Governor signs scooter, employment discrimination bills

COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday announced that he'd signed into law House Bill 295 to regulate low-speed, battery-operated scooters.

The law, sponsored by state Rep. Jim Hoops (R., Napoleon), will take effect in 90 days.

It requires renters of “micromobility devices” to be at least 16 years old. It limits their legal speeds to 20 mph and requires operators to generally follow traffic laws and yield to pedestrians.

The law reserves the right of local governments to further regulate these scooters, which have proliferated in recent years on city streets and on university campuses. They could also outright ban their use within their jurisdictions.

The governor also signed House Bill 352, sought by the business community, that, among other things, shortens the time in which civil litigation related to employment discrimination may be filed from six years to two.

Sponsored by Rep. Jon Cross (R., Kenton) and former Rep. George Lang (R., West Chester), now a senator, the law would also increase the time that employment discrimination charges can be brought before the Ohio Civil Rights Commission from six months to two years.