ICYMI: OHIO SENATE PASSES HISTORIC DRUG SENTENCING REFORMS

Bipartisan Sentencing Reform Bill Passes Senate With Strong Bipartisan Vote

Senate Bill 3 reclassifies certain low-level drug offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, seals certain drug records, and more.

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Yesterday, the Ohio Senate passed Senate Bill 3 with a strong bipartisan vote of 25-4 just hours after it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. SB 3 is the most significant bipartisan sentencing reform bill the Ohio Senate has passed in years.

The bill, sponsored by Senators John Eklund (R-18) and Sean O’Brien (D-32), reduces penalties for some low-level drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana, limits the use of prison for technical violations of community supervision, and expands record sealing for certain drug offenses. The bill will allow individuals to seek treatment and maintain employment in their communities rather than serve prison time for low-level offenses, an important reform that will keep families together and make Ohio communities safer. And as the state grapples with the economic impacts of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the bill is estimated to save the state up to $75 million in avoided incarceration costs.

The Senate passage of Senate Bill 3 follows the House passage of House Bill 1, a bill focused on record sealing and expanding access to intervention in lieu of incarceration. 

"This was an historic moment for the Ohio Senate, and for the criminal justice reform movement,” said Justice Action Network Executive Director Holly Harris. “We agree with the sentiment Senator Eklund expressed on the floor, that ‘Anything worth doing is worth doing well. And anything worth doing well is never easy,’ and we are especially grateful to him and Sen. O’Brien for their sponsorship of this transformative legislation. This bill was also a legacy moment for Senate President Larry Obhof, who has become a national voice for badly-needed changes to our criminal justice system. Thanks to his leadership, and the courage and compassion shown by the full Senate, this bill now moves to the House on an overwhelming, bipartisan vote. We look forward to linking arms with our national and local partners, and working with House leaders to ensure this groundbreaking legislation makes it to the Governor’s desk, and Ohio continues to lead the country in common sense criminal justice reform.”