As Introduced
135th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 230
2023-2024
Senator Antani
A BILL
To amend sections 9.63 and 5747.502 and to enact 1
sections 9.631, 9.632, 9.633, and 9.634 of the 2
Revised Code to require state and local 3
authorities to cooperate with the federal 4
government in the enforcement of immigration 5
laws, to sanction those that fail to do so, and 6
to declare an emergency. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 9.63 and 5747.502 be amended and 8
sections 9.631, 9.632, 9.633, and 9.634 of the Revised Code be 9
enacted to read as follows: 10
Sec. 9.63. (A) Notwithstanding any law, ordinance, or 11
collective bargaining contract to the contrary, no state or 12
local employee shall unreasonably fail to comply with any lawful 13
request for assistance made by any federal authorities carrying 14
out the provisions of the USA Patriot Act, any federal 15
immigration or terrorism investigation, or any executive order 16
of the president of the United States pertaining to homeland 17
security, to the extent that the request is consistent with the 18
doctrine of federalism. 19
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(B) No municipal corporation shall enact an ordinance, 20
policy, directive, rule, or resolution that would materially 21
hinder or prevent local employees from complying with the USA 22
Patriot Act or any executive order of the president of the 23
United States pertaining to homeland security or from 24
cooperating with state or federal immigration services and 25
terrorism investigations. 26
(C)(1) Any municipal corporation that enacts any 27
ordinance, policy, directive, rule, or resolution that division 28
(B) of this section prohibits is ineligible to receive any 29
homeland security funding available from the state. 30
(2) Whenever the director of public safety determines that 31
a municipal corporation has enacted any ordinance, policy, 32
directive, rule, or resolution that division (B) of this section 33
prohibits, the director shall certify that the municipal 34
corporation is ineligible to receive any homeland security 35
funding from the state and shall notify the general assembly of 36
that ineligibility. That municipal corporation shall remain 37
ineligible to receive any homeland security funding from the 38
state until the director certifies that the ordinance, policy, 39
directive, rule, or resolution has been repealed. 40
(D)(1) If a state or local employee states disagreement 41
with, or a critical opinion of, the USA Patriot Act, any federal 42
immigration or terrorism policy, or any executive order of the 43
president of the United States pertaining to homeland security, 44
the statement of disagreement with or critical opinion of the 45
act or order is not sufficient to qualify for purposes of this 46
section as unreasonable noncompliance with a request for 47
assistance of the type division (A) of this section describes. 48
(2) Any municipal corporation's ordinance, policy, 49
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As Introduced
directive, rule, or resolution that states disagreement with, or 50
a critical opinion of, any state or federal immigration or 51
terrorism policy, the USA Patriot Act, or any executive order of 52
the president of the United States pertaining to homeland 53
security is not sufficient to qualify as a "material hindrance 54
or prevention" of local employees from cooperating with federal 55
immigration services and terrorism investigations or from 56
complying with the USA Patriot Act or any executive order of the 57
president of the United States pertaining to homeland security 58
for purposes of divisions (B), (C), and (D) of this section. 59
(E) As used in this section, "USA Patriot Act" means the 60
"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate 61
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA Patriot 62
Act) Act of 2001," Pub. L. No. 107-056, 115 Stat. 272, as 63
amended. 64
Sec. 9.631. (A) As used in this section and sections 9.632 65
and 9.633 of the Revised Code: 66
(1) "Law enforcement agency" means a municipal or township 67
police department, the office of a sheriff, the state highway 68
patrol, or any other state or local governmental body that 69
enforces criminal laws and that has employees who have a 70
statutory power of arrest. 71
(2) "Political subdivision" means a county, township, 72
municipal corporation, or any other body corporate and politic 73
that is responsible for government activities in a geographic 74
area smaller than that of the state. 75
(3) "State or local governmental entity" means any agency, 76
board, bureau, commission, council, department, division, 77
office, or other organized body established by the state or a 78
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As Introduced
political subdivision for the exercise of any function of the 79
state or a political subdivision. 80
(4) "State or local public benefit" has the same meaning 81
as in division (c) of section 411 of the "Personal 82
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996," 83
8 U.S.C. 1621(c). 84
(B) A law enforcement agency shall do all of the 85
following: 86
(1) Participate in any available program operated by the 87
United States department of homeland security or its successor 88
department that allows the law enforcement agency to submit to 89
federal authorities information about an arrestee in order to 90
enable those authorities to determine whether the arrestee is 91
unlawfully present in the United States; 92
(2) Immediately report the identity of any arrestee whom a 93
peace officer has reasonable cause to believe is unlawfully 94
present in the United States to the appropriate office of the 95
United States immigration and customs enforcement agency or its 96
successor agency; 97
(3) Detain a person who is unlawfully present in the 98
United States, upon receiving a lawful federal request or order 99
to do so, until the person is transferred into federal custody; 100
(4) Otherwise cooperate and comply with federal officials 101
in the enforcement of federal immigration law. 102
(C)(1) Each state or local governmental entity 103
administering a state or local public benefit shall comply with 104
section 411 of the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 105
Reconciliation Act of 1996," 8 U.S.C. 1621. 106
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(2) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(3) of 107
this section, whenever a person who is not a United States 108
citizen or national applies to a state or local governmental 109
entity for a state or local public benefit, the state or local 110
governmental entity shall verify whether the person is 111
ineligible for the benefit under section 411 of the "Personal 112
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996," 113
8 U.S.C. 1621, using the systematic alien verification for 114
entitlements (SAVE) program, or its successor program, operated 115
by the United States department of homeland security or its 116
successor agency. 117
(3) Division (C)(2) of this section does not apply when a 118
person applies for a state or local public benefit described in 119
division (b) of section 411 of the "Personal Responsibility and 120
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996," 8 U.S.C. 1621, or 121
for a state or local public benefit for which the Revised Code 122
affirmatively provides eligibility for persons described in 123
division (a) of that section. 124
(D) No state or local government agency or political 125
subdivision shall adopt an ordinance, policy, directive, rule, 126
or resolution that prohibits or otherwise restricts a public 127
official or employee from doing any of the following: 128
(1) Complying with the requirements of division (B) or (C) 129
of this section; 130
(2) Inquiring about a person's name, birthdate, place of 131
birth, or citizenship or immigration status in the course of 132
investigating or prosecuting a violation of any law or 133
ordinance; 134
(3) Maintaining information about a person's citizenship 135
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or immigration status; 136
(4) Sending information to, or requesting or receiving 137
information from, a federal, state, or local government agency 138
or employee concerning a person's citizenship or immigration 139
status or for the purpose of determining a person's citizenship 140
or immigration status; 141
(5) Complying with any request by a federal agency engaged 142
in the enforcement of federal immigration law for information, 143
access, or assistance, regardless of whether the federal agency 144
has obtained a warrant to compel the state or local government 145
agency or political subdivision to comply with the request, 146
unless federal law prohibits the state or local government 147
agency or political subdivision from complying with the request. 148
Sec. 9.632. (A) Each law enforcement agency and each state 149
or local governmental entity that administers a state or local 150
public benefit shall notify its officers and employees of the 151
requirements of sections 9.63 and 9.631 of the Revised Code. 152
(B)(1) A resident of this state who believes that a 153
county, township, or municipal corporation or the law 154
enforcement agency that serves the county, township, or 155
municipal corporation is not complying with the requirements of 156
section 9.631 of the Revised Code may file a complaint with the 157
director of public safety. Upon receiving the complaint, the 158
director shall investigate whether the county, township, 159
municipal corporation, or law enforcement agency is complying 160
with the requirements of that section and shall submit a report 161
of the director's findings to the treasurer of state, to the tax 162
commissioner, to the speaker and minority leader of the house of 163
representatives, and to the president and minority leader of the 164
senate. 165
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(2) If the director determines that a county, township, 166
municipal corporation, or law enforcement agency originally 167
reported as failing to comply with the requirements of section 168
9.631 of the Revised Code is in compliance with those 169
requirements, the director promptly shall issue an addendum to 170
the director's original report concerning that county, township, 171
municipal corporation, or law enforcement agency to the persons 172
who received the original report. 173
(C) If the director of public safety determines that a 174
county, township, or municipal corporation or the law 175
enforcement agency that serves the county, township, or 176
municipal corporation is not in compliance with the requirements 177
of section 9.631 of the Revised Code, then the county, township, 178
or municipal corporation is ineligible to receive homeland 179
security funding and any local government fund distributions 180
from the state until the director of public safety certifies in 181
an addendum issued under division (B)(2) of this section that 182
the county, township, municipal corporation, or law enforcement 183
agency is in compliance with the requirements of that section. 184
Sec. 9.633. (A) A person who has suffered a personal 185
injury, death, or property loss, the person's legal 186
representative, or the administrator of the person's estate may 187
file a complaint seeking the removal of a public officer in the 188
legislative or executive branch of government of a county, 189
township, or municipal corporation if all of the following 190
apply: 191
(1) A criminal offense that occurred on or after the 192
effective date of this section was a proximate cause of the 193
person's personal injury, death, or property loss. 194
(2) A person who was unlawfully present in the United 195
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States at the time of the offense has been convicted of the 196
offense. 197
(3) The county, township, or municipal corporation or the 198
law enforcement agency that serves the county, township, or 199
municipal corporation was not in compliance with the 200
requirements of section 9.631 of the Revised Code at the time of 201
the offense. 202
(4) At the time of the offense, one of the following was 203
true: 204
(a) The offender resided or worked in the county, 205
township, or municipal corporation. For purposes of this 206
division, a person resides in the place in which the person's 207
habitation is fixed and to which, whenever the person is absent, 208
the person has the intention of returning. 209
(b) The offender spent time in the county, township, or 210
municipal corporation because the offender received an actual or 211
perceived benefit from the failure of the county, township, or 212
municipal corporation or the law enforcement agency that serves 213
the county, township, or municipal corporation to comply with 214
the requirements of section 9.631 of the Revised Code. 215
(5) The public officer did any of the following: 216
(a) In the case of a member of the legislative authority 217
of the county, township, or municipal corporation, voted in 218
favor of a resolution, ordinance, order, rule, or policy that 219
caused the county, township, or municipal corporation or the law 220
enforcement agency