Marion, OH Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 612.07 of the Marion Codified Ordinances mirrors Ohio's open container law; its history notes cite R.C. § 4301.62 and R.C. § 4301.99(A). Division (B) lists five circumstances in which a person cannot possess an opened container of beer or intoxicating liquor: in a state liquor store; on the premises of the holder of any permit issued by the Department of Liquor Control; in any other public place; while operating or riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle on any street, highway, or other public or private property open to the public for vehicular travel or parking; and while being in or on a stationary motor vehicle in those same locations. The vehicle provisions reach the driver and every passenger. Division (A) defines only chauffeured limousine, street, highway and motor vehicle, borrowing meanings from R.C. § 4503.24 and R.C. § 4511.01, so the section prints no separate definition of public place and the words "any other public place" apply as written.

Two exceptions are built into the section. Division (C) exempts beer or intoxicating liquor lawfully purchased for consumption on the premises where it was bought from a holder of one of the listed A-1-A, A-2, D, E, F and F-2 permit classes, and liquor consumed on the premises of a convention facility under R.C. § 4303.201. Division (D) exempts a person who pays all or a portion of the fee for a chauffeured limousine under a prearranged contract, or that person's guest, when the person is a passenger, is not occupying a seat in the front compartment where the operator sits, and the limousine is on a street, highway or other property open for vehicular travel or parking. All of those conditions have to apply together.

The section sits in Chapter 612 (Alcoholic Beverages) beside § 612.08, which sets the hours during which permit holders can sell, deliver or allow consumption of beer and liquor.