Governor DeWine Signs Rep. Brown's Bill Requiring AEDs in Ohio Schools

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) today announced that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 47 Tuesday. HB 47 will require automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to be placed in each public school, chartered non-public school, community schools, STEM schools, college-prep boarding schools, and each municipally owned or operated sports and recreation location at which organized sporting events occur.

“AEDs in combination with CPR can and will save lives. Canen Dickman is here with us today because of this. What we wanted to do was to pass a bill that was common sense, bipartisan, that will do what it did for Canen: save lives – and not just young people, but everybody around the state of Ohio,” said Rep. Brown. “I am honored to be the person that was entrusted by my constituents to bring this idea forth. I want to thank Representative Bird for joint-sponsoring this bill with me, everyone in the legislature, and all of the other entities that gave their support. It takes a village to do something like this, and I thank everyone who was involved.”

This legislation would:

• Require the placement of an AED in each Ohio school;
• Require each school district to provide proper training to relevant staff on AED usage;
• Require the placement of an AED at sports and recreation locations which are municipally owned or operated, at which organized sporting events occur in areas of 5,000 residents or more;
• Require coaching staff to complete annual Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) training.

HB 47 was introduced following Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s medical emergency during a game in Cincinnati against the Bengals on January 2, 2023.

“Today’s bill-signing is a testament to leadership and teamwork, and I thank and applaud Governor DeWine, the leaders of the Ohio legislature, the bill sponsors, and the many Smart Heart Sports Coalition team members who came together to move this life-saving legislation forward. I’ll always consider Ohio my second home, and I’m delighted that this new law makes the places around the state where young people learn, play, and compete safer, more resilient, and better prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency. This is a big win for young people throughout Ohio,” said Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin in a letter from his foundation.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Pictures of Rep. Brown at the July 24th bill signing are attached to this release.