Ohio is moving forward with President Donald Trump's executive order to offer additional money for people getting unemployment benefits during the pandemic. But the extra benefits are half of what unemployed people were getting before a federal relief measure expired.
Under the federal CARES Act, the government had been paying $600 in additional weekly benefits until the end of July.
Gov. Mike DeWine's office said the executive order signed by Trump over the weekend offered two options: pay out $400 a week in additional benefits with 25% ($100) coming from the state, or pay $300 in weekly benefits fully-funded by the federal government.
The governor says Ohio is moving forward with the $300 option, saying it can implement that program faster.
But it will still be a while before people who are unemployed will start to see those additional dollars. DeWine's office says the state must update its system in order to pay out that benefit.
Providing the additional $100 to residents could cost the state more than $60 million a week. A funding source would need to be identified and approved by lawmakers, according to the DeWine administration.
The legality of the executive order has also been questioned.
