---
type: "Bill"
title: "Eliminate spousal exceptions for certain sex offenses"
description: "Eliminate spousal exceptions for certain sex offenses"
jurisdiction: "us/states/oh"
legislature: "Ohio General Assembly"
session: "135"
identifier: "HB 161"
citation: "Ohio HB 161 (135)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Crime and Punishment", "Crimes", "Corrections", "and Law Enforcement", "Crimes", "Corrections", "and Law Enforcement"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Brett Hillyer", "Jessica Miranda"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 9
vote_count: 13
first_action: "2023-04-26"
last_action: "2024-08-09T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/7f167793-fd82-4867-9c8c-c6cb77f2a754"
source_url: "https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135//bills/hb161/"
source_hash: "d0b107fae983cfd6e78fec95f5fcbbe78989dc4448eb1fca2f100e2a24c2b106"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-oh"]
---

# Ohio HB 161 (135) — Eliminate spousal exceptions for certain sex offenses

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **As Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135/bills/hb161/IN/00/hb161_00_IN?format=pdf)
2. **As Passed by the House** (committee substitute) — [source](https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135/bills/hb161/PH/02/hb161_02_PH?format=pdf)
3. **As Passed by the Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135/bills/hb161/PS/04/hb161_04_PS?format=pdf)
4. **As Reported by the House Criminal Justice Committee** (committee substitute) — [source](https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135/bills/hb161/RH/01/hb161_01_RH?format=pdf)
5. **As Reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee** (committee substitute) — [source](https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135/bills/hb161/RS/03/hb161_03_RS?format=pdf)
6. **As Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/solarapi/v1/general_assembly_135/bills/hb161/EN/05/hb161_05_EN?format=pdf)

## Votes

- Reported - Substitute — **11–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported - Substitute — **11–0** (pass) · lower
- Pass — **75–1** (pass) · lower
- Pass — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- Pass — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported - Substitute — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported - Substitute — **11–0** (pass) · lower
- Pass — **75–1** (pass) · lower
- Pass — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported - Substitute — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- Pass — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported - Substitute — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- Pass — **75–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Brett Hillyer — primary (person)
- Jessica Miranda — primary (person)
- Adam Bird — cosponsor (person)
- Adam Mathews — cosponsor (person)
- Adam Miller, A. — cosponsor (person)
- Al Cutrona — cosponsor (person)
- Al Landis — cosponsor (person)
- Andrew Brenner — cosponsor (person)
- Anita Somani — cosponsor (person)
- Bernard Willis — cosponsor (person)
- Beth Liston — cosponsor (person)
- Bob Hackett — cosponsor (person)
- Brian Lampton — cosponsor (person)
- Bride Rose Sweeney — cosponsor (person)
- C. Russo — cosponsor (person)
- Casey Weinstein — cosponsor (person)
- Catherine Ingram — cosponsor (person)
- Cecil Thomas, C. — cosponsor (person)
- Cindy Abrams — cosponsor (person)
- Dani Isaacsohn — cosponsor (person)
- Dave Dobos — cosponsor (person)
- Don Jones — cosponsor (person)
- Elliot Forhan — cosponsor (person)
- Gail Pavliga — cosponsor (person)
- Gary Click — cosponsor (person)
- George Lang — cosponsor (person)
- Haraz Ghanbari — cosponsor (person)
- Hearcel Craig — cosponsor (person)
- Ismail Mohamed — cosponsor (person)
- James Hoops — cosponsor (person)
- Jay Edwards — cosponsor (person)
- Jean Schmidt — cosponsor (person)
- Jerry Cirino — cosponsor (person)
- Jon Cross — cosponsor (person)
- Joseph Miller, J. — cosponsor (person)
- Josh Williams — cosponsor (person)
- Kent Smith — cosponsor (person)
- Kevin Miller, K. — cosponsor (person)
- Kirk Schuring — cosponsor (person)
- Latyna Humphrey — cosponsor (person)
- Lauren McNally — cosponsor (person)
- Louis Blessing — cosponsor (person)
- Marilyn John — cosponsor (person)
- Mark Romanchuk — cosponsor (person)
- Mary Lightbody — cosponsor (person)
- Matt Dolan — cosponsor (person)
- Michael Rulli — cosponsor (person)
- Michele Grim — cosponsor (person)
- Mike Loychik — cosponsor (person)
- Monica Robb Blasdel — cosponsor (person)
- Munira Abdullahi — cosponsor (person)
- Nathan Manning — cosponsor (person)
- Nickie Antonio — cosponsor (person)
- Paula Hicks-Hudson — cosponsor (person)
- Rachel Baker — cosponsor (person)
- Richard Brown — cosponsor (person)
- Richard Dell'Aquila — cosponsor (person)
- Rob McColley — cosponsor (person)
- Rodney Creech — cosponsor (person)
- Sara Carruthers — cosponsor (person)
- Scott Oelslager — cosponsor (person)
- Sean Brennan — cosponsor (person)
- Shane Wilkin — cosponsor (person)
- Stephanie Kunze — cosponsor (person)
- Stephen Huffman, S. — cosponsor (person)
- Steve Wilson — cosponsor (person)
- Terry Johnson — cosponsor (person)
- Theresa Gavarone — cosponsor (person)
- Thomas Hall — cosponsor (person)
- Tim Schaffer — cosponsor (person)
- Tom Young, T. — cosponsor (person)
- Tracy Richardson — cosponsor (person)
- Vernon Sykes — cosponsor (person)
- William DeMora — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-04-26** Introduced `introduction`
- **2023-05-02** Refer to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-10-18** Reported
- **2023-11-29** Passed `passage`
- **2023-12-05** Introduced `reading-1`
- **2023-12-06** Refer to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2024-04-24** Passed `passage`
- **2024-04-24** Reported
- **2024-08-09T04:00:00+00:00** Effective 8/9/24 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/7f167793-fd82-4867-9c8c-c6cb77f2a754`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Ohio legislature records).