“People that want to just repeal it, they want to just repeal it because it’s a political thing, to be honest,” said the freshman state lawmaker. "It’s good legislation. They just want to replace it because it looks bad because it’s political.”
Carruthers said while she would agree to a repeal and replace, she would “never agree” to a straight repeal because "so many good things came out of it. This was not just about those two companies. This was about so much more. It’s a Rubic’s Cube.” She favors new legislation that fixes what’s wrong with House Bill 6, like the extra municipal utilities are required to pay.
She also said that while a bribery scandal is tied with the bill, that "really didn’t have anything to do with” House Bill 6 passing as it went through the House, Senate and signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.
“Nobody pressured anybody to vote," Carruthers said. "I voted for it and nobody pressured me to vote for it. Nobody pressured any of those people to vote for it. It may have been a bribery thing, but nobody pressured … not one of those people were pressured.”
Householder, former Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges and a pair of lobbyists were accused this summer of a $60 million pay-to-play bribery scheme. The FBI says the scheme was to get pro-Householder legislators elected, elect Householder as speaker, push the bailout bill and defend it from a referendum attempt.
House Bill 6 removed renewable energy standards and energy efficiency programs while providing subsidies for Akron-based Energy Harbor (formerly FirstEnergy Solutions) to keep a pair of Ohio nuclear power plants open, and smaller subsidies for coal-fired plants owned by Ohio Valley Electric Corp.
Householder was unanimously removed from his leadership post as many, including Rep. Candice Keller, R-Middletown.
“Ohio has a host of issues that are of supreme importance to all of us," Keller previously said to the Journal-News. "The COVID crisis, mass unemployment, violence in our streets, the heroin problem, homelessness, poverty. All of these things should be what takes our time and energy.”
Keller was the only Butler County lawmaker to vote against House Bill 6.
Rep. George Lang, R-West Chester Twp., still supports House Bill 6, but admitted it was bad legislation and more of a bailout when it was first introduced. He said the legislation as it was passed last year has “a lot of good in it.”
Lang and Keller are co-sponsors to House Bill 746 to repeal House Bill 6, which had a fourth hearing on Wednesday in the House Select Committee on Energy Policy and Oversight.
Lang said the Householder allegations “represent a stunning betrayal of his duty as an elected official" but still supports House Bill 6 despite the bailout. Agreeing in last month’s debate with Ohio Senate race Democratic opponent Kathy Wyenandt, Lang said dark money donations need to end.
“Every contribution that goes to every campaign has to be known, has to be out there, people have to know who’s funding it," he said. "I do think we need to be transparent and all (501C4s) need to disclose where their funding is (coming from). We as elected officials have to disclose every penny we get and how we spend it, and I think the same should be for all political causes.”
Columbus Bureau reporter Laura Bishoff contributed to this story.
About the Author
