Kasich lets gun bill become law without signature

Gov. John Kasich vetoed a bill Friday aimed at giving the legislature more power over the state agency rule- making process. And in a mild protest of GOP lawmakers refusing to enact his gun proposals, Kasich allowed a concealed- carry bill to become law without his signature.

With Senate Bill 81, it’s the first time in Kasich’s seven- plus years as governor that he has allowed a bill to become law without signing it. The bill waives the concealedcarry license fee for active and retired members of the Armed Forces, and accepts military experience with firearms as proof of competency with firearms.

Kasich spokesman Jon Keeling said a bipartisan coalition came together to develop a “consensus package of sensible reforms to reduce gun violence in Ohio.” Those reforms were introduced as legislation, which stalled.

That bill, among other things, included a “red flag” provision that would enable family members or lawenforcement officers to ask a judge to immediately remove guns from people who show warning signs of violence. It also sought to ban straw- man firearms purchases and expand data- sharing among lawenforcement databases.

“But while ( Senate Bill 81) has merit and the governor’s support, he believes that the next piece of gun- related legislation that he signs needs to be the package of commonsense reforms that has been introduced and which will provide valuable tools to reduce gun violence,” Keeling said.

“Therefore, the governor will not put his signature on Kasich Senate Bill 81, letting it go into law...”

Also Friday, the governor vetoed Senate Bill 221, arguing that it “undermines the existing process” for reviewing rules with “new, open- ended, undefined powers to question the effect of a rule after multiple rounds of public comment.”

Under the bill, when the review committee known as JCARR is determining whether an agency rule has an adverse impact on businesses, it would say if the rule would reduce revenue or increase expenses for the business.

It also would have allowed for requests to review rules quicker than the usual five- year review to determine if it is having an unintended impact on businesses.

“I am confident that the Senate has the votes for an override if that is the path we choose,” said Senate President Larry Obhof, R- Medina.

“A bipartisan majority of the Senate supported SB 221 because we recognize the importance of additional regulatory reforms for economic growth and opportunity.”

The public wants a clean, safe environment in which to live, but “there must be a proper balance between regulator and the regulated community, and the right to redress any grievances that may arise,” said Chris Ferruso of the NFIB/ Ohio, representing small businesses. “We believe Senate Bill 221 contains several key components to achieve this balance…”

But Zach Schiller of Policy Matters Ohio, a leftleaning think tank, said the bill was overreaching and could be used, for example, by a chemical company that is successfully sued for dumping in the Ohio River.

“Is it the intent of the General Assembly to allow ECOT or some similar school in the future to challenge such a rule because it has experienced an adverse impact?” Schiller asked.

Kasich created and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor has directed the state’s Common Sense Initiative, a process for reviewing new agency rules with the goal of reducing or streamlining regulations.

Kasich said the latest bill, which passed with bipartisan support, would never allow an administrative rule to become final, because it could always be reopened by JCARR.

“Moreover, these new powers the General Assembly is giving itself are based on wholly undefined concepts,” Kasich wrote in his veto statement, saying it lacks “any definition or explanation as to what constitutes a ‘ principle of law or policy’ or what rises to the level of ‘ having an unintended or unexpected effect on business.’”