HB 677

As Re-Referred by the House Rules and Reference Committee
136th General Assembly
   Regular Session  Sub. H. B. No. 677
       2025-2026
  Representatives Synenberg, Abrams
  Cosponsors: Representatives Thomas, C., Willis
  To amend section 2919.23 and to enact sections  1
  2929.45, 4927.25, 4927.26, 4927.27, 4927.28,        2
  4927.29, and 5502.55 of the Revised Code to  3
  enact the Kelsey Smith Act to modify the law        4
  governing interference with custody, to require     5
  wireless service providers to provide call  6
  location information to law enforcement in  7
  certain emergency situations, and to create an      8
  endangered missing child alert.  9
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
     Section 1. That section 2919.23 be amended and sections       10
2929.45, 4927.25, 4927.26, 4927.27, 4927.28, 4927.29, and  11
5502.55 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:  12
     Sec. 2919.23. (A) No person, knowing the person is without    13
privilege to do so or being reckless in that regard, shall  14
entice, take, keep, or harbor a person identified in division      15
(A)(1), (2), or (3) of this section from the parent, guardian,     16
or custodian of the person identified in division (A)(1), (2),     17
or (3) of this section:  18
     (1) A child under the age of eighteen, or a child with a      19
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mental or physical disability under the age of twenty-one;  20
       (2) A person committed by law to an institution for  21
delinquent, unruly, neglected, abused, or dependent children;  22
       (3) A person committed by law to an institution for  23
persons with mental illnesses or an institution for persons with  24
intellectual disabilities.  25
       (B) No person shall aid, abet, induce, cause, or encourage  26
a child or a ward of the juvenile court who has been committed  27
to the custody of any person, department, or public or private  28
institution to leave the custody of that person, department, or  29
institution without legal consent.  30
       (C) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of enticing  31
or taking under division (A)(1) of this section, that the actor  32
reasonably believed that the actor's conduct was necessary to  33
preserve the child's health or safety. It is an affirmative  34
defense to a charge of keeping or harboring under division (A)  35
of this section, that the actor in good faith gave notice to law  36
enforcement or judicial authorities within a reasonable time  37
after the child or committed person came under the actor's  38
shelter, protection, or influence.  39
       (D)(1) Whoever violates this section is guilty of  40
interference with custody.  41
       (2) (2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in this division  42
(D)(2)(b) or (c) of this section, a violation of division (A)(1)  43
of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If  44
       (b) If the child who is the subject of a violation of  45
division (A)(1) of this section is removed from the state or if  46
the offender previously has been convicted of an offense under  47
this section, a violation of division (A)(1) of this section is  48
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a felony of the fifth degree. If the child who is the subject of  49
a violation of division (A)(1) of this section suffers physical  50
harm as a result of the violation, a violation of division (A)  51
(1) of this section is a felony of the fourth degree.  52
       (c) If the child who is the subject of a violation of  53
division (A)(1) of this section is removed from the United  54
States, a violation of division (A)(1) of this section is a  55
felony of the third degree.  56
       (3) A violation of division (A)(2) or (3) of this section  57
is a misdemeanor of the third degree.  58
       (4) A violation of division (B) of this section is a  59
misdemeanor of the first degree. Each day of violation of  60
division (B) of this section is a separate offense.  61
       Sec. 2929.45. (A) As used in this section, "local law  62
enforcement agency" means the police department of a municipal  63
corporation in which an offense occurred or, if the offense did  64
not occur in a municipal corporation, the sheriff of the county  65
in which the offense occurred.  66
       (B) If the court issues a warrant for the arrest of a  67
person for a violation of section 2919.23 of the Revised Code,  68
the court shall notify the local law enforcement agency of the  69
warrant. The local law enforcement agency shall enter the  70
warrant into the national crime information center computer and  71
the law enforcement automated data system with a national pickup  72
radius.  73
       Sec. 4927.25. As used in sections 4927.25 to 4927.29 of  74
the Revised Code:  75
       (A) "Call location information" means real-time, precision  76
location requests from a wireless service device, commonly  77
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referred to as "pings," and will typically reflect a latitude  78
and longitude along with a certainty factor.  79
       (B) "Emergency" means an occurrence or event that poses an  80
imminent threat to the health or life of a human.  81
       (C) "Law enforcement agency" means an organization or unit  82
made up of law enforcement officers, as such officers are  83
defined in section 2901.01 of the Revised Code.  84
       (D) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section  85
2921.51 of the Revised Code.  86
       (E) "Public safety answering point" has the same meaning  87
as in section 128.01 of the Revised Code.  88
       Sec. 4927.26. On request, a wireless service provider  89
shall provide call location information to a law enforcement  90
agency, a peace officer, or a public safety answering point on  91
behalf of a law enforcement agency, concerning a user of a  92
wireless service device in the following circumstances:  93
       (A) In an emergency situation to enable the peace officer  94
or law enforcement agency to respond to a call for emergency  95
service by a subscriber, customer, or user of wireless service;  96
or  97
       (B) In an emergency situation that involves danger of  98
death or serious physical injury to any person, where disclosure  99
of communications relating to the emergency is required without  100
delay; provided that, in either circumstance, the wireless  101
service provider believes, in good faith, that an emergency  102
situation exists requiring disclosure without delay of  103
communications relating to the emergency.  104
       Sec. 4927.27. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,  105
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a wireless service provider may establish protocols for the  106
voluntary disclosure of call location information.  107
       Sec. 4927.28. (A) The bureau of criminal investigation  108
shall obtain contact information from all wireless service  109
providers authorized to do business in the state to facilitate a  110
request from a law enforcement agency, a peace officer, or a  111
public safety answering point on behalf of a law enforcement  112
agency, for call location information pursuant to section  113
4927.26 of the Revised Code.  114
       (B) The bureau shall disseminate the contact information  115
described in division (A) of this section to each public safety  116
answering point in the state.  117
       Sec. 4927.29. No cause of action shall arise in any court  118
of this state against a wireless service provider, or its  119
officers, employees, agents, or other persons, for providing any  120
information, facilities, or assistance to a law enforcement  121
agency, a peace officer, or a public safety answering point on  122
behalf of a law enforcement agency, in accordance with sections  123
4927.25 to 4927.28 of the Revised Code.  124
       Sec. 5502.55. (A) As used in this section:  125
       (1) "Cable system" has the same meaning as in section  126
2913.04 of the Revised Code.  127
       (2) "Law enforcement agency" includes, but is not limited  128
to, a county sheriff's office, the office of a village marshal,  129
a police department of a municipal corporation, a police force  130
of a regional transit authority, a police force of a  131
metropolitan housing authority, the state highway patrol, a  132
state university law enforcement agency, the office of a  133
township police constable, and the police department of a  134
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township or joint police district.  135
       (B)(1) The statewide endangered missing child emergency  136
alert program is created to aid in the identification and  137
location of endangered missing children who are under eighteen  138
years of age and who, as determined by a law enforcement agency,  139
are at a high risk for serious bodily harm or death.  140
       (2) The program shall be a coordinated effort among the  141
governor's office, the department of public safety, the attorney  142
general, law enforcement agencies, the state's public and  143
commercial television and radio broadcasters, and others as  144
deemed necessary by the governor.  145
       (3) The state highway patrol and the bureau of criminal  146
identification and investigation may cooperate to ensure that  147
both of the following occur:  148
       (a) An endangered missing child that meets the activation  149
criteria in division (C) of this section is entered into the law  150
enforcement automated data system as a missing person.  151
       (b) Upon entering the endangered missing child into the  152
law enforcement automated data system, the law enforcement  153
automated data system shall automatically notify law enforcement  154
agencies and the bureau of criminal identification and  155
investigation that the endangered missing child is a missing  156
person.  157
       (C) The statewide endangered missing child emergency alert  158
program shall not be implemented unless all of the following  159
activation criteria are met:  160
       (1) The local investigating law enforcement agency  161
confirms that the disappearance of the endangered missing child  162
has occurred.  163
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       (2) The local investigating law enforcement agency  164
determines that the endangered missing child is under eighteen  165
years of age.  166
       (3) The local investigating law enforcement agency  167
determines that the disappearance poses a high risk for serious  168
bodily harm or death to the endangered missing child.  169
       (4) There is sufficient descriptive information about the  170
endangered missing child and the circumstances surrounding the  171
disappearance to indicate that activation of the alert will help  172
locate the endangered missing child.  173
       (D) Nothing in division (C) of this section prevents the  174
activation of a local or regional emergency alert program that  175
may impose different criteria for the activation of a local or  176
regional plan.  177
       (E) Any radio broadcast station, television broadcast  178
station, or cable system participating in the statewide  179
endangered missing child emergency alert program, and a  180
director, officer, employee, or agent of a station or system  181
participating in the program, is immune from liability for  182
damages for any loss allegedly caused by or resulting from the  183
station's or system's broadcast or cablecast of, or failure to  184
broadcast or cablecast, any information pursuant to the  185
statewide endangered missing child emergency alert program.  186
       (F) No person shall knowingly make a false report that a  187
child is missing and that leads to the implementation of the  188
statewide endangered missing child emergency alert program  189
created under this section or that leads to the implementation  190
of a local or regional emergency alert program. Whoever violates  191
this division is guilty of a felony of the fourth degree.  192
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       Section 2. That existing section 2919.23 of the Revised  193
Code is hereby repealed.  194
       Section 3. This act shall be known as the Kelsey Smith  195
Act.  196