COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio Senate committee approved a bill to close a loophole in state law that keeps spouses from being charged in certain sex offenses.
The senate’s Judiciary Committee sent House Bill 161 for a full vote from the chamber after its third hearing in the committee.
The bill, which has bipartisan sponsors, seeks to eliminate an exemption in state law for spouses who are accused of sex offenses such as rape and sexual battery.
The bill received several statements of support in its last meeting, where rape survivors and advocates alike said the bill was necessary to protect those in abusive situations and allow them options to get out.
Only one opponent testified during Tuesday’s committee hearing. Cuyahoga County’s Shawn Weiler submitted testimony that cited religious sources on marriage, and called HB 161 “an unjust and direct attack on both marriage and the family.”
If passed, the bill would bring Ohio out of a minority of states who still have a loophole for married couples in state sex offense law. Currently, only 11 states still have the spousal exemption.
The bill already has the support of the Ohio House, who passed the bill unanimously through its own Criminal Justice Committee and sent the bill on to the state Senate with only one dissenter, state Rep. Bill Dean, R-Xenia.
Previous attempts at the bill failed to make it this far in the legislative process, with now-Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio introducing a similar bill in 2019, and another bipartisan effort hitting the House in 2021. Neither of those bills made it out of their assigned committees.
The Senate’s Rules and Reference Committee, the group who decides which bills will hit the Senate floor and when, is set to meet Wednesday to decide whether HB 161 will appear on the floor at that day’s session, scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.
