Statewide News

A bill has been introduced in the Ohio legislature that would expand the civil rights act to include sexual orientation. This legislation has been introduced before but this time around, the legislature is controlled by some of the most conservative Republicans the state has seen in a long time. Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Some legal experts are calling unconstitutional a maneuver used by Ohio Republicans in an effort to protect a new, GOP-drawn congressional map from a repeal effort by an angry electorate.

A spokesman for Governor John Kasich says the map approved Wednesday by the Legislature will be signed into law Monday.

A state Senate committee tacked on $2.75 million to the map to help local elections boards with implementation. The Ohio Constitution states that bills appropriating money cannot be repealed.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Lawmakers, police and families have met on the lawn of the Ohio Statehouse to rally in support of a measure to ban texting while driving.

An estimated 75 people showed up to bolster the bill, which would make it a minor misdemeanor to text while driving.

The proposal's sponsors were joined by representatives of central Ohio police departments, local politicians and the daughter of a man killed when he was hit by a texting driver.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Governor John Kasich  says he's prepared to talk to people in bars, hotels and salons about the economic impacts of natural gas drilling to combat misconceptions about hydraulic fracturing.

Officials say a major natural gas deposit in eastern Ohio could create thousands of jobs.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process through which chemical-laced water is injected deep underground to break up shale rock and allow natural gas to escape.

School districts and townships are outraged at the change in the rate of state auditors to $41 an hour – some were paying more than that, but some were paying less. But Sue Cave is the executive director of the Ohio Municipal League says her membership had mixed reactions.

“When you take a look at the fee that they developed, you’ll find that it affects different communities in different ways. So some of them will receive a larger increase than others,” says Cave.