Amended Substitute Senate Bill Number 21 - Summary

• Changes venue for appeals from agency orders to the local court of common pleas in the county where the licensee's business is located or where the licensee resides, with specific exceptions for certain agencies like the liquor control commission and state medical board which may appeal to Franklin County.

• Allows the Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, and Governor to retain special counsel outside the Attorney General for judicial proceedings challenging state constitutional or laws as important matters of statewide concern, with intervention rights and cost authorization from their respective operating budgets.

• Revises claim preclusion rules in zoning appeals and modifies Hamilton County Drug Court case referral procedures to allow referrals only for cases eligible under locally adopted rules that exclude felonies of the first or second degree and certain violent offenses.

• Transfers Perry Township in Wood County from Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court to Bowling Green Municipal Court, and Washington Township in Hancock County from Tiffin-Fostoria to Findlay Municipal Court, effective January 2, 2024.

• Replaces two part-time judgeships in Sandusky County County Court with one full-time judge and overrides federal Sixth Circuit precedent regarding res judicata in certain civil rights claims.