Ohio Surcharges for Nuclear, Coal, and Solar Subsidies and Decrease to Renewable Standards Referendum (2020)

Ohio Surcharges for Nuclear, Coal, and Solar Subsidies and Decrease to Renewable Standards Referendum
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Energy
Status Not on the ballot
Type Referendum	Origin Citizens

The Ohio Surcharges for Nuclear, Coal, and Solar Subsidies and Decrease to Renewable Standards Referendum was not on the ballot in Ohio as a veto referendum on November 3, 2020.

The ballot measure sought to overturn House Bill 6 (HB 6), which was designed to enact surcharges on customers of electric utilities to provide credits to:

• FirstEnergy Solutions' Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station and Perry Nuclear Power Plant;
• Ohio Valley Electric Corporation's (OVEC) two coal-fired power stations; and
• six solar-power stations.

HB 6 was also designed to decrease the state's renewable portfolio standard from 12.5 percent (by 2027) to 8.5 percent (by 2026) and decrease the state's energy efficiency standards from a 22-percent reduction from 2008 levels to 17.5-percent reduction from 2008 levels by 2027.

Signatures for the veto referendum were due on October 21, 2019, and the campaign behind the referendum did not file signatures.

Aftermath

On July 16, 2020, Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder was arrested on federal racketeering charges related to House Bill 6. The charges outlined instances of alleged petition blocking against the veto referendum. On March 9, 2023, Householder was found guilty by a federal jury of participating in a racketeering conspiracy.

• The federal charges stated that Neil Clark, who was also charged, "explained, ‘so we have to go out on the corners and buy out their people every day.’ …When questioned about the logistics of the operation, Clark was very coy, but explained that they have 235 spotters in the field and that the spotters call and say people are here and then others go buy them off. Clark continued, ‘if we knock off 25 people, collecting signatures, it virtually wipes them out in the next 20 days…’" One specific allegation involved a signature gatherer being offered $2,500 and airplane fare to leave Ohio.
• The federal charges stated that Generation Now “subverted the Ballot Campaign by hiring signature collection firms in an effort to conflict them from working for the Ballot Campaign. Bank records show that between July 23, 2019 and July 30, 2019, Generation Now spent over $549,250 retaining the services of national signature collection firms to defeat the ballot initiative. … “[Clark] repeated that he had ‘hired them to not work.’ Clark continued, explaining that he had hired 15 companies nationwide—nine of the biggest ones…”
• Householder and Matthew Borges, a former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, were found guilty by a federal court on March 9, 2023. Each face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

Text of measure

Full text

The full text of the measure is available here.

Support for veto referendum

Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts led the campaign for the veto referendum to repeal House Bill 6.

Arguments

• Gene Pierce, spokesperson for Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts, said, "Ohio families and businesses know H.B. 6 is a costly attack on Ohio consumers. This is the first step in rolling back this corporate bailout and reinstating Ohio's renewable standards."

Opposition to veto referendum

Ohioans for Energy Security, which registered as an LLC, led the campaign against the veto referendum.

Arguments

• The website of Ohioans for Energy Security said, "They shut down our factories. Now they’re coming for our jobs. They are taking over our electric grid and other energy infrastructure, and they’ve meddled in our elections. Now they want our money. Now they want our jobs. Don’t let them risk our national security. When they ask you to sign their petition … SAY NO. DON’T ALLOW CHINA CONTROL OVER OHIO!"

Background

House Bill 6 (2019)

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed House Bill 6 (HB 6) into law on July 23, 2019. Rep. Jamie Callender (R-61) and Rep. Shane Wilkin (R-91) sponsored HB 6. The final version of HB 6 was passed in the Ohio State Senate on July 17, 2019. The vote was 19-12. The Ohio House of Representatives passed HB 6 on July 23, 2019, in a vote of 51-38.

Vote in the Ohio State Senate July 17, 2019
Requirement: Simple majority vote of members
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	19	12	2
Total percent	57.58%	36.36%	6.06%
Democrat	3	6	0
Republican	16	6	2

Vote in the Ohio House of Representatives July 23, 2019
Requirement: Simple majority vote of members
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	51	38	10
Total percent	51.52%	38.38%	10.10%
Democrat	9	23	6
Republican	42	15	4

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Ohio

In Ohio, the number of signatures required to get a veto referendum placed on the ballot is equal to 6 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Ohio also requires referendum sponsors to submit 1,000 signatures with the initial petition application. Ohio has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures be gathered from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. Petitioners must gather signatures equal to a minimum of half the total required percentage of the gubernatorial vote in each of the 44 counties. Signatures are due within 90 days after the law or section of law to be referred has been filed with the secretary of state by the governor.

The requirements to get a veto referendum certified for the 2020 ballot:

• Signatures: 266,774 valid signatures
• Deadline: Within 90 days after the targeted bill was filed with the secretary of state.

County boards of elections are responsible for verifying signatures, and the secretary of state must determine the sufficiency of the signature petition at least 105 days before the election. If the first batch of signatures is determined to be insufficient, the petitioners are given a ten-day window to collect more signatures.

Stages of this initiative

On July 29, 2019, the campaign Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts filed a petition for the veto referendum, along with 2,866 signatures. On August 12, 2019, Attorney General Dave Yost determined that the petition summary was not a fair and truthful statement on House Bill 6 and rejected the initial version of the petition submitted on July 29, 2019. The group resubmitted a revised version of the petition on August 16, 2019. Attorney General Yost approved the resubmitted version on August 29, 2019.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed House Bill 6 (HB 6) on July 23, 2019. As signatures for the veto referendum needed to be filed 90 days after the bill's enrollment, Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts had until October 21, 2019, to collect the 265,774 required signatures.

Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts announced that the campaign failed to collect enough signatures to place the veto referendum on the ballot. Gene Pierce, the campaign's spokesperson, said, "The bottom line is that the smear campaign and the lies and deceit of the House Bill 6 supporters were successful in confusing Ohioans and discouraging them from signing our petition."

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• Energy on the ballot
• Nuclear issues on the ballot

Ohio

• Ohio ballot measures
• Ohio ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls