As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session

S. B. No. 57

2025-2026

Senator O'Brien

A BILL

To amend sections 9.16, 113.40, and 2981.12 and to enact sections 135.146 and 5703.83 of the Revised Code to authorize investment of state funds in bitcoin, to require state entities to accept payment in cryptocurrency, and to name this act the Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Act.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 9.16, 113.40, and 2981.12 be amended and sections 135.146 and 5703.83 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 9.16. (A) As used in this section:

~~(1)~~ "Governmental entity" means the state or a political subdivision.

~~(2)~~ "Political subdivision" has the same meaning as in section 9.48 of the Revised Code.

~~(3)~~ "State" has the same meaning as in section 2744.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) A governmental entity may utilize distributed ledger technology, including blockchain technology, in the exercise of its authority.

(C) A governmental entity shall accept cryptocurrency, as approved by the tax commissioner under section 5703.83 of the Revised Code, for the payment of any tax, fee, cost, charge, assessment, fine, or other payment of expense owed to the governmental entity. The governmental entity may require the payer to pay any service fees associated with the cryptocurrency transaction.

(D) Upon receiving cryptocurrency as payment under division (C) of this section, the governmental entity shall transfer the cryptocurrency to the treasurer of state for investment in accordance with section 135.146 of the Revised Code. The treasurer of state shall reimburse the governmental entity for the value of the cryptocurrency in United States dollars from the Ohio bitcoin investment fund. If the unencumbered balance of the Ohio bitcoin investment fund is insufficient to reimburse the governmental entity, the director of budget and management shall reimburse the remainder from the general revenue fund.

Sec. 113.40. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Financial transaction device" includes a credit card, debit card, charge card, prepaid or stored value card, cryptocurrency, or automated clearinghouse network credit, debit, or e-check entry that includes, but is not limited to, accounts receivable and internet-initiated, point of purchase, and telephone-initiated applications, or any other device or method for making an electronic payment or transfer of funds.

(2) "State expenses" includes fees, costs, taxes, assessments, fines, penalties, payments, or any other expense a person owes to a state office under the authority of a state elected official or to a state entity.

(3) "State elected official" means the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer of state, and auditor of state.

(4) "State entity" includes any state department, agency, board, or commission that deposits funds into the state treasury.

(B) Notwithstanding any other section of the Revised Code and subject to division (D) of this section, the board of deposit may adopt a resolution authorizing the acceptance of payments by financial transaction device to pay for state expenses. The resolution shall include all of the following:

(1) A designation of those state elected officials and state entities authorized to accept payments by financial transaction device;

(2) A list of state expenses that may be paid by the use of a financial transaction device;

(3) Specific identification of financial transaction devices that a state elected official or state entity may authorize as acceptable means of payment for state expenses. Division (B)(3) of this section does not require that the same financial transaction devices be accepted for the payment of different types of state expenses.

(4) The amount, if any, authorized as a surcharge or convenience fee under division (E) of this section for persons using a financial transaction device. Division (B)(4) of this section does not require that the same surcharges or convenience fees be applied to the payment of different types of state expenses.

(5) A specific requirement, as provided in division (G) of this section, for the payment of a penalty if a payment made by means of a financial transaction device is returned or dishonored for any reason.

The board of deposit's resolution also shall designate the treasurer of state as the administrative agent to solicit proposals, within guidelines established by the board of deposit in the resolution and in compliance with the procedures provided in division (C) of this section, from financial institutions, issuers of financial transaction devices, and processors of financial transaction devices; to make recommendations about those proposals to the state elected officials; and to assist state offices in implementing the state's financial transaction device acceptance and processing program.

(C) The administrative agent shall follow the procedures provided in this division whenever it plans to contract with financial institutions, issuers of financial transaction devices, or processors of financial transaction devices for the purposes of this section. The administrative agent shall request proposals from at least three financial institutions, issuers of financial transaction devices, or processors of financial transaction devices, as appropriate in accordance with the resolution adopted under division (B) of this section. Prior to sending any financial institution, issuer, or processor a copy of any such request, the administrative agent shall advertise its intent to request proposals for two consecutive weeks by electronic publication on a state agency web site made available to the general public. The notice shall state that the administrative agent intends to request proposals; specify the purpose of the request; indicate the date, which shall be at least ten days after the publication, on which the request for proposals will be electronically mailed to financial institutions, issuers, or processors; and require that any financial institution, issuer, or processor, whichever is appropriate, interested in receiving the request for proposals submit written notice of this interest to the administrative agent not later than the day on which the request for proposals will be electronically mailed.

Upon receiving the proposals, the administrative agent shall review them and make a recommendation to the board of deposit regarding which proposals to accept. The board of deposit shall consider the agent's recommendation and review all proposals submitted, and then may choose to contract with any or all of the entities submitting proposals, as appropriate. The board of deposit shall provide any financial institution, issuer, or processor that submitted a proposal, but with which the board does not enter into a contract, notice that its proposal is rejected.

(D) The board of deposit shall send a copy of the resolution adopted under division (B) of this section to each state elected official and state entity authorized to accept payments for state expenses by financial transaction device. After receiving the resolution and before accepting such payments by financial transaction device, such a state elected official or state entity shall provide written notification to the administrative agent of the official's or entity's intent to implement the resolution within the official's or entity's office. Each state office or entity subject to the board's resolution adopted under division (B) of this section shall use only the financial institutions, issuers of financial transaction devices, and processors of financial transaction devices with which the board of deposit contracts, and each such office or entity is subject to the terms of those contracts.

If a state entity under the authority of a state elected official is directly responsible for collecting one or more state expenses and the state elected official determines not to accept payments by financial transaction device for one or more of those expenses, the office is not required to accept payments by financial transaction device for those expenses, notwithstanding the adoption of a resolution by the board of deposit under division (B) of this section.

(E) The board of deposit may establish a surcharge or convenience fee that may be imposed upon a person making payment by a financial transaction device. The surcharge or convenience fee shall not be imposed unless authorized or otherwise permitted by the rules prescribed under a contract, between the financial institution, issuer, or processor and the administrative agent, governing the use and acceptance of the financial transaction device.

The establishment of a surcharge or convenience fee shall follow the guidelines of the financial institution, issuer of financial transaction devices, or processor of financial transaction devices with which the board of deposit contracts.

If a surcharge or convenience fee is imposed, every state entity accepting payment by a financial transaction device, regardless of whether that entity is subject to a resolution adopted by the board of deposit, shall clearly post a notice in the entity's office, and shall notify each person making a payment by such a device, about the surcharge or fee. Notice to each person making a payment shall be provided regardless of the medium used to make the payment and in a manner appropriate to that medium. Each notice shall include all of the following:

(1) A statement that there is a surcharge or convenience fee for using a financial transaction device;

(2) The total amount of the charge or fee expressed in dollars and cents for each transaction, or the rate of the charge or fee expressed as a percentage of the total amount of the transaction, whichever is applicable;

(3) A clear statement that the surcharge or convenience fee is nonrefundable.

(F) If a person elects to make a payment by a financial transaction device and a surcharge or convenience fee is imposed, the payment of the surcharge or convenience fee is not refundable.

(G) If a person makes payment by a financial transaction device and the payment is returned or dishonored for any reason, the person is liable to the state for the state expense and any reimbursable costs for collection, including banking charges, legal fees, or other expenses incurred by the state in collecting the returned or dishonored payment. The remedies and procedures provided in this section are in addition to any other available civil or criminal remedies provided by law.

(H) No person making any payment by a financial transaction device to a state office shall be relieved from liability for the underlying obligation, except to the extent that the state realizes final payment of the underlying obligation in cash or its equivalent. If final payment is not made by the financial transaction device issuer or other guarantor of payment in the transaction, the underlying obligation survives and the state shall retain all remedies for enforcement that would have applied if the transaction had not occurred.

(I) A state entity or employee who accepts a financial transaction device payment in accordance with this section and any applicable state or local policies or rules is immune from personal liability for the final collection of such payments as specified in section 9.87 of the Revised Code.

(J) If the board of deposit determines that it is necessary and in the state's best interest to contract with an additional entity subsequent to the contract award made under division (C) of this section, the board may meet and choose to contract with one or more additional entities for the remainder of the period previously established by a contract award made under division (C) of this section.

~~(K)~~ (K)(1) A state entity that accepts cryptocurrency as payment of state expenses shall convert the cryptocurrency to an equivalent value of bitcoin, as defined in section 135.146 of the Revised Code, and transfer the bitcoin to the credit of the Ohio bitcoin reserve fund.

(2) The treasurer of state shall compensate a state entity for the bitcoin in an equivalent value of United States dollars of the bitcoin received.

(L) The administrative agent, in cooperation with the office of budget and management, may adopt, amend, and rescind rules in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code to implement and administer this section.

Sec. 135.146. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Bitcoin" means the decentralized digital asset created by a peer-to-peer network, which operates with no central authority or banks.

(2) "Donor" means a resident of this state who gifts, grants, donates, bequests, or devises bitcoin to the Ohio bitcoin reserve fund.

(3) "Private key" means a unique element of cryptographic data used for signing transactions on a blockchain that is known to the owner of the unique element.

(4) "Political subdivision" has the same meaning as in section 2744.01 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Secure custody solution" means a technological product or blended product and service that has all of the following characteristics:

(a) The private keys that secure digital assets are exclusively known to, and accessible by, the government entity.

(b) The private keys that secure digital assets are exclusively contained within an encrypted environment and are accessible only via end-to-end encrypted channels.

(c) The private keys that secure digital assets are not at any time contained by, accessible by, or controllable via a smartphone or any other unauthorized electronic means.

(d) Any hardware that contains the private keys that secure digital assets is maintained in at least two geographically diversified locations.

(e) The secure custody solution enforces a multi-party governance structure for authorizing transactions, enforces user access controls, and logs all user-initiated actions.

(f) The provider of the secure custody solution has implemented a disaster recovery protocol that ensures customer access to digital assets in the event the provider becomes unavailable.

(g) The secure custody solution undergoes regular code audits and penetration testing from audit firms, and any identified vulnerabilities are promptly remedied.

(6) "Qualified custodian" means any federal or state-chartered bank, trust company, or a company regulated by the state that has custody of bitcoin.

(B) The Ohio bitcoin reserve fund is created in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of amounts transferred to it pursuant to section 2981.12 of the Revised Code and by acts of the general assembly. The treasurer of state shall administer the Ohio bitcoin reserve fund in accordance with the requirements of this section.

(C) The treasurer of state may use the interim money of the state and amounts deposited to the Ohio bitcoin reserve fund to acquire bitcoin as an investment. The treasurer of state shall hold bitcoin acquired under this section for at least five years following the date that the bitcoin enters the state's custody. After the five-year holding period, the treasurer of state may transfer, sell, appropriate, or convert the bitcoin to another cryptocurrency.

(D) Any bitcoin acquired as an investment under this section must be held using a secure custody solution by either the treasurer of state or a qualified custodian.

(E) The treasurer of state may accept gifts, grants, and donations of bitcoin from any of the following:

(1) A resident of this state;

(2) The state, a political subdivision, or an agency or instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision;

(3) A state institution of higher education, as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code.

(F) The treasurer of state shall develop a process by which donors may contribute bitcoin to the Ohio bitcoin reserve fund. Upon request, the treasurer of state may issue a certificate of acknowledgement to a donor. The treasurer of state may also establish a recognition program to publicly honor significant contributions made to the fund by donors.

(G)(1) The treasurer of state shall prepare a biennial report that includes all of the following information:

(a) The total amount of bitcoin held by the state as an investment under this section;

(b) The equivalent value of the bitcoin expressed in United States dollars;

(d) Any transactions or expenditures related to this section since the previous report;

(e) Any security threats experienced in administering this section since the previous report.

(2) Not later than the thirty-first day of December of each even-numbered year, the treasurer of state shall electronically publish the report on the treasurer of state's web site and notify the general assembly that the report is available.

(H) The treasurer of state may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to administer this section, including rules concerning security protocols, reporting standards, donation procedures, and a process for returning bitcoin contributed by any person or entity other than those described in division (E) of this section.

Sec. 2981.12. (A) Unclaimed or forfeited property in the custody of a law enforcement agency, other than property described in division (A)(2) of section 2981.11 of the Revised Code, shall be disposed of by order of any court of record that has territorial jurisdiction over the political subdivision that employs the law enforcement agency, as follows:

(1) Drugs shall be disposed of pursuant to section 3719.11 of the Revised Code or placed in the custody of the secretary of the treasury of the United States for disposal or use for medical or scientific purposes under applicable federal law.

(2) Firearms and dangerous ordnance suitable for police work may be given to a law enforcement agency for that purpose. Firearms suitable for sporting use or as museum pieces or collectors' items may be sold at public auction pursuant to division (B) of this section. The agency may sell other firearms and dangerous ordnance to a federally licensed firearms dealer in a manner that the court considers proper. The agency shall destroy any firearms or dangerous ordnance not given to a law enforcement agency or sold or shall send them to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation for destruction by the bureau.

(3) Obscene materials shall be destroyed.

(4) Beer, intoxicating liquor, or alcohol seized from a person who does not hold a permit issued under Chapters 4301. and 4303. of the Revised Code or otherwise forfeited to the state for an offense under section 4301.45 or 4301.53 of the Revised Code shall be sold by the division of liquor control if the division determines that it is fit for sale or shall be placed in the custody of the investigations unit in the department of public safety and be used for training relating to law enforcement activities. The department, with the assistance of the division of liquor control, shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to provide for the distribution to state or local law enforcement agencies upon their request. If any tax imposed under Title XLIII of the Revised Code has not been paid in relation to the beer, intoxicating liquor, or alcohol, any moneys acquired from the sale shall first be used to pay the tax. All other money collected under this division shall be paid into the state treasury. Any beer, intoxicating liquor, or alcohol that the division determines to be unfit for sale shall be destroyed.

(5) Money received by an inmate of a correctional institution from an unauthorized source or in an unauthorized manner shall be returned to the sender, if known, or deposited in the inmates' industrial and entertainment fund of the institution if the sender is not known.

(6)(a) Any mobile instrumentality forfeited under this chapter may be given to the law enforcement agency that initially seized the mobile instrumentality for use in performing its duties, if the agency wants the mobile instrumentality. The agency shall take the mobile instrumentality subject to any security interest or lien on the mobile instrumentality.

(b) Vehicles and vehicle parts forfeited under sections 4549.61 to 4549.63 of the Revised Code may be given to a law enforcement agency for use in performing its duties. Those parts may be incorporated into any other official vehicle. Parts that do not bear vehicle identification numbers or derivatives of them may be sold or disposed of as provided by rules of the director of public safety. Parts from which a vehicle identification number or derivative of it has been removed, defaced, covered, altered, or destroyed and that are not suitable for police work or incorporation into an official vehicle shall be destroyed and sold as junk or scrap.

(7) Computers, computer networks, computer systems, and computer software suitable for police work may be given to a law enforcement agency for that purpose or disposed of under division (B) of this section.

(8) Money seized in connection with a violation of section 2905.32, 2907.21, or 2907.22 of the Revised Code shall be deposited in the victims of human trafficking fund created by section 5101.87 of the Revised Code.

(9) Bitcoin, as defined in section 135.146 of the Revised Code, may be transferred to the Ohio bitcoin reserve fund created in section 131.62 of the Revised Code or disposed of under division (B) of this section.

(B) Unclaimed or forfeited property that is not described in division (A) of this section or division (A)(2) of section 2981.11 of the Revised Code, with court approval, may be used by the law enforcement agency in possession of it. If it is not used by the agency, it may be sold without appraisal at a public auction to the highest bidder for cash or disposed of in another manner that the court considers proper.

(C) Except as provided in divisions (A) and (F) of this section and after compliance with division (D) of this section when applicable, any moneys acquired from the sale of property disposed of pursuant to this section shall be placed in the general revenue fund of the state, or the general fund of the county, the township, or the municipal corporation of which the law enforcement agency involved is an agency.

(D) If the property was in the possession of the law enforcement agency in relation to a delinquent child proceeding in a juvenile court, ten per cent of any moneys acquired from the sale of property disposed of under this section shall be applied to one or more community addiction services providers, as defined in section 5119.01 of the Revised Code. A juvenile court shall not specify a services provider, except as provided in this division, unless the services provider is in the same county as the court or in a contiguous county. If no services provider is located in any of those counties, the juvenile court may specify a services provider anywhere in Ohio. The remaining ninety per cent of the proceeds or cash shall be applied as provided in division (C) of this section.

Each services provider that receives in any calendar year forfeited money under this division shall file an annual report for that year with the attorney general and with the court of common pleas and board of county commissioners of the county in which the services provider is located and of any other county from which the services provider received forfeited money. The services provider shall file the report on or before the first day of March in the calendar year following the calendar year in which the services provider received the money. The report shall include statistics on the number of persons the services provider served, identify the types of treatment services it provided to them, and include a specific accounting of the purposes for which it used the money so received. No information contained in the report shall identify, or enable a person to determine the identity of, any person served by the services provider.

(E) Each community addiction services provider that receives in any calendar year money under this section or under section 2981.13 of the Revised Code as the result of a juvenile forfeiture order shall file an annual report for that calendar year with the attorney general and with the court of common pleas and board of county commissioners of the county in which the services provider is located and of any other county from which the services provider received the money. The services provider shall file the report on or before the first day of March in the calendar year following the year in which the services provider received the money. The report shall include statistics on the number of persons served with the money, identify the types of treatment services provided, and specifically account for how the money was used. No information in the report shall identify or enable a person to determine the identity of anyone served by the services provider.

As used in this division, "juvenile-related forfeiture order" means any forfeiture order issued by a juvenile court under section 2981.04 or 2981.05 of the Revised Code and any disposal of property ordered by a court under section 2981.11 of the Revised Code regarding property that was in the possession of a law enforcement agency in relation to a delinquent child proceeding in a juvenile court.

(F) Each board of county commissioners that recognizes a citizens' reward program under section 9.92 of the Revised Code shall notify each law enforcement agency of that county and of a township or municipal corporation wholly located in that county of the recognition by filing a copy of its resolution conferring that recognition with each of those agencies. When the board recognizes a citizens' reward program and the county includes a part, but not all, of the territory of a municipal corporation, the board shall so notify the law enforcement agency of that municipal corporation of the recognition of the citizens' reward program only if the county contains the highest percentage of the municipal corporation's population.

Upon being so notified, each law enforcement agency shall pay twenty-five per cent of any forfeited proceeds or cash derived from each sale of property disposed of pursuant to this section to the citizens' reward program for use exclusively to pay rewards. No part of the funds may be used to pay expenses associated with the program. If a citizens' reward program that operates in more than one county or in another state in addition to this state receives funds under this section, the funds shall be used to pay rewards only for tips and information to law enforcement agencies concerning offenses committed in the county from which the funds were received.

Receiving funds under this section or section 2981.11 of the Revised Code does not make the citizens' reward program a governmental unit or public office for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(G) Any property forfeited under this chapter shall not be used to pay any fine imposed upon a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to an underlying criminal offense or a different offense arising out of the same facts and circumstances.

(H) Any moneys acquired from the sale of personal effects, tools, or other property seized because the personal effects, tools, or other property were used in the commission of a violation of section 2905.32, 2907.21, or 2907.22 of the Revised Code or derived from the proceeds of the commission of a violation of section 2905.32, 2907.21, or 2907.22 of the Revised Code and disposed of pursuant to this section shall be placed in the victims of human trafficking fund created by section 5101.87 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5703.83. (A) As used in this section, "cryptocurrency" means a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value, which may be bought, sold, or traded securely, in which the generation of units is regulated, transactions are verified, and records are maintained by a decentralized system using cryptography, such as blockchain or similar distributed ledger technology, and for which there is a reasonable expectation that it will maintain a stable value relative to a fixed amount of monetary value. "Cryptocurrency" does not include a national currency.

(B) The tax commissioner, on or before the thirtieth day of June of each year, shall approve and publish on the department of taxation's web site a list of cryptocurrencies acceptable for the payment of any tax, fee, cost, charge, assessment, fine, or other payment of expense under section 9.16 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 9.16, 113.40, and 2981.12 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. This act shall be known as the Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Act.

Ohio S 57

Bitcoin Reserve Act

2025 OH S 57

Ohio S 57

Bitcoin Reserve Act

2025 OH S 57