Ohio
If you have a suspended driver’s license, Ohio may make it easier to get it back
Hundreds of thousands of Ohio drivers who face driver license suspensions every year may have an easier road to getting their licenses reinstated.
Hundreds of thousands of Ohio drivers who face driver license suspensions every year may have an easier road to getting their licenses reinstated.
Lawmakers gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill that will make it harder to lose your license and easier to get a suspended license reinstated.
The bill now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine for consideration.
The Ohio Poverty Law Center thanked lawmakers for moving the legislation forward.
“With the amendment and passage of House Bill 29, Ohioans who have been shouldering the burden of debt-related driver’s license suspensions will soon find relief and be able to return to the road. A valid driver’s license is essential to participating in Ohio’s economy and earning the money necessary to resolve existing debt,” the center said in a statement on Wednesday.
Currently, Ohio drivers can lose their licenses for more than 30 reasons, many of which are not related to dangerous driving. Reinstatement fees can ramp up quickly, starting at $15 and maxing out at $650.
Roughly 60% of license suspensions each year are for debt-related reasons. Under the bill heading to DeWine’s desk, license suspensions would largely be limited to convictions that are related to dangerous driving.
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles doesn’t keep statistics on the total number of current suspensions but on average there are 257,500 suspensions imposed each year.
After last-minute changes made Wednesday, the bill would:
- Wipe out old suspensions from the discontinued program that randomly selected drivers to provide proof of insurance.
- Shorten the window in which driving without insurance offenses can be considered repeat offenses from five years to one year.
- Increase the opportunities that Ohioans can ask for driving privileges if their licenses were suspended for failure to pay child support.
- Eliminate school truancy as a reason for license denial or suspension.
- Remove licenses suspensions for drug offenses unrelated to driving.
- Keep the ability to suspend licenses for some lower-level drug abuse offenses when the vehicle is used in the commission of a drug crime.
Statehouse reporter Erin Glynn contributed reporting.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
CANFIELD, Ohio (WJW) – Nobody took home the massive Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, but one Canfield man is still celebrating after purchasing a winning ticket worth $50,000.
According to Ohio Lottery, Bryan decided to try his luck after realizing the Powerball jackpot was over $1 billion. He bought a ticket from the Meijer grocery store on Boardman-Canfield Road in Boardman.
The next morning, Bryan woke up and checked the ticket, stunned to discover that he won $50,000.
After mandatory state and federal taxes, the lucky winner will take home more than $36,000.
Bryan told lottery officials that he doesn’t have specific plans for money yet, but the big win will certainly make for “a very good Christmas.”
It has been months since someone won the Powerball jackpot, which now sits at a massive $1.5 billion. There is also a cash option worth $689.3 million up for grabs.
The next drawing will be Saturday night at 11 p.m. Learn more about the Powerball right here.
A mom searching for answers about her son’s death in a car wreck won a victory on Dec. 19 when the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Richland County Sheriff to release records to her.
The court ruled in a unanimous decision that Andrea Mauk is entitled to three sets of records withheld by the sheriff, with only Social Security numbers being redacted. Mauk will be awarded $2,000 in damages but will not receive attorney fees.
On June 23, 2023, 18-year-old Damon Mauk lost control of his 1998 Ford Mustang and slammed it into a tree. His mother wanted to piece together what happened, collect his belongings and grieve the loss of her child. She didn’t think she’d have to fight for public records and take her case to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Following the crash, Richland County Sheriff’s deputies, a township fire department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded.
During the investigation, a trooper told a deputy to leave Damon’s iPhone and wallet in the car, according to Mauk’s court filings. Instead, the deputy took the belongings to the hospital and handed them off to someone who said he was Damon’s dad.
Mauk didn’t understand. Damon’s father was largely absent from his life. How could he have been there to pick up the wallet and phone?
A few weeks after the fatal crash, Mauk asked for records, including: the sheriff’s report and inventory of items taken from the car, body camera footage from deputies who gave away the belongings, the report, photos and videos created by the patrol and more.
Mauk, of the Mansfield area, received some but not all of the requested records. Mauk hired attorney Brian Bardwell to pursue records she believes exist but weren’t provided or were improperly redacted.
The sheriff’s office claimed that some of the requested records were exempt from disclosure because they are confidential law enforcement records or personal notes. The court privately reviewed the records withheld from Mauk and determined that they should be released.
The decision in favor of releasing records runs contrary to recent rulings from the high court.
In 2024, the court held that the cost of sending troopers to protect Gov. Mike DeWine at a Super Bowl game weren’t subject to disclosure and that the Ohio Department of Health should redact from a database the names and addresses of Ohioans who had died, even though that death certificate information can be released on an individual case basis.
In 2025 the court ruled that police officers’ names may be kept confidential if they’re attacked on the job, giving them privacy rights afforded to crime victims.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kylee Kitts scored 13 points, Jaloni Cambridge added 11 and No. 21 Ohio State rolled past Norfolk State 79-45 on Thursday night for its eighth straight win.
Dasha Biriuk added 10 points for Ohio State, which is 10-1 overall and 7-0 at home.
Kitts was 6 of 12 from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with two steals and two blocks. Cambridge was 4-of-8 shooting and had eight rebounds and two steals.
Cambridge scored seven points in the first quarter as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 20-10 lead and built a 43-21 halftime advantage. Kitts and Cambridge each scored nine first-half points.
Ohio State outrebounded Norfolk State 55-32 and scored 21 points off 17 turnovers.
Jasha Clinton scored 18 points to lead Norfolk State (5-9). Ciara Bailey had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Up next
Norfolk State plays at Elon on Sunday.
Ohio State hosts Western Michigan on Mondahy.
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