Ohio Judge Issues Temporary Ban on State Tobacco Legislation

According to a dispatch on April 19, Judge Mark Serrott of Franklin County, Ohio issued a temporary restraining order last Friday (April 19), blocking a state law set to take effect this week. The law aimed to prohibit Columbus, several Franklin County suburbs, Cincinnati, and other Ohio cities from regulating tobacco products.

Due to this ruling, the local city ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products will remain temporarily in place. Serot believes that the city may have a chance to win in this case. The judge has scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing for May 17th.

Prior to this, fourteen cities in the state filed a lawsuit against the state legislature in Franklin County on Tuesday, April 9, alleging that the law violated the autonomy of local governments.

Celote explained that state laws effectively prevent local governments from regulating tobacco, but they seem to overlook a comprehensive state oversight plan, which could infringe on cities' rights under the Ohio Constitution.

Basically, what the state legislature did was simply declare that "we want to prevent local governments from regulating tobacco." The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that for a "general law" to be legal, it must regulate the behavior of citizens, not of cities, as the latter is granted special regulatory authority under the state constitution.

Serot also pointed out that while one state law prohibits local governments from regulating tobacco, another law requires the development of a plan to reduce tobacco use in Ohio. The regulation emphasizes that tobacco use should be reduced among "young people, ethnic minorities and rural populations, pregnant women, Medicaid recipients, and other populations that may be affected by tobacco use.

Judge Cerote, when issuing the injunction, stated that the city's challenge to the constitutionality of the state law may ultimately be successful, although he also acknowledged that his final ruling may be appealed.