To amend section 3521.01; to enact new sections 3521.011, 3521.012, 3521.013, 3521.014, 3521.015, 3521.016, 3521.017, 3521.018, 3521.019, 3521.0110, 3521.0111, 3521.0112, 3521.0113, 3521.0114, and 3521.0115; and to repeal sections 3521.011, 3521.012, 3521.013, 3521.014, 3521.015, 3521.016, 3521.017, 3521.018, 3521.019, 3521.0110, 3521.0111, 3521.0112, 3521.0113, 3521.0114, and 3521.0115 of the Revised Code to designate new congressional district boundaries pursuant to Article XIX of the Ohio Constitution.
HB442 is an Ohio congressional redistricting bill. It amends the state’s election code provisions governing congressional districts and replaces the existing district descriptions with a new set of district boundaries for Ohio’s 15 congressional districts. The bill is highly technical and district-specific, using county, precinct, voting district, and census block descriptions tied to the 2020 decennial census to define each district’s territory.
The bill’s core function is to redraw Ohio’s congressional map under Article XIX of the Ohio Constitution. It repeals the current district-description sections in the Revised Code and enacts new sections that lay out the geographic composition of each district. Because the bill is a redistricting measure, its practical effect would be to change which voters are assigned to which congressional district and, by extension, which U.S. House seat they vote for in future elections.
If enacted, HB442 would substantially revise Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3521 by replacing the existing congressional district map with a new statutory map based on 2020 census data. It would affect election administration, voter assignment, candidate filing, and congressional representation across the state, especially in counties and municipalities split among districts. The bill would also repeal the prior district-description provisions so the new map becomes the operative legal definition of Ohio’s congressional districts.
The available context shows no committee testimony or recorded votes, and the bill was introduced and referred to the House Redistricting Committee. Based on the bill’s subject matter, the measure is likely to be politically significant and closely scrutinized, but the provided record does not show explicit support or opposition from legislators in the available materials. The overall tone in the text is procedural and technical rather than argumentative.
The main point of contention in a bill like HB442 would typically be how the new district lines are drawn, including whether the map favors one party, preserves communities of interest, or complies with constitutional redistricting standards. Because the bill contains detailed precinct- and census-block-level boundaries, disputes would likely center on specific county and municipal splits, population balance, compactness, and partisan fairness. No specific objections or endorsements are included in the provided transcripts, so any contention can only be inferred from the redistricting context itself.