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Ohio legislative roundup: final bills passed in 2024

By:Ellen Essman, Senior Research Associate Wednesday, January 15th, 2025
Chambers of the Ohio House of Representatives

December 31 saw the end of the 135th Ohio General Assembly. The assembly's Lame Duck session following the November election brought with it the passage of several bills that may have an effect on agriculture and natural resources throughout the state.  Any bills the legislature did not approve before the end of the session "died" and are no longer under consideration.  Here's a summary of bills the lawmakers passed, which are all now signed by Governor DeWine:

S.B. 156—Scenic Rivers.  Senate Bill 156 passed ahead of the Lame Duck session and became effective on October 24, 2024. S.B. 156 transferred the authority to administer the Wild, Scenic, and Recreational River Program from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Division of Parks and Watercraft to the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves (DNAP). Further, the bill narrowed DNAP’s scope of authority from river areas (including land around Wild, Scenic, or Recreational Rivers) to just the watercourses of rivers.  At the same time, the bill expanded the types of watercourses that can be designated as wild, scenic, or recreational rivers to include headwaters of those rivers.

H.B. 364—Regards non-commercial seed sharing; noxious weed removal. The main goal of House Bill 364 is to help conserve pollinator species and support native plant habitats. To do this, the bill exempts from the laws governing seeds any "noncommercial seed sharing" that supports a number of activities. These activities include:

  • Conservation of pollinators and threatened or endangered species;
  • Planting and creation of native plant habitats;
  • Propagation of native plants for their specific conservation;
  • Operation of a seed library, provided that the seed library ensures that any seeds exchanged among the seed library’s members or the general public are open-pollinated, public domain varieties.

A “seed library” is defined as a non-profit, governmental, or cooperative organization or association to which both of the following apply:

  • It is established for the purpose of facilitating the donation, exchange, preservation, and dissemination of seeds among the seed library's members or the general public.
  • The use, exchange, transfer, or possession of seeds acquired by or from the non-profit, governmental, or cooperative organization or association are obtained free of charge.

Finally, the bill makes changes to the weed removal provisions in R.C. 4959.11, which requires managers of toll roads, railroads and electric railways to manage weeds along their roads and rights of way. The bill changes the specific requirement to destroy "Russian thistle, Canadian thistle, common thistle, wild lettuce, wild mustard, wild parsnip, ragweed, milkweed, ironweed and all other noxious weeds" to one that requires destruction of "noxious weeds" as defined in the law that applies to weed removal along county and township roadways. Several of the weeds removed from R.C. 4949.11 are not on Ohio's noxious weeds list and, especially in the case of milkweed, are beneficial plants for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. 

S.B. 54—Establish the New African Immigrants Grant and Gift Fund.  At first glance, the title of Senate Bill 54 doesn’t indicate that it has anything to do with agriculture or natural resources law. However, S.B. 54 became the “Christmas Tree” bill of the Lame Duck session, meaning that amendments not having anything to do with the original purpose of the bill were added on to it. 

S.B. 54 contains two such amendments that relate to agriculture and natural resources. The first, originally found in House Bill 683, transfers $10 million from the Ohio Controlling Board Emergency Purposes/Contingencies Fund to ODA to disburse to Soil and Water Conservation Districts for drought relief to farmers affected by the 2024 drought. 

The second addition to S.B. 54 is the creation of the Ohio River Commission. The Commission will be housed within the Department of Development, and its purpose will be to “develop and promote economic development, marine cargo terminal operations, and travel and tourism on the Ohio river and its tributaries.”  Of note are several of the powers and duties given to the Ohio River Commission, including:

  • Receive, promote, support, and consider recommendations, from public or private planning organizations, and develop a master plan for Ohio River infrastructure and transportation projects;
  • Coordinate with port authorities, private port operators, metropolitan planning organizations, regional transportation planning organizations, local development districts, Ohio River service entities, utility service providers, and agricultural, tourism, and recreational interests, regarding Ohio River infrastructure and transportation;
  • In conjunction with applicable state agencies, coordinate with state agencies, local governments and communities, other states, and the federal government regarding Ohio River issues;
  • Evaluate policies, programs, programs of research, and priorities to offset the continued decline in coal production and consumption within the Ohio River Basin and promote prosperity in Ohio’s Appalachian region; and
  •  Administer development funds and seek, support, and assist the Ohio River industry in the utilization of available grants, loans, and other finance mechanisms in support of Ohio River projects.

H.B. 503—Prohibit activities re: garbage-fed swine, feral swine, wild boar.  House Bill 503 is meant to address the dangers of feral swine; namely the destruction of property and the transmission of diseases like African Swine Fever to Ohio’s commercial pig population.

The bill makes it illegal to knowingly:

  • Import, transport, or possess live wild boar or feral swine;
  • Release wild boar or feral swine into the wild or expanding the range of a wild boar or feral swine by introducing it to a new location; and
  • Purposely feed a wild boar or feral swine.

In addition, if a person knows or has reason to know that wild boar or feral swine are present on public or private property, the law requires them to report it to Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife.  If wild boar or feral swine is present on a person’s property, they may immediately eradicate the swine without a hunting license, as long as they notify the Division of Wildlife and follow the Division’s instructions.

H.B. 503 also includes language that makes it illegal to feed garbage or treated garbage to swine, or to bring swine into Ohio that has been fed garbage or treated garbage. For the first violation, the Ohio Department of Agriculture can collect a penalty of up to $500 and can charge up to $1000 for subsequent violations.

With the 136th General Assembly now underway, be sure to follow the Ohio Ag Law Blog for updates on legislation we'll see in this new two-year legislative session.

Thank you to Ellen Essman, J.D. with OSU CFAES Government Affairs, for authoring this post.

 

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Tags: Ohio legislation