OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.B. 94 Final Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for S.B. 94’s Fiscal Note
Primary Sponsors: Sens. Brenner and Landis
Effective date: October 24, 2024; appropriations effective July 24, 2024
Effective Date:
Alyssa Bethel, Attorney and other LSC staff UPDATED VERSION*
SUMMARY
Campus accountability and modernization
Policy on harassment and intimidation
▪ Requires state institutions of higher education and private for-profit colleges to adopt and
enforce a policy on racial, religious, and ethnic harassment and intimidation.
▪ Requires private nonprofit institutions of higher education to adopt and enforce a policy
on racial and ethnic harassment and intimidation.
▪ Requires that each institution’s policy include related training, complaint procedures,
creation of an anti-hate task force, and collaboration to increase security.
Committee on combating harassment and intimidation
▪ Requires the Chancellor of Higher Education to establish a committee on combating
antisemitism and other forms of racial, religious, and ethnic harassment and intimidation.
Harassment and intimidation reports
▪ Requires each institution of higher education to submit an annual report to the Chancellor
of all harassment and intimidation reports submitted to the federal government
consistent with the federal Clery Act.
Time, place, and manner restrictions
▪ Requires each state institution to publicize any time, place, or manner restrictions it
places on its students’ expressive activities.
* This version updates the effective date.
August 6, 2024
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Campus programs
▪ Requires the Chancellor to establish and administer the Campus Student Safety Grant
Program to award grants to institutions of higher education to enhance security measures
and increase student safety.
 Appropriates $1 million in FY 2025 to support the program.
▪ Requires the Chancellor to establish and administer the Campus Community Grant
Program to award grants to institutionally sanctioned student organizations to support
intergroup and interfaith outreach and cultural competency between institutionally
sanctioned student organizations.
 Appropriates $1 million in FY 2025 to support the program.
▪ Establishes the Campus Security Support Program under which the Chancellor must
distribute funds to institutionally sanctioned student organizations affiliated with
communities at risk for increased threats of violent crime, terror attacks, hate crimes, or
harassment to enhance security measures and increase student safety.
 Appropriates $2 million in FY 2025 to the program.
Act title
▪ Entitles this portion of the act the Campus Accountability and Modernization to Protect
University Students “CAMPUS” Act.
Financial cost and aid disclosure form
▪ Requires state universities and community colleges to provide a financial cost and aid
disclosure form to newly admitted students.
Educator preparation programs
▪ Requires the Chancellor, in conjunction with the Department of Education and
Workforce, to conduct a survey of educator preparation programs and to issue
recommendations via a report.
 Appropriates $150,000 to pay for the survey.
▪ Increase the Department of Higher Education’s appropriation to cover the cost of its
duties regarding educator preparation programs by $2 million in FY 2025.
Electronic filing of pleadings in common pleas court
▪ Requires the clerk of a common pleas court to determine whether the filing of pleadings
or documents in electronic format may be accomplished by email or through an online
platform.
▪ Prohibits the clerk from doing the following:
 Requiring that any fee for electronic filing be paid before the filing, unless the clerk
has provided for an electronic payment system; or
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 Requiring a fee for electronic filing that exceeds the applicable fee for filing pleadings
or documents on paper.
▪ Stipulates that these provisions do not apply to probate or juvenile courts.
Filing of pleadings in municipal or county court
▪ Provides that, beginning not later than July 21, 2025, pleadings or documents may be filed
with the clerk of a municipal court or the clerk of a county court either in paper or
electronic format.
▪ Stipulates that documents created by the clerk in the exercise of the clerk’s duties may
be created in an electronic format.
▪ Requires the clerk of a municipal court or county court to determine whether the filing of
pleadings or documents in electronic format may be accomplished by email or through
an online platform.
▪ Prohibits the clerk from doing the following:
 Requiring that any fee for electronic filing be paid before the filing, unless the clerk
has provided for an electronic payment system.
 Requiring a fee for electronic filing that exceeds the applicable fee for filing pleadings
or documents on paper.
Clerks of court authorization
▪ Removes the requirement that funds for the computerization of municipal and common
pleas court clerks’ offices be authorized and disbursed by the court, and instead permits
the clerk to do so if the clerk has been elected.
▪ Removes the requirement that funds for the computerization of county court clerks’
offices be authorized and disbursed by the court, and instead permits the clerk to do so.
▪ Specifies that, in a county in which the clerk of the court of common pleas is appointed,
the county executive must authorize and disburse those funds.
Municipal and county court additional fee increase
▪ Permits municipal and county courts to increase the maximum amount of their additional
fees from $10 to $20 to cover the computerization of the clerk’s office.
Liquor control laws
A-3a liquor permit: manufacturing limit
▪ Revises the limit on the number of gallons of spirituous liquor that a micro-distillery (A-3a
liquor permit holder) may manufacture each year as follows:
 Increases the amount from less than 100,000 gallons to any amount, if the
micro-distillery was issued an A-3a permit before October 24, 2024 (the act’s effective
date), regardless of whether the permit premises location or the premises ownership
is transferred and the permit holder is issued a new A-3a permit after that date.
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 Retains the 100,000-gallon limit for a distiller that begins manufacturing spirituous
liquor under an A-3a permit on and after October 24, 2024.
Tasting samples of spirituous liquor
▪ Requires tasting samples of spirituous liquor, when provided at a liquor agency store, to
be provided for free, rather than requiring at least a 50¢ charge for each tasting sample
as under former law.
Grains of paradise as adulterated alcohol
▪ Removes grains of paradise from the substances that are prohibited for use in and
considered an adulterating agent to spirituous liquor, alcoholic liquor, or beer.
Recorded documents and electronic modernization
▪ Requires counties to provide an electronic means of recording instruments and of
accessing recorded instruments by June 30, 2026.
▪ Allows county recorders to charge a document preservation surcharge.
▪ Increases the recording fee for living wills, health care powers of attorney, and
instruments related to personal property.
▪ Appropriates $6 million for the Office of the Treasurer to distribute funds to reimburse
counties to implement the act’s provisions.
Powers of attorney
▪ Modifies requirements regarding powers of attorney utilized for the execution of real
property instruments.
Mortgage subrogation
▪ Allows a mortgage that was used to satisfy a previous mortgage to be subrogated to the
priority of (have the same priority as) the previous mortgage if certain conditions are met.
▪ Prohibits a mortgage lender seeking subrogation from being denied subrogation for
specifically enumerated reasons.
▪ Provides that the holder of a subordinate mortgage or lien retains the same subordinate
position had the previous mortgage or lien not been satisfied.
Rental property owner’s agent
▪ Allows a rental property owner’s agent to file the owner’s contact information with the
county auditor.
Community reinvestment areas
▪ Clarifies a law that allows political subdivisions that enter into a community reinvestment
area (CRA) property tax exemption agreement to claw back exempted taxes if the
property does not comply with the agreement.
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Stock state banks
▪ Expands the reasons a stock state bank can amend its articles of incorporation to include
reasons permitted under Ohio Corporation Law.
Law enforcement tows
▪ Expands the law enforcement entities that may order the towing of a motor vehicle to
include university campus police departments, park district police forces, and natural
resources officers and wildlife officers of the Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
▪ Grants a university campus police department, a park district police force, and ODNR the
authority to dispose of an unclaimed towed motor vehicle or an abandoned junk motor
vehicle.
▪ Emphasizes that the owner or lienholder of a motor vehicle towed by law enforcement is
responsible for any expenses and charges incurred in towing and storing the vehicle.
Documentary service charges
▪ Increases the maximum documentary service charge that may be imposed as part of the
sale or lease of a motor vehicle.
▪ Requires the Registrar of Motor Vehicles annually to determine an updated maximum
charge based on the cumulative percentage change to the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
since July 2006.
▪ Requires the Registrar to publish the updated maximum charge on a website maintained
by the Department of Public Safety.
▪ Retains law that limits the charge to 10% of the sale or lease price.
Lender-provided certificate of title
▪ Repeals a requirement that a lender provide the purchaser of a motor vehicle with a
physical certificate of title following full payment of the loan, at no extra cost to the
purchaser.
▪ Waives unpaid fines for violations of that requirement.
▪ Requires a lender, instead, to send a written notice, including through electronic
communication, to the vehicle owner referring them to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles
(BMV) website for information on titling options, either when the owner takes out the
loan or discharges it.
▪ Requires BMV to include titling options, including fees, on its website for owners to
reference after their motor vehicle loan is discharged.
Public depositories
▪ Eliminates the prohibition against a financial institution that is subject to a
cease-and-desist order from serving as a public depository.
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▪ Requires a public depository to notify the governing board if the depository becomes
party to an active prompt corrective action directive.
▪ Specifies that institutions are ineligible to serve as public depositories while under a
prompt corrective action directive unless authorized by a governing board.
▪ Relieves certain public officials from liability for loss of public moneys deposited in a failed
public depository.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Campus accountability and modernization .................................................................................... 7
Policy on harassment and intimidation ...................................................................................... 7
Committee on combating harassment and intimidation ............................................................ 9
Harassment and intimidation reports ....................................................................................... 10
Information on time, place, and manner restrictions ............................................................... 10
Campus Student Safety Grant Program .................................................................................... 10
Campus Community Grant Program ......................................................................................... 10
Campus Security Support Program ........................................................................................... 10
Financial cost and aid disclosure form .......................................................................................... 11
Form distribution....................................................................................................................... 11
Form requirements ................................................................................................................... 11
State universities .................................................................................................................. 11
Public colleges ...................................................................................................................... 12
Form template ........................................................................................................................... 12
Educator preparation programs ................................................................................................... 13
Survey and report ...................................................................................................................... 13
Appropriation ............................................................................................................................ 14
Filing of pleadings and documents ............................................................................................... 14
Court of common pleas ............................................................................................................. 14
Filing in paper or electronic format ...................................................................................... 14
Official record ....................................................................................................................... 14
Filing pleadings or documents in electronic format ............................................................. 14
Municipal court and county court ............................................................................................. 15
Filing in paper or electronic format ...................................................................................... 15
Filing pleadings or documents in electronic format ............................................................. 15
Official record ....................................................................................................................... 15
Clerks of court authorization ........................................................................................................ 15
Municipal and county court additional fee increase .................................................................... 16
Liquor control laws ....................................................................................................................... 16
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A-3a liquor permit: manufacturing limit ............................................