ADVERTISEMENT

    Lawmakers Pass Bill Allowing Them To Strike Down Health Orders, Setting up Clash With DeWine

    By Tyler Buchanan

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The Ohio General Assembly approved a bill Wednesday to allow lawmakers to strike down health orders they disagree with, sending the legislation to a governor who has already vowed to veto it. 

    Republican leaders in the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate committed to holding votes to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of Senate Bill 22. 

    This marks the latest showdown in a yearlong disagreement between the Republican governor and legislators within his own party on the response to COVID-19. DeWine has defended the aggressive steps taken by his office and the Ohio Department of Health as being necessary to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Lawmakers have widely condemned the response as being too heavy-handed and not appropriately considering input from the legislative branch.

    SB 22, introduced by GOP Sens. Rob McColley of Napoleon and Terry Johnson of McDermott, would give lawmakers the power to rescind public health orders they disagree with via passing a concurrent resolution. They could strike down a health order the same day it is issued. 

    State Sens. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, and Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, are the main sponsors of Senate Bill 22.

    If an order is rescinded, the state would be prohibited from reissuing the same (or similar) order for a period of 60 days.

    Lawmakers could also rescind a state of emergency declaration after 30 days have passed. The bill would limit emergency declarations to 90 days in length, with legislative approval needed to extend it further. 

    SB 22 would create the Ohio Health Oversight and Advisory Committee, a group of six legislators meant to provide a closer eye on actions taken by the executive branch during a crisis. The committee would be advisory in nature, without any voting power of its own. 

    Changes made to the bill Tuesday night prohibit local health boards from issuing widespread quarantine or school shutdown orders and allow Ohio citizens to sue the state government from their home counties if they feel orders made are unconstitutional.

    Legislative chambers require a three-fifths majority to override a gubernatorial veto. That means at least 60 votes in the Ohio House and 20 votes in the Ohio Senate.

    The Senate, which already approved SB 22 last month, concurred with the amended bill with a vote of 25-8.

    The math is tighter in the House, though Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, told reporters after Wednesday’s session he is “absolutely positive” his chamber has enough votes to override. 

    The House vote on SB 22 was 57-37, with five Republicans not voting and two others voting against: Reps. Nino Vitale of Urbana and Andrea White of Kettering. Vitale is among the biggest critics of DeWine in the legislature, having supported an impeachment effort against the governor last year. Nevertheless, he voted no on SB 22 — telling the Statehouse News Bureau he believes it to be unconstitutional. The Legislative Service Commission opined the bill may be unconstitutional in its analysis in February.

    The Republicans absent from Wednesday’s vote support the bill and would support an override, Cupp said, getting the caucus to 60 votes.

    Gov. Mike DeWine is pictured during a statewide address. Photo courtesy Ohio Channel.

    Democrats condemned the bill as being another effort to undermine public health officials and the state’s COVID-19 response. As they tried in a Tuesday committee hearing, members unsuccessfully offered floor amendments on Wednesday to the bill, such as instituting qualifications for members to serve on the new health oversight committee.

    “We need to listen to public health professionals and support the safety and security of Ohioans,” said Rep. Beth Liston, D-Dublin. “This bill does the opposite, overriding experts and placing peoples’ lives in our state at risk during a health emergency under the control of a political process.”

    A number of Republicans in both chambers praised the bill as allowing lawmakers to have a “seat at the table” when it comes to making decisions during a pandemic or other public crisis.

    “Last year we have witnessed an unprecedented government overreach … and all of this without legislative input or the voice of the people,” Sen. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, said on the Senate floor. 

    Roegner said she supports SB 22 “because this restores the voice of the people, it restores the balance of power and it restores our liberties.”

    This article was republished with permission from Ohio Capital Journal. For more in Ohio political news, visit www.ohiocapitaljournal.com.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    Intel Gets More Federal Funding for Ohio Production Plants

    Nearly $20 billion in federal grants and loans is on its way to Intel to support work on semiconductor fabs in Ohio and around the country. The funding is part of the CHIPS Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. Ohio’s New Albany-area Intel facility currently under construction stands to benefit substantially.

    Ohio Weather is Getting Weirder. Is It Time to Talk About Climate Change?

    For two years running, Ohio has seen what used to be rare February tornadoes, followed by a deadly outbreak just last week. But news coverage of the twisters almost completely omitted any mention of climate change.

    Demand Grows for Ohio’s Private School Voucher Program

    There have been more than 91,100 applications for Ohio’s private school voucher expansion program so far this school year — a dramatic increase compared to previous years. 

    Will Ohio Ever End Gerrymandering?

    Some of the leaders of a campaign to reform redistricting in Ohio say the process of drawing districts may be complicated, but making necessary changes to end gerrymandering isn’t: “Political insiders have no business being in the process.”

    Ohio Colleges Impacted by Supreme Court’s Anti-Diversity Ruling

    At least seven Ohio public universities are reviewing scholarships in the wake of comments Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost made about race-based scholarships after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against race-conscious admissions. 
    Ohio Capital Journal
    Ohio Capital Journalhttps://ohiocapitaljournal.com
    The Ohio Capital Journal is a hard-hitting, independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to connecting Ohioans to their state government and its impact on their lives. The Capital Journal combines Ohio state government coverage with relentless investigative journalism, deep dives into the consequences of policy, political insight and principled commentary.
    ADVERTISEMENT