Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoes health order bill, setting up override vote in Senate Wednesday

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine officially rejected a bill Tuesday that would have given the legislature oversight over state health orders like the ones he's used to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. 

In a five-page statement, that closely mirrored a letter he sent to state lawmakers Monday, DeWine said he vetoed Senate Bill 22 because it would create "an avalanche of lawsuits," make it harder to protect Ohioans from diseases like Ebola and potentially violate the separation of powers doctrine in the state constitution. 

More:Read Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's reason for the veto 

"Senate Bill 22 jeopardizes the safety of every Ohioan," DeWine wrote. 

The veto also came with letters from a variety of organizations and county commissioners like the Ohio State Medical Association, the Ohio Mayors Alliance and the Ohio Association of Community Colleges. 

"We are concerned that SB 22 may inadvertently expose community colleges to liability that could lead to an increase in litigious and financial risk for our colleges," the community college association wrote in its letter. 

What the bill would have done

The bill would have let lawmakers vote to change or rescind both states of emergencies and health orders like mask mandates and occupancy limits in stores. It also banned local boards of health from closing schools, issuing orders for specific types of businesses (i.e. shutting down gyms) or prohibiting public gatherings.  And it let people collect attorney fees if they successfully sued the state over the constitutionality of an order. 

"One branch of government is not meant to have unchecked and unfettered authority over our entire society for an undefined period of time," Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, said. "Really these changes are in response to what we perceived as a shortcoming in the Ohio code."

State lawmakers now have the option to override the governor's veto if they can get 20 votes in the Senate and 60 in the House. 

DeWine prevented state lawmakers from overriding his vetoes of prior health order legislation. But the governor's luck may be about to run out. 

The Senate's 25 Republicans plan to override the veto Wednesday.