Cecil Thomas

Ohio’s constitution bans slavery except for one reason. And at least one Black lawmaker wants that exception stripped from the state’s governing document.

Ohio lawmakers passed a law in 2006 that prevented local governments from passing any gun laws that are more restrictive than those enacted at the state level, and when cities challenged it, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the law. Now, there’s a move afoot to change it.

This weekend brought huge protests over gun laws and another appearance by Gov. John Kasich on a Sunday morning national TV news show, talking about his recent and public change of heart on gun laws. But it’s still unclear whether recently discussed gun law changes will move forward with state lawmakers.

A longtime state representative is formally apologizing for comments he made at a going away party earlier this week – comments that had other lawmakers fuming and calling for an investigation.

Members of unions representing retired school workers are taking action to make sure Ohio lawmakers don’t freeze or cut cost of living allowances in their pensions. 

The Senate has upped the penalties for possessing fentanyl, the deadly and powerful synthetic painkiller that’s been turning up in heroin in Ohio. But the debate on what may seem like a simple way to fight the fentanyl problem got complex and heated.

During the Ohio primary in March, a federal judge ordered some Hamilton County precincts to stay open late. It’s not uncommon. In recent years, there have been several situations like that throughout the state. But a new bill at the Statehouse would make it harder to do that.