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sb437_00_IN
As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
S. B. No. 437
2025-2026
Senator Brenner
Cosponsor: Senator Lang
To
amend section 9.63 of the Revised Code
to
withhold all state funding from municipal corporations that do not
cooperate with federal homeland security activities and remove the
Director of Public Safety's role in determining what constitutes
noncooperation.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section 9.63 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec.
9.63.
(A)
Notwithstanding any law, ordinance, or collective bargaining contract
to the contrary, no state or local employee shall unreasonably fail
to comply with any lawful request for assistance made by any federal
authorities carrying out the provisions of the USA Patriot Act, any
federal immigration or terrorism investigation, or any executive
order of the president of the United States pertaining to homeland
security, to the extent that the request is consistent with the
doctrine of federalism.
(B)
No municipal corporation shall enact an ordinance, policy, directive,
rule, or resolution that would materially hinder or prevent local
employees from complying with the USA Patriot Act or any executive
order of the president of the United States pertaining to homeland
security or from cooperating with state or federal immigration
services and terrorism investigations.
(C)(1)
Any municipal corporation that enacts any ordinance, policy,
directive, rule, or resolution that division (B) of this section
prohibits is ineligible to receive any
homeland
security
funding
available from the state.
(2)
Whenever
the
director of public safety determines that
a
municipal corporation has enacted any ordinance, policy, directive,
rule, or resolution that division (B) of this section prohibits,
the
director shall certify that
the
municipal corporation is ineligible to receive any
homeland
security
funding
from the state
and shall notify the general assembly of that ineligibility
.
That municipal corporation shall remain ineligible to receive any
homeland
security
funding
from the state until the
director
certifies that the
ordinance,
policy, directive, rule, or resolution has been repealed.
(D)(1)
If a state or local employee states disagreement with, or a critical
opinion of, the USA Patriot Act, any federal immigration or terrorism
policy, or any executive order of the president of the United States
pertaining to homeland security, the statement of disagreement with
or critical opinion of the act or order is not sufficient to qualify
for purposes of this section as unreasonable noncompliance with a
request for assistance of the type division (A) of this section
describes.
(2)
Any municipal corporation's ordinance, policy, directive, rule, or
resolution that states disagreement with, or a critical opinion of,
any state or federal immigration or terrorism policy, the USA Patriot
Act, or any executive order of the president of the United States
pertaining to homeland security is not sufficient to qualify as a
"material hindrance or prevention" of local employees from
cooperating with federal immigration services and terrorism
investigations or from complying with the USA Patriot Act or any
executive order of the president of the United States pertaining to
homeland security for purposes of divisions (B), (C), and (D) of this
section.
(E)
As used in this section, "USA Patriot Act" means the
"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA Patriot Act)
Act of 2001," Pub. L. No. 107-056, 115 Stat. 272, as amended.
Section
2.
That
existing section 9.63 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.