As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 653

2025-2026

To amend section 4521.02 of the Revised Code to establish maximum late fees for civil parking tickets.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 4521.02 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4521.02. ~~(A)~~(A)(1) A local authority that enacts any ordinance, resolution, or regulation that regulates the standing or parking of vehicles and that is authorized pursuant to section 505.17 or 4511.07 of the Revised Code also by ordinance, resolution, or regulation may specify that a violation of the regulatory ordinance, resolution, or regulation shall not be considered a criminal offense for any purpose, that a person who commits the violation shall not be arrested as a result of the commission of the violation, and that the violation shall be handled pursuant to this chapter. If such a specification is made, the local authority also by ordinance, resolution, or regulation shall adopt a fine for a violation of the regulatory ordinance, resolution, or regulation and prescribe an additional penalty or penalties for failure to answer any charges of the violation in a timely manner. In

(2) In no case shall any fine adopted or additional penalty prescribed pursuant to ~~this~~ division (A) of this section exceed the fine established by the municipal or county court having territorial jurisdiction over the entire or a majority of the political subdivision of the local authority, in its schedule of fines established pursuant to Traffic Rule 13(C), for a substantively comparable violation. Except as otherwise provided in ~~this~~ division (A) of this section, in no case shall any fine adopted or additional penalty prescribed pursuant to ~~this~~ division (A) of this section exceed one hundred dollars, plus costs and other administrative charges, per violation.

(3) If a local authority chooses to adopt a specific fine for a violation of an ordinance, resolution, or regulation that regulates the standing or parking of a vehicle in an accessible parking space, the fine the local authority establishes for such offense shall be an amount not less than two hundred fifty dollars but not more than five hundred dollars.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in this division, a local authority shall impose late-payment penalties in the following manner:

(a) An original late-payment penalty of not more than ten dollars, which shall not be imposed earlier than thirty days after the issuance of the parking ticket;

(b) A secondary late-payment penalty of not more than ten dollars, which shall not be imposed earlier than sixty days after the issuance of the parking ticket if the parking ticket remains unpaid at that time.

Any late-payment penalties shall not exceed twenty dollars for a single parking infraction.

(B) A local authority that enacts an ordinance, resolution, or regulation pursuant to division (A) of this section also may enact an ordinance, resolution, or regulation that provides for the impoundment or immobilization of vehicles found standing or parked in violation of the regulatory ordinance, resolution, or regulation and the release of the vehicles to their owners. In no case shall an ordinance, resolution, or regulation require the owner of the vehicle to post bond or deposit cash in excess of one thousand dollars in order to obtain release of the vehicle.

(C) A local authority that enacts any ordinance, resolution, or regulation pursuant to division (A) of this section also shall enact an ordinance, resolution, or regulation that specifies the time within which a person who is issued a parking ticket must answer in relation to the parking infraction charged in the ticket. In no case shall an ordinance, resolution, or regulation specify a time that is less than thirty days from the date of issuance within which a person who is issued a parking ticket must answer in relation to the parking infraction without incurring any late-payment penalties.

(D) A local authority that enacts any ordinance, resolution, or regulation pursuant to division (A) of this section shall not impose any administrative, processing, or collection fee that exceeds the lesser of the actual cost of collection or twenty-five per cent of the original fine. No additional penalties, surcharges, or fee multipliers shall be imposed beyond what is expressly provided for in this section.

Section 2. That existing section 4521.02 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Section 3. Sections 1 and 2 of this act take effect one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this section.