seat, but decided against it. The same month, Johnson told The Columbus Dispatch he was investigating overturning the city council's vote to grant benefits to domestic partners of city employers, according them the same treatment as spouses. Johnson objected to the idea itself, the cost, and the manner in which the question was rushed through the council without any public notice or debate. "No matter what you think of the merits, the process on an issue they knew could raise serious questions from the public was circumvented," said Johnson. Concerned with protecting children Johnson was strongly anti-abortion. In 2000, he sponsored legislation allowing mothers to leave a newborn baby at a hospital, police station, and like public facilities without fear of criminal charges. "I believe this bill is pro-life because it protects the life of a child regardless of the actions of its parents. I only wish we could protect babies earlier," he told The Plain Dealer. In 2000, Johnson sponsored legislation that would require background checks for volunteers working in private groups, claiming "This turns the spotlight on the leeches of our society who are preying on our children." The proposal met stiff opposition, being labeled an "inquisition" by The Toledo Blade and was denounced by The Plain Dealer "as a tool for harassment, and would be a disincentive to thousands of civic-minded, morally upright Ohioans who volunteer to work with children." "This bill can impose a life sentence prohibiting service to the youth of our community resulting from discovery of a listed felony conviction at any time in a person's life," Christine Nardecchia, president of the Volunteer Administrators' Network of Central Ohio told The Toledo Blade. Johnson was also concerned with children's health, introducing legislation in 2000 to require all children twelve and under to be vaccinated against chicken pox. Johnson sponsored legislation to allow mothers to breast feed their children in public. Utility deregulation spearheaded Electricity deregulation legislation occupied the General Assembly from 1997 to 1999. In early 1997 Johnson and Representative Priscilla D. Mead, a Republican from Upper Arlington, were named co-chairmen of the General Assembly's Joint Committee on Electric Utility Deregulation. Johnson was the chief sponsor of the proposal and worked hard to shepherd it through the legislature. The plan faced an uphill fight against the utility industry and advocates for consumers. "The proposed legislation provides utilities adequate revenue to make the transition to a