SB 17



It is good that you are checking out the facts for yourself. That way, you can honestly repeat them without starting the sentence with, “I read somewhere that...”

Here you will find information about SB 17, a legislative victory earned largely by Hiram College students after the horrific death of their fellow students, and by the parents of the victims. Unlike MADD, however, we provide references and links so you can check out what we say. Often, the material is still available on the original source site. In other cases, they have deleted it, but it may be available here as a copy. News media don’t seem to mind our copying their material for use as evidence in political debate. (When MADD tells you how many teenagers were killed in drunk driving crashes last year, tell them to name them. Demand dates, places, names, facts, and details you can verify.)

On 2 March 2006, a drunk driver in Burton, Ohio with eleven prior OVI convictions crashed head-on into a car with three Hiram College students, killing two and critically injuring the third.
WEWS-TV Channel 5

Outraged and stunned, the victims’ parents, and fellow students at Hiram College went to Columbus to lobby for a tougher repeat offender law.

Hiram College website ... Cached

One victim was the son of a preacher, and the preacher’s denomination covered the story also. Disciples World ... Cached

The Vindicator (Youngstown, Ohio) ... Cached

In response to their efforts, Senate Bill 141 was introduced. This passed the Ohio Senate, but died in a House committee. Then Senator Timothy Grendell introduced SB 17. This bill unanimously passed the Ohio Senate, 32-0.

WKYC-TV Channel 3 ... Cached

Cleveland.com ... Cached

The bill passed the Ohio House of Representatives by a vote of 87 to 6, on 10 June 2008. .PDF of House Journal (See page 1763). ... Cached in .PDF

What about SB 17? Well, it may be easier to read the legislative analysis than the bill text. Maybe you hesitate to accept the legislative analysis, which is good. Just remember that we had no input whatsoever in its authorship.

To read the legislative analysis of SB 17, CLICK HERE ... Cached

To read the complete text of SB 17, CLICK HERE. If that has expired from the Ohio Senate server, CLICK HERE.

To see the timeline of action, CLICK HERE. The bill was signed by the Governor on 27 June 2008 and went into effect on 30 September 2008.

A press release on Gov. Strickland’s site announced his signing of SB 17. CLICK HERE ... Cached