As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 178
2025-2026
Senator Hicks-Hudson
Cosponsors: Senators Antonio, Craig, Smith
To enact section 2901.44 of the Revised Code to
create the Task Force on Missing Women and Girls
who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color
and to make an appropriation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 2901.44 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 2901.44. (A) The task force on missing women and
girls who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color is created.
The task force shall do all of the following:
(1) Work with state agencies to develop policy changes
that will address the lack of care and concern for missing and
murdered women and girls who are Black, Indigenous, or People of
Color and identify policies that will ensure that first
responders are culturally competent;
(2) Advance the knowledge of communities on the severity
of the issue of women and girls who are Black, Indigenous, or
People of Color who are missing and murdered;
(3) Ensure that communities of people who are Black,
Indigenous, or People of Color are educated and trained on
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prevention and protection strategies and social media protocols
regarding women and girls who are Black, Indigenous, or People
of Color who are missing and murdered;
(4) Develop a strategy to collect statistics,
demographics, surveys, oral histories, and data analysis
relevant to women and girls who are Black, Indigenous, or People
of Color who are missing and murdered;
(5) Recommend preventive programming and ideas to advance
the safety of women and girls, including policies that address
the overlapping forms of oppression faced by women and girls who
are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color;
(6) Identify major traffic hubs, highways, and resource
extraction sites that lead to or are responsible for the
facilitation of the abduction of women and girls who are Black,
Indigenous, or People of Color;
(7) Create a statewide awareness campaign regarding women
and girls who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color who are
missing and murdered;
(8) Hold public meetings throughout the state to solicit
public input;
(9) Solicit and accept written public input.
(B) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) The director of job and family services or the
director's designee;
(2) The executive director of the division of criminal
justice services or the executive director's designee;
(3) The superintendent of the state highway patrol or the
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superintendent's designee;
(4) Two members appointed by the president of the senate;
(5) Two members appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives;
(6) One member appointed by the minority leader of the
senate;
(7) One member appointed by the minority leader of the
house of representatives.
(B) Task force members appointed under divisions (B)(4) to
(7) of this section shall be representative of the communities
experiencing this crisis, including directly impacted
individuals, and reflect the diversity of the state and have
experience in cultural competency.
(C) Initial members of the task force shall be appointed
not later than ninety days after the effective date of this
section. Members of the task force appointed under divisions (B)
(4) to (7) of this section shall serve terms of two years. Any
vacancy on the task force shall be filled in the same manner as
the original appointment.
(D) Members shall select a chairperson from among the
members of the task force.
(E) A majority of the members of the task force
constitutes a quorum for the transaction of the business of the
task force.
(F) Task force members shall serve without compensation
but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties.
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(G) Not later than two years after the effective date of
this section, and every two years thereafter, the task force
shall submit a report containing its findings and
recommendations to the president of the senate, speaker of the
house of representatives, minority leader of the senate, and
minority leader of the house of representatives. The report
shall be made available to the public.
Section 2. All items in this act are hereby appropriated
as designated out of any moneys in the state treasury to the
credit of the designated fund. For all operating appropriations
made in this act, those in the first column are for fiscal year
2026 and those in the second column are for fiscal year 2027.
The operating appropriations made in this act are in addition to
any other operating appropriations made for these fiscal years.
Section 3.
1 2 3 4 5
A AGO ATTORNEY GENERAL
BGeneral Revenue Fund
CGRF055321Operating Expenses $250,000 $250,000
DGeneral Revenue Fund Total $250,000 $250,000
ETOTAL ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS $250,000 $250,000
TASK FORCE ON MISSING WOMEN AND GIRLS WHO ARE BLACK,
INDIGENOUS, OR PEOPLE OF COLOR
The foregoing appropriation item 055321, Operating
Expenses, shall be used to support expenses related to the Task
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Force on Missing Women and Girls Who Are Black, Indigenous, or
People of Color, created by section 2901.44 of the Revised Code.
Section 4. Within the limits set forth in this act, the
Director of Budget and Management shall establish accounts
indicating the source and amount of funds for each appropriation
made in this act, and shall determine the manner in which
appropriation accounts shall be maintained. Expenditures from
operating appropriations contained in this act shall be
accounted for as though made in, and are subject to all
applicable provisions of, the main operating appropriations act
of the 136th General Assembly.
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