Ohio General Assembly overrides DeWine veto, claims oversight of emergency orders

(The Center Square) – Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman made good Wednesday on his promise to hold a vote to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a bill that would give the General Assembly oversight over emergency orders.

Buoyed by three dozen letters of support from hospitals and other health organizations across the state, DeWine vetoed Senate Bill 22 on Tuesday, just as he had a similar bill in December.

This time, however, the Senate voted to override, 23-10, on Wednesday and immediately sent the measure to the House, which also voted to override, 62-35. The override votes remove sole authority for emergency orders from DeWine and the state health department.

“Ohioans have persevered through the pandemic of 2020. We heard from thousands of our constituents who fought to protect both the lives of their families and their livelihoods,” said Huffman, R-Lima. “This is why my colleagues and I in the Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 22. The bill simply gives the people the power to review orders issued by the Ohio Department of Health. More than 30 states have similar laws, and it is time for Ohio to make this change.”

Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, called the vote a restoration of check and balances in state government.

“It is somewhat ironic that we stand here today for a bill that was meant to restore reasonable checks and balances that we are using our checks and balances to restore our authority,” McColley said. “There is a lot of talk right now that we are somehow preventing the governor or the health department from taking action. Every single check and balance that would take effect would happen after the fact. There is nothing in here that is somehow paralyzing the executive branch from acting swiftly.”

Republicans argued on the legislative balances that Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, said became out of balance a year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic began and DeWine ordered Ohioans to stay at home, closed businesses and established curfews.

“People said why don’t you do something. Well, now we are doing something,” Johnson, a physician, said. “Since Friday, we’ve had 75 thoughtful emails come into my office in favor of override. Three or four not in favor of override. I have a great difference of opinion with people who think doing anything differently than we’ve done over the past year is somehow an affront to our governor.”

Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko, D-Richmond Heights, however, called the Senate’s effort to override foolish and encouraged the chamber to vote “no,” joining other Democrats who spoke from the floor.

“My concern lies in the safety and health and the well-being of the people in Ohio in an emergency when there’s a crisis,” said Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood. “In a crisis, in an emergency, when lives are on the line, there has to be somebody able to make a decision quickly with the authority to do the best that they can believing that what they are doing is in the best interest of the majority of the people they represent.”

House Democrats continued the arguments in the House, saying parts of the bill are unconstitutional and puts Ohioans’ health in jeopardy.

“I do not believe this body should be in the business of passing laws that violate the state constitution,” said Rep. Richard Brown, D-Canal Winchester.

Senate Bill 22 limits the governor’s ability to create ongoing orders and creates an Ohio Health Oversight Advisory Committee made up of members of House and Senate to review health orders.

The bipartisan committee would have the authority to rescind an executive order issued by the governor or a special standing order or rule issued by the Department of Health for preventing the spread of a contagious disease.

It also allows the General Assembly to rescind health orders by resolution, allows individuals to sue to the state over orders and stops local health departments from closing schools on its own, putting the decision into the hands of school boards.

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