Senate veto-override votes likely Tuesday
The last time state legislators voted to override a governor’s veto, the iPhone hadn’t been released yet. On Tuesday, they can tweet about it from their iPhone 7s.
When the Senate returns to session Tuesday, it is expected to vote on a half-dozen or more veto overrides, most of them related to Medicaid.
Senate Republicans plan to meet privately Tuesday morning to finalize how many of the 11 Housepassed overrides they will take up. Republicans control 24 seats and need 20 votes for the first successful overrides in Ohio in nearly 11 years.
Senate President Larry Obhof, R-Medina, has indicated that it is unlikely the Senate would override items that were not included in the original Senate- passed version of the budget. That probably scratches two: giving the legislature the authority to appoint members to the Oil and Gas Leasing Commission, and giving the legislature power over Medicaid rate increases.
Gov. John Kasich has refused to make appointments to the commission, essentially imposing a moratorium on drilling in public parks.
The Senate could revisit that override vote if Kasich continues to refuse to appoint members.
One of Kasich’s most controversial vetoes — nixing legislators’ freeze on expanding Medicaid benefits starting in July 2018 — will not be on the Senate’s agenda because the House did not seek an override vote on that measure last month.
Sources say it’s unlikely that Senate Republicans will override all nine remaining items; they might delay a few votes to see if compromises can be worked out with Kasich.
For example, legislators want Kasich to help them find a solution to counties and transit authorities losing more than $200 million a year because the state can no longer charge sales tax on Medicaid managed care. Kasich vetoed a provision that would ask the federal government for permission to increase managed-care franchise fees to raise the money, and the House voted overwhelmingly to override his veto.
The Senate also might hold off on overriding a veto of a provision that would prevent the addition of long- term- care services to managed care. The administration might not be ready to make that change.
Sen. Bill Coley, R- West Chester, said he’s ready to vote for all 11 overrides approved by the House. In fact, he’d be willing to override all 47 of Kasich’s budget vetoes — an idea floated by some House members in July that ultimately fell flat.
“We thought the budget the way we passed it was right,” Coley said.
Some override votes will seek to give the legislature more authority over Medicaid spending, the largest piece of the two- year, $ 65.5 billion budget.
That could include mandating Controlling Board oversight of about $ 260 million in state- share Medicaid spending, allocating an additional $ 237 million for nursing homes, and delaying the placement of behavioral- health services into managed care.
It is uncertain whether the Senate will override a veto of a provision that would require the state to seek a federal waiver requiring certain Medicaid enrollees to pay into a modified health- savings account.
The Senate is unlikely to override a veto of a provision requiring Medicaid to set rates for certain neonatal and newborn services at 75 percent of Medicare rates, if it appears that the Kasich administration is going to do that anyway.
The legislature has completed only two veto overrides in the past 38 years, most recently in late 2006 when Gov. Bob Taft vetoed a bill prohibiting cities from enforcing local gun- control laws. The last governor to suffer more than one override was James Rhodes, who was overridden 11 times.