Witness alleges Ohio wildlife rule exceeds legislative intent; JCAR staff finds no statutory violations

The Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review heard public testimony alleging statutory overreach in Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife rules and a lack of accurate fiscal analysis during a five-year review.

Dean Koch, a witness appearing before the committee, told members the rule and the agency's review process “exceeds the legislative intent” and that the rule’s fiscal analysis and summary are inadequate. "It's 15 33 6 41," Koch said, referring to the statute he cited, and described the statute as authoring a three‑strike approach that, in his view, extended misdemeanor punishments to business suspensions and threatened commercial fishing businesses.

The allegation centers on the Division of Wildlife rule under five‑year review. Koch said the rule’s implementation has reduced the licensed commercial fishing workforce from about 100 in 1973 to 14 and repeatedly criticized the agency’s summary and fiscal analysis for failing to capture those costs. He also said a federal judge ruled in his favor in a 2022 case and that he currently has related litigation pending in federal court in Toledo.

“After review by staff, I don't believe we've uncovered any rule violations on there,” the JCAR director told the committee after staff reviewed Koch's written testimony. Committee leadership also noted the rule language has not changed since its adoption in 2014 and that this is the rule’s second five‑year review.

Committee procedure and jurisdiction shaped the exchange. The co‑chair reminded the room that JCAR’s review is limited to whether an agency has statutory authority for a rule, consistency with legislative intent, and conflicts with other rules; the co‑chair also emphasized added prongs such as completeness of rule summaries and fiscal analyses. Committee members reiterated that matters involving pending litigation or broader policy disputes fall outside JCAR’s scope.

On procedure, the committee moved the Division of Wildlife item from the no‑change portion of the agenda to the review portion so Koch could testify; staff advised there were no apparent prong violations. No formal vote on changing the rule was taken during the meeting.

The committee concluded by noting schedule items: the next JCAR meeting is likely March 3 at 1:30 p.m., with an earlier February 10 date listed but apparently carrying no rules at present.

Koch's testimony and the staff review were recorded in the public meeting record; written testimony submitted by Koch is available in the committee materials.