COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that he is suing the federal government over its American Rescue Plan Act, saying that it threatens to withhold needed federal funds from Ohio.
Yost is seeking to bar the enforcement of the “Tax Mandate," which he says was a last-second addition to the package.
According to Yost, that provision exceeds the authority of Congress.
“The federal government should be encouraging states to innovate and grow business, not holding vital relief funding hostage to its preferred pro-tax policies,” Yost said.
Ohio is expected to receive $5.5 billion in funding that will help the state and its citizens recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Yost, the Tax Mandate added into the relief package forces Ohio and every other state to accept that money with significant conditions, including that funds cannot be used, directly or indirectly, to offset tax cuts or credits.
“Slipping last-minute conditions into a plan meant to help people that instead handcuffs Ohio is why people don’t trust government,” Yost said. “And it almost always leads to constitutional mischief.”
President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Relief Plan into law last Thursday.
Stimulus checks starting getting deposited into Americans' bank accounts last week.
