COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio lawmakers attempting to push through legislation before the end of the year are busy debating bills in committee with the hope they can get a vote to the floor.
Among the bills getting the most attention is an attempt to change Ohio law as it pertains to distracted driving.
House Bill 283 sponsored by Rep. Cindy Abrams (R-Harrison) and Rep. Brian Lampton (R-Beavercreek) would allow police to stop and ticket drivers solely for using mobile phones on the road.
The bill would prohibit drivers from “holding or physically supporting an electronic wireless communications device with any part of the body, with certain exceptions.”
The bill was stripped of the provision that would have ticketed those for looking at their phone at a stop sign or traffic light.
“The goal of the bill is to save lives,” Abrams said. “We need to change this addictive culture of having our phones all the time in our hand while we are driving.”
Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) supports the bill saying distracted driving is a serious issue but doubts the bill will make the roads safer.
“I’m not sure it’s going to make the roads safe; I hope they do. But there is an old saying, you can’t fix stupid. The fact they might get a ticket isn’t going to deter them,” he said.
In 2021, there were 11,910 distracted driving crashes in Ohio with 32 being fatal. Additionally in 2021 troopers issued 11,649 distracted driving citations.
If the bill becomes law, it does not come with an emergency clause. Instead, there would be a six-month period where officers will give drivers a warning not a citation.
After that, a first offense will carry a$150 fine or they can elect to attend a distracted driving course. If someone completes the course, they will not have points on their record.
Another bill introduced involves giving Ohio’s K-12 students time off for mental health days. House Bill 619 would authorize school districts to allow students three mental health days as excused absences.
School districts that allow for mental health days would be required to excuse a student without a doctor’s note.
“Mental health is something that doesn’t get talked about a lot when a child is tired, when a child doesn’t feel 100% we need to create an avenue for them to say hey, I need to step back,” Rep. Willis Blackshear Jr.(D-Dayton) who is sponsoring the legislation.
Lawmakers are also debating the on again, off again issue of strangulation as a felony. Strangling someone is seen by medical experts and victim advocates as a predictor of more serious violence.
While almost all states consider choking someone as a felony that’s not the case in Ohio. The bill would expand the definition of domestic violence to include strangling.