Ohio State Sen. Bill Seitz Honored as “Legislator of the Year” by Peers at National Gathering
August 4, 2008
(Chicago, IL) — Ohio State Sen. Bill Seitz was honored as “Legislator of the Year” by his peers at the 35th Annual Meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Chicago, IL on Thursday, July 31.
This award goes to state legislators who are ALEC members in good standing and have distinguished themselves by advancing, introducing and/or enacting policies based on the fundamental Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism and individual liberty.
“Sen. Seitz has been a long time member of ALEC’s Civil Justice Task Force, and an enthusiastic supporter of a fair, stable and predictable legal environment, that has helped the citizens and businesses of Ohio immeasurably,” said Alan B. Smith, ALEC’s Executive Director.
Senator Bill Seitz of Cincinnati, (OH-8) and partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP appears in the current volume of Best Lawyers in America. He has been a principal in legislative reform of the tort law as a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 – 2007. Senator Seitz ended his House service by vacating the Chair of the Civil and Commercial Law Committee as he was voted into the House Republican leadership team as Majority Whip. While chairing the Civil and Commercial Law Committee, then-Representative Seitz shepherded landmark asbestos and silica dust reform through the House the year after he was a critical negotiator of the comprehensive civil justice reform that allowed Ohio to climb from 43rd to the 4th best legal liability climate among the 50 states, according to the U.S. Tort Liability Index developed by the Pacific Research Institute.
Senator Seitz said, "I am deeply honored to have received this recognition. As a litigator myself, I know only too well that civil justice reforms are needed, not merely to make our economy more competitive, but also to reduce the wildly unpredictable costs and outcomes that can disappoint plaintiffs as well as defendants. My efforts have been greatly influenced by ALEC Civil Justice Task Force Chairman Victor Schwartz – whose classes I took as his student at the University of Cincinnati Law School – and by my other ALEC colleagues' work on the many pieces of model legislation that are now law in Ohio."
During the ALEC Annual Meeting, state legislators shared their knowledge and experiences with one another and hear from national leaders and renowned policy experts who share their commitment to common sense, free-markets, and federalism. This year’s Annual Meeting features Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty; U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey; U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters; Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, author of Cool It and The Skeptical Environmentalist; and Dr. Liam Fox, Conservative British MP and Shadow Defence Secretary.
Most of the business of ALEC occurs in one of its eight Task Forces which include: Health and Human Services, Natural Resources, Education, Tax and Fiscal Policy, Criminal Justice and Homeland Security, Civil Justice, Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development, and Telecommunications and Information Technology. These Task Forces have considered, written, and approved hundreds of model bills, offering real policy solutions for the states on a wide range of issues. Each year, state legislatures pass close to 1,000 bills, based at least in part on ALEC Model Legislation.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is dedicated to developing model policies based on the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty. ALEC is the nation's largest nonpartisan, individual membership organization of state legislators, with over 2,000 legislator members from all fifty states, and 84 former members serving in the U.S. Congress. www.alec.org
This award goes to state legislators who are ALEC members in good standing and have distinguished themselves by advancing, introducing and/or enacting policies based on the fundamental Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism and individual liberty.
“Sen. Seitz has been a long time member of ALEC’s Civil Justice Task Force, and an enthusiastic supporter of a fair, stable and predictable legal environment, that has helped the citizens and businesses of Ohio immeasurably,” said Alan B. Smith, ALEC’s Executive Director.
Senator Bill Seitz of Cincinnati, (OH-8) and partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP appears in the current volume of Best Lawyers in America. He has been a principal in legislative reform of the tort law as a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 – 2007. Senator Seitz ended his House service by vacating the Chair of the Civil and Commercial Law Committee as he was voted into the House Republican leadership team as Majority Whip. While chairing the Civil and Commercial Law Committee, then-Representative Seitz shepherded landmark asbestos and silica dust reform through the House the year after he was a critical negotiator of the comprehensive civil justice reform that allowed Ohio to climb from 43rd to the 4th best legal liability climate among the 50 states, according to the U.S. Tort Liability Index developed by the Pacific Research Institute.
Senator Seitz said, "I am deeply honored to have received this recognition. As a litigator myself, I know only too well that civil justice reforms are needed, not merely to make our economy more competitive, but also to reduce the wildly unpredictable costs and outcomes that can disappoint plaintiffs as well as defendants. My efforts have been greatly influenced by ALEC Civil Justice Task Force Chairman Victor Schwartz – whose classes I took as his student at the University of Cincinnati Law School – and by my other ALEC colleagues' work on the many pieces of model legislation that are now law in Ohio."
During the ALEC Annual Meeting, state legislators shared their knowledge and experiences with one another and hear from national leaders and renowned policy experts who share their commitment to common sense, free-markets, and federalism. This year’s Annual Meeting features Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty; U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey; U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters; Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, author of Cool It and The Skeptical Environmentalist; and Dr. Liam Fox, Conservative British MP and Shadow Defence Secretary.
Most of the business of ALEC occurs in one of its eight Task Forces which include: Health and Human Services, Natural Resources, Education, Tax and Fiscal Policy, Criminal Justice and Homeland Security, Civil Justice, Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development, and Telecommunications and Information Technology. These Task Forces have considered, written, and approved hundreds of model bills, offering real policy solutions for the states on a wide range of issues. Each year, state legislatures pass close to 1,000 bills, based at least in part on ALEC Model Legislation.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is dedicated to developing model policies based on the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty. ALEC is the nation's largest nonpartisan, individual membership organization of state legislators, with over 2,000 legislator members from all fifty states, and 84 former members serving in the U.S. Congress. www.alec.org
