Ohio House passes Extraordinary Capital Case Funding Bill

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COLUMBUS — State Rep.Shane Wilkin (R-91st District) announced Wednesday the passage of House Bill 85, his legislation to establish a procedure for counties to seek financial assistance from the state regarding extraordinary capital cases. John Rogers (D-Mentor-on-the-Lake) served as joint sponsor on the bill.

“Justice cannot be reserved for only the wealthy or those counties in a strong financial position,” said Wilkin. “This legislation as much as I hope it is never needed again, establishes a procedure for counties to request state assistance if they are faced with such a tragedy.”

The legislation proposes that to be considered an eligible capital case, the case must include either multiple victims or defendants, with the estimated cost of a trial exceeding five percent of the county’s budget for the year in which the case is prosecuted.

In addition, there is a $4 million appropriation from the General Revenue Fund to the Controlling Board’s Emergency Purposes Fund to assist Pike County with the anticipated expenses related to the ongoing Pike County trial proceedings.

This bill will now head to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.

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