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Thanks to members like you,
we raised $34,938 for our year end campaign. Thank you for
your support.
We have a lot planned for 2023, and with your help, we’re
excited to get down to it.
Here's what's ahead:
Larry
Householder racketeering trial begins
If you tuned out after FirstEnergy admitted in 2021 that it
paid $64+ million in bribes to two public officials in exchange for
regulatory favors, it’s time to tune back in.
Going on three years after the scandal broke, we're still
learning the extent of the money web that supported the tainted House
Bil 6. According to newly revealed information by federal prosecutors,
FirstEnergy paid 400,000 to dark money
group "Hardworking Americans" for political ads targeting
Householder’s 2018 primary opponent, Kevin Black. The utility later
paid another $500,000 to "Hardworking Ohioans" for ads to support
“Team Householder candidates.”
Also, we recently learned that Ohio Attorney General Dave
Yost and former lawmakers Dave Greenspan, Kyle Koehler and Jay
Hottinger have been subpoenaed to testify
in the case.
Jury selection begins January
20. Get ready for the utility corruption trial of the
century.
It's not just the corruption - the fallout from HB6 includes
the continued assault on Ohio's clean energy economy. Utility
ratepayers are still forced to pay nearly $80,000/day to bail out the
OVEC coal plants, our clean energy standards were rolled
back and it killed off our energy-efficiency
programs.
House
Joint Resolution 6 will be reintroduced
The idea to raise the threshold in Ohio for
passing constitutional amendments is still on the agenda for some
lawmakers in Columbus.
About a
week after a third of House Republicans united with Democrats to elect
Republican Jason Stephens speaker, the other Republicans are forming a
“third caucus” to proceed with plans to limit direct democracy in
Ohio.
The reintroduced resolution is even
worse: The new rules double the number of counties from
which signatures must be collected to put a citizen-led initiative on
the ballot and eliminate the 10-day cure period that allows
petitioners to gather more signatures if their initial drive falls
short.
Raising the bar higher belies their
fear of the power of the people.
PUCO open
seat
The
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) seeks to fill a vacancy
for one of its five commissioners.
It was almost
exactly one year ago when Governor Mike DeWine pledged he
would not appoint anyone to fill a vacancy as PUCO Commissioner with
ties to the energy & utility industry.
We will
be paying close attention to how he keeps (or doesn't keep) his word
on this subject, because we all know Ohio utility regulation and
energy policy pass through the Commission.
As we look forward to the year ahead we are grateful
to you, our members and supporters, for your attention and
action. Whether you read our emails, take action on
our campaigns, attend our workshops and talks, or are a long-time
contributor, thank you so much for your continued
support.
Stay tuned and Happy New Year!
Ohio Citizen Action
P.S. If you didn't get a chance to support our year-end
campaign please consider a special gift today !
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