OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 434 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 434’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsor: Rep. Loychik
Effective date:
Elizabeth Molnar, Attorney
SUMMARY
 Appropriates $10 million to the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Agency to
establish and support the Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Accelerator Pilot Program.
 Requires the Brain Injury Foundation to administer the program on the Agency’s behalf
and to conduct it as a public-private partnership.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Accelerator Pilot Program
H.B. 434 appropriates $10 million to the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
Agency to establish and support the Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Accelerator Pilot
Program. The bill specifies that the program’s aim is threefold: to advance scientific research
about traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), to develop TBI treatments, and to promote Ohio as a TBI
research biohub.1
Brain Injury Research Foundation
Under the bill, the Brain Injury Research Foundation must administer the program on
the Agency’s behalf and conduct it as a public-private partnership.2 As part of its duties, the
Foundation must coordinate and award grants to entity partners, including universities, to
support TBI research.
1 Section 2.
2 More details about the Foundation, a nonprofit organization, can be found at The Brain Injury
Research Foundation, which may be accessed on its website: thebirf.org.
April 18, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
Grant eligibility
To be eligible for a program grant, each entity partner must demonstrate to the
Foundation that it will match the Foundation’s award with an equal amount awarded to it from
one or more other sources, which may include institutions, private foundations, or the federal
government.
Annual reports
The bill requires the Foundation to prepare an annual report on the program’s progress.
Copies must be submitted to the General Assembly, the Governor, the Directors of the
departments of Aging, Developmental Disabilities, Education and Workforce, Health, Mental
Health and Addiction Services, and Public Safety, the Chancellor of Higher Education, the
Medicaid Director, the Executive Director of the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
Agency, the Administrator of Workers’ Compensation, and the members of the Brain Injury
Advisory Committee.
Note on the Brain Injury Advisory Committee
Under current law unchanged by the bill, the Brain Injury Advisory Committee advises
the Brain Injury Program, which is administered by The Ohio State University College of
Medicine. To the extent funds are available, the Brain Injury Program engages in certain
activities related to brain injuries, including (1) identifying and promoting the coordination of
services for brain injury survivors and their families and (2) establishing a TBI incidence
reporting system.3 The Advisory Committee advises the Brain Injury Program on the unmet
needs of brain injury survivors, the development of programs for survivors and their families,
and the establishment of training programs for health care professionals.4
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 02-27-24
ANHB0434IN-135/ar
3 R.C. 3335.60.
4 R.C. 3335.61.
P a g e |2 H.B. 434
As Introduced