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Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio Senate adjusts tetrahydrocannabinol blood limits for operating under the influence and revises evidentiary rules
Last action · October 15, 2025: Referred to JudiciarySponsors: Nathan H. Manning and 16 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Ohio Senate Bill 55 modifies the legal thresholds for concentration in whole blood to establish impairment standards for operating vehicles or watercraft under the influence. The measure updates chemical test evidentiary standards, aligns laboratory report requirements, and maintains existing exceptions for legally prescribed medications.
Drivers and watercraft operators face revised chemical concentration limits that determine whether blood or bodily fluid test results establish legal impairment for operating under the influence offenses in Ohio.
- Ohio Revised Code chapters governing traffic offenses and operating under the influence establish criminal penalties, license suspensions, and evidentiary requirements for operating motor vehicles and watercraft while impaired. context
- Senate Bill 55 was introduced in the 136th General Assembly and passed by the Senate before being referred to the House Judiciary Committee. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Drivers and watercraft operators
The legal blood concentration thresholds and evidentiary standards for operating a vehicle or watercraft under the influence of marihuana are modified.
Law enforcement agencies
Guidelines for administering field sobriety tests, collecting bodily substance samples, and introducing chemical test evidence in prosecutions are updated.
Health care providers and medical personnel
Statutory rules governing the withdrawal of blood samples and civil/criminal liability immunities for authorized medical personnel are established or maintained.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Senate Bill 55 change regarding marihuana and driving?
Are prescription medications exempt from these operating under the influence provisions?
Who is authorized to withdraw blood samples for chemical testing under the bill?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
6 actions- Oct 15, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Judiciary
- Oct 14, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced
- Oct 8, 2025SenateCommitteeReported - Substitute (Judiciary)
- Oct 8, 2025SenateFloorPassed
- Jan 29, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Judiciary
- Jan 28, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced
Version history & redline
3 versions on fileVoting Record
Favorable Passage
Total
7
- Yes
- 7
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
Show 1 earlier roll call
Passed
Total
28
- Yes
- 28
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (27)
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 12 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Alignment of Watercraft and Vehicle OVI Standards
The legislation simultaneously updates watercraft operation statutes (section 1547.11) and motor vehicle operation statutes (section 4511.19) regarding marihuana concentration thresholds.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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