On April 9, the effective date of H.B. 29, driver’s license suspensions for failure to pay began to be removed both retroactively and automatically, without imposition of reinstatement fees. This will help hundreds of thousands of Ohioans get their licenses back and dramatically reduce future suspensions.

The following provisions were included in House Bill 29:

• Eliminates the driver’s license suspension for failure to pay a court fine or fee.
• Applies the removal of license suspensions for failure to pay a court fine or fee both retroactively and automatically, without imposition of reinstatement fees.
• Removes the possible penalty of a driver’s license suspension for a drug abuse offense, unless the offense relates to causing others to use, manufacture, or traffic and the offender used a vehicle to further the commission of the offense.
• Reduces the lookback period for driving without insurance offenses to be considered repeat offenses from five years to one year.
• Eliminates school truancy as a reason for license denial or suspension.
• Authorizes a person whose driver’s license is suspended for failure to pay child support to file a motion with a court for limited driving privileges in all circumstances, not just when the motion is made during contempt proceedings as under current law.

This new law requires the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to fully implement the provisions of House Bill 29 within 30 days of the effective date, or May 9, 2025.

The Ohio Poverty Law Center and our Return to the Road partners wish to thank Senators Lou Blessing and Catherine Ingram for their dedication to eliminating debt-related driver’s license suspensions through Senate Bill 37, as well as House Bill 29 co-sponsors Representatives Darnell Brewer and Latyna Humphrey. Their willingness to all work together to expand the provisions of the legislation is appreciated.

New Expulsion Law, HB 206, Raises Concerns About Student Rights

Last week House Bill 206 went into effect making it easier for school superintendents to expel students. HB 206 allows for students to be expelled for posing “imminent and severe endangerment” to other students as well as school personnel. A student could be expelled for up to 180 days initially and would have to complete a checklist of requirements created by the superintendent in order to be readmitted, including passing a mental health evaluation. The superintendent has the final say on if a student is allowed to return and can decide to extend the expulsion for 90 days if they determine a student is not “sufficiently rehabilitated.” The 90-day extension can be renewed by a superintendent with no limitation, allowing for students to potentially be expelled indefinitely.

OPLC had major concerns about the potential for abuse in HB 206 as well as due process rights, so we worked with legislators in the Ohio House & Ohio Senate to secure concessions which included:

• A definition for what constitutes “imminent and severe endangerment”
• Removing cost sharing requirements for parents and families for the required mental health evaluation
• Ensuring students have specified due process rights throughout the expulsion process

While we are happy about the protections we were able to secure in HB 206, we still have concerns about how school districts might choose to implement HB 206 now that it has become law. We plan on monitoring implementation closely to track problems as they arise.

Ohio House Passes Operating Budget

House Bill 96 contained several changes to public benefits, including SNAP and Medicaid, including provisions that would limit access and use of benefits.

SNAP

Ohio Department of Job and Families Services (ODJFS) will be required to request a waiver from USDA to exclude sugar-sweetened beverages from being purchased using SNAP in Ohio.

 In addition, there are provisions related to reporting requirements, including a requirement that a household receiving SNAP benefits report changes in circumstances that may affect eligibility for continued receipt of benefits to ODJFS within 30 days after the household becomes aware of the change.

ODJFS will be prohibited from implementing simplified or quarterly reporting procedures for households receiving SNAP benefits, as well as prohibited from seeking, applying for, or renewing a waiver from the work requirements that apply to able-bodied adults without dependents receiving SNAP benefits.

ODJFS will also be prohibited from implementing a federal option under which it may grant exemptions from the SNAP work requirements that apply to able-bodied adults without dependents.

Medicaid

The FMAP trigger language related to the Group VIII Medicaid expansion population was maintained, as well as a related provision regarding state programs receiving federal funding with corresponding federal programs.   

The bill establishes a timeline for the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) to seek and implement a Medicaid waiver to provide reentry services to incarcerated individuals, while eliminating the law that requires ODM to seek approval to provide continuous Medicaid enrollment for Medicaid-eligible children from birth through age three. ODM will be required to submit a waiver to eliminate hospital presumptive eligibility (PE) and limit PE to pregnant women and children only.

House Bill 96 also limits doula coverage to 6 counties with the highest infant/maternal mortality rates and total doula payments to $500,000/FY. Within 30 days of the bill’s effective date, ODM or its designee will be required to begin utilizing third-party data sources and systems to conduct eligibility change in circumstances checks for all Medicaid recipients at least quarterly; detailing the types of data sources and systems against which eligibility must be verified. ODM will be required to disenroll individuals found to be no longer eligible for Medicaid benefits.

ODM will also have new reporting and study requirements, including a report to the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee (JMOC) Executive Director not later than December 31, 2025, and every six months thereafter, detailing verification efforts and any findings of fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicaid program. ODM will be permitted to employ a similar process to determine whether members of the expansion eligibility group (Group VIII) are complying with any established work and community engagement requirements. Medicaid providers will be authorized to employ similar processes to verify an individual's eligibility for Medicaid benefits.   

ODM will also be required to conduct a comprehensive study on the feasibility, legality and potential cost savings of establishing a Medicaid waiver component that establishes work requirements and includes additional supplemental workforce development requirements.

Earned Wage Access Services

House Bill 96 also includes provisions to regulate Earned Wage Access (EWA) services providers in Ohio. These same provisions have been introduced in the 136th General Assembly as House Bill 152 and Senate Bill 117.

These provisions require a valid certificate of registration to provide earned wage access services in the state. This bill also allows direct-to-consumer wage advances ("consumer-directed wage access services") where there is no employer involvement, and the wage advance provider is simply providing a loan directly to a consumer and repaying themselves plus a fee directly from the consumer's checking account on payday. The bill has no limits on fees or tips other than requiring the provider to offer a no-cost option.

Under these provisions, EWA services are not considered:

• A loan or other form of credit or debit
• A money transmission
• A violation of, or noncompliant with, any other provision of the Revised Code governing the sale or assignment of, or an order for, earned but unpaid income
• In addition, any registrant providing earned wage access services in accordance with this chapter shall not be considered to be a creditor, debt collector, lender, or money transmitter

Ohio Housing Trust Fund

The House Budget removes the requirement that the designated share of Low- and Moderate-income Housing Trust Fund fees collected by county recorders be deposited into the Ohio Housing Trust Fund. This would effectively eliminate the OHTF, and counties would have to set up their own systems limited only to the funds generated in each county. There are no other sources of funding for OHTF—it is only the recorder fees.

The Fund makes possible a wide range of housing activities supporting low-income Ohioans including housing development, emergency home repair, handicapped accessibility modifications, and services related to housing and homelessness. In addition, Ohio Housing Trust Fund dollars may be used for predevelopment costs, rental assistance, housing counseling, rehabilitation, and new construction.

Lead Poisoning Prevention

House Bill 96 gutted almost all of the funding for lead poisoning prevention over the biennium. Governor DeWine had previously set funding at $7 million for each of the next two years, but the House slashed this down to a meager 250,000 for each of the next two years. Ohio has the second highest number of children testing positive for elevated blood lead levels in the country. More than two-thirds of Ohio’s housing stock was built before 1980 meaning they might contain lead hazards. It is estimated more than 425,000 children under the age of 6 live in these homes.

The funding cut by the Ohio House represents the only funding the state of Ohio puts forward for lead poisoning outside of a rarely used tax credit. The funding goes toward a variety of important programing, including:

• lead testing 
• lead investigations 
• resources for families of lead poisoned children 
• lead poisoning prevention programing

OPLC has begun to reach out to legislators to try and restore the lost funding. We are hopeful our partners in the Ohio Senate will work with us to serve families who have been affected by lead poisoning.