State Rep. Michael J. Skindell adamantly opposed Ohio House Bill 6 when first passed in 2019, and leads efforts to repeal the massive corporate bailout and wipeout of renewable energy standards. Upon the arrest of former House Speaker Larry Householder, on charges of an extensive bribery campaign to buy votes for House Bill 6, Skindell promptly called for the legislation’s repeal.
Skindell and state Rep. Michael O’Brien introduced a repeal bill before the end of July. Democratic legislators have voiced their support for repeal, as has Ohio’s governor, and Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof has announced that the Ohio Senate will vote on repeal.
In the Ohio House, however, Republican leadership is pushing back against the calls for repeal.
Today, House Speaker Bob Cupp announced that he intends to refer the future of House Bill 6 to a new “Select Committee on Energy Policy Oversight.” House Democrats received no notice from the Speaker, and the committee currently was announced with no timeline, no membership and no purpose.
Meanwhile, Skindell’s and O’Brien’s repeal legislation has been awaiting referral to a committee for more than a month. In response they have pursued a discharge petition to bring repeal up for a vote by the House—yet the House clerk has introduced new obstacles to block the discharge petition as well. “By requiring that signatures be done in person and not electronically like all other legislation, they are working hard to keep this bill from being brought to the floor in a timely manner,” said Skindell.
“We don’t need political games right now, we need immediate action. Their unwillingness to act is shameful.”