COLUMBUS, Ohio – Governor Mike DeWine on Friday vetoed a bill seeking to strip the director of the Ohio Department of Health and local health officials from enforcing health orders, as he previously said he would.
Senate Bill 55 originally increased sanctions for drug trafficking within 1,000 feet of a treatment center. But it was amended in the House, and accepted by a majority in the Senate, to decriminalize violations of public health orders. Statehouse Republicans partially approved the bill as a reprimand for former ODH Director Dr. Amy Acton.
People who violate the orders currently face a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days behind bars and a fine of up to $ 750. SB 55 amended it to make the orders a misdemeanor, with a warning to first-time violators and a fine of up to $ 150.
“In the midst of this pandemic, now is not the time to change tactics and impede the ability of local health officials to protect all Ohioans,” DeWine wrote in his veto message to lawmakers.
DeWine said he liked the original idea for the bill, called the Relapse Reduction Act. But she was unable to sign the bill with public health provisions.
“A robust public health system protects us from E-coli and Legionella outbreaks, bioterrorism threats, or pandemics from once in the century,” DeWine wrote.
Lawmakers could override the veto, but a three-fifths affirmative vote is needed in each legislative chamber. The Senate would be the first to hold a veto override vote and would need at least 20 votes before the bill was sent to the House for an override.
However, after SB 55 was amended in the House, the Senate agreed with just 18 votes, making an annulment unlikely.
“Just receiving it today, our members will review it and have an internal discussion on the way forward,” said John Fortney, spokesman for the Senate Republicans, who control the chamber. “
Fortney added that senators may have discussions with the DeWine administration on how to resurrect the part of the bill focused on drug trafficking outside of treatment centers.
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