The Overview

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) signed House Bill 533 on July 7, expanding the vehicles that can be used to commit vehicular homicide or vehicular assault to include golf carts, mopeds, motor scooters and related vehicles. Under existing Ohio law, people who killed or injured someone while operating these types of vehicles could not be charged with vehicular homicide or vehicular assault because the vehicles were not included under the statutes. [](#ngr-99115518-27b2-4a9b-bf16-85ccfea6b566)

The bill was inspired by prosecutors who encountered cases where they had no legal recourse under the vehicular homicide statutes. In one case, a person killed someone while driving a golf cart, but prosecutors could not pursue vehicular homicide charges.

What the Law Does

House Bill 533, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Miller (R-OH), amends sections 2903.06 and 2903.08 of the Ohio Revised Code to add under-speed vehicles such as golf carts, motorized bicycles or mopeds, motor-driven cycles or motor scooters, and all-purpose vehicles to the list of vehicles that can be used to commit vehicular homicide or vehicular assault. The bill addresses penalties including driver's license suspension for traffic-related homicide, manslaughter, assault, murder, felonious assault, and attempted murder offenses. It does not create additional offenses or increase penalties but instead expands the vehicles covered by existing law.

HB 533 takes effect Oct. 6. The House passed it 97-0 on March 18, and the Senate passed it 33-0 on June 10.

By the Numbers

The law applies statewide to Ohio's estimated 11.9 million residents. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 91.8% of Ohio residents age 25 and older are high school graduates or higher, and 31.5% have a bachelor's degree or higher. Ohio's median household income is $71,389, and 13.3% of residents live below the poverty line. About 90.1% of households have a broadband internet subscription.

The Debate

The bill passed both chambers without opposition. The House unanimously approved it 97-0 on March 18, and the Senate followed with a unanimous 33-0 vote on June 10. State Sen. Casey Weinstein (D-OH) said the measure is about modernizing the Ohio Revised Code to reflect how people are moving around and the safety implications and concerns that can come from that.

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This article was generated by AI pulling from data. Each article is edited by an editor for accuracy and clarity.

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