02/26/2025

House Bill 26

Lead Sponsors: Representative Josh Williams and Representative Tex Fischer

Status: Introduced (January 28, 2025)

Description: The bill requires all political subdivisions to comply with numerous policies listed below and shall also file an annual report with the Ohio Attorney General confirming that they comply with all of the bill's requirements.

The bill requires a political subdivision, including counties and their law enforcement agencies, to do the following:

1. Participate in any available program operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security or its successor department that allows the law enforcement agency to submit to federal authorities information about an arrestee to enable those authorities to determine whether the arrestee is unlawfully present in the United States;
   
   
2. Immediately report the identity of any arrestee whom a peace officer has reasonable cause to believe is unlawfully present in the United States to the appropriate office of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency or its successor agency;
   
   
3. Detain a person who is unlawfully present in the United States upon receiving a lawful federal request or order to do so until the person is transferred into federal custody;
   
   
4. Otherwise cooperate and comply with federal officials in enforcing federal immigration law.

Furthermore, the bill requires a local government entity, including a county, that administers a state or local public benefit to utilize the systematic alien verification for entitlements (SAVE) program, or its successor whenever a person who is not a United States citizen or national applies to a state or local governmental entity for a state or local public benefit.

However, this requirement does not apply if the benefit falls under division (b) of section 411 of the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996," 8 U.S.C. 1621. Essentially, the bill creates an exemption for public benefits for emergency medical care, short-term disaster relief, public health assistance for immunizations, and certain other programs deemed necessary for life safety, as determined by the Attorney General of the United States. Additionally, the bill exempts public benefits whose requirements are listed in the Ohio Revised Code.

Additionally, the bill prohibits a state or local government agency or political subdivision from adopting an ordinance, policy, directive, rule, or resolution that prohibits or otherwise restricts a public official or employee from doing any of the following activities listed below:

1. Complying with the requirements listed above;
   
   
2. Inquiring about a person's name, birth date, place of birth, or citizenship or immigration status in the course of investigating or prosecuting a violation of any law or ordinance;
   
   
3. Maintaining information about a person's citizenship or immigration status;
   
   
4. Sending information to, or requesting or receiving information from, a federal, state, or local government agency or employee concerning a person's citizenship or immigration status for the purpose of determining a person's citizenship or immigration status; and
   
   
5. Complying with any request by a federal agency engaged in the enforcement of federal immigration law for information, access, or assistance, regardless of whether the federal agency has obtained a warrant to compel the state or local government agency or political subdivision to comply with the request unless federal law prohibits the state or local government agency or political subdivision from complying with the request.

Under the bill, if a member of the General Assembly believes that a political subdivision is not complying with any of the requirements listed above, they can file a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General. The Attorney General shall investigate the allegations in the complaint and determine if the political subdivision has or is violating the requirements of the bill.

If the Attorney General determines that a violation has occurred, the Tax Commissioner is directed to reduce the undivided monthly Local Government Fund (LGF) distribution to the county by 10% until the county complies with the bill's requirements. The foregone LGF funding will be transferred to the State Highway Patrol for the administrative costs and expenses associated with the State Highway Patrol and the state enforcement of traffic laws as conducted by the State Highway Patrol.

CCAO Position: No position (as of January 2025)