A number of Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly have lost patience with Governor Mike DeWine’s approach to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, as several lawmakers publicly expressed their intentions to rescind the new “Stay Safe Ohio Order” signed by Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Amy Acton, MD, MPH.
By a vote of 58-37, the Ohio House of Representatives passed Senate Bill (SB) 1 to limit ODH orders under Ohio Revised Code 3701.13 to 14 days and require approval from three of the five members of each chamber on the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) to extend such orders. The House vote followed action taken by the House State and Local Government Committee to amend the language of House Bill 617, which limits the authority of ODH to issue stay-at-home orders, into SB1.
Upon learning of passage of SB1, Gov. DeWine pledged to veto the bill should the Senate pass it, explaining that the current law regarding the health director’s authority has been in statute for around 100 years and has been used before. He noted that Ohio currently faces an emergency unlike anything since the 1918 influenza pandemic. Gov. DeWine stated he did not understand why there was an effort to change the law to require legislative approval of health orders extending beyond 14 days. The nature of health emergencies is that they require “quick action,” he continued, and the only reason the state is in a position to reopen businesses now is because of “highly successful” orders made under that authority.