COLUMBUS Taft veto prompts talk of override

Lawmakers would have until next December to override the veto.
BY JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- The president of the Ohio Senate said he'll discuss with senators next week whether they should override Gov. Bob Taft's veto of a bill that would give a special commission some say in whether a state mental retardation center is closed.
"I don't want to think about overriding," Senate President Doug White said Friday, shortly after Taft issued his veto.
"We'll talk to the governor and talk to our caucus and see what's going on," White, a Manchester Republican, said in a phone interview.
Message from Taft
In a message to lawmakers, the Republican Taft said portions of a bill passed to reform the state's mental retardation laws would prohibit him from ordering the closure of a state developmental center unless a special commission has provided a recommendation.
The closure commission provisions were added after the February announcement that Springview Developmental Center in Clark County and Apple Creek Developmental Center in Wayne County would be shuttered in 2005 and 2006, respectively, because of the state's budget problems.
The MRDD bill, approved overwhelmingly by the House and the Senate earlier this month, would hamper the governor's ability to manage state government, Taft said in his veto message.
"This would undermine my ability to manage within the state budget and could raise false hopes for remaining residents and their families," Taft wrote.
He urged lawmakers to pass another MRDD reform bill without the closure commission provisions as soon as possible.
At least one state senator said he believes the Legislature should override Taft's veto.
'We have the votes'
"There's an expectation in the House and the Senate that we have the votes to override," said state Sen. Ron Amstutz, a Wooster Republican.
"I think there's an expectation on the part of the Legislature to take it up as soon as we're back in January."
The House and Senate have adjourned for the remainder of the year.
A three-fifths majority in both the 99-member House and the 33-member Senate is required to override a veto. The MRDD bill passed the House on a 92-3 vote and cleared the Senate by a 32-0 vote Dec. 2.
State lawmakers have until the end of the 125th General Assembly, next December, to override Taft's veto, legislative leaders said.
Amstutz said Taft's explanation for the veto doesn't wash with him.
"I don't understand it," Amstutz said of the governor's reasoning. "We haven't transferred the ability [to close institutions] out of the executive branch. He still has the final say."
According to the study commission provisions, the governor would have to notify state lawmakers in writing 10 days before making any announcement that a developmental center is to be closed.
The notice must specify the center slated for closing.
The Legislative Service Commission would be required to conduct a study of the centers, including the effect of the proposed closure on center residents and their families, as well as the availability of alternate facilities.
The LSC report would then be reviewed by a five-member study commission. The commission's recommendation would be presented to the governor.
The governor would have to either follow the commission's recommendation, close no center or take another action and justify it, according to the provisions.
Activists unhappy
Mental retardation activists and a union representing workers at the developmental centers said they were disappointed in the governor's veto.
"Without this commission, closings can be subject to political manipulation," said Al Leist, advocacy coordinator for the Ohio League for the Mentally Retarded. "With this commission, it's a way of balance."
"The commission provisions that they added in give accountabilities," said Monty Blanton, president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association section that covers developmental centers.
"The governor needs to wake up here and be responsible," Blanton said.