COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A bipartisan Ohio bill that would require correctional institutions to provide free feminine hygiene products to incarcerated women awaits Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature. Lawmakers sent House Bill 29 to the governor’s desk on Dec. 9, after the legislation passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate. DeWine has 10 days, [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Ohio Statehouse hosted a historic gathering of legislative leaders from across the country Monday, discussing concerns about the increasing power of the federal government. Senate presidents and House speakers from about 40 states met in the chambers of the Ohio House of Representatives, unanimously adopting a nonbinding declaration for the [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio residents will soon receive mobile emergency alerts when felony offenders escape from correctional facilities. Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 23, creating the “Escaped Convict Alert System,” on Dec. 1. The legislation passed the House in June and the Senate in October, with both votes being unanimous. The system is [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – This week on the Sunday Briefing: “We’re looking at the governor’s race where we see a big shake up and a shift in polling,” Spencer Kimball with Emerson Polling said. “Here, there doesn’t seem to be a shakeup and we get to those name recognition questions.” See what is driving Democrat [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Synthetic kratom is now illegal everywhere in Ohio after Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order today adopting the unanimous recommendation of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. DeWine requested the Board hold an emergency meeting today to decide action on the popular drug that purports to treat pain and other ailments, [...]

Gov. Mike DeWine is urging the state pharmacy board to immediately ban synthetic kratom while beginning a formal process that could also restrict natural kratom.

In an interview with 10TV's Stacia Naquin, DeWine shared his thoughts and final reflections throughout his governorship.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus residents approved to become U.S. citizens are now seeing their final step toward citizenship canceled. On Dec. 2, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a pause on asylum and benefit applications for immigrants from 19 "high-risk" countries, including many represented in central Ohio. This week, it became clear the pause [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Gov. Mike DeWine is still deciding whether or not he will sign a bill that would eliminate the four-day grace period for mail-in ballots. The bill would require all mail-in ballots to be received by election day. The bill is opposed by voting rights advocates. NBC4's Colleen Marshall asked DeWine if [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A new Emerson College Polling survey of Ohio voters found increasing success for Democratic candidates ahead of 2026's elections. New polling released on Thursday found the statewide elections for governor and U.S. Senate have tightened since Emerson's last poll in August. The poll found Ohioans' shift in favorability toward Democratic candidates [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio lawmakers are weighing new penalties for possessing electronic devices that can be used to unlock and start cars without a key, as vehicle thefts increasingly involve digital tools instead of broken windows or hot-wiring. House Bill 519, introduced in October by Rep. Andrea White (R-Kettering), passed the House on Nov. [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio lawmakers are exploring the possibility of using a psychedelic drug to treat patients with severe addictions or post-traumatic stress disorders. A committee met for the first time on Wednesday to study whether the next General Assembly should allow ibogaine, a psychedelic compound derived from a West African root vegetable, to [...]

Ohio Senate Bill 56, targeting intoxicating hemp and cross-border marijuana, now awaits Governor DeWine's signature after clearing the General Assembly.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio lawmakers are renewing an effort to restrict which flags may be displayed on state-owned buildings, months after Gov. Mike DeWine partially vetoed a similar measure in the state budget. House Bill 602, introduced in November by Reps. D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) and Rodney Creech (R-Alexandria), would limit state agencies to flying [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The CROWN Act. The RURAL Act. The Big, Beautiful Bill. Politicians create specific names, often with complex acronyms, when writing legislation. It's no coincidence; politicians said it's worth taking a minute to title bills in a way that conveys their intent and is memorable for constituents. "There's hundreds of bills that [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- State senators passed changes to Ohio's marijuana laws on Tuesday. Senate Bill 56 passed the Ohio Senate 22-7 and will now head to Gov. Mike DeWine. The bill offers significant adjustments to Ohio's recreational cannabis use laws, including new legal charges for things like improper transportation. See previous coverage of S.B. [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – An Ohio bill that would close a loophole in state law that allows registered sex offenders to live near their victims has passed the House. House Bill 102 would bar registered sex offenders and child-victim offenders from living within 2,000 feet of their victim’s residence or loitering within 1,000 feet. While [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio will need to find ways to meet the enormous energy demands of new data centers and manufacturing facilities, as well as the average energy needs of everyday Ohioans. That task is made all the more difficult by the typically lengthy process of getting a new energy project approved.  A new study [...]

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Patrick DeWine ruled Marsy’s Law’s definition of victim encompassed the officers involved in a July 2023 incident.

Nationally, 170,000 people are at risk of going back to homelessness because of this policy change.