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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
S. B. No. 264
2025-2026
Senator Weinstein
Cosponsors: Senators Craig, Smith,
DeMora, Ingram, Hicks-Hudson
To
amend sections 3781.03 and 3781.99 and to enact section 3781.113 of
the Revised Code
to
require a separate by-pass lane adjacent to specified drive-through
lanes and to name this act as the Megan's Way Out Act.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 3781.03 and 3781.99 be amended and section 3781.113 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
3781.03.
(A)
The state fire marshal, the fire chief of a municipal corporation
that has a fire department, or the fire chief of a township that has
a fire department shall enforce the provisions of this chapter and
Chapter 3791. of the Revised Code that relate to fire prevention.
(B)
The superintendent of industrial compliance, or the building
inspector or commissioner of buildings in a municipal corporation,
county, or township in which the building department is certified by
the board of building standards under section 3781.10 of the Revised
Code shall enforce in the jurisdiction of each entity all the
provisions in this chapter and Chapter 3791. of the Revised Code and
any rules adopted pursuant to those chapters that relate to the
construction, arrangement, and erection of all buildings or parts of
buildings, as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code,
including the sanitary condition of those buildings in relation to
heating and ventilation
,
and the construction and design of drive-through lanes, as specified
in section 3781.113 of the Revised Code
.
(C)
The division of industrial compliance in the department of commerce,
boards of health of health districts, certified departments of
building inspection of municipal corporations, and county building
departments that have authority to perform inspections pursuant to a
contract under division (C)(1) of section 3703.01 of the Revised
Code, subject to Chapter 3703. of the Revised Code, shall enforce
this chapter and Chapter 3791. of the Revised Code and the rules
adopted pursuant to those chapters that relate to plumbing. Building
drains are considered plumbing for the purposes of enforcement of
those chapters.
(D)(1)
In accordance with Chapter 3703. of the Revised Code, the department
of the city engineer, in cities having such departments, the boards
of health of health districts, or the sewer purveyor, as appropriate,
shall have complete authority to supervise and regulate the entire
sewerage and drainage system in the jurisdiction in which it is
exercising the authority described in this division, including the
building sewer and all laterals draining into the street sewers.
(2)
In accordance with Chapter 3703. of the Revised Code, the department
of the city engineer, the boards of health of health districts, or
the sewer purveyor, as appropriate, shall control and supervise the
installation and construction of all drains and sewers that become a
part of the sewerage system and shall issue all the necessary permits
and licenses for the construction and installation of all building
sewers and of all other lateral drains that empty into the main
sewers. The department of the city engineer, the boards of health of
health districts, and the sewer purveyor, as appropriate, shall keep
a permanent record of the installation and location of every drain
and sewer of the drainage and sewerage system of the jurisdiction in
which it has exercised the authority described in this division.
(E)
This section does not exempt any officer or department from the
obligation to enforce this chapter and Chapter 3791. of the Revised
Code.
Sec.
3781.113.
(A)
As used in this section:
(1)
"Drive-through financial institution" means a financial
institution that has one or more driving lanes on the exterior of its
permanent building site that allow a customer to conduct financial
transactions from inside the customer's vehicle rather than
conducting those transactions inside the building.
(2)
"Drive-through pharmacy" means a pharmacy that has one or
more driving lanes on the exterior of its permanent building site
that allow a customer to drop off or pick up prescriptions while
remaining inside the customer's vehicle rather than conducting those
transactions inside the building.
(3)
"Drive-through restaurant" means a food service operation
or retail food establishment, as those terms are defined in section
3717.01 of the Revised Code, that has one or more driving lanes on
the exterior of its permanent building site that allow a customer to
order, pay for, and pick up food or beverages while remaining inside
the customer's vehicle rather than conducting those transactions
inside the building.
(4)
"Drive-through facility" means a drive-through financial
institution, a drive-through pharmacy, and a drive-through
restaurant.
(5)
"Financial institution" has the same meaning as in section
122.39 of the Revised Code.
(6)
"Pharmacy" has the same meaning as in section 4729.01 of
the Revised Code.
(7)
"Vehicle" and "public safety vehicle" have the
same meanings as in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1)
Except as provided in division (D) of this section, on and after the
effective date of this section, all new construction of a
drive-through facility shall meet the minimum requirements specified
in division (C) of this section.
(2)
Except as provided in division (D) of this section, any business with
a drive-through facility that undergoes major renovations, expansion,
or redevelopment to either its permanent building or to its parking
areas on and after the effective date of this section shall meet the
minimum requirements specified in division (C) of this section.
(C)(1)
In accordance with division (B) of this section, the owner of a
drive-through facility shall ensure that any drive-through lane
serving the facility's customers has an adjacent by-pass lane that
allows for both of the following:
(a)
The operator of a vehicle in the drive-through lane to drive the
vehicle out of the drive-through lane and into the by-pass lane in
order to exit the property;
(b)
The operator of a public safety vehicle to drive alongside or close
to any vehicle in the drive-through lane in order to respond to an
emergency related to an operator or passenger of that vehicle.
(2)
A by-pass lane shall meet the following minimum standards:
(a)
Be not less than ten feet wide without obstructions;
(b)
Contain adequate vertical and horizontal clearance for standard
passenger vehicles and public safety vehicles;
(c)
Include clear, visible signage to alert vehicle operators to the
presence and direction of the by-pass lane;
(d)
Be designed so as to not obstruct pedestrian pathways, fire lanes,
public safety vehicle access to the permanent building, or accessible
parking spaces or routes for persons with disabilities.
(D)
Divisions (B) and (C) of this section do not apply to either of the
following:
(1)
A drive-through facility built prior to the effective date of this
section to which either of the following apply:
(a)
There is insufficient space adjacent to the drive-through lane to
create a by-pass lane on the property on which the drive-through
facility is located.
(b)
Compliance with this section would force the owner of the
drive-through facility to close or relocate the business at which the
drive-through facility is located.
(2)
A drive-through facility where the drive-through lane passes through
the physical permanent structure, including a facility that has been
issued either a C-1, C-2, or C-2x permit under Chapter 4303. of the
Revised Code.
(E)
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as an exemption from the
requirements of the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,"
42 U.S.C.A. 12101.
Sec.
3781.99.
(A)
Whoever violates division (E) of section 3781.111 of the Revised Code
shall be issued a warning for a first offense. On each subsequent
offense, the person shall be fined twenty-five dollars for each
parking location that is not properly marked or whose markings are
not properly maintained.
(B)
Whoever violates this chapter or any rule adopted or order issued
pursuant to it that relates to the construction, alteration, or
repair of any building
or the construction and design of drive-through lanes under section
3781.113 of the Revised Code
,
and the violation is not detrimental to the health, safety, or
welfare of any person shall be fined not more than one hundred
dollars.
(C)
Whoever violates this chapter or any rule adopted or order issued
pursuant to it that relates to the construction, alteration, or
repair of any building
or the construction and design of drive-through lanes under section
3781.113 of the Revised Code
,
and the violation is detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of
any person, is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 3781.03 and 3781.99 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
Section
3.
The
act shall be known as the Megan's Way Out Act.