Subject: Analysis of Proposed Amendments to Ohio Revised Code Regarding Cooperation with Federal Authorities, Immigration Enforcement, and Local Government Funding.
1. Executive Summary:
Ohio House Bill 26 proposes significant changes to the Ohio Revised Code, primarily focusing on mandating cooperation between state and local authorities with federal agencies, particularly in immigration and terrorism investigations. It also addresses eligibility for state homeland security funding and modifies the distribution of the Local Government Fund (LGF) based on compliance with these mandates and other factors like traffic camera enforcement and sanctuary jurisdiction status.
2. Key Themes and Provisions:
- Mandatory Cooperation with Federal Authorities (Sections 9.63, 9.631, 9.632, 9.633):
- Requirement to Assist: The bill requires state and local employees to comply with “any lawful request for assistance made by any federal authorities” in areas including the USA Patriot Act, immigration, and terrorism investigations, and executive orders related to homeland security, as long as such requests are “consistent with the doctrine of federalism.” This appears to create a legal obligation for local employees to aid federal efforts.
- Prohibition of Hindrance: Municipal corporations are prohibited from enacting ordinances, policies, directives, rules, or resolutions that “materially hinder or prevent” local employees from cooperating with federal immigration services and terrorism investigations.
- Funding Ineligibility: The Director of Public Safety can certify a municipal corporation as ineligible for state homeland security funding if it enacts policies prohibited by the bill. This creates a financial incentive for compliance.
- Protection of Dissenting Opinions: “Any municipal corporation’s ordinance, policy, directive, rule, or resolution that states disagreement with, or a critical opinion of, any state or federal immigration or terrorism policy, the USA Patriot Act, or any executive order of the president of the United States pertaining to homeland security is not sufficient to qualify as a ‘material hindrance or prevention’”.
- Enforcement of Federal Immigration Law: State or local government entities administering a state or local public benefit must comply with federal requirements regarding alien eligibility (8 U.S.C. 1621).
- Inquiry Authority: No state or local government agency or political subdivision can prohibit or restrict a public official or employee from inquiring about a person’s name, birthdate, place of birth, or citizenship/immigration status during the investigation or prosecution of a law violation.
- Warrant Requirement Exception: A state or local government agency or political subdivision must comply with a request from a federal agency, even without a warrant, unless federal law prohibits such compliance. However, if the federal agency has obtained a warrant, compliance is required.
- Local Government Fund (LGF) Adjustments (Sections 4501.06, 5747.50, 5747.502, 5747.504, 5747.51, 5747.53):
- Traffic Camera Fines: The bill modifies LGF payments based on traffic camera fines. A “local government fund adjustment” (LGF adjustment) is calculated based on the gross amount of traffic camera fines collected by a local authority. This adjustment is then used to reduce the local authority’s LGF payments.
- Sanctuary Jurisdiction Adjustment: A “sanctuary jurisdiction adjustment” is introduced, defined as “ten per cent of a local authority’s local government fund payment for a month.” If the Attorney General notifies the Tax Commissioner that a local authority is not complying with Section 9.631 (related to immigration enforcement), the local authority’s LGF payments will be reduced by this amount.
- “Upon receiving notification from the attorney general, pursuant to section 9.632 of the Revised Code, that a local authority is not in compliance with the requirements of section 9.631 of the Revised Code, the tax commissioner shall reduce payments”.
- Ohio Highway and Transportation Safety Fund: The bill creates the Ohio Highway and Transportation Safety Fund. Amounts reduced from local authorities due to traffic camera fines and sanctuary jurisdiction status are deposited into this fund and credited to accounts for transportation districts, to be used for enhancing public safety on roads within those districts.
- LGF Distribution Formula: The bill details the processes by which the tax commissioner distributes money from the local government fund to counties and municipalities, including provisions for adjusting distributions to account for reductions due to traffic camera fines and sanctuary jurisdiction status. The county auditor is then responsible for distributing those funds to subdivisions.
- Budget Commission Role: The County Budget Commission shall reduce the amount of funds from the undivided local government fund to a subdivision required to receive reduced funds under section 5747.502 of the Revised Code.
3. Definitions:
The bill provides specific definitions for key terms, which are crucial for interpreting its provisions:
- Law Enforcement Agency: Includes municipal/township police, sheriff’s offices, state highway patrol, and other state/local bodies enforcing criminal laws with arrest powers.
- ” ‘Law enforcement agency’ means a municipal or township police department, the office of a sheriff, the state highway patrol, or any other state or local governmental body that enforces criminal laws and that has employees who have a statutory power of arrest.”
- Political Subdivision: County, township, municipal corporation, or other body responsible for government activities below the state level.
- ” ‘Political subdivision’ means a county, township, municipal corporation, or any other body corporate and politic that is responsible for government activities in a geographic area smaller than that of the state.”
- State or Local Public Benefit: Defined by reference to 8 U.S.C. 1621, which outlines federal restrictions on providing benefits to aliens.
- ” ‘State or local public benefit’ has the same meaning as in division (c) of section 411 of the ‘Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,’ 8 U.S.C. 1621.”
- USA Patriot Act: Specifically defined to refer to the federal law and its amendments.
- “As used in this section, “USA Patriot Act” means the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA Patriot Act) Act of 2001,” Pub. L. No. 107-056, 115 Stat. 272, as amended.”
4. Potential Implications and Considerations:
- Federalism Concerns: The bill’s requirement for state and local authorities to comply with federal requests, while tempered by the “doctrine of federalism,” could raise concerns about the balance of power between the federal government and the states. The interpretation of what constitutes a “lawful request” and consistency with federalism will be critical.
- Civil Liberties: The provisions related to inquiries about immigration status could lead to concerns about potential discrimination and profiling.
- Local Autonomy: The LGF adjustments based on traffic camera fines and sanctuary jurisdiction status could be viewed as coercive measures that infringe on local autonomy and decision-making. Local governments might feel pressured to adopt policies that align with the state’s priorities to avoid funding reductions.
- Unintended Consequences: The broad language of the bill could have unintended consequences. For example, the requirement to comply with federal requests related to “homeland security” could potentially encompass a wide range of activities beyond immigration and terrorism.
- Financial Impact: The creation of the Ohio Highway and Transportation Safety Fund and the reallocation of LGF funds will have financial impacts on both local governments and the state.
- Legal Challenges: The bill could face legal challenges based on constitutional grounds, particularly related to federalism, civil liberties, and equal protection.
5. Repeal of Existing Sections:
The bill repeals existing sections 9.63, 4501.06, 5747.50, 5747.502, 5747.51, and 5747.53 of the Revised Code, replacing them with the new provisions outlined in the bill.
6. Severability Clause:
The bill includes a severability clause, meaning that if any provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions would still be in effect.
7. Next Steps:
This is only the “As Introduced” version of the bill. It will now go through the legislative process, including committee hearings and potential amendments. It is important to monitor these developments.