New Ohio laws take effect

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – Beginning Tuesday, traffic ticket quotas are illegal in Ohio and age verification is required for online porn sites as eight new laws take effect.

Also, today is the day when school districts are required to put into action student cellphone policies, and local governments must have cybersecurity plans in place.

Most of the new laws were part of the state’s budget passed in late June and signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine.

Pornography websites must now verify the age of users to confirm they are at least 18 years old. The law became a reality this year after several attempts to pass similar legislation failed in recent years.

Also, school districts do not have to ban cellphone usage for students, although some throughout the state have. Instead, the new law established a deadline for a policy to be set.

The state’s driver education requirements have also changed, requiring everyone under the age of 21 to take a full driver’s education course.

Before today, once someone reached the age of 18, they only needed to pass tests to receive a driver’s license. Now, 24 hours of classroom instruction, eight hours of driving training and 50 hours of supervised practice are required.

The police ticket quota ban was not part of the state budget but passed on its own by the General Assembly in late June.

The new law:

• Prohibits a law enforcement official or agency from establishing a plan that uses quotas as the basis for evaluating, promoting, compensating, transferring, or disciplining an officer.

• Prohibits requiring or suggesting that an officer must or is expected to meet a quota.

• Prohibits offering a benefit to an officer based on the officer’s quota.

• Requires the attorney general to establish a form for a police officer to use to report the use of quotas in violation of the above prohibitions, to investigate alleged violations, and to issue a cease and desist order if a violation is found.

• Allows a police officer to choose whether to submit the report anonymously or disclose his or her identity in the report.

Also taking effect, the age to get a discounted fishing license drops from 66 to 65.