Interstate jurisdiction bill passes legislature

Township trustees will have the authority to allow their police departments to enforce traffic laws on interstate highways within their jurisdiction if a bill that recently passed through the state legislature becomes law.
House Bill 206 awaits the signature of Gov. Mike DeWine after passing in the Senate last week by a 29-3 vote and 83-10 in the House last month.
“The passage of this legislation will positively impact public safety in our communities of Wood County to include Perrysburg Township and Lake Township. It has always been about facilitating cooperation and collaboration between our local officials and law enforcement officers to protect Ohioans on our roadways,” said Rep. Haraz Ghanbari, R – Perrysburg, a co-sponsor of the bill.
The bill covers townships with populations of between 5,000 and 50,000 residents. There must be a permanent access point on and off the highway located within the jurisdiction and open to the public.
When he gave testimony to the House Transportation and Public Safety Committee, Rep. Ghanbari said the highway system in his district plays a major role in much of the crime afflicting Northwest Ohio.
“We have a major north/south route known as Interstate 75, a major east/west route known as the Ohio Turnpike, and other routes like 475, 23 and 280. Beyond what we know about the flow of dangerous drugs like fentanyl, we are also aware of criminal enterprises like organized retail crime, sex trafficking, and human trafficking. All of these involve the interstate,” Rep. Ghanbari told the committee.
Safety concerns also underscore the need for the bill, he said. Citing data from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ghanbari said there were 19,663 crashes in Wood County from January 2015 to June 2020. Of those, 3,528 occurred on I-75.
Also, the bill can’t be used to pad the coffers of townships, he said, as state law covers the disposition of fines and township officers – unlike municipal officers - may only write citations under Ohio Revised Code.
Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer provided proponent testimony on the bill. He noted that six miles of I-280 cross the township and there are four exits and six crossovers. Businesses, residences, schools, and industry sit within a half mile of each exit.
“This road literally cuts Lake Township in half. We use it daily to traverse the township, yet we cannot fully patrol it,” he told the committee.
The bill received proponent testimony from an array of organizations: Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Ohio Fire Chiefs Association, Ohio Trucking Association, Ohio Township Association, Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, County Commissioners Association of Ohio as well as individual officers from police departments and the Ohio Highway Patrol.
The issue of township police officers patrolling on interstate highways came to the forefront in 2011 when a Lake Township officer conducted a traffic stop on I-280 in a case that was appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.
The court in 2015 ruled state law doesn’t give officers in townships with less than 50,000 residents the authority to make stops on interstates.
A bill was introduced after the court ruling that gave township officers in townships of 50,000 or less the authority to issue citations on U.S. or state highways but it didn’t give them that authority on interstates.
The sponsor of that bill, former Rep. Steve Hambley, in testimony before a Senate committee, acknowledged the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association opposed the provision that would have given smaller township police departments authority on interstates. Consequently, the provision was removed while the bill was pending in the House.
Rep. Ghanbari said there were no opponents to his bill. One sheriff, Terry Grice of Medina County, even provided proponent testimony on the bill.
“The Ohio Supreme Court decision in State v. Brown (the Lake Township case) provided a loophole for those found to be violating the Ohio Revised Code, and caused law enforcement operations to be severely impacted,” Sheriff Grice told the Senate Government and Oversight Committee. “In that specific case, the driver was found to have illegal drugs in their possession, but based on R.C. 4513.39, the case was dismissed. As I'm sure you are aware, many individuals who traffic illegal narcotics travel our interstates on a daily basis.
“This impact goes beyond drug offenses. Many arrests for OVI are as a result of traffic violations for which officers are not permitted to currently enforce on the interstate. Officers need to have the full resources of the Ohio Revised Code in order to perform their sworn duty. The 50,000-resident threshold also seems excessively high. Of the 88 counties in the state, 39 counties do not meet the 50,000-resident requirement for the entire county population. There are approximately 1,215 municipalities in the state and only 15, or less than 1.5 percent meet the 50,000 threshold. Of the 1,309 townships, there are only seven, less than 0.5 percent, that have a population over 50,000.”
Rep. Ghanbari said he drafted the bill after spending many hours riding with law enforcement officers on patrol.
He said he’s talked with Gov. Mike DeWine’s staff and has been told the governor intends to sign the bill.
Chief Hummer last week said the bill is “common sense legislation.”
“This way we can enforce all the laws on all our roads,” he said. “That’s important just for everyday safety and cooperating with other departments. We’re all trying to do more with less people.”