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Committee hears bill to create 14-foot buffer around emergency scenes
Summary
Sponsors of House Bill 20 told the Ohio House Public Safety Committee the measure would give first responders a 14-foot “halo” around crash and emergency scenes; members questioned whether the change duplicates existing obstruction laws and asked about penalties and carve-outs for grieving relatives.
Representatives Thomas Hall and Phil Plummer introduced House Bill 20 at a hearing of the Ohio House Public Safety Committee, asking lawmakers to create a 14-foot buffer around emergency scenes so police, firefighters and EMS can perform lifesaving tasks without bystanders interfering.
"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 in sponsor testimony, describing scenes in which quick, uninterrupted care can mean life or death.
The bill would give first responders an explicit space—referred to repeatedly in testimony as a 14-foot "halo"—and would include a warning requirement…
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