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Sponsors propose 14-foot ‘halo’ around emergency scenes; committee raises enforcement, overlap with obstruction law
Summary
At a first hearing, sponsors of House Bill 20 told the Ohio House Public Safety Committee the measure would create a 14-foot buffer to keep bystanders from impeding first responders; members asked how the new offense would interact with existing obstruction statutes and how prosecutors, grieving relatives and protesters would be treated.
Representatives Thomas Hall and Phil Plummer introduced House Bill 20 at a first hearing of the Ohio House Public Safety Committee, proposing a 14-foot buffer around active emergency scenes to protect first responders from interference.
The bill’s sponsors said the measure would help firefighters, paramedics and police carry out life-saving work without disruption. “This bill is an opportunity for us to once again provide protections for those that day in and day out put their lives on the line,” Representative Thomas Hall said. Representative Phil Plummer summarized the proposal bluntly: “Just give us 14 feet to do our jobs.”
Supporters told the committee the proposal is intended to be narrow and practical. Plummer and Hall said the bill…
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