Ohio State Representative Jenna Powell (R-Arcanum) is drafting legislation to introduce which would ban any type of “vaccine lottery” in the state.
Normal bills that pass the legislature have a 3-month period in which they are enacted. However, Powell is set to include an emergency clause to allow the law to go into effect immediately, if enacted.
The current vaccine lottery dubbed “Vax-A-Million” and orchestrated by Governor Mike DeWine is prepared to give away $1 million to 5 individuals in the state who have received at least one does of the coronavirus vaccine. Additionally, a separate drawing will be held for teenagers to give away full college scholarships.
Since the taxpayer-funded giveaway was announced earlier this month, Powell has been an outspoken critic.
“I condemn the lottery Governor DeWine is instituting for vaccinated Ohioans and strongly urge Governor DeWine to abandon pursuit of the lottery,” Powell said in a statement earlier this month.
Powell believes the vaccine lottery is a waste of tax dollars provided by working Ohioans.
“The bloated state budgets grossly misuse the money that is hard-won by industrious Ohioans – wasteful spending like this $5 million lottery is a precise example of what happens when government gets too big and thinks they can spend your money better than you can. We must stand up for accountable spending in the state of Ohio,” her statement continued.
Powell and other Republicans throughout the state have repeatedly condemned DeWine’s vaccine lottery.
However, in a rare form of bipartisanship, even Democratic lawmakers in the state have spoken out against DeWine’s plan.
Ohio House Democratic Leader Emilia Strong Sykes, D-Akron, denounced the wasteful spending. “Using millions of dollars in relief funds in a drawing is a grave misuse of money that could be going to respond to this ongoing crisis,” she said.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].Â
