 2027, they get $250 per enrolled student if enrollment grew at least 3% from 2023 to 2026. Districts below those thresholds receive no growth supplement. Payments support districts, not household checks.
More frequent checks on school sponsors
The state can review school sponsors’ quality practices more often. Sponsors previously rated effective or exemplary no longer have a limit of one such review every three years. Quality practices remain part of the annual sponsor evaluation system.
More funding sources support child-welfare training
The Department of Children and Youth can use more funding sources for Ohio's child welfare training program. Sources include withheld federal reimbursements, federal Title XX, IV-B and IV-E funds, and other available state or federal money. Contributions from people and foundations are also allowed. The department decides how much withheld federal money to use, and funds must adequately support the program.
More provider options for disability scholarships
The Jon Peterson special needs scholarship program accepts additional valid aide and instructional-assistant permits toward provider registration. Providers must still meet the program's other registration rules. Program rules must allow online supervision of qualified, credentialed providers. For billing, services from state-licensed teachers and substitute teachers count as academic services, not aide services.
More scouting support for underserved families
Ohio provides $400,000 in both fiscal 2026 and 2027 to the Simon Kenton Council for ScoutReach. The money supports scouting in under-resourced communities, family financial help, staff, supplies, and outreach. Distribution must follow nonprofit education and youth-development guidelines. The Council must report annually to Ohio Job and Family Services on expansion, results, and spending.
More security providers for private schools
School districts can use auxiliary-services payments to hire retired Ohio peace officers for security at eligible nonpublic schools. Other listed law-enforcement and certified security providers remain allowed.
New state oversight for preschool programs
Ohio moves preschool and school child program inspections, complaint investigations, technical help, and annual inspection reporting to Children and Youth. That department and the education department jointly monitor these programs. Children and Youth also sets preschool criminal-record-check rules, including how rehabilitation is considered. Programs receiving state or federal funding face yearly checks of attendance, financial support, and spending.
Ohio funds Aspire adult education services
Ohio provides $6.322267 million for Aspire adult education during July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027. Aspire includes services for adults learning English. Supported programs must meet state matching-fund and ongoing spending requirements for the grant program.
Online recovery schools gain added funding
Eligible internet- or computer-based recovery schools serving grades 8–12 can opt into added funding by February 1 each school year. Payments include a one-time $1,750 student amount, a learning-hours amount, and up to $2,500 for completed courses or credits. Statewide average base-cost limits and school-level adjustments apply. The one-time amount requires continuous enrollment and at least 30 days after the applicable enrollment or participation starting point. Schools must report participation, repay overpayments, and submit improvement plans if prior-year engagement was below 65%.
Private colleges must check online contracts
Private colleges that hire online program managers must ensure their contracts follow relevant program standards and requirements. This requirement does not set student tuition, fees, or financial aid eligibility.
Public colleges must ensure faculty teaching
Ohio public college boards must ensure faculty spend an appropriate part of their workweek directly teaching students. Full-time faculty are expected to meet class-credit-hour production standards in budget data submitted by the Chancellor. The provision does not set a tuition change or direct student payment.
Quality-rated community and science schools get funding
Designated quality community schools and independent science, technology, engineering, and math schools receive periodic payments beginning each January. Schools must receive designation by December 31 and meet their program's quality standards. Payments use adjusted full-time-equivalent enrollment: up to $3,000 per economically disadvantaged student and $2,250 per other student. Community schools qualify through statutory performance, sponsor, startup, replication, or recovery-school pathways; independent science schools must operate autonomously and meet the state's quality model. Designations generally continue for two following fiscal years, or four under specified community-school operator or replication pathways, with renewal available.
School conversions require student and teacher plans
Contracts converting public school or educational service center space into a community school must include alternatives for current students and teachers. These plans cover students who choose not to attend and teachers who choose not to teach there. Contracts must also identify employer duties assigned to another party. A labor agreement can prohibit that assignment.
School funding supports English learners
For fiscal years 2026–2027, district funding uses a 0.2104 multiplier for English learners with at most 180 U.S. school days. The multiplier is 0.1577 after 180 days without proficiency, and 0.1053 for two school years after reaching proficiency. Beginning in fiscal year 2028, lawmakers set the criteria for the latter two groups. Districts can use auxiliary-services money for language help, academic support, and accommodations at eligible nonpublic schools. During fiscal years 2026–2027, STEM schools must spend their designated English-learner funding only on services for those students.
School performance ratings unlock extra funding
Qualifying city, local, and exempted village districts receive performance supplements in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Districts need four overall stars, three Progress stars, or a higher Progress rating than the specified prior year. Payments equal enrolled student count times $13 times the higher overall or Progress star rating. Fiscal year 2026 uses 2024–2025 report cards; fiscal year 2027 uses 2025–2026 report cards. The money goes to districts, not families.
Schools get payments for student credentials
Ohio pays eligible school districts, community schools, STEM schools, and joint vocational districts $725 per qualifying student credential. Students must earn the credential while attending the school in the school year before the funded fiscal year. Credentials must appear on the Governor's Office of Workforce Transformation list. Payments are reduced proportionally when funding is insufficient. Schools receive the money, not students or families.
Schools must plan emergency cellphone use
Administrators of covered school buildings must address student cellphone use in their emergency management plans. The protocol must cover active threats and emergencies. The law does not require one specific cellphone-use policy.
Schools must target disadvantaged student aid
In fiscal years 2026–2027, districts, community schools, and STEM schools must use disadvantaged pupil aid for listed student supports. Uses include longer learning time, science-based reading instruction, technology, dropout prevention, safety, health, academic help, and family engagement. Aid can also support homeless students and youth involved in child welfare. Recipients must plan with at least one specified community partner and report each initiative and its spending. Beginning in fiscal year 2028, lawmakers set allowed uses and any planning requirement; annual reporting continues.
Schools receive base and transition funding
Traditional and joint vocational districts, community schools, and STEM schools receive base supplements in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Payments equal $27 per enrolled student in 2026 and $40 in 2027, using the state's enrollment measure. Transition supplements also compare specified fiscal year 2021 funding with current formula payments. Community and STEM school calculations compare per-student amounts and multiply the gap by current enrollment. Negative transition calculations produce no supplement; these payments go to schools, not families.
Special education funding for disabled students
The law provides up to $33.945594 million each fiscal year for eligible students’ special education through county disability boards and institutions. Provider payments must fall proportionately if needed to stay within that limit. Remaining Special Education Enhancements money goes to districts and eligible institutions for preschool special education. That remaining amount is not stated.
State payments support special education services
The state makes annual special education payments to county disability boards and qualifying state institutions, excluding preschool children. For fiscal years 2026–2027, county payments use statewide base cost, district state share, and the applicable disability multiplier. Institution payments use certified student counts by disability category, the applicable multipliers, and statewide base cost. Lawmakers determine payment amounts or calculation inputs beginning in fiscal year 2028. Schools and institutions can also receive reimbursement for instructional assistants and related services, including therapy services. Therapy assistants must have licensed supervision and cannot create or manage their own caseloads.
Stronger checks on tutoring for students
Ohio must request evidence that tutoring programs work when seeking providers for its state list. It must immediately remove English language arts programs it finds conflict with the science of reading or use three-cueing. After posting the first list, the state must let providers submit qualifications and update the list at least every three years.
Talking books funded for disabled readers
Ohio directs Library for the Blind funding to the statewide Talking Book Program. The program assists blind and disabled readers. The provision does not set an individual payment amount.
Targeted aid supports aging school buildings
Qualifying districts receive state funding for special school renovation or construction projects, with a state share of at least 90%. Awards are subject to available funds and can be reduced proportionally. Districts must operate a school building in a county above 100,000 people and another in a county below 50,000. They must have a deferred or lapsed classroom facilities project and propose work on a building constructed before June 30, 1925. Applications are due to the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission by December 31, 2025.
Temporary operating exception for recovery schools
Schools mainly serving students enrolled in dropout prevention and recovery programs receive a temporary operating exception. During 2025–2026 and 2026–2027, they can operate without complying with the requirement in section 3314.02(A)(10). They are treated as dropout prevention and recovery community schools during those school years.
Top charter sponsors gain more flexibility
An exemplary-rated charter school sponsor can use incentives after one such rating, rather than two consecutive ratings. Incentives include state agreements up to ten years, longer school contracts, specified deadline exemptions, and no school-count or territory limits. Exemplary sponsors skip evaluations for five full school years after the rating year; effective sponsors skip three. Exemplary sponsors can open up to two online dropout recovery schools yearly, capped at six in any five-year period. Those openings no longer carry the former description requiring schools to primarily serve students enrolled in recovery programs.
Trafficking survivors get workforce program support
Freedom a la Cart receives $250,000 each fiscal year for workforce initiatives and programs for human trafficking survivors. The money supports program services, not a stated individual payment. This provision does not give detailed eligibility rules.
Training supports child care and welfare
The Department of Children and Youth must hire a third party to develop the Ohio professional registry. It provides ongoing training for employees of early learning programs funded under the Child Care Block Grant Act. The contractor must follow that act and its federal rules. The department also has a statewide child welfare training program for assessors, foster caregivers, agency caseworkers and supervisors, and case managers and supervisors. These provisions state no training payment or funding amount.
Troubled districts gain debt refinancing options
Voter-approved replacement levies providing new operating revenue can support qualifying debt refinancing during district fiscal watch or emergency; renewal levies remain excluded. For fiscal watch, the certified current- or prior-year deficit must exceed 15% of the general revenue fund for the year before certification. The board must include refinancing in a balanced financial plan, and the education director must approve it. During fiscal emergency, the commission must find refinancing necessary to maintain or improve pupils' educational opportunities and approve the securities. The recovery plan can extend repayment by no more than ten years.
Universities must support three civic centers
Ohio State must provide suitable space for the Salmon P. Chase Center. Miami and Cleveland State must do the same for their Centers for Civics, Culture, and Society. Each center director and the university president or provost jointly decide what space is suitable. The universities cannot charge these centers overhead or indirect costs.
University centers gain course approval powers
Directors at three university centers can approve center courses that meet their university's general education requirements. These are Ohio State's Salmon P. Chase Center and the civics, culture, and society centers at Miami and Cleveland State. Cleveland State's director also oversees and develops the center's curriculum. Cleveland State's center must have at least ten tenure-track faculty positions, and outside faculty cannot block its hires.
Youth programs receive school and summer funding
The Ohio Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs receives $8.5 million yearly in fiscal 2026 and 2027 for at-risk youth. The money supports after-school and summer programs. Open Doors Academy receives $1.5 million yearly, and Ohio YMCA receives $100,000 yearly for day camps and school-day programs. The Foundry Row, Sail, Dream Program receives $600,000 in fiscal 2026. Grants follow Ohio's family-assistance requirements; the law does not establish individual household payments.
Clearer county fair tax ballot notices
County fair bond tax notices and ballots must show dollars per $100,000 of the county auditor's market value. This replaces the reference to appraised value. They must still show mills per dollar of taxable value. The tax rate itself does not change.
Local tax ballots use market value
Covered local tax disclosures must show dollars per $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value rather than appraised value. This covers adding territory to property-tax-funded transit authorities and extending township fire district taxes to new territory. It also covers memorial levy resolutions, notices, and ballots; memorial rates still show mills per dollar of taxable value. These changes describe proposed taxes and do not themselves impose or change a tax.
New wording for property tax ballots
County school financing district levy ballots must show the rate per $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value, replacing appraised value. The same wording applies when regional arts districts add territory with a property tax. Replacement levies above the ten-mill limit are no longer covered by restrictions on bold or differently sized ballot text. Those formatting limits still cover new levies and renewals, with existing exceptions for descriptions and voting areas. These changes do not themselves change tax rates or bills.
School levy renewals face tighter limits
School boards can renew or lower covered existing levies, but cannot raise rates through the specified resolution process. Specified-term operating and permanent improvement taxes can be renewed, not replaced, including covered district and partner-school expense taxes. Regional student education levies can be renewed, but not replaced or renewed with an increase. Career-technical cooperative levies also cannot increase during renewal. A separate eligible school levy process keeps the required procedures as they stood before this law repealed them.
Voters get more local tax information
Notices and ballots for qualifying school operating levies above the ten-mill limit must include county-auditor-certified information. The Secretary of State must provide forms containing that information. County budget commissions must also offer testimony at least once a year during a public meeting. A commission member or invited speaker must explain taxes within the ten-mill limit, their allocation, and their fiscal impact.
Voters see market-based property tax estimates
Certain levy estimates, election notices, and ballots now show dollars per $100,000 of market value, not appraised value. This includes covered school levies, school bonds, county school financing levies, and levy-decrease elections. The change affects what voters see, not the tax rate or what a household owes.
Administration grants for Ohio public works
The Public Works Commission Director can create administration grant programs for public works districts and natural resource assistance councils. Each of 19 public works districts can qualify for up to $65,000 yearly, with a $1.235 million program cap. District committees must approve costs, and each infrastructure or transportation fund can pay only costs tied to that fund. Each participating natural resource council can qualify for up to $15,000 yearly from its district allocation in the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund. The Director must define allowed costs; both programs exclude indirect costs, elected officials' salaries and benefits, and project-specific costs.
Camera bans end local funding reductions
Counties and townships legally barred from operating traffic cameras are exempt from the related local government fund adjustment. Existing adjustments end when the amendment takes effect. This protects affected local payments, not a direct household tax break.
Colleges and cities shed service charges
State-supported colleges, universities, and municipalities no longer must pay for specified state payroll and merit-system services they choose to use. The change covers services and facilities from Ohio's Department of Administrative Services. State agencies still must pay those costs.
Funding for Appalachian regional development districts
Four regional development districts each receive $210,000 in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. They are the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission, Ohio Mid-Eastern Government Association, Buckeye Hills Regional Council, and Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. The money pays for their legally assigned programs and duties. The provision does not name specific household services or payments.
Funding for defense-linked Ohio economic development
Development Projects, Inc. receives $1.55 million in fiscal year 2026 and $1.45 million in fiscal year 2027. The money supports economic development and job creation tied to Department of Defense work. Covered areas include facilities, contracts, workforce needs, technology transfer, human performance, and cybersecurity. The funding does not guarantee jobs.
Funding for four-county oil and gas pipeline
Eastgate Regional Council of Governments receives $250,000 in fiscal year 2026 for an oil and natural gas pipeline. The money supports study and construction in Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning, and Trumbull counties. The provision does not set household energy prices or provide direct household payments.
Funding for Ohio airport and flight programs
The law sets aside $4.65 million each budget year to administer the Ohio Airport Improvement Program. Unspent money not committed at the end of fiscal year 2026 carries into fiscal year 2027. Baldwin Wallace University receives $500,000 each budget year to expand the Northeast Ohio Flight Information Exchange. That grant also supports development of flight information exchanges in other Ohio communities.
Funding for Ohio maritime and rail projects
The Ohio Maritime Assistance Program receives $5 million in each budget year. At least 10% goes to Ohio River Commission work on economic activity, cargo terminals, travel, and tourism. The remainder funds maritime program grants. Short-line rail projects receive $6 million in fiscal year 2026 and $0 in fiscal year 2027. Those projects must improve capacity and safety and be selected and funded with the Ohio Rail Commission.
Funding for Ohio residential broadband expansion
The law funds Ohio's Broadband Pole Replacement and Undergrounding Program, without stating an amount in this provision. Beginning July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward, the state transfers $3.6 million to residential broadband grants. That money comes from the pole replacement and undergrounding fund. These provisions support broadband projects, not direct household payments.
Funding for southeast Ohio agricultural development
The City of Athens receives $150,000 in each budget year for a southeast Ohio regional agricultural initiative. The money supports the initiative, not direct household payments. The provision sets no individual eligibility rules.
Funding for three-county Route 30 expansion
The law provides $250,000 in each budget year to support the U.S. Route 30 expansion. The project covers Carroll, Stark, and Columbiana counties. The provision does not promise lower travel costs or direct household payments.
Garage fund can support Statehouse operations
Ohio can use its Underground Parking Garage Fund to pay staff and operating costs for the Statehouse and its garage. This authority applies despite conflicting law. No spending amount or household payment is stated.
Grants for Ohio sports events and stadiums
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers receive $500,000 in fiscal year 2026 for stadium maintenance and improvements. The money must be used for those stadium purposes. A separate appropriation supports sports-event grants for purposes allowed by the cited grant laws. That provision states no funding amount or specific recipients.
Grants for Tuscarawas and Buckeye Lake
Tuscarawas County Commissioners receive $100,000 in each budget year for the Tuscarawas County Growth Initiative. The Buckeye Lake Region Corporation receives $175,000 in each budget year for community development. These grants support local development work. They do not create direct household payments or individual eligibility rights.
Grants support named local community projects
Ohio transfers $17.8 million from general revenue to its one-time community investment fund. Awards include $10 million for Lima Veterans Memorial Hall and $20 million for Cuyahoga County's Northcoast Connector. Separate earmarks provide $300,000 for Wayne County emergency driver training, $280,318 for Orrville's Boys and Girls Club, and $425,000 for Edgerton's community center. They also provide $1 million for Wood County's engineer garage and $20,712 for Carey VFW Post 3759 roof repairs. One-time investment grants require agreements before payment and final spending reports; unused, uncommitted FY 2025 funds carry into FY 2026.
Local infrastructure aid gains more flexibility
District public works committees can choose loan and local debt-support shares without the former separate 10% limits. Eligible projects must be requested and approved by the committee, and total aid stays within each district's annual allocation. The share reserved for qualifying villages and townships rises from 10% to 12%. Eligible townships must have fewer than 5,000 people in their unincorporated areas; aid covers capital improvements, including roads. State capital-improvement revolving loans and local transportation improvement grants are exempt from listed project-use and useful-life restrictions in section 164.05.
Local public offices get financial support
The law funds Auditor of State assistance for local governments, schools, colleges, and universities facing or risking fiscal distress. Support covers entities in or at risk of fiscal caution, watch, or emergency. A separate fund offsets audit costs otherwise charged to local public offices. The supplied provisions state no funding amounts or required savings for residents.
More burial fees support cemetery grants
Ohio uses $6 from each burial permit fee for cemetery grants, up from $1. Grants of up to $5,000 support exceptional maintenance or staff training at registered cemeteries. Corporations or associations operating cemeteries for profit do not qualify. Eligible operators with five or more registered cemeteries can receive one grant yearly; others can receive one every other year.
More funding for Ohio horse racing
Ohio raises the FY 2027 Thoroughbred Development appropriation from $870,555 to $873,434. Racing Commission operating funding increases from about $3.474 million to $3.503 million. These funds support the program and commission, not specified household payments or individual awards.
More port authorities qualify for grants
Ohio expands maritime grant eligibility for port authorities owning, or applying with owners of, active marine cargo terminals. Eligible locations include Lake Erie, the Ohio River, and their tributaries; a separate route covers qualifying opportunity-zone ports. Ports must contribute at least $1 for each grant dollar. Applications must meet cargo-volume or new-cargo requirements and supply-chain or Ohio-business benefit tests. Existing project review and eligible-use rules remain.
More suppliers qualify for state contracts
A finding for recovery no longer blocks covered state-funded contracts when the debt was discharged in bankruptcy. The same applies when a final, nonappealable court order says the debt is no longer owed. Buy Ohio products also include goods containing semiconductors made by a company with a significant Ohio economic presence.
Natural Resources gains project management flexibility
Ohio's Department of Natural Resources can locally manage qualifying capital facility projects started in fiscal years 2026 or 2027. This applies regardless of estimated cost. Construction of new facilities, structures, or lodges is excluded. The department must follow state construction procedures and track projects in the state capital improvements system.
Ohio carries recovery funding into later years
Ohio carries forward unused State Fiscal Recovery Fund appropriations for their original purposes. Qualifying returned money from FY 2025 becomes available in FY 2026, and FY 2026 money becomes available in FY 2027. The budget director may create spending accounts and transfer appropriations among them. The director must report those transfers to the Controlling Board by January 30, 2027. No dollar amount is specified.
Ohio directs money to state marketing
The budget director must transfer up to $22 million from the General Revenue Fund to the State Marketing Office Fund. The transfer is due July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward. The provision does not specify spending outcomes or a direct household benefit.
Ohio funds its maritime assistance program
Ohio must transfer $10 million from the General Revenue Fund to the Ohio Maritime Assistance Fund. The transfer is due July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward. This provision does not identify recipients, individual awards, or direct household payments.
Ohio plans a new highway connection
Ohio’s transportation department and turnpike commission must jointly plan a feasible connection between U.S. Route 23 and Interstate 71. An interim report due October 1, 2025, must examine routes, toll feasibility, and authority to make it a turnpike project. A final plan is due October 1, 2026. It must identify a preferred route, preliminary design, construction costs, land and environmental impacts, and an implementation recommendation. This provision does not provide construction funding.
One charity vehicle auction gets exemption
Through August 1, 2026, a person may hold one classic or collector vehicle auction exempt from state vehicle-auction requirements. At least one vehicle must be auctioned for an Ohio 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and an auction firm must conduct the event. At least three-fourths of vehicles must sell by absolute auction, without a minimum price. The event must last no more than three days at an exposition center in Ohio’s most populous city. The organizer must receive the motor vehicle registrar’s permission at least 30 days beforehand.
Payment pauses for state land lessees
For state land tied to federal grants, the lease's primary term pauses until the agency meets grant requirements and gives written notice. Lessees can delay all lease payments until then. State oil and gas leases also pause when third-party lawsuits may harm the lessee's ability to operate. That pause lasts until a final court order that cannot be appealed. Payments are delayed, not forgiven.
Project refunds can fund local infrastructure
Ohio can reuse project overpayment refunds found through audits for Local Public Infrastructure or Revolving Loan funding. The Public Works Commission Director must certify the refunds and provide project details. Budget and Management must confirm the money is available and not needed for existing appropriations. The provision states no refund amount.
Public airports get improvement funding account
Ohio creates a fund for its airport improvement program, which supports publicly owned, public-use airports in Ohio. The fund receives legislative appropriations and investment earnings. This provision sets no funding amount.
Qualifying townships gain community district roles
Qualifying limited home rule townships can organize new community districts entirely within their unincorporated territory and serve as the proximate community. A township must have at least 5,000 residents and be in a county with more than 400,000 people. It must also have adopted a resolution under section 5709.73 before January 1, 1995. This expands township authority without directly setting a household tax or payment.
Route 30 gets regional broadband funding
Ohio provides $10.45 million in FY 2026 and $9.55 million in FY 2027 for the Route 30 broadband extension. The wholesale middle-mile network links OARnet backbone points from Canton and Lima at Mansfield. Unused, uncommitted FY 2026 money carries forward for the same project in FY 2027. This funding does not guarantee household connections or set consumer prices.
State buildings and technology retain funding
The law renews $30.254882 million in capital funding for the Department of Administrative Services. Allocations include $5.04573 million for MARCS communications, $5 million for office space planning, and $4 million for IT projects. Another $10 million supports statewide IT projects. Extra funding for specified building and communications projects requires the department to certify matching canceled spending commitments to the budget director.
State buyers gain more purchasing flexibility
Covered state software contracts cannot require agency-only hardware or cloud platforms, or otherwise restrict where agencies run the software. This applies to software designed for generally available desktop, server, or cloud platforms. State printing specifications also have an exception for unique security paper. The exception applies when compliance produces a disproportionately inferior product or costs over 5% more than the lowest non-Ohio bid.
State emergency projects can bypass bidding
After a public-exigency declaration, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission or another authorized state entity must contract for necessary work. These contracts can bypass competitive bidding or selection. The declaration must identify the injury, obstruction, or danger and set a dollar limit. Required written project notices and the declaration must reach the budget director and Controlling Board members before work begins.
State oil leases gain longer extensions
State oil and gas lessees can extend a five-year primary term by five years, instead of three, by paying the original bonus again. Bidders can offer extra royalties, but agencies cannot require royalties above the statutory amount. Agencies also cannot demand unauthorized lease payments, subject to exceptions in Chapter 155. The interim leasing requirement runs from April 7, 2023, until rules under section 155.34 take effect. During that period, agencies must lease covered formations in good faith on just and reasonable industry terms, including specified prior statutory terms.
State project fund gains spending options
Ohio can use State Special Projects Fund money to match federal funding. It can also support Community Service Division and Business Services Division programs. The fund includes private utility-company money and other state funds; the law states no spending amount.
Tourism and sports developers gain aid
Tourism attractions and professional sports facilities can qualify for Chapter 166 development and innovation assistance. Projects must meet applicable job-creation or preservation and economic-welfare requirements; retail-only facilities remain excluded. After consulting appropriate agencies, the development director can make agreements supporting eligible innovation and research projects by these developers. Research assistance can also support government-developed projects leased to those developers.
Tourism and sports developments gain funding uses
Ohio development funds can support public-road work and related improvements serving tourism attractions or professional sports facilities. Road improvements must help retain or attract business to Ohio. Those attractions and facilities can also use funds received under this program for retail and residential parts of their developments.
Transfers support communications, wildlife, and treatment
For FY 2026 and FY 2027, Ohio may make annual transfers from the General Revenue Fund. Limits are $10.5 million for MARCS communications administration, $500,000 for the Wildlife Fund, and $5 million for transcranial magnetic stimulation. Transfers may occur on July 1 of each fiscal year or as soon as possible afterward. The authority runs through June 30, 2027, and does not set individual payments or patient eligibility.
Two state bodies gain administrative support
Ohio's Office of Budget and Management must provide routine support to the State Speech and Hearing Professionals Board. It must also support the New African Immigrants Commission. Support includes payroll, accounting, budget, and personnel services. The Controlling Board can grant an exemption on the budget office's recommendation.
Updated payment dates for discharge fees
The law replaces specified January 30, 2024, and January 30, 2025, discharge-fee dates with January 30, 2026, and January 30, 2027. The general annual fee applies to permit holders discharging at least 5,000 gallons daily on average. The dates also cover a $7,500 surcharge for industrial facilities classified as major dischargers during the billing year. A separate $180 annual fee also uses these dates. Late payment still adds 10%.
Water permit application fees fall later
Covered water permit, variance, and plan applications have a $100 nonrefundable fee through June 30, 2028. This fee applies only when no other fee is set. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit applications have a $200 nonrefundable fee through that date. Beginning July 1, 2028, both application fees fall to $15, also lowering the application-fee part of discharge permit modifications. Applicable public-discharger and coal-mining fee caps remain.
Water project approval fees fall later
Through June 30, 2028, wastewater plan approval costs $100 plus 0.65% of estimated project cost, capped at $15,000. Beginning July 1, 2028, it costs $100 plus 0.2%, capped at $5,000. Public water supply plan approval costs $150 plus 0.35% of estimated project cost. Its cap falls from $20,000 to $15,000 on July 1, 2028. Both fees are due when applicants submit their plans.
Wireless providers avoid consumer counsel assessments
Wireless providers and resellers are excluded from public-utility assessments that fund Ohio's consumers' counsel. The exclusion applies only to their wireless services. The law does not require providers to pass savings on through lower household bills.
Child care providers face payment limits
Publicly funded child care providers cannot knowingly seek or accept payment for children not enrolled with them. They also cannot knowingly seek or accept payment for care for which they are not eligible. The restriction applies to providers and creates no new personal duty for families.
State funding supports financial literacy education
Through June 30, 2027, Ohio may transfer money to the Financial Literacy Education Fund at least once every three months. Transfers require the Commerce director’s written request. The amount may equal 5% of charges, penalties, and forfeitures received by the Consumer Finance Fund. This supports education programs, not direct household payments.
Stronger enforcement of pharmacy benefit rules
The insurance superintendent must issue notice and impose a $1,000 penalty for each violation of the specified pharmacy benefit manager requirements. Each day a violation continues after notice counts as a separate violation. The manager must have a chance for a hearing. Penalty money goes to the Department of Insurance operating fund, not directly to patients.
Water laboratories get lower survey fees
Beginning July 1, 2028, organic chemical and trace metals survey fees fall from $5,400 to $3,500. Standard chemistry surveys fall from $2,800 to $1,800, and limited chemistry surveys fall from $1,550 to $1,000. The schedule also sets a $1,650 microbiological survey fee; fees are due when a survey is requested. Existing fees remain through June 30, 2028. Through that date, laboratories generally pay no more than once every three years unless they request additional analytical methods or analysts.
Electric auctions target lower assistance costs
Ohio's utility commission must run an electric supply auction for percentage-of-income payment plan customers. Only certified suppliers can bid. Winning bids must provide reliable service and lower program costs compared with the otherwise applicable standard service offer. They must also offer the best value for customers paying the program rider; the law sets no savings amount.
Financial help for advanced energy projects
State funding is available for financial help with eligible advanced energy projects. Eligible customers include households, businesses, industry, local governments, schools, nonprofits, and agricultural customers. The money can also match federal grants and pay program administrative costs. This provision sets no total funding amount or individual award formula.
Infrastructure funding supports high-speed internet access
Ohio directs funding to infrastructure supporting high-speed internet adoption through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. Residents can benefit where funded projects improve access. This provision gives no funding amount, project locations, or direct household payments.
More funding for utility and rail oversight
Ohio provides $45.851137 million for Utility and Railroad Regulation in FY 2026 and $47.757281 million in FY 2027. The funding supports the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's regulatory work. The law does not specify changes to household rates or services.
State agencies gain more payment options
Ohio agencies can use state warrant clearance accounts for more than paper warrants. They can clear checks, fund electronic benefit cards, issue stored-value cards, and settle other state payments. This changes payment processing, not benefit eligibility or payment amounts.
Utilities must map available power capacity
Utilities owning or controlling Ohio transmission facilities must map available extra power capacity on major lines and substations. Regional transmission organizations are excluded, but municipal utilities and electric cooperatives are no longer exempt. Maps must account for signed service agreements and show how much local generation each line can host. Utilities must publish them online unless they contain protected critical electric infrastructure information.
Green energy facilities gain financing eligibility
Facilities generating green energy now fit within Ohio's definition of an air quality facility. This replaces a specific inclusion for property related to siting the FutureGen project. Qualifying facilities are eligible for Ohio Air Quality Development Authority financing. The law sets no financing amount and does not guarantee an award.
Holding companies gain securities licensing exemption
Bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies can qualify for a dealer-licensing exemption. It applies when they act as issuers selling specified securities issued by themselves or their subsidiaries. Only securities covered by the listed Ohio securities-law provisions qualify.
Ohio gains more state investment options
Ohio's Treasurer can invest interim state funds in qualifying debt rated in the fourth-highest category by two recognized rating organizations. Previously, only the top three rating categories qualified. Fourth-category debt cannot exceed 10% of the state's portfolio. The law does not guarantee investment returns.
Port authorities gain shared financing tools
Port authority boards can create common bond fund programs by resolution and commit authority money to support them. Programs can use reserves, credit support, and other available money to finance facilities and strengthen borrowing. Programs created before this provision takes effect are covered only when their boards choose to apply it by resolution.
Children's meals and nutrition receive funding
The Children's Hunger Alliance receives $3 million in fiscal 2026 and $2.5 million in fiscal 2027 from TANF. Funding supports meal sponsorship, early child care, child care services, and nutrition advice and education. It also supports school, after-school, and summer nutrition programs. The grants must follow Ohio's family-assistance requirements.
Community services receive family support funding
Ohio directs up to $13.41 million in each fiscal year, 2026 and 2027, to qualifying community services. Funding comes from TANF state maintenance-of-effort and block grant appropriations. Services must align with the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and further at least one federal TANF purpose. They must also follow Ohio's family-assistance requirements. The law does not specify direct payments to families.
Contract pharmacies gain coverage and protections
Ohio’s specified 340B drug-program rules include pharmacies contracted to dispense drugs for federally defined covered entities. Pharmacy benefit managers cannot retaliate against Ohio pharmacies for reporting violations or exercising rights under the specified pharmacy law. Covered contract terminations or nonrenewals require at least 90 days’ notice. Increased audits require 90 days’ notice and a detailed reason, and managers must make legally required payments promptly. These rules do not set household drug prices.
County benefit funding and application oversight
Counties get up to $46 million in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to administer food and disability assistance. Separate state funding supports county Medicaid and children's health insurance administration. State and county systems must track caseworker entries for audits, and counties must train workers on improper eligibility decisions. These checks cover SNAP, TANF-funded benefits, Ohio Works First, Medicaid, and publicly funded child care. Ten state agencies must also align eligibility standards and decision procedures, including shared administration only where state and federal law allow.
County children services get funding rules
Within available funds, Ohio must distribute county children-services money within 30 days after each calendar quarter starts. When funding stays flat or falls, allocations follow prior-year amounts. Increases are divided 12% equally among counties, 48% by their under-18 population, and 40% by residents below federal poverty guidelines. Counties must deposit the money in their children-services funds and spend it on children services. They must return unspent money within 90 days after each two-year state budget period.
Dialysis centers keep unspent payment funding
Ohio carries forward unused, uncommitted fiscal 2025 money allocated for one-time payments to eligible freestanding dialysis centers. The money remains available for that same purpose in fiscal 2026, through June 30, 2026. The carried-forward amount is not stated.
Equal service rates for nurse anesthetists
Health plans issued, changed, or renewed on or after this section’s effective date must follow the new payment rule. They cannot pay differently solely because a certified registered nurse anesthetist, rather than a physician, provides a covered service. The nurse anesthetist must be authorized under Ohio law to provide that service. Plans can still vary rates based on quality or performance. The rule does not set patient premiums or out-of-pocket costs.
Food banks receive grocery assistance funding
Ohio directs up to $24.55 million from eligible funds to the Ohio Association of Food Banks each fiscal year, 2026 and 2027. Within that total, up to $22.05 million supports food distribution, summer meals, SNAP outreach, free tax filing, and pantry equipment. Toledo Seagate Foodbank receives $250,000 yearly, and Toledo's Southside Life Station Food Pantry receives $400,000 yearly from TANF. The Toledo grants follow Ohio's family-assistance requirements. The funding supports services, not specified direct payments to households.
Food security programs receive more funding
Produce Perks receives $1 million from TANF in each fiscal year, 2026 and 2027. La Soupe receives $1.5 million yearly to support and expand its food-security programs across Ohio. Both grants must follow Ohio's family-assistance requirements. The provisions do not set household payment amounts.
Full drug payments for safety-net providers
Contracts between Ohio drug distributors and 340B covered entities must require full payment of reimbursements for covered prescription drugs. This includes money received from patients, insurers, third-party administrators, and Medicaid managed care plans. Distributors may deduct a fee only when both parties agree in writing. The provision does not set patient prices.
Funding supports Medicaid services in schools
Ohio Medicaid must fund the Medicaid in Schools Program from both state and federal program-support appropriations. Each appropriation supplies $349,925 in fiscal year 2026 and $358,362 in fiscal year 2027. The provision does not set payments to individual students or families.
Hospital care assurance payments receive support
Ohio Medicaid must distribute the state share of hospital care assurance funds to hospitals. When receipts exceed appropriations in the Health Care Federal or Hospital Care Assurance funds, Medicaid may request extra spending. The state budget director must approve that spending, which cannot exceed the extra receipts.
Medicaid funds processing and requires savings
Ohio Medicaid may distribute up to $5 million each fiscal year to benefit-processing entities based on performance. Criteria may include how quickly and accurately they handle applications and renewals. During fiscal 2026–27, Medicaid must pursue administrative and program savings, lower vendor costs, better health outcomes, and payments only to eligible recipients. If the budget director seeks the specified reserve-fund transfer approval, Medicaid must report its progress to the Controlling Board. These provisions do not directly change individual eligibility rules.
Nursing homes avoid ownership payment delay
The law removes a specific quality payment delay after nursing-home ownership changes. The former rule covered ownership changes effective July 1, 2023, or later. It applied when the operator's lease payments or other obligations to the owner rose within one year. Affected homes can receive quality payments without that delay; residents do not receive a direct payment.
Nursing homes get dialysis and oversight support
In fiscal 2026 and 2027, Medicaid pays nursing facilities an extra $110 per dialysis treatment for a Medicaid-enrolled resident. The payment goes to the facility, not the resident. At the Medicaid Director's request, Ohio may transfer nursing-home fee funds each year: up to $5 million for quality oversight and $9.3 million for ombudsman support. These transfers must follow the state law governing use of those funds.
Ohio can redirect family assistance funds
Ohio’s Departments of Job and Family Services and Children and Youth can use federal TANF funds for Title XX social services. Federal law must allow the use, and spending cannot exceed the federal maximum. The law adds funding flexibility without directly changing household eligibility or setting a payment amount.
Oversight rules for low-income energy help
Ohio's utilities commission administers the income-based electric payment rider, sets rules, and periodically audits each electric utility's rider. It also helps Job and Family Services administer low-income customer assistance. Utilities can count eligible low-income weatherization savings toward energy-saving and peak-demand goals. The electric partnership plan fund replaces the universal service fund as the qualifying funding source. Covered improvements include audits, insulation, appliances, and windows; no new household payment or eligibility amount is specified.
Required funding shares for community services
Ohio's Job and Family Services Department takes over federal Community Services Block Grant administration and community action agency designation. At least 91% of funds must go to qualifying community action agencies and migrant and seasonal farm worker organizations. At least 4.5% must go to qualifying nonprofits for agency training and technical help. Those nonprofits must have formed under Ohio law before January 1, 2015, primarily to provide that help.
Senior care agencies can earn incentives
The Department of Aging can create performance incentives for PASSPORT administrative agencies when they meet defined consumer and policy outcomes. Before filing a proposed payment rule, it must report the payment method to the Legislative Service Commission. The law sets no incentive amount and does not change individual PASSPORT eligibility.
State payments support Mercy Health hospitals
Ohio directs $16 million in fiscal year 2026 and $32 million in fiscal year 2027 to Bon Secours Mercy Health. Corresponding federal shares also support its Ohio locations through a directed payment program. Distribution follows the program's statutory funding requirements. These are health-system payments, not household checks.
Contributions help Habitat build affordable homes
The Ohio Registrar must send contributions collected under this program to Habitat for Humanity of Ohio. Habitat must use the money for projects related to building affordable houses. The law does not set a contribution amount or household eligibility rules.
Counties get electronic recorder cost reimbursements
A new County Recorder Electronic Modernization Fund reimburses qualifying implementation costs incurred on or after October 24, 2024. Counties already meeting the electronic records requirements on that date are ineligible. Counties must credit reimbursements to their Recorder's Technology Fund at least enough to cover qualifying implementation spending. Rolling reimbursements continue until the appropriation is spent. On July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward, the Torrens Law Assurance Fund's balance and earnings transfer; that fund is abolished when its repeal takes effect.
Foreclosed home grants keep profits local
Welcome Home Ohio receives $22.8125 million in each of FY 2026 and FY 2027 for home purchases at foreclosure sales. The money supports program grants, not a specified direct payment to each household. Recipient local governments, county land banks, and qualified nonprofit developers must reinvest all profits from qualifying grant-supported home sales. This includes later resales, with profits returning to their housing or land reuse programs.
Funding supports homes for income-limited owners
Ohio provides $22.8125 million in each fiscal year for Welcome Home Ohio grants to repair or build residential property. The homes must serve owners who meet the program's income restrictions. This appropriation does not set individual awards or identify whether households receive grant money directly.
Grants support homes near major employers
Workforce housing grants receive $10 million in FY 2026 and $15 million in FY 2027. Eligible local governments must lie wholly or partly within 20 miles of a major development project. That project must expect at least 700 new permanent jobs or have at least $700 million in committed private investment. Applicants must adopt pro-housing policies and approve housing reserving at least 100 units for 100 independently living people or families. Grants cover housing capital, site work, infrastructure, and added public service or safety needs. Awards are rolling as funds allow, favor more pro-housing policies, and require proof of follow-through before payment when approval rests on imminent plans.
Infrastructure loans support rural home building
The state offers local governments loans for water, sewer, transportation, electric, or gas infrastructure serving qualifying single-family housing. Eligible counties have no more than 75,000 residents and below-average housing permits; eligible towns and townships lie wholly or partly within them. Projects must lie fully in qualifying counties, have at least four homes per acre, and be zoned only for single-family housing. They cannot include buildings receiving federal low-income housing tax credits. Loans cover the lesser of 50% of eligible costs or $30,000 per home, at the federal funds rate when agreed, without applicant or recipient fees. Funds cannot cover routine maintenance or work beyond projected project needs. Applications are rolling when funds are available, with the first round required by January 1, 2026. Scoring favors housing need and less private investment, considers economic impact and regional balance, and cannot favor poverty rates or distressed-area status. Administration is capped at $500,000 yearly, and unspent, uncommitted FY 2026 loan funding carries into FY 2027.
Local tax ballots show market-value estimates
Specified local tax ballots and notices now use the county auditor's market value rather than appraised value. They show the effective rate or tax estimate for each $100,000 of market value. Covered questions include joining a taxed recreation district, school-facility levies, and specified vocational-school bonds or site purchases. The presentation change does not itself change tax rates or household bills.
Long-term land lessors gain developer eligibility
Land lessors can qualify as new community district developers while keeping ownership and control under renewable 99-year leases. A district must include at least five qualifying leases. Leases must allow forfeiture for unpaid taxes, assessments, or the specified annual fee, or failure to meet required property-maintenance rules. The December 31, 2024, deadline for establishing the authority is removed.
Longer property tax breaks for megaprojects
Qualifying commercial or industrial buildings tied to megaprojects can receive property tax exemptions for up to 30 years. Local lawmakers set the exemption period. Buildings qualify on a megaproject site when owned or occupied by its operator, or off-site through a qualifying supplier. Other local governments must join the exemption agreement only when they own the property outright and otherwise owe its taxes.
More public sports facilities qualify for exemptions
More publicly owned recreational facilities can qualify for property tax exemptions. Covered facilities serve major-league teams or specified minor-league affiliates. Eligible owners include one or more local governments, new community authorities, and corporations controlled by those governments. Existing public-purpose, funding, management, and use requirements still apply.
Ohio can sell Madison prison property
The Governor can sell the state's 10.8003-acre Madison property, including improvements and related personal property. Administrative Services offers it to Madison County through a purchase agreement at a price acceptable to its director. The property must be sold as one tract, and proceeds go to the General Revenue Fund. If Madison County misses the agreement deadline, an alternate buyer must complete the purchase within three years of the section's effective date.
Ohio seeks more home weatherization funding
Each fiscal year, Ohio’s job and family services director must submit a completed federal waiver request. It seeks permission to use 25% of federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds for eligible weatherization services. The request goes to federal health officials and other applicable agencies, and services must qualify under federal rules. The law requires the request but does not guarantee approval or household assistance.
Welcome Home Ohio expands housing grants
Qualified nonprofit developers join eligible local governments and county land reutilization corporations as Welcome Home Ohio grant applicants. Purchase grants can provide up to $100,000 per property, including up to $2,000 for qualifying financial-literacy counseling. Rehabilitation or construction grants rise from a $30,000 maximum to a $100,000 ceiling per qualifying property. Applicants can combine purchase grants with either an improvement grant or an improvement tax credit for the same home. Awards depend on available funding and applicants agreeing to statutory program requirements.
Welcome Home Ohio receives more funding
Beginning July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward, Ohio must transfer $50 million to Welcome Home Ohio. The money comes from the Local Government Tangible Property Tax Replacement Fund. This funds the housing program; the transfer itself does not create a household payment or change household taxes.
Aviation learning programs receive statewide funding
The law provides $500,000 in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for aviation science and technology programs. The money continues and expands Clark County’s unmanned and general aviation pilot programs across all Ohio counties. The provision does not state student eligibility or individual awards.
Bowling Green gets forensic training funding
The Ohio Center for the Future of Forensic Science at Bowling Green State University receives $650,000 each budget year. The money supports forensic science research techniques and professional training opportunities for students. The law does not set individual student awards.
Career training programs get funding transitions
Ohio adjusts a participating local district’s funding base when a new joint vocational district first receives payments in 2026 or 2027. The adjustment accounts for the local district’s prior-year payments for career-technical students attending the new district. Joint vocational districts’ state funding shares use a replacement statutory calculation. First-year dropout prevention and recovery programs offering career-technical education can receive payment by applying during the fiscal year funded.
Central State funds meet land-grant match
Central State University must combine its Agricultural Research and Development funds with its Cooperative Extension Services funds. The money meets the state funding match required for its status as an 1890 land-grant university. The provision does not state funding amounts or create household payments.
College funding supports veterans service offices
The law sets aside $255,000 each fiscal year for college military and veterans offices to grow private donations. That work involves the National Veterans Leadership Foundation. Ashland University also receives $935,000 in fiscal 2026 for its Military and Veterans Services program. The money supports college programs, not specified payments to individual veterans.
College funds can support student aid
The law funds Choose Ohio First scholarships and allows transfers into the program’s reserve fund. Transfers cannot exceed canceled prior-year commitments certified by the Chancellor. Separately, colleges receiving an increase from the specified funding set-aside can use that increase for need-based student aid. They can also fund counseling, student support, and workforce preparation. Neither provision guarantees a larger award for any student.
College technology funds support online tutoring
Higher education technology funds can support department technology, dual-enrollment access, statewide online tutoring, and other Chancellor priorities. Dual-enrollment services and tutoring funding are available in each fiscal year. Some money must support a higher education data warehouse, advanced analysis, and data display services. OH-TECH may provide or arrange the technology services.
College veterans offices get staff training
Ohio sets aside $91,800 each fiscal year of the 2026–27 budget for college military and veterans office staff training. The funding sponsors attendance at the National Veterans Leadership Foundation's Advancement Institute. It pays for staff training, not direct benefits to veterans or students.
Colleges get bonuses for technical graduates
Ohio provides up to $10 million in each of FY 2026 and FY 2027 for college performance grants. The Chancellor's formula provides $10,000 per qualifying graduate above each institution's historical baseline. Graduates must earn a technician-aligned associate degree, as determined by the Governor's workforce office, and work for an Ohio-based employer. The formula gives priority to retention outcomes. Colleges receive the money, not graduates.
Community colleges get artificial intelligence grants
Ohio reserves $500,000 yearly in fiscal years 2026–27 from Ohio Work Ready Grant funding for a community-college pilot. The Chancellor awards five competitive grants of $100,000 each per year. Colleges can fund artificial intelligence courses, College Credit Plus offerings, training, student skills, technology, administrative uses, and contracted services. Award rules favor colleges with strong artificial intelligence records and workforce and industry ties. The Chancellor must monitor results and report recommendations when the pilot ends.
Community schools receive per-student funding supplements
Qualifying community and STEM schools receive an equity supplement of $500 per enrolled student in fiscal year 2026. The supplement is $400 per student in fiscal year 2027. Internet- or computer-based community schools do not qualify. Schools receive the money, not students or families.
Community schools receive yearly facilities payments
Ohio pays community and STEM schools annual facilities assistance based on full-time-equivalent enrollment. Internet- or computer-based community schools receive $25 per full-time-equivalent student. Other community and STEM schools receive $1,000 per full-time-equivalent student. Schools receive these payments, not families.
Contributions fund respiratory care student scholarships
The Ohio Registrar must send contributions collected under the designated law to the Ohio Society for Respiratory Care. The money supports its student scholarship fund. This provision does not set award amounts or student eligibility rules.
Contributions fund tuition and student wellness
The Ohio Registrar sends designated collected contributions to Hawken School, Gilmour Academy, University School, and Saint Albert the Great School. Each school must use 50% for tuition assistance and 50% for student mental and emotional well-being services and related faculty training. Any charity hired for wellness services must qualify under federal 501(c)(3) rules. Elder High School also receives designated contributions, split 50% for tuition assistance, 25% for arts and enrichment, and 25% for athletics. The law sets no total contribution amounts or individual tuition awards.
Contributions support named local school programs
The Ohio Registrar sends designated collected contributions to Cincinnati City School District and Liberty Center Local School District. Liberty Center must use its share for gifted programs, special education, and related services; Cincinnati's use is not specified. John F. Kennedy Catholic School and Fairfield Senior, Hamilton, and Ross high schools also receive contributions, barred from political use. Norton Music Boosters Association receives contributions for Norton High School music equipment, travel, and programming. No payment totals or direct household awards are set.
Cybersecurity funding for Ohio education networks
The law directs up to $1.2 million each budget year to security operations and services for OH-TECH members. The Chancellor of Higher Education works with OH-TECH on this spending. OARnet and the Ohio Supercomputer Center can use part for clients whose data face high federal or research privacy standards. Services can include security monitoring, data-loss prevention, firewalls, device compliance, log collection, and vulnerability management.
Deaf and blind schools keep earnings
Ohio’s state schools for the deaf and blind keep all investment earnings in their education expense funds. Those funds support educational programs, after-school activities, and student activities, including clubs at the deaf school. The law does not state how much earnings add.
District aid follows capacity and wealth
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, targeted aid for covered city, local, and exempted village districts combines capacity and wealth amounts. Districts receive no capacity amount with a capacity index below 1 or average daily enrollment below 200. Those with 200–400 students receive 5% of their calculated capacity amount. Aid phases in above 400 and below 600 students; districts with at least 600 receive the full calculated amount. A wealth index below 0.8 means no wealth amount.
Districts receive set gifted-education funding rates
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, gifted-education rates are $85,776 per coordinator unit, $89,378 per K–8 specialist unit, and $80,974 per grades 9–12 specialist unit. Each payment is multiplied by the district's state-share percentage. Districts receive one coordinator unit per 3,300 students, with a minimum of 0.5 and maximum of eight units. Each specialist category receives one unit per 140 gifted students, with a 0.3-unit minimum. Beginning in fiscal year 2028, the General Assembly sets unit allocations and payment amounts.
Education funded for children in treatment
Ohio sets aside up to $700,000 yearly in fiscal years 2026–27 for education in covered private treatment facilities. Youth must be assigned by a juvenile court or another authorized agency. For participating residential treatment centers, responsible districts must pay statutory tuition plus actual excess special-education costs under an individualized education program; these children are excluded from paying districts' average daily membership. If no district is responsible, the otherwise-applicable host district pays unless it provides the education itself. Providers demonstrating compliance also receive state reimbursements when districts owe tuition, calculated as the appropriation divided by eligible full-time-equivalent children; reimbursements must add to, not replace, other public funding.
Education service centers receive enrollment-based funding
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, Ohio calculates educational service center funding using a $356,250 base for up to 5,000 students. The calculation adds $24.72 per student above 5,000 through 35,000. It adds $30.90 per student above 35,000. Final payments also depend on each center's funding base and general phase-in percentage.
Educational television and radio receive support
Ohio educational television stations equally share up to $841,567 in fiscal year 2026 and $718,134 in 2027 for interactive instruction. Priority goes to resources tied to state learning standards. The Broadcast Educational Media Commission can also distribute operating support to qualified public educational television and educational radio stations. Limits are $2,311,039 in 2026 and $1,972,077 in 2027, using a formula developed with the stations. Funding goes to stations, not directly to households.
Established community schools gain location flexibility
Ohio community schools open for operation on May 1, 2005, may operate from or in any Ohio home. This applies regardless of when the school began operating from that particular home. The change expands permitted locations but does not create a household payment.
Five universities receive center funding
In each of FY 2026 and FY 2027, Ohio State receives $8.5 million for the Salmon P. Chase Center. The University of Toledo receives $3 million each year. Miami, Cleveland State, and Wright State universities each receive $2 million yearly. These State Share of Instruction funds support the centers' specified civics, culture, society, or workforce-development purposes, not household payments.
Funding connects education with workforce needs
Ohio provides $250,000 each budget year for qualifying regional education and workforce partnerships. Partnerships must connect early learning, schools, colleges, and workforce groups with regional job and skill needs. The Department of Education and Workforce sets the grant formula and qualification rules. The Ohio Life Sciences Foundation also receives $1 million each year for workforce development projects. Neither provision specifies individual participant payments.
Funding covers power plant valuation adjustments
Ohio reserves up to $7 million each fiscal year for power plant valuation adjustment payments. If that reserve falls short, the education director can move excess money within the appropriation item. Total spending cannot exceed the appropriation. The provision does not identify household recipients or set household payment amounts.
Funding for college mentoring and internships
Cleveland State’s Levin College student mentoring and career development program receives $75,000 each fiscal year. The University of Cincinnati Internship Program also receives $75,000 each fiscal year. The law funds these programs without setting student eligibility, individual awards, or internship pay.
Funding for Marietta's Appalachian innovation center
The Center on Appalachian Innovation at Marietta College receives $750,000 in each budget year. The money comes from the Priority Projects appropriation. It supports the center's work, not direct household payments.
Funding for Ohio research and innovation
The Chancellor can allocate Third Frontier research funds up to yearly limits of $2 million for water-quality research. Spinal-cord and cybersecurity research can each receive up to $750,000 yearly. I-Corps@Ohio can receive up to $300,000 yearly, and the Ohio Innovation Exchange can receive up to $200,000 yearly. The Chancellor must also support continued development of the exchange. It shares information about faculty research expertise and available equipment at Ohio institutions.
Funding for Ohio unemployment computer upgrades
Beginning July 1, 2025, the state can transfer up to $15 million to build a new unemployment insurance computer system. The money must come from a Job and Family Services fund, not the General Revenue Fund. At the agency director's request, an amount equal to the fiscal year 2026 transfer must be returned by June 30, 2027. This funding does not change unemployment benefit amounts or eligibility.
Funding for university community development research
The law provides $75,000 each fiscal year to each of four university centers or initiatives. Funding supports Toledo’s Urban Affairs Center and Shawnee State’s Institute for Appalachian Public Policy. It also supports Bowling Green State’s Center for Regional Development and Youngstown State’s Initiative for Community and Regional Development. These are program allocations, not direct household payments.
Funding for university public affairs programs
The law provides $75,000 each fiscal year to each of six university programs. These include Wright State’s Model United Nations and Ohio State’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs operations. Funding also supports Akron’s Bliss Institute of Applied Politics and Miami’s Center for Public Management and Regional Affairs. Kent State’s Washington Program in National Issues and Columbus Program each receive the same amount. These allocations support university programs, not direct household payments.
Funding supports adult learning through Aspire
Aspire-State funding supports adult education and required state matching and ongoing funding commitments in fiscal 2026. The money can also support students learning English as a second language. This provision does not state a funding total or per-student payment.
Funding supports agriculture education across Ohio
Ohio reserves up to $250,000 each budget year for Future Farmers of America, urban agriculture, and agriculture literacy programs. The money supports organizations and programs around Ohio. It does not create individual grants or household payments.
Funding supports college grants and programs
Ohio must transfer up to $4 million to the Second Chance Grant Program on July 1, 2025, or soon afterward. That transfer provision does not state who qualifies or how much each person receives. For FY 2027, college credit transfer program funding rises from about $2.270 million to $2.315 million. Computer Science funding rises from about $4.005 million to $4.007 million. These appropriations do not change transfer rules or set individual student awards.
Funding supports computer science teaching grants
The Computer Science appropriation funds administration and awards under Ohio’s Teach CS Grant Program. This provision does not state the funding total, grant amounts, or recipient criteria.
Funding supports job training programs
Ohio reserves up to $3 million each budget year for workforce development initiatives. Youngstown State University's Excellence Training Center receives $625,000 each year. Apollo, Mahoning, and Washington County career centers each receive $133,333 yearly for the Ohio Oil and Gas Career Jumpstart Program. In FY 2026, the Salem Worlds War Memorial Building Association receives $10,000 to develop a job training center. These funds support programs and facilities, not specified payments to job seekers.
Funding supports university libraries and networks
Library Depositories funding supports five regional libraries that store and provide access to lesser-used university materials. The Chancellor or OhioLINK administers those depositories. Funding also supports Ohio Academic Resources Network connections, shared technology services, and research, education, and economic-development uses. When capacity is available, the network must support bandwidth allocation for eligible programs directly supporting Ohio economic development. Funding totals are not stated.
Grants support students returning to school
Joint vocational districts operating dropout recovery programs in FY 2026 must opt into Aim Higher through the Department. The program covers newly enrolled students in FY 2026 or 2027, with payments tied to FY 2026 results. Districts receive $500 per qualifying credit and another $2,500 for an approved credential or credential group meeting diploma-related requirements. On request, participating districts with programs in their first three years receive a one-time $250,000 startup grant in FY 2026. They must designate $175,000 for career-technical equipment and $75,000 for renovation, and spend remaining program payments before July 1, 2027.
Higher training funding cap for state colleges
Approved state colleges in the individual microcredential assistance program can receive up to $1 million per fiscal year. This combined limit covers reimbursements and advance payments, replacing the general $500,000 provider cap for these institutions. The money goes to participating colleges, not directly to students.
Kent State Rising Scholars receives funding
Kent State University receives $100,000 each fiscal year for its Rising Scholars Program. The allocation supports the program and does not guarantee an award or payment to any individual student.
Kent State women’s wrestling receives funding
Kent State University receives $250,000 each fiscal year for its women’s wrestling program. The allocation supports the program and does not specify individual student financial assistance.
Local centers get job training funds
Fairfield County Workforce Center receives $350,000 in each fiscal year of the 2026–27 budget for pre-apprenticeship training. Funds can cover instructors, certification exams, books, software, and student tools. Mid-East Career and Technology Centers receives $200,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $250,000 in 2027 for truck-driving simulators. These provisions fund training programs, not fixed payments to trainees.
Manufacturing training equipment funded in prisons
Sinclair Community College receives $350,000 in fiscal 2026 for manufacturing education equipment in Ohio prisons. Training must lead to credentials valued by manufacturing employers. A regional manufacturing partnership endorsed by the Ohio Manufacturer’s Association must support that value. The allocation does not provide direct household payments.
Mentoring grants support new home nurses
The Ohio Council for Home Care and Hospice uses $400,000 each budget year for competitive grants to home care agencies. Each $20,000 grant supports training and mentoring a recent nursing graduate during the first three months of employment. The Council and the Chancellor set grant guidelines and award procedures. Agencies receive the grants, not individual nurses.
Miami University gets quantum research funding
Miami University receives $7 million in fiscal year 2026 to establish the Ohio Institute for Quantum Computing Research, Talent, and Commercialization. The funding also supports an urban bridge to Cleveland. This is university research and talent-development funding, not a direct household payment.
More funding for college oversight
Higher-education program approval and reauthorization funding rises from $769,126 in fiscal 2026 to $789,679 in fiscal 2027. Higher Educational Facility Commission administration funding rises from $69,839 to $73,807. Federal funding for Carl D. Perkins grant and plan administration rises from about $1.372 million to $1.389 million. These are administrative allocations, not direct household payments.
More funding for college support operations
For FY 2027, Ohio raises Higher Education Department operating funding from $8.75 million to $9.25 million. Grant and scholarship administration rises from $922,538 to $985,378. Technology maintenance and operations rises from about $4.520 million to $4.528 million. These appropriations support administration, not larger student awards or lower tuition.
More funding for nursing student loans
Ohio Nursing Loan Program funding rises from about $1.204 million in fiscal 2026 to $1.210 million in fiscal 2027. The increase supports the existing program. This provision does not specify changes to loan amounts, repayment terms, or eligibility.
More funding for student merit scholarships
Governor’s Merit Scholarship funding rises from $47 million in fiscal 2026 to $70 million in fiscal 2027. Students must meet the program’s eligibility requirements. This funding provision does not change those requirements or set individual award amounts.
Nuclear-plant school districts get payment protection
For FY 2022 through FY 2026, school districts containing a nuclear power plant receive a supplemental payment when specified payments fall short. The comparison is the district's FY 2017 payment under the same law. The supplement equals the difference. This payment protection does not extend into FY 2027.
Nuclear-plant school districts retain tax reimbursements
School districts containing a nuclear power plant keep a floor on personal property-tax replacement payments. Their fiscal year 2027 reimbursement cannot be lower than their fiscal year 2026 payment. The law does not state the payment amount or create a household check.
Ohio funds aerospace education and training
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, Ohio provides $500,000 yearly to the Ohio Aerospace Institute's Space Grant Consortium. It also provides $75,000 yearly to Dayton's Aerospace Professional Development Center for statewide workforce services. Remaining Air Force Institute of Technology funds support research and education links between Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Ohio institutions. They also support the Defense Associated Graduate Student Innovators consortium. These provisions do not set individual awards.
Ohio funds AIM HIGHER pilot payments
The law sets aside up to $750,000 in fiscal year 2026 for AIM HIGHER pilot payments. The pilot's separate program provision sets recipients and payment terms. This funding provision does not state individual payment amounts.
Ohio funds college obligations and completion
Ohio appropriates the Chancellor's certified amounts for outstanding prior-year State Share of Instruction obligations. Certification is due September 1 each fiscal year, or as soon as possible afterward. At the Chancellor's request, the budget director can transfer financial aid reconciliation cash to general revenues, capped at the certified amount. Central State University's supplement must support enrollment, course completion, and degrees. Shawnee State University's supplement must support course completion, degrees, and its Appalachian service mission; these provisions state no funding totals.
Ohio funds higher education policy research
The Chancellor can use $75,000 each fiscal year of the 2026–27 budget for the Ohio Higher Education Public Policy Research Consortium. This money supports establishing and administering the consortium. The remaining appropriation funds competitive research grants under the state's higher education policy research program. The provision does not state the total appropriation or provide household payments.
Ohio funds school options and facilities
Ohio funds calculated quality-support payments for eligible community schools and independent science, technology, engineering, and math schools. It also funds calculated community school facility aid; both types of payments must be reduced proportionally when appropriations fall short. Student funding can pay statutory per-pupil boarding amounts to eligible college-preparatory boarding schools. The education department must also use the Accelerate Great Schools appropriation to support that public-private partnership. These provisions do not state funding totals or create household payments.
Ohio funds science learning for kids
The Ohio STEM Learning Network receives up to $1.5 million yearly in fiscal years 2026–27. Funding supports expanded free science and technology programs, regional help for underserved students, and the STEM school designation process. The National Inventors Hall of Fame also receives $250,000 yearly to expand Camp Invention summer learning. That money must support enrollment for economically disadvantaged children in kindergarten through sixth grade.
Ohio Intern Academy receives program funding
The Strategic Ohio Council on Higher Education receives $500,000 each fiscal year for the Ohio Intern Academy. The allocation supports the program but does not guarantee payments to individual interns.
Ohio matches disability employment grant funds
From July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027, Ohio requires state funding transfers for the Employment First Initiative. The developmental disabilities and Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities agency heads must agree on the transfer amount. Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities must use the money to match available federal vocational rehabilitation grants. Any federal match received also supports the initiative; neither funding amount is specified.
Ohio State veterinary enrollment and clinics funded
Ohio State University receives the Veterinary Medicine Supplement to support increased enrollment of Ohio students. The goal is for Ohio students to make up 70% of the entering veterinary class in academic year 2026–2027. The Chancellor also distributes Clinic Support funding to Ohio State’s dental and veterinary clinics. These provisions do not state funding amounts, guarantee student awards, or promise lower clinic prices.
Ohio supports academic libraries and computing
The Chancellor must use OhioLINK funding to support the statewide electronic library system. It provides participating library users access to databases, digital resources, member library holdings, and the State Library of Ohio. The Chancellor must also fund Ohio Supercomputer Center operations as a statewide research resource. The Center provides computing, modeling, and simulation services to colleges and businesses, with private-industry access as appropriate. These provisions do not state funding amounts.
Plate donations fund simulated driving lessons
Michelle’s Leading Star Foundation receives designated license plate donations for its simulated driving curriculum. The money can only fund school districts’ rental, lease, or purchase of that curriculum. Eligible districts are city, exempted village, local, and joint vocational districts. No funding amount is stated.
Plate donations support named local schools
The law sends designated plate donations to Stow-Munroe Falls and Twinsburg schools, which cannot spend them on political purposes. Grandview Heights must use its donations for gifted programs, special education, and related services. Jesup W. Scott High School’s principal activities fund receives donations to improve student learning opportunities. No donation totals or individual awards are stated.
Preschool disability services receive formula funding
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, Ohio's preschool disability aid includes $4,000 per eligible child for serving districts and institutions. Additional category aid uses the disability-category multiplier, statewide average base cost, district state-share percentage, and a 0.50 factor. Eligible children are not in kindergarten and are at least three on December 1 and under six on September 30. Districts adopting the authorized resolution use August 1 instead of September 30 for that age test. Beginning in fiscal year 2028, the General Assembly sets each category's formula.
Professional education loan programs receive funding
Rural Practice Incentive Program money pays loans for attorneys eligible under Ohio’s program law. Nursing Loan Program money funds administration of the nurse education assistance program. The veterinarian student debt assistance program receives $100,000 in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027. These provisions do not state individual awards, covered loans, or nursing loan terms.
Recovered money can fund school buildings
Specified district transfers and school building settlement or judgment money must return to the fund that financed the project. With Controlling Board approval, that fund’s appropriation can increase by the amount returned. The added money must support eligible school facilities projects. No total recovery amount is stated.
Regional funding supports job training partnerships
Remaining Super RAPIDS funds support regional education and workforce projects, with priority for business-backed partnerships targeting fields such as healthcare and manufacturing. Eligible recipients include state colleges, technical centers, and approved education or workforce groups; some funds can address urgent statewide needs. Separately, up to $2 million each fiscal year supports technical-center customized training and business advice, with local matching dollars. Qualifying centers receive at least $25,000, with a maximum set by the Chancellor and preference for in-demand or local industry needs. The law also allows up to 2.38% of technical-center funds yearly for the Ohio Central School System and up to $48,000 for center assistance.
Research grants protect researchers’ ownership
The Chancellor must use Research Incentive Third Frontier funds to support joint research. Some funding each fiscal year must support research intended for commercial use. Researchers keep their discoveries, inventions, and patents unless they specifically grant ownership interests to their employing state college or university.
Scholarship operations and Cleveland tutoring funded
Ohio sets aside up to $10.4 million in fiscal year 2026 and $10.8 million in 2027 to run state scholarship programs. These funds do not set scholarship awards or eligibility. Cleveland Municipal School District also receives up to $1 million each fiscal year for tutoring. The district must report spending in its three-year improvement plan in a manner approved by the Department.
School aid stays with English learners
In fiscal years 2026 and 2027, districts must spend their English-learner funding only on services for English learners. This reserves the money for those students rather than creating payments to families.
School aid supports wellness and coordination
State education appropriations fund formula aid, disadvantaged pupil aid, and specified student wellness staffing costs. The education department sets monthly payment schedules; changes require the state budget director’s approval. Eligible recipients can transfer part of Foundation Funding or Special Education Enhancements allocations into the Family and Children First Flexible Funding Pool. Transfers require collaboration with the county council and must preserve any spending-maintenance or matching requirements. These provisions state no direct household payment.
School construction drops debt-based cost minimum
Districts’ shares of assisted classroom construction costs now use the required percentage, rather than a higher debt-based alternative. For projects split into segments, later segments keep the same cost-sharing percentage as the first. The district share remains capped at 95%. A special calculation remains for districts that received assistance within the past 20 years.
School districts get aid and emergency support
The law funds annual Performance Supplement aid for city, local, and exempted village districts, plus formula and transition payments for joint vocational districts. In fiscal year 2027, Foundation Funding also receives statutory transfers certified by the Treasurer to the budget director. Solvency grants require Controlling Board approval. During fiscal years 2026–27, the budget director can replenish the solvency fund from specified education funds, lottery reserves, or general revenues. Those transfers require the education director's request and Board approval, and can cover unforeseeable temporary or emergency costs beyond districts' resources.
School funding includes qualifying education accounts
Beginning in FY 2027, Ohio adds a nonchartered educational savings account unit to its core school-funding system. The unit includes all students with accounts established under the law's education savings account program. Each year, the unit receives funding under the state formula. This provision does not state an individual household payment amount.
School plate donations support student wellness
The law sends designated license plate donations to Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Chagrin Falls, and Cuyahoga Valley Career Center. They must spend the money on students’ mental and emotional well-being and may fund related faculty training. Hired charities must qualify as federal 501(c)(3) nonprofits. The money cannot support other purposes, and no funding amount is stated.
Schools gain flexible student support spending
Schools can use Student Support and Academic Enrichment funds for well-rounded learning, including math and the science of reading. Allowed uses also include safe, drug-free schools, student health, and effective technology use, including the Success Sequence. Spending must follow state goals and federal grant requirements. The provision does not state a funding amount.
Shared renewal dates for emergency certificates
Ohio's emergency medical, fire, and transportation services board must set certification cycles with a common expiration date for covered certificates. The requirement covers certificates under sections 4765.23, 4765.30, and 4765.55. The law does not specify the date or a fee change.
Specialty plates fund education and students
Designated plate contributions now go to the Ohio State Coalition-National Council of Negro Women, Incorporated, instead of the national council. The coalition must use them for education. Past and future designated energy-plate contributions go to the Ohio Natural Energy Foundation for oil and natural gas career scholarships. St. Ignatius High School receives its designated contributions and must split them equally between tuition help and student mental and emotional well-being. Well-being spending can include faculty training; any hired charity must qualify under federal section 501(c)(3).
St. Xavier donations fund tuition help
St. Xavier High School receives designated license plate donations. It must spend 50% on student tuition help and 50% on student wellness services, including related faculty training. Any charity hired for wellness services must qualify as a federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The law does not state total donations or awards per student.
State payments replace school debt-tax losses
Ohio reimburses school and joint vocational districts for 100% of qualifying fixed-sum debt-levy losses, using specified tax-year 2014 amounts. Payments stop when a qualifying levy is no longer charged and payable, and the tax commissioner updates current and future calculations. Ohio also covers 100% of specified debt-tax losses within the ten-mill limit, using the required historical calculations. Covered electric-company losses use tax-year 1998 values through FY 2016; natural-gas losses use tax-year 1999 values through FY 2016. Another covered category concerns taxes levied in tax year 2005 through FY 2018.
Students get attendance and enrichment support
Ohio sets aside up to $1.5 million yearly in fiscal years 2026–27 for Stay in the Game! and reducing chronic absenteeism. Ohio Valley Youth Network receives $350,000 in 2026 and $250,000 in 2027 for Sycamore Youth Center's after-school education and life-skills program. The Legacy Project of Stark receives $50,000 yearly for school mentoring staff, materials, and expansion. The Music Settlement receives $250,000 yearly for its Center for Music Initiative. These grants do not establish per-child payments.
Students get career and money education
In fiscal years 2026–27, Girl Scout Councils of Ohio receive $400,000 yearly for Trailblazers in Training workforce preparation. Stark Education Partnership receives $250,000 yearly for participating schools' career counselors or champions and YouScience assessments. Ohio also funds Junior Achievement affiliates in North Central Ohio, Greater Cleveland, Eastern Ohio, Northwestern Ohio, OKI Partners, and Central Ohio. Those affiliates must work with education, employer, and community partners on financial literacy, job readiness, entrepreneurship, and related programs. Their programs emphasize underserved communities, under-resourced rural areas, and economically disadvantaged populations.
Teacher preparation pathways receive program funding
The Chancellor must use the program appropriation to run the Grow Your Own Teacher Program and Ohio Teacher Apprenticeship Program. The funding supports teacher preparation pathways and program administration. This provision does not state funding totals, individual payments, or eligibility terms.
Transportation grants help dropout recovery students
Qualifying dropout prevention and recovery community schools receive transportation grants in FY 2026 and FY 2027. More than 75% of students must be economically disadvantaged, as determined by the Department. The school's territory must cover three counties and contain more than 12 school districts. The Department sets each grant at no more than $450,000 per year, and schools must spend it on student transportation.
Tuition reserves can support space reductions
The state treasurer can transfer money from the Ohio tuition trust reserve fund to the strategic square footage reduction fund. The higher education chancellor must request the transfer, and the budget director must approve it. The law specifies no transfer amount.
Unemployment funds support system development
Ohio directs part of each year's unemployment administration appropriation toward agreements financing its unemployment insurance system. Payments cover acquiring, developing, implementing, and connecting the system. The agreements must follow the specified state contracting authority. This funds administration, not unemployment checks directly, and no amount is stated.
University civics centers get fee-free space
Wright State must provide suitable space for its Center for Civics, Culture, and Workforce Development. Toledo must do the same for its Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership. Each director and the university president or provost jointly determine the space. Neither university can charge its center or institute overhead or indirect fees, costs, or expenses.
University funding supports Appalachian workforce development
Funding for Ohio University’s Voinovich School continues a coordinated Appalachian development effort across campuses and agencies. The work covers entrepreneurship, management, education, and technology. Separately, the law directs $165,000 each fiscal year from Co-Op Internship Program funds to the school’s operations. These allocations do not specify direct household payments.
University programs receive civics education funding
The University of Dayton Statehouse Civic Scholars Program receives $200,000 each fiscal year. Ashland University’s Ashbrook Center receives $100,000 in fiscal 2026 for its K–12 civics education initiative. That initiative includes teacher training and student learning activities. These provisions fund programs rather than guaranteed individual awards.
Vocational districts receive foundation and transition aid
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, joint vocational districts receive core foundation funding with phased-in components. The base-cost state share equals average daily enrollment times the district's state-share percentage times base cost per student. Transitional aid equals the district's funding base minus its section 3317.16 payment, with a zero minimum. For newly paid districts, the funding base is the absolute value of summed related local-district funding-base adjustments. Beginning in fiscal year 2028, the General Assembly determines the foundation funding method.
Vocational schools gain building funding flexibility
The facilities commission can set aside school-building money for vocational classrooms without the former 2% limit. It chooses the amount and must assist at least two joint vocational districts each two-year budget period. Certain transferred vocational project funds can also cover future project costs without the former 2% yearly limit. That reuse remains subject to legislative appropriations and the vocational facilities set-aside rules.
Work Ready funding includes college technology pilot
The law reserves $500,000 each fiscal year for a pilot helping community colleges integrate artificial intelligence. Remaining Ohio Work Ready Grant funds establish and operate that grant program. This funding provision does not state the total appropriation or individual award amounts.
Wright State aerospace medicine center funded
The law directs $1.5 million each fiscal year from Wright State University Clinical Teaching funds to its Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance Center. The money supports the center rather than specified household payments.
Youngstown State gets college transition support
Youngstown State receives up to $2.5 million in fiscal year 2026 from the Super RAPIDS appropriation. The money helps enroll new students and take over building operations from Eastern Gateway Community College. The law does not promise individual student payments.
Grants support minority business development services
Ohio provides $7.5 million in fiscal year 2026 and $8.5 million in 2027 for its Minority Business Development Division. This includes grants to local nonprofits for work that promotes minority business development. An $85,000 grant in 2026 goes to the Stark County Minority Business Association. It supports the Kirk Schuring Business Development Center and Innovation Hub, not direct payments to businesses.
Industrial water pollution projects avoid fees
Industrial water pollution control facilities are exempt from this exempt-facility certificate application fee. The fee otherwise equals 0.5% of project cost, capped at $2,000. The exemption saves applicants that amount rather than providing a household payment.
Infectious waste generators avoid registration fees
Ohio eliminates the $140 certificate issuance fee and $140 renewal fee for covered infectious waste generators. The rule applies to generators producing at least 50 pounds in any one month. They still must register and renew their certificates every three years.
More funding options for business loans
Beginning July 1, 2025, or soon afterward, Ohio may move $4 million from its small-business credit fund to business financial assistance. Loan repayments stay in the receiving fund; certified leftovers may also move after the original Collateral Enhancement Program ends. With Controlling Board approval, Ohio may move up to $3 million yearly from research loans to the Business Assistance Fund. The law also funds Capital Access operations and lender support for eligible businesses facing barriers to operating or asset financing. Board-approved transfers between the Minority Business Enterprise and Capital Access loan funds are capped at $1 million yearly; loan terms are not stated.
More outdoor sales options for fireworks
Licensed fireworks manufacturers and wholesalers get exceptions to some licensed-location and indoor-sales rules. Manufacturers can sell outside licensed buildings where section 3743.48 expressly allows it. Tents, awnings, and canopies are allowed for sales or storage only where that section permits them.
More support for small federal contractors
Part of the Federal Research Network funding must support the growth of Ohio small-business federal contractors. The funding also helps Ohio businesses participate in Small Business Innovation Research and related federal programs. Ohio State University works with federal installations, colleges, and private partners on research, workforce development, commercialization, and jobs. The provision sets no amount for individual firms.
New fund supports small business financing
The law creates a state fund for Ohio small-business financing programs and their administrative costs. It supports Ohio Growth Capital, Ohio Early-Stage Focus, Certified Development Financial Institution Loan, and Collateral Enhancement programs. Federal State Small Business Credit Initiative money and investment earnings go into the fund. The provision sets no funding amount and guarantees no financing to an individual business.
Short boat trips escape carrier rules
Qualifying boat trailers are excluded from motor-carrier regulation under Ohio's Chapter 4921. A trailer must be designed and used only to carry one boat between storage and a marina-area location. The locations must be no more than 10 miles apart. Travel on Ohio public roads must stay at 25 miles per hour or less. Applicable vehicle and combination weights and weight ratings cannot exceed 26,001 pounds.
State liquor sales gain another location
Ohio's Division of Liquor Control can sell liquor at A-3a permit premises. These join warehouses, state liquor stores, and agency stores as authorized sales locations. Sales must follow sealed-container rules and limits on authorized resale or off-premises consumption.
Broadway presenters gain production tax access
Companies presenting qualifying Broadway shows can apply for production tax credits, alongside companies producing them. Companies must register with Ohio's secretary of state, and shows must meet the program's definition and certification requirements. Presenters can also receive trainee-pay reimbursement when they hire certified film and multimedia trainees for the production. Certified film and Broadway productions can count otherwise eligible expenses even when those expenses received a credit under section 122.852. Those expenses still undergo the required review.
Businesses can use unused loss credits
For tax periods beginning January 1, 2030, eligible taxpayers can claim qualifying unused amortizable amounts as a nonrefundable credit. The credit cannot exceed tax remaining after earlier credits in the required claiming order. Unused balances can carry forward until used. Total credits under section 5751.53 cannot exceed 100% of the amortizable amount.
Businesses gain more tax-appeal filing options
Written reassessment petitions are no longer limited to personal delivery or certified mail for the covered taxes. These include financial institution, distribution excise, fuel use, motor fuel, and petroleum activity taxes. Petitions must still reach the Tax Commissioner within 60 days after service of the assessment notice. Financial institution petitions need the taxpayer's signature or that of an authorized agent who knows the facts.
Businesses get more municipal filing flexibility
Covered municipal business returns are due on the unextended federal deadline when it falls after the usual municipal deadline. The usual deadline is the 15th day of the fourth month after the tax year ends. For state-administered returns, taxpayers without a requested or received six-month federal extension can request a seven-month municipal extension. The commissioner must receive that request by the municipal due date and must grant a timely qualifying request. The addition for underpaid estimated tax under section 5745.04 is now discretionary, not automatic.
Cannabis tax balances support host communities
The state transfers the remaining fiscal year 2025 Adult Use Tax Fund balance to the Host Community Cannabis Fund. It first makes the required transfer to the General Revenue Fund. The transfer is required on July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward. The law does not state the remaining balance or provide a direct household payment.
Cannabis taxes support dispensary host communities
The law sends 36% of Ohio's adult use tax fund to the host community cannabis fund. Cities, villages, and townships with adult-use dispensaries receive shares based on the tax tied to each community. They can use the money for any approved purpose. The remaining revenue goes to the state's general revenue fund.
Cash advances support municipal tax distributions
In fiscal years 2026 and 2027, Ohio can advance cash when the Municipal Net Profit Tax Fund cannot cover monthly distributions. The Tax Commissioner must certify the shortage and submit a funding plan with a proposed repayment schedule. Budget and Management must find enough cash available in specified tax-administration funds or the General Revenue Fund. The state can later return money to reimburse the source funds. No transfer amount is set.
Certain churches can clear property taxes
Qualifying church property owners can apply for exemption and cancellation of unpaid property taxes, penalties, and interest. The church must have recorded its deed between May 1 and May 31, 2022. Applications are due within 12 months after this section's effective date. The property must qualify for a church-related exemption and have no disqualifying use during the tax years claimed. Relief can include amounts that became liens before the owner acquired title.
Cities and townships can clear taxes
Owners of qualifying city or township property can apply for exemption and cancellation of unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest. Applications are due within 12 months after this section's effective date. The property must qualify for an applicable exemption and have no disqualifying use during the tax years claimed. Relief can include amounts that became liens before the owner acquired title.
Coal producers pay lower extraction tax
Ohio cuts the base coal severance tax from 10 cents to 8 cents per ton extracted from Ohio soil or water. Separate additional taxes on qualifying coal remain. The law does not establish savings for household energy bills.
Dedicated money for sports facility funding
Beginning in 2026, state-owned unclaimed funds and interest go to the Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund. Transfers occur each January 1 and July 1. Counties must split revenue from specified sports-facility taxes equally among facilities within the county while those taxes are levied. Treasurers pay facility owners directly unless an agreement sets another payment arrangement.
Developers can transfer project tax credits
A certified mixed-use project's total credit equals the smaller of its preliminary approval or 10% of actual eligible costs. The calculation replaces the prior approach based on adjusted development costs and tax-collection increases. Preliminarily approved holders can transfer all or part of their rights, and recipients can transfer them again. Certificates can go to the applicant or another person named in the application. Rights holders can claim credits under four listed state tax provisions, subject to each provision's limits.
Development investors gain tax credit options
Eligible taxpayers and financial institutions can use qualifying mixed-use development certificates for nonrefundable Ohio tax credits. Certificates must be issued on or after the relevant section's effective date. Claims can cover the certificate's listed year or the following year, with unused amounts carried forward for five tax years. Financial institutions must follow the required reporting and credit order. The same certificate amount cannot also support the listed alternative financial-institution, insurance-company, or income-tax credits.
Existing production credit certificates stay usable
Owners of certificates issued under section 122.852 before its repeal can still claim the associated tax credit. They must follow the claim procedures and tax rules that applied before repeal. This protection applies only to certificates issued before repeal.
Free-print producers gain sales-tax relief
Producers of free printed matter can claim the previously barred production sales-tax exemption. It covers qualifying incorporated materials and qualifying equipment, supplies, or services primarily used in production. The printed matter must be distributed free to the public or a designated segment of the public. Claimed purchases must fall within the statutory production exemption.
Insurers and banks can claim earlier
Domestic and foreign insurers with section 122.84 certificates from the annual July application round can claim for the preceding calendar year. This includes certificates issued or transferred to them. Financial institution taxpayers can also claim the covered credit for the preceding taxable year when issued in that July round. Earlier claims require an amended return or report, or the change on the original filing for that year.
Insurers gain protection in tax collections
Ohio changes court pleading rules for collecting domestic insurance company franchise taxes, interest, and penalties. The state cannot rely solely on alleging that listed amounts remained unpaid for 45 days. The underlying tax rate does not change.
Local levies gain stronger approval protections
County budget commissions must approve properly authorized first-year levies above the ten-mill limit without changes. Exceptions cover renewals and local requests for an amount requiring a lower rate. A lower-rate request applies only to the next fiscal year unless expressly made permanent. Properly authorized levies for unpaid debt, including emergency notes, also receive approval without changes. That debt rule no longer excludes debt covered by levies above the ten-mill limit.
Megaproject properties can extend tax exemptions
Local legislative authorities can amend existing community reinvestment agreements to continue eligible property-tax exemptions for terms up to 30 years. Covered structures must serve qualifying megaproject operators on proposed project sites or qualifying suppliers off-site. Authorities must follow the required agreement-approval process. Longer exemptions can reduce local property-tax revenue.
Public parking garages gain tax exemptions
Qualifying multi-level parking garages and their land can receive property-tax exemptions while owned or leased by listed public entities. Those entities include cities, counties, new community authorities, and port authorities. The exemption is no longer limited to impacted cities and counties within their boundaries. This section removes the former public-access and 20-year limits. Garages must not already be exempt under section 717.05, and owners must use the required exemption claim process.
School tax increases face added review
City, local, and exempted village school districts face added review before levy changes within the ten-mill limit increase real-property taxes. The district must hold a public hearing and present evidence of need. Each county budget commission where the district has territory must hold its own hearing. Every commission must approve the need by majority vote before the change can proceed.
Schools and local governments get reimbursements
Personal-property-tax reimbursements for local governments total $3.77 million in fiscal year 2026 and $3.17 million in fiscal year 2027. School districts receive $46.478241 million and $42.618185 million, respectively. The law also appropriates any extra money needed to make required payments in full. These payments go to local taxing units and schools, not directly to households.
Utilities gain filing and refund flexibility
Ohio can apply an eligible public utility tax refund to state tax or fee debts, including charges, penalties, and interest. The state must pay any remaining refund, replacing the prior bar tied to specified delinquent claims. Utilities can request up to 30 extra days for eligible reports using the Tax Commissioner's prescribed form and method. Requests are due by the original deadline. Reports required by sections 5727.24 through 5727.29 remain ineligible for extensions.
Visitors bureaus gain lodging-tax spending options
Qualifying visitors bureaus can spend existing lodging-tax revenue on public safety, economic development, or infrastructure that affects tourism. The county must have fewer than 100,000 residents. The bureau must receive more than $500,000 yearly from taxes under section 5739.09. This adds spending options, not a new household tax.
Adoption files lose redaction filing instruction
Ohio's Department of Health must open an adoption file to remove and destroy a name-redaction request form. The law removes the instruction to open the file to add a biological parent's name-redaction request. This provision does not spell out the broader effect on adoption-file access.
Adoption grant lies carry criminal penalties
Knowingly making a false statement to the Department of Children and Youth to qualify for or obtain an Ohio adoption grant is falsification. The offense is generally a first-degree misdemeanor. This does not change grant amounts or eligibility.
Bee owners must register their apiaries
Ohio bee owners must register apiaries, including those at home, and identify them by name or an assigned number. Registration is due June 1, or within 30 days after acquiring bees or bringing them into Ohio. Registrations expire May 31 and must be renewed.
Court users face added technology fees
Common pleas courts may add fees when they determine more money is needed for court or clerk technology. Court computerization or legal research fees can reach $6 per covered case or appeal in counties meeting online-docket rules. The cap is $3 in counties that do not comply. Clerk technology fee caps are $20 for specified filings and judgment services and $1 for specified other services in complying counties. Those caps fall to $10 and 50 cents in noncomplying counties; courts with appointed clerks may set the fees.
Drivers pay higher vehicle paperwork fees
Covered vehicle transaction service fees rise from $5 to $8. Starting January 1, 2026, added registration and renewal fees rise from $11 to $16, or $30 to $35 for specified vehicles. Vehicles registered under section 4503.65 remain exempt from that added fee. Covered titles and duplicate titles cost $18 instead of $15; counties can approve a $23 fee. The law directs specified $3 portions to highway patrol enforcement and the security, investigations, and policing fund; county clerks retain the extra $5 title charge.
Failed state payments remain your responsibility
You still owe the full state payment if a financial transaction device payment is reversed for any reason. The same applies when its U.S. dollar value upon receipt is less than the amount due. You also remain liable for reimbursable collection costs. The debt remains enforceable until the state receives cash or its equivalent; collection costs are not specified.
Families face higher burial permit fees
An Ohio burial permit costs $10 instead of $3, an increase of $7. Of each fee, $9.50 goes to the state cemetery registration fund. The health director must provide rules for free permits when an eligible government agency or instrumentality pays the full burial cost.
Foster applicants face interstate registry checks
Before final foster-placement approval, agencies must request and review checks of other states' child abuse and neglect registries. This applies if the applicant or an adult household member lived elsewhere within five years before the criminal-records check request. Ohio must also respond to similar requests from other states. The provision sets no household fee.
Intervention violations allow added court sanctions
After a hearing finds a violation of an intervention-in-lieu-of-conviction plan, a court can keep the person in the program with added conditions or sanctions. These can include placing the person under the control and supervision of a community-based correctional facility.
Limited-term licenses no longer qualify for voting
Specified limited-term Ohio driver’s licenses no longer qualify as driver’s licenses under the listed voter photo-ID options. The exclusion covers limited-term licenses issued under Ohio’s commercial and regular driver’s license provisions. This provision does not describe alternative ID options.
Lottery prizes must pay covered debts
The lottery must use qualifying prizes to pay covered debts through the Attorney General before paying winners the remainder. Prizes, including goods or services, must reach the federal reportable-winnings threshold. Covered debts include specified state and local debts, lottery sales receipts, and related charges, penalties, or interest. Debts generally must be final, subject to a statutory exception, and state debts generally take priority. For yearly installment prizes, deductions continue as payments come due until the debt is paid.
Lottery prizes pay support and debts
Covered lottery and video lottery prizes at or above the federal reporting threshold face child-support default checks and withholding. Withholding requires a final, enforceable default, and state law sets the amount. The Lottery Commission’s rule excludes most sports gaming winnings but includes wagers through the specifically covered sports gaming terminal. Video lottery agents must also send covered, generally final debts to the Attorney General and pay winners only the remainder. State debts generally take priority, subject to higher-priority claims and statutory exceptions, including an exception to debt finality.
Nonresident hunters pay higher deer fees
Ohio's annual nonresident deer permit costs $210 instead of $74. Nonresident applicants pay $136 more for the annual permit.
Pension board election filings face fines
Required campaign finance and independent spending statements for police and fire pension board elections must be complete and accurate. A person who knowingly fails to file a complete, accurate required statement faces a fine of up to $100 per day.
Petitioners pay for off-schedule local-option elections
Petitioners must pay the full cost of covered local-option elections held outside primary, general, or qualifying special elections. The rule applies to local-option elections under Ohio’s liquor-control laws. The amount depends on the election’s actual cost.
Sexual image victims face filing deadline
Victims must file covered civil claims involving a private or fabricated sexual image within four years after discovering the image. Missing the deadline can prevent them from pursuing that claim.
Some visiting anglers pay higher fees
Nonresidents from states without a fishing agreement pay $74 for an annual Ohio license, up from $49. Their three-day tourist license rises from $24 to $50. One-day licenses cost $13 for Ohio residents and visitors from states with a reciprocal fishing agreement. Other nonresidents pay $26 for one day.
Waste disposal fees continue through 2028
Ohio continues five solid-waste fees through June 30, 2028: 71 cents, 90 cents, $2.81, 25 cents, and 8 cents per ton. Facility operators collect applicable fees on covered waste transfers or disposal, subject to statutory exemptions. Customers or local governments bear the charges. The supplied text does not map each rate to its category, so these figures do not establish a single combined rate.
Benefit recipients lose data sharing safeguards
The law removes several safeguards for agencies exchanging unemployment and benefit-program information. Removed rules cover standardized requests, notices to applicants and recipients, and limits on data use and disclosure. It also removes cost-reimbursement requirements and participating agencies' duty to supply information. Express unemployment confidentiality rules and sanctions no longer apply through this section to information shared again. This provision does not change benefit amounts or eligibility.
Drivers face continued testing and fee limits
The state must extend its emissions-testing contract if the environmental director finds it necessary for federal compliance and requests an extension. The extension starts July 1, 2025, and lasts up to 24 months. Per vehicle, the fund covers at most one passing inspection and three total inspections in any 365-day period. Owners or lessees pay beyond those limits, at contractor fees approved by the environmental director. The fund cannot cover dealer inspections for vehicles sold to buyers living in covered counties.
Lottery winners face tighter transfer limits
The transfer definition now covers selling, assigning, or redirecting the remaining prize from the winner for payment. It no longer covers part of an award or an interest held by an earlier recipient. For court-approved transfers, all future payments from one award must go to one recipient, without the former multiple-recipient exception. Installment-prize transfers under the separate transfer rule are limited to one per award, down from three. The Lottery Commission can allow more installment-prize transfers by rule.
Online vehicle registration carries added charges
People submitting an initial vehicle registration or registration transfer through the centralized electronic system must pay the established service fee. They must also pay necessary postage and any applicable payment-device surcharge. The service fee goes to the registrar or deputy registrar who checks the documents. This provision does not state the charge amounts.
State payments can carry convenience fees
Ohio state officials and entities may charge a surcharge or convenience fee for payments made using financial transaction devices. The fee must follow the contracted processor’s guidelines. If charged, the payer must receive notice of the fee and its dollar amount or percentage rate. The law does not set the amount or require a fee.
Higher monthly emergency fee for phone services
After the prior statutory charge expires, the next-generation 9-1-1 fee rises from 40 cents to 60 cents monthly. Wireless service is charged per assigned phone number; internet voice service is charged per voice channel, capped at 100 per network. Multiline service is charged per line, capped at 100 fees per building or identifiable location; statutory exceptions still apply. Services sharing one phone number cannot total more than 60 cents monthly.
Broader government sharing of family-assistance records
Public-assistance information rules now cover Children and Youth programs; medical assistance remains excluded. Job and Family Services or Children and Youth must arrange Ohio's participation in a federal and neighboring-state reporting system. Recipient information can be shared only as needed for participation. Agencies must also provide identifying recipient information to law enforcement for official duties and authorized auditors, within federal limits. The rules address exchanges about fugitive-felon or supervision violations affecting eligibility and protect qualifying releases from civil-damages claims.
Health plan option removed for board employees
The law removes authority to let Ohio public employees deferred compensation board employees join retirement-system employee health coverage. This applies when the retirement system offers health coverage to its employees. The repeal does not itself end other coverage.
More mental health facilities face billing
Patient-charge laws now define hospitals to include more places established, controlled, or supervised by Ohio's mental health and addiction services department. Patients and legally responsible relatives at those facilities may fall under the charge rules. The broader definition does not apply when a rule specifically covers only department-operated hospitals. No charge amount is set by this change.
State workers face changed disability appeals
State employees appealing denied disability-leave payments use procedures exempt from Ohio’s Chapter 119 adjudication hearing requirements. This changes hearing protections, not disability benefit amounts or claim eligibility.
False property complaint statements bring penalties
A person who knowingly lies in the required affidavit for a third-party property-value complaint commits falsification under Ohio law. The rule applies to the specified complaint affidavit, not every disagreement over a property's value.
Lake districts gain voter-approved tax authority
Lake facilities authorities may seek voter approval for a property-tax levy above the ten-mill limit for specified purposes. The levy is capped at one mill and generally lasts up to five years; debt levies may last for the bonds' life. Two-thirds of the authority's board must declare that taxes within the existing limit are insufficient. The resolution must be adopted and certified at least 90 days before a primary or general election. A majority voting on the question in the affected lake district must approve the levy.
Owners pay extra for outside inspections
The state building board can authorize certified local building departments to accept outside plan reviews and inspection reports. Board rules govern acceptance and may require certification or equivalent skill. When outside reviewers or inspectors are used, the building owner pays their fees in addition to local fees. Only certified personnel employed by or under contract with the department can issue approval, occupancy, or completion certificates.
Property tax breaks face eligibility checks
The Tax Department must create controls and a screening system for covered property tax and manufactured- or mobile-home reductions. County auditors must have system access and report errors they find. The department must notify the relevant auditor when screening finds an ineligible reduction. Starting in 2026, annual county-level reports are due by December 31 and count newly identified ineligible properties or homes. The provision does not change the underlying eligibility rules.
Residents lose megaproject zoning referendum rights
Township zoning changes for property in a qualifying megaproject take effect immediately when township trustees adopt them. Residents cannot use the usual zoning referendum process to challenge those changes. The rule covers changes to zoning text and maps.
Addiction counselors face broader discipline rules
Covered addiction-service professionals face broader discipline rules for accepting referral commissions or rebates involving state-regulated professionals and related fields. Discipline also covers convictions anywhere for crimes that count as felonies in Ohio, plus misdemeanors committed during covered practice. The board can discipline people unable to practice because of mental or physical illness, including declining cognitive, motor, or perceptive skills. This also covers inability to practice because of alcohol or drug abuse or dependence.
Alternative athletics option limited to homeschoolers
The alternative-school athletics option after specified misconduct now covers only home-educated students, not students enrolled in districts or qualifying schools. Covered conduct includes qualifying bullying, criminal or delinquent acts, and educator misconduct by people connected to the student's athletics district. A superintendent or qualifying-school administrator can offer an eligible home-educated student participation elsewhere. Existing protections against extra participation requirements or higher fees continue.
Commercial drivers face broader downgrade rules
Ohio broadens what counts as a downgrade of a commercial driver's license or temporary instruction permit. The definition now includes privilege changes described in Revised Code section 4506.13(F)(1). This provision sets no separate fee or payment.
Commercial drivers face license renewal checks
Commercial drivers must submit a new copy or original medical examiner's certificate before applying to renew their licenses. Drivers keeping a hazardous materials endorsement must also pass its written test and complete any federally required background check. This provision does not set a fee.
Counselor applicants face tighter training rules
Applicants for covered chemical-dependency professional credentials must submit a completed application, required documents, and fees; a former exception is removed. Counselor assistant applicants must complete rule-set substance use disorder training hours, without the former registered-candidate credential route. Initial assistant certificate holders need at least 30 additional training hours during the first 12 months to renew. People restoring a certificate also need at least 30 additional hours. The board can waive this requirement for military service, illness, living outside the United States, or another accepted reason.
Counselor licensing requires two defined routes
Chemical dependency counselor II applicants must use a general or specialized route; older credential and continuous-practice routes end. The general route requires an associate's degree in behavioral science or nursing, or a bachelor's degree in any field. It also requires specified experience, at least 20% in substance use disorder counseling, plus training and an exam. The specialized route requires a behavioral science or nursing degree specializing in substance use disorder counseling, 180 education hours, and a 240-hour supervised practicum within two semesters. It also requires 1,000 paid hours as a counselor assistant, a supervisor's recommendation, and an exam.
Counselors lose older licensing routes
Independent addiction counselors and clinical supervisors need a qualifying master's degree in behavioral science or nursing; counselor III applicants need a qualifying bachelor's degree. All three licenses require specified paid work or supervised internship experience, with at least 20% in substance use disorder counseling. Clinical supervisors also need clinical supervisory experience. Applicants need substance use disorder training and an exam, unless a qualifying Ohio credential satisfies the exam requirement. Older eligibility routes end, including the clinical-supervisor route for people holding independent counselor licenses on March 22, 2013.
County workers face cash award limits
County employee cash performance awards cannot exceed 10% of yearly compensation unless county commissioners approve more in writing. Total program costs cannot exceed the compensation commissioners set for the relevant office or court. Appointing authorities must notify commissioners before creating a performance-recognition program.
Dietitians must wait to appeal suspensions
A dietetics license holder cannot appeal a covered summary suspension before the State Medical Board issues its final order. The suspension stays in effect until that final order takes effect. A person harmed by the final order can appeal it.
Driver training loses diploma point credit
High school students no longer receive up to two diploma points for an industry-recognized credential earned through driver education. The law removes that specific way to earn diploma points.
Educator fees must support broader costs
State Board of Education license, certificate, and permit fees must help cover the board's estimated yearly operating expenses. Fees and legislative appropriations together must cover those expenses, not just licensing administration. Fee revenue and costs for attorney-general-contracted investigations go through the occupational licensing and regulatory fund. Applicants and renewing educators can face higher fees, but this provision sets no fee amount.
Elevator workers face license renewal requirements
Elevator mechanics must complete at least eight hours of approved continuing education during the year before renewal. The training must cover new and existing state rules and standards, using approved providers and instructors. Elevator contractors must show proof that they meet insurance requirements. License holders must apply and pay the state-set renewal fee. The state can deny renewal for reasons that also bar an initial license.
Higher fees for healthcare professional credentials
Registered and certified pharmacy technician applicants pay $65, up from $50. The application fee is nonrefundable, even when an applicant does not qualify. Health services executives pay $100 to renew their licenses, up from $50. They must apply before their licenses expire and provide proof of required continuing education.
Long-term care insurance agents need training
Agents must complete eight hours of partnership-program training before selling, soliciting, or negotiating long-term care insurance. Starting with their first license renewal afterward, they need at least four continuing-education hours each renewal period. Agents who miss that requirement cannot sell, solicit, or negotiate this insurance until they finish the training. Nonresident agents can use qualifying out-of-state courses approved by that state’s insurance department before they took them.
Medical leave rules lose required protection
Disability leave program rules no longer must address medical leave approval for employees who exhaust all listed leave balances. The removed requirement covered employees in no-pay status after using sick, personal, vacation, and compensatory time. This change does not itself automatically end an employee's leave or create a replacement approval process.
Parents cannot add education account money
Parents cannot deposit personal money into a student's educational savings account under this program. Parents can still pay education costs the account does not cover outside the account.
Pesticide license applicants pay exam fees
Applicants taking a covered commercial or private pesticide applicator licensing examination must pay a $30 exam fee.
Prevention workers lose older certification routes
Prevention consultant applicants need at least a bachelor's degree in an approved field, required paid experience, training, and exams. They also need required administrative or supervisory experience and education. Prevention specialist applicants need at least an associate's degree in an approved field, required experience, training, and exams. Specialist experience can include paid or volunteer work, field placements, internships, or practicums. Both credentials lose the alternative route for people holding specified credentials on December 23, 2002.
Reading training deadlines for school staff
The education department must maintain an introductory science-of-reading course and develop a competency-based update course for covered public-school staff. Teachers and administrators hired before July 1, 2025, must finish updates by June 30, 2030, then every five years. Those hired on or after July 1, 2025, must finish introductory training within one year and updates every five years. Qualifying similar training within the prior five years or appropriate educator-preparation coursework exempts newer hires from introductory training. School psychologists and speech-language pathologists must finish introductory training by June 30, 2027, then updates every five years.
Residency teachers face regular evaluation requirements
School districts can no longer use a teacher residency exception to skip an evaluation. This applies in the year a teacher first takes at least half of the resident-educator performance assessment. Regular teacher evaluation requirements apply, while other legal exceptions remain.
Seasonal workers lose required classification hearings
Employers seeking seasonal employment classification must file a written application. The Job and Family Services director decides using that application and other relevant available information. The law removes the required investigation, hearing, and notice. Seasonal classification can affect the unemployment rules that apply to workers.
Some student transit transfers face limits
District-arranged mass transit for grades 9–12 cannot use a central transfer hub in a county with 530,000–540,000 residents. Population is measured by the latest federal decennial census. The rule covers transportation to community or chartered nonpublic schools. The existing limit of one transfer remains.
State controls test access and reporting
Starting with assessments given in spring of the 2025–2026 school year, Ohio decides which scored questions are public records. Questions needed for future tests stay nonpublic and must be removed before release. The state education data system must also include covered diagnostic assessment results. Parents lose the option to block reporting of certain kindergarten diagnostic results.
State workers face tighter remote-work limits
Covered agencies must adopt work-location plans by October 15, 2025, and require reporting to designated locations beginning January 1, 2026. Agencies can allow home work for emergencies, specified duties or computer jobs, temporary medical needs, or homes at least 40 miles away. Inadequate workspace or equipment also permits exceptions, and legal disability accommodations remain available. Specified retirement systems, state higher education institutions, and the state-created economic-development nonprofit are excluded; Ohio Supreme Court policy remains unaffected. For bargaining agreements entered on or after the amendment's effective date, covered work locations are not bargainable, and statutory policies override conflicting terms.
Students face religious release time limits
District policies can allow elementary and middle school students no more than two periods of released-time religious instruction per week. For high school students, the weekly limit is the equivalent of attending two units of high school credit.
Counties gain arts cigarette-tax authority
Ohio's limits on local regulation do not block tobacco or nicotine taxes expressly authorized by state law. Arts-district cigarette-tax authority covers counties with at least 800,000 residents or a county charter. County commissioners must levy the arts tax by resolution, and voters must approve it. For taxes beginning on or after May 1, 2023, the resolution sets the rate; earlier taxes remain capped at 15 mills per cigarette. These provisions authorize taxes but do not themselves impose one.
Creditors pay tax refund garnishment fees
The Tax Commissioner charges judgment creditors $15 for each submitted tax refund garnishment order. The fee pays for applying a tax refund to the order. The law charges the creditor, not directly the household whose refund is garnished.
Families lose stroller sales tax exemption
Ohio removes the sales-tax exemption for qualifying strollers designed for children from infancy to about 36 months old. The repeal covers strollers meeting the federal safety standard in 16 C.F.R. 1227.2. Families buying those strollers lose the exemption.
Newspaper and fireworks fees lose exemptions
Ohio removes the sales-tax exemption for newspapers. Magazines distributed as controlled-circulation publications remain exempt. The law also removes the exemption for the statutory fireworks fee when vendors list it separately on sales documents. Buyers can owe sales tax on these previously exempt amounts.
Resort visitors can face higher taxes
Counties can add up to one percentage point to lodging tax, with the total rate under this section capped at 5%. A county must amend its tax resolution, and added revenue must fund public safety exclusively in a designated resort area. Resort-area cities or townships can raise covered sales or transportation taxes from 0.5%, 1%, or 1.5% to 2% or 2.5%. That increase requires approval by a majority of voters voting on the question. It starts on the first calendar-quarter day at least 65 days after the tax commissioner receives notice of approval.
Small counties can extend lodging taxes
Counties with fewer than 250,000 residents can extend a lodging tax under division (O) for up to 15 more years. Population is based on the latest federal decennial census. The county must adopt an extension resolution before the original tax or an existing extension expires. Lodging customers continue paying during an approved extension; the extension is not automatic.
Some refund applicants lose hearing procedures
Refund applications under Ohio Revised Code section 5739.071 no longer receive section 5703.70's notice, response, and hearing procedures. The provision does not identify a replacement process or change refund eligibility or amounts.
Some tax refunds lose interest payments
Ohio pays no interest on refunds of taxes levied under sections 5739.021, 5739.026, 5741.021, or 5741.023. Taxpayers receiving these covered sales or use tax refunds get the refund without interest.
Tire sales keep two state fees
Ohio continues two tire-sale fees through June 30, 2028, totaling $1 per tire. One $0.50 fee supports scrap tire management. The other $0.50 fee supports soil and water conservation districts. Each tire is counted only once for each fee, and sellers may pass the fees to buyers.
Voters can approve sports alcohol taxes
Counties with more than 1.1 million but fewer than 1.3 million residents can seek voter approval for alcohol taxes. Per-gallon maximums are $6 for qualifying liquor, 32 cents for beer, 48 cents for cider, and 64 cents for wine and mixed beverages. Wine sold for known sacramental use is exempt from the wine tax. The taxes can last set years or indefinitely and replace the specified existing county alcohol taxes. They start no earlier than the first day of a month at least 60 days after election results are certified. Revenue supports authorized sports-facility costs; liquor revenue also supports purposes allowed under the referenced county law.
Voters can approve sports tobacco taxes
Counties with more than 1.1 million but fewer than 1.3 million residents can seek voter approval for sports-facility taxes. Cigarettes can be taxed up to 4.5 mills each; matching use taxes apply when that tax was not paid. Maximum wholesale-price rates are 0.85% for other tobacco products and 1.85% for little cigars. The vapor maximum is one-twentieth of one cent multiplied by vapor volume. Tobacco and vapor taxes add to state taxes and cover deliveries by sellers with substantial Ohio business ties, plus otherwise untaxed consumer use. Taxes can run for set years or indefinitely, starting no earlier than the first day of a month at least 60 days after election results are certified. Revenue funds sports-facility construction, maintenance, renovation, repair, or construction reimbursement; the cigarette tax replaces the specified existing county cigarette tax.
Inactive supported living providers lose certificates
The developmental disabilities director must end a supported living certificate after 24 straight months without supported living billing. The director must explain the termination in a certified-mail notice sent to the holder's address on file.
Employers face revised unemployment debt interest
Unpaid employer unemployment amounts due on or after January 1, 2026, accrue interest at the Tax Commissioner’s rate, capped at 15%. Covered debts include contributions, substitute payments, interest, forfeitures, and fines. Amounts due before December 31, 2025, remain subject to 14% annual interest, compounded monthly. A fraction of a month counts as a full month.
Accounting firms face majority licensing rules
Public accounting firms seeking Ohio registration must have more than 50% of equity or shares owned by qualified individuals. Those owners must hold an Ohio permit or foreign certificate. More than 50% of directors must hold those credentials when a firm has a board. The same majority rule applies to trustees of an employee stock ownership plan.
Bee distributors face broader oversight
Queen-rearing rules now cover apiaries raising or buying queens for distribution, or creating bee packages, starter colonies, or colonies for sale, trade, or gifts. Certification applicants pay $50, or an amount set by rule; certificates expire May 31 of the next year. The agriculture director may require annual inspections and bars distribution when serious disease, pests, or Africanized bees are found, until controlled or eradicated. The director can suspend or revoke registrations, certificates, permits, and compliance agreements for violations or failure to follow rules or orders. Holders must have a chance for a hearing before revocation.
Feed businesses pay annual registration fees
Covered commercial-feed manufacturers and distributors must register annually and pay $50. This includes exempt buyers treated as manufacturers under this rule. Businesses must use the director’s form and file by February 1. Registration expires January 31 of the following year.
Food livestock telehealth requires in-person relationship
Veterinarians generally must establish an in-person veterinary-client-patient relationship before using telehealth for livestock raised for human food. They can provide tele-advice before establishing that relationship. The restriction applies only as federal law permits.
Higher fertilizer and seed business fees
Fertilizer manufacturers and distributors pay $50 annually per covered location or mobile unit, up from $5. The late renewal fee rises from $10 to $25 for applications submitted after November 30. Seed labeler permits rise from $10 to $50. A separate seed permit and fee apply to each name and address used to label seed.
Higher inspection fees for nursery businesses
Ohio businesses handling woody nursery stock pay a $2 annual inspection fee, up from $1. Intensive-production acreage costs $15 per acre, up from $11; nonintensive acreage costs $10, up from $7. Each acre or fraction of an acre counts as a full acre. The fee covers producing, selling, offering, or distributing stock, including shipments to other states.
Higher license fees for covered establishments
Establishments requiring a license under Ohio Revised Code section 915.15 pay $200 each, up from $50. That adds $150 per licensed establishment. This provision does not state when the higher fee takes effect.
Higher license fees for small livestock dealers
Small livestock dealers pay $50 per year for each location where they buy, sell, or exchange livestock, up from $25. Renewal applications received after March 31 carry a $100 late fee, up from $25. The existing $100 late fee for other dealers and brokers stays unchanged.
Livestock businesses face revised licensing fees
Livestock dealers and brokers pay a $250 annual renewal fee for each location where they buy, sell, or exchange livestock. This replaces the fee schedule based on livestock transaction volume. Each employee appointed by a small dealer, dealer, or broker carries a $30 fee, up from $20. Each licensed livestock weigher pays $30, up from $10.
Pesticide workers face tighter licensing rules
Only licensed applicators may apply restricted-use and state-restricted-use pesticides; supervised-worker exceptions are removed. Restricted-use pesticide use includes mixing, loading, application, handling opened containers, equipment cleaning, and disposal, with family-member and employee exceptions also removed. Private applicators may use them only to produce farm products on land they or their employer own or rent. Trained servicepersons can still apply general-use pesticides under a commercial applicator’s direct supervision. Prehearing suspensions increase from 10 to 30 days, and federal pesticide-law settlements can support licensing action after an opportunity for a hearing.
Tobacco retailers must report opening inventory
Tobacco and vapor retailers must report opening inventory within 30 days after the covered county tax starts. They must also pay the added tax due on that inventory. Late reports carry a $1 penalty for each day of failure. During the first 30 days, retailers can hold or sell products if the tax has been or will be paid.
Arts programs lose duties and sources
The Ohio Arts Council no longer has a statutory duty to run the per cent for arts program. This change alone does not say that the program or its funding ends. Regional arts districts also lose three listed grant funding sources. District tax levies and two remaining listed revenue sources can still support annual grants. No grant reduction amount is stated.
Campaign messages face disclosure and permission rules
Political action committees and contributing entities cannot use names or addresses that make messages seem to come from a county party. They need written permission signed by that party's executive committee chair. People knowingly making campaign statements about a candidate's indictment or election-authority finding must disclose the outcome of related legal proceedings. That duty applies when the statement is intended to affect an election for public or political party office. Prosecution under section 3517.20 no longer requires a prior election commission complaint or completed commission proceedings.
Campaign prosecutions no longer need commission proceedings
Prosecutors can begin cases for covered candidate and ballot-issue campaign violations without an elections commission complaint. They also no longer need to wait for commission proceedings to finish. The change applies to violations covered by Ohio Revised Code sections 3517.21 and 3517.22.
Campaign violations and frivolous complaints cost
When authorized, election officials can fine each violation up to the maximum fine a court can impose. For listed offenses, the limit is $1,000 per violation; officials must consider aggravating and mitigating circumstances. A complainant can owe reasonable legal fees and official costs when no violation occurred and the complaint is found frivolous. Covered fines and collected official costs go to the Ohio Election Integrity Commission Fund. Fines still unpaid after 45 days must be sent to the attorney general for collection.
Candidates face tighter multiple-office limits
Primary nomination seekers and write-in candidates generally cannot seek another office at the next general election, except township trustee. This covers specified presidential-delegate candidates and education boards, including listed city school districts with populations under 20,000. The law also bars specified same-election combinations of federal, state, county, local, and education-board candidacies; timely withdrawal can avoid disqualification. For conflicting nonfederal offices, lower ballot-order candidacies are disqualified; a federal candidacy takes priority, and State Board membership leaves the state-office definition. Disqualification by the 70th day before the election removes the name; later, it stays, but votes for that office are void.
Child services violations carry criminal penalties
Violating Ohio Revised Code section 5180.275(B) is a second-degree misdemeanor. Violating section 5180.403 is a fourth-degree misdemeanor. These penalty provisions do not describe the underlying conduct or state fine amounts.
Civil legal aid funding drops
Ohio provides $37 million for civil legal aid in fiscal 2026 and $33 million in fiscal 2027. That is $4 million less for legal aid societies in the second year. The law does not specify which clients or services are affected.
Counties face defense hub exit rules
A county leaving the Northwest Regional Hub to resume indigent defense must hold a public meeting. It must give specified local justice-system participants at least seven days' notice. The county must also send its withdrawal resolution to the Ohio Public Defender.
Court training fees must stay in-state
Ohio common pleas and appeals courts cannot use special-project fees for training or education held outside Ohio. The restriction limits court spending, not household eligibility or payment duties.
Courts cannot fund out-of-state training
Ohio municipal and county courts cannot use special-project fees to pay for training or education held outside Ohio. The restriction limits court spending. It does not create a new fee or personal payment duty for residents.
Drug task forces face funding cap
During fiscal years 2026 and 2027, each drug task force can receive at most $500,000 per calendar year. The cap covers cumulative payments from the Drug Law Enforcement Fund, not the fund's total spending.
Election commissioners face consecutive term limits
Beginning January 1, 2026, initial commission terms are four years for appointment categories (a), (c), and (d). Categories (b) and (e) receive two-year initial terms; all later terms last four years. Members cannot serve more than two successive four-year terms unless separated by a break of at least four years. A two-year initial term counts as a full term, and resigning from a full term does not erase it.
Government men's restrooms cannot stock menstrual products
Government entities cannot place menstrual products in men's restrooms in public buildings they own or occupy. The restriction applies to government entities, not to individuals carrying their own products.
Legal and investigation records stay confidential
Attorney work product is not public, including under the rule opening some records after 75 years. Trial-preparation facts and specific police investigatory work product stay nonpublic until direct appeals end or appeal deadlines pass. Without a trial, they remain nonpublic until proceedings end without possible direct appeal or officials decide not to proceed. Trial-preparation records exclude attorney work product and confidential law enforcement investigatory records. The investigatory work product definition does not include routine incident reports.
Libraries must move certain materials
Covered Ohio public libraries must change where they place materials about sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. These materials must be in an area not primarily open to the view of people under 18. The law does not require removing them from library collections.
Listed election prosecutions can start sooner
Prosecution for separately listed election-law violations can begin before or after a complaint is filed with the secretary of state. These cases do not require completion of the complaint process first. The rule applies only to violations occurring on or after the amendment’s effective date.
Local health boards pay for extra audits
Ohio's agriculture and health directors can request extra state audits of health boards charging food-establishment or food-service licensing fees. A director must have reasonable cause to believe the audit serves the public interest. The board must pay for the extra audit, beyond its annual or biennial audit. No audit cost is stated.
Local referendum petitions need more signatures
Covered township zoning referendum petitions need signatures equal to 35% of the relevant governor vote, up from 15%. Covered municipal referendum petitions generally need 35%, up from 10%, based on the latest gubernatorial general election vote. Both retain their applicable 30-day filing periods. The township rule covers amendments to areas in the zoning plan. The higher municipal threshold does not apply to ordinances establishing or changing planned-unit development regulations.
More government records stay outside public access
Personal notes and materials of officials, their attorneys, employees, or agents are excluded when solely used, kept, and accessed by their creator. Elected officials’ calendar entries for dates after a records request are also excluded. Burial-site records covered by state law are not public records. Those burial records also remain outside the rule opening some records after 75 years.
More small villages face dissolution review
The state auditor must refer villages with 500 or fewer residents when an audit finds at least two legal dissolution conditions. Population comes from the latest federal census or certified estimates between censuses. The law removes the former requirement that the village cover less than two square miles. Dissolution still requires an Attorney General lawsuit and a court finding after a hearing; referral does not dissolve a village.
Nature preserve funds face spending limits
Money appropriated from Ohio’s natural areas and preserves fund cannot pay permanent employee salaries or administrative costs. This limits how the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves uses that money.
Ohio limits community air monitoring protections
Ohio environmental officials cannot impose community air monitoring through permits without an applicable contaminant-and-source monitoring rule, unless the operator agrees. They also cannot require applicants to conduct it for the specified permit and variance applications. Community monitoring data cannot support fines, violation notices, or enforcement actions under laws primarily enforced by the state. State and local air agencies cannot rely on it for rules or permits unless the permit applicant requests it; private monitoring contracts with prohibited data uses are also barred. Ohio must remove covered air nuisance rules from its Clean Air Act state plan and cannot use them to implement or enforce federal ambient air-quality standards.
Pension board campaigns face falsehood penalties
Police and fire pension board campaigns face bans on specified knowingly false or misleading statements intended to affect results. Covered subjects include qualifications, criminal proceedings, voting records, endorsements, and identity. The law also bans spreading false statements to promote nomination, election, or defeat, knowingly or with reckless disregard for truth. Violating these provisions carries up to six months in jail, a fine up to $5,000, or both.
Petition measures need 125-day election lead
A petition-based constitutional amendment or measure can reach a general election only at least 125 days after its petition is filed. People and groups submitting these measures must plan around that minimum lead time.
Police and prison records face access limits
Covered inmate records are excluded from public records, except information that the inmate-records law expressly permits agencies to disclose. License plate reader images and data are also excluded when kept in a law enforcement database.
Prison personnel must undergo drug screening
Officers, employees, contractors, and contractor employees entering state prison grounds must undergo screening. The screening is intended to stop drugs of abuse from entering prisons.
Prison staff face mandatory device-smuggling sentences
Covered corrections and youth-services employees, contractors, and contractor employees face a third-degree felony for knowingly delivering communications devices to confined people. Attempted delivery is also covered. Devices include cellphones, two-way radios, and other electronic communications devices. Courts must impose a prison term. This rule targets the specified staff and contractors, not the person receiving the device.
Public access to contract records waits
Materials from competitive state solicitations are not public records until the resulting contract is awarded. If all bids are rejected and the state announces a new solicitation, both rounds remain nonpublic until that contract is awarded.
Public access to government records delayed
Covered competitive procurement records stay nonpublic until a contract is awarded. If an office rejects all bids and simultaneously announces a new selection, both rounds remain closed until the new award. Covered legislative documents stay nonpublic throughout the General Assembly in which they were created. After that General Assembly finally adjourns, they become public unless constitutional privilege or another exemption applies.
Receiver requests limited to one court
The Ohio Court of Claims has sole authority to appoint a receiver in proceedings under Revised Code section 118.29. These receiver-appointment requests must go to that court rather than another court.
Reentry facilities face school distance limits
Ohio cannot license halfway houses, reentry centers, or community residential centers operating within 500 feet of a school or child care center. Facilities already operating within that distance before the amendment’s effective date are exempt. Facilities also stay exempt when they were licensed and operating before a school or child care center later moved nearby.
Repeat anesthesia and acupuncture offenses face penalties
Covered anesthesia and acupuncture violations are fourth-degree misdemeanors for a first offense. Each later offense is a first-degree misdemeanor. These classifications apply to violations of divisions (B)(2) or (C)(3) in Ohio Revised Code sections 4760.16 and 4762.16.
State agencies face flag display limits
State agencies and managers of their buildings or grounds may display only specified flags. These are the Ohio, U.S., POW/MIA, and approved state agency logo flags. The governor or a designee must approve agency logo flags. The Ohio Statehouse and its grounds are exempt.
State education campaigns lose debt-fundraising option
State Board of Education candidates can no longer use the specified rule allowing extra contributions to repay reported unpaid campaign debt. That option covers the immediately following election period. Contribution limits, reporting duties, and account-use rules remain for candidates still covered by the rule.
State officers lose training reimbursement
Continuing-training reimbursement is unavailable for training given to peace officers or troopers appointed by a state agency. The law does not require officers to repay training costs or name another funding source.
Teachers’ retirement board leadership eligibility narrows
State Teachers Retirement Board members cannot serve as chair or vice-chair while they have contributions deposited with the retirement system. The rule limits leadership eligibility. It does not change retirement benefit amounts.
Township fiscal officers must keep training records
Township fiscal officers must keep proof of completing required initial and continuing education courses. The state auditor must audit compliance. The auditor no longer has to issue completion certificates or notices about missed courses.
Water fund cannot buy conservation land
Agencies and other entities cannot use H2Ohio fund money to buy land or conservation easements. The restriction narrows the fund’s allowed uses for land-based conservation.
Head Start activity buses lose stop protections
Ohio's school-bus stop requirements do not apply to covered multifunction activity buses in the Head Start context. These buses are excluded from the school-bus definition for that traffic rule. The exception covers activity buses whose purposes exclude carrying children to or from home or school bus stops.
Addiction hotline loses dedicated funding rule
Ohio's mental health and addiction department must still establish, operate, and publicize a toll-free, in-state addiction information number. The law removes the requirement to pay its costs from the substance abuse and addiction fund. It names no replacement funding source.
Aging providers face stricter discipline procedures
Providers ordered to correct problems as discipline must submit both a correction plan and proof of compliance. The Aging Department need not hold certification hearings for providers who fail to enter or renew department or regional PASSPORT agreements. Hearings also are not required for listed offenses when the affected provider, direct-care principal owner, or manager fails the director’s standards. That offense rule covers guilty pleas, convictions, and eligibility for intervention instead of conviction.
Criminal penalties for medical reporting violations
Specified radiologist assistant and genetic counselor reporting violations carry a fourth-degree misdemeanor for a first offense. Each later offense is a first-degree misdemeanor. The radiologist assistant rules cover section 4774.16(B)(2) and (C)(3). The genetic counselor rules cover section 4778.171(B)(1) and (2).
Drug purity instruments face approval limits
Ohio's Board of Pharmacy cannot approve an instrument through its drug-poisoning detection process to measure a mixture's purity. The restriction applies to the extent that purity measurement is the instrument's intended purpose. It is not a general requirement for individuals to use or avoid these instruments.
Genetics funds exclude abortion counseling
The Ohio Department of Health cannot use the specified genetics-service funds for abortion counseling or referrals. This limits agency spending, not patients’ personal actions.
Less funding for professional peer support
The Chemical Dependency Professionals Board Peer Support Program gets $292,500 in FY 2026 and $30,000 in FY 2027. The law does not say which services or participants are affected by the lower funding.
Local health funds need auditor approval
City and general health district boards must get the Ohio Auditor of State’s approval before creating a home health services fund. The law removes their prior exemption from this approval step. This provision does not itself change who qualifies for home health services.
Medicaid faces limits on inclusion spending
Ohio's Medicaid department cannot use appropriated funds for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, to the extent federal law allows. The restriction excludes services supporting community access for Medicaid recipients with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It does not create a new personal duty for recipients.
Medical misconduct reports face firm deadlines
Health facilities must report investigations of licensed persons' criminal or sexual misconduct within 30 days, naming the person and summarizing facts. Covered practitioners and professional groups must report known or reasonably suspected misconduct within 30 days. Associations are exempt when staff only handle advocacy, governance, or education and lack regular practice-setting contact with members. First failures of these duties are fourth-degree misdemeanors; later failures are first-degree misdemeanors. Practitioners must also report covered criminal, sexual-misconduct, and impaired-driving charges within 30 days after filing, beyond renewal reporting. Failure to self-report is first a minor misdemeanor, then a fourth-degree misdemeanor punishable by a fine alone up to $1,000.
Opioid treatment providers face broader checks
Ohio expands the three-year good-standing review for opioid treatment program license applications. Reviews cover the provider and applicable owners, sponsors, medical directors, administrators, principals, and certain subsidiaries. They examine other locations where covered people or entities operated similar programs. The review includes license denials, suspensions, revocations, licenses surrendered to avoid discipline, and qualifying controlled-substance disciplinary actions.
State can recover overdue disability-board payments
The developmental disabilities director can recover county board payments not fully paid by the department’s deadline. The director can withhold the unpaid amount from money otherwise due to the board. The director can instead transfer an equal amount between department funds. This rule creates no direct household payment duty.
State checks large SNAP account balances
When Ohio finds a SNAP account balance above $5,000, it must check whether the account is inactive. For inactive accounts, the state must look into why the balance is growing. This rule does not itself cut benefits or require recipients to act.
Tobacco prevention fund loses earnings guarantee
The Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention Fund can still invest its money. The law no longer requires all investment earnings to return to that fund. This provision does not state where those earnings go or how much money is affected.
Fewer parties can appeal property values
A local legislative authority or mayor can appeal a county valuation decision only when its subdivision owns or leases the property. Third-party complainants cannot appeal. The third-party appeal ban applies to board of revision decisions made on or after the relevant section takes effect.
Tighter rules for property value challenges
Third-party property-value complainants must file a sworn statement saying whether they act for a local legislative authority or mayor. Original complaints about property they do not own or lease face statutory filing limits. Sale-based increase complaints require an arm's-length sale within two years before the tax lien date, recorded during that period. The price must exceed listed true value by both 10% and the applicable filing threshold. School boards can counter-complain only against owner- or tenant-filed complaints, including representatives, raising a listed valuation issue involving at least $17,500 in taxable value.
Youth shelters face gender-transition funding ban
Youth shelters that promote or affirm social gender transition cannot receive Ohio Youth Homelessness appropriation funds. The restriction narrows which shelters can receive this funding. It does not impose a personal legal duty on shelter residents.
Campus security support funding ends
The Campus Security Support Program receives $4 million in fiscal 2026 and no appropriation in fiscal 2027. The program supports eligible Ohio colleges and universities. The law does not establish whether other security funding replaces it or how campus services change.
Districts can pause middle school career classes
Through July 1, 2026, districts can receive a waiver from providing career-technical education in grades seven and eight. The board must adopt a resolution declining the classes and submit it by September 30 of that school year. Ohio also changes the enrollment base for comprehensive career-technical offerings to 2,250 students in grades seven through twelve. This replaces 1,500 students in grades nine through twelve.
Education board vacancies can end elected seats
Missing three consecutive regular State Board of Education meetings, for any reason, can create a vacancy. For seats that are filled, the Governor must appoint a qualified replacement within 30 days, with Senate approval. The replacement serves the rest of the term. Under the transition rules, elected seats vacated during their current terms are abolished rather than filled.
Fewer counties may qualify as attorney-short
Every two years, the higher education chancellor must identify counties that meet the program’s attorney-shortage test. A county qualifies with no more than one attorney maintaining an interest-bearing trust account per 1,500 residents. This replaces the one-per-700 threshold and makes qualification stricter.
Less public access to career-school records
Some career-school documents about federal monitoring, accreditation findings, or investigations cannot be released through public-records requests. This applies to federally confidential documents until the proper organization makes them public. Financial documents schools submit under this section are not public records.
Library depository funding falls in 2027
Ohio provides $700,000 for library depositories in fiscal 2026 and $500,000 in fiscal 2027. The law does not specify how the $200,000 decrease changes library services.
More oversight rules cover specialized schools
STEM schools and their governing bodies must follow three additional school-district laws: sections 3301.24, 3313.6031, and 3313.7118. College-preparatory boarding schools and their boards must also follow section 3313.6031 as school districts do. The education department replaces the state auditor as the agency allowed to require boarding-school fiscal officers to post bonds. A bond is required only if the department adopts a rule; the law sets no bond amount.
Public access to college records narrows
Contracts between private colleges and online program managers are not public records under Ohio law. The higher education chancellor also cannot release school financial documents received under the covered oversight process as public records. Specified federal oversight documents stay protected while federal law keeps them confidential and the appropriate entity has not publicly released them.
Quality rules cover preschool disability services
Covered preschool special education providers must follow the Step Up to Quality Program. The rule applies when the school district receives Early Childhood Education Grant funds or provides publicly funded child care. Covered providers include qualifying districts, educational service centers, county developmental disability boards, and institutions. The duty falls on providers, not families.
Schools face revised budget oversight rules
School boards must submit budgets and three-year projections by August 31, with updates by February's last day. State review checks for deficits in the first two projected years. Certain contract reviews now use three-year forecasts instead of five-year forecasts. The contract threshold is payments above the lesser of $500,000 or 1% of current-year general-fund revenue. An alternative certificate covers specified essential multiyear purchases that show savings and help reduce a projected deficit. A separate school-resource calculation counts emergency-levy taxes only under section 5705.194, rather than sections 5705.194 through 5705.197.
Schools must set artificial intelligence policies
Ohio's education department must create a model policy for educational artificial intelligence use by December 31, 2025. Each school district, community school, and STEM school must adopt a policy by July 1, 2026. Policies must address appropriate educational use by students and staff. Schools can use the state's model.
Selected schools must join national testing
Ohio schools and districts selected by the Director of Education and Workforce must help administer the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The requirement applies to selected schools and districts, not directly to households.
State colleges face China funding safeguards
Ohio state colleges cannot accept gifts from China’s government or groups they reasonably suspect act on its behalf. Exceptions cover specified payments from Chinese citizens, alumni donations, and philanthropic or unrestricted grants backed by required safeguards. New or renewed academic partnerships with institutions in China also require safeguards protecting intellectual property and security interests. These include federal-law compliance, annual faculty programs on conflicts, and a formal visitor process with a standard visiting-scholar agreement. Colleges must notify the chancellor of each partnership; the state auditor reviews safeguards during normal audits.
Counties lose behavioral health replacement levies
A county leaving a joint-county alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health district cannot use a replacement levy for the transition. It retains renewal options, including renewal with a tax increase or decrease. This applies when the district levies a tax in the withdrawal year and the county's tax starts after that tax expires or is renewed.
Disability service reserves face tax review
County budget commissions can consider covered developmental disability board capital and reserve balances when reviewing county taxing authority. Those balances are no longer automatically treated as reasonable or kept out of that review. The commission can consider them when deciding whether to reduce taxing authority; the law sets no reduction amount.
Replacement tax ballot questions end
Taxing authorities cannot place replacement-tax questions under the former law on ballots for elections starting January 1, 2026. Questions submitted at elections before that date continue under the former law. This restriction does not itself set a household tax bill.
Sports facility agencies can receive taxpayer information
Ohio’s tax department may share information about a person’s transactions, property, income, or business with a qualifying government agency. The agency must own or hold a sufficient ownership interest in a major sports facility. Sharing must be necessary to administer the sports-facility rules. This does not create a new tax.
Agencies need approval for news subscriptions
State agencies need Controlling Board approval when yearly spending exceeds $500 on a covered online news subscription. The rule applies to news periodicals or websites headquartered outside Ohio. The General Assembly, legislative agencies, and Governor are excluded.
Cleanup funds lose guaranteed investment earnings
Investment earnings no longer have to return to three cleanup and redevelopment funds. These are the Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund, Brownfield Remediation Fund, and Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Fund. This can leave less money dedicated to their grants and loans. The law states no amount of earnings affected.
Conservation bond payment appropriations decline
Ohio appropriates $46.5 million for conservation bond debt service in fiscal 2026 and $39 million in fiscal 2027. The money covers debt payments and related financing costs from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027. The lower appropriation does not state that bondholders receive smaller payments.
Counties absorb certain acting judge costs
County treasurers must pay per-day compensation for covered acting municipal court judges without the specified state-share reimbursement process. Counties also pay covered acting county court judges without state-share reimbursement under that section. County court reimbursement remains available only for eligible payments to assigned judges. These provisions do not state pay amounts.
Demolition grants face project cost caps
Demolition and site-revitalization grants from funds not reserved for counties no longer follow a first-come, first-served rule. Each grant under this rule can cover no more than 75% of total project costs. The law does not set a total grant appropriation here.
Election fund loses required fine deposits
Fines imposed by the Ohio elections commission under section 5505.99 no longer have to enter its dedicated fund. The law does not name a replacement destination.
Higher annual fees for air pollution
Owners or operators of sources requiring Title V air permits pay an extra $5,000 per source each year. Qualifying synthetic minor facilities also pay an extra $5,000 annually per facility, through June 30, 2028. Both charges are added to existing emissions-based fees. A listed annual fee for facilities emitting fewer than 10 regulated pollutants rises from $170 to $255. Emissions-based fees use the prior calendar year's actual emissions and receive annual inflation adjustments tied to 1989.
Higher permit fees for polluting equipment
Ohio raises installation permit fees for covered air pollution sources, including industrial equipment, tanks, fuel stations, and dry cleaners. One listed fee rises from $200 to $300 for equipment with input capacity above zero but below 10. Charges vary by source type and capacity or another listed measure. Qualifying fuel-burning units using only natural gas, number two fuel oil, or both continue paying half the applicable fee. The schedule covers permits issued on or after July 1, 2003; that is not the new increase's effective date.
Late fee transfers trigger penalties
People and government entities that the health department finds sent birth-record fees late must pay a 10% penalty. County court clerks face the same penalty when the state treasurer finds they sent divorce or dissolution fees late. Penalties go to the children's trust fund.
Local governments lose debt support options
Local debt support now means only help that lowers a local government's loan interest rate. Bond-support pledges, private bond-insurance premiums, and revenue pledged to support local revenue bonds no longer count.
Local governments lose state staffing option
The Department of Administrative Services loses the covered authority to sell merit-program or other human-resources services and facilities to local governments. This removes that contracting option for counties, cities, and other political subdivisions. The law does not specify replacement services.
More state purchases require competitive selection
Ohio removes specified purchasing exemptions for percent-for-arts spending and certain Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities purchases. The disability-agency change covers services and supplies for people with disabilities and Social Security eligibility-determination work. Purchases from qualified nonprofits under sections 4115.31–4115.35 also lose the exemption; those under sections 125.60–125.6012 retain it. Affected purchases reaching the cumulative supplier threshold need competitive selection or Controlling Board approval, subject to other purchasing rules. These changes do not alter a person's disability or benefit eligibility.
Nonprofits face tighter surplus supply rules
Nonprofits receiving surplus state supplies must qualify for federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. They must also be registered and in good standing in Ohio as domestic nonprofit or not-for-profit corporations. Receiving state funding or holding a state contract no longer qualifies an organization by itself.
Ohio agencies face new rulemaking limits
After an agency cuts regulatory restrictions by 30%, each new restriction requires removing at least one existing restriction at the same time. Combining rules or changing words does not count unless a requirement or ban is actually removed. Beginning July 1, 2025, agencies also cannot exceed the statewide regulatory-restriction limit. An agency can seek an exception by showing cause to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. Approval requires a majority vote, and the committee must report approved exceptions to legislative leaders by December 31 each year.
Ohio broadens spending counted toward limits
Ohio counts direct General Revenue Fund spending and spending from accounts supported by transfers from that fund toward appropriation calculations. Federal money, gifts, and appropriations for tax relief or refunds of taxes and other overpayments are excluded. For calculations starting on the section's effective date, qualifying tax revenue credited in fiscal years 2026–27 keeps its General Revenue Fund status in later years. Moving that revenue to another account does not remove the account's spending from these calculations.
Ohio funds required federal repayments
Ohio authorizes available fund receipts for federally required payments involving expenses or revenues excluded from its statewide indirect cost plan. The agency director must certify the amount, and the budget director must find the existing appropriation insufficient. Spending cannot exceed the certified amount or available receipts. The law also authorizes returning unspent federal revenue after its spending period when federal law requires repayment. These provisions do not impose household payment duties.
Ohio narrows economic development financing tools
The facilities establishment fund no longer has a guarantee that its investment earnings stay in the fund. Its money cannot support funds established under sections 122.55, 122.56, 122.561, or 122.57; other transfers still need Controlling Board approval. The affected state borrowing authority also cannot support those four funds and remains subject to statutory and constitutional limits. The described Air Quality Development Authority certification and deposit authority for advanced-energy projects applies only before September 29, 2017.
Ohio sets new state spending limits
Specified Controlling Board approvals for excess spending face a $100 million yearly limit for each specific or related purpose. This replaces a limit of 0.5% of General Revenue Fund appropriations. The governor cannot submit a budget that suspends the prior year's fund-balance rule to create an oversized starting balance. Money already committed for payment during the two-year budget period is excluded from that balance calculation.
Outside users can face technology charges
Administrative Services can charge entities outside state government for specific technology events or services to offset their costs. Charges require the budget director's approval. Revenue goes to the Information Technology Development Fund. The law sets no fee amounts or specific household-facing services.
Printing vendors face daily late penalties
Ohio's administrative services department can charge vendors a daily penalty for late printing orders. The bid invitation or proposal request must state the penalty schedule and amount. The law sets no fixed dollar penalty.
Scrap tire fee filers lose discount
People responsible for filing and paying Ohio's scrap tire fee lose the former 4% on-time filing and payment discount. They now pay the full amount shown as due on the return. The added cost equals 4% of the amount before the former discount.
State agencies pay shared service costs
Budget and Management must recover Shared Services operating costs through agency payroll rates and direct internal voucher charges. Internal Audit operating costs must be recovered through the accounting and budgeting services payroll rate. The director sets the cost-recovery method, and revenue goes to the Accounting and Budgeting Fund, Fund 1050. The law adds no direct household charge.
State grant recipients face centralized reporting
Ohio must establish a central financial reporting system within one year after the section takes effect. Recipients must report on state grants awarded starting one year after that effective date. Reports cover spending, vendor and public-benefit purchases, indirect costs, project progress, and legal compliance. Individuals receiving nonbusiness state assistance are excluded.
State reserves lose automatic earnings deposits
Ohio no longer requires all investment earnings from its budget stabilization fund to go back into that fund. The provision does not name another destination or state how much money is involved.
State software fund loses guaranteed earnings
Ohio no longer must credit all investment earnings to the OAKS support organization fund. The fund still pays operating, development, and upgrade costs for the state's enterprise resource planning system. Its specified funding sources still include authorized transfers and agency payroll charges.
Trust fund loses guaranteed investment earnings
The law removes the rule crediting all Second Chance Trust Fund investment earnings back to that fund. This provision does not identify a new destination for those earnings. It does not state an amount or directly change household payments.
Water system license fees continue longer
Public water system applicants continue paying existing initial-license and renewal fees through June 30, 2028. Fees depend on system type and relevant measures such as connections, population, wells, or water sources.
Animal protection laboratory receipts narrow
The animal and consumer protection laboratory fund no longer receives all receipts from the two previously listed legal chapters. Its specified receipts now come only from Chapter 953. Money assigned to the separate animal and consumer protection fund is excluded. The law gives no dollar total for this change.
Drug businesses face staffing and fees
Covered drug manufacturers, outsourcing facilities, logistics providers, repackagers, wholesalers, and terminal distributors must name a qualified responsible person for each location. That person must remain available; terminal distributors must ensure availability at all times. The business and responsible person share responsibility for following state and federal law. Businesses must notify the Pharmacy Board of designations and changes, paying $15 for each change.
Financial literacy loses dedicated revenue share
Ohio no longer must send 5% of consumer finance fund charges, penalties, and forfeitures to the financial literacy education fund. This ends that dedicated funding share. The provision does not change household program eligibility or specify the dollar loss.
Hemp processors face tighter operating rules
The agriculture director must set hemp processing rules covering licenses, background checks, financial responsibility, inspections, testing, and corrective actions. Rules must also cover records, transport, storage, production, and disposal of plants and products that fail standards. They must prohibit hemp processing in homes or on residentially zoned land.
Insurers can pay examination costs
Ohio’s insurance superintendent may charge insurers operating in Ohio for market conduct examinations. Through consent agreements, the superintendent may also impose assessments or fines for discovered conduct that may violate insurance laws or rules. Collected amounts go to the Department of Insurance operating fund. The law does not state charge amounts or change household premiums directly.
Bank holding companies face adviser oversight
Bank holding companies lose a specific exclusion from Ohio's investment-adviser definition. A company giving investment advice for pay falls within that definition when it meets the remaining terms and no other exclusion applies. This can subject qualifying companies to investment-adviser regulation.
Development bonds lose mortgage insurance tools
Ohio development revenue bonds are secured by the revenue bond guaranty fund and may use other funds established by the development director. The law removes specified mortgage guarantees, mortgage insurance, and sinking-fund arrangements, including certain transfers after defaults. Bond proceeds can still fund listed loans, property purchases and improvements, and designated funds. They can no longer insure mortgage payments.
Fees for private activity bond allocations
Ohio's development director can allocate the state's federal private activity bond limit under rules setting a formula and procedures. Those rules impose fees on people or organizations receiving allocations. Fees go to a fund outside the state treasury and can pay allocation-administration costs. The provision does not state the fee amount.
Less funding for investor education enforcement
Securities Investor Education/Enforcement funding falls from $742,863 in FY 2026 to $542,863 in FY 2027. The law does not identify which services or enforcement actions change.
Public investment decisions face purpose limits
State, municipal, and county investment officials cannot invest mainly to influence environmental, social, personal, or ideological policy. They also cannot let delegated managers make such decisions with public money. The State Board of Deposit cannot order sales or liquidation mainly for those purposes. These restrictions have an exception when Ohio law expressly authorizes the action.
Utilities face onsite power service limits
Electric distribution utilities can supply behind-the-meter generation service only using facilities covered by an application filed by March 31, 2025. The application must have been filed with Ohio's utility commission under the former law governing those facilities. The restriction limits which utility facilities can provide this service, without setting customer prices.
Higher drug distributor license fees
Category II and limited category II terminal drug distributor licenses rise from $320 to $360. Category III and limited category III licenses rise from $440 to $460, including applicable pain management clinic classifications. Specified Ohio-based distributors, veterinary-medicine entities, and emergency medical service satellites pay $160 instead of $120. These amounts also apply to renewals.
Higher radiation inspection fees for providers
Covered medical practices pay higher radiation equipment inspection fees, including at unlicensed facilities. Dental x-ray fees are $310 for the first tube and $154 for each additional tube at the same location. Medical x-ray fees are $614 for the first tube and $326 for each additional tube. Qualifying ionizing-radiation units cost $1,220 each; nonionizing units cost $614 for the first and $326 for each additional unit. Reinspections cost 50% of the scheduled fee, which also informs other fees that reference this schedule.
Home visiting providers must report outcomes
Help Me Grow home-visiting providers must report performance data to receive payment, using deadlines and formats set by rule. Reports must cover federal benchmarks, birth outcomes, stillbirths, and tobacco use among pregnant women, new parents, and others living with children. The Department of Children and Youth must publish a yearly review comparing services and outcomes across program types.
Hospital payment program ends when underfunded
Ohio's Medicaid director must end the Hospital Directed Payment Program when deposited funds are insufficient to operate it. Participating hospitals then lose that source of program payments. This rule does not directly change household eligibility or require individuals to pay.
Lower workforce payments for disability facilities
Intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual disabilities receive a lower Medicaid workforce payment rate in FY 2026. The rate falls from 20.81% in FY 2025 to 10.405% of allowable daily direct-care costs. Those costs come from the applicable cost report and are reviewed by the state. The law does not specify effects on residents' services or costs.
Medicaid hospital payment programs face caps
Ohio can establish no more than 50 covered state-directed payment programs per two-year budget period. Programs funded by Medicaid or the hospital franchise permit fee program are excluded from that count. Covered programs must serve hospitals and hospital-provided services, meet federal rules, receive federal approval, and include an evaluation plan. Payments generally cannot exceed average commercial rates, except through a federally approved value-based purchasing agreement. Usually, only one federal approval application is allowed per specified provider class, unless the Medicaid director decides otherwise.
Nursing homes face quality payment delays
Ohio replaces its June 30, 1999 nursing-home payment scoring method with Medicare's October 1, 2019 patient-driven nursing index. Nursing homes lose quality incentive payments after operator changes effective July 1, 2025, or later. Payments resume on the first January 1 or July 1 at least six months after the change. Later payments follow the usual quality-score rules; the law states no resulting rate change from the new scoring method.
State pharmacy bidders must disclose conflicts
Companies seeking the state pharmacy benefit manager contract must disclose conflicts of interest and specified ownership or control ties. They must also disclose fees charged to Ohio pharmacies and financial arrangements with drug manufacturers or labelers. These procurement disclosures do not directly change household benefits or drug prices.
County approval for outside port projects
Port authorities need county commissioner approval for specified improvement agreements involving property outside their jurisdiction. The requirement applies to agreements with non-public entities when the authority will not occupy most of the completed floor space. Building materials must also qualify for the specified sales-tax exemption. Every affected county must approve property crossing county lines.
Adult education appropriations reach zero
Aspire adult education's state appropriation falls from about $6.322 million in FY 2026 to zero in FY 2027. Its federal appropriation falls from about $18.997 million to zero over the same period. The provisions do not establish whether other funding remains or how participants' services and eligibility change.
Authorized schools must report each year
Schools operating under a certificate of authorization must report annually to Ohio's higher education chancellor. Reports include accreditation status and the latest report, program details, and plans for preserving and retrieving student records. Schools must also submit independently audited financial statements, management letters, and other information the chancellor requests.
Charges allowed for higher education services
The Chancellor of Higher Education can charge for certain goods and services. Charges must reasonably relate to production costs, and the revenue pays those costs. Routine duties cannot carry charges unless another law allows them. The provision does not name particular services or set prices.
College demolition loans pause new construction
State colleges receiving strategic square footage reduction loans cannot build a new facility while demolition is taking place. The restriction applies to the college, not to students or households.
College fee pledges need state approval
Through June 30, 2027, certain new college fee pledges and fee-adjustment agreements require the Chancellor’s approval to take effect. These agreements secure bonds or notes for projects without outstanding debt on the section’s effective date. Approval also covers refinancing expected to raise total repayment costs and extensions of the repayment period. Agreements approved in a previous biennium do not need approval again. This rule does not itself raise student fees.
Colleges must cover conservatorship costs
A state college or university under conservatorship must pay its governance authority's expenses from operating funds and revenues. Those funds must also cover the executive director's and staff's expenses and pay. The law sets no dollar amount.
Delayed school projects can lose reservations
Ohio can cancel money reserved for school projects from a previous two-year budget. This applies when a district has not raised its local share within 16 months after Controlling Board approval. Cancellation requires a request from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission's executive director and action by the state budget director. The canceled amounts remain appropriated, but the affected project loses its reservation.
Elevator training providers must retain records
Approved elevator continuing-education providers must keep licensee attendance records for 10 years in a division-approved format. Providers must make those records available for inspection on request. Falsifying attendance records or completion certificates, or knowingly allowing it, can lead to suspension or loss of provider approval.
Gifted education loses teacher development funding
The law removes gifted professional development funding from the state’s core school funding components. Districts must use gifted education funds only for student identification, gifted coordinators, and gifted intervention specialists. Misused funds trigger an equal reduction in district payments. Ohio must make that reduction within 90 days after the relevant data become final.
Nonpublic schools face administrative reimbursement cap
Ohio cannot reimburse nonpublic schools more than $475 per student each school year for administrative costs. The cap applies to school reimbursements, not payments to students or families.
Reports required before education funding continues
Education earmark recipients must provide annual reports when the Director of Education and Workforce requests them. Reports cover funded services, results, effectiveness, and whether programs could work in other districts. An organization funded in the prior fiscal year cannot receive another year's funds until it submits the prior-year report.
School districts face tighter aid formulas
In FY 2026 and FY 2027, temporary transitional aid falls when enrollment drops by at least 20 students or 10%, whichever is greater. The reduction equals the statewide average base cost per pupil times the decline above that threshold; aid cannot fall below zero. The law also removes supplemental targeted assistance from traditional districts' core funding formula for FY 2026 and later. Certain district and joint vocational transitional payments also fall when a qualifying levy stops being charged after 2014. That reduction is limited to the portion of FY 2015 payments tied to the discontinued levy.
Schools face building fund enforcement rules
Districts using maintenance transfers instead of the required tax face withholding after an auditor finds a deficiency. If they fail to show the deposit within 90 days, Ohio withholds 10% of current-year school funding. Withholding ends when the district tells the state it made the transfer, replacing the auditor’s confirmation requirement. A district that refuses project closeout and fails to return money within 60 days of receiving its completion certificate faces collection. The facilities commission must send that claim to the Attorney General.
Schools must earmark some formula aid
Covered school districts, joint vocational districts, community schools, and STEM schools must reserve a department-calculated part of their formula aid. They must use it for purposes listed in Ohio Revised Code section 3317.0215(B). The supplied provision does not state the amount or describe those uses.
Substitute school levies lose renewal treatment
A substitute school levy no longer counts as renewing the levy it replaces for certain state payments. This applies to substitute levies under section 5705.199 and payments under sections 5751.20 through 5751.22. The law states no payment amount or direct household tax change.
Temporary unemployment technology fees for employers
From December 31, 2025, through December 31, 2027, Ohio collects a technology and customer service fee from specified employers. Contributory employers pay up to 0.15% of covered wages per employee. Nonprofits choosing payments instead of contributions pay up to $13.50 when filing or renewing a surety bond. The law does not directly charge workers or customers.
Rural industrial park loans face cap
Each loan awarded through the covered Rural Industrial Park Loan Program appropriation cannot exceed $4 million. The provision does not state the number of available loans or individual loan terms.
Affordable housing credits face issuance limits
Affordable housing credits issued under section 122.633 after the amendment's effective date cannot exceed $20 million in total. The state cannot issue these credits after June 30, 2027. These limits apply to credits for qualifying projects and taxpayers receiving or claiming transferred credits.
Film and Broadway credits face limits
Through fiscal year 2027, production credits have a $50 million yearly base plus the prior year's unused maximum. The law removes extra capacity previously tied to unused credits under section 122.852. The $5 million Broadway reserve remains. Film and Broadway production credits end after fiscal year 2027 unless the General Assembly specifically authorizes a later period.
Historic projects lose certain credit preferences
Ohio's Development Director cannot consider whether a historic rehabilitation project is in or benefits an economically distressed area. The director also cannot consider or favor a building because it is vacant or underused. These restrictions change how projects compete for historic rehabilitation tax credits.
Horse-racing operators face tax penalties
The Tax Commissioner can assess covered unpaid horse-racing taxes using available information and add a penalty up to 15%. Permit holders failing to pay or file required electronic reports face another penalty. That penalty is $50 or 10% of the tax shown on the report, whichever is greater. Unpaid assessments also face interest and collection procedures.
Insurers face revised tax collection rules
The Treasurer of State must report an insurer's unpaid tax or required partial payment to the Attorney General. This requirement applies after a tax statement has been made and mailed. Insurers discontinuing Ohio business must pay tax on previously unreported premiums to the Treasurer of State. The law does not set a new tax rate.
Local budgets require clearer tax disclosures
Health districts that do not file next year's revenue and spending estimates must adopt their own tax budgets. Local tax budgets must include estimated expenses through the current year's end and comparisons for specified funds. Taxing units expecting added revenue from taxes within the ten-mill limit or a specified property-tax adjustment must disclose their plans. They must say how much added revenue they intend to collect or forgo. These duties do not themselves set household taxes.
Local government funding share changes
The detailed provision lists a 0.75% monthly local government fund share of the prior month's general-fund tax receipts. It describes a reduction from a prior share inconsistently listed as 1.7% or 1.75%. However, the bill summary lists 1.75% for fiscal 2026–27. These supplied descriptions conflict, so they do not establish a reliable final rate for those years.
More film transfers face sales tax
Transfers of copyrighted motion picture films count as sales for Ohio sales tax. This is no longer limited to films used solely for advertising. Transfers for exhibition are no longer excluded. Affected sellers face tax collection or payment duties, and purchasers can bear passed-through tax costs.
Municipal taxpayers must pay electronically
Covered municipal taxpayers must electronically pay tax due with an annual report, regardless of amount. They must also pay estimated taxes electronically. The law removes the former $1,000 electronic-payment thresholds. This changes the payment method, not the amount owed.
New data center tax agreements end
Ohio's tax credit authority cannot enter new data center equipment sales- and use-tax exemption agreements on or after October 1, 2025. Before that deadline, applicants had to show expected payroll and employee withholding increases and financial ability to finish and maintain operations. The authority also had to find that the exemption was a major factor in the applicant's decision.
Petroleum taxpayers face broader state assessments
Ohio can assess amounts imposed under the petroleum activity tax chapter, not just unpaid tax. The usual four-year limit runs from the later of the return or application due date or filing date. Taxpayers and the commissioner can extend that period by written agreement. The limit does not block assessments for missing required returns or fraudulent returns.
School tax replacement funding rules narrow
The law removes required commercial activity tax transfers to school and local-government property-tax replacement funds. Remaining receipts go first to the designated motor-fuel receipts fund, then to the general fund. The specified school levy-loss payment schedule is historical, not a new 2026–27 phaseout. Operating tangible-property losses received 100%, 100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20% for tax years 2016–2021; S.B. 3 losses received 100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20% for 2016–2020. Those payments required qualifying levies to remain in effect, and none are made under that rule after 2021.
Schools and colleges lose levy options
School boards' authority to adopt new emergency, operating-deficit, and substitute levy resolutions ends on the amendment's effective date. Substitute levies replace all or part of existing levies. State community colleges can still renew the specified levy, but can no longer replace it under the separate replacement-levy law. These provisions do not specify a household tax change or the treatment of existing school levies.
Schools face combined tax proposal deadline
School boards must take specified steps for combined income-tax and property-tax proposals before the amendment's effective date. This deadline also covers the combined renewal questions described in divisions (I) and (J) of section 5748.09. The rule limits proposal authority; it does not itself impose a household tax.
Sports districts require separate tax reporting
People and businesses with covered activity in major sports-facility mixed-use districts must follow special tax reporting rules. Covered activity includes property ownership or use, business, employment, and construction-material purchases. Businesses must electronically file and pay covered sales, use, income, and commercial activity taxes. Employers must keep separate withholding accounts and send district wage payments separately. Contractor-payment information is due each January 31; property owners must ensure covered tenants and operators follow reporting rules.
Tax inspections require existing electronic records
People and public utilities must send requested tax records electronically when they already keep or have them in electronic form. The requirement applies when the Ohio Tax Commissioner requests the records. It does not require anyone to create electronic records or convert paper records.
Adoption reports gain safeguards against denials
Adoption reports must list abuse or neglect findings, open investigations, and allegations with inconclusive findings in date order. Reports must exclude findings that abuse or neglect did not occur, federally protected information, and identities of people who made or helped make reports. Agencies cannot deny adoption solely because an investigation is open or inconclusive. A denial based on a finding that abuse or neglect occurred must consider all the circumstances. Applicants can appeal a denial through the adoption application appeal process.
Adoptions require more interstate abuse checks
Adoption reviews require another abuse-registry check when a prospective parent or adult housemate lived outside Ohio during the previous five years. The agency director or attorney must request the Ohio registry check needed to search the other state's registry. Results must be reviewed before an adoption decree or temporary adoption order. Ohio must also answer similar requests from other states.
Adults gain access to adoption files
Adopted people and their direct descendants age 18 or older can request the adoption file from Ohio’s health department. Requests require an address, notarized signature, two identification items, and the applicable fee; descendants also need notarized relationship proof. A biological parent’s name remains hidden when a valid name-redaction request is on file. Parents with redaction forms accepted March 20, 2014–March 20, 2015, can remove them using two identification items, file information, and notarized proof of parentage. The department must destroy the removed form and provide a replacement file copy showing the parent’s name.
Father registry checks before finalizing adoptions
Before finalizing most adoptions, Ohio courts must receive a certified search document from the putative father registry. The search date must be at least 16 days after the child's birth. This helps identify a possible father but adds a required step for adoptive families. Exceptions include marriage at conception or birth, or paternity already legally established or acknowledged.
Foster applicants gain limits on denials
Foster applicant reports must include applicable abuse or neglect findings and specified ongoing or inconclusive investigations. Reports must exclude findings that abuse or neglect did not occur, federally restricted information, and reporting persons' identities. Agencies cannot deny certification solely because an investigation is ongoing or inconclusive. They can consider a finding that abuse or neglect occurred along with the full set of facts.
Gaming winnings can pay overdue support
Ohio’s child-support matching and withholding system covers video lottery terminal prizes and IRS-reportable casino and sports gaming winnings. Withholding cannot exceed either the winnings or past-due support owed. Lottery-prize withholding requires a final, enforceable default finding; gaming operators must check reportable winnings for support defaults. Gaming operators must send withheld money electronically to Job and Family Services within 14 days. Most lottery sports gaming winnings are excluded from lottery withholding, but specified lottery-terminal wagers go through the lottery commission rather than sports gaming proprietors.
Government unclaimed fund claims expand
Ohio's treasurer can claim state-named unclaimed funds not attributable to a state administrative department. Local treasurers can claim funds named for or attributable to their governments, crediting them to the applicable public fund. A person who proves an interest in the property can seek payment from the Director of Commerce. That payment can be reduced by costs and expenses incurred in securing ownership.
Juvenile record sealing requires court findings
Juvenile courts must immediately seal records after a complaint is dismissed following a trial on the merits or a finding that the person is not delinquent, unruly, or a juvenile traffic offender. Courts must also find that public benefits from access do not outweigh the harm from disclosure. Records of someone found to be an unruly child qualify for immediate sealing at age 18 or older. That person must not remain under court jurisdiction on a delinquency complaint and must pass the same disclosure test.
Medical driving licenses lose fixed term
Restricted licenses for qualifying drivers with episodes affecting consciousness or muscle control no longer have a fixed six-month term. The registrar sets the license length and how often drivers must submit medical-condition notices. Drivers qualifying through medical control must provide the required medical professional's statement that their condition is effectively controlled.
Past-due spousal support gains collection tools
When someone defaults on direct spousal support payments, a court can end permission for direct payment. It can order past-due and future payments through the Office of Child Support. The law adds the collection tool in Revised Code section 3770.074 to the withholding and deduction laws available in that situation.
Possible fathers face adoption registry deadlines
A putative father must register before or within 15 days after birth to preserve the requirement for his adoption consent. Registration is free; later registration does not preserve that consent requirement. The Department of Children and Youth provides free certified registry results for qualifying requests that include the mother’s name. Results are either a registration copy or a statement that no man is registered. After providing a registration copy, the department must notify the father within 10 business days about possible adoption and his consent rights.
Public employee savings count in divorce
In divorce or dissolution, covered deferred contributions sent to the public employees retirement board during marriage count as marital property. Related investment income earned during the marriage also counts. Division follows the program's laws, rules, and plan. The account cannot be divided before the account holder starts receiving the funds.
Shared campaigns can mean shared penalties
Candidates benefiting from a shared campaign committee generally are each responsible for the full applicable campaign-finance penalty. If the decision-maker finds that one specific candidate committed the violation, only that candidate faces the penalty.
Video records carry fees and victim protections
Police agencies and prosecutors’ offices may charge actual video-preparation costs, capped at $75 per hour of video and $750 total. A published advance-payment policy allows prepayment, but the office must provide an estimate within five business days. Charges above the estimate require advance notice and cannot exceed 20% extra or the overall fee limits. Victims covered by Ohio’s Constitution cannot be charged to prepare or copy video records. The waiver process requires a victim’s or lawyer’s affidavit explaining use to investigate possible recorded harm or damages; lawyers also need signed proof of representation.
Crash reports add options and duties
People involved in a vehicle crash can report an allegedly uninsured driver or vehicle owner to the registrar. This includes drivers, property owners, and people who suffered bodily injury or property damage. The written report must arrive within six months after the crash. People involved who submit or are subjects of covered reports must provide relevant information the registrar requires. Reporting does not itself create a right to compensation.
Local emissions tests continue for drivers
Ohio must request a local vehicle inspection contract for counties where federal rules require emissions tests. The program must match the prior contract’s emissions reductions and operate through June 30, 2027. The vendor must use local businesses, repair shops, or leased testing sites and approved testing methods and equipment. Vehicle owners must receive notice at least 60 days before their deadline, including nearby testing locations.
Lottery transfers require advice and disclosures
For prize transfers needing court approval, winners must receive advice on legal, financial, and other effects. Eligible advisers now include attorneys, certified public accountants, actuaries, and financial planners accredited by a nationally recognized agency. Advisers cannot be tied to or paid by the recipient, and their pay cannot depend on completing the transfer. Winners and advisers must confirm the advice in a statement signed under penalty of perjury. Recipients must give winners a disclosure statement, which winners acknowledge by notarizing a copy, even when someone else makes the transfer.
Online fireworks orders require local pickup
Licensed Ohio manufacturers and wholesalers can sell 1.4G consumer fireworks online; this permission excludes 1.3G fireworks and wholesale orders. Each sale must identify one licensed seller, its license number, and premises address. Buyers must be at least 18, pass identity checks, and match the payment card's name. Pickup occurs in the licensed showroom or designated curbside zone; mail and parcel delivery are prohibited. Sellers must verify orders, obtain required forms and legal attestations, collect the required fee, keep records, and follow traffic controls. Buyers receive safety information, curbside buyers are offered safety glasses for a nominal fee, and alternative systems need written fire marshal approval.
Patients see changed practitioner probation disclosures
Medical Board probation disclosure rules now include certified mental health assistants and radiologist assistants. They no longer include oriental medicine practitioners. The Board can require disclosures for qualifying probation orders even when the orders predate the section's effective date. Orders must involve a circumstance listed in the law, and statutory exceptions still apply.
Pet telehealth allowed with prescription limits
Ohio veterinarians may provide telehealth with documented informed consent, kept for three years, acknowledging that the same care standards apply. They must provide contact and reconnection options, visit records with their license number, and warnings about in-person care, prescription limits, and ending visits. A relationship established through telehealth permits a prescription lasting up to 14 days and one 14-day refill after another telehealth visit. Further refills require an in-person visit, and controlled substances require an in-person physical exam. Veterinarians must explain pharmacy options for certain prescriptions and send prescriptions to the client’s chosen pharmacy upon request.
Vehicle protection buyers get cancellation refunds
Vehicle value protection buyers can cancel within 30 days for a full refund if no benefits were provided. Agreements allowing later cancellation must disclose refund terms; provider cancellation generally requires five days’ written notice. Notice is not required for nonpayment, material misrepresentation, or substantial breach of covered-product duties. Except for nonpayment, provider cancellation requires a full unearned-fee refund, subject to allowed deductions and an administrative fee up to $75. Paid claims may be deducted if coverage continues after a claim; refunds go to the seller or assignee unless otherwise agreed.
Vehicle services expand online, phone guarantee ends
The registrar can offer vehicle services and accept documents online instead of requiring in-person visits. Initial registrations and registration transfers filed through the central online system can include all related documents electronically. The registrar or a deputy must verify those documents. Online service charges must match in-person charges, but payment-processing costs may be added. For mailed renewals, the registrar no longer must accept toll-free phone payments or advertise that option in notices.
Bypassable delivery charges for electricity customers
Ohio's utility regulator must establish a bypassable charge for electric distribution utilities providing a standard service offer. It lets utilities recover transmission, congestion, and related service costs needed for that offer. Because the charge is bypassable, it is not an unavoidable charge for every customer. The law does not set a household rate or bill change.
Electric charge ends, energy funding narrows
The law removes the temporary electric distribution charge that funded advanced-energy assistance. Electric distribution utilities no longer must send that revenue to the advanced energy fund. Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives can still choose to contribute. Assistance is allocated proportionately based on those contributions, subject to approved applications and project feasibility. The law does not state the removed charge's amount.
Electric customers get replacement assistance charge
Beginning January 1, 2026, electric distribution utilities replace the universal service charge with an income-based payment-plan charge. It recovers reasonable program costs, utilities' required allocated shares, and specified low-income assistance administration costs. The transition-plan rate cap uses this replacement charge in its adjustments and drops the temporary advanced-energy charge. These changes fund assistance while collecting costs from customers; the law gives no household bill calculation.
Adoption promotion funds and grant safeguards
Children and Youth can use surplus putative father registry money to promote adoption of children with special needs. It must first determine that the money exceeds registry needs. This does not promise a grant to any family. Knowingly submitting false or misleading information or documents to obtain an Ohio adoption grant counts as falsification under Ohio law.
Health safety shields limit families' claims
Hospitals, birthing centers, and their employees, contractors, and volunteers receive specified legal shields for covered infant safe-sleep and crib-assistance work. These include protections from civil liability, criminal prosecution, and professional discipline. Camps, camp workers, and involved licensed health professionals receive civil-damages protection for covered epinephrine autoinjector procurement, upkeep, access, and use. These protections limit some families' claims; safe-sleep procedure civil immunity and camp immunity exclude willful or wanton misconduct. Safe-sleep procedure protection requires statutory compliance, and other camp immunities and defenses remain available.
School health centers need adult consent
School health centers must get general consent before starting a patient-provider relationship with a minor. A parent, legal guardian, qualifying grandparent, or another legally authorized person can give consent. Exceptions cover emergencies, first aid, and other unanticipated minor health care. Services required by a student's individualized education program or the district's Section 504 duties are also exempt.
Telehealth patients get safeguards and disclosures
Community mental health and addiction providers must explain telehealth risks before treatment and document the client's agreement to accept them. Providers must train staff, protect privacy, plan for technical failures, and give clients crisis-help information. Video visits require client checks using a name and password or personal identification number, with secure storage and transmission. Mental health facilities hosting clients must have staff available if equipment fails.
Three payment categories for child care
Ohio must establish three publicly funded child care payment categories by December 31, 2025. Hourly care covers fewer than 10 authorized hours weekly; part-time covers 10 to fewer than 33 hours. Full-time covers 33 or more hours. Through June 30, 2027, the department cannot create additional categories based on weekly authorized hours. The law does not state payment amounts or changes in family costs.
Construction notices expire two years sooner
A construction notice of commencement now expires four years after filing, instead of six. The notice or an amendment can specify a different expiration period. The shorter default affects property owners, contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers involved in covered improvements.
Construction notices must show expiration rules
A recorded notice of commencement for a property improvement that may lead to a mechanics' lien must explain its expiration. It must state that it expires four years after recording unless the notice gives a different date. Owners and construction participants get clearer notice, while those preparing it have a new required statement.
Fixed-sum property taxes get annual rates
The Tax Commissioner annually adjusts qualifying fixed-sum levy rates to raise their stated dollar amounts. Rates must reach county auditors by September 1. Auditors apply them for the current tax year unless another rate is required under section 5705.34. Debt-payment levies above the ten-mill limit are excluded. The rate can rise or fall; the law does not state a household's resulting bill.
Real estate applicants disclose private addresses
Ohio real estate broker and salesperson applicants must provide their current home address. For a broker applicant that is not an individual, each member or officer must provide an address. The state real estate superintendent must keep these addresses separately, outside public records.
Some property payments repay housing loans
Local governments taking residential development loans must exempt qualifying improvements from property tax. This applies when construction starts because of infrastructure funded by the loan. Owners instead owe yearly service payments equal to the property tax otherwise due, so this is not a tax discount. Payments go only toward repaying the associated loan. The exemption and payments start in the infrastructure work's tax year and end for the tax year after full repayment, including interest.
Written broker agreements protect buyers and renters
Tenants can use exclusive broker agreements that state compensation and authorize payment from the seller or seller's agent under state requirements. Agents need written agreements before advertising or showing homes for sellers, making purchase offers, or offering residential leases exceeding 18 months. Brokerages must also give their written agency policy to prospective buyers, sellers, and tenants considering residential leases exceeding 18 months. When no agency agreement is required, sellers must receive the policy before advertising. The law does not set broker compensation amounts.
Agencies gain wage and unemployment data
Job and Family Services must share wage and unemployment-claim information when agencies running covered income-verification programs request it. This supports program administration but expands sharing of individuals' records. Each requesting agency must have a written data-sharing agreement that meets federal requirements. The law does not change benefit amounts.
Counselors get updated practice and supervision rules
The law updates covered counselors' authorized work and replaces chemical-dependency terms with substance use disorder terms. Covered credentials address counseling, diagnosis, treatment, supervision, and referrals. Counselor III diagnosis and clinical supervision require the supervision specified by law. Counselor II licensees and assistants cannot practice independently, and assistants must work under an authorized supervisor.
Disabled elevator licensees get study extensions
Elevator licensees unable to finish continuing education because of temporary disability can request a waiver using the required form and physician statement. Approval makes the license inactive. After recovery, a physician statement allows restoration with a 90-day waiver sticker. Required education must be finished within those 90 days or the license expires.
Drivers face training through age twenty
Ohio raises the age cutoff for specified driver-training and 50-hour driving-experience requirements from 18 to 21. Specified exam waivers and reciprocal arrangements remain exceptions. Applicants 21 or older seeking an initial limited-term license also face applicable training and affidavit requirements. Applicants 21 or older who fail a road or maneuverability test need an abbreviated course unless they completed training within the preceding 12 months. Beginning noncommercial drivers can complete required training at any time while holding a valid temporary instruction permit.
Education accounts face school checks and audits
The education department must check participating schools’ required filings annually and request available health and fire inspection reports. It must report whether schools meet education, health, fire, and safety standards. The Treasurer can randomly audit parents’ and schools’ use of account money. Misuse can lead to suspension or removal from the program.
Grade promotion turns on academic readiness
District promotion policies cannot hold students back because of truancy. Students who fail two or more required subjects generally cannot move to the next grade. Promotion is allowed if the principal and teachers of the failed subjects agree the student is academically ready.
Longer deadlines for medical license suspensions
The Medical Board gets 75 days after a hearing ends, up from 60, to issue its final suspension order. This covers certified mental health assistants, radiologist assistants, and genetic counselors. Missing the deadline ends the temporary suspension, but does not invalidate a later final order. Licensees can appeal the final order; the temporary suspension is not itself a final appealable order. The law also removes the ban on courts pausing temporary suspensions during appeals.
Medical workers face delayed suspension appeals
Covered Medical Board summary suspensions cannot be appealed immediately; affected workers can appeal the Board's final order. The rules cover physician assistants, practitioners under the general medical discipline law, anesthesiologist assistants, respiratory care licensees, and acupuncture licensees. Suspensions generally remain until the final order takes effect. For physician assistants, anesthesiologist assistants, respiratory care licensees, and acupuncture licensees, the Board has 75 days after the hearing ends before the suspension dissolves. This increases the deadline from 60 days for anesthesiologist assistants and acupuncture licensees; dissolution does not invalidate later orders for physician assistants, anesthesiologist assistants, or respiratory care licensees.
Memorial and adoption students get priority
The Chancellor must first use the specified appropriation for eligible Safety Officer's College Memorial Fund tuition and student-fee waivers. Grants through qualifying institutions for eligible adoption grant students also receive priority. Only then does the Chancellor determine how much remains for Ohio College Opportunity Grants. This gives covered students priority but can leave less money for other grant applicants.
Mine workers face new certificate rules
The law removes certificate categories for surface-maintenance-facility forepersons, surface-mine mine forepersons, fire bosses, and shot firers. It also removes examination directions for surface-maintenance-facility forepersons, fire bosses, and shot firers. Remaining categories include surface-mine forepersons, mine electricians, and surface-mine blasters; applicants must pass the applicable exam. Exams are offered as needed, rather than quarterly, at Ohio times and locations set by the division chief. Eligible forepersons and mine electricians can keep temporary certificates issued before September 30, 2021, with valid credentials from reciprocal states. Those temporary certificates remain usable only until expiration, suspension, or revocation.
Pharmacy trainees get time but higher fees
Registered and certified pharmacy technicians pay $65 every two years to renew, instead of $25 each year. Renewal applications must follow Pharmacy Board requirements. Trainee applications cost $40 instead of $25, with no refund for applicants who do not qualify. Trainee registration lasts 18 months instead of one year, and the Board can extend it. It cannot be renewed, but reapplication is allowed after a lapse exceeding five years or with Board approval.
Recovery schools must reorganize some grades
Beginning July 1, 2027, community schools mainly serving dropout prevention and recovery students receive a recovery-school classification. Before then, schools must get sponsor approval to transfer noncompliant grades to a separate community school or stop offering them. Schools must help students who cannot enroll in the recovery school transfer or enroll elsewhere.
Residential treatment changes student enrollment duties
A placement district need not admit a child placed outside the parent's district following consultation with and recommendation from OhioRISE. The qualifying home or out-of-state facility must provide education meeting Ohio standards or substantially similar local standards. It can reduce instructional hours only as needed for treatment and must notify the specified districts. The parent's district keeps the child enrolled and excuses attendance until discharge. After discharge, the facility and district must plan a supported return to school.
Returning officers keep credentials, need training
A service gap alone does not invalidate a qualifying peace officer training certificate for appointment. The officer must have held the qualifying certificate for at least one year before appointment. Returning officers who did not work as officers during the gap must finish refresher training before performing police duties. Gaps of at least one year but under four years require up to 40 hours; gaps of four years or longer require 80 hours.
Schools ban phones with protected exceptions
By January 1, 2026, covered district boards must adopt policies banning student cellphone use during the instructional day. Boards must allow use required by an individualized education program or Section 504 plan. They must also allow health-related use when a student's physician provides a written statement requiring it. Boards can permit phones for learning, other health needs, or use allowed by the building's emergency management plan.
Schools standardize reading materials and screening
Districts must assess every kindergarten-through-third-grade student's reading each year by September 30 using a state-adopted or approved diagnostic assessment. The former exception for significant cognitive disabilities and other authorized disabilities no longer applies. Districts, community schools, and STEM schools must use state-listed English language arts core materials in pre-kindergarten through grade five. They must also use state-listed, evidence-based reading intervention programs in pre-kindergarten through grade twelve. The materials requirement begins no later than the 2024–2025 school year.
Teacher residency drops assessment and supports
Ohio's teacher residency program no longer must use the performance assessment as a required measure of progress. Related statutory rules on attempts, submission dates, and returning results are removed. The superintendent also no longer must provide free sample classroom videos or free coaching meetings for participants who fail. The provision does not establish that all other support ends.
Teacher transfers cannot mainly follow seniority
Ohio school superintendents must base teacher assignments, reassignments, and transfers on students' best interests. Seniority or continuing-contract status cannot be the main factor. The rule covers voluntary and involuntary moves. It overrides conflicting employee-organization agreements entered into on or after the section's effective date.
Temporary residents face commercial-license renewal limits
Temporary residents can renew limited-term Ohio commercial driver's licenses within 180 days before expiration, but cannot apply online. Applicants must document legal presence or continued temporary lawful status. The renewed license ends when the authorized stay expires or after four years, whichever comes first. If the authorized stay has no end date, the license lasts no more than one year.
Truancy defense protects parents, redirects cases
Parents or caregivers charged with failing to ensure school attendance must be cleared if they prove they could not make the child attend. This defense also applies to habitual-truancy complaints. Afterward, the attendance officer must file a juvenile-court complaint alleging the child is delinquent, unruly, or dependent.
Unemployment appeals agency gains photo access
The Unemployment Compensation Review Commission can receive digital photo records held by Ohio's Department of Public Safety. It can use them only for its unemployment-law duties. This expands agency access to personal records without changing who qualifies for unemployment benefits.
Young students face broader diagnostic testing
By June 30, 2026, Ohio must adopt a reading diagnostic and approve up to five reading and five math diagnostics per kindergarten–third grade. Reading tests must follow the science of reading, and the approved list must include the three most-used previously approved comparable tests. Starting in 2026–2027, districts must use adopted or approved tests; annual reading and math testing is due September 30. Qualifying transfers need testing within 30 days if not already tested; districts may test when prior testing is unknown. Students with significant cognitive disabilities lose their exemption and must be tested under state guidelines; performance-based alternative tests are no longer allowed. Tests must measure grade-level knowledge and skills, and department-adopted diagnostics cannot include gifted-identification components.
City tax lawsuits use revised deadlines
Municipal income-tax recovery lawsuits have a three-year filing period measured from the later of two dates. Those dates are the return’s due date, including a valid extension, and the date the return was filed. The existing rule for qualifying deferrals still applies. The change covers recovery of taxes, penalties, and interest, but does not change the amount owed.
Estates and trusts apply income adjustments
Ohio estates and trusts must apply specified individual income adjustments when calculating Ohio taxable income. These are the additions and deductions referenced in divisions (A)(17) and (A)(18). Depending on the adjustment, taxable income rises or falls.
Gaming prizes face different withholding rules
Municipalities must require local income-tax withholding on video lottery prizes reportable to the IRS under section 6041. The rate is the municipality's rate where the facility is located. Agents must remit and file monthly, file annual returns, and give winners annual information returns. Lottery sports gaming prizes at these facilities are excluded from the specified municipal and Ohio withholding rules. These changes affect payout timing, not the final tax owed.
Lottery winners get revised payout rules
Ohio keeps 4% withholding from gross payments to lottery prize winners, before other required reductions. It removes separate 4% withholding for nonwinner transferors, their gain statement, and the related penalty of up to $1,000. For lottery withholding coverage, recipients include transferees; video lottery and lottery sports prizes are generally excluded. An exception covers sports wagers through terminals specified in section 3770.24(B)(3), with Lottery Commission withholding. Sports winnings at or above the federal section 6041 reporting threshold face applicable withholding and payment methods set by the commission.
Retirees can request benefit tax withholding
Recipients can ask an Ohio retirement system or plan to withhold estimated state and school district income taxes from benefits. The request must estimate taxes on benefits included in adjusted gross income. Withholding starts in the calendar year after application, reduces take-home benefits, and is reported to the recipient. The tax commissioner can assess plans for overdue withholding, penalties, and interest.
School property tax calculations change
The law changes school property-tax reduction calculations in districts covered by the statutory minimum-tax rules. It removes specified exclusions from the calculation for school operating taxes. In the first year additional operating taxes enter the calculation, the prior-year baseline assumes 2% or 0.2% of taxable value, as applicable. The provisions do not establish whether an individual property's bill rises or falls.
Child care providers get new rates
Publicly funded child care contracts must use the state-set rate, replacing the lower of that rate or the provider's usual rate. Ohio must set a higher rate for providers enrolling children whose caretaker parents work nontraditional hours. Through June 30, 2027, Type A home rates must follow Type B home rates, rather than child care center rates. The law does not state the resulting amounts, so individual providers' overall payment changes are not clear.
Businesses can install regulated battery fences
Qualifying battery-charged security fences are allowed on private, nonresidential property, and local governments cannot prohibit them. Systems need a monitored alarm and a commercial storage battery of no more than 12 volts direct current. Fences must sit 4–12 inches behind a perimeter barrier at least 5 feet high. Fence height must be 10 feet or 2 feet above the barrier, whichever is higher. Pulses cannot exceed 1 hertz or last more than 10 milliseconds, and warning signs must be no more than 30 feet apart. Local governments can impose alarm-system-style requirements, permits, and fees.
Export certificates can cost businesses $50
The Department of Agriculture can issue certificates stating that exported products are freely marketed without restriction in the United States. It can charge $50 per certificate and must set issuance rules. Fees go to the department program that issues the certificate.
Farm patios get limited sprinkler relief
Qualifying covered patios and their occupants do not count toward sprinkler thresholds for agricultural assembly buildings exempt from state building-board rules. Patios must hold no more than 100 people and have floors at exit-discharge level. They need three open sides with accessible exits on each, or two open sides with exits on each. The two-side option also requires no point more than 20 feet from an exit and walls enclosing no more than 50% of the perimeter. Patios built on or after the amendment's effective date need noncombustible, limited-combustible, or fire-retardant-treated wood roofs or horizontal assemblies and columns.
Hemp businesses get revised licensing paths
Ohio must license and regulate hemp processing, but cultivation licenses and rules apply only if the director creates a cultivation program. Ohio must issue processing licenses through its recognition process to people with applicable out-of-state licenses or qualifying experience or certification from states without licenses. A matching cultivation path applies only if Ohio operates a cultivation program. The agriculture department and universities can conduct director-authorized hemp research without the applicable license. Processing byproducts above 0.3% delta-9 THC count as hemp products only when produced, stored, and disposed of under state rules.
New yearly registration fees for bakeries
Bakeries pay $200 each year to register, replacing the old capacity-based fee. A home bakery pays $10 yearly if it has only one oven in an ordinary home-kitchen stove. The old fee amounts are not provided, so the change in each bakery’s cost is unclear.
Pesticide businesses face revised compliance rules
Pesticide businesses must license, rather than register, each owned business location. Out-of-state businesses applying pesticides for hire on Ohio property must license their main out-of-state location and owned Ohio business locations. Dealers must keep restricted-use pesticide distribution records for the period set by rule, but no longer submit them to the director. Commercial records cover applicators and trained servicepersons, including supervised general-use applications required by rule. Private applicators no longer need records for restricted-use applications by directly supervised immediate family members or subordinate employees.
Agencies must review unwritten legal standards
Covered Ohio agencies must review unwritten policies used in decisions or agency writings and report findings by November 30, 2025. Agencies must consider formal rules when those policies set general, uniform legal standards. They must begin rulemaking when the statutory standards call for it. Principles used for internal management rules are excluded.
Agency rules face drafting and review checks
State agencies must follow a rule-drafting manual published and updated by the Legislative Service Commission director. For covered filings, the director has 30 days to flag noncompliance; otherwise, compliance is presumed. Agencies missing required rule reviews must get a chance to explain before the legislative review committee recommends invalidation. Rules stay effective during legislative consideration but become invalid if lawmakers pass the resolution. If lawmakers do not pass it, a rule recommended for invalidation because the agency failed to appear expires.
Campaign funds face revised return rules
Campaign committees required to file a declaration of no limits no longer face this provision's return requirement for earlier excess contributions. This applies to contributions accepted above the limits before filing that declaration. Committees and transition-fund treasurers that fail to dispose of funds or assets as legally required must surrender them to the state. The Treasurer deposits them into the Ohio Election Integrity Commission Fund.
Cities get drone grants with restrictions
Ohio's transportation director must offer available pilot grants to participating cities for first-responder drones. Grants support equipment, operator training, federal approvals, and statewide operational integration. City legislative authorities must agree to participate and follow program guidelines. Purchases must meet federal rules and exclude systems, components, services, or maintenance from countries or entities designated national security risks.
Counties get flexibility and child-service funding duties
County councils can pool eligible state funds for families, children, and older adults needing protection. Transfers need local agency approval, must preserve the money's original purpose, and require annual reports. Specified child-service and court advocate funds also require county collaboration and state consultation. Counties must contribute local child-service funds when FY 2026 or FY 2027 distributions exceed the FY 2019 appropriation, but only if they contributed in county FY 2019. State rules base contributions on past amounts and must allow hardship waivers or reductions.
Election commission qualifications and staffing change
Election integrity commission members must be registered Ohio voters and either Ohio attorneys in good standing or have four years of election-administration experience. At least three must be attorneys; appointment-priority rules preserve that minimum when simultaneous choices conflict. The law removes party-affiliation limits and geographic-balance directions for appointments. It also eliminates alternate members and their $150 daily service pay. Listed political-activity and contribution restrictions still cover members, but no longer cover employees or alternates.
Election complaints get review and safeguards
People filing covered election-law complaints must have personal knowledge and sign under penalty of perjury; election board officials can also file. Complaints outside the listed laws, or personal complaints without firsthand knowledge, must be dismissed; repeat similar complaints lacking that knowledge are permanently dismissed. The election unit investigates accepted complaints, and the secretary of state can order more review, make findings, impose allowed fines, or refer prosecution. Accused people have 14 days after completed service to object and require commission review; otherwise, the secretary's decision is final. For listed conflicts involving the secretary, the Attorney General assigns investigators and takes over specified review duties.
Election complaints move to replacement commission
The Ohio Elections Commission is abolished on January 1, 2026. Complaints pending that day transfer to the Ohio Election Integrity Commission for hearing and decision under the specified law. Before abolition, the old commission continues handling complaints filed before January 1, 2026, under the prior rules.
Election fees and excess funds redirected
Certain candidate and ballot filing fees now go to the Ohio election integrity commission fund, without changing stated fee amounts. That fund also replaces the former elections commission fund as a permitted destination for excess legislative campaign contributions. A legislative campaign fund must check its balance seven days before its postgeneral election statement is due. Contributions above $150,000 at that point must be disposed of within 90 days after the statement’s due date.
Electronic commitment allowed for sentenced people
The corrections director can direct a sheriff to deliver a sentenced person to a state facility or commit the person electronically. Electronic commitment requires an agreement between the common pleas court and the corrections department. Before removal under an out-of-jurisdiction detainer, the sheriff must first deliver or electronically commit the sentenced person.
Emergency radio plans must show costs
The MARCS steering committee must certify that the emergency radio system meets P25 standards using approved business plans. Plans must show monthly user costs based on the number of users. They must also provide adequate funding for statewide repairs, upkeep, and upgrades. The law sets no specific monthly charge or funding amount.
Fuller disclosures in patrol retirement campaigns
Campaign statements about candidates for the state highway patrol retirement board face a disclosure rule. Anyone citing a finding by the secretary of state or Ohio election integrity commission must also disclose resulting legal proceedings' outcomes. The rule applies during campaigns for nomination or election.
Local budgets count more unspent money
Local governments must count more year-end money when reporting funds available to spend, including reserves and nonexpendable trust principal. Budget officials may also count previously assigned but unspent money for unpaid obligations or delinquent-tax collection. A local government, library, or park district appealing a tax-rate cut must prove what next year's expenses require. These rules do not directly set household tax bills.
Local finance officers face education oversight
County auditors must keep course records, and the state auditor must check compliance with continuing-education requirements. The county auditors association must notify auditors missing 16 hours in their first year or 24 hours by term’s end. Township fiscal officer courses must include state auditor rules, bulletins, and other published information. The state auditor can require additional subjects, including for officers serving later terms.
Local governments must strengthen cybersecurity
Each local government must adopt a cybersecurity program consistent with accepted best practices to protect its data and technology. All employees must receive training suited to their duties; specified state and Ohio cyber-range training counts. After discovering a cyber or ransomware incident, officials must notify the state’s Homeland Security division as soon as possible, within seven days. They must also notify the State Auditor as soon as possible, within 30 days.
Local petitions face higher signature hurdles
In limited-home-rule townships, initiative and referendum petitions need signatures equal to 35% of relevant governor voters, up from 10%. The count uses voters in the unincorporated area at the most recent election for governor. Referendums on zoning amendments establishing or changing planned-unit development rules also need signatures equal to at least 35% of the applicable governor vote. Election boards must decide those zoning petitions’ sufficiency within 30 days after certification. Petitioners can add signatures within 10 days after receiving notice that the count is too low.
Local ransom payments need formal approval
Local governments cannot pay or comply with ransomware demands without approval from their legislative authority by resolution or ordinance. That approval must explain why payment or compliance serves the government's best interest. Records about local cybersecurity programs, cyberattacks, and ransomware incidents are not public records. Records identifying cybersecurity products, services, vendors, and projects being considered, bought, or used are also protected.
New election unit investigates public complaints
Ohio creates an election integrity unit under the Secretary of State to investigate alleged election-law violations. It must accept public allegations and can investigate on its own initiative or after complaints. The unit can administer oaths, issue subpoenas, summon witnesses, require evidence, and hold hearings. It must report allegation and investigation information to the Governor and General Assembly by January 15 each year. The Secretary of State must also process complaints within the election integrity commission’s jurisdiction.
New standards for campaign complaint decisions
The secretary of state or election integrity commission generally decides covered complaints using a more-likely-than-not evidence standard. Officials can find no violation, impose an allowed fine, or refer significant or repeated violations to prosecutors. Complaints under sections 3517.21(A) or (B) and 3517.22(A) or (B) require clear and convincing evidence; this rule authorizes no administrative fine. Franklin County handles referrals involving listed candidates and campaign groups required to file with the secretary of state. For others, officials choose Franklin County, the person's home county, or the ballot-submission county, using the most populous when several apply. Sentencing for Chapter 3517 and the other listed offenses follows the law in effect when the violation occurred.
Officer training covers rights and animal encounters
Attorney General rules must require officer training on traffic stops and other in-person encounters. Training must be offered online and cover rights, de-escalation, questioning, and detention. Basic training for state, county, municipal, and natural resources officers must cover companion-animal behavior and encounters. That requirement includes temporary, probationary, and other nonpermanent officers completing those programs. The Peace Officer Training Commission must also recommend refresher-training rules to the Attorney General.
Ohio narrows state water pollution protections
Some surface water that flows or pools only after precipitation is excluded from Ohio's definition of state waters. The exclusion applies only where the Army Corps lacks federal permit authority; wetlands remain outside the exclusion. The law also repeals section 6111.04's pollution, waste-release, sludge, and related permit restrictions. This reduces covered compliance duties while removing those state-law protections. The repeal does not itself remove requirements under other laws.
Prison inspection oversight moves to attorney
The Correctional Institutional Inspection Committee ends on the 91st day after the relevant section takes effect. The Ohio Attorney General takes over its records, assets, liabilities, obligations, and unfinished work. The provision does not state how inspection frequency or scope changes.
Prison pilot analyzes incarcerated people’s calls
Ohio must spend $1 million in FY 2026 on a pilot that transcribes and analyzes prison phone calls. The platform serves facility safety and security, and law enforcement agencies must have access for criminal investigations. The Attorney General must approve the pilot location. The corrections department must report findings by December 31, 2026.
Prison records face tighter public access
Records about inmates and people under Adult Parole Authority supervision are not public records. Officials can still release inmate names, convictions, photos, supervision status, current and past incarceration locations, and discipline history. Corrections officials must also keep specified security materials confidential, including prison plans, informant statements, victim information, and threat data. Covered materials include monitored nonprivileged inmate calls. Disclosure remains allowed with department consent or a court-of-record judge's order.
Prison release presumptions include conduct limits
People serving non-life indefinite felony terms are presumed released at their minimum-term end or earned early-release date, whichever comes first. After a hearing, corrections officials can rebut release for specified serious misconduct, extended restrictive housing in the preceding year, or security level three or higher. Any additional incarceration must be reasonable, specified, and within the maximum term. The corrections director may also recommend a 5% to 15% minimum-term reduction for eligible people showing exceptional conduct or adjustment. Specified sexually oriented offenses are excluded, and courts must grant recommendations unless statutory grounds rebut the presumption after a hearing.
Prosecutors face election referral deadlines
Prosecutors have one year after an election-unit referral to prosecute, explain a refusal in writing, or request more evidence. If they decline or miss that deadline, the unit can refer the case to the Attorney General. When more evidence is requested, the unit must supply available evidence within 90 days. Prosecutors then have 180 days after receipt to prosecute or explain a refusal. Missing that deadline also allows referral to the Attorney General.
Revised penalties for specified assistance-law violations
Violating Ohio Revised Code section 5101.63(A) or 5101.631(C)(2) is a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The law removes section 5101.133 violations from the offenses carrying that penalty. These provisions do not state a fine amount.
Scholars residential centers get tailored standards
Ohio must certify qualifying nonprofit scholars residential centers affiliated in good standing with a qualifying national organization. Centers cannot receive Title IV-E or associated Title IV child-welfare funds and must use voluntary, competitive parent or legal-custodian placements. Required staff training is limited to orientation, current first aid and CPR, and one annual hour of trauma training. Rules provide exceptions for discharge summaries, case plans, recreation, visitation, qualified residential treatment, and treatment-focused requirements. Centers must notify parents or custodians of critical incidents and provide documentation; swimming under the recreation exception requires a lifesaving- or water-safety-trained person.
School board ballots and procedures change
School board candidates are removed from Ohio’s legal definition of a nonpartisan candidate. Local school board races move to the office-type ballot, after court of appeals judges. Ballots identify the office, seats, voting directions, and whether city district members run by subdistrict or at large. The State Board of Education office is removed from the nonpartisan ballot list. Officials also stop including that office in the specified Form No. 4 vote report and special certificate-of-election process.
Sexual image exceptions change privacy protections
Listed exceptions to Ohio’s sexual-image sharing offense also apply to fabricated sexual images. They cover lawful investigations, reports of unlawful conduct, news or expressive works, official duties, other lawful public purposes, and medical care. The no-reasonable-expectation-of-privacy exception is narrower. It applies only when the depicted person is at least 18 and knowingly and willingly nude or engaged in a sexual act there.
State auditors gain access and control
After an audit notice, state agencies and higher education institutions must help state auditors access relevant systems. Access must be read-only and allow downloads; users must be U.S. nationals or lawful permanent residents. Data must stay on U.S. servers, and resulting breaches or unauthorized access or releases require immediate reporting to law enforcement. Executive-branch entities need state auditor approval before producing covered audit reports or studies recommending changes to the auditing system. They must also send copies to the auditor.
State communications spending gets fewer checks
The administrative services director decides how to use the MARCS–Taxable appropriation for Ohio's statewide communications system. The director no longer needs the system's steering committee to agree. This spending is also exempt from Revised Code Chapters 123 and 153.
State funds shift toward safety programs
Public Safety must review highway safety fund balances; Budget and Management can transfer cash to Fund 5TM0 with Controlling Board approval. Patrol contraband and forfeiture funds can move to security and policing after a written Public Safety request and board approval. Those transfers add cash to receiving funds while reducing source balances. Each July 1, or as soon as possible afterward, $450,000 moves from the State Fire Marshal Fund to emergency management. These transfers do not create direct household payments or charges.
State officials can fund security
The General Assembly and covered executive officers can use public resources to establish and fund security. They can employ or contract with law enforcement officers or others to provide or coordinate it. The relevant legislative leaders or executive officers control the security arrangements. The law states no funding amount.
State staff oversee Ross prison meals
Ohio establishes a food-service pilot at Ross Correctional Institution. State employees oversee meals and food service, and a private entity does not provide the service. The pilot cannot conflict with existing contracts. The law specifies no funding amount or required improvement in meals.
Unsafe child placements face emergency suspensions
Children and Youth may suspend institution, association, or foster caregiver certificates without a prior hearing for specified child-safety or eligibility failures. Triggers include death, serious injury, suspected abuse or neglect, related charges, serious safety risks, or unmet owner or caregiver requirements. Behavioral Health has similar authority for class one residential facilities serving children, including for background-investigation violations. No children may be placed with a suspended provider while the suspension remains active. The law sets hearing procedures for certificate cases and ending rules tied to investigations, criminal cases, or department orders.
Voters can approve larger park districts
Voters can approve converting an eligible township park district into a broader park district by a majority vote. The county cannot already have a park district of the new type. The old district must own park land outside its founding township, and the new district must include every town and township where it owns land. The new district takes over debts, assets, and interests, and current commissioners initially stay in office. A new operating property-tax levy may also appear on the ballot.
Wild pig rules distinguish captive animals
Ohio’s wild boar and feral swine definition generally covers pigs that appear untamed, undomesticated, or wild. Legally confined domestic swine are excluded. Specified wild pigs remain covered even when contained in licensed hunting preserves or wholly enclosed hunting or trapping preserves.
Youth facilities house some convicted minors
For convictions on or after the amendment’s effective date, people under 18 when their felony sentence begins enter Youth Services institutions. Sheriffs must deliver them within five days after sentencing, excluding weekends and legal holidays. Transfer to adult corrections occurs at 18 or after a rule violation that Youth Services finds makes them dangerous to themselves or others. Earlier release events and Youth Services capacity limits also govern how long they remain in youth facilities.
Bee inspections gain oversight, lose funding authority
County commissioners need the agriculture director’s approval to appoint deputy bee inspectors, who work under the director’s oversight. The director can remove deputies for listed misconduct or poor performance. The law removes county commissioners’ authority to fund county bee inspections. Transfers of bees, honeycombs, and used beekeeping equipment containing serious diseases or pests are banned, except honeycomb for human consumption. Upon request, a state or deputy inspector can issue a transfer permit after finding an item apparently free of those diseases and pests.
Medical investigation records get privacy safeguards
Medical Board reports and records covered by the mental health assistant reporting rules are confidential. The board can share investigation information with law enforcement, licensing boards, and government agencies investigating or prosecuting alleged violations. Receiving agencies must keep that information confidential. Knowingly accessing, using, or sharing confidential investigation information in a prohibited way is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Wholesale drug sellers must check licenses
Licensed wholesale sellers of dangerous drugs must check the state roster before a sale or distribution. They must verify whether the buyer holds a terminal-distributor license. Listed buyers and people exempt from that license are excluded. A documented check protects the seller from the specified violation; without a check, a violation is presumed.
Behavioral health clinic certification needs funding
Ohio can establish certified community behavioral health clinic standards and certification processes only with available state and federal funding. When funding is insufficient, the department must assess possible pilots or other efforts combining mental health and addiction treatment. The law does not guarantee clinic certification or treatment access.
Counties gain options for family councils
Each county Family and Children First Council must include at least three people whose families use or used represented agencies’ services. Family representatives no longer must hold 20% of seats; agency employees serving as representatives must disclose conflicts and skip related votes. Counties can forgo a council only when alternative services meet local needs and the council lacks sustainable funding. The job and family services director, children services executive director, and developmental disabilities board must each recommend against the council. Commissioners must reconsider that decision within five years and may do so sooner.
Death certifiers gain protection from claims
Coroners, medical examiners, and physicians gain protection from civil liability and professional discipline for covered death-certificate work. They must act in good faith, without fraud or malice. They must reasonably believe the stated cause of death or fetal death based on the information presented. This protection limits claims and disciplinary actions over conduct meeting those standards.
Disability service pilots can change rules
From July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027, Ohio’s developmental disabilities director can continue or start service pilots. Pilots must advance the state’s disability-service goals but can operate outside some usual state laws and rules. The director must first consult interested groups, including those listed in the law. Pilots cannot violate federal requirements for federally funded programs.
Fatherhood funding and family-service grant rules
Children and Youth can fund fatherhood programs through agreements with government entities and, where federal law allows, private nonprofits. Programs must serve at least one of the four federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families purposes. The Commission on Fatherhood can recommend funding, approval, and implementation steps. Religious organizations receiving agreements, contracts, or grants under section 5101.214 must follow section 104 of the 1996 federal welfare law.
Funding rules for foster care assistance
Ohio's children and youth department administers federal foster-care, kinship-guardianship, and adoption assistance as the single state agency. It must implement the amended state plan only when lawmakers provide enough funding. Counties must cover specified foster-care maintenance costs and report qualifying spending. Agencies receive federal shares of eligible administrative and training costs they incur and report.
Internet phone providers gain hotline immunity
Interconnected internet phone providers gain civil-damages immunity for work connected with developing, maintaining, or operating the 988 hotline. This covers claims involving injury, death, or property loss. The protection does not cover willful or wanton misconduct.
Local behavioral health funding gets priorities
Ohio’s behavioral health director sets how state block grants are divided among local service boards. The method must consider population, poverty, workforce shortages, emerging behavioral health trends, and related fiscal year 2025 awards. The law also sends part of problem gambling and casino addiction funding to local boards using the director’s distribution method. Riveon Mental Health and Recovery receives $500,000 each fiscal year to connect primary care with its services.
Medical foundation closes and redirects money
The Ohio Medical Quality Foundation ends at December 31, 2025, with abolition set for January 1, 2026. It must transfer remaining uncommitted funds to the Medical Quality Assurance Fund where law and contracts allow. It must report nontransferable funds and contracts and give the state treasurer access to wind-down records. The treasurer no longer must assume its contracts or has the prior authority to pay overdue obligations. After notice that the statutory successor foundation exists, the treasurer has 30 days to send uncommitted assurance-fund money to the contracted monitoring organization. That organization has 30 days to forward it; the foundation board's first disbursement is due January 1, 2026, or within 30 days of receipt, whichever is later.
New oversight rules for treatment providers
Ohio must set rules for checking legal compliance by doctors, physician assistants, and advanced practice nurses at community addiction providers. Applicants seeking or renewing service certification must disclose adverse actions from the prior three years. Disclosures cover the applicant, owners or principals, and covered subsidiaries. Certified providers must send adverse-action notices within seven days of receipt; actions by Ohio's behavioral health department are excluded.
Recovery housing complaints get privacy protections
Recovery housing complaints, investigation records, and specified reports held by Behavioral Health or its contractor are confidential. They are not public records and are unavailable in civil discovery. Disclosure remains allowed when required by law or to law enforcement, prosecutors, and regulatory agencies. Criminal trials and administrative hearings must include protections for identifying information.
Some care workers face fewer screenings
Participant-directed providers are exempt from one Aging Department screening rule only after the director completes the required database review. Ambulette drivers employed by organizations licensed under Ohio’s medical transportation law are also exempt from that rule. Separate community-based long-term care database and criminal-check exemptions cover specified home-care applicants and employees, licensed ambulette drivers, Ohio attorneys, and their assistants. These exemptions reduce workers’ screening duties and remove those checks for the covered groups.
State may standardize foster placement rates
Ohio's children and youth department may seek proposals to set statewide rates for placements eligible for foster-care maintenance payments. If it sets rates, it must review and accept reasonable costs for the items covered by the law. Foster homes and kinship caregivers are exempt from these rates.
Stronger oversight of psychiatric hospital licenses
Behavioral Health can deny, refuse to renew, or revoke covered psychiatric hospital licenses for unqualified management or inadequate staffing or equipment. It can also act when no qualified physician, including a psychiatrist, is responsible for care. Qualifying adverse actions involving the hospital, covered principals, or subsidiaries provide grounds during the three years before department notice or awareness. License applications must disclose covered adverse actions from the prior three years, including those involving subsidiaries, owners, or sponsors. License holders must notify the department within seven days after receiving notice of an adverse action.
Stronger oversight of residential care facilities
Behavioral Health can halt admissions or deny, refuse to renew, or revoke residential facility licenses for unqualified management or inadequate staffing or equipment. Qualifying adverse actions involving the facility, owners, operators, managers, or covered subsidiaries also provide grounds. Most actions must fall within three years before department notice or awareness; resident abuse, neglect, or exploitation actions have no stated time limit. Applicants must disclose covered adverse actions from the prior three years. License holders must report another regulator's adverse action within seven days after receiving notice.
Tougher certification rules for behavioral providers
Behavioral Health can deny, refuse to renew, or revoke provider certification for inadequate staff or equipment. Covered adverse actions involving applicants, owners, principals, or subsidiaries also provide grounds within three years before department notice or awareness. In covered addiction-provider proceedings, the department can halt admissions or deny, refuse to renew, or revoke certification even after problems are fixed. When issuing these orders, it cannot offer a correction-plan opportunity. This covers providers offering overnight stays and applications or existing certifications for certifiable services and supports.
Training and supervision for home-care aides
PASSPORT personal care aides must complete 30 hours of acceptable pre-service training and six hours every 12 months. Ohio's aging department cannot require more than these amounts or training beyond federal requirements. Registered nurses may supervise aides. Licensed practical nurses may also supervise under the direction of a chiropractor, dentist, optometrist, physician, physician assistant, podiatrist, or registered nurse.
Ultrasound equipment funding limits eligible providers
Ohio provides $2.5 million each fiscal year to competitively purchase new three-dimensional diagnostic ultrasound machines for eligible Ohio entities. Recipients must meet the Parenting and Pregnancy Program's provider conditions and cannot charge for diagnostic ultrasound services. They cannot promote abortion, perform abortion-related medical procedures, or refer for abortions. Hospitals, federally qualified health centers, and ambulatory surgical facilities cannot receive these machines.
Land records remain accessible with copy fees
The Ohio History Connection keeps specified public-land survey records, including Virginia military district records, open for inspection. It must provide certified copies on demand when requesters pay the required fees. School boards must also receive copies of covered congressional school and ministerial land records allocated to their districts. Those certified copies carry the same legal weight as originals. School districts must pay fees covering preparation costs.
Addiction counselors face credential and conduct rules
People providing or advertising paid substance use disorder counseling must hold a license or certificate named in the law. These include specified chemical dependency counselor licenses and the counselor assistant certificate. The licensing board can add internships and practicums to credential requirements; the law removes the former reference to preceptorships. Conduct codes must treat multiple relationships with current or former clients and consumers as unprofessional conduct.
Aspire moves agencies with employee protections
By July 1, 2026, Aspire administration moves from the Department of Higher Education to the Department of Education and Workforce. Related duties, selected staff resources, records, and materials transfer with it. Transferred employees keep accrued benefits, but the director can change specified positions and classifications outside Chapter 4117 collective-bargaining coverage. Budget officials can transfer appropriations as needed to keep the program running. The provision specifies no change to participant eligibility or benefits.
Autism program provider preference ends
State officials no longer must give primary consideration to the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence when choosing a program administrator. The change covers autism and low-incidence disability programs and services. It names no replacement preference and does not change individual service eligibility.
Career education gets grants with spending limits
In fiscal years 2026 and 2027, career-awareness grants pay lead districts $3 times their planning district's total enrolled average daily membership. Starting in fiscal year 2028, payments require legislative approval, with amounts set by the legislature. Separate career-technical associated services funds are limited to planning, stakeholder engagement, data-based access improvements, resource planning, and program quality. The department can deny payment when districts fail to provide those services or spend the money elsewhere. These payments go to districts, not families.
Career programs gain mentoring, lose deadlines
Career-awareness funds can support mentoring that teaches students about careers and work skills. Programs must serve all students in the career-technical planning district under its filed plan. Lead districts must report spending, and the state can deny payment for unapproved uses. The law removes the March 1 program-decision deadline, March 15 appeal deadline, and May 15 state approval and appeal deadlines. It sets no replacement deadlines.
Charter schools expand sites with readiness checks
Non-online community schools can operate multiple sites across district lines and offer the same grades, without former operator, performance, geographic, or transportation restrictions. Contracts must identify sites and acquisition methods, and buildings must meet health and safety standards. Sponsors must submit assurances five business days before first-year operation or a non-online school's move to a different site. Added sites and online school moves or satellite additions require assurances one day before use. First-year state payments wait for sponsor confirmation of legal compliance, approved financial controls, ready facilities and reviewed plans, active daily management, and accurate projected enrollment.
Charter sponsor ratings use different schools
Sponsor academic ratings exclude schools operating no more than two full school years and schools whose contracts ended before evaluation through termination or nonrenewal. Performance reporting continues for schools covered by the existing statutory exclusion, without affecting sponsor ratings. But dropout recovery school data enters sponsor evaluations for 2014–2015 and every later school year. That inclusion no longer depends on schools primarily serving students enrolled in recovery programs.
Civics funding and teacher training rules
Ohio sets aside up to $500,000 in fiscal year 2026 for experts to develop a model curriculum. It combines English language arts, social studies, and civics, with teaching and assessment support. The Ohio Center for Law-Related Education receives $250,000 each budget year for citizenship education, delinquency prevention, and at-risk youth activities. Its funding also supports efforts to raise money for new programs. Educator preparation programs must align social studies training with new state standards starting the first full academic year after adoption.
Cleveland civics director reports to leadership
The director of Cleveland State’s Center for Civics, Culture, and Society must report directly to the provost or university president. The change sets an internal reporting line and states no financial effect.
College boards get final curriculum authority
State college and university boards have final approval over academic programs, courses, curricula, and degree requirements. Their approval process must give the faculty senate or a similar body a chance to offer advice. Boards must send that process to the higher education chancellor. The first process is due within six months after the section takes effect, with a possible one-month presidential extension. Boards must complete the process again every five years.
Colleges face stronger reporting and oversight
Covered career schools must annually report accreditation, student-record plans, program information, audited finances, management letters, and requested information. State colleges must annually report accreditation, closure record plans, outside program reviews, eliminated programs, and requested information. Both groups must immediately report specified accreditation, investigation, financial, and operational problems. Career-school notices include missed payroll, retirement, vendor, or debt payments and significant budget or projected financial changes. These duties support student protection, but missing or insufficient reports can cost schools their registration or program approval.
District forecasts shorten and recovery targets accelerate
Specified district fiscal oversight decisions now use current budgets and three-year forecasts instead of five-year forecasts. Districts must align budgets and projections with approved financial or recovery plans; commission termination decisions also use three-year forecasts. The education director reviews districts' ability to run required classes and pay bills, excluding districts in fiscal emergency. Reviews use the prior year's instructional days when no calendar is adopted, and fiscal caution guidelines cannot require generally accepted accounting statements. When the auditor certifies an operating deficit during fiscal emergency, levy procedures must target a positive balance by year three, not five.
Education department takes over school bonds
Ohio’s Department of Education and Workforce now requires community school fiscal officers to post a bond before starting work. This responsibility moves from the Auditor of State. The existing legal exception remains, and this provision sets no bond amount.
Financial education broadens but loses venue guarantees
Ohio's financial literacy fund can support Commerce Department programs beyond adult financial education. Programs must be developed or carried out by the commerce director. The department no longer must ensure at least half its programs are presented by or available at public community colleges or state institutions. The law does not require programs to close or move, and it sets no replacement location rule.
Low-rated districts face territory transfer approvals
The state education board must approve qualifying territory transfers to an adjacent school district. The transferring district must have overall ratings below two stars for at least two consecutive school years. Opponents can block this required approval by showing clear and convincing evidence that information used for the transfer is inaccurate. The rule makes approval mandatory for qualifying transfers while limiting opponents' grounds to stop them.
Low-rated recovery schools face closure rules
All dropout recovery schools follow the special closure process, including schools with waivers issued before July 1, 2014. Three consecutive annual 'does not meet standards' designations trigger closure, and no further closure waivers are allowed. Schools opening on or after July 1, 2014, have a two-year closure exemption; older schools' exemption ended after August 31, 2016. Schools failing both student growth and combined graduation measures must request and receive state approval to change sponsors. Their new sponsor must be rated effective or higher, or be the Ohio office of school sponsorship.
New purchase priorities for charter schools
Ohio changes which community schools, also called charter schools, get priority to buy district property. Most must outscore their district on the two latest performance indexes and earn at least four stars for progress. Schools serving only kindergarten through grade three qualify with at least four stars for early literacy. Schools not yet open or operating less than one school year must copy a qualifying model and meet operator- or sponsor-rating requirements.
Ohio sets degree goals and approval standards
By December 31, 2025, Ohio's higher education chancellor must set degree and credential attainment levels tied to state performance targets. The chancellor must work with state education and workforce officials. The chancellor must also set approval criteria for accelerated 90-hour degree programs under the state's accelerated pathways program. These criteria support a shorter degree pathway while placing programs under state approval standards. The provisions do not set student eligibility, tuition, or a required number of approved programs.
Private school accounts require parent approval
Nonchartered private schools in the education savings account program must keep spending records and get parent approval for spending or transfers. They must have an Ohio site where students regularly meet teachers and report specified changes within 15 days. The Treasurer can remove schools that fail to comply. But the Treasurer cannot regulate their curriculum, teaching methods, or educational programs, or add requirements beyond the law.
Recovery schools face enrollment and rating rules
Dropout recovery community schools enroll only students ages 14 through 21 who meet an entry condition. Students must be at least one grade behind their age group or face a crisis preventing continued traditional schooling. Annual report cards and ratings cover graduation through eight years, test results, measurable goals, and student growth. Achievement-gap progress is reported but excluded from ratings. Schools running drug recovery programs with courts receive this classification and must follow its enrollment limits.
Recovery schools gain flexibility but division limits
Online dropout recovery schools are exempt from the specified attendance-policy requirements, regardless of whether most students are enrolled in recovery programs. Ohio must impose recovery school requirements through formal rules, not general operating guidelines. The recovery advisory council must review proposed rules, and covered guidance in effect on October 3, 2023, is void afterward. But neither a school divided through the statutory school-division process nor a resulting school can be a dropout recovery school.
School building spending faces tighter rules
District building, repair, improvement, and demolition projects above the state's bidding threshold must follow state bidding procedures. Exceptions remain for urgent needs and protection of school property. Districts can replace general fund money for required capital and maintenance deposits only with revenue sources listed in law. Listed proceeds must be available or set aside for the stated facility purposes; the state auditor cannot approve additional sources.
School levy-loss aid follows transition formulas
Ohio's school levy-loss transition aid uses district resources, current-expense allocations, and capacity groups to calculate payments. FY 2016 thresholds ranged from 1% to 2%; FY 2017 thresholds ranged from 2% to 4%. Joint vocational districts used 2% and 4%, respectively; FY 2016 also included 50% of non-current-expense allocations. Beginning in FY 2018, aid equals the positive difference between prior-year aid and one-sixteenth of 1% of average taxable value. That average uses tax years 2014–16; no payment is made without a positive difference, and money goes to districts, not households.
Schools gain activity bus purchasing options
School boards can buy multifunction school activity buses using school-bus purchasing and state-subsidy rules. Competitive bidding applies, and subsidies use the lowest price available through allowed purchasing methods. Boards can request a bid bond for a specific purchase; otherwise, bid bonds are not required. Bids must promise safety compliance before delivery. Owners and drivers of activity buses also come under the relevant pupil-transportation requirements.
Schools get limited activity bus options
School districts, chartered nonpublic schools, and community schools can own, operate, or contract for multifunction school activity buses. These buses can carry students between school and school functions or activities, but not homes or designated bus stops. They are exempt from school-bus marking and signal-lamp rules. They also fall outside the mass-transit definition of a bus.
State aid formulas change for schools
For fiscal years 2025–2027, statewide district and career-technical base-cost measures stay at fiscal year 2024 amounts. For fiscal years 2026–2027, local capacity weights property value at 60% and two income measures at 20% each. District median income also affects local capacity, and state aid covers at least 10% of base cost. Temporary operating aid equals the district funding base minus its regular formula payment, with a floor of zero. That calculation no longer subtracts supplemental targeted assistance.
Struggling colleges face broader takeover reviews
Annual reviews of colleges under fiscal watch now cover signs that the school may close. Warning signs include pausing enrollment, withdrawing accreditation, or taking steps to end teaching or dissolve. An appointed conservator takes management control and suspends the board's and chief executive's authority.
Troubled colleges face stronger financial oversight
The higher education chancellor must set financial-warning rules with the state budget office. State colleges under fiscal caution must provide recovery plans, board-approved balanced three-year forecasts, and regular reports. They must also consult the state auditor about accounting and reporting problems. Failure to comply or take decisive action can trigger limits on grants, programs, enrollment, fees, contracts, and building projects. Failure to answer information requests satisfactorily can lead to fiscal watch.
Troubled colleges get replacement governing authorities
Within 30 days after a college conservator is appointed, the governor must appoint a five-member authority with Senate approval. Members must include the required academic and financial expertise. Once all members are appointed and its executive director starts, the authority takes over the board's and conservator's powers and property. The director runs daily operations and needs the chair's approval to hire additional staff; after a final review, the authority can restore the college leader's suspended duties or pay, or end employment under the contract. The authority and director receive civil-liability protection and indemnification for good-faith actions within their legal duties.
Workers' compensation agencies fund legal operations
The Bureau of Workers' Compensation and Industrial Commission must make quarterly payments to the Workers' Compensation Fund for agency legal services. The bureau must also transfer money to support the Workers' Compensation Fraud Unit. The Attorney General, bureau, and commission must agree on payment amounts. These provisions state no amounts and create no direct payment to injured workers.
Wright State center gains independent control
A seven-member academic council runs a national director search and sends finalists to Wright State's president. Trustees appoint council members with Senate consent; initial members need confirmation before serving, and at most three can be university employees. The president selects and appoints the director, subject to trustee approval. The director exclusively controls center hiring, but trustees must approve staff terminations. The center controls its curriculum and can independently offer courses, programs, and degrees outside university curriculum-approval policies.
Local levy ballots change tax disclosures
Specified township police, park, and hospital levy disclosures use county market values when showing rates per $100,000. This changes the presentation, not the tax owed. When a new park levy cancels an existing levy, ballots no longer need to show the old levy’s millage, effective rate, or remaining years. Those ballots also lose the labels “replacement levy” and “replacement and additional levy.”
Merged townships need votes for levy renewals
After a township merger, voters must approve renewal of an expired property-tax levy across the new township. The law no longer authorizes replacement of that expired levy. It does not set a new tax rate or guarantee that voters approve renewal.
Agency funds cover shared state costs
Ohio makes available fund receipts usable for statewide indirect costs when an agency's appropriation is too small. The budget director must determine that the agency lacks enough appropriated money for those costs. This covers shared state expenses but draws on the relevant fund's available receipts. The law specifies no maximum amount beyond available receipts and the amount needed.
Backup pork promotion brings industry charges
Ohio establishes a pork promotion program that cannot operate while the national pork checkoff program operates. After the national program ends, committee nominations and elections must occur within 120 days; bylaws are due within one year of Ohio program creation. Ohio's assessment is capped at the lower of 0.25% of market value or the committee's initial rate. The committee can raise its rate by at most 0.1 percentage point yearly and can allow refunds. Ohio cannot collect assessments while the national program collects them.
Cleanup grants expand costs, tighten applications
Brownfield cleanup support can cover demolition and infrastructure costs tied to cleanup. Lead entities lose the express route to submit later amended applications for county-reserved funds, and the director loses express approval authority. Grants from money not reserved for counties receive case-by-case review of economic value to the county, nearby counties, and Ohio. Awards must reach different regions of the state. For new projects, these award changes apply when both application and funding award occur on or after the amendment's effective date.
Counties gain more sports funding options
Eligible counties can agree to levy additional listed taxes and use revenue for sports-facility costs or debt through cooperative agreements. This authority requires a tax listed in section 307.673 to have been levied in the county on July 19, 1995. New community authorities can qualify for financing agreements; qualifying nonprofits must be organized in Ohio to operate or build and operate a county sports facility. The host municipality is where the facility sits; the former March 20, 1990, major-league franchise requirement ends. For taxes listed in section 307.696(H), the half-of-project-cost funding limit and 20-year pledge limit no longer apply.
Dedicated state funds lose earnings protections
The law removes requirements in these sections to credit investment earnings to H2Ohio and the All Ohio Future Fund. It does not name a replacement destination for those earnings. By July 15, 2025, earnings from three other funds must go to the general fund instead. Those funds cover Capitol Square improvements, health care and Medicaid support and recoveries, and incumbent-worker job training. The general fund gains that revenue while those three funds lose it.
Distressed local governments face receivership rules
Cities, counties, and townships can be referred for receivership after 10 continuous years of fiscal emergency. Referral also covers at least two emergencies within 10 years totaling at least five years. A financial supervisor must also find a specified financial, budget, debt, or governance failure. A receiver may recommend bankruptcy and initiate it after 60 days if federal criteria are met and no reasonable alternative ends the emergency within three years. An alternative plan must promptly ease the emergency and address recommended debts within seven years; taxes requiring voter approval still need it.
Funding for Statehouse parking and events
Beginning July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward, the General Revenue Fund provides $500,000 each fiscal year for legislative parking. The Underground Parking Garage Fund receives it to reimburse the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board. Beginning on the same schedule, the parking fund transfers $1 million to the Statehouse Gift Shop/Events Fund. That money pays gift shop and event staff and operating costs, while reducing the parking fund's cash. These are state fund transfers, not household payments.
Library deposits follow the yearly budget
Ohio sends the public library fund one-twelfth of its yearly appropriation each month from the General Revenue Fund. This replaces deposits equal to 1.7% of the previous month's General Revenue Fund tax receipts. Library deposits now depend on the approved yearly budget, not that monthly tax formula. These provisions do not state the yearly appropriation.
Liquor fees shift toward general spending
Fees from H permits for locations outside Ohio go into the state liquor regulatory fund. Once each fiscal year, 50% of those fees moves to the general revenue fund. The law also removes the rule crediting the liquor regulatory fund's investment earnings to that fund. It does not identify a replacement destination for those earnings.
Local budgets count reserves differently
Local budget calculations no longer expressly exclude specified budget-stabilization reserves, township reserves, and protected trust fund principal. This includes additions to principal from sources other than reinvested earnings. Budget certifications may reflect these balances, subject to section 5705.29(F); donor requirements to keep trust principal intact still define these funds. Separately, Local Government Fund need calculations exclude county, township, and city reserves under sections 5705.13 or 5705.132. That allocation exclusion is no longer subject to section 5705.29(F).
Local governments repay more aid costs
Local governments receiving aid under Ohio's intrastate mutual aid compact must reimburse more of the responding government's costs. The law removes exclusions for the first eight hours and certain personnel benefit expenses. Responding governments can recover those costs, while receiving governments face larger obligations. Insurance proceeds for equipment loss or damage remain relevant to prevent duplicate payment.
Local project funds shift toward general spending
Beginning July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward, Ohio must move the Local Government Innovation Fund balance to the general fund. Ohio may also move the School Bus Purchase Fund balance, but only after all existing commitments are fully discharged. Each source fund is abolished after its transfer and any applicable repeal takes effect. These transfers add money for general spending while ending the source funds; balances and service effects are unspecified.
Municipal finance officers face training audits
Municipal fiscal-officer training can cover state auditor bulletins, other published information, and subjects the auditor considers appropriate. Every added subject does not have to be taught. Officers covered by the education requirements must keep records of completed courses, and the state auditor must audit compliance. The auditor no longer must verify completion by course category or issue completion certificates or failure notices.
Nuclear utilities pay capped safety assessments
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, nuclear utilities face fund-specific assessments for radiological safety and emergency response. The respective yearly caps are $136,000/$142,000 for Utility Radiological Safety and $1.551682 million/$1.598 million for Radiation Emergency Response. Caps are $274,997/$280,510 for ER Radiological Safety and $1.42 million/$1.467 million for the Emergency Response Plan Fund. An agency and utility may agree by contract to a higher assessment.
Ohio funds and redirects local projects
The law allocates $46 million to Hamilton County Convention Center District Development and $27.5 million to the Cincinnati Open Tennis Tournament. It also provides $4,000 for St. Mary School Playground Enhancements. It redirects $750,000 from an administrative building to the Lorain County Justice Center. Another $185,000 goes to the Village of Poland instead of the Sheridan Road Multi-Use Trail. The law provides $347,000 for Marion Harding Performing Arts Center and adds $153,000 for Magnetic Springs Community Park.
Ohio redirects money to priority projects
Ohio must move $17.5 million from eleven specified funds to the Priority Projects Fund in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Transfers are due July 1 of each fiscal year, or as soon as possible afterward. Priority projects gain funding while the eleven source funds give up money. This provision does not identify projects or direct household payments.
Ohio revises mining safety fund deposits
Ohio changes which mining-related collections must go into the mining regulation and safety fund. Some required deposits are removed, and the chief’s fee-deposit duties cover a narrower set of legal provisions. The change does not set a household payment or specify the fund’s revenue change.
Ohio shifts animal protection funding
Ohio uses the Animal and Consumer Protection Fund to pay livestock care board staff and members’ necessary work expenses. State employee expense rules still apply. Wildlife and restricted-snake permit fees now go to that fund. So do specified capture, destruction, quarantine, transfer, and dangerous-animal enforcement receipts. These changes move state money without setting new fees or pay amounts.
Ohio shifts money into general spending
Through June 30, 2027, Ohio may move needed cash from school-district and local-government tax replacement funds into its General Revenue Fund. No dollar ceiling is stated for those transfers. Each fiscal year, Ohio must also transfer $2.5 million from Information Technology Development and $5 million from Human Services Projects. Another $4 million comes from the ODJFS Audit Settlements and Contingency Fund, bringing required yearly transfers to $11.5 million. Those annual transfers occur July 1, or as soon as possible afterward, during the 2025–27 budget period.
Public bidders face changed notice rules
Covered agencies must give apparent low bidders written reasons when they are found not responsive and responsible. Notice generally goes to the bidder's recorded online contact, or by certified mail when none exists. For specified state awards, the Department of Administrative Services may instead use regular mail or electronic notice. Construction-manager proposal notices must run at least 14 calendar days before proposals are due, down from 30 days. Electronic advertising is required; local news advertising is optional.
Public buyers face revised nonprofit exceptions
Regional transit authorities can use a purchasing exception for services or supplies available from qualified nonprofits under section 125.601. City public-service departments' nonprofit bidding exception now uses that same section. For hospital trustee contracts over $50,000, that section also governs the nonprofit exception to the lowest-and-best-bid rule. Counties lose the bidding exception tied to sections 4115.31–4115.35, though other exceptions remain. Villages lose that exception too, but retain it for required nonprofit purchases under sections 125.60–125.6012.
Public construction bidders get new procedures
Covered construction notices must appear online at least 14 days before bidding opens, up from eight; plans must be online too. Electronic bids can use electronic bid guarantees alongside existing options. Managers and design-build firms allowed to perform work themselves must submit sealed bids before competing bids are accepted and opened. That timing rule excludes guaranteed maximum price proposals due at selection. For design-build projects under $4 million, authorities can require a statement with pricing, must offer pre-proposal meetings, and review prices only after qualification-based ranking and selection.
Public construction gains options and requirements
For construction manager-at-risk projects below $4 million, public authorities can request pricing and qualifications proposals together. Authorities using this option must hold a pre-proposal meeting and rank managers by qualifications before reviewing selected managers' prices. Public authorities can also require architects or engineers to use building information models for covered project work. Required modeling systems must follow a nationally recognized standard.
Public contractors get revised payment protections
Minimum partial labor payments on unit-price or lump-sum public improvement contracts rise from 92% to 96% of approved estimates. The separate 100% payment rule for labor after a project reaches 50% completion ends. Subcontractors cannot receive a lower payment rate than the primary contractor gets. Retained money and interest for a major portion are due within 30 days after substantial completion and occupancy, use, or acceptance. Only money reasonably needed for final completion can remain withheld; the balance and interest are due within 30 days after final completion.
Public projects drop affirmative action requirements
Covered construction bidders no longer need an affirmative-action compliance certificate issued within 180 days before bidding opens. Public authorities cannot reject covered construction-management or design-build subcontract bidders for failing affirmative-action or diversity programs, subject to section 307.921. Minority-business and EDGE set-aside programs remain unchanged. Ohio's development agency also no longer must limit capital funding to projects with affirmative-action employment programs for disadvantaged people.
Public service contracts lose assurance requirement
Covered public financial, data-processing, and computer-service contracts no longer require both parties to furnish assurances satisfactory to the State Auditor. This removes that requirement for the public official and the financial institution or service provider. Other contract conditions remain in effect.
Publicly backed sports teams face relocation limits
Publicly assisted teams playing most home games at tax-supported Ohio facilities face limits on moving most games out of state. Owners must reach a local agreement or give six months' written notice and offer the locality or area residents a purchase opportunity. The covered facility-agreement expiration rule permits relocation only within Ohio. A separate rule bars grant-supported franchises from moving most games outside their project district until district state-tax gains cover the grant, including escrow or reserve draws. That restriction ends earlier if 30 years pass after the first regular-season home game at the facility.
State changes local levy-loss funding source
Ohio pays specified local-government and public-library levy-loss payments from general revenue instead of the tangible property tax replacement fund. This covers payments under divisions (C), (D), and (H), plus division (E) payments for qualifying municipalities. The stated county distribution process and payment schedule remain for divisions (C), (D), and (H).
State energy leases get payment deadlines
State agencies must fully sign oil or gas leases within 30 days after selection of the highest and best bidder. Lessees can pay advance delay rentals or bonuses within 60 calendar days after receiving the agency-signed lease. The standard lease form must include a shut-in royalty term, but the law states no royalty amount. Separate natural resources, wildlife, and transportation funds receive royalties from leased mineral rights on their state lands, plus investment earnings. When an entitled agency requests its share, the budget director must transfer it within 30 days after deposit.
State expense transfers face spending limits
The budget director may move General Revenue Fund money to cover certified, federally disallowed indirect costs when no other funding exists. That support cannot exceed money transferred into the General Revenue Fund under the indirect-cost law. Agencies receiving support must seek another funding source in their next budget request. Transfers correcting expenses charged to the wrong fund cannot exceed certified costs. Transfers from the General Revenue Fund to the OAKS Support Organization Fund are capped at $1.25 million each fiscal year through June 30, 2027.
State retains balances and redirects interest
Through June 30, 2027, the budget director may move eligible state funds’ interest earnings into the General Revenue Fund. Interest protected by Ohio’s Constitution, federal tax law, or the federal Cash Management Improvement Act is excluded. General Revenue Fund cash balances from June 30, 2025, and June 30, 2026, must stay in that fund. The exception in Revised Code section 5163.04 still applies.
State special projects receive contingency funds
Beginning July 1, 2025, or as soon as possible afterward, the state must transfer up to $500,000. The State Special Projects Fund receives the money from the Controlling Board Emergency Purposes/Contingencies Fund. This adds project funding while reducing the source fund's cash. It is not a household payment.
Vehicle revenue priorities and sticker flexibility
Public Safety can prioritize available registration revenue for Fund 5TM0's cash needs after considering other available cash. Deposits generally follow near-equal monthly amounts and a plan submitted before July 1 each year; budget officials must approve revisions. The registrar can adopt rules allowing annual registration stickers to be produced anywhere. For applications received on or after January 1, 2026, new Highway Safety fee-increase revenue must exclusively support the State Highway Patrol. These provisions do not set a fee increase or change registration eligibility.
Well filing fees fund water management
The Division of Water Resources must deposit forwarded well-log filing fees into the Water Management Fund. This changes where existing fees go. It does not change the fee amount or establish a direct household benefit.
Dealer rules cover more trailer purchases
Ohio’s motor-vehicle dealer laws cover fifth wheel, park, travel, and tent-type fold-out camping trailers, plus semitrailers. Buyers and sellers of these trailers are covered by those dealer rules. Other trailer types remain outside this definition.
Out-of-state drug distributors gain paid licenses
Ohio establishes a nonresident terminal distributor license for businesses operating outside the state. It authorizes possession, custody, control, and distribution of category II dangerous drugs and category III controlled substances. The license costs $500, with another $500 charge for each renewal.
Funding supports rail and airport projects
The law directs $6 million in FY 2026 from the highway and transportation safety fund to rail infrastructure projects. This use requires a General Assembly appropriation and proportionally reduces transportation district account amounts based on their fund-balance shares. Ohio also sets aside $5 million each year of the biennium to match federal Airport Infrastructure Grants for eligible airports. Matching funds returned because projects cost less than expected must be reallocated to other eligible projects.
Ohio divides emergency call fee revenue
Ohio divides remitted wireless and next generation 9-1-1 fees among four funds. Government assistance gets 81⅓%, administration gets ⅔%, the program fund gets 1⅓%, and next generation services get 16⅔%. This allocation does not change the fee households pay.
Banks face revised public deposit safeguards
Banks and savings institutions holding Ohio public deposits must have an Ohio banking office and meet authorization and deposit-acceptance requirements. Public deposits remain capped at 30% of an institution's total assets. Institutions must secure uninsured public deposits with required collateral, subject to the section 135.145 exception; the section 135.144 exception is removed. For specified interim state certificates of deposit, savings accounts, and deposit accounts, the Treasurer can reduce collateral requirements by up to 10%. The Treasurer must adopt rules for that reduction.
Behavioral health authority grows, spending tightens
Ohio's Department of Behavioral Health gains broader authority to carry out specified state laws, including adopting rules. The law ends annual transfers of unused, uncommitted general revenue appropriations from the prior year into its trust fund. Trust fund spending now requires approval from the General Assembly or Controlling Board. The fund is no longer designated specifically for the department's duties under the chapter.
Child care payments and provider rules change
Beginning July 5, 2026, publicly funded child care payments are based on children’s enrollment rather than attendance. Ohio also removes the 24-month term and expiration-date requirement for in-home aide certificates used for publicly funded child care. This does not establish that all other certification or renewal rules end. Providers must record each eligible enrolled child’s enrollment hours and care-service hours. They must provide those records when requested by county job and family services officials or the Department of Children and Youth.
Counties get Medicaid work-case processing funds
When specified state Medicaid and Job and Family Services funds are transferred, added money goes to county work-requirement case processing. It covers only the Medicaid expansion group under the work-requirement waiver required by state law. Counties cannot use it for existing or ongoing operating expenses. They must meet the Medicaid Director's distribution criteria and submit allowable expenses. This funding provision does not itself establish new household work rules.
County grants gain backdating and recovery
State family-services directors can backdate county grant agreements to July 1 in odd-numbered years. Agreements must be signed after July 1 and before July's last day. County commissioners must request backdating and show good cause accepted by the director. State agencies can also refer claims to the attorney general to recover money owed by responsible county grantees or entities. Recovery applies to amounts owed under the specified family-services laws, not new household debts.
Drug businesses gain licenses with checks
Eligible out-of-state drug businesses can obtain Ohio licenses to possess and distribute category II and III drugs. They must pay $2,000 to apply and $2,000 to renew. Applicants need a comparable home-state license or verified compliance with Ohio requirements. Dangerous-drug applicants must obtain criminal checks for the proposed responsible person and specified owners or officers, with results sent directly to the Pharmacy Board. Applicants with covered drug-law violations, felonies, or relevant suspended or revoked licenses must show safeguards against repeat violations.
Drug database can receive marijuana funds
The state can transfer up to $2.7455 million each budget year from the Medical Marijuana Control Program Fund. The Drug Database Fund receives that money, reducing cash in the source fund. The State Board of Pharmacy's executive director must request the transfer. This authority does not directly change household costs, benefits, or eligibility.
Energy refunds go to different fund
Refunds of ineligible energy credits or payments now go to the Electric Partnership Plan Fund instead of the Universal Service Fund. This changes where recovered money goes, not household eligibility or repayment duties.
Hospital payments bring new participation duties
The law creates a Hospital Additional Payment Program for inpatient and outpatient services, and requires Ohio Medicaid to seek federal approval. Extra hospital franchise-fee deposits fund the state share; federal appropriation item 651623 supplies the federal share. Participants must work with Ohio Medicaid on approved quality improvements. Hospitals in state-directed payment programs must sign required contracts, report commercial rates and quality measures, and help with evaluations. For federally approved payment plans covering rating periods starting January 1, 2027, or later, contracts are due by October 1 before the biennium's first fiscal year.
Hospitals get revised Medicaid dispute rules
Hospitals have 14 days after a preliminary assessment decision to submit review materials by mail, email, or in person. Final assessment appeals go to Franklin County's common pleas court under Chapter 2505, with all documents the department considered. For department audits under federal rule 42 C.F.R. 455.304, payment disputes must use a Chapter 2721 court action in Franklin County. Hospitals must pay undisputed recovery amounts while those cases are pending. The law also removes guaranteed investment earnings for the hospital assessment fund, which still pays Medicaid program and administrative costs.
Local hospital assessments fund Medicaid payments
Counties or multi-county districts may charge annual hospital assessments to fund the state share of local hospital Medicaid payments. Assessments must apply uniformly to nonpublic hospitals; public hospitals may also be charged. Assessments must follow federal rules and may include late-payment penalties. Assessment-funded administration is capped at $150,000 annually. Implementation must support state quality goals, including mental health, substance abuse prevention, and maternal health.
Medicaid cost growth uses inflation limits
Ohio’s two-year Medicaid cost-growth limit covers average monthly costs per member across all eligibility groups. It uses the lower of the specified three-year medical inflation measure and projected medical inflation. The law directs how the projected rate is determined. It does not set a new dollar limit or directly change an individual’s benefits.
More pharmacy licensees face board discipline
The Pharmacy Board's disciplinary authority extends to every person licensed under the covered licensing section. For listed violations, the board can suspend, restrict, or revoke licenses, or deny applications and renewals. It can also issue reprimands, impose probation, or charge monetary penalties.
Nursing homes transition Medicaid care payments
Beginning July 1, 2025, Ohio phases nursing-home direct-care rates into calculations based on residents' care needs. The law specifies one-third of the difference from January 1, 2025 rates for January through December 2026, and two-thirds in fiscal 2027. Beginning January 1, 2026, peer-group costs are multiplied by the December 31, 2025 average care-needs score divided by the January 2026 semiannual average. That adjustment lasts until the next rebasing takes effect. The transition is intended to be budget neutral and not increase nursing-home payment rates during fiscal 2026–27; it guarantees no change in residents' services or bills.
Ohio prioritizes required family assistance spending
Ohio must count eligible nonfederal spending by Ohio Association of Food Banks members toward its required TANF state spending. The Public Assistance Activities appropriation must first meet that state spending requirement. Other public assistance uses are allowed only once Ohio is assured the requirement will be met. The law sets no household payment or eligibility change.
One manager handles Medicaid pharmacy claims
When Ohio includes prescription drugs in its care management system, Medicaid must select one pharmacy benefit manager through procurement. That manager handles all pharmacy claims for managed care organizations in the system. This provides common claims administration but requires plans to use the state-selected manager. The provision sets no drug prices or changes to recipient cost-sharing.
Pharmacy payment protections and prescription refusals
The payment floor covers drugs dispensed starting on the 91st day after the amendment's effective date. Pharmacy benefit managers must pay Ohio pharmacies at least their affiliated-pharmacy payment for the same drug or the pharmacy's actual purchase cost. Pharmacies may refuse to provide a drug when payment falls below that floor. Both protections exclude conflicting older contracts until changed or renewed, and exclude the state-selected pharmacy benefit manager.
Possible certification fees for care providers
The Director of Aging can establish provider certification fees by rule; the law sets no fee amount. Collected fees must support community-based long-term care, certification administration, and the Ohio long-term care consumer guide.
Public clinics get family-planning funding priority
For each distribution period, Ohio gives public providers first priority for family-planning funds from a particular source. Nonpublic providers receive money only after eligible public providers are funded and money remains. Their order is community health centers or community action agencies, comprehensive primary-care providers, then family-planning-only providers. The priority does not apply to Medicaid payments.
Rural hospital payments depend on taxes
The law creates a fund and allows directed payments to eligible rural and critical access hospitals and related health systems. Participating hospitals must enroll in Medicaid, and the program requires federal approval. Payments cannot exceed the federally approved average commercial rate and rely solely on hospital-tax revenue and its federal share. The program cannot start or continue without sufficient funding or while federal officials find the tax impermissible. If Ohio learns the tax is impermissible, it must promptly refund hospitals' remaining assessments in the fund, plus investment earnings.
Utilities fund low-income help and education
The utilities commission assigns electric distribution utilities shares of low-income assistance funding based on annual distribution service revenue. Each share separately identifies consumer-education funding, capped at $15 million statewide each year. Utilities must send education allocations and their shares of program administration costs to Job and Family Services each June 30. The money goes into the electric partnership plan fund.
Housing grants cover counseling, limit commercial costs
Welcome Home Ohio improvement grants can cover up to $2,000 per grant for qualifying financial-literacy counseling. In mixed-use buildings, grants generally cannot pay for nonresidential portions. Exceptions cover common areas used by residents and improvements serving both residential and nonresidential portions.
Housing loans waive some local rules
Local governments receiving residential development loans must waive building and road standards stricter than state law for the funded project. They must also waive local minimum dwelling-size, off-street parking, and garage existence, size, or placement rules. Required traffic reviews or studies must finish within 45 days after the loan is received. Borrowers must send quarterly progress reports to the Director of Development and repay principal and interest under loan terms.
Unclaimed funds shift toward housing development
The state first allocates enough specified unclaimed funds to meet minority business bonding fund requirements. It then directs the remaining specified allocation to the housing development fund. The prior split—half to the mortgage insurance fund and the rest to housing development—ends. The law does not state how much money is redirected.
Uniform home repair rules require certification
In areas with certified building departments, Ohio's residential code covers new homes and repairs or changes to existing homes. Local rules cannot differ unless the state code leaves a subject uncovered or state law allows the local rule. Departments and staff need added certification to enforce repair and alteration rules. Local governments that set these fees and choose enforcement must send 1% of collected fees to the state building board. This does not establish a 1% increase in owners' fees.
Agricultural research funding follows performance
The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center must award program money through competition based on proven performance. It must assess and reward academic units, faculty, and faculty-led programs using the College’s performance standards. This governs research funding, not payments to households.
Campus debt affects instruction funding
Ohio reduces campus capital allocations by estimated debt payments for qualifying projects. Campuses whose allocations exceed those payments receive the balance for capital-related uses. When covered debt payments exceed the allocation, the difference comes from the campus’s State Share of Instruction funding. Those deductions move to the Capital Component appropriation each fiscal year. The provisions do not set a direct household charge.
Chardon stadium funds shift to academies
Ohio cannot provide the designated grant funds for the Chardon Memorial Stadium restroom and concession project. Chardon High School Athletic Boosters must return previously released money still unspent on the section's effective date. Returned money goes 40% to South Ridge Christian Academy for building and roof renovations. The remaining 60% goes to Agricultural Career Education Academy for DOPR career-technical program and infrastructure projects.
College aid split covers closure costs
Remaining State Share of Instruction money is split 76.8% to state university campuses and 23.2% to community and technical colleges. In fiscal year 2026, up to $2.9 million of Eastern Gateway’s calculated amount can cover final close-out costs. Up to $2.5 million can repay the Controlling Board Emergency Purposes/Contingencies Fund. Any remaining Eastern Gateway amount in each fiscal year stays in the General Revenue Fund rather than reaching the college.
College consortium must favor Ohio products
The consortium appointed by Ohio’s higher education chancellor must follow state Buy Ohio preference rules. This applies when it uses appropriated money to buy products containing semiconductors.
College funding depends on complete reporting
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, Ohio divides instruction funding using reported enrollment, course completions, degrees, and student achievement. Instructional costs and program weights also affect allocations. Nonresident undergraduates do not count toward subsidy enrollment unless qualifying reciprocity agreements or employer contracts give them in-state fees. Colleges missing a full academic year of data in any year of the three-year reporting period receive no allocation. The Chancellor can allow full or partial funding for exceptional circumstances.
College pathways receive reserved university funding
Ohio reserves 5% of university instruction funding each fiscal year for College Credit Plus pathways and accelerated 90-hour degrees. Campus shares use enrollment averaged over the most recent practicable completed three-year period. Ohio-resident enrollment counts fully. Eligible out-of-state students who stay in Ohio at least one year after graduation count at 50% weight, using campus residency-rate averages.
Colleges face stronger reporting and oversight
Authorized schools and colleges must immediately report specified accreditation, government oversight, financial, and budget problems to Ohio's higher education chancellor. Reports include missed retirement, payroll, vendor, or debt payments, significant adverse budget revisions, and significant negative budget-to-actual gaps. These notices give the state earlier warning of school problems. Missing or insufficient required annual information can lead the chancellor to suspend, withdraw, or revoke school or program authorization.
Colleges get loans to reduce space
A new revolving loan fund helps Ohio state colleges voluntarily reduce their physical space. The Chancellor runs competitive awards with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, giving priority consideration to colleges with declining enrollment. Applicants must submit facility, enrollment, operating-cost, and capital-investment information and certify loan-related financial information each year. Trustees must approve demolition before loans pay for it. The budget director can send net demolition proceeds back to the fund.
Community college funding rewards student progress
Ohio reserves 50% of instruction funding for covered community and technical colleges for successfully completed, state-reported courses. Campus shares use the three-year period ending in the prior year, instructional costs, and science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine weights. Completions receive 15% extra weight when students meet financial-status, minority-status, age, or academic under-preparation access factors. Another 25% supports milestones earned by subsidy-eligible students: completing college-level math or English within their first 30 completed coursework hours. Completing 12, 24, or 36 semester hours of college-level coursework also earns milestone funding.
Community schools gain reporting flexibility, safeguards
Schools covered by Section 16 of H.B. 583, or sharing their management company, gain an enrollment reporting option. For 2022–2023 through 2025–2026, it uses the lower of the enrollment-period maximum or the attendance-and-credit calculation. That calculation counts no more than five credits, and the education department must require repayment of any overpayment found. Separately, schools covered by Section 5 of H.B. 554 may report attendance using their governing authority’s approved policy. That policy also applies to minimum school-year requirements.
Doctoral funding follows degrees and research
Ohio reserves up to 11.78% of university instruction funding each fiscal year for doctoral programs. It allocates 25% by eligible completed-course funding, 50% by degrees weighted for discipline costs, and 25% by research grants. Federal Health and Human Services grant awards count at only 50% in the research calculation. Course and degree measures use the most recent practicable completed three-year period. Research measures use published National Science Foundation data.
Franchise employer status gets specific limits
The law removes a blanket exclusion from treating franchisors as employers, but keeps a specific unemployment-law limit. A franchise relationship alone does not make a franchisor responsible under Ohio unemployment law. That exclusion does not apply if the franchisor agrees in writing to assume the role. It also does not apply if a court finds control beyond what is customary to protect the franchise brand.
Medical programs receive reserved university funding
Ohio reserves 6.41% of university instruction funding each fiscal year for Medical II enrollment. Repeating students count for no more than 5% of current-year enrollment in that program's core subsidy calculation. Another 1.69% is reserved for Medical I enrollment. Of that share, 12.34% supports public podiatry colleges and 87.66% supports public dentistry and veterinary medicine colleges. Both allocations follow each institution's share of statewide three-year average full-time-equivalent enrollment.
Medical training gets funding and limits
Medical schools receive Family Practice and Primary Care Residencies funding each fiscal year. Each school’s share follows its residents placed in the field and graduates practicing in that field. Case Western Reserve University receives medical education support through agreements with the Chancellor. Its state support per full-time medical student cannot exceed support per full-time medical student at state universities. No funding totals or per-student dollar amounts are stated.
Public colleges must review required courses
Ohio state college boards must formally review general education courses by December 31, 2026, and evaluate them by March 31, 2027. They must consider civics, civil discourse, artificial intelligence, science and technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, and workforce readiness. By June 30, 2027, boards must adopt and submit a resolution summarizing resulting changes. Course changes remain subject to the Chancellor's program approval process. The law requires the review, not any particular course change.
Public colleges share funding adjustment rules
The Chancellor can recommend exceptional adjustments to college instructional payments and other subsidies, with Controlling Board approval. State Share of Instruction cuts made before final yearly allocations follow the standard formula. Later cuts are shared in proportion to each campus’s approved final allocation. The provisions do not state a cut or adjustment amount.
School funding calculations follow enrollment changes
Ohio adjusts transitional aid when school districts merge or transfer territory. Mergers combine specified amounts; transfers to existing districts divide amounts using transferred pupils’ share of formula enrollment. Separate rules cover newly created districts and debt-related reimbursements. In fiscal years 2026 and 2027, certain school-cost calculations use combined enrollment from districts reporting the required data. Those costs include academic activities, supplies and content, athletics, and building operations; building calculations use reporting city, local, and exempted village districts.
School funding counts separate savings-account students
Ohio changes district funding counts and separately counts students with qualifying education savings accounts at nonchartered private schools. These students appear on the state list but are excluded from specified district enrollment and program counts. Those exclusions cover regular, special education, career-technical, and English-learner counts, including English-learner categories one and two. The law also adds enrollment exclusions to economically disadvantaged counts and bars categorical exclusions for reasons other than family income. These rules change school funding records, not family payment amounts.
School transportation aid uses revised calculations
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, transitional transportation aid starts with a specified fiscal year 2020 amount. Ohio subtracts the district’s specified 2019 payment and its current-year transportation payment; negative results become zero. Bus-rider efficiency targets use the previous fiscal year’s data. The efficiency adjustment equals 15% of the transportation base payment at an index of 1.5 or higher. It phases in from 1.0 to below 1.5 and is zero below 1.0.
Schools face tighter budget certification rules
School boards must certify required budget information by July 15; county budget commissions must review it by August 15. Boards must report amounts designated, spent, and remaining for permanent improvements. Certified improvement reserves can stay outside carryover calculations for three years, but unspent amounts count afterward. Specified school spending certificates no longer include replacement levies. Renewals count toward current-year spending authority only after voter approval and when available for that year's spending.
Schools use updated state funding formulas
The law sets school funding methods for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, including enrollment, per-student costs, and disadvantage measures. Community and STEM schools use fiscal year 2022 teacher costs, plus student-support, leadership, and building-operation components. They receive an athletic component if they join an interscholastic athletics regulator or field league teams in at least three sports. The Tax Commissioner certifies median federal adjusted gross income using the latest returns and median Ohio income using second-prior-year returns. These data do not change residents’ tax bills. Legislative formula-setting scheduled for 2026 moves to 2028, including per-student base costs and disadvantage indexes.
State colleges get conditional training advances
Approved Ohio state colleges can apply for microcredential training advances by December 31 each year. They must offer at least two in-person programs and one online program. Each advance is capped at 20% of requested reimbursement; annual advances cannot exceed the year's requested reimbursement. Later advances require at least one completion; below 50%, colleges must refund the completion-rate shortfall percentage of their last advance. Colleges must also return advances exceeding actual training costs.
State contractors lose hiring program requirements
Contractors selling goods or services to Ohio or its local governments no longer need the covered written affirmative action program. That program addressed employing and effectively using economically disadvantaged people. Contractors also no longer must file its annual description and progress report with the Department of Development.
Technical center funding rewards student outcomes
Technical center subsidies allocate 25% for completion, 20% for reaching halfway, 50% for placement, and 5% for industry credentials. Centers must be accredited or active accreditation candidates; completion requires an approved program and a C or better, or pass. Placement funding uses Perkins employment, military, or further-education placements for students completing at least half a program. Non-Ohio residents do not count; one full-time equivalent equals 450 hours, with partial or extra hours counted proportionally. Centers use a three-year average and report actual data as the Chancellor directs.
Training providers get advances with safeguards
Approved microcredential providers can apply for platinum status and advance payments, generally requiring an 80% prior-year completion rate. Each advance cannot exceed the lowest of 20% of requested reimbursement, the adjusted surety-bond amount, or $100,000. Providers must maintain a bond covering current-year and specified unpaid prior-year advances. Later advances require at least one completion; below 80%, providers must refund the completion-rate shortfall percentage of their last advance. Providers must return all advances without a reimbursement claim, and return advances exceeding actual training costs.
Training providers get yearly reimbursement deadlines
Approved microcredential training providers must receive their total reimbursement at least once each fiscal year. Providers must apply to participate at or before the fiscal year’s start and meet the Development Director’s deadline. They must also apply for reimbursement during that same fiscal year, by the director’s deadline. These rules do not change trainees’ eligibility or payment amounts.
Unemployment coverage sets worker and employer rules
General employers enter Ohio's unemployment system with at least one employee in 20 calendar weeks or $1,500 in quarterly wages. Farms qualify through $20,000 in quarterly pay or a 10-worker, 20-week test; specified H-2A workers do not count toward that headcount. Separate tests apply to nonprofits and domestic service. Public employers and Indian tribes qualify with one person in specified employment; federal-tax rules and voluntary elections also cover some employers. Once covered, an employer remains covered for that calendar year and the next.
University degree funding weighs residency and transfers
University degree funding uses three-year average degree counts weighted by program costs and each student's credit costs. Ohio-resident graduates count fully; eligible out-of-state graduates staying in Ohio at least one year count at 50% weight. Associate and bachelor's degrees receive additional weights for specified student risk factors. Certain transferred non-university credit costs count only up to 12.5%, unless the student transferred 12 or fewer credits. Funding for a later bachelor's degree is limited by prior associate-degree funding or costs of credits earned afterward, as specified.
University funding rewards completed courses
University course funding counts subsidy-eligible students who successfully complete eligible courses reported in the state's higher education system. Calculations use instructional model costs and the most recent practicable completed three-year period. Undergraduate completions receive added institution-specific and statewide weights for academic under-preparation or financial risk. Course-completion funding is calculated after subtracting degree funding and doctoral, medical, and College Credit Plus set-asides.
Vocational school funding uses property values
For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, joint vocational districts' funding uses the lower of two property-value measures. Local capacity equals 0.0005 times the lower of the three-year average or latest valuation, divided by base-cost enrolled average daily membership. The state share equals base cost per pupil minus local capacity per pupil, divided by base cost per pupil. That state share cannot fall below 10%, although greater local capacity reduces the calculated share above that floor. Starting in fiscal year 2028, the General Assembly determines both calculation methods.
Youngstown State funding shifts to renovations
The law allocates $700,000 to Youngstown State University’s basic renovations. It removes the $700,000 earmark for the Penguin City Brewing Company upgrade project. The Higher Education Improvement Fund total is about $12.7 million.
Pork leaves certain farm commodity rules
Pork, as defined in Ohio law, no longer counts as an agricultural commodity under the affected law chapters. This narrows the products covered by rules using that definition. The provision does not state a financial amount or identify a direct payment change for pork businesses.
Wine and beer event fees flatten
Qualifying Ohio wine events with F-4 permits now pay a flat $180 fee instead of $60 per day. Qualifying nonprofit craft beer events with F-11 permits get the same change. Events shorter than three days pay more, three-day events pay the same, and longer events pay less.
Brook Park project tax counting changes
For 2026–2028, Brook Park project district revenue counts specified state taxes from construction and related purchases or leases. These include sales, use, income, and commercial activity taxes generated by the project work and construction items. The law states that continuing-activity district revenue exceeds base franchise revenue for those years. The regular statutory calculation resumes in 2029, and four-year target amounts remain unchanged.
Cannabis funding shifts toward state needs
The law replaces named social-equity, jobs, community, research, and oversight purposes for adult-use cannabis with funding state needs. Civil penalties on provisional and other cannabis license holders now go to the adult use tax fund. They previously went to the Division of Cannabis Control and Tax Commissioner Fund. These changes do not set a new tax rate or change penalty amounts or grounds.
Developers face detailed tax-credit scoring
Mixed-use development credit scoring awards up to 2 points each for utilities, development agreements, construction readiness, local financial backing, and support letters. Funding and walkability each earn up to 10 points; end-user commitments, sales, and payroll each earn up to 5. Tax generation earns up to 20 points, and community impacts earn up to 6. Future phases cannot count toward economic-impact analysis or scoring for a completed project. These scores help determine which applicants receive credits.
Insurers gain flexibility but duplicate-credit limits
Qualifying insurers holding section 122.09 certificate rights can claim the credit in the listed calendar year or the next year. Unused credit under section 5725.35 retains its carryforward of up to five ensuing years. Insurers cannot claim a credit for any certificate amount already used under the other listed insurance, financial institution, or income-tax credit provisions. The law adds claim-timing flexibility while preventing duplicate use.
Local levy replacement payments have limits
Eligible local taxing units, excluding school and joint vocational districts, and qualifying libraries receive operating fixed-rate levy-loss payments. Payments equal the current-expense allocation above a threshold share of total resources; municipalities use their municipal current-expense allocation. The threshold starts at 2% in fiscal year 2016 and rises two percentage points yearly; allocations at or below it receive nothing. Payments shrink when a supported levy is no longer charged and payable. Local units also receive combined tangible personal property and S.B. 3 inside-millage debt levy-loss payments, subject to the statutory exception.
Ohio clarifies which federal tax laws apply
Ohio's federal-law reference rule covers its tax title and specified additional code sections. References generally use federal law as it existed when the Ohio section took effect. A reference naming a specific day, month, and year uses that date instead. The text does not identify a resulting tax cut or increase.
Sales-tax certificate exceptions shift between claims
Buyers claiming the exemption under section 5739.02(B)(66) must provide a certificate, and vendors must obtain it. The certificate exception now applies to claims under section 5739.02(B)(62) instead. This shifts paperwork requirements without setting a new tax rate.
Sports gaming funds retain investment interest
Interest earned by the sports gaming revenue, tax administration, and problem sports gaming funds goes back to those funds. The sports gaming profits education fund is not included in this rule. The text gives no interest amounts or resulting program changes.
Tobacco sellers face county tax duties
Covered businesses must electronically file and pay county tobacco and vapor taxes by the following month's 23rd day. Qualifying distributors and sellers get a 2.5% discount for filing and paying on time. Recordkeeping, invoice, inspection, seizure, assessment, penalty, interest, responsible-person liability, and tax-evasion rules extend to these county taxes. Retailers generally cannot possess covered untaxed products unless licensed. Shipments over $300 in tobacco wholesale value or 500 milliliters or grams of vapor products need no prior consent when applicable taxes are paid or will be paid.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Brian Stewart
Republican • House
Cosponsors
Adam C. Bird
Republican • House
Andrew O. Brenner
Republican • Senate
Bernard Willis
Republican • House
David Thomas
Republican • House
Gary Click
Republican • House
George F. Lang
Republican • Senate
Haraz N. Ghanbari
Republican • House
Jack K. Daniels
Republican • House
Jerry C. Cirino
Republican • Senate
Josh Williams
Republican • House
Kevin D. Miller
Republican • House
Kristina D. Roegner
Republican • Senate
Marilyn John
Republican • House
Mark Romanchuk
Republican • Senate
Melanie Miller
Republican • House
Michael D. Dovilla
Republican • House
Nick Santucci
Republican • House
Phil Plummer
Republican • House
Riordan T. McClain
Republican • House
Rodney Creech
Republican • House
Steve Demetriou
Republican • House
Terry Johnson
Republican • Senate
Theresa Gavarone
Republican • Senate
Thomas Hall
Republican • House
Tom Young
Republican • House
Roll Call Votes
Senate vote • 10/1/2025
Item passed notwithstanding objections of the Governor
Yes: 21 • No: 11
House vote • 7/21/2025
Item passed notwithstanding objections of the Governor
Yes: 61 • No: 28
House vote • 6/25/2025
Conference report agreed to
Yes: 59 • No: 38
Senate vote • 6/25/2025
Conference Committee on H.B. 96: Conference report agreed to
Yes: 23 • No: 10
Senate vote • 6/11/2025
Passed
Yes: 23 • No: 10
House vote • 6/11/2025
Refused to concur in Senate amendments
Yes: 1 • No: 85
Senate vote • 6/10/2025
Finance: Reported
Yes: 11 • No: 3
House vote • 4/9/2025
Passed
Yes: 60 • No: 39
House vote • 4/8/2025
Finance: Reported
Yes: 19 • No: 10
Actions Timeline
Item passed notwithstanding objections of the Governor
10/1/2025SenateItem passed notwithstanding objections of the Governor
7/21/2025Houseline item veto receipt
7/1/2025HouseSigned by Governor
6/30/2025GovernorSent to Governor
6/27/2025GovernorConference report agreed to
6/25/2025HouseConference report agreed to
6/25/2025SenateConference managers: Reps. - Stewart, Dovilla, Sweeney
6/12/2025HouseConference managers: Sens. - Cirino, Chavez, Hicks-Hudson
6/12/2025SenateInsist on amendments; asks for committee of conference
6/12/2025SenateRefused to concur in Senate amendments
6/11/2025HousePassed
6/11/2025SenateReported
6/10/2025SenateRefer to Committee
4/30/2025SenateIntroduced
4/16/2025SenatePassed
4/9/2025HouseReported
4/8/2025HouseRefer to Committee
2/13/2025HouseIntroduced
2/11/2025House
Bill Text
As Enrolled
6/30/2025
As Introduced
As Passed by the House
As Passed by the Senate
As Pending in the Senate Finance Committee
As Reported by the Committee of Conference
As Reported by the House Finance Committee
As Reported by the Senate Finance Committee
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