Ohio House Bill HB656

Ohio 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/27/26

Caption

To amend sections 2903.14 and 2927.15 of the Revised Code to create the offense of negligent assault of a peace officer.

Summary

HB656 would amend Ohio’s negligent assault statute and unlawful collection of bodily substance statute to create a new offense of negligent assault of a peace officer. Under the bill, a person who negligently causes physical harm to a peace officer as a result of possessing a controlled substance, controlled substance analog, or drug paraphernalia would commit a first-degree misdemeanor. If that harm also creates a substantial risk of exposure to an infectious disease, the offense would be elevated to a fifth-degree felony, with infectious-disease status determined through collection and testing of bodily substances. The bill also revises the unlawful collection of a bodily substance law to add an explicit exception allowing a peace officer, or someone acting at a peace officer’s direction or under a court order, to collect blood, urine, tissue, or other bodily substances for testing tied to the new offense. Existing exceptions for chemical testing in operating-a-vehicle and commercial-driver contexts are retained, and the bill clarifies that those exceptions do not narrow existing privilege rules. The measure is introduced in the House Judiciary Committee and would amend and repeal existing sections of the Revised Code if enacted.

Impact

HB656 would expand Ohio criminal law by creating a new, officer-specific negligent assault offense and by adjusting the bodily-substance collection statute to support infectious-disease testing in cases involving alleged harm to peace officers. It would add a new misdemeanor offense and a felony enhancement tied to exposure risk, while also creating a law-enforcement/court-order exception to the general prohibition on collecting another person’s bodily substances without consent or privilege. The bill would directly affect defendants alleged to have possessed controlled substances or drug paraphernalia in incidents causing harm to peace officers, as well as law enforcement and courts involved in testing and evidence collection.

Sentiment

Because the bill was only introduced and no committee transcript or vote record is available, there is no documented floor or committee sentiment in the materials provided. The bill’s framing suggests a public-safety and officer-protection rationale, and its structure indicates an intent to give prosecutors a specific charge when negligent conduct involving drugs or paraphernalia harms a peace officer. At the same time, the infectious-disease testing provisions and felony enhancement could raise privacy, bodily-integrity, and evidentiary concerns, but those views are not reflected in recorded debate here.

Contention

The main potential points of contention are the creation of a new offense that applies specifically to harm suffered by peace officers, the use of a negligence standard in a criminal statute, and the felony enhancement when there is a substantial risk of infectious-disease exposure. Another likely issue is the bill’s authorization for collection and testing of bodily substances, which implicates privacy, consent, and search-and-seizure concerns. Supporters would likely emphasize officer safety and accountability in drug-related encounters, while critics may question whether the bill is overbroad or whether existing assault and evidence-collection laws already address the conduct.