Five things to know for Wednesday, Nov. 26

DeWine issues veto of towing measure

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 434, a measure that increases the state’s General Revenue Funding spending by $2 million in fiscal 2026 and nearly $16.8 million in fiscal 2027. However, he also issued a line-item veto, nixing a provision mandating the payment of towing and storage fees for vehicles towed under law enforcement orders.

“Ohio citizens who have been the victim of a crime should not be subject to fees in these situations,” the governor wrote in his veto statement, according to a Gongwer report. “Permitting this practice would revictimize crime victims by allowing them to be charged hundreds to thousands of dollars for towing and storage fees before they can retrieve their own private property, which is contrary to Ohio’s overall work to support crime victims.”

Auditors question financial mismanagement at Eastern Gateway

State auditors questioned more than $17 million in Eastern Gateway Community College’s spending during one of the last years it operated, alleging that “pervasive deficiencies in recordkeeping” and poor accounting and controls resulted in rampant financial mismanagement of public resources. The total is the totality of federal student aid programs at the now-closed school.

According to a release from Auditor of State Keith Faber, college officials spent money without confirming that the expenses were allowed and borrowed money without properly disclosing details to lenders or comprehending the financial implications. State auditors also alleged that the college did not fully track student enrollment and could not confirm that student aid was disbursed adequately.

Police can shield the identities of officers

Police departments can edit videos to protect the identities of officers targeted by a shooter, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled, according to a Gongwer report. The ruling came after The Columbus Dispatch argued that it was entitled to unredacted footage of a 2023 shootout involving Columbus police, arguing that on-duty officers cannot be crime victims under “Marsy’s Law.”

However, the court’s majority ruled that a 2017 voter-approved amendment and subsequent enabling legislation, House Bill 343, which lawmakers passed in 2022, permits the redaction of public records information that can identify people, including officers, “directly and proximately harmed by the commission of the offense or act.”

Bill bolsters punishment for correctional facility employee murder, assault

The Ohio House has passed House Bill 338, Andy’s Law, which increases penalties for the aggravated murder or the assault of correctional facility employees and aims to reduce drug possession among inmates.

This legislation, sponsored by state Reps. Mark Johnson, R-Chillicothe, and Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, follows the death of correctional officer Andrew Lansing, who authorities said was killed by an inmate while on duty at Ross Correctional Institution on Christmas Day in 2024. The measure increases the sentence to life in prison without parole for inmates who murder an Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction or Department of Youth Services employee.

House passes bill prohibiting refusal to disclose name during traffic stop

The Ohio House has passed House Bill 492, which would bar drivers from refusing to disclose their name, address, or date of birth when asked by a law enforcement officer.

The measure, sponsored by state Reps. Sharon Ray, R-Wadsworth, and Cindy Abrams, R-Harrison, would make it a fourth-degree misdemeanor to refuse to provide the information. The measure also expands provisions regarding interference with an arrest.