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Tag: Jake Zuckerman

  • Millions of Ohioans facing home gas and electric rate hikes

    Millions of Ohioans facing home gas and electric rate hikes

    Duke’s parent company made $820 million in profit in the first quarter of 2022 after netting about $3.6 billion last year. It paid its shareholders $3.1 billion in dividends in 2021 and paid its CEO $16.4 million in salary.

    BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN –Ohio Capital Journal

    Ohio utility companies have asked state regulators for permission to raise home gas, electric and water costs on more than 2.75 million Ohio customers.

    Those charges could be spread between customers of Columbia Gas, AES Ohio, Duke Energy, and Aqua Ohio. The utilities, all investor-owned, are collectively asking for another $400 million in annual charges.

    Any base rate increases require the approval of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which is headed by five commissioners chosen by the governor for five-year terms. The PUCO’s staff review the companies’ requests and pose recommendations to the commissioners, who decide what the utilities can ultimately charge their customers.

    The utilities’ requests come in an inflationary period — consumer prices are up 8.6% over the year ending May 2022 and unleaded gas costs just below $5 per gallon. Last week, the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve said a recession is a possibility.

    “It is bad timing for utilities to be seeking rate increases at the PUCO, with consumers already hurting from soaring energy prices and inflation,” said Bruce Weston, executive director of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, a state agency that represents residential ratepayers in PUCO cases.

    “Ohio should lead with its heart and keep Ohioans connected to their utility services.”

    They also come at a turbulent time for the commission. Its former chairman resigned in 2020 after FBI agents were seen raiding his home. Last summer, the utility FirstEnergy Corp. alleged in court documents that it paid him a $4.3 million bribe for regulatory favors. He has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged. The U.S. Department of Justice twice subpoenaed the PUCO last year for records related to the case.

    Two commissioners previously worked for the companies they now regulate. Commissioner Dan Conway previously represented American Electric Power as an attorney in private practice. Commissioner Lawrence Friedeman has worked for IGS Energy, Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio, Columbia Gas Services, and the Ohio Gas Association.

    Thus far, the PUCO staff has recommended granting slimmed-down versions of rate hike requests from Columbia Gas, Duke and Aqua Ohio. The AES case awaits a key ruling from a PUCO judge. None of the four has reached a final decision.

    A rate freeze would be very bad for customers. It would be damaging to the company’s credit ratings and make it difficult, if not impossible, for the company to provide reliable service.

    – AES Ohio attorney at a PUCO hearing last month

    Columbia Gas

    Columbia Gas asked the PUCO to allow a $221 million annual rate increase for its natural gas distribution service. This would take the form of a fixed fee increase, up from $16.75 per month to $46.31. According to analysis from the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, that could increase to an $80 fixed cost per month in five years.

    PUCO staff identified some evidence of the company padding its costs in their report. When PUCO staff reviewed Columbia’s cost data provided by the utility to justify the hike, they found the company included $304,000 in costs for a workout facility and locker rooms at its downtown headquarters. The report also found an instance where the Columbia acquired five “thermal cameras” for COVID-19 temperature checks, each at a cost of $14,995. PUCO staff called the spending “significantly excessive” compared to a handheld thermometer.

    The PUCO staff recommended the commissioners approve a more modest base distribution revenue increase of between $35 million and $58 million per year. The OCC urged the PUCO to go even lower, proposing a $9.8 million increase.

    The proposed increase was the subject of a handful of sparsely attended public hearings last month. Evidentiary hearings start next month. They’ll be followed by a round of briefings before a final decision, according to a PUCO spokesman.

    NiSource, the utility’s parent company, made $431 million in profits in the first quarter of 2021. Last year, it paid its CEO $6.6 million, and paid its shareholders $345 million in dividends.

    Company spokesman Eric Hardgrove declined to answer specific questions about the gym or the thermometers.

    “Columbia is committed to our customers and the communities we proudly serve,” he said. “To continue to provide safe, affordable and reliable natural gas service, we must continue to invest in our system to upgrade aging infrastructure, just as investments are made in bridges, roads and other infrastructure in our cities, towns and communities. In addition, Columbia offers a wide variety of energy assistance, energy efficiency, payment plans, and PIPP to help customers afford their utility bills.”

    Duke Energy

    Duke Energy, which services 700,000 customers around Cincinnati, proposed raising both its electric rates and its gas rates. (It has comparatively few gas customers).

    On the electric side, the company requested a 10% base distribution revenue increase, which comes out to about $55 million per year.

    According to the OCC, this means a typical residential customer will see a monthly base distribution charge increase from about $37 to $49, costing roughly $144 per year.

    PUCO staff recommended a more modest increase of about .33% to 3%, or about $2 million and $15 million.

    On the gas side, Duke also filed a pre-application with the PUCO to raise its natural gas rates. However, this is in its early procedural stages and wouldn’t take effect until at least 2023.

    For electric costs, the PUCO is holding public hearings next month before an evidentiary hearing, which could take a week or so. Then comes a round of court filings and a commission decision. A PUCO spokesman guessed a decision could come mid-fall at the earliest.

    The utility’s parent company made $820 million in profit in the first quarter of 2022 after netting about $3.6 billion last year. It paid its shareholders $3.1 billion in dividends in 2021 and paid its CEO $16.4 million in salary.

    Company spokeswoman Sally Thelen said Duke is making smart investments to provide “safer and more reliable and secure” energy to customers while “diligently lowering operation and maintenance” costs. She said Duke is allowed to earn a fair return on its investments.

    “We know how vital electricity is to our customers, communities and region, and that energy is a significant monthly expense for our customers,” she said. “We also know that higher bills are never embraced. That’s why we continue to work hard to keep our costs down. We remain committed to helping our customers who may be experiencing financial hardship and struggling to pay their everyday expenses and energy bills. Duke Energy continues to support its customers, and connect them with available assistance and offer tools and programs – including flexible payment plans – to help manage their energy bills.”

    AES Ohio

    AES Ohio — formerly known as Dayton Power and Light, which serves 527,000 western Ohio customers — asked for a 49% base distribution revenue increase worth about $121 million per year.

    According to the OCC, this would raise an average customer’s bill by about $13.42 per month.

    The utility’s parent company, AES, has faltered compared to its peer companies, reporting a $409 million net loss in 2021, as it paid its CEO $14 million in salary. Addressing the PUCO, AES Ohio’s CEO testified to the company’s “very fragile” financial condition, according to the Dayton Daily News.

    In July 2021, the PUCO staff initially recommended a rate increase to boost AES’ base distribution revenues by at least $61 million. However, staff have since sided with arguments raised by the OCC and said the company’s 2009 agreement with the commission blocks the company from raising its rates.

    The question was put before a PUCO judge at a hearing last month. Jeff Sharkey, an attorney representing AES Ohio, made several arguments against the existence of a rate freeze, including that state law doesn’t give the PUCO the power to order one in the first place. He said the utility has already struggled with reliability. A failure to increase its revenue could harm its credit rating, which threatens the company’s service.

    “A rate freeze would be very bad for customers,” he said, according to a transcript of the hearing.

    “It would be damaging to the company’s credit ratings and make it difficult, if not impossible, for the company to provide reliable service.”

    The case awaits a final decision from the PUCO. Company spokeswoman Mary Ann Kabel defended the rate increase request, stating it covers the cost of grid investments.

    “Since our last distribution rate case in 2015, the updated distribution base rates would allow us to recover for investments required and are already completed as a result of the devastating 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes,” she said. “It also allows us to continue performing important activities, such as enhanced tree trimming to reduce the likelihood and length of outages. Over the years, AES Ohio has taken the necessary steps to keep rates reasonable through efficient distribution operations to meet the growing needs of our customers. Today and with the proposed increase we continue to have with the lowest distribution rates of the investor-owned electric utilities in Ohio.”

    Aqua Ohio

    Aqua Ohio, a subsidiary of Essential Utilities, provides treated water for about 150,000 Ohioans. It proposed to the PUCO a base distribution revenue increase of about $8.3 million (12%). Staff counter-proposed a $2.3 million to $4.1 million revenue increase.

    The application is still pending review.

    An unopposed settlement agreement was filed this month by all parties to the case. That settlement awaits approval from the commission. It calls for a rate hike, though less than the company originally requested. It also calls on the company to fund a $20,000 account annually via its shareholders as a bill-pay assistance program for low income customers, and to start disclosing the number of residential service disconnections per year.

    Aqua Ohio’s parent company, Essential Utilities, made nearly $200 million in profits last quarter and $432 million in profits in 2021. Spokesman Jeff La Rue defended the proposed rate increase.

    “Aqua has invested more than $147 million in water since our last rate case,” he said. “That investment is important to ensure safe and reliable services as well as regulatory and environmental compliance. Our rate case is an attempt to recover a portion of that investment.”

  • State health department fires employee over abortion drug reference in newsletter

    State health department fires employee over abortion drug reference in newsletter

    Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom.

    BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN – Ohio Capital Journal


    Two Ohio Department of Health employees lost their jobs after the publication of a newsletter with notice of a training program for a drug used in medical abortions. One was fired, another resigned.

    Jessica Warner, who worked in the sexually transmitted infections unit of the Bureau of Infectious Diseases, authored the department’s STI prevention training newsletter each month. It went out to clinical care providers and local health departments that focus on STIs and HIV in Ohio.

    In the May edition of the newsletter, Warner included an item about looming deadlines for a program through the University of Chicago that trains clinics on providing mifepristone. The drug is usually prescribed for women who experience a miscarriage or seek to induce an abortion within 10 weeks of gestation.

    The mifepristone reference in the newsletter spans about 20 words in length and occurs halfway through.

    “The Mifepristone item in the newsletter is in direct conflict with the agency’s mission and is an embarrassment to ODH,” reads a human resources report on Warner’s firing, which Warner provided to the Ohio Capital Journal.

    Warner was fired Friday. Her supervisor, Karen Nicosia, received a five-day suspension, according to ODH. Nicosia’s supervisor, Laurie Rickert, resigned effective as of Friday. Both Nicosia and Rickert could not be reached for comment.

    HR investigators asked Warner if she knew that her “advocacy” on mifepristone is not supported by the agency, according to a memorandum of their findings that Warner provided. They wrote that she’s aware of ODH’s “posture” on abortion issues. They asked if she believed the topic of abortions was contrary to ODH’s mission.

    “I would hope not,” Warner responded. “It is a public health issue and as public health workers, it would be counterproductive to ODH’s mission to not support health care initiatives … I did this intentionally and did nothing wrong in sharing public health care community resources to health care providers.”

     Screenshot of HR documentation provided by Jessica Warner. Investigators circled the newsletter item that sparked her ouster from ODH.

    While ODH’s memorandum on Warner’s conduct describes ODH’s anti-abortion stance, few outside the department were aware it exists. For instance, the two bipartisan leaders of the House Health Committee said they didn’t know ODH had a formal position on abortion. Lobbyists for both Planned Parenthood, which supports abortion, and Ohio Right to Life, which does not, said in interviews they were unaware as well.

    The department is ran by an appointee of Gov. Mike DeWine, who in 2019 signed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation.

    Warner, an ODH employee since June 2019, sent her last newsletter out at 9:24 a.m. on May 6. Eleven minutes later, Nicosia texted Rickert warning that the newsletter included a mention about a “funding opportunity to expand access to abortion medications.” Rickert, who was on jury duty, couldn’t respond until 10:45 a.m. Warner, at Nicosia’s behest, sent out a “corrected” version without the “abortion-related content” at 11:34 a.m.

    While the mifepristone item drives much of the HR investigation’s focus, the report also lays out elements of various editions of the newsletters that ODH took umbrage with.

    For instance, ODH questioned Warner about newsletter pieces noting National Masturbation Month; Honor Our LGBT Elders Day; International Day Against Homophobia, Panseuxual and Panromantic Visibility Day; SLAM (Sexuality, Liberators, and Movers); Black and Blue – Suicide in our own Leather, Kink and Queer Communities; and National Condom Month.

    Warner said the investigators were particularly interested in the masturbation month element. As she told them, masturbation acts as a preventative to reduce STI transmission. It also functions as a sexual alternative for people who test positive for an STI who don’t wish to spread it to others. Nicosia made similar comments in her interview with HR.

    During the interview, Warner noted she knew that ODH couldn’t work with Planned Parenthood or award it any grants. The investigators asked if she knew why.

    The mifepristone bit overshadowed a grim snapshot of STIs in Ohio noted in Warner’s newsletter. Syphilis, it states, is rising across Ohio in adults and newborn babies of infected mothers. Total syphilis cases increased 46% over a three-year period, and congenital (spreading to a fetus) cases increased from 19 in 2019 to 48 in 2021 — a 152% leap.

    The technical answer: In 2016, Gov. John Kasich signed a GOP-backed law requiring ODH to ensure that its various programs to combat diseases like HIV or cervical cancer didn’t award grants to organizations that perform or promote “nontherapeutic” abortions. The law was upheld in 2019 by a federal appellate court in a challenge brought by Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, which provides abortions along with many other services like cervical cancer screenings and HIV testing.

    Warner, however, answered that it’s because politicians’ “ignorance and opinions get in the way of providing access to necessary health care to Ohioans.”

    Investigators later said Warner “displayed contempt and disrespect to elected leaders” in response to her questioning.

    ODH did not respond to a list of specific questions for this article. Ken Gordon, a department spokesman, said the department generally doesn’t comment on personnel matters. However, he said ODH “disagrees with the characterization of why the employee was terminated.” He declined to answer follow-up questions.

    “As to the issue of abortion, the department follows applicable laws, including Ohio Revised Code 3701.034, which prohibits the use of funding to promote nontherapeutic abortion,” he said.

    Warner’s firing occurred amid a fever pitch of the fight over abortion access in America. The newsletter itself came out three days after the news outlet Politico obtained a leaked, draft version of a Supreme Court decision that reportedly had the votes to overturn Roe v. Wade. She was fired in late June. The Supreme Court is expected to issue its final opinion in the case by month’s end.

    Nicosia noted the timing in her interview with ODH and accused Warner of being an advocate. Warner said she was doing her job as a public health worker.

  • After Uvalde massacre, Ohio GOP hurtles toward arming state’s teachers

    After Uvalde massacre, Ohio GOP hurtles toward arming state’s teachers

    BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN – Ohio Capital Journal

    The Ohio Senate advanced fast-tracked legislation Tuesday that would allow local boards of education to permit teachers to carry guns in classrooms.

    Passage would eviscerate current law in Ohio that allows teachers to arm themselves only after completing more than 700 hours of police training and receiving approval from their local school board.

    Under House Bill 99 — which was largely rewritten and unveiled at the hearing — a school board could allow teachers to arm themselves. The latest version doesn’t specify any minimum amount of training hours, although it states that four hours must be “scenario-based or simulated training exercises.” Instead, it says teachers would need to undergo “initial instruction and training” to carry a weapon that “shall not exceed” 24 hours. From there, the teacher would need annual recertification training which “shall not exceed” eight hours.

    A local board of education would need to opt in to allow its teachers to arm themselves. That board could choose to mandate additional training, but it wouldn’t be required. The training required in the legislation includes the “scenario-based” training, “tactical live firearms training,” and “realistic urban training.”

    Earlier versions of the bill established a minimum of 20 hours of training, plus concealed carry training (another eight hours). It also called for more specific, somewhat warrior-like training requirements.

    “On signal, take a flanking step while drawing and fire three rounds into the preferred area. Upon completion, take appropriate post-shooting actions,” reads a training requirement of the House-passed version of the bill. “The distance from the target shall be thirty feet, the time allowed shall be eight seconds, and the number of rounds allowed shall be three.”

    The Senate committee vote comes on the heels of the May 24 shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which a teenager purchased two assault style rifles that he used to kill 19 young children and two teachers. Seventeen others were wounded.

    At Tuesday’s hearing, two men spoke in support of the bill. The rest of the four hours were occupied by dozens of teachers, teachers’ union officials, anti-gun violence activists, and a Fraternal Order of Police lobbyist, all testifying in opposition.

    The teachers who testified argued it’s unrealistic to think an educator would react prudently and fire accurately at a shooter in a chaotic and precarious situation after mere hours of training. They’d need to execute keen marksmanship in a fraught situation to avoid hitting their own students. Several noted the bill makes no consideration as to how teachers must store the weapon, which could yield a flood of gun violence of its own.

    At times, Sen. Frank Hoagland, a Republican who chairs the committee that reviewed the bill, struggled to rein in the testy crowd. After hearing the hours of testimony in opposition to the bill, Republican Senators passed it regardless. The vote was a flex of political power, and drew shouts of “Shame! Shame!” from the crowd.

    Hoagland, and Sen. Terry Johnson, the number two Republican on the committee, both declined interview requests after the hearing. The legislation will likely go to the Senate floor for a vote Wednesday. The House could, in theory, accept the Senate’s changes on the same day and send the bill to Gov. Mike DeWine.

    Republicans in the Ohio House passed HB 99 earlier this year on a 59-33 vote (Republican Rep. Gayle Manning joined Democrats in opposition). Tuesday’s vote came in lieu of the typical process of holding several hearings on a bill before a roll call. Several speakers said they were unable to procure a copy of the latest version of the bill before Tuesday’s hearing.

    As of 2019, 18 states allow anyone with permission from school authority to carry a weapon, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

    The idea, which gained popularity after a spate of school shootings in the U.S., is broadly unpopular with educators. In a 2019 national survey of 2,926 teachers, more than 95% indicated they don’t believe teachers should carry a gun in the classroom. Even among the 16% of respondents who were gun owners, only 11.5% of them said being armed while teaching should be a part of teacher’s duties. Gallup polling from 2018 found 73% of teachers oppose the idea.

    More Ohioans died from guns last year than any year on record from the Ohio Department of Health’s data warehouse. Earlier this year, analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine found that firearms have overtaken vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death for American children, teens and young adults.

    In the gun friendly and Republican-dominated legislature, the policy response has included eliminating training and background check requirements to carry a concealed weapon; and eliminating a duty to retreat before responding to a perceived attack with deadly force.

    At Tuesday’s hearing, Rob Sexton, a lobbyist with the Buckeye Firearms Association, argued in support of the bill. He said it gives students a “fighting chance” in the face of a shooter. Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Twp., who sponsored the bill, told Senators at a previous hearing the legislation is about clearing up Ohio law.

    “I’m not here to argue whether or not guns should be in schools,” he said. “I’m here to help clarify a gray area in law that will give schools the tools to protect their students if they wish to utilize them.”

  • Early voting starts today. Here are the basics

    Early voting starts today. Here are the basics

    Getty Images photo of voters in line.

    BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN – Ohio Capital Journal

    Despite drawn out legal battles over district lines for state legislative and U.S. House seats, yes, there’s still a May 3 primary in Ohio.

    Monday was the final day to register to vote in time to participate in the May 3 primary. Early voting starts Tuesday. Here are some of the basics from there.

    What are we voting on?

    May’s election will finalize who will represent the Democratic and Republican political parties in the 2022 elections. That includes:

    • Governor
    • Statewide offices (attorney general, auditor, treasurer, secretary of state)
    • U.S. House and Senate
    • Ohio Supreme Court

    Some races, like the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate or Democratic gubernatorial primary, are hotly contested. Some, like the Supreme Court races, are uncontested. Depending on where you live, various political subdivisions have local judicial and municipal candidates and ballot issues like school levies on the ticket as well.

    What aren’t we voting on?

    Ohio House and Senate races. Those district lines, which form 99 state House seats and 33 Senate seats, are typically reconfigured every 10 years. However, in the maiden voyage of an anti-gerrymandering amendment added by voters into the state Constitution, the Ohio Supreme Court has rejected three maps proposed by the Ohio Redistricting Commission along party lines. State Central Committee elections for both parties missed the May 3 ballot as well.  Last week, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a directive calling for elections to proceed, minus the races caught in the redistricting quagmire.

    State lawmakers, who control when primary elections occur, have yet to set a date for the legislative primary contests.

    Read about the third rejection here and the latest fallout here.

    How can I vote absentee?

    Complete an absentee ballot request form by April 30 and mail it to your county board of elections. The board should then provide absentee ballots. The ballot can be sent by mail by May 2 but must be received by no later than 10 days after the election, so the earlier the better.

    Voters should ensure they fill their applications out accurately and thoroughly, include their email and phone number, and track their ballot online, to ensure it’s counted, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

    It can also be delivered to the board in person.

    And early voting?

    Early, in-person voting in Ohio starts April 5. It runs weekdays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the first three weeks of April and for an extra two hours in the final week of the month. It is also available the Saturday and Sunday (April 30 and May 1) before the primary.

    Do I need identification to vote?

    Yes. Acceptable forms of identification include a current, federal or Ohio government-issued photo identification card; a military identification card; a utility bill; a bank statement; a government check; or a paycheck. The Ohio Secretary of State offers further guidance and specifics on its website. Identification issued by non-Ohio states, passports, insurance cards, birth certificates and social security cards do not suffice.

    People who vote at their precincts without such identification can vote provisionally. Their vote will be counted if they return within seven days to provide qualifying identification.

  • Both FirstEnergy and its shareholders seek secrecy around company’s bribes

    Both FirstEnergy and its shareholders seek secrecy around company’s bribes

    BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN – Ohio Capital Journal

    Both FirstEnergy Corp. and its shareholders argued to a federal judge that they shouldn’t be forced to publicly disclose which executives ordered the payment of political bribes that the company admitted to in a related criminal case.

    The two parties are awaiting judicial approval of a proposed settlement from a derivative lawsuit filed by FirstEnergy’s shareholders. The settlement would call for FirstEnergy’s insurers to pay the company $180 million for damages incurred via the company’s role in what prosecutors have described as the largest public corruption manifestation in state history.

    In an agreement with prosecutors reached in July 2021, FirstEnergy as a company admitted to a $60 million bribery scheme anchored by the then-Speaker of the Ohio House, and another $4.3 million bribe to Ohio’s then top utility regulator.

    The statement of facts in that agreement, however, anonymizes the FirstEnergy officials involved in the scandal. The agreement also called for FirstEnergy to pay a $230 million penalty and cooperate with investigators to possibly avert a charge of wire fraud against the company.

    Delaying any possible approval in the shareholder’s derivative case, U.S. District Judge John A. Adams asked the shareholders’ attorneys last week to state who at FirstEnergy ordered the bribe payments,

    Jeroen van Kwawegen, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, demurred and didn’t answer the question, prompting Adams to cut short the hearing. Adams then issued an order calling for any “interested parties” to either provide an answer to his question or offer a good reason why they can’t divulge the information. He threatened the lawyers with contempt and possible expulsion from the case for failure to answer.

    The shareholders, in arguments submitted Wednesday, offered to privately tell the judge who at FirstEnergy ordered the bribes. They said they couldn’t do so publicly because doing so would breach confidentiality rules associated with discovery (the pre-trial evidence exchanging process) and mediation.

    The shareholders’ lawyers said their obligations are to their clients and to FirstEnergy itself — not the public.

    “Such public disclosure could also be harmful to FirstEnergy considering the myriad related criminal and civil proceedings, the ongoing regulatory investigations, and the securities class action pending in the Southern District of Ohio where FirstEnergy is a defendant,” they wrote.

    Kwawegen attached emails attached to the filing showing he asked lawyers FirstEnergy and its former executives if they’d agree to voluntarily disclose some of the information. He was rejected by the company, its former CEO Chuck Jones, Dennis Chack, and Mike Dowling (whose lawyer said they are not inclined to provide a “blanket waiver” but asked for specifics). Jones, Chack and Dowling were all fired in October 2020 amid an internal investigation.

    FirstEnergy made similar arguments. The lawsuit and settlement, its lawyers said, are aimed to recover for harm done to the company because of its actions. Any public accountability, they argued, “risks harm to the interests of FirstEnergy and its stockholders, which is exactly the opposite of what a derivative litigation is supposed to do.”

    Notably silent on the issue: federal prosecutors. They didn’t weigh in either way before the court. A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Kenneth Parker didn’t respond to an inquiry.

    The derivative lawsuit traces back to the passage of House Bill 6 in 2019. The energy overhaul legislation, among other provisions, provided a massive bailout of two nuclear power plants owned at the time by a FirstEnergy subsidiary. Federal prosecutors said the legislation was worth $1.3 billion to the company.

    To ensure it passed and thwart a referendum attempt to repeal it, FirstEnergy admitted to providing $60 million to a nonprofit secretly controlled by then House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford. Householder allegedly used the funds to elect a slate of candidates that would support his bid to become the House Speaker, engineer the bill’s passage, thwart a repeal effort, and enrich himself personally. He has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial, scheduled for January 2023.

    FirstEnergy also admitted to secretly paying $4.3 million to energy attorney Sam Randazzo just before Gov. Mike DeWine named him chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Randazzo has not been accused of a crime and has denied wrongdoing.

  • House GOP leader on Justice Maureen O’Connor impeachment: ‘All options are on the table’

    House GOP leader on Justice Maureen O’Connor impeachment: ‘All options are on the table’

    BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN AND NICK EVANS – Ohio Capital Journal

    Columbus, Ohio – A ranking House Republican left open the possibility of impeaching the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, which this week rejected Republicans’ third proposed legislative redistricting map. 

    During a private GOP caucus phone call Thursday, House Majority Leader Bill Seitz and Rep. Jon Cross voiced support for impeaching Justice Maureen O’Connor, according to a person on the call. O’Connor, also a Republican, has acted as a swing vote on two high-stakes redistricting cases and sided with Democrats on the bench finding the maps disproportionately favored Republicans in violation of the Ohio Constitution. 

    Justice Maureen O’Connor

    Through a spokesman, Seitz, a longtime Cincinnati lawmaker and influential caucus member, declined to comment on caucus discussions but said Friday “nothing has been decided, and that all options are on the table.”

    Cross, a Kenton Republican, declined comment, noting “we (I) don’t comment about caucus meetings.”

    The call, held Thursday afternoon, lasted about 20 minutes, the source on the call said. In it, Seitz presented an argument that included old precedent for the House moving to impeach a justice after an unfavorable court decision. 

    When Cross offered what was described as a more fiery argument for impeachment, House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, ended the call, according to the source. Cupp’s office did not respond to requests for comment about the caucus call or his position on impeachment. 

    Cupp spent six years on the Ohio Supreme Court bench, serving alongside O’Connor for his entire tenure.

    On Facebook Thursday, hours before the caucus call, Cross wrote “enough is enough,” and that O’Connor had violated Ohio law related to altering the time, place or manner of an election.

    The claim about Seitz’ support marks the most senior legislator in favor of the possibility of impeaching O’Connor. Also Thursday, Rep. Scott Wiggam, R-Wooster, a committee chairman, said on social media “it’s time to impeach Maureen O’Connor now.

    https://twitter.com/Scott_Wiggam/status/1504496308584919044

    The hubbub comes in response to the court’s redistricting ruling late Wednesday evening. A four-justice majority found “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the most recent maps violated the constitution, particularly the provisions prohibiting partisan favoritism. While uncertainty remains, the ruling could force lawmakers to either move the May primary election date or create a second primary election date for non-statewide races. In a letter this week, Secretary of State Frank LaRose indicated the plan for now is to proceed with two separate primary elections.

    The decision on whether to pursue impeachment won’t be up to him, but Gov. Mike DeWine advised against the move Friday. 

    “This is an extraordinary measure to take,” he said. “I think we don’t want to go down that pathway, because we disagree with a decision by a court, because we disagree with a decision by an individual judge or justice. Not a good idea.”

    Three House Republicans publicly floated the concept of impeaching DeWine himself in 2020 for his COVID-19 response. The idea went nowhere. 

    The Supreme Court is currently reviewing a second, GOP-proposed congressional redistricting map after overturning the first effort on constitutional grounds. 

    Not long before the redistricting fiasco, O’Connor publicly broke from Republicans on judicial integrity. The Ohio Republican Party, with the 2020 presidential election looming, blasted a lower court’s ruling on election procedures and Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard Frye as a “partisan judge.” In an unusual move, O’Connor called the statement “disgraceful” and “deceitful” and emphasized the concept of judicial independence. 

    “This is a blatant and unfounded attack on the independence of the Ohio judiciary,” she wrote. 

    “To accuse a judge of deciding the matter before him on partisan politics and further accuse the judge of ‘obstruction of his judicial responsibility’ is without merit and is meant to further the false narrative that judges have no conscience, no legal responsibilities, and no capacity to decide what the law is beyond the raw politics of the issue.”

    An impeachment would be an extreme, though not unprecedented reaction. In fact, the Ohio Legislative Service Commission notes all eight impeachments in Ohio’s history were against judges. For instance, in 1808, members of the Ohio House grew angry enough at a ruling by Justice George Tod that they sought his impeachment. He survived via one vote in the state Senate, according to the court. Justice Calvin Pease was impeached and acquitted as well around the same time. 

    The Ohio Supreme Court gave state lawmakers until March 28 to submit a new proposal. The Ohio Redistricting Commission, a bipartisan panel of statewide and legislative officials, is scheduled to meet Saturday. 

    Morgan Trau contributed to this story.

  • Ohio city sues Netflix and Hulu for piece of streaming pie

    Ohio city sues Netflix and Hulu for piece of streaming pie

    BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN – Ohio Capital Journal

    A small, Cleveland suburb has filed a lawsuit against Netflix and Hulu, trying to force the streaming companies to pay a franchise fee typically applied to cable providers.

    The lawsuit is part of a growing national trend of cities in at least 13 states, often pinched by shrinking budgets, targeting the nascent streaming industry for new tax revenues.

    The city’s suit is filed under a state law written and passed in 2007 — when Netflix was mostly mailing its customers DVDs and Hulu had yet to launch.

    Maple Heights, population 23,000, filed a class action suit in federal court in August 2020. Its claim is simple: Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu provide content that reaches customers through DSL and fiber optic cable lines along public rights of way, just like cable providers do.

    Those cable providers must pay a tax of up to 5% of their gross revenue in an area as a “video service provider” fee. If cable companies must pay, Maple Heights argued, then so should Netflix and Hulu. The lawsuit comes as customers increasingly bail on cable and opt for streaming — a trend that’s costing cities money.

    Both Dish Network — which owns both cable and streaming companies — and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost have filed legal arguments supporting Netflix and Hulu. In July, U.S. District Judge James S. Gwin sent two certified questions to the Ohio Supreme Court to answer:

    • Are Netflix and Hulu “video service providers” under Ohio law?
    • Can Maple Heights bring the lawsuit in the first place?

    The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case next month.

    In 2007, bipartisan state legislators passed a law centralizing franchising rights at the state level instead of local. The law defined video service as “the provision of video programming over wires or cables located at least in part in public rights-of-way.” However, it excludes video programming provided solely via a service that offers content “over the public internet.”

    Both the streaming companies emphasized they don’t have any hardware in Ohio, and the law exempts internet companies anyways.

    “Netflix has no wires, cables, or other infrastructure in any Ohio public rights of way,” the company’s lawyers wrote.

    Additionally, the 2007 said a company must provide “video programming” — Netflix argues it doesn’t. Its lawyers said ‘programming’ necessarily means prescheduled shows and movies, as opposed to Netflix’s on-demand content.

    Maple Heights said the content Netflix provides is not only comparable to broadcast television, but “indistinguishable.”

    The city argued the “public internet” exemption referred to internet service providers, not streaming services. And content behind a paywall, it said, isn’t public. As far as hardware: The law only requires the companies to use cables — not build or own them, the argument said.

    “Indeed, [Netflix and Hulu’s] ability to deliver their content — and, in turn, operate their enormously profitable businesses — depends wholly on the quality and strength of these wireline facilities,” lawyers for Maple Heights wrote.

    A Netflix spokeswoman declined to comment. Hulu did not respond to inquiries. Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell and a lawyer representing the city didn’t respond to inquiries.

    Mixed success 

    More and more cities, all with similar laws levying fees on cable companies who rely on the use of public rights of way, have filed similar lawsuits over the past two years.

    A count from Bloomberg Law, current as of October 2021, identified 13 such lawsuits around the country. Four have been dismissed. Most the others are mired in procedural battles, including plaintiffs seeking to keep the cases in state court and the streaming companies seeking to transfer them to federal court.

    In Ohio, cities’ share of state tax collections has dwindled. In 2020, the local government fund, split among cities and townships, received $377 million. In 2010, it was $612 million. In 2000, the fund was $675 million, plus another $95 million in a similar account.

    The Ohio Municipal League, which typically advocates for more local government funding, didn’t respond to inquiries about the case, nor did the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

    Public Knowledge, a Washington D.C.-based think thank focused on tech policy, argued the state interest in franchise fees from cable companies don’t apply to streaming companies.

    Cord-cutters disgorged cities of franchise fee revenues, its lawyers argued, putting the cities in a pickle. But expanding the tax to include streaming services will hike costs for customers and stifle competition from potential competitors.

  • DeWine signs law removing training, background check, permitting requirement to conceal carry

    DeWine signs law removing training, background check, permitting requirement to conceal carry

    BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN – Ohio Capital Journal

    Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law Monday removing training, background check and permitting requirements to carry a concealed weapon in Ohio.

    When the law takes effect in 90 days, all Ohioans aged 21 and older who are lawfully allowed to possess a weapon will be able to carry it concealed on their persons. Prior law required them to undergo eight hours of training, a background check, and an application through their local sheriff.

    The enactment of “constitutional carry” or “permitless carry” marks a long-coveted win for the gun rights movement and firearms lobby, and a major loss for Democrats, anti-gun violence activists, police organizations and public health researchers who opposed it.

    Ohio is now the 23nd state in the U.S. with a permitless carry law, according to a count from the U.S. Concealed Carry Association. Several states including Iowa, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming passed versions of the law in 2021. Alabama signed the legislation into law just last week.“This is a day that will go down in history,” said Dean Rieck, Executive Director of Buckeye Firearms Association. “The brass ring has always been to eliminate the licensing mandate … and now, finally, that day is here. This is a great moment for Ohio and for those who wish to more fully exercise their Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”

    The bill passed the House 58-36, with only Republicans in support. Two Republicans voted in opposition with Democrats, though at least one said he did so only because the bill does not go far enough.

    It passed in the Senate 24-9. All Democrats voted against the bill. Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, voted against the bill when the Senate first passed it in December. However, he reversed on the final Senate vote.

    Supporters of the legislation say it’s a logical extension of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

    Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, the bill’s lead sponsor, said in a floor speech the bill is also in some ways a response to protesters “burning down their own cities” — a reference to racial justice protests that formed in the wake of a police officer murdering George Floyd during a stop in the summer of 2020.

    Critics say the policy will enable undertrained and possibly dangerous or unstable people to carry a concealed weapon. Public health research has linked concealed carry policies to increases in violent crimes.

    For instance, the American Journal of Public Health found that states with looser concealed carry regulations were associated with an 11% increase in handgun homicide rates than states with stricter policies. Modeling from the National Bureau of Economic Research found states that adopt concealed carry laws experience between a 13% and 15% increase in violent crime in the 10 years after implementation.

    According to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, between 1999 and 2020 there have been large increases in annual rates of homicides (123%) and suicides (49%) in the state. While the prevalence of guns in suicides is steady, they’re becoming increasingly prevalent in homicides.

    However, gun supporters often point to a study published in the American College of Surgeons that didn’t identify any significant association after states adopted looser gun policies.

    In a statement, House Minority Leader Allison Russo criticized DeWine, emphasizing the thousands of concealed carry permits that are denied, revoked or suspended every year under the current system. While permitless carry doesn’t change who can possess a gun, it removes an additional layer of scrutiny within the current system.

    “Removing these responsible and reasonable precautions compromises the safety and security of our communities and law enforcement,” Russo said. “SB 215 completely betrays Ohioans who have called time after time for commonsense gun safety legislation, not extreme bills that endanger the lives of our children and families. Republicans have made it crystal clear that they value the approval of the gun lobby more than the lives of Ohioans and the police officers who protect our communities every day.”

    Gary Wolske, president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, spoke out against the law in a Columbus Dispatch column. He argued the requirement to seek a permit is a reasonable one that strikes a balance between constitutional rights, officer safety, and public safety. The new law also removes a requirement under current law that those carrying a weapon “promptly” notify an officer that they’re armed. Instead, people who are carrying need only inform an officer they’re armed if the officer asks.

    Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images

    The Ohio Supreme Court has held since 2003 that “there is no constitutional right to bear concealed weapons.” While the right to bear arms, the court said, is fundamental, it is not without limitations.

    Since then, Ohio has steadily loosened its gun laws.

    Ohio first enacted a concealed program shortly thereafter in 2004. Several of its sponsors at the time remain in office including (by their current offices) Auditor Keith Faber, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted; congressmen Bob Gibbs, Jim Jordan and Bob Latta; state Sens. Bob Peterson, Tim Schaffer and Kirk Schuring; and state Reps. Jamie Callender, Bill Seitz, Scott Oelslager, Tom Patton and Jean Schmidt.

    Two years later, the legislature passed a law preemptively blocking Ohio cities from passing any gun restrictions stricter than those established by the state. The law was used to squash lawsuits from Ohio cities including Clyde, Cleveland and Cincinnati seeking to regulate guns within their borders.

    In March 2015, a new law reduced the required training hours to receive a concealed carry permit to eight from 12. Early last year, Gov. Mike DeWine signed a “stand your ground” bill into law, which removes the legal requirement that a person try to retreat from a perceived attack before responding with lethal force.

    The governor announced passage of the permitless carry bill in a news release comingled with several other bills. He didn’t offer any comment.

  • COVID vaccination hits record lull in Ohio; less than 2 in 3 are vaccinated

    COVID vaccination hits record lull in Ohio; less than 2 in 3 are vaccinated

     A Columbus Fire Department member dons gloves while working at a mass vaccination site at the Celeste Center in Columbus. Photo by Jake Zuckerman, Ohio Capital Journal.

    BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN – Ohio Capital Journal

    Ohio’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign has hit a new lull after two months of record low numbers of residents getting vaccinated.

    While the concept of diminishing marginal returns would suggest this is to be expected, Ohio remains under-vaccinated on a national and international scale. Just 62% of state residents are vaccine-started, and 57% are vaccine completed.

    Ranked by state, Ohio is the 8th least vaccine-started in the nation and the 17th least fully-vaccinated, according to data from The New York Times. Americans nationally, despite widespread access to vaccines, are about 76% vaccine-started. That’s below a list of countries both wealthy and poor including Cuba (94%), Chile (93%), Canada (86%) and Vietnam (81%), according to Our World in Data, a global, public dataset tracking the pandemic. Ohio is about as vaccine-started as Pakistan (63%).

    While COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are significantly down from the winter surge, vaccination is still key for the present and future. It provides powerful, direct protection to the recipient. It also, when enough people in a community are vaccinated, provides indirect protection for those who aren’t vaccinated or have weaker immune systems.

    The consequences of the low vaccination rate are simple and lethal. About 22,000 Ohioans have died of COVID-19 since Jan. 1, 2021. About 95% of them were unvaccinated. In the same period, 64,000 Ohioans were hospitalized with the disease. About 93.5% of them were unvaccinated.

    At the more local level, more than half of Ohio’s 88 counties harbor populations where less than 1 in 2 residents are vaccinated, according to an analysis of state data. These counties tend to be more rural and Appalachian.

    Like other frontiers of the pandemic, vaccination became mired in partisan politics with real human consequences. On average, former President Donald Trump won 53% of the vote share statewide in the 2020 elections. But in Ohio counties that are less than 50% vaccinated, Trump won on average 74% of the votes.

    While COVID-19 deaths concentrated in populous, urban centers early in the pandemic, the paradigm shifted after vaccines became available, according to the Pew Research Center. By late 2021, death rates in the counties Trump won most decisively were about four times those of President Joe Biden’s winningest counties.

    On a statewide basis, older Ohioans are vaccinated at significantly higher rates than their younger counterparts. For instance, those 65 and older are between 80% and 85% vaccinated. Those aged 20 to 49 are between 51% and 63% vaccinated.

     Source: Ohio Department of Health. Graph by Jake Zuckerman.

    Ohio schools require vaccination as a term of enrollment against a broad spectrum of infectious diseases like measles and chicken pox, yielding immunization coverage between about 75% to 95% depending on the disease.

    However, the conservative state legislature has signaled an unlikeliness to mandate coronavirus vaccination.

    Republicans in both chambers of the General Assembly passed legislation in 2021 blocking schools and colleges from mandating receipt of COVID-19 vaccines that are only federally approved on an emergency basis. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine have since received full federal approval.

    The Ohio House passed legislation prohibiting a wide range of employers, businesses and schools from requiring receipt of any vaccine, not just the COVID-19 vaccine. The Senate has not voted on the bill.

  • Ohio pensions have $38 mil in Russian-owned gas company; $147 mil more in region

    Ohio pensions have $38 mil in Russian-owned gas company; $147 mil more in region

    BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN – Ohio Capital Journal

    Two Ohio public employee pension programs currently have a combined $38 million invested a Russian state-owned natural gas company, while another pension program has $147 million invested in the region.

    The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) has about $25.1 million invested in Gazprom in a combination of stocks and bonds, according to a spokesman.

    The School Employees Retirement System (SERS) has about $13 million invested in the company, according to a spokesman.

    The School Teachers Retirement System (STRS) did not offer specifics on Gazprom, but a spokesman said it has about $147 million in Russia and Ukraine.

    Gazprom is a natural gas driller, shipper, and seller, controlled by the Russian government and among the largest companies in the world.

    Some investors have pulled out of the company in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has included attacks on civilians. For instance, Shell announced Monday it’s ending an “equity partnership” in multiple Gazprom ventures. BP announced it’s pulling out of investments with a different Russian state-owned gas company. The U.S. and other western countries have imposed sanctions on Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline and other sweeping penalties aimed at Russia.

    Gazprom’s stock price, meanwhile, has plummeted.

    None of the Ohio pensions announced plans to divest, and they all emphasized that their Gazprom and Russian holdings are but a small percentage of their investments.

    For instance, OPERS spokesman Michael Pramik said its $25.1 million in Gazprom amounts to .02% of its $123.8 billion in investments. Pramik didn’t answer directly whether the pension plans to divest, but said it is in compliance with federal restrictions on foreign economic activity.

    “On a personal level, we are disturbed by the events taking place this week and hope for a peaceful resolution and the safety of the Ukrainian people,” he said.

    Spokesman Tim Barbour said SERS’ $13 million in Gazprom amounts to .0007% of its $18.2 billion in investments. He noted the pension’s stake in Gazprom has decreased from $26.5 million in 2014. He said the pension has “encouraged” portfolio managers to find alternate choices.

    “At this time, we have not determined if additional measures will be implemented in our investment strategies due to Russia’s unprovoked military attack on sovereign Ukraine,” he said.

    The Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund does not have any investments in Gazprom, per a spokesman. The Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System said the same.

    In a letter Wednesday, Attorney General Dave Yost asked the pensions to divest from Russian investments.

    “I write today to request with exceptional urgency that you inventory your Russian equities and move to divest them with all deliberate speed, if you have not already done so,” he said. “This is a matter of moral imperative, for Russia’s aggression must not be supported with Ohio capital — particularly the retirement assets of Ohio public employees, some of whom are of Ukranian descent.”