To: The Ohio State House and The Ohio State Senate
Keep Fair Housing Laws Strong
We oppose HB 149 and SB 134!
Exempting small landlords from current Ohio law would allow discrimination at will and would take Ohio back to a painful era of inequality and hostility. I can’t imagine why we’d want to go there when we have a law that has served Ohio well for decades.
Exempting small landlords from current Ohio law would allow discrimination at will and would take Ohio back to a painful era of inequality and hostility. I can’t imagine why we’d want to go there when we have a law that has served Ohio well for decades.
Why is this important?
HB 149 and SB 134 are universally denounced by fair housing advocates, attorneys, and disability groups as unnecessary pieces of legislation that pander to the brazen assertion that housing discrimination should actually be tolerated in Ohio. SB 134 makes an artificial distinction between so-called "actual" discrimination and that discrimination which is proven by time-tested controlled investigations run by private fair housing organizations.
Among other regressive measures, the bill would lower the penalties for housing discrimination and damage the important safeguards provided by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC). Ohio residents would either need to use the administrative process provided on the federal level through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or be forced to use attorneys to sue violators in state court. In addition, Ohio law would no longer be "substantially equivalent" to federal law, thus ending substantial HUD funding to our state.
Among other regressive measures, the bill would lower the penalties for housing discrimination and damage the important safeguards provided by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC). Ohio residents would either need to use the administrative process provided on the federal level through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or be forced to use attorneys to sue violators in state court. In addition, Ohio law would no longer be "substantially equivalent" to federal law, thus ending substantial HUD funding to our state.