COLUMBUS, Ohio -  Ohio’s new budget won’t help liquor businesses escape penalties for violating restrictions designed to stop the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic.

Governor Mike Dewine vetoed fourteen items in the appropriations bill, including one that would have vacated COVID-19 violations and refunded fines levied against violators.

The item would have vacated orders addressing the compliance of liquor-permitted businesses with COVID-19 health orders, cease disciplinary actions that are in progress, and refund payment of any fines.

“During the pandemic, business owners across Ohio made sacrifices to protect both their employees and customers from the spread of COVID-19,” DeWine noted in his veto message. “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.”

Before restrictions were lifted, undercover agents cited bars, taverns, and other liquor establishments for overcrowding and violating other orders issued by the state during the pandemic.

 

The other thirteen items vetoed in the appropriations bill are listed below:

Extending Time Controlling Board Agenda

This item extends the time for which the Controlling Board agenda must be published from seven days to fourteen days prior to a meeting. Agencies work through extensive review processes to prepare requests for Controlling Board consideration. The process to prepare requests in compliance with public contracting requirements can take several weeks or even months. This extension in this item will slow public construction projects that require contracts to be awarded within specific statutory bid timelines and will lead to inefficiencies in agency procurement processes. This extension will also delay the release of capital funds and dollars for time-sensitive economic development projects by the Controlling Board. In addition to delaying the work performed at state agencies, this item will also delay work within the education and higher education communities. Therefore, the veto of this item is in public interest.

Medicaid Rates in Statutes

This item codifies certain Medicaid program rates in statute. The Ohio Department of Medicaid(ODM) and Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) are supportive of and will implement the increased rates for the PASSPORT, Ohio Home Care, Adult Day Care, MyCare Ohio, Assisted Living waiver programs for specified services, waiver programs administered by DODD. The ODM will also support the continuation of the tiered pharmacy supplemental dispensing fee. However, establishing rates in statute restricts the ability of the ODM and DODD to appropriately manage the policies and costs of the Medicaid program in a way that benefits Ohio consumers and complies with federal regulations. Therefore, the veto of this item is in the public interest.

JCARR Review of EMIS Changes

This item will require that any changes to the Education Management Information System (EMIS) or the Ohio Department of Education’s business rules and policies impacting community schools be reviewed by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR). This change wiil effectively treat any policies impacting community schools differently from policies impacting all other public schools, creating inconsistency and confusion around policies that should be administered in common. This language imposes additional bureaucratic requirements and slows the implementation of new laws and programs for community schools, leading to inefficiencies. Therefore, the veto of this item is in the public interest.

Changing Community School Sponsors

This item includes a proposed exemption in Chio Revised Code Section 33 14.034 that removes an important quality assurance mechanism in law that allows sponsors to hold community schools accountable. 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. Such schools are already exempt from automatic closure requirements and are not included in the academic performance ratings in sponsor evaluations. This change reflects a step back from the quality controls established over the last several years. Therefore, the veto of this item is in the public interest.

Court of Claims Procedure for Open Meetings Law Violations

This item creates a second jurisdictional venue to hear complaints alleging a violation of the Open Meetings Law within the Court of Claims. Violations of the Open Meeting Act have long been handled in the local jurisdiction by the local Court of Common Pleas; therefore, creating a second procedure within the Court of Claims is unnecessary. This item also requires any appeal from the Court of Claims to be heard by the local court of appeals, which underscores the fact that local courts are best suited to address alleged open meetings violations that impact the local community. Broadening or restricting the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, or any court, should be carefully considered and involve great public consultation, including with the Ohio Supreme Court. 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 fo the transparency of government operations. Therefore, the veto of this item is in the public interest.

Court Orders Awarding Money to State/General Assembly Intervention in Lawsuits

These items create a right of intervention in Executive Branch litigation by General Assembly leadership and create additional bureaucracy in reporting and finalizing court settlements. 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. As a result, the Attorney General wrote a letter requesting a veto of these items. Therefore, the veto of these items is in the public interest.

College Credit Plus Program — Private Secondary School Participation

 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. Therefore, the veto of this item is in the public interest.

Changing ADAMHS Board Composition and Appointment

The DeWine-Husted Administration supports empowering county commissioners to which this provision applies to establish new boards of alcohol, drug, and mental health of varying sizes. 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.

The Administration would be supportive of legislation to allow certain counties to reduce the size of their boards of alcoho}, drug, and mental health. However, any change in the law that allows a reduction in the number of individuals on a board must maintain the current proportional number of members appointed by the Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and by the county commissioners. Therefore, the veto of this item is in the public interest.

Excluding Counties from Drug Reimbursement Program

This item will only allow funding 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. Therefore, the veto of this item is in the public interest.

Reducing CAT Administration Fee Earmark

This item reduces the percentage of commercial activity tax (CAT) revenue credited to the Revenue Enhancement Fund (Fund 2280) from 0.65% to 0.5% beginning July 1, 2021. This fund is used to defray the costs incurred by the Ohio Department of Taxation in administering the CAT, and the estimated reduction is $3.3 million per fiscal year. The Department of Taxation has worked hard over the last two years to right-size the agency by leveraging technology and innovative management techniques, and agency staffing is at a historic low. 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. Therefore, the veto of this item is in the public interest.

Nursing Facility Quality Incentive Payments

This item excludes a nursing facility from a quality incentive payment for state fiscal year 2022 or state fiscal year 2023 if the nursing facility is listed in Table A, B, or C of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s (CMS) Special Focus Facility Program list. Tables A, B, and C are defined in the statute. The definition of Table C is inconsistent with the table designation by CMS. This veto is a technical correction to align the table definitions with CMS’ designations. Therefore, the veto of this item is in the public interest.

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 ail applicants. All applicants’ families deserve a more expedited process. Therefore, this is in the public interest,

Medicaid Managed Care Procurement

This item would limit the Department of Medicaid’s ability to fulfill our commitment to all Ohioans - to children and their parents, physicians, counselors, nurses and all of our healthcare professionals to provide a system of accessible, quality health care. 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.

The reforms started under the DeWine-Husted administration are poised to save the State of Ohio hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, increase transparency and accountability, better connect Ohioans with needed care, and provide additional support for children with complex behavioral health needs and adults with chronic conditions. This item puts at risk the overhaul carefully designed to improve the lives of the most vulnerable Ohioans. Therefore, this veto is in the best interest of the public.