Rep. Miller testifies on bipartisan bill to protect referees

COLUMBUS – State Reps. Joe Miller (D-Amherst) and Bill Roemer (R-Richfield) today testified on House Bill (HB) 44, bipartisan legislation to secure protections for sports officials. This bill would bring the penalty for assaulting a referee on the job or in retaliation for a prior incident closer in line with current legislation protecting teachers, school administrators and bus drivers.

“Ohio needs to do more to protect our sports officials to avoid the looming crisis of referee shortages before they become a major obstacle for scheduling sporting events. HB 44 sends an unmistakable message that we will not tolerate the assault of sports officials,” said Rep. Miller. 

From 2010 to 2017, there were zero reported assaults against sports officials, yet from 2017 to 2021, there were 19. The Ohio High School Athletic Association has decried the “alarming shortage” of high school officials, primarily because four out of five new officials don’t stick around for more than two years. Of those that quit, 75 percent cited “adult behavior” as their primary motivation for leaving.

This legislation, formerly known as HB 208 in the 133rd General Assembly, passed out of the House by a vote of 74-13 in November 2020, but stalled in the Senate during lame duck.