NATURAL: Environmental ethics professor draws comparrison between H.B. 507, FirstEnergy scandal

Continued from Page 2 final version of H.B. 507, told The Exponent in a previous interview how the senate adds provisions to bills.

“The senate attaches it, and basically at that point, it technically does not have to have three hearings in the house,” Sweeney said. “It’s a loophole that is used, unfortunately, a lot to get things done and to really subvert a public process because we represent just as many people as the Ohio Senate.”

While dark money was helping to shape H.B. 507, Larry Householder, the former Ohio House speaker, and lobbyist Matt Borges, had a trial court date set for Jan. 23 over a $60 million bribery scheme allegedly funded by FirstEnergy.

“My beef is not as much with [Republican dark money groups] as with the Democrats who don’t seem to have an equivalent body doing the same. If the other side develops a new weapon, figure out how to do it yourself.”

TOM SUTTON Professor, Political science

Householder and Borges are currently being accused of working with the dark money organization Generation Now, which allegedly funneled funds from FirstEnergy to help Householder pass H.B. 6, legislation that involved a $1 billion bailout for two nuclear plants.

Kelly Coble, a philosophy professor who often teaches environmental ethics, said H.B. 507 is a similar story of dark money’s influence on Ohio’s policies.

“While we have no reason to believe any of this is actually illegal, it is also sad that this is happening when Larry Householder’s trial begins, and the travesty of H.B. 6 is thus on our minds.”