“About 17 percent of our population have a prior felony of misdemeanor conviction of some sort. Almost 400,000 individuals have come through the prison system since the mid-1980s. Those folks in many cases have rehabilitated themselves and in many, many cases have families, dependent children, marital partners, mother, fathers that are their dependents.”

Seitz says the bill will allow former offenders to earn certification that they have been rehabilitated and are suitable for work, either from the state’s corrections department and the court system. And the legislation provides some legal immunity for businesses that hire such employees.

“This will reduce victimization; this will reduce criminal justice and social service costs, and potentially increase payroll tax revenues for the state and local communities.”

The Ohio House has also passed an identical bill. Now lawmakers are trying to figure out how to consolidate them.