DeWine defends record with Ohio legislature despite inaction in several areas

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — Governor Mike DeWine is defending his record with the Ohio General Assembly, despite multiple calls to action that have yet to be taken up.

“Under our system of government, we have a legislative branch as well as an executive branch hand judicial branch,” he said. “Each one has a role and they’re not always going to agree on everything.”

Much of the 135th General Assembly has been plagued with Republican infighting, in many cases stalling key legislation . For example, DeWine has been calling for Delta 8 regulations for seven months, for marijuana polices since adult-use became legal in December and has asked lawmakers to enact stricter penalties for repeat violent offenders.

Legislation, for example, to increase penalties for repeat violent offenders was introduced in the Ohio House at the start of May but has yet to have a hearing and likely will not until November, at least, if at all.

The legislature has also overridden two of DeWine’s vetoes, that he said were a matter of public health and safety of children . DeWine also used the governor’s authority, for the first time in 20 years, to call the legislature back for a historic special session to pass two pieces of stalled legislation .

Despite these examples, DeWine said he thinks a lot of good has been done by the legislature; much of it, he said, at his request.

“H2Ohio, which is protecting Lake Erie, that was not in place before I asked the legislature to do it. Massive changes in regard to mental health, where we are really now building — for the first time in Ohio — a mental health system,” he said. “The legislature has gone along with that and voted for that.”

Other than investments in mental health and H2Ohio, DeWine also pointed to the state’s new distracted driving law, which he asked lawmakers to pass .

“While the legislature took a little long to do this, they did in fact pass distracted driving,” he said.

DeWine also said work on the state’s operating and capital budgets have been successful.

“We get about 98% of what we’ve asked for,” he said. “So, we’ve had a lot of things where vie asked the legislature to do something and they certainly have done it.”

Lawmakers likely won’t be back to session until November and will only hold a handful of sessions, meaning time is running out this year to get some of those big items DeWine has been urging for months across the finish line. Whatever does not pass this year will have to start from scratch in the new year.

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