sb445_00

As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session S. B. No. 445

2025-2026

To amend sections 121.95 and 121.951 of the Revised Code to revise the definition of "regulatory restriction" for purposes of administrative rulemaking and to specify that certain rule changes alone do not eliminate a restriction.

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

Section 1. That sections 121.95 and 121.951 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 121.95. (A) As used in sections 121.95, 121.951, 121.952, 121.953, and 121.954 of the Revised Code~~, "state~~ :

(1) "State agency" means an administrative department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, an administrative department head appointed under section 121.03 of the Revised Code, and a state agency organized under an administrative department or administrative department head. "State agency" also includes the department of education and workforce, the state lottery commission, the Ohio casino control commission, the state racing commission, and the public utilities commission of Ohio. Rules adopted by an otherwise independent official or entity organized under a state agency shall be attributed to the agency under which the official or entity is organized for the purposes of sections 121.95, 121.951, 121.952, 121.953, and 121.954 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Regulatory restriction" means any part of a rule that requires or prohibits an action.

(B) Not later than December 31, 2019, a state agency shall review its existing rules to identify rules having one or more regulatory restrictions ~~that require or prohibit an action~~ and prepare a base inventory of the regulatory restrictions in its existing rules. ~~Rules that include the words "shall," "must," "require," "shall not," "may not," and "prohibit" shall be considered to contain regulatory restrictions.~~

(1) A description of the regulatory restriction;

(2) The rule number of the rule in which the regulatory restriction appears;

(3) The statute under which the regulatory restriction was adopted;

(4) Whether state or federal law expressly and specifically requires the agency to adopt the regulatory restriction or the agency adopted the regulatory restriction under the agency's general authority;

(5) Whether removing the regulatory restriction would require a change to state or federal law, provided that removing a regulatory restriction adopted under a law granting the agency general authority shall be presumed not to require a change to state or federal law;

(6) Any other information the joint committee on agency rule review considers necessary.

(D) The state agency shall compute and state the total number of regulatory restrictions indicated in the base inventory, shall post the base inventory on its web site, and shall electronically transmit a copy of the inventory to the joint committee. The joint committee shall review the base inventory, then transmit it electronically to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate.

(E) The following types of rules or regulatory restrictions are not required to be included in a state agency's inventory of regulatory restrictions:

(1) An internal management rule;

(2) An emergency rule;

(3) A rule that state or federal law requires the state agency to adopt verbatim;

(4) A regulatory restriction contained in materials or documents incorporated by reference into a rule pursuant to sections 121.71 to 121.75 of the Revised Code;

(5) A rule adopted pursuant to section 1347.15 of the Revised Code;

(6) A rule concerning instant lottery games;

(7) A rule adopted by the Ohio casino control commission or the state lottery commission concerning sports gaming;

(8) Any other rule that is not subject to review under Chapter 106. of the Revised Code;

(9) Any rule that is adopted as a requirement for the state agency to obtain or maintain accreditation or certification from a multistate organization consisting of at least forty-five participating states.

(F) Beginning on October 17, 2019, and ending on June 30, 2025, a state agency may not adopt a new regulatory restriction unless it simultaneously removes two or more other existing regulatory restrictions. The state agency may not satisfy this section by merging two or more existing regulatory restrictions into a single surviving regulatory restriction.

Sec. 121.951. (A)(1) Using the criteria listed in division (A) of section 106.03 of the Revised Code, a state agency shall amend or rescind rules identified in its base inventory of regulatory restrictions prepared under section 121.95 of the Revised Code as necessary to reduce the total number of regulatory restrictions by thirty per cent, according to the following schedule:

(a) A ten per cent reduction not later than June 30, 2023;

(b) A twenty per cent reduction not later than June 30, 2024; and

When a state agency has achieved a reduction of any percentage in regulatory restrictions, whether or not as specified in this section, the state agency may not adopt or maintain regulatory restrictions that would negate the reduction.

(2) Beginning July 1, 2025, a state agency that has not achieved the specified thirty per cent reduction may not adopt a new regulatory restriction unless it simultaneously removes two or more other existing regulatory restrictions, until the specified thirty per cent reduction has been achieved. The state agency may not fulfill this requirement by merging two or more existing regulatory restrictions into a single surviving regulatory restriction. Removing or replacing "shall," "must," "require," "shall not," "may not," "prohibit," or similar words in a portion of a rule does not remove a regulatory restriction from a rule unless the removal eliminates a requirement or prohibition from the rule.

(3) A state agency is encouraged to continue to reduce regulatory restrictions after it has achieved the specified thirty per cent reduction.

(B)(1) Not later than September 15, 2022, a state agency shall prepare an historical report of its progress in reducing regulatory restrictions over the period of time beginning when the agency prepared its base inventory under section 121.95 of the Revised Code and ending on June 30, 2022. Annually thereafter, a state agency shall prepare an historical report of its progress in reducing regulatory restrictions over the preceding fiscal year. The state agency shall explain in the report how it applied the criteria described in division (A) of section 106.03 of the Revised Code to its determinations as to which regulatory restrictions to amend or rescind. The state agency shall include a revised inventory of regulatory restrictions with the report.

(2) In the revised inventory, in addition to the information required by section 121.95 of the Revised Code, the state agency shall compute the percentage net reduction in regulatory restrictions by subtracting the current number of regulatory restrictions from the number of regulatory restrictions identified in the base inventory and then dividing the resulting number by the number of regulatory restrictions in the base inventory.

(3) The state agency shall transmit the report electronically to the joint committee on agency rule review. The joint committee shall review the report and shall transmit it electronically to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate. The state agency shall continue preparing and transmitting annual reports until it has reported that it has achieved the required reduction in regulatory restrictions.

Section 2. That existing sections 121.95 and 121.951 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.