On a \u201cdollar for dollar\u201d basis, the First Energy Corporation made the right move.\u00a0\u00a0They spent $60 million in order to secure $1.3 trillion, a \u201cgood\u201d investment in anyone\u2019s books.\u00a0\u00a0The problem:\u00a0\u00a0the $60 million was a bribe to public officials, and the $1.3 trillion was supposed to come from the pockets of the citizens of Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not surprisingly, First Energy didn\u2019t think of it as a \u201cbribe\u201d. They considered it a donation to the legislators that backed their financing plan. The sum was managed by one legislator, Republican House Speaker Larry Householder.\u00a0\u00a0And that is an issue in American politics today. Campaign success is absolutely based on how much money a candidate can raise.\u00a0\u00a0To run for the US House of Representatives costs millions, and while state Legislature campaigns are less than that; success requires hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So are campaign donations simply a show of support, or are they a \u201cquid pro quo\u201d, payment for some specific action?\u00a0\u00a0Showing support is perfectly legal. But a quid pro quo payment like the First Energy \u201cpay to play\u201d is the felony of bribery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First Energy Corporation ran two nuclear power plants in Ohio, the Davis-Bessie reactor near Toledo and the Perry reactor outside of Cleveland.\u00a0\u00a0Both plants were over thirty years old, and maintenance costs continued to grow. First Energy also had several coal-fired plants in Ohio. But other forms of energy generation were more cost efficient, and the nuclear and coal plants struggled to compete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to operate profitably, First Energy asked the Ohio State Legislature to pass a bill that would give them a $150 million a year subsidy for nuclear and coal fired plants. The bill would also reduce subsidies for other forms of more energy efficient production, raising their costs, to make coal and nuclear energy competitive. All of this was paid for by increasing consumer electric rates in Ohio.\u00a0\u00a0The bill was passed by the Republican controlled legislature, led by Speaker Larry Householder, in July of 2019. The next day Republican Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order for Householder to gain control of the Ohio House, he accepted $60 million from First Energy through their political action committee, \u201cGeneration Now\u201d. Householder used some of that money to finance twenty-one successful legislative campaigns for those who were willing to vote for his Speakership and the subsidy bill, and won enough seats in the House to get elected as Speaker. It is against the law for a legislator like Householder to direct an independent political action committee\u2019s funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After gaining control of the House, Householder brought the bill, called House Bill 6, up for debate.\u00a0\u00a0The legislation was widely unpopular, as it promised consumers increased electric rates.\u00a0\u00a0Householder then orchestrated a public media campaign with Generation Now money, estimated to cost $9.5 million to get the bill through the House and another $7.3 million to get through the State Senate.\u00a0\u00a0The campaign claimed the rate increase would \u201csave jobs\u201d at the nuclear plants, and improve \u201cgreen\u201d energy (except at the coal plants).\u00a0\u00a0It served as \u201ccover\u201d for the legislators who voted for the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the bill passed, an awkward coalition of Democrats, the natural gas industry, renewable energy and consumer advocates tried to put the bill up for statewide referendum in order to repeal it. \u201cGeneration Now\u201d, under the direction of Householder and Republican State Party Chairman Matt Borges, spent another $38 million on an incredibly ugly media campaign to prevent the referendum from even getting the required 6% of voter signatures to get on the ballot. Their claim was that passage of the referendum would put \u201cOhio\u2019s energy in Chinese Communist control”, and raised the specter of Chinese \u201cspies\u201d coming to get your signature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ohioans never got to vote on House Bill 6. And Larry Householder used part of the \u201cGeneration Now\u201d funds to buy a $500,000 house in Florida, pay for his own personal campaign expenses, and pay off a personal lawsuit he was involved in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scandal broke in July of 2020, when Householder was arrested by the FBI.\u00a0\u00a0Ultimately the Ohio House and Senate along with Governor DeWine voided the legislation.\u00a0\u00a0Householder is still awaiting trial on charges of accepting bribes and abuse of office.\u00a0\u00a0His trial, in conjunction with the trial of Matt Borges, is expected to begin with jury selection after the election in November of 2022.\u00a0\u00a0First Energy Corporation has already admitted to bribing public officials, and is paying a $230 million fine to avoid further prosecution.\u00a0\u00a0The Chief Executive Officer of First Energy, Chuck Jones, was removed by its board, and the Board demanded that he return his $56 million salary.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other leading Republicans in the state, including DeWine and Lieutenant Governor John Husted, have been implicated in parts of the scandal.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0First Energy \u201cremade itself\u201d through bankruptcy, and is now called Energy Harbor.\u00a0\u00a0They still own the two nuclear plants, as well as the several coal fired plants.\u00a0\u00a0Federal funds are keeping the company profitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, oddly, the scandal has \u201cgone away\u201d. While Democratic candidates like Nan Whaley raise the general concept of \u201ccorruption\u201d, the fact that the entire state Republican Party establishment was complicit in taking bribes and passing laws to protect the profits of First Energy, just doesn\u2019t seem to be a concern to Ohio voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s hard to imagine a bribe so large. $60 million: at least no one can accuse Ohio Republicans of selling out \u201ccheap\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"