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As Passed by the House
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
Sub. H. B. No. 217
2025-2026
Representatives Cockley, Ritter
Cosponsors: Representatives Grim,
Denson, Sigrist, Gross, Abdullahi, Miller, J., Brennan, Isaacsohn,
Newman, Workman, White, E., Daniels, Odioso, Jarrells, Brewer,
Synenberg, Rader, Abrams, Baker, Barhorst, Brent, Brownlee, Bryant
Bailey, Dovilla, Fischer, Ghanbari, Glassburn, Hall, D., Hall, T.,
Hiner, Hoops, Humphrey, John, LaRe, Lett, Manning, Mathews, A.,
Miller, K., Miller, M., Mohamed, Peterson, Richardson, Robb Blasdel,
Rogers, Russo, Salvo, Schmidt, Sims, Thomas, D., Tims, Troy,
Upchurch, White, A., Williams
To
amend sections 2901.30, 2901.41, and 2901.42
and to enact section 109.5731
of the Revised Code
to
enact Andy Chapman's Act to require law enforcement agencies to enter
information relating to a report of a missing person in the national
missing and unidentified persons system (NamUs).
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 2901.30, 2901.41, and 2901.42
be amended and section 109.5731
of the Revised Code be
enacted
to
read as follows:
Sec.
109.5731.
The
superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and
investigation shall establish and maintain digitalized records of
missing persons and children reports.
Sec.
2901.30.
(A)
As used in sections 2901.30 to 2901.32 of the Revised Code:
(1)
"Information" means information that can be integrated into
the computer system and that relates to the physical or mental
description of a minor including, but not limited to, height, weight,
color of hair and eyes, use of eyeglasses or contact lenses, skin
coloring, physical or mental disabilities, special medical conditions
or needs, abnormalities, problems, scars and marks, and
distinguishing characteristics, and other information that could
assist in identifying a minor including, but not limited to, full
name and nickname, date and place of birth, age, names and addresses
of parents and other relatives, fingerprints, dental records,
photographs, social security number, driver's license number, credit
card numbers, bank account numbers, and clothing.
(2)
"Minor" means a person under eighteen years of age.
(3)
"Missing children" or "missing child" means
either of the following:
(a)
A minor who has run away from or who otherwise is missing from the
home of, or the care, custody, and control of, the minor's parents,
parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian, guardian,
legal custodian, or other person having responsibility for the care
of the minor;
(b)
A minor who is missing and about whom there is reason to believe the
minor could be the victim of a violation of section 2905.01, 2905.02,
2905.03, or 2919.23 of the Revised Code or of a violation of section
2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996.
(4)
"NamUs" means the national missing and unidentified persons
system created by the United States department of justice.
(B)
(5)
"High-risk missing child" means a missing child who meets
any of the following criteria:
(a)
The child is missing as a result of a confirmed abduction.
(b)
The child is missing under known dangerous circumstances.
(c)
The child is missing more than thirty days.
(d)
There is evidence the child is at risk because of any of the
following factors:
(i)
The missing child is in need of medical attention or prescription
medication, such that it will have a serious adverse effect on the
child's health if the needed care or medication is not received.
(ii)
The missing child does not have a pattern of running away or
disappearing.
(iii)
The missing child may have been abducted by a noncustodial parent.
(iv)
The missing child is mentally impaired or developmentally disabled.
(v)
The missing child has been the subject of past threats or acts of
violence.
(vi)
Any other factor that may indicate, in the judgment of the lead
investigating law enforcement agency, that the missing child may be
at risk.
(B)(1)
When a law enforcement agency in this state that has jurisdiction in
the matter is informed that a minor is or may be a missing child and
that the person providing the information wishes to file a missing
child report, the law enforcement agency shall take that report. Upon
taking the report, the law enforcement agency shall take prompt
action upon it, including, but not limited to,
assessing
if the missing child may be a high-risk missing child and
concerted
efforts to locate the missing child. No law enforcement agency in
this state shall have a rule or policy that prohibits or discourages
the filing of or the taking of action upon a missing child report,
within a specified period following the discovery or formulation of a
belief that a minor is or could be a missing child.
(2)(a)
If a law enforcement agency has reason to believe that a missing
child is a high-risk missing child, the agency shall contact the
appropriate county prosecutor who shall determine whether the child
reported missing is a high-risk missing child. If the prosecutor
determines that the child is a high-risk missing child, there is a
rebuttable presumption that the child is missing as a result of, or
in association with, criminal activity, and the law enforcement
agency may seek to obtain a search warrant for relevant records or
data for the purposes of determining who has legal custody of the
child, and for any record that may disclose an allegation of child
abuse perpetrated against the child, or an allegation of domestic
violence perpetrated against a member of the child's family.
(b)
If a search reveals that a child reported missing is in the custody
of the child's legal guardian or if substantiated allegations of
child abuse against the child or any order protecting a family member
from domestic violence exists, the law enforcement agency shall
continue the criminal investigation without disclosing the
whereabouts of the child or the child's guardian to the person who
reported the child missing, unless the source of the report is a
public children services agency.
(c)
If the initial determination of a child reported missing does not
warrant designation of that child as a high-risk missing child, it
shall not preclude a later determination, based on further
investigation or the discovery of additional information that the
missing child is a high-risk missing child.
(d)
If the investigating law enforcement agency discovers evidence during
the investigation that indicates that the missing child does not meet
the definition of a high-risk missing child, there is no rebuttable
presumption that the child is missing as a result of, or in
association with, criminal activity.
(C)
If a missing child report is made to a law enforcement agency in this
state that has jurisdiction in the matter, the law enforcement agency
shall gather readily available information about the missing child
and integrate it into the national crime information center computer
immediately
and
NamUs if the missing child is not located within thirty days
following
the making of the report. The law enforcement agency shall make
reasonable efforts to acquire additional information about the
missing child following the transmittal of the initially available
information, and promptly integrate any additional information
acquired into such computer systems.
Whenever
a law enforcement agency integrates information about a missing child
into the national crime information center computer
and NamUs
,
the law enforcement agency promptly shall notify the missing child's
parents, parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian,
guardian, or legal custodian, or any other person responsible for the
care of the missing child, that it has so integrated the information.
The
parents, parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian,
guardian, legal custodian, or other person responsible for the care
of the missing child shall provide available information upon
request, and may provide information voluntarily, to the law
enforcement agency during the information gathering process. The law
enforcement agency also may obtain available information about the
missing child from other persons, subject to constitutional and
statutory limitations.
(D)
Upon the filing of a missing child report, the law enforcement agency
involved may notify the public or nonpublic school in which the
missing child is or was most recently enrolled, as ascertained by the
agency, that the child is the subject of a missing child report and
that the child's school records are to be marked in accordance with
section 3313.672 of the Revised Code.
(E)
Upon the filing of a missing child report, the law enforcement agency
involved promptly shall make a reasonable attempt to notify other law
enforcement agencies within its county and, if the agency has
jurisdiction in a municipal corporation or township that borders
another county, to notify the law enforcement agency for the
municipal corporation or township in the other county with which it
shares the border, that it has taken a missing child report and may
be requesting assistance or cooperation in the case, and provide
relevant information to the other law enforcement agencies. The
agency may notify additional law enforcement agencies, or appropriate
public children services agencies, about the case, request their
assistance or cooperation in the case, and provide them with relevant
information.
Upon
request from a law enforcement agency, a public children services
agency shall grant the law enforcement agency access to all
information concerning a missing child that the agency possesses that
may be relevant to the law enforcement agency in investigating a
missing child report concerning that child. The information obtained
by the law enforcement agency shall be used only to further the
investigation to locate the missing child.
(F)
Upon request, law enforcement agencies in this state shall provide
assistance to, and cooperate with, other law enforcement agencies in
their investigation of missing child cases. The assistance and
cooperation under this paragraph shall be pursuant to any terms
agreed upon by the law enforcement agencies, which may include the
provision of law enforcement services or the use of law enforcement
equipment or the interchange of services and equipment among the
cooperating law enforcement agencies. Chapter 2744. of the Revised
Code, insofar as it applies to the operation of law enforcement
agencies, shall apply to the cooperating political subdivisions and
to the law enforcement agency employees when they are rendering
services pursuant to this paragraph outside the territory of the
political subdivision by which they are employed. Law enforcement
agency employees rendering services outside the territory of the
political subdivision in which they are employed, pursuant to this
paragraph, shall be entitled to participate in any indemnity fund
established by their employer to the same extent as if they were
rendering service within the territory of their employing political
subdivision. Those law enforcement agency employees also shall be
entitled to all the rights and benefits of Chapter 4123. of the
Revised Code to the same extent as if rendering services within the
territory of their employing political subdivision.
The
information in any missing child report made to a law enforcement
agency shall be made available, upon request, to law enforcement
personnel of this state, other states, and the federal government
when the law enforcement personnel indicate that the request is to
aid in identifying or locating a missing child or the possible
identification of a deceased minor who, upon discovery, cannot be
identified.
(G)
When a missing child has not been located within thirty days after
the date on which the missing child report pertaining to the child
was filed with a law enforcement agency, that law enforcement agency
shall request the missing child's parents, parent who is the
residential parent and legal custodian, guardian, or legal custodian,
or any other person responsible for the care of the missing child, to
provide written consent for the law enforcement agency to contact the
missing child's dentist and request the missing child's dental
records. Upon receipt of such written consent, the dentist shall
release a copy of the missing child's dental records to the law
enforcement agency and shall provide and encode the records in such
form as requested by the law enforcement agency. The law enforcement
agency then shall integrate information in the records into the
national crime information center computer
and NamUs
in
order to compare the records to those of unidentified deceased
persons. This division does not prevent a law enforcement agency from
seeking consent to obtain copies of a missing child's dental records,
or prevent a missing child's parents, parent who is the residential
parent and legal custodian, guardian, or legal custodian, or any
other person responsible for the care of the missing child, from
granting consent for the release of copies of the missing child's
dental records to a law enforcement agency, at any time.
A law enforcement agency shall retain all reports of missing children
in an electronic format prior to destruction of any paper reports
and, upon conversion, shall promptly submit those reports to the
bureau of criminal identification and investigation for purposes of
section 109.5731 of the Revised Code.
(H)
A missing child's parents, parent who is the residential parent and
legal custodian, guardian, or legal custodian, or any other persons
responsible for the care of a missing child, immediately shall notify
the law enforcement agency with which they filed the missing child
report whenever the child has returned to their home or to their
care, custody, and control, has been released if the missing child
was the victim of an offense listed in division (A)(3)(b) of this
section, or otherwise has been located. Upon such notification or
upon otherwise learning that a missing child has returned to the home
of, or to the care, custody, and control of the missing child's
parents, parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian,
guardian, legal custodian, or other person responsible for the
missing child's care, has been released if the missing child was the
victim of an offense listed in division (A)(3)(b) of this section, or
otherwise has been located, the law enforcement agency involved
promptly shall integrate the fact that the minor no longer is a
missing child into the national crime information center computer
and into NamUs
and shall inform any school that was notified under division (D) of
this section that the minor is no longer a missing child.
Sec.
2901.41.
(A)
As used in this section and section 2901.42 of the Revised Code
,
"missing
:
(1)
"Missing
person"
means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older, whose
temporary or permanent residence is in Ohio, and who meets one of the
following characteristics:
(1)
(a)
The individual has a physical or mental disability.
(2)
(b)
The individual is missing under circumstances indicating that the
individual's safety may be in danger.
(3)
(c)
The individual is missing under circumstances indicating that the
individual's disappearance was not voluntary.
(2)
"NamUs" means the national missing and unidentified persons
system created by the United States department of justice.
(3)
"High-risk missing person" means an individual who is
eighteen years of age or older whose whereabouts are not currently
known and the circumstances of the individual's disappearance suggest
that the person may be at imminent or likely risk of injury or death.
The circumstances that indicate that an individual is a high-risk
missing person shall include but not be limited to:
(a)
The individual is missing as a result of a confirmed abduction.
(b)
The individual is missing under known dangerous circumstances.
(c)
The individual is missing more than thirty days.
(d)
There is evidence the person is at risk because of any of the
following factors:
(i)
The missing individual is in need of medical attention or
prescription medication, such that it will have a serious adverse
effect on the individual's health if the needed care or medication is
not received.
(ii)
The missing individual does not have a pattern of running away or
disappearing.
(iii)
The missing individual is mentally impaired or developmentally
disabled.
(iv)
The missing individual has been the subject of past threats or acts
of violence.
(v)
The missing individual is under twenty-one years of age and any of
the factors listed in division (A)(3)(d)(i) to (iv) of this section
exist.
(vi)
Any other factor that may indicate, in the judgment of the lead
investigating law enforcement agency, that the missing individual may
be at risk.
(B)
The attorney general shall publish and distribute to all law
enforcement agencies in this state a best practices protocol for
addressing reports of missing persons
,
including practices for making assessments of whether a missing
person is a high-risk missing person
.
Each
best practices protocol shall require all law enforcement agencies to
enter information relating to a report of a missing person into NamUs
if a missing person is not located within thirty days following the
making of the report.
Upon
receipt of the best practices protocol from the attorney general,
each law enforcement agency in this state shall develop and adopt a
written policy establishing
reasonable
both
of the following:
(1)
Reasonable
procedures
to be followed by the law enforcement agency when the agency is
informed that a person is or may be a missing person
;
(2)
A procedure for retaining all reports of missing persons in an
electronic format prior to the destruction of any paper reports and,
upon conversion, for promptly submitting those electronic reports to
the bureau of criminal identification and investigation for purposes
of section 109.5731 of the Revised Code
.
(C)
After a law enforcement agency adopts a written policy as required by
division (B) of this section, the peace officers that are employed by
that agency shall make a good faith effort to follow the procedures
contained in the policy.
(D)
The requirements of this section do not create a private cause of
action for damages against the state or any law enforcement agency,
political subdivision, peace officer, or other person who fails to
comply with the requirements of this section.
(E)(1)
If a law enforcement agency has reason to believe that an individual
reported missing is a high-risk missing person, the agency shall
contact the appropriate county prosecutor who shall determine whether
the individual reported missing is a high-risk missing person. If the
prosecutor determines that the individual is a high-risk missing
person, there is a rebuttable presumption that the individual is
missing as a result of, or in association with, criminal activity.
This rebuttable presumption shall constitute probable cause for
issuance of a search warrant under Chapter 2933. of the Revised Code
during any resulting investigation. If the initial determination of
an individual reported missing does not warrant designation of that
individual as a high-risk missing person, it shall not preclude a
later determination, based on further investigation or the discovery
of additional information that the missing individual is a high-risk
missing person.
(2)
If the investigating law enforcement agency discovers evidence during
the investigation that indicates that the missing person does not
meet the definition of a high-risk missing person, there is no
rebuttable presumption that the person is missing as a result of, or
in association with, criminal activity.
Sec.
2901.42.
(A)
If a law enforcement agency receives an initial report or receives
additional information for the report that a person who is at least
eighteen but less than twenty-one years of age is missing, the law
enforcement agency shall
make
do
both of the following:
(1)
Make
available
through the national crime information center all information
contained in the report immediately after the law enforcement agency
receives the report or additional information
.
;
(2)
Make available through NamUs information contained in the report if a
missing person is not located within thirty days after the law
enforcement agency receives the report or additional information.
(B)(1)
If a law enforcement agency receives a report that a person who is
twenty-one years of age or older is missing and if there is evidence
that the person was a victim of foul play at the time the victim is
reported missing,
or
is otherwise a high-risk missing person,
the
law enforcement agency shall make available through the national
crime information center all information contained in the report not
later than seven days after the law enforcement agency receives the
report. If there is no evidence that the person was a victim of foul
play,
the
missing person is not a high-risk missing person,
and
no evidence to the contrary is received, the law enforcement agency
shall make the information available through the national crime
information center not later than thirty days after receiving the
report that the person is missing.
(2)
If a law enforcement agency receives a report that a person who is
twenty-one years of age or older is missing and there is no evidence
of foul play at the time the agency receives the report and if the
agency discovers after the law enforcement agency receives the report
but before the end of the seven-day period under division (B)(1) of
this section evidence that the person who is missing was a victim of
foul play,
or
the person who is missing is later determined to be a high-risk
missing person,
the
law enforcement agency shall make available through the national
crime information center all information contained in the report by
the end of that seven-day period. If a law enforcement agency
receives a report that a person who is twenty-one years of age or
older is missing and there is no evidence of foul play at the time
the agency receives the report and if the agency discovers after the
end of the seven-day period under division (B)(1) of this section
evidence that the person who is missing was a victim of foul play,
or
the person who is missing is later determined to be a high-risk
missing person,
the
law enforcement agency shall make available through the national
crime information center
all
information contained in the report not later than forty-eight hours
after discovering the evidence that the person was a victim of foul
play
,
or the person is determined to be a high-risk missing person
.
(3)
If a law enforcement agency receives a report that a person who is
twenty-one years of age or older is missing, the law enforcement
agency shall make available through NamUs information contained in
the report if the missing person is not located within thirty days
after the law enforcement agency receives the report or additional
information.
(C)
If a law enforcement agency pursuant to divisions (A) and (B) of this
section made available through the national crime information center
and NamUs
information contained in a report that a person is missing and the
missing person is found, the agency shall promptly remove that
information from the law enforcement automated data system
and report to NamUs that the person has been found
.
(D)
A
law enforcement agency shall retain every report of a missing person
in an electronic format prior to destruction of any paper reports
and, upon conversion, shall promptly submit each report to the bureau
of criminal identification and investigation for purposes of section
109.5731 of the Revised Code.
(E)
As
used in this section, indicators that a person was a victim of "foul
play" include, but are not limited to, evidence that the
person's home or car is in disarray, evidence of a struggle between
the person and another person, or evidence a law enforcement agency
determines to be foul play through the written policy the law
enforcement agency develops and adopts pursuant to division (B) of
section 2901.41 of the Revised Code.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 2901.30, 2901.41, and 2901.42 of the Revised Code
are hereby repealed.
Section
3.
This
act shall be known as Andy Chapman's Act.