It's not illegal to use a tracking device on someone in Ohio. Lawmakers may change that.

In Ohio, it's not a crime to sneak an Apple AirTag or other tracking device inside someone's car.

Stalking is illegal; menacing is a crime, but installing a tracking app on a phone or Bluetooth device onto personal property without the owner's consent is not.

"The law remains ambiguous," Rep. Tom Patton, R-Strongsville, said.

That's why Patton introduced House Bill 91. The legislation would criminalize knowingly "installing a tracking device or application on another person's property without the person's consent" as a first-degree misdemeanor.

Patton got the idea after reading news reports about the sometimes deadly consequences of electronically tracking a person without their consent.

Heidi Moon, a 43-year-old mom from Akron, was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend in January 2022−hours after a private investigator found an AirTag in the pocket behind her car's passenger seat.

Patton tried to pass an identical bill in the last General Assembly, but he ran out of time. He's optimistic HB 91 will pass this session and said he hadn't seen much opposition.

"Technology is wonderful, and I embrace it," Patton said. "But using these devices in a criminal fashion should be a criminal act."

At least 19 other states, including Michigan, Illinois and Virginia, have banned nonconsensual electronic tracking. But some of those laws have more exemptions than HB 91.

Ohio's proposal would let a parent install a covert tracking device on the property of their minor child, police could track people during a criminal investigation, and guardians of disabled adults could track their whereabouts.

Rep. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, asked whether Ohio's exemptions would include private investigators hired to track unfaithful spouses.

Patton said no, but he told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau that conversations with representatives from their profession and bail bondsmen are ongoing.