OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 37 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 37’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Reported by Senate Judiciary
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Johnson and K. Miller
Effective date:
Margaret E. Marcy, Attorney
SUMMARY
Aggravated vehicular homicide penalties
▪ Establishes a new, tiered-system, based on the number of prior offenses and the nature
of the offense, in order to trigger increased minimum mandatory prison terms for
aggravated vehicular homicide that is the proximate result of operating a vehicle while
under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them (OVI) offense.
▪ Increases the possible financial penalties for aggravated vehicular homicide committed
as the proximate result of an OVI offense by raising the maximum fine to $25,000.
Oral fluid testing
▪ Authorizes law enforcement to collect an oral fluid sample from a person arrested for
OVI.
▪ Authorizes the testing of that oral fluid sample for the presence of a drug of abuse or a
metabolite of a drug of abuse.
▪ Authorizes the oral fluid sample and its test results to be used as evidence related to OVI
charges.
▪ Specifies that any person who operates a vehicle or who is in physical control of a vehicle
has given consent to have that person’s oral fluid collected and tested if arrested for OVI
(“implied consent”).
 This analysis was prepared before the report of the Senate Judiciary Committee appeared in the Senate
Journal. Note that the legislative history may be incomplete.
December 18, 2024
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▪ Makes conforming changes to the laws governing OVI while operating a watercraft or a
commercial motor vehicle and the release of drug test records in criminal cases.
OVI penalties
▪ Increases the minimum criminal fines for OVI by an additional$190, while lowering the
related driver’s license reinstatement fees by $160, resulting in a net increase of $30 in
OVI minimum financial penalties.
▪ Modifies when a court must condition the granting of limited driving privileges to an OVI
offender on use of an ignition interlock device.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Aggravated vehicular homicide penalties....................................................................................... 2
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 2
Financial penalties ....................................................................................................................... 3
Prison terms and decrease in required priors............................................................................. 3
Oral fluid testing ............................................................................................................................. 5
OVI penalties ................................................................................................................................... 6
Financial penalties ....................................................................................................................... 6
Criminal fines .......................................................................................................................... 7
Reinstatement fee .................................................................................................................. 8
Limited driving privileges and ignition interlock devices ............................................................ 9
First-time offender ............................................................................................................... 10
Second-time offender........................................................................................................... 11
Category #3........................................................................................................................... 11
Court warning ............................................................................................................................ 12
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Aggravated vehicular homicide penalties
Introduction
The bill increases the penalties, in particular the financial penalties and the prison term,
for an offender who commits an aggravated vehicular homicide as the proximate result of
operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of
them (OVI) offense. For the sake of brevity, the following discussion uses certain shorthand
phrases to replace longer phrases that are used within the Revised Code. Specifically:
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“OVI offense” means a violation of operating a vehicle under the influence, operating a
watercraft under the influence, operating an aircraft under the influence, or any substantially
equivalent municipal ordinance.1
“Prior offense” includes any violation of a municipal ordinance, former law of Ohio,
current or former law of another state, or current or former federal law that is substantially
equivalent to an OVI offense.2
Financial penalties
The bill increases the maximum possible financial penalty for aggravated vehicular
homicide that is the proximate result of an OVI offense to $25,000. Under current law, the court
generally may impose a maximum financial penalty of $15,000 for that offense if the offender
has no prior offenses (second degree felony). In addition, under current law, if an offender has
certain prior offenses, the violation is a first degree felony, and a court may impose a maximum
financial penalty of $20,000.3
Prison terms and decrease in required priors
The bill alters the parameters under which certain prior offenses result in a higher penalty
for aggravated vehicular homicide that is the proximate result of an OVI offense. The bill also
increases the minimum mandatory prison terms for aggravated vehicular homicide that is the
proximate result of an OVI offense when the offender has committed certain other prior
offenses. Additionally, the bill decreases the number of those other prior offenses that an
offender must have committed in order for a court to impose the increased prison terms.4
Under current law, an offender who commits aggravated vehicular homicide as the
proximate result of an OVI offense with no prior conditions or offenses is guilty of a second
degree felony. This second degree felony offense carries with it a minimum mandatory prison
term of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 years.5 An offender who commits that offense while under a driver’s
license suspension or without a valid driver’s license, or who has committed specified prior
offenses is guilty of a first degree felony.6 The prison term for those offenders is typically a
minimum mandatory term of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 years.7 If the offender has a significant
number of prior offenses (three or more) within ten years, the prison term is typically a minimum
mandatory term of 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15 years.8 Prior offenses include prior OVI offenses,
1 R.C. 2903.06(G)(1)(h).
2 R.C. 2903.06(G)(2).
3 R.C. 2903.06(B)(2)(f); R.C. 2929.18, not in the bill, specifies default felony financial penalties.
4 R.C. 2903.06(B)(2) and 2929.142.
5 R.C. 2903.06(B)(2)(a) and 2929.14.
6 R.C. 2903.06(B)(2)(b) and (c).
7R.C. 2929.14(A)(1)(a); the maximum term is determined based on a formula in R.C. 2929.144, not in the
bill.
8 R.C. 2903.06(B)(2)(c) and 2929.142.
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vehicular homicide involving OVI, vehicular assault involving OVI, involuntary manslaughter
involving OVI, or a combination of those offenses.
The bill creates, instead, a new tiered-system that gradually increases the minimum
mandatory prison term for the offender based on the number and nature of the prior offenses.
It also alters the prior offenses that lead to enhanced penalties for aggravated vehicular homicide
that proximately results from an OVI offense; adds a lookback period of 20 years for prior
offenses in the second tier listed below; and expands the lookback period for the third and fourth
tier listed below from ten to 20 years. The following table describes the tiers and the minimum
mandatory prison term imposed under the bill for an offender at each tier.
Aggravated vehicular homicide (proximate result: OVI)
Tier Prior offense(s) Prison term
None – offender commits Default minimum mandatory
First Tier aggravated vehicular homicide as term for second degree felony
the proximate result of an OVI under R.C. 2929.14:
R.C. 2903.06(B)(2)(a)
offense.
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 years
None – offender commits Default minimum mandatory
aggravated vehicular homicide as term for first degree felony
the proximate result of an OVI under R.C. 2929.14:
offense while the offender’s
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 years
driver’s license is suspended or
while offender was driving
without a license;
or
Offender commits aggravated
vehicular homicide as the
Second Tier proximate result of an OVI
R.C. 2903.06(B)(2)(b) offense and has one prior OVI
offense within the previous 20
years;
or
Offender commits the
aggravated vehicular homicide as
the proximate result of an OVI
offense and has one prior traffic-
related homicide, manslaughter,
or assault offense within the
previous 20 years.
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Aggravated vehicular homicide (proximate result: OVI)
Tier Prior offense(s) Prison term
Offender commits aggravated First degree felony with an
vehicular homicide as the increased minimum mandatory
proximate result of an OVI term under R.C. 2929.142(A):
offense and has either:
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or
Two prior OVI offenses within 15 years
the previous 20 years;
or
Third Tier
Two prior traffic-related
R.C. 2903.06(B)(2)(c) homicide, manslaughter, or
assault offenses within the
previous 20 years;
or
Two prior offenses of any
combination of the prior two
parameters listed above within
the previous 20 years.
Offender commits aggravated First degree felony with an
vehicular homicide as the increased minimum mandatory
proximate result of an OVI term under R.C. 2929.142(B):
offense and has either:
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or
Three or more prior OVI offenses 20 years
within the previous 20 years;
or
Fourth Tier
Three or more prior traffic-
R.C. 2903.06(B)(2)(d) related homicide, manslaughter,
or assault offenses within the
previous 20 years;
or
Three or more prior offenses of
any combination of the prior two
parameters listed above within
the previous 20 years.
Oral fluid testing
Current law prohibits a person from operating any vehicle, streetcar, trackless trolley,
watercraft (in various forms), or aircraft while under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or
a combination of them, or with a prohibited concentration of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a
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metabolite of that drug (“OVI”).9 Under current law, enforcement of the OVI Law relies, in part,
on chemical tests of either a person’s breath, urine, whole blood, blood serum, or plasma. The
bill adds another type of chemical test – of oral fluid – for purposes of OVI enforcement.
While the chemical tests of oral fluid, under the bill, cannot specify the concentration of
a drug of abuse or a metabolite of a drug of abuse, it can detect the presence and type of drug
of abuse or its metabolite. As such, the bill authorizes the chemical tests of oral fluid to be used
as evidence related to charges that a person operated a vehicle while “under the influence of
alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them” (the general OVI prohibition). Evidence of
the presence of a drug of abuse in the oral fluid would potentially need to be paired with other
evidence to demonstrate that the person was impaired. The chemical tests of oral fluid would
not be used as evidence related to a per se violation of the OVI Law (i.e., the person had a
concentration of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a metabolite of that drug that was above the legal
limit).10 Similar to the other chemical tests, a court may order an OVI offender to reimburse a law
enforcement agency for the costs of the oral fluid test.11
Related to the authorization to collect and use oral fluid as evidence, the bill specifies that
any person who operates a vehicle or who is in physical control of a vehicle has given consent to
have that person’s oral fluid collected and tested if arrested for OVI (“implied consent”). Under
current law, the same implied consent is given for collection and testing of breath, urine, whole
blood, blood serum, and plasma. As such, the bill also applies the penalties for refusing to allow
law enforcement to collect and test the relevant substance to the collection and testing of oral
fluid.12
Based on the addition of oral fluid to the OVI Law, the bill also makes conforming changes
to the laws governing OVI while operating a watercraft or a commercial motor vehicle and to the
laws governing the release of drug test records in criminal cases.13
OVI penalties
Financial penalties
The bill increases the overall minimum financial penalties for an offender who operates a
vehicle while under the influence by $30. The bill does so by increasing the minimum criminal
fines for OVI by $190 and lowering the related reinstatement fee for a driver’s license suspension
associated with the OVI by $160. To account for these changes in financial penalties, the bill
adjusts the dis