Statement from State Representative Riordan McClain

State Rep. Riordan McClain (R-Upper Sandusky) issues the following statement regarding bailout funds to be removed from House Bill 6.

“On July 23, 2019, exactly one year ago today, my colleagues and I were called to the Statehouse for an emergency session to vote on House Bill 6. I voted “No” on that date and now a year later I have even greater opposition to this taxpayer funded bailout.

“The fact that this legislation has now been associated with what has been alleged to be the “largest bribery scheme in the history of the state of Ohio” paints a dark cloud over the Ohio Clean Air Program, which was created by the bill. I am taking action to repeal the sections of this bill that create and fund this program and have been tainted by these allegations.

“The announcement of the charges and allegations this week proves that our justice system works and will pursue anyone if necessary. To restore faith in our legislative process, we must take action to not let this program reward those who are still set to benefit.

“This bill was sold to the public as an overall ratepayer decrease in monthly payments and that technically is true. The bill accomplished this by immediately reducing and ultimately eliminating many of the renewable energy benchmarks and energy efficiency standards that are in place. The bill then simultaneously adds a new Ohio Clean Air Program with new rate payer monthly fees as its funding source. This program is tailored to provide those dollars to primarily the nuclear energy plants in Ohio. The program fees are less than the energy mandates and thus creating a savings for ratepayers.

“The Legislative Services Commission (LSC) analysis estimates that House Bill 6 would save ratepayers (residential, commercial, and industrial) $2.3 billion over its life, which is a great thing. However, we can retain those savings by keeping the sections of the bill that reduce and eliminate energy mandates while saving Ohioans an additional $1.5+ billion by eliminating the Ohio Clean Air Program.

“If the supporters of this program feel it as critical, let us begin a new debate without outside influence and perceived bias. It is critical for Ohioans to trust their political process and rooting out the result of alleged illegal activity is a great start.”