Bill > SB178

This bill establishes a Task Force on Missing Women and Girls who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) to address the systemic issues surrounding missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls in Ohio. The task force will have broad responsibilities, including developing policy changes to improve care and response, creating awareness campaigns, collecting data and statistics, identifying high-risk areas for abduction, and recommending prevention strategies. The task force will consist of 9 members, including state agency directors or their designees and appointees from legislative leadership, with a requirement that appointed members represent impacted communities and have cultural competency. Members will serve two-year terms without compensation but will be reimbursed for expenses. The task force is required to submit a public report every two years containing its findings and recommendations to legislative leaders. To support its work, the bill appropriates $250,000 from the General Revenue Fund for operating expenses in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The goal of the task force is to address the overlapping forms of oppression and systemic challenges faced by BIPOC women and girls, improve first responder cultural competence, and develop comprehensive strategies to prevent and respond to their disappearances and murders.

Justice

https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/sb178