The Ohio Statehouse. Photo by Jake Zuckerman, Ohio Capital Journal.
Legislation to formally repeal House Bill 6, the energy bailout bill at the center of racketeering charges against Speaker Larry Householder and four others, has been introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Since Householder’s arrest on July 21, there have been two simultaneous efforts led by both political parties to repeal the controversial energy bill that was signed into law in 2019.
House Bill 738, sponsored by Reps. Michael Skindell, D-Lakewood and Michael O’Brien, D-Warren, was the first to be formally introduced. It features nearly the entire Democratic caucus as cosponsors, along with a handful of Republicans joining them.
A separate effort led by House Republicans is also in the works.
Householder was arrested for allegedly orchestrating a racketeering scheme to get the bailout bill passed and implemented in order to benefit FirstEnergy, an Akron-based utility company now known as Energy Harbor.
In the fall-out of the FBI investigation, legislators from both parties have called for HB 6 to be repealed. Many believe it should be replaced through a more fair and open process.
“Corruption has no place in our government, regardless of political party. When corruption is revealed, it is important we act quickly to fix what has been broken,” Skindell said in a provided statement.
O’Brien called the original bill “founded on and funded by a scheme to defraud taxpayers and circumvent the will of the people of our state.”
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