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Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio HB 935 empowers criminal courts to determine mental illness or intellectual disability during competency evaluations
Last action · May 20, 2026: Referred to JudiciarySponsor: Josh Williams
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What This Bill Would Do
Representative Josh Williams introduced House Bill 935 to amend multiple sections of the Ohio Revised Code, allowing criminal courts to directly determine whether a criminal defendant is a mentally ill person subject to a court order or has an subject to institutionalization when assessing competency to stand trial.
The measure alters judicial jurisdiction by granting criminal courts the authority to make and mental capacity determinations that were previously restricted to probate courts during competency proceedings.
- In Ohio legal procedure, competency to stand trial determinations and subsequent civil commitments for defendants with mental illness or intellectual disabilities have traditionally required coordination between criminal courts and probate courts. context
- House Bill 935 was introduced in the 136th General Assembly by Representative Josh Williams to modify how these mental capacity determinations and hospital placements are handled. 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.
Criminal defendants
Defendants undergoing competency to stand trial evaluations may have their mental illness or intellectual disability status and subsequent commitment determined directly by the criminal court.
Criminal courts
Judges in criminal courts gain explicit authority and responsibility to handle mental capacity determinations and civil commitment filings during competency proceedings.
Medicaid-participating hospitals with mental health units
These facilities are required to accept patients ordered to be committed under specified statutes or risk losing medicaid payment eligibility.
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 House Bill 935 change regarding mental capacity determinations?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
2 actions- May 20, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred to Judiciary
- May 19, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →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
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Consolidation of Mental Capacity Determinations
The legislation bridges criminal proceedings and civil commitment statutes by allowing criminal judges to evaluate and issue orders regarding mental illness or intellectual disability without immediate probate court referral.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy35Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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