Ohio SB 214: Suppressors, Dangerous Ordnance, and What It Means for 80% Lowers
80 Percent Arms | Nov 10th 2026
The Senate already voted to drop the classification. SB 214 got its third House committee hearing today, and until it clears, state felony law and federal paperwork policy point in opposite directions.
Ohio's House Public Safety Committee held its third hearing today, November 10, 2026, on Senate Bill 214, the bill that would take firearm mufflers and suppressors out of Ohio's "dangerous ordnance" classification. The committee record for today's agenda item still shows the bill at hearing status, with no amendment and no committee action posted. Ohio is now in the narrow window where a suppressor can be legal under federal process and a fifth degree felony under state law at the same time. Anyone who builds or owns a personally manufactured firearm in Ohio should read that overlap carefully.
Federally yes, Ohio no. You can get a suppressor through federal process today. Ohio still makes having one a felony. Both are true right now.
Federal: the transfer tax dropped to $0 on January 1, 2026, a federal court ruled against the registration rule in August, and the ATF said in October it no longer requires approval.
Ohio: state law still lists suppressors as dangerous ordnance. Having one is a fifth-degree felony, with only a narrow hunting exception.
SB 214 fixes this. The Senate passed it 31 to 1 in March. It has sat in House committee since. Until it passes, the federal change protects you nowhere in Ohio.
What Ohio law says right now
Ohio Revised Code 2923.11 defines "dangerous ordnance," and the list is broader than most builders expect. It covers any automatic firearm, any sawed-off firearm, a zip-gun, a ballistic knife, explosive and incendiary devices, and, at division (K)(5), "any firearm muffler or suppressor". The same definition also reaches "any combination of parts that is intended by the owner for use in converting any firearm or other device into a dangerous ordnance", which is the language that gives Ohio prosecutors a theory against a parts set rather than only a finished item.
RC 2923.17(A) then makes it a crime to knowingly acquire, have, carry or use any dangerous ordnance. Under RC 2923.17(D), that offense is a felony of the fifth degree. Two exceptions carry most of the weight in the real world. Division (C)(5) covers owners of dangerous ordnance registered in the federal national firearms registration and transfer record. Division (C)(8) covers a suppressor attached to a gun that is authorized for hunting under RC 1533.16, for a person authorized to use it under RC 1533.04. Both exceptions are tied to a federal step. Take the federal step away, and the exception is left dangling.
Federal process moved. Ohio law did not.
On August 5, 2026, a federal court ruled for the plaintiffs in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF on NFA registration for suppressors, short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns. On October 9, 2026, ATF announced it would no longer require its approval under the National Firearms Act before an individual makes or transfers those items. Congress had already set the transfer tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns to $0, effective January 1, 2026. The $200 tax remains in effect for machine guns and destructive devices, and the Gun Control Act of 1968 was not changed: dealers still run background checks and prohibited persons still cannot possess these items.
Each step above is a dated action with a named actor. The Ohio band is the state statute, and none of those steps amended it.
- Committee record for SB 214, Ohio House Public Safety
- Letter to legislative leaders, Ohio Attorney General, October 23, 2026
- What survived on taxes, The Journal-News
- The federal dates, DownRange
Checked November 10, 2026.
Then, on October 23, 2026, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson wrote to Senate President Rob McColley and House Speaker Matt Huffman. His point was blunt. In his words: "Under current Ohio law, Ohioans wishing to own or use a short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun or firearm suppressor must register those items with the federal government or face the risk of criminal prosecution." He added that if the legislature sees those requirements as "archaic remnants of an overly restrictive past, it is time to eliminate them from Ohio law." His office also warned that confusion around the ATF announcement could lead otherwise law-abiding owners to break Ohio state law without knowing it. The Springfield News-Sun covered that letter the day it went out.
Where SB 214 stands, and what it does not fix
The two chambers are in very different places. The Ohio Senate completed its whole path on this bill: committee report, then floor passage, 31 yeas to 1 nay on March 25, 2026. The Ohio House has recorded nothing of that kind: no report out of committee, and no floor vote can be scheduled until one is. Public Safety took a first hearing with Sen. Kyle Koehler testifying as a proponent, then a second hearing on June 9, 2026 with five witnesses on record, all of them listed as proponents: the American Suppressor Association, the National Rifle Association, the Buckeye Firearms Association, the Sportsmen's Alliance and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Today's third hearing is the same committee working the same bill, and the record still shows no report. The difference is what is in the file, not how fast either chamber moved: both actions the Senate owed on this bill are recorded, and the House has recorded nothing yet. The list below gives every dated entry, and the table after it shows what is still open.
The Senate reported and passed SB 214. Committee action was recorded March 11, 2026 with 5 yeas and 0 nays, and floor passage followed on March 25, 2026 with 31 yeas and 1 nay.
Nothing further on this bill. The Senate's work is finished unless the House amends the bill and sends it back for concurrence, which is exactly the path an amendment to add short-barreled rifles and shotguns would take.
The House has not reported or passed SB 214. Public Safety took a first hearing with Sen. Kyle Koehler testifying as a proponent, then a second hearing on June 9, 2026 with five witnesses on record, all listed as proponents: the American Suppressor Association, the National Rifle Association, the Buckeye Firearms Association, the Sportsmen's Alliance and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Today's third hearing is the same committee working the same bill.
The committee can report the bill as written, report it with an amendment, or hold it. Gun Owners of America has been pressing House Public Safety members to amend the bill to add short-barreled rifles and shotguns before the session closes, arguing the Senate-passed vehicle is the fastest route available. Treat that as advocacy from an interested group, not as a prediction.
One limit matters for builders. SB 214, as passed by the Senate, handles suppressors. It does not touch short-barreled rifles or short-barreled shotguns. The same bills and amendments that would help an 80 lower build in Ohio also depend on a committee chair calling the vote, and a calendar that is already crowded.
What the record actually shows
Nothing here is projected. Every line below is a dated entry in the Ohio legislature's own record for SB 214, oldest first, and it names the chamber that acted. A filled mark means the chamber took an action that moves the bill. A hollow mark means a hearing was held and the record shows no action.
| Date | Body | Action | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 11, 2026 | Senate committee | Favorable passage, 5 yeas, 0 nays | Recorded |
| Mar 25, 2026 | Ohio Senate | Passed, 31 yeas, 1 nay | Recorded |
| Jun 2, 2026 | House Public Safety | First hearing, Sen. Koehler testifying as a proponent | Recorded |
| Jun 9, 2026 | House Public Safety | Second hearing, 5 proponents, 0 opponents | Recorded |
| Nov 10, 2026 | House Public Safety | Third hearing, no committee action posted | No action posted |
| Not scheduled | House Public Safety | Committee report | Open |
| Not scheduled | Ohio House | Passage | Open |
| Not scheduled | Governor | Signature | Open |
What changes if it passes, and what does not
Suppressor scope narrows in Ohio
- Firearm mufflers and suppressors come out of the RC 2923.11 dangerous ordnance definition.
- RC 2923.17 possession exposure for a suppressor ends, because the item is no longer defined as dangerous ordnance.
- RC 1533.04, the hunting-related section, is amended alongside them.
Short barrels, and everything federal
- Automatic firearms and sawed-off firearms stay dangerous ordnance under RC 2923.11(K)(1) and (K)(2).
- Combination-of-parts language in RC 2923.11(K)(6) stays unless separately amended.
- The $200 federal tax still applies to machine guns and destructive devices, and the Gun Control Act of 1968 is unchanged.
What an Ohio owner should do while the bill sits
Do not treat the ATF announcement as the end of the analysis. Federal approval is not the only rule that applies to a short-barreled rifle, a short-barreled shotgun or a suppressor in Ohio. Do not assume the hunting exception covers you: RC 2923.17(C)(8) needs both a gun authorized for hunting under RC 1533.16 and authorization under RC 1533.04. And do not build or assemble a short-barreled rifle or a suppressor in Ohio on the strength of federal non-enforcement alone. Ohio's fifth degree felony exposure is state law, and a state prosecutor does not need ATF's permission to file. Track the committee record rather than headlines: the bill is at a third hearing as of today, with the Senate having passed it and the House committee report still open.
- Find your representative on House Public Safety.That committee controls whether SB 214 ever gets a report out of committee.
- Call or write before the next scheduled action.Ask two specific questions: will the bill be reported, and will short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns be added.
- Say what you actually own and what you actually want.A one-line request about suppressors reads very differently from a request to strip an entire definition.
- Ask for the position on the record.A written answer from a member survives the session; a hallway nod does not.
- Keep your own receipts.Save the reply and the date. Committee positions shift, and your file is the only record you control.
Ohio's suppressor question is a legislative one, and it will be settled by committee action, not by a headline. Your side of the work is the build: correct jig, correct tolerances, correct paperwork for the state you live in. For the seat map that sets how much room a bill like this one has, read our 2026 election results breakdown.