A temporary restraining order issued by an Ohio county court has prevented the implementation of a new state legislation that would have eliminated tobacco and flavored e-cigarette limits in Ohio cities starting next week. A preliminary injunction hearing has been scheduled on May 17 by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Mark Serrott.
Earlier this month, a consortium of fourteen Ohio communities filed a lawsuit contesting the state legislation that forbids cities from outlawing tobacco products with flavors or from enacting any local tobacco regulations that go beyond state rules.
The plaintiffs requested a permanent injunction and a preliminary restraining order from the court to prevent the state legislation from going into force while the matter is being resolved. According to the Columbus Dispatch, Judge Serrott's decision to give the restraining order suggests that the case has a good chance of succeeding on its own.
Zach Klein, the city attorney for Columbus, initiated the lawsuit, and among the plaintiffs are the three most populous cities in the state: Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. The state legislation was inspired by an ordinance passed in Columbus in 2022 that outlawed the sale of tobacco products and flavored vape pens. The prohibition on Columbus flavors went into force on January 1.
The cities claim that the preemption statute infringes upon their constitutionally protected right to home rule, which allows communities to establish their own policies. The Columbus flavored vape ban and comparable restrictions in Toledo and other places would have been void if the state legislation had gone into force the next week. The temporary restraining order means that the taste limitations will stay in effect for the time being.
Preempting comparable tobacco and vape norms as well as municipal flavor restrictions, the legislation was approved in the budget bill of the previous year. On January 4, Governor Mike DeWine vetoed the measure on a line-item basis, eliminating the preemption clause. DeWine's veto was overridden in three weeks by votes in both chambers of the General Assembly, and the bill became operative after ninety days.
