Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Bell vetoes amended domestic partner benefits legislation


He said he would and he did. Here is the press release. I'll have more on this tomorrow.

Mayor issues veto of amended legislation

Council changes violate City Charter, separation of powers



Toledo Mayor Michael P. Bell today invoked the executive power of legislative veto on Amended Ordinance 226-12.

As introduced by the Bell administration, the legislation would have provided health, hospitalization, dental and vision benefits to the domestic partners of employees in the City’s health care plan. Regrettably, the amended legislation passed by council violates Toledo’s City Charter, obscuring the separation of executive and legislative powers by requiring the Mayor to reopen contract negotiations with a bargaining unit unaffected by the legislation.

Council has no authority under Toledo’s Charter or the Ohio Revised Code to negotiate or require the Mayor to negotiate contracts, as they are powers of administrative management delegated to the executive branch of government.

Before the legislation was passed at Tuesday’s meeting of Council, members were expressly advised by the City’s Director of Law that the proposed amendment was a violation of Charter Section 30. The legal opinion was ultimately disregarded and the legislation amended, resulting in policy that was impossible to enforce within the confines of the law.

The Mayor will reintroduce legislation to provide health, hospitalization, dental and vision benefits to the domestic partners of employees in the City’s health care plan at the June 12, 2012 agenda review meeting.

A copy of the memo and vetoed legislation transmitted to council are attached to this release.

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To read his six-page veto, go here.

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