Name: Lawmakers introduce bill repealing Ohio nuclear bailout in Householder scandal, DeWine reverses course
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Lawmakers introduce bill repealing Ohio nuclear bailout in Householder scandal, DeWine reverses course

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COLUMBUS (FOX19) - Two Republican lawmakers officially announced legislation Thursday to repeal House Bill 6, a move Gov. Mike DeWine reversed course on and now says he supports.State Rep. Mark Romanchuk of Ontario and State Rep. Laura Lanese of Grove City held a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. Both voted against House Bill 6 last year and are even more determined now in light of the $60 million bribery scandal that it is wrong for Ohioans.“It was bad policy to start, which is why I, and 42 of my House colleagues, voted no. I also explained why we could not let a tainted bill stand if we are to regain the trust of Ohioans.” Lanese said in a tweet.This comes just two days after House Speaker Larry Householder and four political operatives were arrested in connection with the taxpayer-funded bailout of Ohio’s two nuclear power plants.Householder was a driving force of the financial rescue that tacked a new fee to every electricity bill in Ohio and directed over $150 million annually through 2026 to the plants, which are located near Toledo and Cleveland.The Perry County Republican and others were in what US Attorney David DeVillers describes as “likely the largest bribery money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio.”Democrats Rep. Mike Skindell of Lakewood and Rep. Michael O’Brien of Warren also are working on similar legislation.DeWine, meanwhile, reversed course and announced Thursday he is calling for the nuclear bailout energy law to be repealed.The Republican governor said he continues to support the policy in the bill, including preserving Ohio’s two nuclear power plants as part of power generation in the state.But DeWine says the process that created the bill and the law tainted it irrevocably, “the process by which it was created stinks. It’s terrible. It’s not acceptable,” DeWine said.He called on lawmakers to repeal and revisit the legislation “through an open process that the public can have confidence in.”“For a long time, I’ve advocated and the Lt. Governor has advocated for a balanced energy policy in the state of Ohio. We think having nuclear plants is a part of that balanced policy,” DeWine said.Local lawmakers including State Rep. Candice Keller, R-Middletown, and State Rep. George Lang, R-West Chester, are cosponsoring the bill introduced Thursday to repeal House Bill 6.Keller did not vote for House Bill 6 last year, but Lang did.Lang, Romanchuk and Lanese are among scores of elected officials across the state and some national ones who have called for Householder to step down.Today, I am calling on Larry Householder to resign as Speaker of the Ohio House. My full statement can be found here. — Mark Romanchuk (@SenRomanchuk)“Based on yesterday’s news, Larry Householder should resign as Speaker immediately,” Lang wrote in a Facebook post.“The allegations against him represent a stunning betrayal of his duty as an elected official, and he can no longer legitimately lead the Ohio House of Representatives. I did not vote for him for Speaker and believe that the people of Ohio deserve better. Our state is facing significant challenges, and he must step down so that we can effectively work on behalf of all Ohioans.”State Rep. Bridget Kelly, D-Cincinnati, says she is supporting for Skindell and O’Brien’s plan.She voted against House Bill 6 last year and says now it is “the wrong direction for rate payers and the environment.”“Too many families in our state are struggling to get by,” she said. “House Bill 6 put profits over people, leaving everyday Ohioans on the hook for bailing out one company. The legislature must take swift action to repeal it.”State Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township was a staunch backer of House Bill 6 and remains so today despite Householder’s arrest.Repealing it now will do more harm to taxpayers than good, he tells FOX19 NOW.“If we repeal HB 6, it will be a net rate INCREASE to ratepayers of about $1.5 billion. So, no, I do not plan to cosponsor that bill,” he responded in a text message to FOX19 NOW when we reached out to him this morning.“The nuke subsidy starts next year. No one is paying it now. And in HB 6 we eliminated or reduced more bill riders than we added, so the net effect is a rate cut.”His office released a legislative memo Thursday he says shows the benefits of House Bill 6 exceed original expectations of expected returns to the state.Read the memo in its entirety:Another local legislator, Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton is not wavering in her support of voting last year to pass House Bill 6.“Nope. It was good legislation,” she responded Thursday when we asked if she would support a repeal of House Bill 6. “This was about the cleanest energy besides water. What is best for Ohio is what matters to me.”She did, however, join the majority of her colleagues in the General Assembly who have called now for Householder to quit.“I am deeply saddened by the allegations of wrongdoing against Larry Householder,” Carruthers said in a statement to FOX19 NOW.“The reported depth of the contrivance, if proven in court, would to me be a professional and personal betrayal by a man I considered a friend and strong leader for the State of Ohio. Under our judicial system, Larry Householder is presumed innocent until proven guilty. I pray he is innocent of these charges and I pray for his family during this time. They, after all, have done nothing.“In the short term, considering the myriad of issues we face as a legislative body and as a state, we need a Speaker of the House who can lead effectively and it would best if Larry relinquish his role as Speaker and allow the people’s work to proceed without the cloud of suspicion now hanging over the institution.“As a legislator serving in my first term, I want to assure the voters of Butler County that my vote in favor of HB 6 was solely because the independent Legislative Service Commission determined that it would save rate payers over $2 billion and save thousands of Ohio jobs. Like many of my colleagues in the House and the Senate, my opinion on the legislation’s value has not changed. I also want to assure residents that I did not receive any financial contributions from any of the companies, PACs or persons involved with the alleged wrongdoing. My votes are not for sale and never will be!”One of the co-sponsors of House Bill 6 is State Rep. Shane Wilkin, R-Hillsboro. He sponsored it with State Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord and said Thursday he firmly remains in support of it.“Those that want to repeal HB 6 are willing to increase fees on electric consumers of Ohio. I would not be in favor of that. When they say that this was an, “added fee”, to electric bills they conveniently leave out that we removed one mandate, Energy efficiency and reduced another, Renewable Portfolio Standards. Effectively lowering bills.“Additionally, the RPS has a sunset date at the end of 2026. My non-negotiable point on this legislation was it had to lower consumers’ bills. Under the previous government mandates I believe the collection was over $300 million with 70%+ of those dollars being sent out of state. The current projection is $150-$170 million collected with ALL of the money to remain in Ohio for the development and support of renewable as well as nuclear energy. Ohio jobs for Ohio workers.”Wilkin says Householder, however, may have to go.“I’m still digesting all the information at this point. I don’t want to be a knee-jerk person just grabbing headlines. I would condemn any wrongdoing so if this is true, then yes,” he said.“But before I call for a resignation I would want to read through (the criminal complaint) more and understand it. I’m sure there’s two sides to every story. (But) I think it makes leading (the House) difficult.”It’s not clear how soon lawmakers will be able to act to repeal House Bill 6.“We aren’t scheduled to be back in session until September and I would think it would be really difficult for the House to continue to carry on its business without a new speaker,” Kelly said.Only Householder can call for a session.Speaker Pro Tempore Jim Butler, R-Oakwood “cannot call session as the Speaker is not absent and has not resigned,” Seitz noted.So far, Householder has not publicly spoken or put anything out on social media since his arrest.He has not responded to multiple requests for comment from FOX19 NOW since we learned the FBI was at his Glenford farm early Tuesday.While leaving federal court in Columbus after his arraignment later that day, the speaker told a reporter he does not plan to leave office.Copyright 2020 WXIX. All rights reserved.

COLUMBUS (FOX19) - Two Republican lawmakers officially announced legislation Thursday to repeal House Bill 6, a move Gov. Mike DeWine reversed course on and now says he supports.State Rep. Mark Romanchuk of Ontario and State Rep. Laura Lanese of Grove City held a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. Both voted against House Bill 6 last year and are even more determined now in light of the $60 million bribery scandal that it is wrong for Ohioans.“It was bad policy to start, which is why I, and 42 of my House colleagues, voted no. I also explained why we could not let a...

Lawmakers introduce bill repealing Ohio nuclear bailout in Householder scandal, DeWine reverses course

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