Ohio House passes bills on sextortion, suppression of human trafficking cases, among others

What follows article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and republished on News5Cleveland.com as part of a content sharing agreement.

The Ohio House passed a series of bills in a marathon session Wednesday before heading into summer recess.

Pass the law on campus

The Enact Campus Act (House Bill 606) was included in Senate Bill 94 earlier this week in the House Finance Committee. State Sens. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, and Al Landis, R-Dover, introduced SB 94, which passed the House by a vote of 80-13. The Senate approved SB 94, meaning the bill will go to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk for his signature.

State Representatives Justin Pizzulli of Scioto County and Dontavius ​​Jarrells of Columbus County introduced the Enact Campus Act in response to the recent increase in anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses last year, following the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

“We want to make sure that we create an environment where every student, no matter who they are, who they worship, what their ethnicity or religious background is, has the best opportunity to learn, to live and be on campus and in community spaces … and to really learn from each other about the various religious and cultural differences that we all have,” Jarrells said.

This bill would require public and private colleges and universities to adopt and enforce a policy regarding racial, religious, and ethnic harassment and bullying.

It would create a campus student safety grant program that would allocate $1 million in fiscal year 2025 to increase student safety and a campus community grant program that would allocate $1 million to help to raise awareness among institutionally sanctioned student organizations at universities. It would also create a campus security support program that would allocate $2 million in fiscal year 2025.

A recent study by Hillel and the Anti-Defamation League reported nearly 1,600 anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses since Oct. 7, a 700% increase, Pizzulli said.

“Our universities are becoming a breeding ground for this kind of behavior,” he said. “Some faculty, staff and student-funded groups have ties to radical propaganda organizations that create a hostile climate on the institution’s campus. After speaking with more than 50 students across Ohio, it is clear that this hatred must be stopped.”

House Bill 572 was also incorporated into SB 94, which requires the chancellor of higher education to conduct a survey of every undergraduate and graduate teacher preparation program for teachers to see what is being taught in mental and behavioral health, behavior management, and classroom management, among other things.

State Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering, introduced HB 572 earlier this year.

SB 94 also appropriates $2 million to the Ohio Department of Higher Education to fund educator preparation and reading science programs.

Human trafficking

The House passed a bill that allows survivors of human trafficking to seek expungement of their criminal records for a misdemeanor, fourth-degree felony, or fifth-degree felony they committed while were victims of trafficking.

State Rep. Scott Wiggam, R-Wayne County, was the only person to vote against the bill.

State Sen. Stephanie Kunze, R-Dublin, introduced SB 214 earlier this year and it passed the Senate in April.

“When victims of human trafficking finally take steps to escape the scourge of human trafficking, they often have a criminal record (and) having a criminal record, as many of us know, creates a major barrier to gainful employment, stable housing, educational opportunities and child care,” said state Rep. Tracy Richardson, R-Marysville. “These factors are all critical when a survivor is trying to escape their situation.”

Currently, victims of human trafficking can have their criminal records expunged for the crimes of solicitation, vagrancy and prostitution. Deletion is not automatic and affected individuals must go through a hearing process.

People who are victims of human trafficking are usually forced to commit crimes, such as shoplifting and credit card theft, under threat of violence.

The Human Trafficking Hotline has received 11,224 reports and identified 3,102 cases of human trafficking in Ohio since 2007.

Ohio is a target for human trafficking for many reasons, including its proximity to the Canadian border, its location to several major cities and its high number of truck stops, according to the Human Trafficking Front.

Teacher License Fees

The House passed a bill 85-12 that would address potential hikes in teacher licensing fees.

Provisions were added to SB 117 in the House Finance Committee that addressed teacher licensing fees.

“We also had a problem with the budget last year…and if we don't do something, act quickly…teacher licensure fees are about to skyrocket,” the state representative said. 'State Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville.

Five-year teacher licenses cost $200, but could increase to $350 — a 75% increase — if that problem is not addressed, said state Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Westlake.

Sexual extortion

Brandon's law – which would prohibit sexual extortion and aggravated sexual extortion – is one step closer to becoming law after Bill 531 passed unanimously with 96 votes.

The bill is named after Braden Markus, an Olentangy High School student, who committed suicide in 2021 after someone posing as a teenager on social media sent him lewd photos and asked to do the same. After sending the photos, the person then threatened to post them on social media if he didn't send them $1,800.

“As a sophomore in high school, Braden didn’t know what to do,” said state Rep. Beth Lear, R-Galena. “It was a terrifying situation, as the individual continued to push and emotionally manipulate him, tortured and threatened him. It only took 27 minutes from the time this individual contacted Braden to the time he was pushed to the point where he took his own life. And in Ohio, we will have no crime for that unless we pass this bill.

Powell Republicans Lear and Brian Lorenz introduced the bill earlier this year, which would make sextortion a felony punishable by up to 11 years in prison. The court could also impose an additional sentence of 10 years if the crime causes bodily harm or death, meaning the person involved in Markus' death could have been sentenced to 21 years in prison.

The bill HB 531 would also allow a parent or guardian to access a phone or device belonging to a deceased minor within 30 days. Markus' family couldn't access his phone for 10 months.

At the time of Braden's death, Lorenz had four children at Liberty High School in Olentangy Local Schools who knew someone close to Braden.

“We've had a lot of conversations with our kids about what happened and how we can move forward to make sure this never happens again,” Lorenz said.

Walleye Beak

The walleye is set to become the official state fish after the passage of House Bill 599, introduced earlier this year by state Reps. Sean Brennan, D-Parma, and DJ Swearingen, R- Huron.

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Lake Erie is home to 95 million walleye aged two and older. To put that in perspective, there are an estimated 600,000 white-tailed deer in Ohio.

The Walleye is the nickname of Toledo's professional minor league hockey team.

State Representatives Jamie Callender, Rodney Creech, Bernie Willis and Tom Young voted against HB 599.

The bill now heads to the Senate for further consideration.