At 3:30 in the morning on Friday, state lawmakers completed their work for this session, concluding a flurry of recent activity. This isn’t how they should operate, rushed, open to mischief and mistakes, surprises almost certain to surface, sooner or later. Some bills are ready to advance. Yet these hurried lame-duck sessions see lawmakers punt to next year the idea of due deliberation.
John Kasich has begun to sift through the stack of bills. Several are ripe for the governor’s veto pen, as this editorial page has argued. On Tuesday, the governor rightly vetoed the “heartbeat” bill, which would all but ban abortions, or something that would fail to pass the scrutiny of the courts. Unfortunately, he signed another measure that bars abortions after 20 weeks. Ohio joins now in challenging the Supreme Court precedent concerning viability, pushing aside the real complications that women face in choosing then to end a pregnancy. The bill does not contain exceptions for rape or incest.
The governor has championed a diverse supply of energy sources. That sound idea won’t be helped by legislation extending the freeze on energy efficiency and renewable energy standards.
One proposal the governor should have no trouble vetoing is Senate Bill 329. This measure would apply the sunset concept to all agencies and departments in the governor’s Cabinet. Each would face a legislative review every four years. If lawmakers do not approve an extension, the department would shut down.
This bill, pushed by Keith Faber, the Senate president, is wrongheaded and wasteful. First, there already exists a solid consensus that the state needs such offices as transportation, education and corrections, not to mention the State Highway Patrol. Why re-examine what is plain and accepted?
Second, the legislature has oversight authority, lawmakers with the task of assessing how well agencies and departments are performing. That is an element of the checks and balances structure. If anything, the sunset legislation risks harm in tilting too much toward the legislative branch.
Such overreach also is apparent in Senate Bill 331, which includes language barring cities from setting their own requirements for the minimum wage or benefits such as paid family leave. The Republican majorities often tout local control. Yet here, again, they are not true to their word, eroding home rule, denying Akron and others the opportunity to test ideas as they address local problems.
Another disappointment came in the failure to advance a provision, championed by state Rep. Emilia Sykes, an Akron Democrat, that would permit protection orders stemming from dating violence. Forty-eight other states have taken this step. Sykes and allies won bipartisan support. It baffles that something so worthy did not make the governor’s desk.
Finally, even lame ducks occasionally soar. Count among the achievements of this session passage of legislation that will help the state and local communities deal with the disturbingly high rate of infant mortality. Another measure deserving applause would establish, at last, a bipartisan committee to review every eight years the $8 billion in tax breaks the state dishes annually.
Now, governor, make good use of your veto pen.