HB 12 Summary

• Enacts sections 2731.21 and 2731.22 of the Revised Code to create two new legal remedies for enforcing constitutional rights against elected executive officials and state agency directors.

• Allows individuals to petition for a writ of mandamus to compel defendants to comply with their constitutional duties to uphold the Ohio and United States Constitutions, specifically including rights under the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments.

• Allows individuals to petition for a writ of prohibition to prevent defendants from acting in violation of an individual's constitutional rights based on the defendant's duty to uphold state and federal constitutions.

• Petitions may be filed with the Ohio Supreme Court, the court of appeals in the district where the individual resides, or the court of common pleas in the county where the individual resides, and must be verified by affidavit stating no plain and adequate remedy exists in ordinary law.

• Establishes that applicable procedures from existing mandamus statutes (sections 2731.01 to 2731.13) apply to these new petitions, with courts required to hold hearings on prohibition petitions and able to grant or deny relief based on good cause shown.