COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio House Republicans voted to override Gov. Mike DeWine's veto on their legislation to prohibit cities from regulating flavored tobacco. This, unsurprisingly, continues the heated divide between the state and the cities.
Tobacco use has continued to climb for kids and teens over the past five years, according to the American Cancer Society.
"There are 259,000 children alive in Ohio today who will die prematurely from a smoking-related disease," said Leo Almeida, government relations director of the organization's Cancer Action Network
Something needs to change to help prevent cancer, he added.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has a plan.
"It's killing Black Clevelanders at an alarming rate, and we want to do more," Bibb told News 5 on Thursday.
However, he said he was being hamstrung by the lawmakers.
Cleveland City Council put forward legislation to prevent the sale of flavored tobacco products, but the state continues to pass bills to prohibit local municipalities from doing so.
Tobacco fight timeline
Dec. 12, 2022
Columbus City Council voted to stop the sale of flavored tobacco products.
Dec. 14, 2022
Ohio Republican lawmakers added a provision to a bill on tobacco taxes to prevent any city or municipality from regulating smoking, vaping and other e-cigarette usage and sales. This was directly because of Columbus, according to State Rep. Jon Cross (R-Findlay).
Jan. 5, 2023
Gov. DeWine vetoed the bill.
"When a local community wants to make the decision to ban these flavors to protect their children, we should applaud those decisions," the governor said.
Feb. 6, 2023
Cleveland City Council introduced an ordinance to stop the sale of flavored tobacco products.
June 30, 2023
The final version of the FY '24-'25 budget passed. GOP lawmakers, once again, snuck a provision into the budget bill to outlaw cities from regulating tobacco.
July 4, 2023
DeWine vetoed the tobacco regulation ban again.
Dec. 13, 2023
GOP House lawmakers voted to override the governor's veto.
Present time
"It's so disappointing to see the House pass another bill that undermines our ability as duly elected mayors to self-govern our cities and around the issue of smoking," Bibb said.
This infringes on home rule, he argued.
Municipal home rule allows cities and villages in Ohio to have the constitutional right to certain powers, including establishing laws in accordance with the self-government clause. If something doesn't interfere with laws in the Ohio Revised Code, cities have the right to make their own policies.
House Speaker Jason Stephens said these regulations should be a state decision.
"Whether it's small businesses, the continuity across the state — those are kind of more of the important items," Stephens said Wednesday evening.
The state is the one who can provide an answer to protecting kids, he said. For example, lawmakers have introduced bills to put harsher penalties on stores for selling products to minors.
"I think the best way to do it is from a statewide perspective and that's where the votes came from," Stephens said.
Back when the original bill was passed in Dec. of 2022, Rep. Cross told News 5 the point of the preemption bill was really about the free market.
"I think government is going to be picking winners and losers on what you can and can't eat, or drink, or use," Cross said. "We don't want it to be a backdoor on an infringement of our rights and freedoms."
Click here to read the deep dive into each side of the argument.
WCPO's sister station in Cleveland, WEWS, reached out to the governor’s office for his thoughts on the veto, but he declined to comment.
"We should not be putting up big tobacco profits over lives, especially children's," Almeida said.
The Senate likely won’t look at the override until late January.
Home rule fight
Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau's analysis showed lawmakers tend to pick and choose which local governments have the authority to pass ordinances. Typically, it's the state supporting rural areas and denying urban areas.
When abortion was banned in the rural town of Lebanon in 2021, the Legislature didn't do anything. The state also sided with counties that want to or have banned green energy projects.
Cleveland was the most recent victim of this, with a lawmaker proposing legislation solely to prevent one of their ballot proposals from being voted on.
Columbus is seemingly constantly getting under the skin of legislators. In just the past year, the lawmakers have found issues with the city for gun safety regulations, banning flavored tobacco and suggesting a voluntary curfew after a string of shootings.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther was asked how he feels that his ordinances keep getting immediately shut down.
"Nobody shuts down Columbus," he said. "We're a resilient, creative and innovative bunch, and we will do whatever it takes to do whatever we think is best."
Ginther hopes the Senate will not agree with the override.
"We're willing to lead and protect our communities," Ginther said, addressing the lawmakers. "Just get out of the way."
Bibb, Ginther and Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval were also asked about general home rule concerns.
"Our number one goal has to be and should continue to be public safety, but the kids in Cincinnati are dying from guns, and they are dying from vaping," Pureval said. "Instead of helping our local communities fight these challenges, time and time again, this state legislature passes laws that undermine the elected representatives of the citizens that we are sent to lead.
"And as a result, they have handcuffed us to protect our children to protect our families — and it's not working."
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