As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session S. B. No. 264

2025-2026

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;

(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.