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As Passed by the House
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 249
2025-2026
Representatives King, Williams
Cosponsors: Representatives Hoops,
Deeter, Workman, Barhorst, Bird, Claggett, Click, Creech, Thomas, D.,
Demetriou, Ferguson, Fowler Arthur, Gross, Hall, T., Hiner, Holmes,
Thomas, J., John, Miller, K., Ritter, Klopfenstein, Lear, Dean,
Lorenz, Johnson, Mathews, T., McClain, Miller, M., Mullins, Newman,
Peterson, Pizzulli, Plummer, Richardson, Robb Blasdel, Salvo,
Swearingen, Willis, Lampton, Jones, Schmidt, Fischer, Mathews, A.,
Stewart, Abrams, Craig, Daniels, Dovilla, Ghanbari, Kishman, Roemer,
Santucci, Stephens, Young
To
amend sections 2907.09, 2907.39, and 4301.25 of the Revised Code
to
enact the Indecent Exposure Modernization Act.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections
2907.09,
2907.39
,
and 4301.25 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec.
2907.09.
(A)
No person shall recklessly do any of the following, under
circumstances in which the person's conduct is likely to be viewed by
and affront others who are in the person's physical proximity and who
are not members of the person's household:
(1)
Expose the person's private
parts
area,
as defined in section 2907.01 of the Revised Code, unless the person
is a woman who is breastfeeding and the private area that is exposed
is the woman's breast
;
(2)
Engage in sexual conduct or masturbation;
(3)
Engage in conduct that to an ordinary observer would appear to be
sexual conduct or masturbation.
(B)
No person shall knowingly do any of the following, under
circumstances in which the person's conduct is likely to be viewed by
and affront another person who is in the person's physical proximity,
who is a minor, and who is not the spouse of the offender:
(1)
Engage in masturbation;
(2)
Engage in sexual conduct;
(3)
Engage in conduct that to an ordinary observer would appear to be
sexual conduct or masturbation;
(4)
Expose the person's private parts with the purpose of personal sexual
arousal or gratification or to lure the minor into sexual activity.
(C)(1)
Whoever violates this section is guilty of public indecency and shall
be punished as provided in divisions (C)(2), (3), (4), and (5) of
this section.
(2)
Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2) of this section, a
violation of division (A)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the
fourth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or
pleaded guilty to one violation of this section, a violation of
division (A)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the third degree
or, if any person who was likely to view and be affronted by the
offender's conduct was a minor, a misdemeanor of the second degree.
If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to
two violations of this section, a violation of division (A)(1) of
this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree or, if any person
who was likely to view and be affronted by the offender's conduct was
a minor, a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender
previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to three or more
violations of this section, a violation of division (A)(1) of this
section is a misdemeanor of the first degree or, if any person who
was likely to view and be affronted by the offender's conduct was a
minor, a felony of the fifth degree.
(3)
Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(3) of this section, a
violation of division (A)(2) or (3) of this section is a misdemeanor
of the third degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of
or pleaded guilty to one violation of this section, a violation of
division (A)(2) or (3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the second
degree or, if any person who was likely to view and be affronted by
the offender's conduct was a minor, a misdemeanor of the first
degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded
guilty to two or more violations of this section, a violation of
division (A)(2) or (3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first
degree or, if any person who was likely to view and be affronted by
the offender's conduct was a minor, a felony of the fifth degree.
(4)
Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(4) of this section, a
violation of division (B)(1), (2), or (3) of this section is a
misdemeanor of the second degree. If the offender previously has been
convicted of or pleaded guilty to one violation of this section, a
violation of division (B)(1), (2), or (3) of this section is a
misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been
convicted of or pleaded guilty to two or more violations of this
section, a violation of division (B)(1), (2), or (3) of this section
is a felony of the fifth degree.
(5)
Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(5) of this section, a
violation of division (B)(4) of this section is a misdemeanor of the
first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or
pleaded guilty to any violation of this section, a violation of
division (B)(4) of this section is a felony of the fifth degree.
(D)(1)
If either of the following applies, the court may determine at the
time of sentencing whether to classify the offender as a tier I sex
offender/child-victim offender for a violation of division (B)(4) of
this section:
(a)
The offender is less than ten years older than the other person.
(b)
The offender is ten or more years older than the other person and the
offender has not previously been convicted of or pleaded guilty to
any violation of this section.
(2)
If the offender is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of
division (B)(4) of this section, is ten or more years older than the
other person, and previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty
to any violation of this section, the court shall issue an order at
the time of sentencing that classifies the offender as a tier I sex
offender/child-victim offender subject to registration under sections
2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, and 2950.06 of the Revised Code.
Sec.
2907.39.
(A)
As used in this section:
(1)
"Adult arcade" means any place to which the public is
permitted or invited in which coin-operated, slug-operated, or
electronically, electrically, or mechanically controlled still or
motion picture machines, projectors, or other image-producing devices
are regularly maintained to show images to five or fewer persons per
machine at any one time, and in which the images so displayed are
distinguished or characterized by their emphasis upon matter
exhibiting or describing specified sexual activities or specified
anatomical areas.
(2)(a)
"Adult bookstore," "adult novelty store," or
"adult video store" means a commercial establishment that,
for any form of consideration, has as a significant or substantial
portion of its stock-in-trade in, derives a significant or
substantial portion of its revenues from, devotes a significant or
substantial portion of its interior business or advertising to, or
maintains a substantial section of its sales or display space for the
sale or rental of any of the following:
(i)
Books, magazines, periodicals, or other printed matter, or
photographs, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, compact discs,
slides, or other visual representations, that are characterized by
their emphasis upon the exhibition or description of specified sexual
activities or specified anatomical areas;
(ii)
Instruments, devices, or paraphernalia that are designed for use or
marketed primarily for stimulation of human genital organs or for
sadomasochistic use or abuse of self or others.
(b)
"Adult bookstore," "adult novelty store," or
"adult video store" includes a commercial establishment as
defined in section 2907.38 of the Revised Code. An establishment may
have other principal business purposes that do not involve the
offering for sale, rental, or viewing of materials exhibiting or
describing specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas
and still be categorized as an adult bookstore, adult novelty store,
or adult video store. The existence of other principal business
purposes does not exempt an establishment from being categorized as
an adult bookstore, adult novelty store, or adult video store so long
as one of its principal business purposes is offering for sale or
rental, for some form of consideration, such materials that exhibit
or describe specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas.
(3)
"Adult cabaret" means a nightclub, bar, juice bar,
restaurant, bottle club, or similar commercial establishment, whether
or not alcoholic beverages are served, that regularly features any of
the following:
(a)
Persons who appear in a state of nudity or seminudity;
(b)
Live performances that are characterized by the exposure of specified
anatomical areas or specified sexual activities;
(c)
Films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or other
photographic reproductions that are distinguished or characterized by
their emphasis upon the exhibition or description of specified sexual
activities or specified anatomical areas.
(4)
(4)(a)
"Adult cabaret performance" means a performance in a
location other than an adult cabaret where minors may be present,
that is harmful to juveniles or obscene, regardless of whether or not
the performance is for consideration, and that features any of the
following:
(i)
Topless dancers;
(ii)
Go-go dancers;
(iii)
Exotic dancers;
(iv)
Strippers;
(v)
Performers or entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is
different from the performer's or entertainer's biological sex using
clothing, makeup, prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts, or
other physical markers;
(vi)
Other similar performers or entertainers who provide entertainment
that appeals to a prurient interest.
(b)
As used in division (A)(4)(a) of this section, "biological sex"
means the biological indication of male and female, including sex
chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and
nonambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth,
without regard to an individual's psychological, chosen, or
subjective experience of gender.
(5)
"Harmful to juveniles" and "obscene" have the
same meanings as in section 2907.01 of the Revised Code.
(6)
"Adult
entertainment" means the sale, rental, or exhibition, for any
form of consideration, of books, films, video cassettes, magazines,
periodicals, or live performances that are characterized by an
emphasis on the exposure or display of specified anatomical areas or
specified sexual activity.
(5)
(7)
"Adult
entertainment establishment" means an adult arcade, adult
bookstore, adult novelty store, adult video store, adult cabaret,
adult motion picture theater, adult theater, nude or seminude model
studio, or sexual encounter establishment. An establishment in which
a medical practitioner, psychologist, psychiatrist, or similar
professional person licensed by the state engages in medically
approved and recognized therapy, including, but not limited to,
massage therapy, as regulated pursuant to section 4731.15 of the
Revised Code, is not an "adult entertainment establishment."
(6)
(8)
"Adult
motion picture theater" means a commercial establishment where
films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or similar
photographic reproductions that are distinguished or characterized by
their emphasis upon the exhibition or description of specified sexual
activities or specified anatomical areas are regularly shown for any
form of consideration.
(7)
(9)
"Adult
theater" means a theater, concert hall, auditorium, or similar
commercial establishment that, for any form of consideration,
regularly features persons who appear in a state of nudity or
seminudity or live performances that are characterized by their
emphasis upon the exposure of specified anatomical areas or specified
sexual activities.
(8)
(10)
"Distinguished
or characterized by their emphasis upon" means the dominant or
principal character and theme of the object described by this phrase.
For instance, when the phrase refers to films "that are
distinguished or characterized by their emphasis upon the exhibition
or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas," the films so described are those whose dominant or
principal character and theme are the exhibition or description of
specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
(9)(a)
(11)(a)
"Nude
or seminude model studio" means any place where a person, who
regularly appears in a state of nudity or seminudity, is provided for
money or any other form of consideration to be observed, sketched,
drawn, painted, sculptured, photographed, or similarly depicted by
other persons.
(b)
A modeling class or studio is not a nude or seminude model studio and
is not subject to this chapter if it is operated in any of the
following ways:
(i)
By a college or university supported entirely or partly by taxation;
(ii)
By a private college or university that maintains and operates
educational programs, the credits for which are transferable to a
college or university supported entirely or partly by taxation;
(iii)
In a structure that has no sign visible from the exterior of the
structure and no other advertising indicating that a person appearing
in a state of nudity or seminudity is available for viewing, if in
order to participate in a class in the structure, a student must
enroll at least three days in advance of the class and if not more
than one nude or seminude model is on the premises at any one time.
(10)
(12)
"Nudity,"
"nude," or "state of nudity" means the showing of
the human male or female genitals, pubic area, vulva, anus, anal
cleft, or cleavage with less than a fully opaque covering; or the
showing of the female breasts with less than a fully opaque covering
of any part of the nipple.
(11)
(13)
"Regularly
features" or "regularly shown" means a consistent or
substantial course of conduct, such that the films or performances
exhibited constitute a substantial portion of the films or
performances offered as a part of the ongoing business of the adult
entertainment establishment.
(12)
(14)
"Seminude"
or "state of seminudity" means a state of dress in which
opaque clothing covers not more than the genitals, pubic region, and
nipple of the female breast, as well as portions of the body covered
by supporting straps or devices.
(13)(a)
(15)(a)
"Sexual
encounter establishment" means a business or commercial
establishment that, as one of its principal business purposes, offers
for any form of consideration a place where either of the following
occur:
(i)
Two or more persons may congregate, associate, or consort for the
purpose of engaging in specified sexual activities.
(ii)
Two or more persons appear nude or seminude for the purpose of
displaying their nude or seminude bodies for their receipt of
consideration or compensation in any type or form.
(b)
An establishment where a medical practitioner, psychologist,
psychiatrist, or similar professional person licensed by the state
engages in medically approved and recognized therapy, including, but
not limited to, massage therapy, as regulated pursuant to section
4731.15 of the Revised Code, is not a "sexual encounter
establishment."
(14)
(16)
"Specified
anatomical areas" means the cleft of the buttocks, anus, male or
female genitals, or the female breast.
(15)
(17)
"Specified
sexual activity" means any of the following:
(a)
Sex acts, normal or perverted, or actual or simulated, including
intercourse, oral copulation, masturbation, or sodomy;
(b)
Excretory functions as a part of or in connection with any of the
activities described in division
(A)(15)(a)
(A)(17)(a)
of
this section.
(B)
(B)(1)
No person knowingly shall allow an individual, including, but not
limited to, a patron, customer, or employee, who is under eighteen
years of age on the premises of an adult entertainment establishment.
(2)
No person, with knowledge of its character or content, shall
recklessly engage in an adult cabaret performance in a location other
than an adult cabaret.
(C)
No individual who is under eighteen years of age knowingly shall show
or give false information concerning the individual's name or age, or
other false identification, for the purpose of gaining entrance to an
adult entertainment establishment.
(D)
A person shall not be found guilty of a violation of division
(B)
(B)(1)
of this section if the person raises as an affirmative defense and if
the jury or, in a nonjury trial, the court finds the person has
established by a preponderance of the evidence, all of the following:
(1)
The individual gaining entrance to the adult entertainment
establishment exhibited to an operator, employee, agent, or
independent contractor of the adult entertainment establishment a
driver's or commercial driver's license or an identification card
issued under sections 4507.50 and 4507.52 of the Revised Code showing
that the individual was then at least eighteen years of age.
(2)
The operator, employee, agent, or independent contractor made a bona
fide effort to ascertain the true age of the individual gaining
entrance to the adult entertainment establishment by checking the
identification presented, at the time of entrance, to ascertain that
the description on the identification compared with the appearance of
the individual and that the identification had not been altered in
any way.
(3)
The operator, employee, agent, or independent contractor had reason
to believe that the individual gaining entrance to the adult
entertainment establishment was at least eighteen years of age.
(E)
In any criminal action in which the affirmative defense described in
division (D) of this section is raised, the registrar of motor
vehicles or the deputy registrar who issued a driver's or commercial
driver's license or an identification card under sections 4507.50 and
4507.52 of the Revised Code shall be permitted to submit certified
copies of the records, in the registrar's or deputy registrar's
possession, of the issuance of the license or identification card in
question, in lieu of the testimony of the personnel of the bureau of
motor vehicles in the action.
(F)(1)
Division
(B)(2) of this section shall not be construed to prohibit or restrict
a bona fide film, theatrical, or other artistic endeavor or
performance that is not obscene or harmful to juveniles, shall not be
construed to prohibit an adult cabaret performance in a private
residence where no minors are present, and shall not be construed to
prohibit criminal prosecution for conduct or activity that is obscene
or harmful to juveniles under any other applicable section of Chapter
2907. of the Revised Code.
(G)(1)
Whoever
violates division
(B)
(B)(1)
of this section is guilty of permitting a juvenile on the premises of
an adult entertainment establishment, a misdemeanor of the first
degree. Each day a person violates this division constitutes a
separate offense.
(2)
Whoever
violates division (B)(2) of this section is guilty of unlawful adult
cabaret performance. If the performance involved occurs in the
presence of a juvenile under eighteen years of age, except as
otherwise provided in this division, a violation of this section is a
misdemeanor of the first degree. If the performance involved is
obscene, except as otherwise provided in this division, a violation
of this section is a felony of the fifth degree. If the performance
involved is obscene and a juvenile to whom it is presented is under
thirteen years of age, a violation of this section is a felony of the
fourth degree.
(3)
Whoever
violates division (C) of this section is guilty of use by a juvenile
of false information to enter an adult entertainment establishment, a
delinquent act that would be a misdemeanor of the fourth degree if
committed by an adult.
Sec.
4301.25.
(A)
The liquor control commission may suspend or revoke any permit issued
under this chapter or Chapter 4303. of the Revised Code for the
violation of any of the applicable restrictions of either chapter or
of any lawful rule of the commission, for other sufficient cause, and
for the following causes:
(1)
Conviction of the holder or the holder's agent or employee for
violating division
(B)
(B)(1)
of section 2907.39 of the Revised Code or a section of this chapter
or Chapter 4303. of the Revised Code or for a felony;
(2)
The entry of a judgment pursuant to division (D) or (E) of section
3767.05 of the Revised Code against a permit holder or the holder's
agent or employee finding the existence of a nuisance at a liquor
permit premises or finding the existence of a nuisance as a result of
the operation of a liquor permit premises;
(3)
Making any false material statement in an application for a permit;
(4)
Assigning, transferring, or pledging a permit contrary to the rules
of the commission;
(5)
Selling or promising to sell beer or intoxicating liquor to a
wholesale or retail dealer who is not the holder of a proper permit
at the time of the sale or promise;
(6)
Failure of the holder of a permit to pay an excise tax together with
any penalties imposed by the law relating to that failure and for
violation of any rule of the department of taxation in pursuance of
the tax and penalties.
(B)
The liquor control commission shall revoke a permit issued pursuant
to this chapter or Chapter 4303. of the Revised Code upon the
conviction of the holder of the permit of a violation of division
(C)(1) of section 2913.46 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1)
When the commission considers the length of a suspension of a permit,
it may consider the volume of the business of the permit holder, so
that the length of the suspension is in proportion to the seriousness
of the offense and the permit holder's business in order that the
suspension serve as a penalty and a deterrent. Evidence as to the
volume of business of the permit holder may be offered by the permit
holder or subpoenaed by the commission.
(2)
When the commission considers the length of a proposed suspension of
a permit and the proposed suspension results from an offense that was
committed during a compliance check as defined in section 4301.635 of
the Revised Code, the commission may consider whether trickery,
deceit, or deception was used in the conduct of the compliance check.
Section
2.
That
existing sections
2907.09,
2907.39
,
and 4301.25 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section
3.
This
act shall be known as the Indecent Exposure Modernization Act.