Enact Withholding Illegal Revenue Entering Drug Markets WIRED Act

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 149

2025-2026

Representatives King, Miller, K.

Cosponsors: Representatives Hall, T.,
Williams, Click, Gross, Ritter, Johnson, Daniels, Lear, Klopfenstein

A
BILL

To
amend section 5747.98 and to enact sections 1315.131, 5502.80, and
5747.87 of the Revised Code
to
levy a transfer fee on money transmissions, to authorize an income
tax credit based on the amount of the transfer fees paid, and to name
this act Ohio's Withholding Illegal Revenue Entering Drug Markets
(WIRED) Act.

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

Section
1.
That
section 5747.98 be amended and sections 1315.131, 5502.80, and
5747.87 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec.
1315.131.
(A)
To provide revenue for local law enforcement, a transfer fee is
imposed on licensees and authorized delegates that transmit money
from a customer in this state. The amount of the transfer fee equals
three per cent of the amount of money, or its equivalent, transmitted
by the licensee or authorized delegate in the transaction.

(B)
A licensee or authorized delegate may bill or invoice the transfer
fee imposed by this section to the customer from which the money is
transmitted, but shall provide that customer with an itemized receipt
that lists the amount of the transfer fee as a separate line item
from any other amounts charged by the licensee or authorized delegate
in connection with the transaction.

(C)
A person that transmitted money from a customer in this state shall
file a quarterly report and pay the aggregate amount of transfer fees
due on all such transactions during the previous quarter to the
superintendent of financial institutions in a form and manner
prescribed by the superintendent. If the report is filed and the
amount of the transfer fees shown on the report to be due is paid on
or before the date the report is required to be filed, the person is
entitled to a discount equal to three-fourths of one per cent of the
amount otherwise shown to be due on the report.

(D)
The withholding illegal revenue entering drug markets fund is created
in the state treasury. All transfer fees collected by the
superintendent under this section shall be deposited into the fund.
All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund.
The superintendent and the director of public safety shall use the
moneys in the fund to make transfers as required by section 5747.87
of the Revised Code and for the purposes described in section 5502.80
of the Revised Code.

(E)
Every licensee and authorized delegate that transfers money from
customers in this state shall conspicuously post a notice in the
licensee's or authorized delegate's place of business, in a form
prescribed by the superintendent, that informs customers of the tax
credit authorized by section 5747.87 of the Revised Code for transfer
fees imposed by this section that are billed or invoiced to the
customer.

Sec.
5502.80.
(A)
As used in this section, "law enforcement agency" means an
organized police department, sheriff's office, or marshal's office of
any county, municipal corporation, or township.

(B)
The department of public safety shall use moneys deposited to the
withholding illegal revenue entering drug markets fund, under section
1315.131 of the Revised Code, to award grants to law enforcement
agencies to defray costs incurred by those agencies for investigation
of human trafficking and drug trafficking, and enforcement of related
laws.

(C)
The director of public safety, in administering the grants, shall do
both of the following:

(1)
Ensure that funds are distributed equitably to jurisdictions
throughout the state and among law enforcement agencies of varying
sizes.

(2)
Allow more than one law enforcement agency to apply collectively for
a grant to fund cooperative efforts to investigate human trafficking
and drug trafficking and enforce related laws, including efforts
conducted through a drug task force, as defined in section 5502.68 of
the Revised Code.

(D)
The director of public safety, in consultation with the
superintendent of financial institutions, shall adopt rules under
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to establish guidelines for the
grant program and for administering the fund and to establish
application procedures for law enforcement agencies seeking a grant
under this section.

Sec.
5747.87.
(A)
As used in this section, "authorized delegate," "licensee,"
and "transmit money" have the same meanings as in section
1315.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)
A refundable credit is allowed against a taxpayer's aggregate tax
liability under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code. The credit shall
equal the amount of transfer fees imposed by section 1315.131 of the
Revised Code that are billed or invoiced to, and paid by, a taxpayer
in the taxable year, but the amount of credit allowed shall not
exceed, for any taxable year, three hundred dollars, including any
credit amounts apportioned or allocated to the taxpayer by a
pass-through entity. The credit applies only to transfer fees paid
for transactions in which the taxpayer is the customer of a licensee
or authorized delegate. The credit is not available for transfer fees
paid by a taxpayer acting as a licensee or authorized delegate by
transmitting money on behalf of another customer.

The
credit shall be claimed in the order required under section 5747.98
of the Revised Code. If the amount of the credit under this section
exceeds the aggregate amount of tax otherwise due under section
5747.02 of the Revised Code after deduction of all other credits in
that order, the taxpayer is entitled to a refund of the excess.

If
the taxpayer is a direct or indirect investor in a pass-through
entity that paid transfer fees under section 1315.131 of the Revised
Code during the taxpayer's taxable year that would have qualified the
entity for the credit if the entity was a taxpayer, the taxpayer may
claim its proportionate or distributive share of the credit allowed
under this section.

(C)
The tax commissioner may require the taxpayer to furnish proof of
payment of transfer fees under section 1315.131 of the Revised Code
as a condition of obtaining the credit authorized under this section.

(D)
On or before the thirtieth day of July of each year, the tax
commissioner shall certify to the superintendent of the division of
financial institutions and the director of budget and management the
amount of tax credits claimed under this section in the preceding
fiscal year. Within fifteen days after receipt of this certification,
the director of budget and management shall transfer money equal to
the certified amount to the general revenue fund from the withholding
illegal revenue entering drug markets fund created in section
1315.131 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
5747.98.
(A)
To provide a uniform procedure for calculating a taxpayer's aggregate
tax liability under section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, a taxpayer
shall claim any credits to which the taxpayer is entitled in the
following order:

Either
the retirement income credit under division (B) of section 5747.055
of the Revised Code or the lump sum retirement income credits under
divisions (C), (D), and (E) of that section;

Either
the senior citizen credit under division (F) of section 5747.055 of
the Revised Code or the lump sum distribution credit under division
(G) of that section;

The
dependent care credit under section 5747.054 of the Revised Code;

The
credit for displaced workers who pay for job training under section
5747.27 of the Revised Code;

The
campaign contribution credit under section 5747.29 of the Revised
Code;

The
twenty-dollar personal exemption credit under section 5747.022 of the
Revised Code;

The
joint filing credit under division
(G)

(E)

of
section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

The
earned income credit under section 5747.71 of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable credit for education expenses under section 5747.72 of
the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable credit for donations to scholarship granting
organizations under section 5747.73 of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable credit for tuition paid to a nonchartered nonpublic
school under section 5747.75 of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable vocational job credit under section 5747.057 of the
Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable job retention credit under division (B) of section
5747.058 of the Revised Code;

The
enterprise zone credit under section 5709.66 of the Revised Code;

The
credit for beginning farmers who participate in a financial
management program under division (B) of section 5747.77 of the
Revised Code;

The
credit for commercial vehicle operator training expenses under
section 5747.82 of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable welcome home Ohio (WHO) program credit under section
122.633 of the Revised Code;

The
credit for selling or renting agricultural assets to beginning
farmers under division (A) of section 5747.77 of the Revised Code;

The
credit for purchases of qualifying grape production property under
section 5747.28 of the Revised Code;

The
small business investment credit under section 5747.81 of the Revised
Code;

The
nonrefundable lead abatement credit under section 5747.26 of the
Revised Code;

The
opportunity zone investment credit under section 122.84 of the
Revised Code;

The
enterprise zone credits under section 5709.65 of the Revised Code;

The
research and development credit under section 5747.331 of the Revised
Code;

The
credit for rehabilitating a historic building under section 5747.76
of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable Ohio low-income housing tax credit under section
5747.83 of the Revised Code;

The
nonrefundable affordable single-family home credit under section
5747.84 of the Revised Code;

The
nonresident credit under division (A) of section 5747.05 of the
Revised Code;

The
credit for a resident's out-of-state income under division (B) of
section 5747.05 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable motion picture and broadway theatrical production credit
under section 5747.66 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credit for film and theater capital improvement projects
under section 5747.67 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable jobs creation credit or job retention credit under
division (A) of section 5747.058 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credit for taxes paid by a qualifying entity granted under
section 5747.059 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credits for taxes paid by a qualifying pass-through entity
granted under division (I) of section 5747.08 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credit under section 5747.80 of the Revised Code for
losses on loans made to the Ohio venture capital program under
sections 150.01 to 150.10 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credit for rehabilitating a historic building under
section 5747.76 of the Revised Code;

The
refundable credit under section 5747.39 of the Revised Code for taxes
levied under section 5747.38 of the Revised Code paid by an electing
pass-through entity
.

;

The
refundable credit under section 5747.87 of the Revised Code for the
transfer fees paid under section 1315.131 of the Revised Code.

(B)
For any credit, except the refundable credits enumerated in this
section and the credit granted under division (H) of section 5747.08
of the Revised Code, the amount of the credit for a taxable year
shall not exceed the taxpayer's aggregate amount of tax due under
section 5747.02 of the Revised Code, after allowing for any other
credit that precedes it in the order required under this section. Any
excess amount of a particular credit may be carried forward if
authorized under the section creating that credit. Nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to allow a taxpayer to claim, directly or
indirectly, a credit more than once for a taxable year.

Section
2.
That
existing section 5747.98 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Section
3.
The
enactment by this act of section 5747.87 of the Revised Code applies
to taxable years ending on or after the effective date of this
section.

Section
4.
The
transfer fee imposed by section 1315.131 of the Revised Code, as
enacted by this act, applies to transactions on and after the first
day of the first month that begins after the effective date of this
section.

Section
5.
This
act shall be known as Ohio's Withholding Illegal Revenue Entering
Drug Markets (WIRED) Act.