![Gov. Mike DeWine (center) begins his first State of the State speech on March 5, 2019, flanked by Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) and House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford). [Ohio Government Telecommunications]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/eecb292/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1806x1036+0+0/resize/840x482!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2020%2F07%2F890360710_1145356600.jpg)
A potential showdown is coming between Ohio state lawmakers and Gov. Mike DeWine over a bill passed last month that would hit at the power and reach of public health orders issued during the pandemic.
DeWine said he’ll veto the bill, which started out as a measure to increase penalties for drug trafficking near rehab facilities.
Lawmakers tacked on a provision reducing fines and prohibiting jail and criminal convictions for violating state or local health departments orders.
DeWine said the bill can’t become law as it is: “It would be a tragic mistake. And I'm not going to let it happen for us to give up the opportunity to try to keep Ohioans safe."
Some lawmakers have been critical of DeWine's orders, with one calling former Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton "a dictator". House Speaker Larry Householder also blasted DeWine when he unveiled his plans to reopen Ohio businesses starting in early May, saying his GOP caucus felt " disrespected that their opinions have been largely disregarded by the Administration.”
The measure had were enough Republican and Democratic votes to override a veto in the House, but not in the Senate.
It would be DeWine’s first veto — beyond the 25 items he struck from the budget last year.
Other proposals pending in the Statehouse also would take shots at at DeWine's COVID-19 response and orders.
The House passed a bill to require lawmakers vote to extend public health orders after 14 days, but the Senate rejected it. The Senate also rejected a House-passed plan to require written permission for contact tracing, but passed a bill that would allow for verbal permission that the House has yet to agree to. The House has also passed a measure that its sponsor said would require the state and local health departments to change the types of coronavirus data they collect.
There have been previous battles between lawmakers and the governor. State legislators pushed back against Gov. John Kasich's expansion of Medicaid with an attempt to freeze enrollment. Former Speaker Ryan Smith (R-Bidwell) said "it’s about exercising the checks and balances that the government has".
Kasich vetoed the Medicaid enrollment freeze. Republicans overrode several of his vetoes, but not that one.
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