What This Bill Does
HB 798 is unusually broad, spanning multiple areas in a single bill. It creates new requirements for "covered entities" (correctional facilities, domestic violence shelters, juvenile detention facilities, government buildings) to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms, and overnight accommodations for exclusive use by male or female sex. It also includes school name/pronoun mandates and restrictions on government-issued documents.
Impact on LGBTQIA+ Ohioans
The bill includes a private cause of action for individuals who encounter someone of the "opposite sex" in designated sex spaces, allowing injunctive/declaratory relief and attorney fees. The school section would prohibit employees from "knowingly and intentionally" addressing an unemancipated minor student by a name other than their legal name or by pronouns inconsistent with the student's sex. This overlaps heavily with HB 190.
Legal & Constitutional Risks
- Equal Protection — Conditioning access on sex-at-birth definitions across multiple domains
- Privacy and Safety — Impacts in shelters and detention settings where transgender individuals face elevated risk
- Compelled Speech — School name/pronoun restrictions
- Litigation Incentives — Private rights of action with fee-shifting create enforcement-by-lawsuit dynamics
- Architecture extends beyond privacy design into enforceable segregation rules