HCC opposes bills that would gut fair housing laws

Heights Community Congress (HCC) supports effective fair housing enforcement and opposes Senate Bill 134 and House Bill 149, currently before the Ohio General Assembly.

Equal housing opportunity and strong fair housing law currently exists in the State of Ohio, and there is no need to lower penalties or exempt some property owners from fair housing laws, which the proposed bills would do. Lower penalties do not deter discrimination, nor does allowing individual property owners to discriminate.

Sen. Bill Seitz, the Cincinnati Republican sponsoring one of the bills, introduced similar, but unsuccessful, legislation in 2014, which HCC also opposed. Should these current bills pass, it would render the Ohio Civil Rights Commission ineffective in housing discrimination cases, and make it harder to eliminate illegal housing practices.

All Ohio citizens are encouraged to contact their state representative, expressing opposition to SB 134 and HB 149. SB 134 is sponsored by Sen. Bill Seitz and co-sponsored by Sens. John Eklund (R, District 18) and Tom Patton (R, District 24). HB 149 is sponsored by Reps. Jonathan Dever (R, District 28) and John Patterson (D, District 99). Its co-sponsors are Reps. Louis W. Blessing, III (R, District 29), Stephen Hambley (R, District 69), Steven Kraus (R, District 89) and Nathan Manning (R, District 55).