To amend sections 4112.01 and 4112.05 of the Revised Code to enact the Ohio Fairness Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, to add mediation as an informal method that the Ohio Civil Rights Commission may use, and to uphold existing religious exemptions under Ohio's Civil Rights Law.
To amend sections 5739.02 and 5739.03 of the Revised Code to exempt from sales and use tax building materials sold to a contractor under a contract valued at $25 million or more for projects in areas with a port authority.
HB 568 would limit the amount that can be withheld from payments to contractors until a private construction project is completed. The bill, which would create section 4113.63 in Ohio's Revised Code, sets a maximum cap on the holdback amount project owners may retain. This directly affects private construction contractors and project owners by reducing the financial burden on contractors who often face delayed payments. The policy change aims to improve cash flow for contractors by ensuring they receive a larger portion of payments during project execution.
SB 155 amends Ohio's real estate licensing laws to strengthen disciplinary actions against brokers and salespersons who commit specific violations. It directly affects licensed real estate professionals by adding civil rights violations (such as discriminatory practices in property transactions) as grounds for license discipline, including mandatory suspension for repeat offenses. Key mechanisms include expanding the list of violations to explicitly include court-confirmed breaches of civil rights laws relevant to real estate, and requiring minimum 2-month suspensions for second violations of discrimination. The bill also clarifies that license holders must comply with all provisions of the licensing chapter, with penalties ranging from suspension to revocation for willful violations.
To enact section 4113.86 of the Revised Code to prohibit private employers from including on an employment application any question concerning the criminal background of the applicant.
To amend sections 2929.19, 2951.03, and 2951.041 of the Revised Code to require a court to consider an offender's status as a primary caretaker of a child in determining whether the offender is amenable to a community control sanction or to intervention in lieu of conviction.
To amend sections 5747.01, 5747.08, and 5747.98 and to enact section 5747.36 of the Revised Code to authorize the refundable thriving families tax credit for certain income taxpayers with dependents who are minor children.
To amend sections 3314.03, 3326.11, 3328.24, and 4112.01 and to enact section 3313.6612 of the Revised Code to enact the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act to prohibit discrimination against an individual based on hair texture and protective hair styles.
To amend sections 3123.67, 4123.78, 4141.23, 5301.071, 5301.255, 5719.04, 5739.13, 5747.13, and 5749.07 of the Revised Code to require certain liens filed with the county recorder to set forth the last known address of the lien debtor and to require a memorandum of trust or other qualifying instrument concerning real property to be recorded.
To amend sections 6109.01 and 6109.22 and to enact sections 504.201, 735.291, 743.041, 6101.531, 6103.021, 6109.41, 6109.42, 6109.43, 6109.44, 6109.45, 6109.46, 6109.47, 6109.48, 6109.49, 6109.50, 6109.51, 6115.531, and 6119.062 of the Revised Code to establish a program regarding lead service line replacement and to name this act the Lead Line Replacement Act.
