Rep. Boggs' Reagan Tokes Act passes Ohio House

State Rep. Kristin Boggs (D-Columbus) today announced the House passage of House Bill (HB) 365, known as the Reagan Tokes Act, her bill to implement new standards to improve the monitoring of violent offenders. The bill is named for Reagan Tokes, a student at The Ohio State University who was brutally kidnapped, raped and killed after leaving work at a Columbus restaurant in 2017. 

“The Reagan Tokes Act offers critical, commonsense reforms to the way we monitor violent offenders, making our communities safer for children and families,” said Rep. Boggs. “Hopefully by passing this legislation, no family will have to endure another heartbreaking tragedy like the one the Tokes family experienced this past year.”

The Reagan Tokes Act makes several important criminal justice reforms, including providing opportunities for indefinite sentences and early release, prohibiting the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction from releasing inmates homeless, adopting guidelines for GPS monitoring and reducing parole officer caseloads.

On February 8, 2017, Reagan Tokes was abducted and later found in a Grove City, Ohio metro park. She was killed by a convicted sex offender that had been released from prison homeless three months prior, while being monitored by a GPS. It was later discovered that in the months leading up to Reagan’s death, he had committed a series of armed robberies.

HB 365 now moves to the Senate for further consideration.