Strickland signs jobs bill, vetoes provision

staff report

COLUMBUS (AP) — Gov. Ted Strickland has signed a $1.57 billion jobs bill, vetoing a ban on funding human cloning and delaying a raid on the state’s rainy day fund.

The Senate last month added the ban on funding for biomedical research companies that clone human embryos for stem cell research. Strickland on Wednesday called the provision unnecessary and a hindrance to the growth of the biomedical industry.

The Senate also replaced $200 million that was taken from the Ohio Turnpike to back development bonds, but Strickland said the rainy day money may be needed for a budget deficit and he’ll look for the bond money elsewhere. He says he’ll use the rainy day money only as a last resort.