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Husted's proposal doesn't list specifics
By Dennis Willard
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Sunday, Jan 13, 2008
COLUMBUS: From January, 2007 through last Thursday, lawmakers in the Ohio House and Senate had introduced 702 bills.
These proposals range in seriousness from the $52 billion two-year state budget to legislation naming a portion of a highway after Bobby Rahal.
The vast majority of bills are not controversial.
Then again, every two years or so, someone introduces a ''money'' bill.
A money bill is legislation that directly affects a wide swath of stakeholders with competing interests and deep pockets.
This session's money bill is Senate Bill 221, sponsored by state Sen. Robert Schuler, R-Cincinnati.
You probably have heard it called Gov. Ted Strickland's energy bill.
Strickland's proposal would, in effect, reregulate the electric utility industry in Ohio, provide more oversight power to the Public Utilities Commission and set benchmarks for the state in moving toward renewable and alternative sources of energy.
The true beauty of Senate Bill 221, from the perspective of a lawmaker or the governor, is the breadth of the potential impact the legislation could have on utilities, manufacturers large and small, the coal industry, farmers, alternative energy entrepreneurs, energy wholesalers and retailers, unions and so on.
In Ohio, the electric utility industry alone is valued at $14 billion annually.
Around the statehouse, money bills are often jokingly referred to as full employment acts for lobbyists, and this session's energy bill is no exception.
Akron-based First Energy has 26 lobbyists on file with the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.
But Tony Alexander, First Energy CEO and president, isn't the only one hiring these days.
All you have to do is attend one of the hearings on Senate Bill 221 to get an idea of the amount of lobbying firepower the stakeholders are throwing at the proposal.
Money bills play another crucial role in the circle of political life in Columbus because there is no easier time to raise campaign dollars than when lawmakers are deliberating over a bill that will determine winners and losers in a multi-billion dollar industry.
Catherine Turcer and Jason Danklefsen of Ohio Citizen Action studied contributions from stakeholders in the energy bill to Strickland and lawmakers from January, 2005 through June, 2007 and came up with $2.5 million.
Electric utilities gave $1 million, major industrial energy users $816,000, and the coal industry kicked in more than $750,000.
Strickland, in a year-end interview with the Beacon Journal, talked about having meetings with key energy stakeholders in his office.
The governor told the newspaper he wanted to hear from all stakeholders before outlining an energy policy for Ohio's future.
Turcer and Citizen Action view these meetings in a different light.
The watchdog group maintains political players and contributors have better access to the governor and more input in shaping policy than groups that represent the public.
Turcer and crew also noted that House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, held private meetings in his office with stakeholders.
For clarity purposes, Strickland and Husted met with stakeholders after the governor outlined his energy policy in late August, 2007, well after the contributions in the Citizen Action report were already collected and most likely spent.
But that doesn't mean fundraisers for Strickland and lawmakers haven't been busy calling on these same stakeholders to ante up for the 2008 elections.
The bill was passed by the Ohio Senate and is now being heard in the Ohio House.
Last week, Husted outlined his chamber's goals for the energy bill.
The speaker's proposal echoed many of the same themes in Strickland's and the Ohio Senate's plan, but Husted was careful to not include specifics in his outline.
So until the House amends the bill in the coming weeks, no one knows whether the lower chamber's version will mirror the governor's plan and move the state toward reregulating the electric utility industry or take a different tact toward creating a competitive marketplace for electricity in Ohio.
Husted's plan at this point offers just the right combination of hope and fear to all the stakeholders involved to keep them actively interested in the political process, which means retaining lobbyists and writing hefty campaign contribution checks.
Dennis J. Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
COLUMBUS: From January, 2007 through last Thursday, lawmakers in the Ohio House and Senate had introduced 702 bills.
Get the full article here.
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