There’s great news to report on the progress of Andy’s Law in the Ohio General Assembly. The Ohio House of Representatives passed the legislation Wednesday by a vote of 77-3 during a marathon session that didn’t end until after midnight. House Bill 338, named after Andrew Lansing, the correction officer killed on Christmas Day 2024 at the Ross Correctional Institution, now heads to the Ohio Senate where it will be scheduled for more hearings. The bill must pass both chambers of the General Assembly before Governor Mike DeWine can sign it into law.
 
OCSEA President Chris Mabe testified in support of Andy’s Law last week and urged the House to pass the bill as a crucial step toward protecting COs and other employees of Ohio’s prisons. He said, “the bill demands accountability for those who choose violence and reinforces that an assault on a corrections professional is an assault on the state itself.”

Andy’s Law would increase penalties for the murder or assault on a Correction Officer and require longer sentences for illegal conveyance of drugs and communications devices into prisons. Specifically, the legislation would impose a mandatory seven-year prison sentence for assaulting a prison employee, including COs, and require the sentence to be served consecutively. And the surviving spouse of a CO killed in the line of duty would receive healthcare benefits from the state. Unfortunately, language on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) eligibility was removed in the House-passed version. The union will push for that language to be returned to the Senate version. 

View the House version of HB 338

Read more: Pres. Mabe testifies, urges Ohio House to pass Andy’s Law

Watch President’s Mabe’s testimony HERE.

OCSEA President Chris Mabe testified this week at the Ohio Statehouse in support of Ohio House Bill 338, also known as Andy’s Law. The legislation, which is sponsored by Rep. Mark Johnson of Chillicothe, is named after Andrew Lansing, the Correction Officer who was murdered by an inmate at the Ross Correctional Institution (RCI) on Christmas Day 2024.

 

“This legislation is deeply personal to our members, our organization and to myself,” President Mabe said in testimony he delivered to the Ohio House Judiciary Committee on November 12. “It demands accountability for those who choose violence and reinforces that an assault on a corrections professional is an assault on the state itself.” 

 

Andy’s Law would increase penalties for the murder or assault on a Correction Officer and require longer sentences for illegal conveyance of drugs and communications devices into prisons. Specifically, the legislation would impose a mandatory seven-year prison sentence for assaulting a prison employee, including COs, and require the sentence to be served consecutively. It would also make COs suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) eligible to receive compensation and benefits under Ohio’s Worker’s Compensation Law. And the surviving spouse of a CO killed in the line of duty would receive healthcare benefits from the state. 

 

President Mabe also called on the State to do more to address the staffing shortage in the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections and to expand access to Taser10s. The legislation, which has the support of county prosectors, must be approved by the committee before the Ohio House can vote on it.

 

You can watch President’s Mabe’s testimony HERE.