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HB 409: Prohibit legislators receiving free or discounted sports tickets

Ohio · House · 136th General Assembly (2025–2026) · last verified September 24, 2026

What HB 409 does, verified September 24, 2026

The proposed legislation aims to regulate gifts and benefits received by members of the General Assembly. Members are prohibited from accepting gifts exceeding $75 in value, including cash, gifts of value, and meals. They can also not accept travel expenses exceeding authorized amounts or more than $75 per year for meals and other food and beverages. Additionally, members cannot accept free or discounted tickets to professional sporting events unless they are available to the public on the same terms. If a member receives a gift exceeding the limit, they must return the excess amount within 60 days. Violations of these rules can result in fines of up to $1,000 imposed by the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.

Bill journey

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Last action: Referred to committee: General Government (2025-09-15)Alert me

Author and sponsors

Rep. Sean BrennanAuthor · Ohio House of Representatives

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Coauthors

Juanita BrentChris GlassburnLauren McNally

Recent actions2 total · showing 2

Sep. 15, 2025	Referred to committee: General Government
Aug. 07, 2025	Introduced

Latest bill textIntroduced version, August 8, 2025 · 829 words

As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session

H. B. No. 409

2025-2026

Representatives Brennan, Brownlee

Cosponsors: Representatives Brent, Glassburn, McNally

To amend section 102.031 of the Revised Code to prohibit members of the General Assembly from receiving free or discounted tickets to sporting events.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 102.031 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 102.031.

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Business associate" means a person with whom a member of the general assembly is conducting or undertaking a financial transaction.

(2) "Contribution" has the same meaning as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Employee" does not include a member of the general assembly whose nonlegislative position of employment does not involve the performance of or the authority to perform

14 administrative or supervisory functions; or whose nonlegislative position of employment, if the member is a public employee, does

15 not involve a substantial and material exercise of

16 administrative discretion in the formulation of public policy,

17 expenditure of public funds, enforcement of laws and rules of .....

18 the state or a county or city, or execution of other public .....

(4) "Professional sporting event" means a sporting or

23 athletic event played by a team that is a member of the national

24 football league, the national hockey league, major league

25 baseball, major league soccer, or the national basketball

26 association.

(B) No member of the general assembly shall vote on any legislation that the member knows is then being actively advocated if the member is one of the following with respect to a legislative agent or employer that is then actively advocating on that legislation:

(1) An employee;

(2) A business associate;

(3) A person, other than an employee, who is hired under contract to perform certain services, and that position involves

36 a substantial and material exercise of administrative discretion

37 in the formulation of public policy.

(C) No member of the general assembly shall knowingly accept any of the following from a legislative agent or a person required to file a statement described in division (A) (2) of section 102.021 of the Revised Code:

(1) The payment of any expenses for travel or lodging except as otherwise authorized by division (H) of section 102.03 of the Revised Code;

(2) More than seventy-five dollars aggregated per calendar year as payment for meals and other food and beverages, other than for those meals and other food and beverages provided to

47 the member at a meeting at which the member participates in a

48 panel, seminar, or speaking engagement, at a meeting or

49 convention of a national organization to which any state agency,

50 including, but not limited to, any legislative agency or state

51 institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011

52 of the Revised Code, pays membership dues, or at a dinner,

53 party, or function to which all members of the general assembly

54 or all members of either house of the general assembly are

55 invited;

(3) A gift of any amount in the form of cash or the equivalent of cash, or a gift of any other thing of value whose value exceeds seventy-five dollars. As used in division (C) (3) of this section, "gift" does not include any contribution or any gifts of meals and other food and beverages or the payment of expenses incurred for travel to destinations either inside or outside this state that is received by a member of the general assembly and that is incurred in connection with the member's official duties.

(D) It is not a violation of division (C) (2) of this section if, within sixty days after receiving notice from a legislative agent that the legislative agent has provided a member of the general assembly with more than seventy-five dollars aggregated in a calendar year as payment for meals and other food and beverages, the member of the general assembly returns to that legislative agent the amount received that exceeds seventy-five dollars.

(E) No member of the general assembly shall knowingly accept a free or discounted ticket to a professional sporting event, unless the free or discounted ticket is given or sold as part of a promotion generally available to the public, and on the same terms as generally available to the public.

(F) The joint legislative ethics committee may impose a fine of not more than one thousand dollars upon a member of the general assembly who violates division-divisions (B) or (E) of this section.

Section 2. That existing section 102.031 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.

Text of HB 409 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions