COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP): A proposal aimed at controlling the price Ohio pays for prescription drugs has been sent to state lawmakers for consideration.

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted said Thursday that the so-called Drug Price Relief Act has the signatures required to advance to the General Assembly.

The proposal is aimed at keeping state agencies from paying more for a prescription drug than the negotiated price paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. A similar plan qualified for California’s 2016 ballot.

Ohio lawmakers have four months to consider the proposed law. Backers could then try to put the initiative before voters.

Supporters, who include the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, have sued Husted after he ordered a re-review of their petition signatures.

Husted says the review led to thousands of invalidated signatures.