Rep. Lightbody, House Democrats reject an amendment to strip ODH of power during a pandemic

COLUMBUS—State Representative Mary Lightbody (D-Westerville) today released a statement following the dangerous and partisan attack on Dr. Amy Acton by House Republicans:  

“The last-minute addition of this amendment is an egregious breach of the legislature’s committee process. We are in the midst of a world-wide pandemic, making this action a poorly timed and unnecessary step to limit the power of the Director of the Ohio Department of Health,” said Rep. Lightbody. 

“My Democratic colleagues and I stand in support of the experts charged with leading Ohio during this unprecedented time. Dr. Acton and her team have the expertise, the communication systems, and the connections in place that allow them to take informed scientifically-based actions to continue to prevent the spread of the virus beyond the capacity of our hospitals and medical professionals.”

The amendment was attached to Senate Bill 1 in Wednesday’s State and Local Government Committee meeting without advance notice or any public testimony and was discharged from committee on a party-line vote, with all Democratic members voting against it.

The amended bill now goes to the Senate for a vote. 

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