Columbus, OH – Yesterday, the Ohio Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 198, a measure that will require the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC) to provide eligible incarcerated Ohioans with identification and other crucial documents near the end of their term of imprisonment prior to release. Experts point to a lack of documents such as identification as a barrier to obtaining housing and employment after incarceration. When individuals leaving incarceration lack identification, they cannot fill out a job application and employers cannot process their paperwork. This bill will benefit employers and those leaving incarceration alike.

Jenny Catchings, state policy manager for Justice Action Network, said it can cost a vehicle owner around $640 to retrieve their vehicle from an impound lot, which includes the previous parking debt and new fees incurred by the tow. In addition to how costly towing for debt collection is for lower-income residents, Catchings said the practice is ineffective as well.

Minnesota took a nation-leading step in ending the practice of towing vehicles for unpaid parking tickets when Governor Walz signed the state’s annual transportation omnibus bill, House File 3436, into law Wednesday morning. Under previous Minnesota state law, towing a vehicle from an expired meter was explicitly prohibited with the exception of vehicles associated with five or more unpaid parking tickets. Originally filed under House File 4762 and Senate File 4926, but later included in the annual omnibus, the measured signed into law today removes that exception.