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LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill is back in the Ohio General Assembly for the 10th time
Updated Mar 04, 2021;
Posted Mar 04, 2021
The Ohio Fairness Act would extend civil rights protections for gay and transgender people in the workplace, housing, education and other parts of everyday life. (Jeff Chiu/AP)
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Bipartisan bills will be introduced in the Ohio Senate and House seeking to extend nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ Ohioans, sponsors said Thursday, the 10th time lawmakers have attempted to push them through the General Assembly.
The Ohio Fairness Act would extend civil rights protections for gay and transgender people in the workplace, housing, education and other parts of everyday life that are offered to Ohioans based on their age, sex, race, disability, military status, religion and other identities.
Ohio lawmakers re-introduce bill that would list partisan affiliation on November ballot for judicial candidates
Updated Feb 24, 2021;
Posted Feb 24, 2021
Ohio lawmakers are pushing to include partisan affiliation on November ballots for state judicial candidates. (File photo)
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COLUMBUS, Ohio November 2022 ballots could include the partisan affiliations for candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court and other state judicial races, if a bill introduced this week by state lawmakers were to become law.
Republican-sponsored bills introduced this week in the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate also would apply to races for the state courts of appeals, but not county and municipal court races. Similar legislation got preliminary approval from a House committee in December, but it was never voted on by the full House or Senate, and the bill expired at the end of the year, requiring it to be re-introduced.
With the 2021 session again underway, what will lawmakers be looking at, especially given the limitations on the budget imposed by the pandemic and ensuing recession? Colorado Politics’ statehouse team examined five issues likely to dominate the discussions for the remainder of the session.
Justice reform:
• First-degree felony murder
The charge of first-degree felony murder allows a defendant to be charged with that crime if a victim is killed in the commission of crimes. including arson, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, sexual assault and escape. The sentence: life in prison without parole.
Sen. Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs, hopes to change that. Among the criminal justice bills he’s sponsoring in the 2021 session is one to change the sentencing around felony murder, a repeat of a 2020 bill that was dismissed due to the pandemic. Under his proposal, instead of felony murder, the charge would be second-degree murder with a sentence of eight to 24 years, although he also prop