Lawmakers agree: Ohio must create more energy to avoid blackouts and high electric bills while still powering new data centers and technology.

But they have slightly different ideas about how to attract new energy generators to Ohio while cutting the fees that consumers currently pay.

During a Wednesday debate on the House floor, lawmakers focused on fees tacked onto Ohioans’ electric bills for two coal plants, including one in Indiana.

“This is the last pillar of the largest scandal in our state’s history,” said Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Township, referencing a pay-to-play scheme that sent former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder to prison for 20 years. “An industry is going to understand when you get caught, not making a bad deal but bribing an official, these members in the House are going to work hard to remove any benefit you got.”

But not everyone was convinced. Former Speaker Jason Stephens, a Kitts Hill Republican who represents the area where the Ohio plant is located, said it was “totally unfair” to end the coal plant fees immediately. Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport, said the coal plant fees should continue − or at least give companies time to adjust.

After that debate, lawmakers in the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 15, 90-3, which aims to tackle many of the state’s energy policy problems. The Ohio Senate unanimously passed a different proposal, Senate Bill 2, last week.

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Both proposed laws have faced dozens of revisions and could face several more before any sweeping energy policy is delivered to GOP Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk.

What would House Bill 15 do?

The House’s sweeping energy bill, sponsored by Rep. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, would:

• Eliminate fees on Ohioans’ electric bills for two coal plants, including one in Indiana. Ohioans have already paid more than $670 million for the two Ohio Valley Electric Corporation coal plants, which are owned by several utilities, since 2017, according to an Ohio Manufacturing Association report. Eliminating the fee would save Ohioans $591.4 million through 2030, according to a fiscal analysis. In committee, lawmakers rejected an amendment that would have ended the OVEC fees on Dec. 31, 2026, instead of immediately. Committee chairman Adam Holmes said Ohioans couldn’t afford to extend the deadline. “We have to speak for them.”
• End a solar energy generation fee, which has collected more than $60 million from Ohioans. Most of that money hasn’t been spent, according to Cleveland.com. The House plan would give Ohioans refunds for these fees. Both fees were included in a 2019 law, called House Bill 6, which also included a $1 billion bailout for nuclear plants. That law was at the heart of a federal investigation into corruption at the Ohio Statehouse.
• Reduce taxes on property owned by new energy generators from 24% to 7%. Existing power plants would be taxed the same, alleviating a concern from local school boards that they would lose money.
• Reduce taxes on new transmission and distribution property from 88% to 25%.
• Require more scrutiny of fees added to Ohioans’ electric bills by eliminating electric security plans, which tack on charges that receive less review from utility regulators.
• Require utilities to refund fees once the Ohio Supreme Court finds them unlawful, imprudent or improper. The refunds would start when the court issues a decision, not when they were first applied.

“Today is a big win for the pocketbooks of Ohio,” said Rep. Sean Patrick Brennan, D-Parma.

How are the House and Senate bills different?

Both bills want to improve access to energy in Ohio and protect ratepayers. But they approach them in slightly different ways. Those changes must be hashed out before DeWine can sign these policies into law.

Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said those conversations will happen next month, but both chambers agree: “We’re not subsidizing directly utilities anymore.”

Those differences include:

• Tax rates. Senate Bill 2 would eliminate the tangible personal property tax, which is assessed on business property, for energy first generated in 2026 or later. The House bill would tax it at 7%.
• What happens with solar fees already collected. The House would refund customers. The Senate proposed giving the money to schools to improve their energy efficiency.
• New ideas. The House version would create a Community Energy Pilot Program, which would allow customers to opt into smaller, local projects for solar, wind, natural gas generators, biomass, hydroelectric or fuel cells.
• Where anaerobic digesters can be placed. The Senate version would allow county commissioners, zoning appeals boards, township trustees and municipal councils to decide where these tanks that break down waste, manure and other organic matter.
• Thermostat control. A last-minute Senate change would allow consumers to receive a $40 annual credit from their utility if they give the utility access to their smart thermostat so it can be adjusted from one to three degrees during peak energy hours and do not override it more than 50% of the time.

State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@gannett.com or @jbalmert on X. 

• Over the weekend, over a thousand people packed a venue in Columbus for a mock ‘town hall’ to denounce Republican members of Congress for not opposing actions by Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
• The event is part of a slew of protests and creative actions, like missing posters made for Ohio’s Senators, by central Ohio protesters since Trump took office.
• Residents say their lawmakers are difficult to reach. They struggle to get meetings even with their staff and receive form letter responses.
• Republican lawmakers say they are meeting with constituents.
• Senator Bernie Moreno accused protesters of being funded by dark money. Organizers refute this.

Over the weekend, more than a thousand people packed the Valley Dale Ballroom in Columbus for a rally hosted by Indivisible Central Ohio at which speakers derided their Republican members of Congress for not opposing cuts and other actions by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Organizers called the Saturday event a “town hall” and set empty chairs on stage for Ohio’s Republican senators, Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, who did not respond to organizers’ invitations to attend. Moreno was at the Tuscarawas County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday.

In protest, the group posed questions they would’ve asked the senators to ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence platform.

“The purpose of the event was to show how desperate people are to protect their country, their democracy and how desperate they are to see our elected representatives, our senators, feel the same kind of concern we do,” said one of the organizers, Clintonville resident Mia Lewis, 63. “We knew that it was a congressional recess and we figured hey, they’re here, part of their job is coming home periodically to talk to their constituents. Let’s invite them to something.”

Indivisible Central Ohio also invited Franklin County’s U.S. representatives, Republican Mike Carey and Democrat Joyce Beatty, who both told organizers they had prior commitments. Beatty provided a statement to be read at the event.

Saturday’s event mirrors so-called town halls held nationwide over the weekend and in recent weeks as many Americans express outrage at Trump’s actions and frustration with their members of Congress. This event was part of a slew of protests in central Ohio, including demonstrations at the Ohio Statehouse; weekly Wednesday demonstrations in front of the John W. Bricker Federal Building, Downtown, where Moreno has an office; and weekly Saturday demonstrations against Musk outside the Tesla dealership at Easton Town Center.

Trump’s net approval rating is nearly even, according to recent polls, with about half of Americans disapproving and half approving. For many who disapprove, they feel compelled to speak out.

The recent level of constituents reaching out to members of Congress and participating in political events is unusually high and shows a lot of concern, said Paul Beck, professor emeritus of political science at Ohio State University. 

“It takes a lot to motivate people to get out of their easy chair, particularly on a February or March day when it’s either snowing or cold outside,” Beck said.

Central Ohioans who have tried to reach their Republican lawmakers accuse them of being unresponsive to constituents. They say it’s difficult to get meetings even with staffers or they receive form letter responses that don’t address their concerns.

Indivisible Central Ohio and others have called on their members of Congress to host their own town halls and hear from constituents. Demonstrators have made missing posters to try to shame Moreno, Husted and Carey.

Husted and Carey’s offices say they are meeting with voters and attending public events. An aide for Husted said he is holding events open to Ohioans — in Washington, D.C. A spokesperson for Moreno accused Indivisible Central Ohio protesters of being funded by dark money. Organizers refute that.

Meryl Neiman, 58, a Bexley resident and organizer with Indivisible Central Ohio, said members of Congress should listen to their constituents, whether or not they voted for them.

“That’s your job — not to take abuse — but be willing to stand up and have the spine to explain why you’re doing what you’re doing or not doing,” Neiman said.

Republican leadership, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, has recently encouraged Republican lawmakers to avoid town halls since anti-Trump protesters have started showing up.

Neiman would like to ask Ohio’s senators:

“I’d like to know what line in the sand the president might cross that would cause you to speak up and say something or even consider impeachment,” Neiman said. “For example, if the president openly defies a decision by the Supreme Court, at that point would you stand up and say something?”

In her statement read at Saturday’s event, Beatty said:

“I hear you. We hear you. Democrats hear you. So many of you have called my office, sent letters, emails, posted on social media, and more, pleading with us to act. We see it all, and we’re hard at work to protect your hard-earned freedoms and resources. Personally, like you, I am frustrated and even angry with this Trump/Musk administration.”

Congress members say they are holding events, meeting with voters

Jack Chambers, a spokesperson for Carey, said Carey spent the recess last week meeting with constituents, including at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s State of the Region event. He also pointed to meetings Carey had with the family of a World War II Aircraft gunner turning 100, the leadership of the Community Action Center of Fayette County, and the Messer Construction Company.

An aide for Husted told The Dispatch in an email that Husted has been part of 70 meetings with Ohioans and Ohio employers since being appointed senator in January and his staff has taken more than 140 meetings.

The aide wrote, “Sen. Husted is holding events that are public and open to all Ohioans, including one this morning. About 50 people attended his Husted Huddle on March 11.”

Asked where these open events are held, the aide said the huddles are held periodically in Washington.

Some residents have criticized Husted for not opening an office in Ohio yet. His aide said, “We are actively onboarding state staff and opening multiple offices across Ohio over the coming weeks.”

They added, “We’ve overcome technical challenges in the Senate voice mail system so that Ohioans can share their thoughts with the senator.”

Carey and Husted have frequently expressed support for Trump and Trump’s policies.

“Ohioans have made it clear they’re grateful to see Washington finally keeping its promise to stop the wasteful spending that fueled inflation and hurts Ohio families and workers,” the Husted aide said. “So far, we’ve seen this administration take steps to give taxpayers better federal services at lower costs — the opposite of the pattern they’ve seen from Washington for too long. If there are any unintended consequences of the administration’s work to save taxpayer money, we expect the president’s team will continue working to resolve them quickly.”

Moreno says protesters funded by dark money

Moreno’s office accused Indivisible Central Ohio of being funded by dark money in an emailed statement to The Dispatch.

“It’s no surprise that the same liberal billionaires who funded Sherrod Brown’s failing campaign are now propping up dark money groups like Indivisible to lie to Ohioans. Senator Moreno’s top priority is fighting every day for Ohioans of all stripes, no matter what lies radical leftists throw at him,” said Reagan McCarthy, a spokesperson for Moreno.

Moreno has previously accused protesters outside his office of being funded by dark money and on X earlier this month shared a screenshot from a conservative political website, The Washington Free Beacon. The screenshot of a headline said, “Activist with criminal record spearheads weekly Bernie Moreno protests,” referencing Neiman.

Neiman was arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing in 2018 for her involvement in a sit-in inside then-Sen. Rob Portman’s office during Trump’s first term. She was protesting family separation at the border.

“These people don’t have the courage to host a town hall but they take shots at constituents from behind social media,” Neiman said. “They’re constantly talking about our dark money funding, and I’m like, where is it?”

She said while the national Indivisible movement may have big donors, the local group doesn’t.

More protests planned

Mary Mynatt, 73, of Grove City, a leader with Indivisible Central Ohio who founded Progress Grove City, participated in two protests on Tuesday. She and others took a stack of postcards and pink slips written by constituents at the Saturday event to Carey’s office Tuesday afternoon at 140 E. Town St. Afterward, they demonstrated with signs outside Carey’s office.

On Tuesday, Mynatt, a Navy veteran, participated in a demonstration outside the Chalmers P. Wylie Veterans Outpatient Clinic in Columbus to protest Trump’s cuts to veterans’ services.

The momentum against Trump’s administration is only building in central Ohio, organizers say.

“The frustration is high right now in the general population, among all kinds of people, not just Democrats,” Mynatt said. “Republicans, independents, everybody sees what’s happening.”

Meanwhile, counter-protests are starting to pop up in central Ohio. Americans for Prosperity-Ohio announced it is holding its own rally Wednesday afternoon outside Moreno’s downtown Columbus office at the same time as the weekly protest by Ohio Progressive Action Leaders Coalition. Americans for Prosperity is a Virginia-based political action committee supported by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

In a release from Americans for Prosperity-Ohio, it said the rally comes as protesters flood Moreno’s phone lines with “disruptive tactics,” and that it will stand up for Moreno and “policies that promote prosperity and growth for all Ohioans.”

Government and Politics Reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has hired a company to help make changes to the dam at Palisades-Kepler State Park.

That dam at the park is called a low-head dam. These types of dams are particularly dangerous because of the reverse currents they create. These currents can trap people under the water and drown them.

The dam at Palisades-Kepler State Park was built in the 1930s to create an area for boating and fishing upstream.

Along with the risk of drowning, the dam is now falling apart. There’s a breach on one side, and steel girders are sticking out of the ground.

A company from Ohio, Stantec Consulting Services, will gather information and devise a plan to either remove the dam or transform it with a series of boulders called a ‘rock arch rapids.’

The first step in the project is to gather input from those who use the park regularly.

“The way that people use the park is really important to us. We do intend for this whole area to be a public amenity. Something that people really enjoy. Getting people’s thoughts on how they use it, what they like to be close to. Oftentimes that’s water, right? If there’s things we can do within the project to incorporate all those ideas, with the paramount one really being public safety, can we hit all of that at the same time,” said Nate Hoogeveen, director of river programs at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The project is estimated to cost between one million and 2 and a half million dollars.

It could take between a year and a half to 3 years for construction to begin at the dam. From there, construction itself could take up to a year.

”It would be reasonable to assume in a 1 and a half to 3 year time frame that we could be talking about equipment being in the channel and changing things around to something that looks a lot more aesthetically pleasing,” Hoogeveen said.

Public input will be collected for the project in either late May or early June .

One of the top priorities in this project is safety. But the DNR also wants to protect recreation and fish in the area.

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