Suddes: Has anything changed since scandal rocked Ohio Statehouse? Early voting starts Tuesday

Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. tsuddes@gmail.com

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed Ohio’s two-year $86.2 billion operating budget Monday night, after less-acrimonious-than-expected haggling in the General Assembly.

In the Senate, all GOP senators present voted “yes,” all Democrats present voted “no.” (Not voting: Sens. Kirk Schuring, a Canton Republican, and Vernon Sykes, an Akron Democrat.)

More: From universal vouchers to working from home: How Ohio's two-year budget impacts you

In House, which has 67 Republicans and 32 Democrats, the budget vote crossed party lines. The tally was 67-30. (Not voting: Reps. Sedrick Denson, a Cincinnati Democrat, and Jennifer Gross, a West Chester Republican.)

Of 66 House Republicans who did vote on the budget, seven Republicans voted “no.”

In January all seven had voted for GOP Rep. Derek Merrin, of suburban Toledo, for speaker rather than the victor, Speaker Jason Stephens, a Republican from Lawrence County’s Kitts Hill. (Merrin himself voted “yes” on the budget.) The Stephens-Merrin contest split the House GOP caucus, though the split seems to be narrowing.

Of the 31 House Democrats present for the budget vote, eight — one-fourth of the House Democratic caucus — voted “yes”: Reps. Rachel Baker, of Cincinnati; Sean Brennan, of Parma; Richard Dell’Aquila, of Seven Hills; Michele Grim, of Toledo; Jessica Miranda, of Forest Park; Bride Sweeney, of Westlake; Dan Troy, of Willowick; and Casey Weinstein, of Hudson.

Bottom line: Stephens won House passage of the budget with the support of 59 of the chamber’s 67 Republicans, which suggests he’s solidifying his position as speaker — a key factor in how power works at the Statehouse.

What's changed since corruption was uncovered?

MEANWHILE: Amid the budget debate, U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black sentenced former Speaker Larry Householder, age 64, to 20 years in federal prison for his central role in the House Bill 6 scandal- a scheme to bail out two nuclear power plants then owned by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp.

And Black sentenced former Republican State Chair Matthew Borges, of Bexley, to five years for his supporting role in the HB 6 affair.

'You were a bully': What judge said to ex-Ohio Speaker Larry Householder

Now: What’s changed at the Statehouse since Householder, Borges, three other individuals and a 501(c)(4) named Generation Now were charged in mid-2020? Arguably, not much.

True, the General Assembly did partially repeal House Bill 6. But legislators left in place a provision that forces Ohio electricity consumers to subsidize two money losing coal-burning generating plants, one in Indiana, the other in Southern Ohio’s Gallia County.

A group of electric companies, led by Columbus-based American Electric Power, owns the two coal-burning plants.

(Stephens, the House speaker, has blocked at least for now a bill, sponsored by Hudson’s Weinstein and Parma’s Brennan, to end the coal plant subsidy.)

More: Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder sentenced to maximum 20 years

Opinion: Matt Borges busted the 'Bexley bubble' with his conviction. Time folks faced it

On the plus side, the new budget boosts funding for the Ohio Office of Consumers’ Counsel, which represents residential utility customers in front of the PUCO.

The counsel’s appropriation, which was $5.8 million for the year that ended June 30. It will be $6.3 million for each of the next two years.

That’s good, although the counsel’s appropriation was $8.5 million a dozen years ago, in 2010-2011, until the General Assembly and Republican then-Gov. John R. Kasich took an ax to the counsel’s budget. Nothing like pleasing utilities, one of the Statehouse’s three most powerful lobbies. (The other two: Insurance companies and banks.)

Voting begins for Issue 1

Early in-person voting begins Tuesday, July 11 on State Issue 1, which General Assembly Republicans crafted to make it harder for Ohio voters to amend the Ohio Constitution. The statewide election itself will be held on Aug. 8.

Since 1912, voters have been able to amend the constitution by a simple majority vote statewide — 50% plus 1. And Ohioans have been able to propose amendments by a statewide petition drive that gathers voters’ signatures in at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

Our view: 'Power-hungry hypocrites' trying to con Ohio. Issue 1 about dominance, deceit

Issue 1 would require at least 60% of those voting on an amendment to approve it; require voter signatures from all 88 counties rather than the currently required 44; and abolish the ten-day “cure period” to gather additional signatures, if needed, to qualify a proposed amendment for the statewide ballot.

The Statehouse’s business-as-usual crowd loves Issue 1 — which is why voters shouldn’t.

Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. tsuddes@gmail.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Thomas Suddes: Has anything changed since scandal rocked Ohio Statehouse?