Effort to end Davis-Besse subsidy has failed

SANDUSKY — The Davis-Besse nuclear power plant is safe, at least for now.Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts, the group which had sought to force a state question in 2020 to reverse a state law providing a subsidy to keep Ohio's two nuclear plants open, announced Monday it would not file its referendum petitions and instead is pinning its hopes on a lawsuit asking for more time.Monday had been the deadline to file its petitions and provide the Ohio Secretary of State's office with 265,774 valid signatures from Ohio voters.Monday's announcement appeared to be an admission the group had fallen short.But the group has a federal lawsuit saying it is entitled to more days to circulate a petition, with an evidentiary hearing scheduled for today/Tuesday, so the effort isn't done yet, a spokesman said."The fight to put House Bill 6 on the ballot in 2020 isn't over yet," said Gene Pierce, spokesman for Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts. "Our lawsuit challenging the 'blackout period' on petitioning, which consumed 38 of the 90 days we had to collect signatures, remains under review in U.S. District Court.""We are fully prepared to continue circulating petitions if the court rules in our favor and grants us a full 90 days to collect signatures," Pierce said.The lawsuit contends it lost 38 of its 90 days for circulating its petitions from having to obtain pre-approval from state government to circulate its petitions.During the summer, the Ohio General Assembly approved House Bill 6, which provides a subsidy to keep two money-losing nuclear power plants open in Ohio, including Davis-Besse in Ottawa County. Supporters pointed out the two plants were the main source of energy in Ohio that doesn't contribute to global warming.The petition drive had sought to ask voters in 2020 if they would support repealing the law, which was opposed by environmental groups that prefer energy conservation, wind power and solar power and by natural gas interests.Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts and its allies, such as the Ohio Environmental Council, complained about the groups that opposed the petition drive. Heather Taylor-Miesle, executive director of the Ohio Environmental Council, issued a statement after the announcement the petition drive had failed."Due to the unprecedented attack on our democratic right to engage in a referendum process, outright racist attacks and a bad process that sets up citizens to fail, it is clear that corporations like FirstEnergy and their political allies care only about profits and little about the health, pocketbooks and well-being of Ohioans," Taylor-Miesle said. "We have never seen such outrageous actions to thwart our constitutional rights to allow citizens to hold their government accountable."Carlo LoParo, a spokesman for Ohioans for Energy Security, which opposed the possible state question, said his group also conducted a petition drive."Ohioans for Energy Security today presented more than 846,000 signatures to Ohio House Public Utilities Committee Chairman Rep. Jamie Callender. We are requesting legislation that protects Ohio energy generation from the influence or control of foreign corporations or governments. Our signatures represent a groundswell of public support for legislation that ensures the reliability and security of energy production in Ohio," LoParo said."Apparently, the HB 6 repeal campaign could not generate the needed support to meet the ballot qualifying threshold. Ballot issues can be emotional and highly charged. Both sides worked hard to engage Ohio voters," he said.The Davis-Besse nuclear power plant.