Ohio Approves 2-Year Budget: What Gov. DeWine Vetoed From Bill

COLUMBUS, OH — After protracted, often tense negotiations, Ohio lawmakers have approved a new two-year operating budget for the state. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the legislation into law on Thursday morning.

However, DeWine also vetoed 14 line items from the legislation before applying his signature. Here's what the governor removed from the budget bill.

• Vacate COVID-19 violations, refund fined businesses

"During the pandemic, business owners across Ohio made sacrifices to protect both their employees and customers from the spread of COVID-19. This item sends a message that those responsible business owners are not valued as much as the few businesses who failed, sometimes repeatedly, to take steps to protect their employees and customers from the spread of this deadly disease. Ohio law should not reward businesses and individuals that violated orders and rules adopted to protect Ohioans from the spread of COVID-19 by excusing their actions," DeWine said

• Codify Medicaid rates in legislation

The governor argued establishing Medicaid rates in statue "restricts the ability" of the Ohio Department of Medicaid and the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities to manage policies and costs.

• Allow legislators to intervene in lawsuits against the executive branch

"It is virtually unheard of for state or federal courts to permit members of the General Assembly to intervene in lawsuits. This item conflicts with prior court decisions and impinges on the separation of powers. The Governor and the Attorney General are empowered by the Ohio Constitution to defend and enforce the laws of Ohio. These amendments impermissibly infringe on those responsibilities," Dewine said.

• College Credit Plus exemptions

"This item will exempt some nonpublic secondary schools from all College Credit Plus laws and regulations. This would discourage participation in College Credit Plus and put some students

who choose to pursue college credit before high school graduation at a disadvantage. This does
not benefit students seeking higher education nor does it help advance state educational attainment goals," DeWine said.

• Create a Court of Claims procedure for hearing Open Meetings law violations

Historically, violations of the open meetings law have been handled in the local Court of Common Pleas. DeWine argued creating a second jurisdictional venue to hear violation claims was unnecessary.

"Further, this item removes the ability of the court to void a decision that is not made in an open meeting, which does not contribute to the transparency of government operations," he said in his veto message.

• Exclude counties from a drug reimbursement program

"This item will only allow thnding from the Psychotropic Drug Reimbursement Program to be awarded to county jails already participating in the program. By limiting earmarked funds, this

item excludes jails in eight Ohio counties that primarily serve Appalachian Ohio that could benefit from the program. This item limits the flexibility of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to respond to unmet local needs," DeWine said.

• Change composition and appointment procedure for Alcohol, Drug Addiction, & Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Boards

DeWine said he actually supports parts of this provision, particularly allowing counties to determine the size of their individual ADAMHS boards. "However, this language, as written, limits the Director of Mental Health and Addiction Services’ ability to appoint Ohioans with lived experience with behavioral health issues, family members, and clinical experts to boards of alcohol, drug, and mental health. The perspectives of these individuals are essential to create continuums of care that meet the needs of Ohioans struggling with mental illness and substance use disorders," he said.

• Require Controlling Board agendas to be published 14 days prior to meetings

DeWine argued extending the publication date for agendas would cause delays in releasing capital funds and work performed at state agencies. The extension could also delay work in the education and higher education communities, he said.

• Changes to community school sponsor system

This proposal would have allowed community schools to switch sponsors without answering to current sponsors, DeWine said.

"This item would allow low-performing community schools in which a majority of the enrolled students are children with disabilities to avoid accountability to the schools’ sponsors by allowing them to simply shift to another sponsor, an action currently prohibited by law," he said in his veto message.

• Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review examines all changes to the Education Management Information System or the Ohio Department of Education’s business rules and policies impacting community schools

The governor argued this change would create new bureaucratic obstacles specifically for community schools.

• Reduce commercial activity tax (CAT) administration fee earmark

DeWine said the fund is actually used to defray costs of administering the commercial activity tax. The estimated reduction is $3.3 million per fiscal year.

"The Department of Taxation must maintain its current budget to continue providing fundamental services to Ohioans and to preserve the integrity of the tax system. This item will hinder the Department of Taxation’s ability to carry out its collection and enforcement functions, which could potentially impact state revenue," DeWine said.

• Exclude certain nursing facilities from a quality incentive payment for state fiscal year 2022 or state fiscal year 2023

"This veto is a technical correction to align the table definitions with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s designations," DeWine said.

• EdChoice Scholarship administrative procedures

"This partial veto clarifies that all families applying for EdChoice scholarships deserve an expedited approval process. This item creates a conditional approval process for both types of EdChoice Scholarships. However, part of the item would only offer this conditional approval for one type of EdChoice Scholarship. By removing this language, the Department of Education will be obligated to expedite conditional approval for all applicants," DeWine said.

• Medicaid managed care procurement

"The language would require Medicaid to award contracts to certain companies without requiring that they demonstrate the ability to meet the medical needs of Ohioans," DeWine said of his veto.