A judge in Ohio is extending a freeze on $230 million the state took from an anti-tobacco fund to spur the economy.
Judge David Fais of Franklin County Common Pleas Court in Columbus says the freeze stopping the state from using the money will continue until a trial on the matter.
Fais first ordered the freeze last year after Gov. Ted Strickland and lawmakers took $230 million from the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation as part of a state stimulus package.
The Legislature dissolved the foundation after it protested having the money taken.
The foundation tried to transfer money to the Washington, D.C.-based American Legacy Foundation, which sued to keep the money. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)