Ohio legislators one step away from repealing key portions of nuclear bailout bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio legislature is now one step away from repealing key portions of the scandal-tainted House Bill 6, including the nuclear subsidies that make up the core of the law.

The Ohio Senate unanimously voted on Wednesday to pass House Bill 128, which revokes the $1 billion in nuclear subsidies that were the main justification for its passage in summer 2019. As part of an ongoing corruption probe, federal prosecutors have said that FirstEnergy and its affiliates paid $61 million in bribes to help former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder get his leadership position, in exchange for Householder’s help getting the bill passed.

HB128 now heads back to the House, which originally passed its own version of the bill on March 10. The new Senate version only contains technical changes, which means the House could end up passing it without debate, sending it to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk for his signature.

The bill would still leave intact other parts of HB6, including subsidies for coal plants owned by a consortium of Ohio utilities and provisions that gut renewable energy standards and eliminate energy efficiency charges.

Read more: https://www.cleveland.com/open/2021/03/ohio-legislators-one-step-away-from-repealing-key-portions-of-nuclear-bailout-bill.html