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Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio Senate Bill 265 adds animal offenses to foster and adoption criminal background checks
Last action · October 1, 2025: Referred to JudiciarySponsor: Al Cutrona
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What This Bill Would Do
Ohio Senate Bill 265 expands the list of disqualifying criminal offenses used during background checks for prospective foster caregivers, adoptive parents, and household members to include specific animal-related offenses such as animal abuse and abandonment.
Prospective foster parents, adoptive parents, and adults residing in households with children face stricter eligibility screenings, as past convictions for animal cruelty or abandonment will now bar approval.
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.
Prospective foster caregivers and adoptive parents
They must undergo background checks that now screen for specific animal-related criminal offenses.
Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation
The bureau is required to screen background check subjects for the newly added animal offenses.
Key Facts
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Frequently Asked Questions
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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- Oct 1, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Judiciary
- Sep 16, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced
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.
Expansion of Child Welfare Screening Criteria
The bill links animal welfare violations directly to child placement eligibility by incorporating animal offenses into standard foster and adoption background checks.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance55How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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