Kasich announces actions on 3 bills
Lead Summary
By
Press Release-
On Tuesday, Governor John R. Kasich returned Am. Sub. SB 329 and Sub. HB 554 to their respective chambers after vetoing both bills. Additionally, Sub. SB 235 was signed into law and filed with the Ohio Secretary of State after Kasich used his line item veto authority to disapprove certain provisions in the bill.
The following two bills were vetoed:
• Am. Sub. SB 329 (Jordan, Faber) requires standing committees of the General Assembly to establish a schedule for the periodic review and sunset of state departments that are currently in the Governor's cabinet.
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Kasich “set forth the following reasons” for vetoing the bill in the statement of reasons:
“Under the Ohio Constitution, no state agency can be funded for a period longer than two years. For that reason, in every odd-numbered year Ohio governors are required by law to submit a biennial budget to the General Assembly to fund the operation of the state government for a two-year period. During the General Assembly’s deliberations on the biennial budget, the funding for each and every state agency is reviewed, analyzed, debated and determined. Through the budget process, the General Assembly may increase or reduce funding for any agency or even eliminate that agency altogether.
“Am. Sub. SB 329 would duplicate the existing biennial budget process by creating a second process in which every two years half of the Executive Branch agencies would be required to appear before the General Assembly to justify the agency’s existence. Because all the Executive Branch agencies are required to justify their existence to the General Assembly every two years through the biennial budget process, Am. Sub. SB 329 is unnecessary. This second, duplicative process would be a waste of both Executive and Legislative branch resources. Given that this bill creates a costly and burdensome mechanism that only duplicates the current budget process which provides a thorough and complete review of each agency and its funding, this bill is unnecessary and, therefore, this veto is in the public interest.”
• Sub. HB 554 (Amstutz) revises the requirements for renewable energy, energy efficiency and peak demand reduction and alters funding allocations under the Home Energy Assistance Program.
Kasich listed the following reasons for vetoing the proposed bill:
“Over the past six years, Ohio has enjoyed the most improved business climate in the nation. Job creators have attributed their reasons for expanding, growing and creating jobs in Ohio to, among other things, our state’s stable fiscal health, jobs-friendly tax climate and sound regulatory policies — as well as our state’s wide range of energy generation options. Sub. HB 554 risks undermining this progress by taking away some of those energy generation options, particularly the very options most prized by the companies poised to create many jobs in Ohio in the coming years, such as high technology firms.
“The bill would also deal a setback to efforts that are succeeding in helping businesses and homeowners reduce their energy costs through increased efficiency. In fact, according to the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, an organization to which many of our electric utilities belong, energy efficiency investments made between 2009-2012 alone have yielded $1.03 billion in savings to date and will result in $4.15 billion in lifetime savings thanks to the state’s existing energy efficiency standards. Furthermore, Sub. HB 554 sidelines some energy options at a time when Ohio can already meet many renewable energy generation standards in current law.
“The Administration stands ready to work with the General Assembly to advance strategies for helping ensure competitive energy costs. Ohio workers cannot afford to take a step backward from the economic gains that we have made in recent years, however, and arbitrarily limiting Ohio’s energy generation options amounts to self-inflicted damage to both our state’s near- and long-term economic competitiveness. Therefore, this veto is in the public interest.”
The following bill was signed with line item vetoes:
Sub. SB 235 (Beagle, Coley) authorizes political subdivisions to exempt from property taxation the increased value of property on which industrial or commercial development is planned for up to six years, makes changes to Ohio's unemployment compensation law and modifies laws governing other state and local government authority and operations.
The text of Kasich’s veto messages for all three bills can be found at http://www.governor.ohio.gov/Portals/0/pdf/merged.pdf?ver=2016-12-27-15….
The following two bills were vetoed:
• Am. Sub. SB 329 (Jordan, Faber) requires standing committees of the General Assembly to establish a schedule for the periodic review and sunset of state departments that are currently in the Governor's cabinet.
[[In-content Ad]]
Kasich “set forth the following reasons” for vetoing the bill in the statement of reasons:
“Under the Ohio Constitution, no state agency can be funded for a period longer than two years. For that reason, in every odd-numbered year Ohio governors are required by law to submit a biennial budget to the General Assembly to fund the operation of the state government for a two-year period. During the General Assembly’s deliberations on the biennial budget, the funding for each and every state agency is reviewed, analyzed, debated and determined. Through the budget process, the General Assembly may increase or reduce funding for any agency or even eliminate that agency altogether.
“Am. Sub. SB 329 would duplicate the existing biennial budget process by creating a second process in which every two years half of the Executive Branch agencies would be required to appear before the General Assembly to justify the agency’s existence. Because all the Executive Branch agencies are required to justify their existence to the General Assembly every two years through the biennial budget process, Am. Sub. SB 329 is unnecessary. This second, duplicative process would be a waste of both Executive and Legislative branch resources. Given that this bill creates a costly and burdensome mechanism that only duplicates the current budget process which provides a thorough and complete review of each agency and its funding, this bill is unnecessary and, therefore, this veto is in the public interest.”
• Sub. HB 554 (Amstutz) revises the requirements for renewable energy, energy efficiency and peak demand reduction and alters funding allocations under the Home Energy Assistance Program.
Kasich listed the following reasons for vetoing the proposed bill:
“Over the past six years, Ohio has enjoyed the most improved business climate in the nation. Job creators have attributed their reasons for expanding, growing and creating jobs in Ohio to, among other things, our state’s stable fiscal health, jobs-friendly tax climate and sound regulatory policies — as well as our state’s wide range of energy generation options. Sub. HB 554 risks undermining this progress by taking away some of those energy generation options, particularly the very options most prized by the companies poised to create many jobs in Ohio in the coming years, such as high technology firms.
“The bill would also deal a setback to efforts that are succeeding in helping businesses and homeowners reduce their energy costs through increased efficiency. In fact, according to the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, an organization to which many of our electric utilities belong, energy efficiency investments made between 2009-2012 alone have yielded $1.03 billion in savings to date and will result in $4.15 billion in lifetime savings thanks to the state’s existing energy efficiency standards. Furthermore, Sub. HB 554 sidelines some energy options at a time when Ohio can already meet many renewable energy generation standards in current law.
“The Administration stands ready to work with the General Assembly to advance strategies for helping ensure competitive energy costs. Ohio workers cannot afford to take a step backward from the economic gains that we have made in recent years, however, and arbitrarily limiting Ohio’s energy generation options amounts to self-inflicted damage to both our state’s near- and long-term economic competitiveness. Therefore, this veto is in the public interest.”
The following bill was signed with line item vetoes:
Sub. SB 235 (Beagle, Coley) authorizes political subdivisions to exempt from property taxation the increased value of property on which industrial or commercial development is planned for up to six years, makes changes to Ohio's unemployment compensation law and modifies laws governing other state and local government authority and operations.
The text of Kasich’s veto messages for all three bills can be found at http://www.governor.ohio.gov/Portals/0/pdf/merged.pdf?ver=2016-12-27-15….