Columbus OVI/DUI Attorney Blog
The law governing DUI (called ‘OVI’ in Ohio) is going to change. House Bill 37, signed by Governor Mike DeWine, becomes law on April 9, 2025. The legislation changes four separate areas of law: (1) Driving privileges and ignition interlock devices for OVI license suspensions; (2) Financial penalties for OVI convictions; (3) Oral fluid testing in OVI cases; and (4) Aggravated Vehicular Homicide penalties when a defendant has prior OVI convictions. This article addresses the changes in that order.
Driving Privileges and Ignition Interlock Devices
In most OVI cases, the defendant is placed under an Administrative License Suspension (ALS) immediately upon either refusing to take a breath/blood/urine test or taking the test and being ‘over the limit’. Under the current law, it is up to the court’s discretion whether to require an ignition interlock device as a condition for limited privileges on an ALS.
The new law makes an ignition interlock device mandatory under certain conditions. If a defendant is charged with an alcohol-related OVI and has at least one prior OVI conviction within the last ten years, use of an ignition interlock device is now a mandatory condition of limited driving privileges on an ALS. It is still up to the court’s discretion whether to require an ignition interlock device as a condition of driving privileges for drug-related OVIs and first offenses. The requirements for using ignition interlock devices are now the same for an ALS and a court suspension (a suspension imposed as part of the sentence for an OVI conviction).
The new law also changes the waiting period for driving privileges on a first offense. For a first-offense OVI, the court can waive the mandatory 15-day waiting period for driving privileges if the defendant agrees to use an ignition interlock device.
More substantially, the new law creates an entirely new category when it comes to determining the length of driver’s license suspensions, the waiting period for privileges, and the requirement of an ignition interlock device. The new category is for defendants who are charged with OVI and have a prior conviction for Physical Control within the last ten years, but no prior OVI convictions. The rules for this new category apply to both the ALS and the court suspension.
For a defendant in this category who takes a breath/blood/urine/oral fluid test and tests ‘over the limit’, the waiting period for driving privileges triples, from 15 days to 45 days. Likewise, for a defendant in this category who refuses a breath/blood/urine/oral fluid test, the waiting period of 30 days triples to 90 days. For all defendants in this category, an ignition interlock device is required.
Financial Penalties for OVI Convictions
The law increases the mandatory minimum fine for all OVI convictions by $190, as illustrated in the following chart:
| Offense within 10 years | Current Fine | New Fine |
| 1 | $375 | $565 |
| 2 | $525 | $715 |
| 3 | $850 | $1040 |
| 4 or 5 (within 10); or
6 (within 20) |
$1350 | $1540 |
| Second (or More) Felony OVI | $1350 | $1540 |
On the flip side, the new law reduces the amount of the reinstatement fee by $160. This means that, in a typical OVI case, the defendant will only pay a total of $30 more under the new law.
Oral Fluid Testing
Under current OVI law, the police are permitted to obtain and test a sample of a defendant’s breath, blood or urine to determine the concentration of alcohol or drugs of abuse (or their metabolites). The new law adds a new type of test: oral fluid.
Oral fluid testing involves using a swab to collect the saliva inside a driver’s mouth. That saliva is then either tested by a small machine (at the roadside or the police station), or it is sent to a crime lab for analysis, like the analyses for urine and blood samples. As we have discussed before, most oral fluid tests merely identify the presence of the tested substance and do not quantify the concentration of the substance tested.
The results of an oral fluid test cannot be used as the basis of a “Per Se” OVI offense, as there is no “legal limit” for alcohol/drugs in oral fluid. Instead, the results of the oral fluid test will be used in conjunction with other evidence to prove the defendant’s driving ability was impaired. This will mean OVI defense attorneys can attack the results of the oral fluid test in ways we cannot with breath, blood and urine tests in “Per Se” OVI cases.
Additionally, the new law subjects drivers to the same Administrative License Suspension for refusing an Oral Fluid test as it currently does for refusing a breath, blood or urine test. This means that refusing an oral fluid test will result in an automatic license suspension of at least one year, and longer if the defendant has prior OVI convictions or test refusals within ten years.
Aggravated Vehicular Homicide Penalties
A defendant is charged with Aggravated Vehicular Homicide when they allegedly cause a death as a proximate result of an OVI offense. Under the current law, the maximum fine for this offense is $15,000. The new law increases that to $25,000.
More importantly, the new law changes how the minimum prison time handed-out in these cases is affected by prior OVI/DUI cases. Under the current law, Aggravated Vehicular Homicide is a second-degree felony and is punished by a mandatory prison term of two years to eight years. If the defendant’s driver’s license was under suspension at the time of the offense, it becomes a first-degree felony with a mandatory prison term of three years to 11 years. Finally, if the defendant has three or more prior offenses (OVI/DUI or a vehicular assault or involuntary manslaughter involving an OVI) the charge will also be a first-degree Felony, but the mandatory prison term increases to 10-15 years.
The new law scraps the distinctions currently used and replaces them with a tiered system that gradually increases the mandatory prison term based on the number and nature of prior offense. The tiers can best be explained by the following chart:
| Tier | Prior Offenses | Level of Offense | Prison Term |
| First Tier | · None | 2nd Degree | 2-8 Years |
| Second Tier | · None, but the offender’s driver’s license is suspended at time of offense; or
· One prior OVI offense within 20 years; or · One prior traffic related homicide, manslaughter, or assault offense within 20 years |
1st Degree | 3-11 Years |
| Third Tier | · Two prior offenses of any combination of OVI and traffic related homicide, manslaughter, or assault offenses within 20 years | 1st Degree | 5-15 Years |
| Fourth Tier | · Three or more prior offenses of any combination of OVI and traffic related homicide, manslaughter, or assault offenses within 20 years | 1st Degree | 12-20 Years |
Conclusion
The law governing OVI in Ohio is constantly being re-examined and changed by the Ohio legislature. As a result, individuals charged with OVI-related offenses face increasingly harsher consequences. That is why it is important to hire attorneys who follow the latest developments in OVI law and can help clients navigate these complex issues.