Capitol Insider: Ohio Senate likely to repeal HB 6 before Election Day

Republicans in at least one branch of the Ohio legislature are returning to Columbus before the election so they can consider overturning controversial House Bill 6.

"The Senate will be meeting in September, and we are likely to add additional session dates to the schedule. One of the issues we will be considering is a potential repeal of HB 6," confirmed Senate President Larry Obhof, R-Medina.

Holding a session in September would show voters that the GOP-dominated legislature is taking action — just before early voting begins in early October — on the legislation at the heart of what federal authorities say is a $60 million racketeering scheme to return former House Speaker Larry Householder to power and to bail out Ohio’s two nuclear power plants.

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It is unclear whether the House will take similar action.

Also uncertain is a timetable for a possible replacement — or whether the $1 billion bailout will be replaced at all.

The assessments on Ohioans’ utility bills for the two power plants is to start in January. But it seems unlikely lawmakers will want to abandon the campaign trail long enough to take the time necessary to consider possible alternatives before the election. And Obhof opposes significant legislation in the year-ending lame-duck session.

It’s complicated

Besides the political impetus for repeal, lawmakers want to send a message that bad behavior — presuming the federal indictment is true — won’t be rewarded.

But it’s not that simple. Owners of the power plants said they would have to shut them down without the subsidy from Ohio ratepayers. That means hundreds of jobs, significant tax funding for area schools, and affecting somewhere in the neighborhood of 15% of Ohio’s power supply — including a large chunk of the state’s carbon-free energy.

It also means electricity consumers wouldn’t get a small rate cut when the nuclear subsidy starts next year, because at the same time they approved the power-plant subsidy, lawmakers removed a slightly larger surcharge that is now covering state clean-energy requirements for utilities.

Obhof said that when lawmakers return, they also likely will divvy up federal coronavirus aid to local government. But the Senate won’t consider either a “stand your ground” gun bill or measures Gov. Mike DeWine proposed after the Dayton mass shooting more than a year ago.

Have speech, will talk

Veteran tea partier Tom Zawistowski and his We the People Convention have not been subtle with their criticism of Gov. Mike DeWine and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Ohio.

He called for DeWine to resign in March, included him in a list of “brain dead governors,” and helped organize Statehouse protests against the administration’s health orders.

He often calls the governor’s actions illegal, accuses him regularly of lying, and frequently includes such taunts as, “Going to try to illegally lock us in our houses again Governor — so more people can die because of your policies?”

Zawistowski has not shied away from criticizing other Republicans, either. He’s called Sen. Rob Portman a liar, state Senate President Larry Obhof a “coward,” and said state GOP Chair Jane Timken should resign.

His podcasts have featured attacks on the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

Despite all of that, two GOP statewide officials — Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Justice Judi French — graced the annual meeting of Zawistowski’s group last weekend for a gathering in which no masks appeared present.

“Secretary LaRose has a long track record of speaking to ideologically diverse organizations — on both the left and the right. If he has an opportunity to talk to a large group of Ohioans who he can recruit to be poll workers or get them registered to vote, he’s going to jump at that opportunity. That’s what good election officials do,” said spokesman Jon Keeling.

LaRose’s outreach may have been less than effective.

In the days since his talk, Zawistowski has posted one article on “why you should not vote by mail” and another on “This is why we MUST Demand In-Person Voting!” In his podcast Friday he talked about why a “vote by mail disaster is coming.”

drowland@dispatch.com

@darreldrowland