SB 85 Ohio Senate · 136th Legislature (2025-2026)

Create the Ohio NAACP license plate

SB 85 would create a new specialty license plate design featuring the Ohio NAACP. Ohio drivers who choose this plate would pay an additional fee, with the revenue supporting the Ohio NAACP's work. The bill amends state code to add this plate option to the list of available specialty plates. This directly affects Ohio residents who purchase license plates and the Ohio NAACP organization.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Sep 2025

Senate Passage

Jun 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 4, 2025 Last action Sep 15, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced → As Passed by the Senate · 8 edits · Jun 18, 2025

MODERATE

This bill significantly expanded the number of specialty license plate programs in Ohio by adding numerous new organizations and causes that can receive contributions from license plate fees. The bill also updated the legislative formatting and added new cosponsors. Most notably, it reorganized the existing license plate contribution fund structure to accommodate these new programs while maintaining the original fund's purpose.

Scope change

The bill substantially expanded the scope of the license plate contribution program by adding dozens of new organizations, causes, and institutions that can receive contributions from specialty license plate fees, while maintaining the existing framework for the Ohio NAACP license plate.

FISCAL

Added numerous new specialty license plate programs for organizations including cancer foundations, educational institutions, historical societies, and community organizations throughout Ohio

Added provisions for new scholarship programs at universities and colleges, including out-of-state institutions like Notre Dame, Purdue, and West Virginia University

Added new provisions for mental health, suicide prevention, and veteran support organizations including NAMI Ohio, Save a Warrior, and various police memorial organizations

Added new provisions for school districts and educational institutions to receive contributions for student mental health services and tuition assistance

TECHNICAL

Updated formatting and layout of the bill text to comply with Senate passage requirements, including reorganizing section headers and line breaks

Added new cosponsors to the bill, expanding the legislative support from 4 to 18 senators

REQUIREMENT

Added new requirements for certain school districts to ensure hired charitable organizations are exempt from federal income taxation under IRC 501(c)(3)

Added restrictions preventing certain schools and organizations from using contributions for political purposes

Floor votes · Senate Jun 18, 2025

How they voted

32–0

Passed

Total votes 32

Jun 18, 2025

D Democratic8

8 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican24

24 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Sep 15, 2025

Committee

Referred to committee

lower

Jun 23, 2025

Introduced

lower

Jun 18, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Committee

Referred to committee

upper

Feb 4, 2025

Introduced

upper

2 primary · 4 co-sponsors