Ohio House adjourns, ending threat to override Kasich vetoes

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio House adjourned for the year Wednesday, eliminating the possibility that lawmakers would try to override Gov. John Kasich’s vetoes of abortion and renewable energy bills.

House members ended the session three days before the midnight Saturday deadline for possible veto override votes.

At issue before the adjournment was the potential to override the governor’s rejection of bills that would have banned abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected and made renewable energy mandates optional for the next three years.

Kasich, a Republican, also vetoed a measure backed by fellow GOP lawmakers that would have expanded a tangible property tax exemption for Ohio’s oil-and-gas industry and a bill to expand legislators’ power to abolish state agencies and departments.

Republican lawmakers are expected to revisit the issues next year when they have even larger majorities.

The logistics of having lawmakers return on short notice and trying to get enough override votes made adjourning and revisiting the issues next session the preferred action, said Brad Miller, a spokesman for Republican House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger.

Rosenberger already has said “clear differences of opinion” exist between lawmakers and Kasich, Miller said Wednesday.

Rosenberger “is confident that the caucus will revisit several of these issues during the next legislative term, and he looks forward to working with the administration on promoting policies that improve the quality of life for all Ohioans,” Miller said.