Ohio HB 96 (Adult Content)
What it does
Ohio folded adult-content age verification into HB 96, the two-year state budget, after the standalone Innocence Act failed to pass on its own. The language makes any site presenting material obscene or harmful to juveniles verify a user is 18 with a photo ID or transaction data, enforced only by the Attorney General with penalties up to $100,000 per violation.
Why it matters
Passing the mandate through a must-sign budget bill is how a stalled idea becomes law without a clean vote on its merits. In practice the rule is barely enforced, and major operators claim it does not reach them, so its real effect so far is smaller than its text.
Our take
Ohio could not pass this on its own, so it rode the budget instead, which is how contested mandates slip through. The law is on the books and thinly enforced. Passing it inside the budget let a checkpoint on lawful content become law with no standalone vote.
Votes
- House — Passed (59 to 38) · June 25, 2025
- Senate — Passed (23 to 10) · June 25, 2025
Timeline
- June 30, 2025Signed into law in the budget act
- September 30, 2025Took effect
Our coverage: all age-verification stories · Status checked July 19, 2026