OMA Makes Case for HB 6 Repeal and Reform

The OMA this week provided insight and analysis to Ohio lawmakers charged with reviewing the state’s nuclear bailout law (House Bill 6). In a Sept. 23 hearing by the House Select Committee on Energy Policy and Oversight, OMA board member and past chair David Johnson, CEO of Summitville Tiles Inc. in Columbiana County, told lawmakers that the OMA supports repeal and reform of the law. Johnson was one of multiple OMA members who testified against HB 6 last year.

“We believe the preferred legislative package would repeal the anti-market provisions of HB 6 that are punitive to customers,” Johnson said in his testimony. “We suggest a repeal that protects customers and maximizes customers’ cost savings.”

Also testifying were OMA’s energy counsel, Kim Bojko of Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP, and OMA’s engineering consultant, John Seryak of RunnerStone LLC. Bojko and Seryak explained anti-competitive aspects of HB 6, including the law’s unique decoupling mechanism, as well as the “significantly excessive profits” provision contained in the state’s 2019 budget.

Committee Chair Rep. Jim Hoops (R-Napoleon) told news media that the panel remains in “fact-finding mode.” He has not yet indicated when the committee will vote on proposals to repeal HB 6. 9/23/2020