Ohio House Judiciary Committee holds first hearing on HB 5, the Repeat Offender Act

House Representative sponsors introduced House Bill 5, called the Repeat Offender Act, for a first committee hearing before the Ohio House Judiciary Committee on the bill’s intent to increase penalties for repeat violent felons found in possession of firearms.

Representatives Timothy Willis and Matthew Williams, sponsors of HB 5, told the committee the bill is designed to preserve law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights while increasing penalties and mandatory prison presumptions for violent felons who repeatedly possess firearms. “This bill will get those offenders off the streets by increasing penalties and requiring mandatory prison time for repeat offenders,” Representative Williams said in testimony.

The bill would raise repeated weapons-under-disability violations from a third-degree felony (currently up to 36 months) to a second-degree felony, with an underlying sentencing range described in testimony as 2 to 8 years and a potential “Reagan Tokes” tail that could extend the term up to 12 years depending on behavior in prison. Sponsors also described a new set of firearm specifications tied…