State Senator Jay Hottinger

When I am at my office in the Statehouse and even when I am at home in Newark, I often spend a great deal of time in meetings and discussions learning about various issues and trying to facilitate progress that will make our communities and our state a better place to live and work. As we approach the end of the year, we are also approaching the end of the 125th General Assembly in the State Legislature. I thought this might be a good time to review some of the issues that we've been able to address in the past two years, and highlight some of the results and progress that has come from all those meetings and discussions. This week I will focus on the first half of the two-year legislative session.

In 2003, the legislature worked to address the growing number of Internet crimes known as "cyberstalking," through Senate Bill 8. This legislation will prohibit the practice of cyberstalking, which consists of stalking over the computer or Internet. Although the crimes start out as harassment and threatening behavior on the computer screen, they often flow over into real life where victims and their families live in very real fear. S.B. 8 sets appropriate penalties for those who commit cyberstalking by allowing that repeat offenders could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor or a fourth-degree felony. Depending on the nature of the crime, violators could do jail time and face fines of up to $5,000.

Another important bill that became law during the 125th General Assembly was Ohio's do-not-call legislation. Although the Federal Trade Commission adopted the federal do-not-call registry in March of 2003, those regulations apply only to calls placed from state to state, revealing the need for a state law that would cover calls placed from within the state to Ohioans. Despite ongoing legal disputes in federal courts, Senate Bill 28 ensures that Ohioans are able to benefit from the federal do-not-call list and rules that remain in full effect and are currently being enforced by both the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Finally, I was pleased to secure a provision in House Bill 87, Ohio's Transportation Budget bill, which lowered Ohio's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit from .10 to .08. By lowering the threshold, we accomplished two goals.

We were able to satisfy a federal government directive that if not met, would have lowered the amount of money the state received from the federal gas tax, yet even more importantly, I believe a lower BAC limit will ultimately better protect motorists against drunk drivers. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), with whom I worked very closely with on this issue, testified that a .08 BAC limit will save more than 30 lives the first year alone.

While this is just a brief sampling of the bills passed by the legislature in the first half of the 125th General Assembly, I am proud to report on the progress we've made. I look forward to filling you in on more of the initiatives we were able to accomplish in the second half of the General Assembly next week. Until then, please enjoy a safe and happy holiday week!

As always, please feel free to contact me by mail (State Senator Jay Hottinger, Ohio Senate, Statehouse, Columbus, OH 43215), by email (sd31@mailr.sen.state.oh.us) or by phone (614-466-5838).