COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio Gov. John Kasich (KAY’-sik) has vetoed a proposal to increase death benefits and insurance coverage for slain public safety officers’ families after lawmakers used the bill to increase elected officials’ pay.
In a veto message Friday, Kasich called the bill’s initial intent “very praiseworthy.” But he said he couldn’t “support or condone the last-minute rush to include a controversial pay raise” without adequate public debate.
Kasich urged lawmakers to send the original bill to his successor, Republican Gov.-elect Mike DeWine, when the new session begins in January.
He added that if legislators want a pay raise, it should be contained in a stand-alone bill that’s “introduced and debated in an open and deliberative process.”
The veto is among several that Ohio lawmakers may try to override next week.
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