On May 20, the Ohio Senate defeated Senate Bill (SB) 1 that would have limited the executive power of the governor and health director. The measure, which would have restricted Ohio Department of Health (ODH) orders to 14 days and would require approval from three of the five members of each chamber on the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review to extend such an order, was rejected by a vote of 32 to 0.
As a number of House Republicans lost patience with Governor Mike DeWine’s approach to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, they voted 58-37 in an attempt to rescind the “Stay Safe Ohio” order put forth by ODH Director Amy Acton, MD, MPH. The Senate rejected that attempt by defeating SB 1.
Had the bill passed, Gov. DeWine had pledged to veto the bill 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.