A little over a week ago, we informed you about SB 305, the Vehicle Hidden Compartment bill, which was straight on its way to certain passage in the Ohio house on Thursday, May 24. However, you stepped up to the plate and your last minute calls put the bill on ice. Since last week, Representative Cliff Rosenberger (R, District 86, Clarksville) has proposed pending changes to the bill, which will fix two important problems. The changes are to the last section (section I) which defines the conditions under which containers are exempt. The current bill says that only containers which are “commercially manufactured and advertised for the purpose of securing valuables, electronics, or firearms AND DO NOT contain a controlled substance or residue of a controlled substance” are exempt. The pending changes to the bill would:
- Not limit the exemption to commercially manufactured containers. This change would allow for homemade containers, for example.
- Require that a controlled substance residue be visible. This addresses the critical concerns raised by Ohioans for Concealed Carry’s compelling video in which they demonstrate how the currency we come in contact with each and every day can contain invisible traces of “controlled substances” (a.k.a. drugs) and could conceivably infect containers used for storing valuables.
Specifically, section I of the bill, would change to this:
(I) This section does not apply to a box, safe, container, or other item added to a vehicle which is commercially manufactured and advertised for the purpose of securing valuables, electronics, or firearms provided that at the time of discovery the box, safe, container, or other item added to the vehicle does not contain a controlled substance or visible residue of a controlled substance.
If you have any thoughts or questions about the bill or these changes in particular, please send them to us ASAP. We will work to communicate your feedback to the bill sponsors.
Special thanks to Ohioans for Concealed Carry and Buckeye Firearms Association for the all of the work they have done to this point in getting critical changes made to the bill.
And thanks to YOU for slowing this bill down! This bill is still scheduled to be brought back to the house floor in a little less than two weeks, on Tuesday, June 12 or Wednesday June 13. Please stay tuned to our newsletter and website for more updates.
This Bill is being promoted by a greed for power and fed by inexcusable, irresponsible ignorance.
In humid, wet Ohio, molds grows rampantly. Food and beverages are frequently spilled in vehicles. Those residues foster bacteria and mold growth. Then there are facial powders, baby powders, ordinary dust from the air, dirt, Such residues are easily mistaken (visually) for drug powder residues (cocaine, meth, etc).
This Bill makes it easy for police to be used to charge and bankrupt law-abiding citizens who would be Forced into trying to defend themselves against false charges from liars of any kind (malicious 3rd party “tipsters”), and/or incompetent charges from police. It is, at very least, grossly irresponsible.
If they want to go this far into Police State (Gestapo) tactics to raise revenues (money ripped off from citizens), why not mandate that every car be swabbed out weekly with a fast evaporating, non-alcohol solvent by a STATE official who would give the vehicle driver/owner a certificate for some outrageous FEE?
This bill is a blatant attempt to promote easy abuse of all citizens’ Constitutional Rights by those who want to grow their power at our expense. It’s like some of the onerous, Paternalistic garbage that NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg would dream up.
Lets VOTE OUT every Ohio politician who dares to vote for this dirty, anti-American, anti-Liberty insanity. Send them to a Soviet Gulag in Siberia.