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Ohio House passes package including online age‑verification, tenant‑utility protections, student excused‑absence policy and capital reappropriations
Summary
On March 17, 2026, the Ohio House passed a set of bills that included the "Innocence Act" (requiring online age verification and penalizing certain nonconsensual AI deepfakes), a bill barring municipal liens for tenant utility debts, an education measure excusing students for 4‑H/FFA participation, a data‑center study commission, and a capital reappropriations bill with SNAP administrative funding.
The Ohio House of Representatives on March 17 advanced a package of bills affecting online safety, landlord‑tenant utility responsibility, education absences for extracurricular agricultural programs, and state budget reallocations.
Representative Demetrio, sponsor of substitute House Bill 84 — described on the floor as the "Innocence Act" — said the bill “is about protecting kids,” arguing it requires reasonable age‑verification safeguards for websites that distribute explicit material and establishes an Innocence Act Enforcement Fund to support enforcement and penalties. “If somebody takes your image without your consent and uses it to create fake explicit content, that is not a joke,” Demetrio said, framing the bill’s expanded remedies for victims. The House passed the measure, 93–1.
The chamber also approved House Bill 92, which sponsors said prevents municipalities from placing property tax liens on owners for unpaid water, sewer and similar charges that were incurred under a tenant’s service contract. Sponsor Representative Johnson framed the measure as protecting landlords from unexpected liens; opponents warned it could shift collection costs to municipal governments and lead to higher rates. Representative Sims said, “A vote to pass this bill is a vote to raise water and sewer rates for over millions of Ohioans,” and urged rejection. The bill passed, 67–28.
On education policy, amended House Bill 125 was described by backers as a step toward recognizing experiential learning; it requires schools to excuse K–12 students for participation in district‑approved 4‑H and FFA activities, with documentation and limited guardrails such as prohibitions during state testing. Supporters said the change aligns attendance policy with workforce and leadership development. The bill passed unanimously, 91–0.
Lawmakers also approved a data‑center study commission (House Bill 646) to examine impacts such as land use, water and energy demand; sponsors said the commission will gather experts and produce recommendations before further legislation is considered. The commission bill passed 93–0 after debate about membership and the inclusion of labor representatives.
In other floor votes, the House designated a portion of East Kemper Road in Hamilton County as the Patrolman Earl W. Kasterline Memorial Highway (House Bill 432, passed 95–0), and exempted U.S. Armed Forces‑certified family childcare providers from duplicative state licensure (House Bill 464, passed 92–0).
The chamber concluded with a contested vote on capital reappropriations and redirects in House Bill 730, which included a $10 million state contribution (leveraging additional federal matching) to help counties with SNAP administrative changes; a proposed alternative distribution of a separate $12.5 million for county SNAP costs drew prolonged debate about formulas and fairness. House Bill 730 passed 64–28.
What happens next: Several bills passed by the House will be transmitted to the Ohio Senate for further consideration; the chamber adjourned until March 24, 2026, at 9 a.m.
