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HB 440OHIOSession 136State BillSigned into law

Enacted

Ohio restricts nursing criminal records check results to the Board and subject individuals

Original title: Regards the Board of Nursing and criminal records check results

Last action · December 19, 2025: Signed By The GovernorSponsors: Kellie Deeter and 42 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Does

House Bill 440 restricts the confidentiality and availability of criminal records check results conducted by the Board of Nursing, ensuring they are shared only with the subject individual and the Board for specific statutory duties. The law takes immediate effect as an emergency measure.

Why it matters

Nursing license applicants and certificate holders face strict privacy rules regarding their background check results, while the Board of Nursing gains explicit statutory authority to limit access to these records to prevent public disclosure.

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Board of Nursing

The Board receives explicit statutory authority restricting the disclosure of criminal records check results and defining permissible uses for investigations and licensing.

Directly affected

Nursing License Applicants

Applicants must submit fingerprint impressions and requests for criminal records checks to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation while having their check results protected from public records requests.

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

Who is allowed to see the results of a nursing applicant's criminal records check?

The results can only be made available to the individual who is the subject of the check, that individual's representative, and the Board of Nursing for specific licensing, reactivation, or disciplinary determinations.

Does the sealing or expungement of a criminal record cancel a disciplinary action taken by the Board of Nursing?

No, the sealing or of criminal records under specified sections of the Revised Code has no effect on any board action or sanction previously imposed.

What else do you want to know?

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Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

11 actions

Dec 19, 2025Enrolled
Signed By The Governor
Dec 18, 2025Enrolled
Effective
Dec 9, 2025Enrolled
Sent To The Governor
Nov 19, 2025SenateCommittee
Reported (Health)
Nov 19, 2025SenateFloor
Passed
Oct 8, 2025SenateCommittee
Referred to Health

Show 5 earlier actions

Oct 7, 2025SenateIntroduced
Introduced
Oct 1, 2025HouseCommittee
Reported (Health)
Oct 1, 2025HouseFloor
Passed
Sep 15, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to Health
Sep 9, 2025HouseIntroduced
Introduced

Version history & redline

6 versions on file

Comparing As Passed by the Senate → As Enrolled

removed addedOfficial text

hb440_04_PS As Passed by the Senate 136th General Assembly Regular Session H. B. No. 440 2025-2026 Representatives Deeter, Stewart Cosponsors: Representatives Schmidt, Somani, Baker, Gross, Abrams, Barhorst, Brennan, Brewer, Dovilla, Fowler Arthur, Ghanbari, Glassburn, Hall, D., Hiner, Hoops, Jarrells, Klopfenstein, Lorenz, Miller, J., Miller, M., Newman, Plummer, Ray, Richardson, Robb Blasdel, Rogers, Sigrist, Troy, White, E., Williams, Willis, Young Senators Johnson, Huffman, Ingram, Cirino, Craig, Gavarone, Lang, Reineke, Timken To amend sections 4723.091, 4723.092, and 4723.28 of the Revised Code to revise the law governing the Board of Nursing and criminal records check results and to declare an emergency. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: Section 1. That sections 4723.091, 4723.092, and 4723.28 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows: Sec. 4723.091. (A) An (A)(1) Each of the following shall submit a request to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation for a criminal records check of that individual: (a) An individual who applies for licensure under section 4723.09 of the Revised Code; (b) An individual who applies for issuance of a certificate under section 4723.651, 4723.75, 4723.85, or 4723.89 of the Revised Code; (c) An individual who applies for reactivation of a license, under division (D) of section 4723.24 of the Revised Code, that has been inactive for at least five years; or (d) An individual who applies for reinstatement of a license, under division (D) of section 4723.24 of the Revised Code, that has lapsed for at least five years shall submit a request to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation for a criminal records check of the applicant; (e) An individual who applies for a volunteer nursing certificate under section 4723.26 of the Revised Code and has been retired from practice for at least ten years; (f) An individual who, as part of an investigation by the 26,735 more removed characters - read the previous versionhb440_05_EN (136th General Assembly) (House Bill Number 440) AN ACT To amend sections 4723.091, 4723.092, and 4723.28 of the Revised Code to revise the law governing the Board of Nursing and criminal records check results and to declare an emergency. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio: Section 1. That sections 4723.091, 4723.092, and 4723.28 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows: Sec. 4723.091. (A) An (A)(1) Each of the following shall submit a request to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation for a criminal records check of that individual: (a) An individual who applies for licensure under section 4723.09 of the Revised Code; (b) An individual who applies for issuance of a certificate under section 4723.651, 4723.75, 4723.85, or 4723.89 of the Revised Code; (c) An individual who applies for reactivation of a license, under division (D) of section 4723.24 of the Revised Code, that has been inactive for at least five years; or (d) An individual who applies for reinstatement of a license, under division (D) of section 4723.24 of the Revised Code, that has lapsed for at least five years shall submit a request to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation for a criminal records check of the applicant; (e) An individual who applies for a volunteer nursing certificate under section 4723.26 of the Revised Code and has been retired from practice for at least ten years; (f) An individual who, as part of an investigation by the board of nursing, is subject to an order by the board under division (F) of section 4723.28 of the Revised Code. The request shall be made in accordance with section 109.572 of the Revised Code. (B) An applicant (2) As part of the request for a criminal records check, the individual requesting a criminal records the check under division (A) of this section shall also ask do both of the following: (a) Under the form and methods described in division (C) of section 109.572 26,808 more added characters - read this version

Redline computed from the official version text (record lane).View this version →

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.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift99% confidence

Exemption from Public Records Law

The legislation explicitly removes criminal records check results for nursing applicants from public record availability under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

Board of Nursing Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation

Connected Entities

Board of Nursing, Federal Bureau of Investigation, General Assembly of the State of Ohio and 1 more

OrganizationBoard of Nursing“State board governing nursing licenses and conducting background checks”Map →

OrganizationFederal Bureau of Investigation“Federal entity providing background check information”Map →

OrganizationGeneral Assembly of the State of Ohio“Enacting body of the legislation”Map →

OrganizationBureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation“Entity conducting criminal records checks”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.legislature.ohio.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance75
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy15
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz30
Current news / social attention level

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