State Bill of the Month – August 2025: Ohio H.B. 409

Introduced by Ohio State Rep. Sean P. Brennan (D-14) and State Rep. Karen Brownlee (D-28), H.B. 409 would prohibit members of the General Assembly from receiving any benefits from a legislative agent working for a professional sports team (NFL, NHL, MLB, MLS, NBA). This includes payment for travel, lodging expenses, gifts, food and beverage expenses, or free or discounted tickets to sporting events.

This legislation was introduced to discourage professional sports teams from influencing state legislators to support public taxpayer subsidies for new stadiums and existing stadium renovations. This was catalyzed by the fact that Ohio’s NFL teams (the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns) are confirmed to receive more than $1 billion in state taxpayer money to construct or renovate their stadiums.

Economists agree on few things. However, economists across the board broadly agree that publicly funded stadium subsidies fail to adequately produce a return on investment. A convincing amount of economists agree that stadium and other sports-related taxpayer subsidies should be eliminated from public policy consideration.

Shiny new stadiums do not generate new economic activity. In fact, they likely pull economic activity away from other areas. As TPA’s Research Director, David McGarry has said, “Stadiums generally have a gravitational economic effect rather than a generative one. Instead of increasing total entertainment-related revenue, a sports team’s arrival reduces the revenue of other venues in the area consumers once patronized.” Stadium subsidies do not work, and elected officials should stop buying into these terrible public policy proposals.

Owners of these sports teams are some of, if not, the wealthiest individuals in the country. Billionaires can fund these new stadium and renovation projects themselves. However, they abuse the love fans have for their sports teams in the United States. These teams lobby elected officials to pass these subsidy packages, so they do not have to pull money out of their own pockets. Subsidies for sports stadiums only serve to shield these billionaires from tough decisions about their own personal wealth.

H.B. 409 is an important step towards holding Ohio’s elected officials accountable from signing onto these awful deals that yield little to no return for taxpayers in any given area. Taxpayers across the country deserve more protection against these egregious, wasteful, and abusive policy proposals at every level of government. Furthermore, elected officials should not be enjoying luxury boxes in exchange for their votes.

It is for these reasons, among others, that TPA is pleased to make H.B. 409, as introduced by State Rep. Sean P. Brennan and State Rep. Karen Brownlee, its Bill of the Month for August 2025.