Vetoes show DeWine and the legislature have not always been cooperative

Gov. Mike DeWine has not always had an easy time working with the state legislature, despite his political party holding supermajorities throughout his tenure as governor.

By the numbers: DeWine has vetoed eight bills since taking office in 2019, an Axios analysis of legislative data finds.

• Additionally, he's issued dozens of line-item vetoes nixing provisions within spending bills such as the state budget.

State of play: The pandemic, which began during the second year of his first term, underscored this division.

• He vetoed several bills seeking to curb his administration's authority to enact public health restrictions, along with an effort to refund fines to bars that violated COVID-19 health orders.

Yes, but: The Legislature can override his veto with a three-fifths majority vote. Republicans currently hold such majorities.

• GOP lawmakers have overridden vetoes to enact bills restricting the governor's public health authority, blocking gender-affirming care for children and prohibiting local governments from regulating flavored tobacco .

Between the lines: Besides these veto clashes, DeWine has struck out in getting enough legislative support for his proposed restrictions on gun control and changes to marijuana legalization .

Flashback: Previous governors of both parties had their disagreements with the Legislature too.

• Gov. John Kasich, also a Republican with a GOP-controlled legislature, notably vetoed a lawmaker pay raise (it was overridden) and a bill expanding gun rights .
• Kasich also twice vetoed the heartbeat bill , which bans abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected. That was later signed into law by DeWine.
• Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland vetoed a handful of bills in his single term, including several while the Legislature was split with a Democratic-led House and GOP-led Senate.