Prohibit law enforcement from using quotas for arrests, citations

As Passed by the House

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 131

2025-2026

Representatives Miller, K., Sweeney

Cosponsors: Representatives Abrams,
Brent, Abdullahi, Baker, Barhorst, Bird, Brennan, Brewer, Brownlee,
Callender, Claggett, Click, Cockley, Creech, Daniels, Dean, Deeter,
Demetriou, Denson, Dovilla, Fowler Arthur, Ghanbari, Glassburn, Grim,
Gross, Hall, D., Hall, T., Hiner, Holmes, Isaacsohn, Jarrells, John,
Johnson, Jones, King, Kishman, Klopfenstein, Lampton, LaRe,
Lawson-Rowe, Lear, Manning, Mathews, A., Mathews, T., McClain,
Miller, J., Mohamed, Newman, Odioso, Peterson, Piccolantonio,
Pizzulli, Plummer, Ray, Richardson, Ritter, Robb Blasdel, Roemer,
Rogers, Russo, Salvo, Sigrist, Sims, Somani, Stephens, Stewart,
Synenberg, Thomas, C., Tims, Troy, Upchurch, White, E., Williams

To
enact section 109.70 of the Revised Code to
prohibit
law enforcement agencies from using quotas for arrests and citations.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
section 109.70 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec.
109.70.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Law enforcement official or agency" means any of the
following that has jurisdiction over the applicable local or state
police officer listed in division (A)(2)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f),
or (g) of this section that corresponds with the respective division
(A)(1)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), or (g) of this section:

(a)
A county sheriff;

(b)
A village marshal;

(c)
The organized police department of a municipal corporation;

(d)
The organized police department of a township;

(e)
A board of township trustees that appoints a township constable;

(f)
The board of a township police district or of a joint police
district;

(g)
The state highway patrol.

(2)
"Local or state police officer" means any of the following
who is under the jurisdiction of the applicable law enforcement
official or agency listed in division (A)(1)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e),
(f), or (g) of this section that corresponds with the respective
division (A)(2)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), or (g) of this section:

(a)
A county deputy sheriff;

(b)
A village deputy marshal;

(c)
A member of the organized police department of a municipal
corporation;

(d)
A member of the organized police department of a township;

(e)
A police constable appointed by a board of township trustees;

(f)
A member of the police force of a township police district or of a
joint police district;

(g)
A highway patrol trooper of the state highway patrol.

(3)
"Quota" means a mandate of a finite number of arrests made
or citations issued for any offense that a local or state police
officer must meet in a specified time period.

(B)
No law enforcement official or agency shall do any of the following:

(1)
Establish or maintain, formally or informally, a plan utilizing a
quota as the basis by which to evaluate, promote, compensate,
transfer, or discipline a local or state police officer over whom the
law enforcement official or agency has jurisdiction;

(2)
Require a local or state police officer described in division (B)(1)
of this section, or suggest to the police officer, that the police
officer is required or expected to meet a quota;

(3)
Offer a financial reward or other benefit to a local or state police
officer described in division (B)(1) of this section that is
determined by or based on the quota of that police officer.

(C)
This section does not prohibit a law enforcement official or agency
from doing any of the following:

(1)
Collecting, analyzing, and applying any information concerning the
number of arrests made and citations issued in order to ensure that a
particular local or state police officer or group of local or state
police officers does not violate an applicable legal obligation of
the officer or officers;

(2)
Assessing the proportion of the arrests made, and citations issued,
by a local or state police officer or group of local or state police
officers.

(D)(1)
The attorney general shall establish a form that any local or state
police officer may access on the web site of the attorney general for
the purpose of reporting the use of quotas in violation of division
(B)(1), (2), or (3) of this section by the law enforcement official
or agency that has jurisdiction over the local or state police
officer. Upon receiving a report, including a report submitted by an
unidentified complainant, under this division, the attorney general
shall investigate the alleged use of quotas in violation of any of
those divisions by the law enforcement official or agency that is the
subject of the report and whether any of the circumstances described
in division (C) of this section apply. The investigation shall be
conducted within one year after receiving the report.

(2)
The attorney general shall determine the procedure for the
investigation conducted under division (D)(1) of this section on a
case-by-case basis and shall provide the law enforcement official or
agency that is the subject of the investigation an opportunity to be
heard. If after the investigation the attorney general finds that the
law enforcement official or agency uses quotas in violation of
division (B)(1), (2), or (3) of this section, the attorney general
shall order the law enforcement official or agency to cease and
desist from using quotas in violation of any of those divisions.