The Ohio drag ban proposed in House Bill 245 is not law. The bill was introduced in the 135th General Assembly, referred to the House Criminal Justice Committee, and never made it out. When the session ended, the bill died with it. Nothing in HB 245 is enforceable now, and no identical successor bill has been publicly announced as of early 2026. The policy fight is still active, though, so knowing what HB 245 would have done matters if a similar bill is filed again.
Here is what the bill proposed, who it would have reached, and why courts have blocked laws like it in other states.
What HB 245 Would Have Banned
HB 245 would have amended Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.39 to create a new category of prohibited conduct: performing an “adult cabaret performance” anywhere outside a designated adult cabaret. The bill’s list of covered performers included topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, and strippers. It also covered performers who present a gender identity different from their sex assigned at birth through clothing, makeup, prosthetic body parts, or other physical markers.
The bill borrowed from Ohio’s existing framework for material that is harmful to minors, which treats a performance as inappropriate for children when it depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or sexual excitement in a way that appeals to a minor’s interest in sex, offends community standards, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2907.01 – Sex Offenses General Definitions HB 245 would have effectively extended that standard to adult cabaret performances by treating them as presumptively off-limits for minors outside a licensed adult venue.
Where the Restriction Would Apply
The restriction was location-based. Adult cabaret performances would only be legal inside a designated adult cabaret, which Ohio law already defines as a nightclub, bar, restaurant, bottle club, or similar commercial establishment that regularly features nudity, seminudity, or live performances involving sexual content.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2907.39 – Adult Cabarets Anywhere else would be off-limits: parks, restaurants without an adult designation, bars without one, rented event halls, public sidewalks, libraries.
The penalty structure keyed to whether someone under 18 was present, so the practical question was less about the room itself and more about the audience. A private venue would still trigger liability if a person under 18 was there.
Who Could Be Charged
The bill reached the performer first: anyone whose act fit the statutory definition, performing in a non-exempt location, faced direct criminal exposure.
Event organizers and promoters were also in the net. If they booked a venue that didn’t qualify as an adult cabaret, or failed to enforce age restrictions, the bill treated them as participants in the violation. Venue owners and operators carried a similar burden. Ohio law already requires adult entertainment establishments to keep anyone under 18 off the premises, with an affirmative defense available only if the operator checked a valid ID and made a genuine effort to verify age.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2907.39 – Adult Cabarets HB 245 would have extended that duty to any venue hosting a performance meeting the bill’s definition.
Criminal Penalties
The bill built three penalty tiers. They turn on the nature of the performance and the age of the audience, not on whether the defendant has a prior conviction.
- First-degree misdemeanor. Performing an adult cabaret performance in the presence of someone under 18, outside a designated adult cabaret. Up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2929.24 – Definite Jail Terms for Misdemeanors4Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2929.28 – Financial Sanctions – Misdemeanor
- Fifth-degree felony. Performing an adult cabaret performance that is obscene. A definite prison term of six to twelve months and a fine of up to $2,500.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2929.14 – Definite Prison Terms6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. HB 245 Fiscal Note and Local Impact Statement
- Fourth-degree felony. Performing an obscene adult cabaret performance in the presence of someone under 13. A definite prison term of six to eighteen months.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2929.14 – Definite Prison Terms6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. HB 245 Fiscal Note and Local Impact Statement
The line between the misdemeanor and the felonies is obscenity. A performance that meets the adult cabaret definition but isn’t obscene stays a misdemeanor. Once the performance crosses into obscenity, judged by community standards, appeal to prurient interest, and lack of serious value, the charge jumps to a felony. If children under 13 are in the audience, it climbs again.
Liquor Permits
HB 245 also would have amended Ohio Revised Code Section 4301.25, which governs when the state can suspend or revoke a liquor permit. The Ohio Liquor Control Commission already has authority to pull a permit for violations involving sexual activity, nudity, or public indecency on the premises. Writing adult cabaret violations into Section 4301.25 would have given the Commission a specific basis to act against any permit holder who allowed a prohibited performance.
For a bar or restaurant, that consequence often outweighs the criminal fine. A $1,000 misdemeanor fine is survivable. Losing a liquor license usually isn’t.
Civil Lawsuits
Ohio Revised Code Section 2307.60 lets any person injured by a criminal act sue for full damages, including litigation costs and, in some cases, attorney’s fees. Punitive damages are available under certain conditions. A felony conviction becomes evidence in the civil case and prevents the defendant from denying the underlying facts.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2307.60 – Civil Action for Damages for Criminal Act
In practice, a parent whose child was exposed to a prohibited performance could sue the performer, the organizer, and the venue. Proving actual harm is a high bar, but the exposure is real.
First Amendment Problems
Performance, including drag, is widely recognized as protected expression, and content-based restrictions on speech face heavy scrutiny in federal court.
A federal court struck down a nearly identical Tennessee law in 2023, ruling that the state’s Adult Entertainment Act was unconstitutionally overbroad and violated the First Amendment. The court found the definitions vague enough to reach protected speech alongside whatever the legislature actually meant to restrict. HB 245 uses similar language and a similar structure. If it had passed, it would almost certainly have faced the same challenge.
The vagueness problem is easy to see. Defining a regulated performance partly by whether someone “exhibits a gender identity different from their gender assigned at birth” leaves the line unclear. A drag queen reading picture books at a library looks nothing like an exotic dance routine, but a broad reading of the statute could sweep in both. Courts in other states have flagged exactly that ambiguity.
What Happens If a Similar Bill Comes Back
HB 245 received committee hearings but was never voted out.8Ohio Legislature. House Bill 245 – 135th General Assembly With the 135th session over, the bill is dead in its current form. Any revival would require a legislator to reintroduce it in a new session, and any version that reaches the governor’s desk would face the same First Amendment challenges the Tennessee law lost. Performers, promoters, and venue operators watching this issue in Ohio can treat the current legal landscape as unchanged, while keeping an eye on the next session’s filings.