SB85 would have authorized a new license-plate design supporting the Ohio chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and establishes a related contribution fund to collect and distribute fees from motorists who choose the plate.
The Ohio State Senate passed SB85 on June 18, 2025 by a vote of 32 to 0. We have assigned pluses to the nays because government should not use official state instruments, such as license plates, to advance organizations or Marxist woke ideologies that emphasize identity-based politics. While participation would be voluntary, state endorsement through specialty plates places government in the position of promoting leftist movements that often frame public policy through the lens of race and "equity" rather than equal protection under the law. The Declaration of Independence affirms that "all men are created equal" and endowed with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which is further codified by the 14th Amendment. Equality before the law—not equity of outcomes—is the American founding principle. Lawmakers should avoid policies that risk deepening division and instead uphold the constitutional ideal of equal rights for all.
