COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Republican-controlled Ohio House of Representatives advanced an omnibus budget bill on Wednesday, funding the state government for two years. Attached to the bill is a rider provision requiring age verification for adult entertainment platforms and sites that host material that is "harmful to minors."
House Bill (HB) 96 was prime-sponsored by Republican state Rep. Brian Stewart. The majority of the GOP caucus advanced the bill, with all Democratic members and five Republicans voting against the passage on a vote split, 60-39, in favor of advancing the age verification rider and a two-year total state appropriation of $61 billion.
According to the over 5,000-page omnibus budget bill, age verification requirements will be levied on all platforms deemed "harmful to minors." The bill's language mentions "reasonable age verification methods" that rely on government-issued identification cards, consumer transactional data and other means.
The office of the Ohio Attorney General would have complete power to enforce the age verification requirements through civil action. Such adoption by the House departs from a competing age verification bill that was introduced by state Rep. Steve Demetriou, which criminalizes noncompliance with age verification requirements.
Now, HB 96 must go through the same process in the Ohio Senate as it did in the House. Budget processes in most state legislatures require conference committees of key leaders in the House and Senate to resolve the differences in the budget measures advanced through each chamber. Once the differences are resolved, both bills are again voted on by both chambers and advanced to the desk of Gov. Mike DeWine for signature, line-item vetoes and eventual implementation.
