On Thursday, Ohio Governor John Kasich took steps that will make life after prison similar for arsonists and sex offenders.
The Republican signed Senate Bill 70, into law, which will require all convicted arson offenders to register with the state in an arson registry.
In Ohio, sex offenders are already required to submit information into a sex offender registry.
The new arson registry will be made available to law enforcement, by the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), through the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG).
"Every time someone intentionally starts a fire they put our residents and our firefighters' lives at risk, and we must do everything possible to protect our neighbors and first responders," said DeWine. "The new registry allows OHLEG to alert an officer to a convicted arsonist's criminal history, which will be tremendously helpful when questioning those in the immediate area of a structure fire."
The arson registry will be up and running by July 1, 2013.
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