Ohio Senate Republicans dodged one fight Wednesday as they pulled back for now on a controversial proposal to drug test welfare applicants that had advocates for the poor and Democrats ready to rumble.
But another showdown looms as GOP senators approved a $30 million pot of nursing home funding that puts them on a collision course with Republican Gov. John Kasich.
As quickly as the drug testing language appeared Tuesday afternoon — slipped into a wide-ranging budget and policy bill — it dropped out of sight Wednesday after GOP Sen. Tim Schaffer of Lancaster offered to remove the it, according to Senate President Tom Niehaus, a Clermont County Republican.
After the Senate passed the midterm budget review bill by a vote of 25-8, Niehaus told reporters that Schaffer retreated before questions on the proposal started to fly from Kasich's office, including how it could be implemented in rural areas without drug testing facilities.
"I think everyone understood there were questions on implementation that deserved answering for any further progress to take place," said Rob Nichols, a spokesman for Kasich.
Sen. Shirley Smith, a Cleveland Democrat who opposed the drug testing proposal, declared herself "astonished," and human service advocates praised the decision to back off, saying the program would have primarily affected Ohio's children, who make up about 75 percent of the welfare caseload.
The issue isn't dead, however, because the proposal remains in a separate bill sponsored by Schaffer that could be considered later.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online News
