LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: Ohio Business Competes

  • Ohio Business Competes: Yesterday was beyond disheartening

    Ohio Business Competes: Yesterday was beyond disheartening

    Dear Business Leaders,

    Yesterday was beyond disheartening as legislators put politics over the safety of some of our most vulnerable children. The Senate passed an amended HB 68, and the House concurred. We applaud that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle voted no, but it was not enough to prevent passage.

    We still have hope to block this from becoming law, but we have to act NOW.

    Please email Gov. DeWine now and tell him that HB 68 is bad public policy. It’s bad for children, for our families, and for our ability to attract and retain talent in our state. We have a choice about who we want to be as a state; HB 68 does not align with our values.

    Here is a sample text to personalize for your email to the Governor:

    I am a business leader, and I urge you to veto HB 68, which would ban clinical best practices by prohibiting affirming healthcare to transgender youth and would ban transgender athletes from participating in sports. This bill harms Ohio’s youth and families—people who make up our workforce and whom we are trying to attract and retain as part of our workforce. 

    We are already seeing an exodus of LGBTQ+ and ally young adults who are seeking a more welcoming place to call home. Families of school-age children are making plans to leave Ohio in order to access essential medical care. HB68 is modeled after laws passed in other states — five of which have injunctions against their implementation. Legislation like HB68 will put Ohio in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons, further harming employee recruitment and retention.

    Additionally, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) has been regulating transgender individuals playing sports for years without incident or issue. This is government overreach at its worst; let all kids play sports via the existing OHSAA guidelines, which are working.

    HB 68 will harm Ohio’s families, perception, and bottom line. Please use your power to stop this harmful bill from becoming law. Please VETO HB 68 and support Ohio’s families and a thriving economic workforce.

    We know these bills are bad for business. It’s not too late to stop this.

    Business voices matter. After you email, please call Gov. DeWine’s office at (614) 466-3555 or (614) 644-4357 to voice your opposition to this bill. You can also release an independent public statement condemning this bill, or have meetings and conversations directly with lawmakers.

    If your business, organization, or association would like to make a statement condemning this legislation, please contact Policy@equalityohio.org for more information.

    Thank you for being with us. We need your voice now more than ever.

    Alana Jochum, Esq.

    Board of Directors, Ohio Business Competes

    Executive Director, Equality Ohio

    _______________

    (EDITOR’S NOTE: Loveland Magazine is a member of Ohio Business Competes.)

  • Anti-LGBTQ discrimination bill with bipartisan support introduced again in Ohio House committee

    Anti-LGBTQ discrimination bill with bipartisan support introduced again in Ohio House committee

    A LGBTQ+ rights demonstration. Photo by Susan J. Demas, Michigan Advance, States Newsroom.

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    State Rep. Michael Skindell, D-Lakewood, set off Tuesday on his 20th year leading the charge to provide anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ Ohioans.

    With the introduction of HB 208 in the Ohio House Commerce & Labor Committee, Skindell and his Republican co-sponsor, state Rep. Brett Hillyer, said they have more bipartisan support than they’ve ever had in the past, though the uphill battle of the GOP supermajority isn’t without its challenges.

    The bill before the committee now, also called the Ohio Fairness Act, has been awaiting consideration since March 2021. It would change any part of the Ohio Revised Code regarding discrimination to include not just “sex,” but also “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression.”

    Existing religious exemptions would still be a part of law if the bill is passed.

    The earliest iterations of the bill didn’t have the support of businesses across the state, which Skindell said was a barrier to passage for the previous versions.

    Now, the sponsors say businesses are behind the bill, and employment laws that are inclusive to LGBTQ individuals are part of the “scoring” Hillyer said companies use to decide locations for expansion and job creation.

    Ohio Business Competes, a coalition in support non-discrimination policies for LGBTQ Ohioans, has seen its membership triple to more than 1,000 businesses, according to Skindell.

    “It is also important to mention that the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Manufacturing Association, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Columbus Chamber of Commerce, and the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce support this pro-business, non-discrimination legislation,” Skindell told the committee on Tuesday.

    Along with business support, 37 cities in the state have passed their own local ordinances against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in categories like housing and employment.

    While Hillyer acknowledges the bipartisan support isn’t overwhelming for the bill, he expects to see more GOP backing based on the party’s desire to keep Ohio economically competitive.

    “Unfortunately, this particular issue, the issue that is in front of us, divides us,” Hillyer said. “It hurts our caucus, it hurts Ohioans when you start talking about what do we stand for as representatives and people.”

    To truly be business friendly, Hillyer said the party, and the legislature as a whole, has to “get back down to supply economics” and not fight anti-discrimination measures.

    “Let’s go fight our real battles that we want to argue about and hit each other over the head with all day, but let’s leave this issue off the table and make Ohio open for business,” Hillyer said.