COLUMBUS, Ohio — A proposed law would completely criminalize abortion without exemptions for rape and incest. The bill states it would make an exemption for saving the life of the pregnant person, but that was debated at the Statehouse on Wednesday.

The Human Life Protection Act, House Bill 598, is a trigger ban. If this bill passes the Legislature and Gov. Mike DeWine signs it, it would only come into effect if the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) "wholly or partially upholds a state’s authority to prohibit abortion." For this, the bill would require either an issuance of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion or an adoption of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Roe v. Wade was the 1973 landmark decision in which the Supreme Court ruled that the constitution protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion. The Supreme Court is set to hear Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization — which is Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban.

If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade by upholding Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, then HB 598 would immediately begin.

The bill's sponsor Rep. Jean Schmidt, a Republican from Loveland, gave her sponsor testimony and answered questions for an hour.

The bill

• Prohibits a person from purposely causing an abortion by using a "substance" or an "instrument" or other means.
• Makes criminal abortion a felony in the fourth degree.
• Prohibits any person from making, selling or advertising tools to cause an abortion.
• Makes "promoting" abortion a first-degree misdemeanor.
• Creates the crime of abortion manslaughter, which is when a person takes the life of a child born from an attempted abortion who is alive when removed from the pregnant person's uterus.
• Makes abortion manslaughter a felony of the first degree.

The penalties

• Minimum of four to seven years and a maximum of 25 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000 for abortion manslaughter.
• Minimum of one-half to two years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $2,500 for criminal abortion.

However, the bill does grant immunity from prosecution for abortion manslaughter, criminal abortion or promoting abortion to the person who attempted an abortion or succeeded in an abortion. This individual would also be able to sue for wrongful death for violation of crimes of abortion manslaughter, criminal abortion or promoting abortion.

The bill also allows for an affirmative defense to a criminal abortion charge, but only if the physician performed or induced the abortion, or attempted to do so, under the determination that it was necessary to prevent the individual’s death or a serious risk to the pregnant individual.

This would be an "exemption," according to Schmidt. In the case of a medical emergency for the pregnant person, two doctors not professionally related must sign off on the abortion. Unless it is determined the mother is at risk of death or injury, they must take every precaution to save "both the child and the mother." If the premature child is alive, the doctors must provide care for it.

"The goal is to save both lives and treat both patients," Schmidt said in her testimony.

Democrats were ready to ask questions, with most of them coming from Reps. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester), Dr. Beth Liston (D-Dublin) and Tavia Galonski (D-Akron). However, Majority Floor Leader Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) jumped in.

The intense back and forth between Brown and Schmidt revolved around the lack of exemptions for rape and incest.

"So under this bill, if a 13-year-old girl, let's say, was raped by a serial rapist, broke into her house, or maybe more likely raped by a family member, which occurs frequently — unfortunately, this bill would require this 13-year-old to carry this felons fetus to term, regardless of any emotional or psychological damage or trauma that may be inflicted upon this 13-year-old girl to deliver this, felons a fetus. Is that right?" he asked.

Schmidt responded and said that rape is a difficult issue.

"It's a shame that it happens, but there's an opportunity for that woman, no matter how young or old she is," she said.

The opportunity — which would be the only option — is to deliver that baby.

"She can choose to raise the child, she can choose to give that child to a loving family member or to give it to someone else — and that child can grow up and be something magnificent, a wonderful family person, cure cancer," she said. "Just because you have emotional scars doesn't give you the right, right to take the life."

Brown followed up.

"You earlier said every life is important — the life of a 13-year-old girl in my hypothetical is important," he added.

He then brings up the pregnant juvenile going to middle school, saying that kids are "mean, they're evil and they're going to say all kinds of bad things to their classmate about her condition."

"I think this girl has rights every bit as much as the zygote that has rights under your bill," he said. "This girl has rights, and I don't believe we can lose sight of the rights of the person who was raped."

Supporters of the bill, like Ohio Right to Life, say just because someone commits a crime, doesn't mean we should have the right to “purposely” end a life.

"They can live a dignified life that shows them that they can overcome certain circumstances," said Elizabeth Whitmarsh, a spokesperson for the organization. "That might seem impossible in the moment, but they're able to get through it."

Pro-Choice Ohio, who was also at the hearing, said everyone should be entitled to make their own health care decisions without government mandates.

"It doesn't matter what that person's reason is for having an abortion, they need to have access to abortion in their community without stigma, judgment or delay," said Jaime Miracle, deputy director for the group. "They need the abortion that they have decided is best for them and their family."

Another argument that was brought up by legislators on each side was how the bill was too open for interpretation.

Liston, a physician, lead the questioning on the medical concerns. She started by bringing up the language in the bill surrounding the "exemption" for an individual whose health is in danger.

"How I read this is that a physician could defend themselves against a murder charge with what's called an affirmative defense, in the case of it being life-threatening if they follow provisions A, B, C, D, E and F, which includes a lot of different things, made a lot of documentation, a lot of provisions on what's available at a facility," the doctor said. "Physicians cannot terminate a pregnancy — period. They can defend themselves from it, from a charge in the setting of life-threatening complications if they follow these specific steps is."

Schmidt didn't answer the question, but rather reiterated the language in the bill.

Liston continued on to give examples of different circumstances in pregnancy that will result in the death of a pregnant person, such as partial or incomplete molar pregnancies, severe preeclampsia and ectopic pregnancies.

"The longer one waits before terminating the pregnancy, the more risk there is to a woman," she said. "There's no good outcome here — there's no live birth."

Liston then brings up how there are no non-ICUs in the world that can resuscitate before 22 weeks. For extreme preemies, there are only three in Ohio — Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland.

That, mixed with needing to get two different doctors that aren't affiliated with each other, can make this incredibly difficult to actually get an abortion, Liston said.

"The three hospitals that you mentioned are level one trauma centers," Schmidt said. "When you are a traumatic patient, it is the obligation of the rescue unit to take you to the most appropriate place and those would be, in certain cases, level one centers."

Liston said they don't want it to get to the level of an emergency life flight.

"That is a really difficult gray line that's being created with the threat of jail to doctors that are working with their patients," she said.

She then raises a hypothetical about breast cancer patients and how she wouldn't be able to get treatment because the interacting drugs could be seen as "abortion" drugs.

"Representative Liston, I'm not a doctor," Schmidt said. "But I have read stories of women that have had breast cancer, gone through the treatment and have had normal children. So I can't answer that."

The other main line of questioning was bipartisan confusion on what the trigger for the bill actually was.

Brown and Seitz went back and forth, agreeing on the same question to ask for clarification. Brown had asked a question about what happens when SCOTUS doesn't totally overturn Roe v. Wade, but still makes an assertion on it.

"Ranking member Brown and I don't often agree on very much, but I want to go back to his question," Seitz said. "So, if the Supreme Court says only that the 15-week ban imposed by Mississippi is constitutional and Mississippi can ban abortions after 15 weeks — I think Representative Brown's question, and I kind of agree with him if this is what it means, I would say that your bill would kick in to ban all abortions, even those at less than 15 weeks."

He continued that Ohio has already banned abortion after a heartbeat can be detected at six weeks. He then asked if Schmidt was following his logic, and she said: "in part."

"If the Supreme Court, in part, returns to the states the question of whether to ban abortion after 15 weeks, then your bill should be clarified to say the trigger has not been met," he said. "Would you agree with that?"

"I would be amenable to that kind of an amendment if that clarification is needed," she said.

DeWine's spokesperson said the governor agreed to sign this bill, or a bill similar to this, in a campaign survey to Ohio Right to Life. His team reiterated he is pro-life but has already signed the six-week abortion ban, so he would rather legislators stop putting this type of legislation out until the SCOTUS decision is finalized.

Follow statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The first primary election day in Ohio wasn't completely smooth sailing for some Boards of Elections across the state. However, none of the issues impacted voter security.

Inside the election's Command Center, Sec. of State Frank LaRose monitored the 88 different boards — and explained to News 5's Morgan Trau how he dealt with them and what he thought the cause was.

What should have been 100 days to prepare for a primary election turned into 45.

"Oh, sure, yeah. I mean, no question about it," LaRose said when responding to if the rush may have caused the issues at different boards. "Nobody does their best work in a hurry."

When you're doing 100 days' worth of work in 45 days, then "things like this can happen," he added.

"I've tried to warn the General Assembly, the Redistricting Commission, the general public — I've been saying this since January," he said. "Our Boards of Elections have had to deal with a lot in a compressed period of time."

The issues arising on the first primary day are related to the redistricting debacle, he acknowledged.

"As you know, unfortunately, we weren't able to put in the same hundred days of preparation that we would normally have on the routine process because of all the litigation that we faced," he said.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) continually passed maps that were struck down as unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court. LaRose is part of that commission that voted on the GOP-created maps.

The secretary has a unique role in this election. He is the chief elections officer, a role that oversees, organizes and makes sure that the election is not only safe but fair. On the other hand, he is on the ORC.

Some critics of LaRose argue that he put himself in this position. The more vocal advocates against him, the Ohio Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters, say if he hadn't voted to move forward with maps that were unconstitutional or barely different from already rejected maps, the commission could have created constitutional maps that wouldn't have gotten caught up in court constantly. They also argue that the primary could have been moved.

There were technical issues with the electronic poll books at some locations in Cuyahoga and Lucas counties in the morning. Those are the devices used to check-in.

The issue in Cuyahoga County was resolved by 8 a.m., their board told News 5. Lucas County was resolved as well, but it is unclear at what time. LaRose's staff told him around 3:00 p.m., but it could have happened earlier while he was busy.

There were power outages in at least two counties.

One precinct in Cuyahoga County couldn't find their ballots.

Some voters say they were turned away or forced to wait in long lines to vote.

"There were some reports of some people saying that they were turned away," the secretary said. "We can't verify that or not."

Poll workers are trained to never turn people away from polling locations, LaRose said.

"Maybe folks got impatient or whatever because that is the one thing that happens when you have to go from the electronic check-in that takes about 30 to 45 seconds to the paper checking — it takes a minute, minute and a half," he said. "There's a little bit of an efficiency lag."

The Command Center is where all those issues are dealt with. His team members have different jobs. Some deal with issues from the boards and others scroll social media to look into claims made by users — searching for potentially suspicious activity.

With unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud being touted by former President Donald Trump and six of the seven GOP candidates for U.S. Senate, LaRose said he believes Ohio isn't having the same issue.

"I will tell you that as an observer, I've seen things in other states that are concerning," he said. "But again, I'm not an expert at other states, but it does seem clear that things went on."

When addressing Ohio, LaRose said that "we've protected our process."

"In Ohio, we have a process where there is bipartisan oversight, where we maintain accurate voter rolls," he said. "We don't settle these activist lawsuits at the last minute. We fight them. We say, 'you're not going to change the election laws at the courthouse, if you want to do that, you've got to go to the Statehouse.'"

After the voting process, his team goes back and verifies afterward that they got it right, he said, referencing a post-election audit.

"Paper is checked by bipartisan teams that have all taken an oath to do that job, and they're bound by law to uphold that oath," he said. "In Ohio, I stand behind our process because it is in a lot of ways the gold standard for what other states should do."

"Take it directly from, you know, conservative luminaries like Jim Jordan that said that Ohio is the gold standard. President Trump said Ohio ran the election properly in an interview he did on The Sean Hannity Show last year. So, I'm proud of what we have in Ohio. I'd like to help other states learn how to do it as well as we do."

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan and Trump are both being investigated by the Jan. 6 committee for their role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

RELATED: LaRose says Dems might wreck election integrity, touts Trump, who’s suspected of election fraud

Despite the issues occurring at different polling places, LaRose said that everything is going safely. None of the problems would have impacted anyone's vote, ballots going missing, etc.

"We had to compress some of those [election preparation] timelines and the Boards of Elections really stepped up," he said.

The fact that they were able to get things together for early voting and that early voting ran so smoothly is a testament to their commitment, he added.

The state even has a record number of early voters, LaRose commented. Early voting started slow and then kept increasing by week four.

"As of 2 p.m. yesterday when early voting closed, we had actually broken the record from 2014 and 2018, which were those comparable years," he said. "But what it showed was really strong participation, especially on the Republican side ,and no surprise, there's a lot of enthusiasm about the U.S. Senate race and that kind of thing."

Ballots will start being counted once the polls close at 7:30 p.m. The first to get counted are absentee and early voting ballots, the secretary said.

The results viewers will see Tuesday night and for the next two weeks or so will be unofficial — which is still reliable — but absentee ballots and military ballots can continue to arrive as long as they are postmarked before Election Day.

"The Board of Elections already has all those early votes and absentee votes so they can push that button and tabulate those right at 7:30," he said. "So really, as early as 7:45, 8:00, you will start to see those early vote numbers."

Once it gets a bit later, the precinct location ballots start coming in.

"But what's more important than speed is accuracy," he said. "We usually provide both in Ohio, and that's something Ohioans appreciate, that they can go to bed at a reasonable night on election night, knowing what those unofficial results are.

"But we won't ever rush the process if that means compromising the accuracy of it. Accuracy comes first."

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new bill in the Ohio Senate would criminalize "swatting," which is when an individual calls emergency services and falsely reports a serious crime, such as a hostage situation, active shooter or bomb threat. This hoax has the goal of sending a large police presence, or a SWAT team, to approach an unsuspecting victim.

Calling 911 should not be taken lightly, but law enforcement reported that the "prank" is causing traumatic and sometimes deadly incidences.

Numerous cases in Cleveland have popped up during the pandemic, with a previous News 5 investigation finding swatting incidences in Medina and Bay Village — but those are only two of the numerous examples across the state.

Some alleged offenders have lived in Ohio and caused them in other areas.

A man in Wichita, Kansas, died in 2019 after being swatted by someone in Ohio, according to the Department of Justice. A Medina teenager was allegedly involved in sending police to the home of the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, who lives in LA, according to Medina police.

Swatting victim, BLM co-founder speaks about being targeted multiple times

RELATED: Swatting victim, BLM co-founder speaks about being targeted multiple times

"It is usually younger gamers, online people who use technology to prank 911 and send a heavy-armed response to a scenario that is not needed," said Jason Pappas, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio (FOP).

Pappas has seen an increase in swatting calls since the pandemic began. Many of the cases he has seen revolve around technology, specifically gaming.

"They'll call from Ohio and say, 'Hey, in California, we were with this other person online — this is where they live and this is what's happening. They're being held hostage, there's lots of guns, there's drugs,'" he added. "When you get a situation like that, as law enforcement, obviously you send out your SWAT teams or a large presence, lots of officers, and hence the name swatting."

The individuals who do this, typically adolescents or 20-year-olds, in Pappas' experience, may think that it is "funny."

But it isn't funny to the person being swatted or the law enforcement showing up to what they think is a life-or-death situation, he said.

"They show up thinking that there's this very terrible hostage situation with guns and then it turns out not to be true, which obviously can have all kinds of negative consequences for both the officers and the people who have been swatted," Pappas added.

Not that the "prank" had never occurred before technology was widely available, but it has been increasing for a few years. Pappas said he hasn't heard of many cases recently, but he knows it is still an issue.

"During COVID, when a lot of kids were playing online a lot and they weren't in school, there seemed to be a little more of an uptick," he said.

Because of how relatively new this phenomenon is, there isn't actually a crime specifically designated for the act.

"Typically, the only recourse we would have would be to charge somebody with misuse of 911," he said. "The technology has outpaced the law, it appears."

State Sen. Andrew Brenner, a Republican from Delaware, wants to catch the Ohio Revised Code up.

"Senate Bill 292 will provide another tool in the toolbox for prosecutors to address this serious disregard for safety and resources," the lawmaker said in his sponsor testimony in March 2022.

Although he did not comment Friday about the bill, the Republican referenced incidences in his community where two cases happened within one month of the other.

"The legislation before you was introduced at the request of the Attorney General and as companion legislation to House Bill 462," he said.

House Rep. Kevin Miller, a Republican from Newark, introduced the original bill with former Rep. Rick Carfagna, who left his seat as a Republican from Genoa Township to become the vice president of government affairs at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Miller was busy Friday, but talked about how the gaming community — specifically live streamers — have made it popular.

"Perpetrators can watch their pranks unfold in real-time on computer webcams as officers burst into residences demanding victims to get on the ground and/or put their hands in the air," Miller said during testimony in April of 2022. "House Bill 462 aims to deter and appropriately punish those who choose to engage in this outrageous behavior."

Twitch streamers like LosPollosTV, Summit1G and Koota are among the many gamers who have been swatted during livestreams.

The companion bills, which are nearly identical, would make swatting a third-degree felony. If someone is hurt in a prank call, then it could become a first-degree felony. The bills would also allow a court to order the offender to reimburse the law enforcement response.

"Presently, the only applicable charges to these situations would be making false alarms, inducing panic, menacing or harassment, but they are all misdemeanor offenses," Miller added in his testimony.

Pappas and his organization haven’t decided on their stance on the bill, since it is so new, but they are interested in working with the Legislature to make sure the bill sends the right message, he said.

"Once the information is out and they know that it's much, much more serious and is likely to have serious consequences, I think it would put a stop to a lot of it," Pappas added.

As of right now, there are no outspoken opponents to this bill, but testimony will be heard at hearings in both the Senate and the House in the future.

"Swatting is not cool," Pappas advised to those who think the hoax is funny. "Swatting is a very dangerous activity and we highly encourage you not to participate in that kind of activity, whether it's online or in-person. Do not abuse the 911 system or you will be punished."

One Kentucky lawmaker also plans to introduce a bill making swatting a felony in the commonwealth. A Georgetown couple victimized by a March swatting incident said they both felt "assaulted" the night Scott County sheriff's deputies stormed their home in what turned out to be a false report of a homicide

Follow statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder has appealed his 20-year prison sentence while during his second week in custody. He was found to be the "mob boss" in the largest bribery scheme in state history, a judge ruled.

The request was one sentence long, just stating he is appealing to the United States Court of Appeals.

Householder served Ohio for a decade as a lawmaker; now he’s going to be serving for twice that long — as an inmate in federal prison.

RELATED: Former Ohio House Speaker Householder sentenced to 20 years in prison for state’s largest bribery scheme

Householder was sentenced by federal judge Timothy Black in United States District Court in Cincinnati Thursday morning, over three months after he and ex-GOP chair Matt Borges were found guilty by a federal jury for participating in the largest public corruption case in state history. Householder passed a nearly $61 million scheme for a billion-dollar bailout, House Bill 6, at the expense of taxpayers.

Ohioans are still dealing with the aftermath of the H.B. 6 scandal, where utility companies bribed Statehouse leaders to give them bailouts.

That disgrace was covered extensively by News 5, which followed the legislation all the way through the Statehouse, the arrests, trial, conviction and sentencing of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — No matter how many times the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio testifies against the latest Republican-proposed gun legislation, the outcome is always the same: push the bill forward.

The Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio (FOP) represents about 26,000 law enforcement officers across the state, according to Vice President Jason Pappas. Despite being the largest police organization in Ohio, their concerns aren't being heard, according to leadership.

The group was one of the more than 350 groups and individuals to testify against House Bill 99, which allows any school board in Ohio to choose to arm school staff members with up to 24 hours of training. Although it is not specified how much time is needed, there is a requirement to complete "tactical live firearms training."

"It does get frustrating when it feels like our voices are not heard," Pappas said. "We have some serious concerns about implementation."

The signing of H.B. 99 isn't an isolated incident, he added. The FOP also spoke out against Senate Bill 215 and H.B. 325.

S.B. 215 allowed for permitless carry, and it took effect on June 13, 2022. This means anyone who can legally own a gun can bring it to the vast majority of places. Some technicalities within it could harm Ohio, Pappas said.

"The person carrying a gun no longer has an affirmative duty to notify enforcement," he said. "There are several things that will make this more difficult for law enforcement and in turn, could lead to less public safety."

Before the concealed carry permit was removed from Ohio law, a concealed handgun license (CHL) would be attached to the registry of someone's car. Without that permit, police will not know if someone is carrying a gun when they run their license plate.

"Just having that CHL let us know that you had the authority to carry that firearm," Pappas said. "Fast forward to today — that's not necessarily true. Those background checks used to prevent people from getting guns that shouldn't have them and several of those people along the way were disqualified from renewal or had them revoked — so that system is now gone."

Just because someone has a firearm doesn't mean they should, he said. It also doesn't mean they shouldn't, though.

"The presumption now is that they're lawful," he said.

There is now a list of all the new ways law enforcement needs to check if someone legally has a gun, instead of it just popping up when they run the plates.

"They can ask a couple of questions, but it cannot unduly extend the traffic stop or the reason for the traffic stop," he said, adding that it puts a time concern on officers.

There is a myriad of other problems officers will need to face due to permitless carry, but Pappas said another relevant bill is H.B. 325.

H.B. 325 would prevent local police from prohibiting the sale of any firearm, ammunition, reloading equipment, or deadly weapon. The bill would designate gun sales and transfers as "essential business," and can't be taken away during a declared emergency or any other "statutorily authorized" response to any disaster, war, act of terrorism, riot, civil disorder, public health crisis, mob or "emergency of whatever kind or nature."

"It is frustrating and it's also very concerning to the officers on the street because they want to make sure that they're doing a good job," Pappas said.

These bill hearings all have something in common, he added.

"I haven't seen any active-duty officers testifying to the affirmative of these bills," he said. "I do know that there are gun rights groups, some gun owners and some previous law enforcement officers who are involved in training and obviously have an interest because they want to train and earn a living and all those kind of things."

RELATED: Ohio lawmaker who wrote bill requiring gun training for teachers owns gun training business

Going back to H.B. 99, Pappas and his team said they understand that urban and rural departments have different needs, but having trained for gun usage in schools should be common sense.

"We believe that the standard that the training levels are too low and that those positions are best suited for law enforcement officers," he said.

Even though he signed the bill, Gov. Mike DeWine agreed.

RELATED: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs bill allowing teachers, staff to carry guns in schools

"My preference would be for a police officer, a school safety officer," the governor said, regarding his thoughts on guns in schools while he was attorney general. "That was my personal opinion that I expressed at that time and I still follow that."

Mike Weinman, the director of government affairs for FOP said the bill doesn't make any sense.

"What price do you want to put on child safety — with a janitor running around with a firearm?" Weinman said in a previous News 5 interview. "There's always some sort of partnership you can do with the sheriff's office or local police agencies. You know where you can share that cost and work things out. There's been bills that you can have a levy specifically for the schools to have school resource officers."

The bill quickly moved through the legislative process right after the school shooting in Uvalde, with the town’s police force being investigated for not entering the building for nearly 80 minutes.

"I think the jarring thing to come out of Texas, besides the initial shock of the horrible, horrible tragedy, was the time lapse between the police officers," DeWine said.

That isn't an acceptable argument to make right now, Pappas argued.

"I refuse to use that tragedy to exploit or for personal gain," the officer said. "I think that's terrible. I would prefer to wait for all the facts to come out."

New details are coming out as the investigation continues, so Ohio should be waiting until that is finished to start putting laws in place, he said.

Sometimes he feels ignored by the right, but scrutinized by the left, he added.

"It has been a challenging time on both sides, left and right," Pappas said.

The FOP is in the middle of a lose-lose situation, he added.

"I feel like that's been law enforcement's perspective for many years now," he said.

For Weinman, he has to be at the Statehouse nearly every day when the legislators are in session.

"It's a strange, strange dynamic and it's something that we have to look at when we do our endorsements," Weinman said in a previous interview. "Overall, does this person actually support us or is this just a logo that they put on a tweet every once in a while? How sincere are they?"

"What was done with permitless carry will affect endorsements," he said. "But at the same time, we have bills that we need to move."

Pappas wants to work with both sides, but to do that, he needs to have a seat at the table, he added.

"We're going to make sure that we do the best that we can to not alienate, but to bring everyone to the table and make sure that our voices are heard as we move forward," Pappas said.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio utility companies are at it again — trying to get ratepayers to fund their ventures with little oversight.

However, the latest attempt was foiled by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

Summer sun brought in major spikes in utility costs, but so did the state’s approval of distributors' requests to raise charges.

"Folks paying their electric bills right now are really, really hurting," said Nolan Rutschilling with the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund.

A proposal in the state budget would have made them go even higher.

Under current law, ratepayers are already charged for economic development projects. A provision in the budget would have allowed the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to authorize companies to increase charges to millions of consumers for those same projects.

"This would have effectively allowed the utilities to double dip on folks' money to fund infrastructure," Rutschilling said.

These subsidies come without adequate protections for consumers, the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel warned Statehouse lawmakers repeatedly.

But with the swipe of his pen, DeWine vetoed the legislation, preventing Ohioans from being charged twice.

"This, frankly, put too much power in their hands to make those determinations," DeWine said about PUCO and utilities during a press conference Wednesday.

Development is important, DeWine argued, but the PUCO and companies shouldn’t get to decide these types of increases. There is another way of doing this, he added.

"We want them to be able to build out where they need to build out," the governor added. "This, frankly, put it directly in their hands to make those determinations. We think, frankly, that should be more of a state position when we see what is going on and where that need that is."

Although happy about this, Rutschilling says Dewine is leaving the door open for utilities to still take advantage of consumers.

Ohioans are still dealing with the aftermath of the House Bill 6 scandal, where utility companies bribed Statehouse leaders to give them bailouts.

RELATED: Former Ohio House Speaker Householder sentenced to 20 years in prison for state’s largest bribery scheme

H.B. 6 mainly benefited FirstEnergy's struggling nuclear power plants, which provisions were later repealed. There are remaining aspects of the bill still in place, though.

The Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC) also got a handout from the scandal. It expanded a bailout of the OVEC plants and required Ohioans to pay for them. The main beneficiaries from this were American Electric Power Company (AEP), Duke Energy and AES Ohio.

FirstEnergy, AEP, Duke and AES would all benefit from the now-vetoed provision.

"The electric utilities are still trying whatever they can to get ratepayers to subsidize things that they should be paying for," Rutschilling added.

Scott Blake, the spokesperson for AEP, did not address the veto in a statement, saying:

"AEP Ohio has played a critical role in attracting new companies to our state and helping businesses expand. The All Ohio Future Fund continues to make funding available for economic development activities. We look forward to our continued partnerships with state and local economic development agencies through this program and others."

PUCO Spokesperson Matt Schilling also replied:

"Generally speaking, the PUCO takes great care to carefully review utilities’ applications to increase rates when fulfilling our mission to 'to assure all residential and business consumers access to adequate, safe and reliable utility services at fair prices, while facilitating an environment that provides competitive choices.'"

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A deal has been reached in the state budget, preventing Ohio from having a government shutdown.

The main focus of both the House’s and the Senate’s budgets was education. The Senate plan was much more conservative, while the House plan was bipartisan. After a week and a half of negotiations, agreement was reached on the $191 billion budget. The nearly 2 billion budget will be split for the next two years.

Ultimately, the chambers took pieces of both budgets to reach a compromise that satisfied Republicans in the Senate and House. Although Democrats got a few small wins, many of them still voted no on the budget.

“Our priorities — education, and the fact that we were able to get back the $550 million that the Senate took out of our public schools — I think is a big win for Republicans, Democrats for the people of Ohio, all across the state,” said State Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville).

Edwards, the House Finance Chair, was able to reinstate the total funding needed for the Fair School Funding plan, but with that, he had to give Senate Finance Chair Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls) what the Senate wanted when it came to private school vouchers.

“Gives parents the choice to decide where and how their child's going to be educated,” Dolan said of the private voucher program.

Democrats are unhappy with the majority of the budget, but they did get one of their main requests — getting the higher education overhaul bill removed. This bill would have banned public universities in Ohio from having “bias” in the classroom and limiting how and what “controversial topics” were taught.

However, the budget did keep in a bill that would create learning centers on OSU and University of Toledo campuses, meant to specifically target “intellectual diversity, or safe spaces for conservatives” on campus.

“I loved seeing Senate Bill 83 taken out,” said Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood). “Unfortunately, not only did they leave [Senate Bill] 117 and these indoctrination centers at universities in, but then they added they have to now have three more, and they added one in Cleveland State.”

While the chambers have reached an agreement, they aren’t done with the budget just yet. It goes to Gov. Mike Dewine, who gets to veto any provision within it.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A bill meant to expand paid parental leave in Ohio won't impact the vast majority of families in the state.

Only 11 states currently offer total paid family and medical leave, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Unsurprisingly, Ohio is not one of them.

Some parents, like Kaitlin Perciak, are just asking for less than nothing.

"When you go into the hospital room, you're supposed to be excited and happy," Perciak, a working mom from the Cleveland area, said. "And you just find out this tremendously awful situation just happened to you."

As she lay in her hospital bed after giving birth to her premature son, working mom Perciak said she got a shock from her company.

"I only had two weeks' worth of pay and I thought it was much, much more," she said.

She had carved out eight weeks to spend with her baby but said her then-employer had only covered the first two. Her husband had to get a second job to be able to help provide for the new family of three, which took away from his time with the baby, Perciak said.

It's been nearly 25 years since Ohio updated its leave policy for state workers.

Most families, like Perciak's, must rely on their private business employers to give them leave, but it is not required.

In Ohio, certain state employees get four weeks of paid family leave. Technically, qualifying workers could get up to six weeks of time off, but two of the six are a "waiting period" that employers don't pay for. Those two weeks are funded by the employee's personal time off.

State Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) said that isn't nearly enough.

"They increased it 12 weeks with no waiting period for federal employees under Donald Trump," Gavarone said. "And I thought, you know what? Why are we so different at the state level?"

Senate Bill 360 proposes to expand parental leave to twelve weeks for government-employee parents of newly born and adopted children. Parents could also get six weeks of paid leave if their child is stillborn. There would be no more two-week waiting period to get the benefits, as well.

Although some parents are happy to see an increase, the bill didn't live up to the expectations of other parents.

Analysis of state and census data shows only around .06% of workforce-aged Ohioans will actually be able to utilize these six to 12 weeks of family leave. Right now, only specific state workers, such as legislative employees and those in Executive-branch offices, would qualify.

"If you have a higher-up position in the government, then you probably will have more than other people," Perciak said, adding that the guidelines should be fairer.

"We'll see what private businesses do in response," Gavarone said. "But right now we're sticking to the state employees and we'll see how the conversation goes."

While Perciak says this is great for government employees she and other parents are dealing with inflation and economic struggles. Plus, abortion is no longer an option and more children will be born in Ohio.

Gavarone wants her bill to help combat those stressors, she said.

"You've got all these additional expenses from diapers and formula and clothes and medicine and doctor visits and all the things that go along with a new baby," the senator said. "And so if we can, you know, help families... Help them bond, be strong, get a strong and healthy start, then I think that's something we should support."

Perciak had planned to have another child but said she won't be able to afford one anytime soon. From the mother's perspective, the government is not looking at the actual lives of babies, mothers and their families.

"It's becoming almost impossible to want to make that decision to have kids because of these things that are not being touched on," the mother said. "And that's not fair to us."

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Third Grade Reading Guarantee remains one of the most hotly-debated policies in Ohio's education system, but it may cease to exist come next year.

Third graders have a big task at the end of their school year. How they score on the English language arts assessment will determine if they make it to fourth grade, or if they are held back.

"William's challenges with reading have persisted since the COVID break," mother-of-two ​Kristen Kalonick said.

Kalonick's son is in the third grade. After her daughter was held back due to a learning disability, she knows what that can do to his development.

"They go through a different kind of psychological adjustment with that and then there can be a stigma attached to it," she said. "For him, it's certainly a real risk."

Ohio Excels’ Lisa Gray brings up an Ohio Department of Education study that shows students who aren’t reading proficiently by the end of third grade are three times more likely than their proficient peers to not graduate on time.

"If we keep promoting kids and they're not proficient readers, they are going to continue to struggle," Gray said.

Solon Democratic state Rep. Phil Robinson cites a study done by OSU, which shows the only thing the exam does is give students anxiety, disproportionately impact low-income students and create a stigma around learning disabilities.

"We haven't seen any meaningful, significant improvement, actually, in fourth-grade reading proficiency levels," Robinson said.

He proposed House Bill 497 with state Rep. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville) which would eliminate the state-mandated student retention provision. It would also only require students to take the assessment once per year, but keeps provisions for support programs for struggling readers.

The bill has already passed the House nearly unanimously and it is in the Senate now.

The bill doesn't address the real problem, though, Gray added.

"Don't just remove the retention component and not replace that with something that is going to better guarantee these kids a shot of success," she said.

The lawmaker added that although his current bill doesn't address funding or additional resources for literacy, he is currently working on a new bill that does.

The State Board of Education's Tim Miller, a moderate Republican-leaning board member from Akron, said this is where targeting comes in.

"One size doesn't fit all," Miller said. "I don't like the retention part."

Miller has made literacy one of his largest priorities while on the board. He can't do much in terms of implementing policy, so he is trying to find another way to help out students, educators and families.

"Part of the budget that we're sending to the governor's office and to the legislature asks for funding for these kinds of things," he added.

He is currently working on a resolution to send to the lawmakers to pause or stop the retention policies, he said. However, he wants to have solutions to the problem and also get input from students themselves, family members and educators.

He hasn't been able to do as much work on expanding literacy due to the culture wars existing in the school board, he said. The previous board meetings have had hundreds of people ready to testify about a resolution that would oppose Title IX protections for LGBTQ+ students.

He spearheaded a delay in the vote on the resolution following the contentious meeting on Oct. 12, saying the board needed to focus more on the kids and less on the "parent's rights" activists.

Despite each of the positions Kalonick, Gray, Robinson and Miller have, all agree that they just want what is best for the kids, and to focus on making the children more successful.

"Keep the intent around the reading help and support, but maybe rethink the retention policy," Kalonick said.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After being convicted in the largest bribery scheme in state history, former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder believes he only deserves 12-18 months in prison, according to new court filings.

"Mr. Householder is a broken man," defense attorneys said. "He has been humiliated and disgraced."

RELATED | Feds say Householder should get 16-20 years in prison

A jury found that Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges, beyond a reasonable doubt, participated in the largest public corruption case in state history. Householder passed a nearly $61 million scheme for a billion-dollar bailout, House Bill 6, at the expense of taxpayers.

The attorneys for Householder acknowledge their request may be a "tall order," however they say that "no defendant should be made a martyr to public passion."

The good Householder has done for the community outweighs the bad, according to the filing.

"Our purpose here is not to relitigate the facts presented to the jury — that will be a task for the appellate lawyers and the appellate courts — but to present a perspective of Mr. Householder that was not reflected in his portrayal at trial and in the news media," the document states.

The following pages resemble the opening argument, painting the picture that Householder is an Appalachian farm boy with a dream. They next try to argue that the government didn't fully show that each bribe he took was an actual bribe.

Ultimately, the defense argues that the nature of the offense and Householder’s history and characteristics favor a "below-guidelines sentence."

The attorneys argue that Householder "did not benefit financially from the offense," claiming the money that came from his right-hand man who was in charge of running the financial aspect of the scheme was a loan. That "loan" was then used to pay off Householder's debt and renovations to his Florida home.

The now-convicted felon has already faced punishment, the filing continues, as "his felony conviction bars him from ever holding public office in Ohio... his reputation has likewise been ruined."

"Mr. Householder is simply not a threat to the public, and no public interest is served by putting him behind bars for decades," the defense argues. "To the contrary, the public will suffer by being deprived of an individual whose charitable giving, good works, and work ethic have improved the lives of so many."

A whole section of the filing explains why the "media" is to blame for his loss of reputation.

Letters in support
Along with letters from family members came a letter from state Rep. Brett Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville). Hillyer chairs the House Civil Justice Committee and is an attorney.

"The person that has been portrayed by the media and outside groups is not someone that I have ever personally witnessed or recognized," Hillyer writes. "It has been painfully obvious that some in the media are using their political opposition to Mr. Householder to agitate and muddy the waters against him."

Hillyer, a moderate Republican who testified on behalf of Householder during the trial, is concerned about the former speaker's age and health. He requests for Judge Timothy Black to show leniency.

Joy Padgett, a former Ohio lawmaker, blamed the deceased Neil Clark, a co-conspirator, in her defense of Householder.

"[Clark] did have influence, but he was prone to flagrant exaggeration during every conversation on every issue being discussed," Padgett wrote. "Everyone who knew Neil knew they had to separate the 'wheat from the chaff' in his comments."

Householder was talented, she continued, saying he was "always exploring leading edge ideas that will improve the lives of his constituents and the people of Ohio."

She suggested he only receive probation.

Next was Scott Pullins, who News 5 interviewed during and after the trial.

"I personally know that Larry Householder is honest, ethical, and tries very hard to follow the law," said Pullins, who was an attorney for Householder.

Householder and Borges will be sentenced at 1 p.m. on June 29 and 11 a.m. on June 30, respectively, according to court documents.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The FBI has requested that former Ohio GOP Leader Matt Borges face 5-8 years in prison for his role in the largest corruption scheme in state history, according to a new court filing. He, however, thinks he only deserves 12 months and one day.

A jury found that Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges, beyond a reasonable doubt, participated in the largest public corruption case in state history, a racketeering scheme that left four men guilty and another dead by suicide.

Feds

"Borges’ primary role in the enterprise was to deprive Ohioans of the opportunity to overturn what Borges knew was corrupt legislation," the filing said. "Borges furthered the criminal enterprise by laundering FirstEnergy payments through his own account."

He then bribed Tyler Fehrman, a former friend turned FBI informant. During the bribe, Borges threatened Fehrman numerous times, saying things like "I'm going to blow your house up."

RELATED: FirstEnergy scandal whistleblower says he feels vindicated after public corruption trial testimony

"Matt threatened my life, disrupted my existence, and took advantage of our friendship to line his own pockets," Fehrman told News 5 following the sentencing memorandum's release. "His actions are inexcusable and wrong — regardless of what sentence he is given. Personally, I hope that both he and Larry are given the maximum sentence for their crimes.”

The prosecution, fed up with the "numerous lobbyists, law firms, consultants, and strategists" who knew about Householder’s relationship with Generation Now and chose not to report it, are liable when it comes to this scheme. Borges, even without the bribe, was one of them.

"Unfortunately, it seems, what was one of the largest public corruption schemes in Ohio history was simply business as usual on 'Cap Square,'" the government wrote in the filing.

The feds chose the 5-8 year time frame because it reflects the seriousness of the offense, goes over Borges' checkered past with law enforcement and also sets an example for others.

"Borges is familiar with the criminal justice system," the FBI said.

Borges pleaded guilty in 2004 in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas to a misdemeanor charge of improper use of a public office and was fined $1,000 for this conduct, which happened while serving as chief of staff to the Ohio State Treasurer. This was later expunged.

"Borges knew exactly where the lines were when he decided to cross them and participate in a criminal enterprise," the filing states.

The recommendation letter, one that is much milder in language than Householder's, acknowledges that the sentencing range is "substantially below the guidelines range." That, paired with the more amiable language, caught the attention of Case Western Reserve University criminal law professor Michael Benza.

"The issue for the government is, who do you have leverage with and is that person is open to helping the government in order to receive a benefit for themselves?" Benza said.

Householder seems incapable of accepting that he is convicted, and that seems clear by the aggressive tone in each of the FBI and Householder's sentencing files, Benza said.

"Borges is a realist looking at it going, 'this is the price that I have to pay, how do I help myself?'" Benza said.

It is unconfirmed if Borges is helping the government.

The FBI has requested that former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder face 16-20 years in prison for "causing immeasurable damage to the institution of democracy," according to a newly-released court filing. Householder is asking for 12-18 months.

RELATED: Feds say Householder should get 16-20 years in prison

RELATED: Householder asks for 12-18 month sentence as feds seek 16-20 years

"Regardless of how much time in prison is recommended for either of these convicted felons, they owe an extreme debt to the people of Ohio for violating their trust, taking advantage of them, and acting in brazen and heinous self-interest to the detriment of the citizens of the state,” Fehrman said.

Borges

Attorneys for Borges argued that in comparison to the other co-conspirators, his "involvement was substantially less culpable."

"He had no decision-making authority with respect to anyone else, no control over the money coming to Generation Now, no knowledge of the full scope of the conspiracy, was not involved in the planning or organizing of the conspiracy (which began years before Borges’ involvement) and was involved for a limited time," the filing states.

Borges then seemingly took responsibility for his bribe to Fehrman.

"Therefore, the 'criminal activity' within the scope of what Borges agreed to undertake should be limited to the $15,000 attempted bribe of Tyler Fehrman," it states.

The defense attorneys then moved on, comparing Borges with other defendants and witnesses. Referencing how the co-conspirators who were at the forefront of this scandal, yet pleaded guilty, are only getting a recommended 0-6 months sentence. Plus, there were Generation Now staffers who were clearly involved, but they were never charged.

"What is the most glaring difference between all of those individuals and Borges (other than prosecutorial discretion)? None of them offered money to Tyler Fehrman," the attorneys said. "But that act alone does not warrant anything close to a 240-month prison sentence."

The filing concluded by explaining why the reduced sentence is appropriate: Borges has made "significant positive contributions" in his life, he has zero criminal history points, he has already suffered a loss of work and reputation since the arrest, it would deter him from participating in more criminal activity and it would "both vindicate society’s need for retribution and weigh out a just level of mercy."

Unlike Householder, Borges does not blame the press for the loss of his reputation.

Along with the sentencing memorandum, Borges included letters of leniency from loved ones and community leaders — all arguing that he is a family man who cares about making the political system "better."

Householder and Borges will be sentenced at 1 p.m. on June 29 and 11 a.m. on June 30, respectively, according to court documents.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Senate's proposed expansion of private school vouchers has unsurprisingly divided parents across the state.

Parents want what is best for their kids.

"Having that private education is important, especially ours is focused on our faith," Lynette Haehn said.

For the mother of three, the Senate budget couldn’t have come at a better time.

RELATED | Ohio Senate passes conservative $94B budget focusing on tax cuts and education

She has been sending her kids to private school for years now – but with inflation and the cost of school, "money is tight," she added.

The Senate budget expands the EdChoice voucher system, which would allow her to apply for a scholarship to send her kids to the private or charter school of her choosing.

The current cutoff is about $88,000 per year for a family of five, like Haehn’s. Under the new budget, that amount gets bumped up to nearly $160,000. Families making more can still get a voucher, but they would only get a partial scholarship.

But for other parents and public school advocates, this system is unfair and undemocratic.

"You shouldn’t defund public schools to fund charter schools," Kia Woodward said. "And we shouldn't be competing for the same pot of money."

Woodward sends her daughter to public school and said seeing money get pulled from public schools and sent to private is destroying local districts. Just this fall, Columbus educators held a strike to get air conditioning and heating.

"I want the kids, especially the public school kids, to get a quality education and not have to fight for just basic amenities that everyone should have," she said.

Haehn understands this argument, she said. However, there is a solution.

"As a school system, make your school system the best that it can possibly be, and then people will choose you," the mom said.

Public schools can't get better if their funding is going to private schools, Woodward said.

This budget is not final. The House will need to vote to concur with it or head into a conference committee, which will likely happen.

Both parents should know by June 30 if and by how much vouchers will be expanded.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dozens of Ohio college students held a mock funeral to protest against a bill they say destroys higher education.

Students, dressed in their high school graduation robes, chanted and held candles as they rallied against Senate Bill 83 at the Statehouse.

The bill focuses on what GOP calls “free speech,” banning public universities in Ohio from having “bias” in the classroom and limiting what “controversial topics” can and can’t be taught.

Click here to read more details about the bill.

RELATED: Ohio GOP supports college overhaul bills to create ‘safe space’ for conservatives

Senior Tori Haller is majoring in history and education, and she said she is considering leaving Ohio if the bill passes.

"If I can't teach the history that I need to teach because it is presumed to constrict intellectual diversity, if I have to give inaccurate information like give Holocaust deniers an equal platform in the classroom because that is presumed to protect intellectual diversity, I cannot do my job in Ohio," Haller said.

Lawmakers in support of the legislation said that conservatives feel excluded and oppressed at universities.

"True intellectual diversity, free from the pressure to agree with a single ideological perspective that dominates are campuses today," State Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) said.

The bill was actually just slid into the Senate budget, meaning it could be passed Thursday. It would still need to be concurred by the House, but this is a way to fast-track it.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio lawmakers plan to go over the House speaker's head to repeal the scandal-ridden bill that forces ratepayers to spend millions funding "dirty" coal plants.

While former House Speaker Larry Householder awaits his sentencing in the largest corruption scandal in state history, a third of the Ohio House is considering repealing the remaining parts of the bill that helped make him and his coconspirators rich.

Fast Facts

A jury found that Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges, beyond a reasonable doubt, participated in the largest public corruption case in state history, a racketeering scheme that left four men guilty and another dead by suicide.

Householder passed a nearly $61 million scheme to pass a billion-dollar bailout, House Bill 6, at the expense of taxpayers and at the benefit of his pockets.

H.B. 6 mainly benefited FirstEnergy's struggling nuclear power plants, which provisions were later repealed. There are remaining aspects of the bill still in place, though.

The Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC) also got a handout from the scandal. It expanded a bailout of the OVEC plants and required Ohioans to pay for them. The main beneficiaries from this were American Electric Power Company (AEP), Duke Energy and AES Ohio.

RELATED: Lead Householder juror explains why trial 'left sour taste' in his mouth

Householder and Borges will be sentenced at 1 p.m. on June 29 and 11 a.m. on June 30, respectively, according to court documents.

The legislation

House Bill 120 would eliminate subsidies for two 1950s-era OVEC coal plants. It would also require full repayments of revenues collected under the H.B. 6 OVEC subsidy.

"It killed off our renewable energy standard and our energy efficiency standards and left us with two old coal plants that are non-competitive that we've been bailing out ever since the bill passed," said state Rep. Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson). "Ohioans are propping up these dirty, old, uncompetitive coal plants."

Weinstein, along with 32 other representatives, has put forward H.B. 120 to stop ratepayers from funding the coal plant in Southern Ohio and the other that is in Indiana, a coal plant that atlases confirm is not even in this state.

"It is an absolute shame and embarrassment to me that we have not completely wiped off these illegal acts from the books," Weinstein added. "And unfortunately, Ohioans are paying for it still."

Ratepayers have already paid about $400 million for the plants, according to the Ohio Consumers Counsel. That's more than $130,000 a day, and it is expected to reach $850 million by 2030.

Despite bipartisan support to repeal the subsidies, this bill and others from the last General Assembly have failed to go anywhere.

"These two coal plants are... operating pursuant to a federal program and losing money," Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said in March.

Huffman isn't in favor of repealing all of H.B. 6, because he opposes returning to the prior clean energy standards. But he would be willing to consider getting rid of the coal subsidies if the plants don’t actually need the money.

"Are they still operating at a loss?" Huffman asked. "They're not, then, yeah, we should repeal the subsidies."

There would have to be research done on the plants' profits, he added.

Republicans in favor of H.B. 120 say the House is the real problem, not the Senate.

Road to nowhere

Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) has one of the coal plants in his district and has shown no signs of wanting to repeal the bailouts.

"The ratepayers have been taken advantage of in Ohio by these utility companies for far too long," state Rep. Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) said.

Merrin, who is at odds with Stephens, accuses the speaker of being influenced by utility companies.

"A lot of the utility lobbyists that support the subsidies were behind Jason Stephens' speaker campaign, just like they were behind Larry Householder," Merrin said. "I think it's the special interests of the utility companies that effectively have control of the speaker."

There are numerous members of House leadership and high-up staffers who have a history of working with Householder, including ones who were made to testify during the corruption trial.

RELATED: Difficult to escape Larry Householder’s influence at Ohio Statehouse, even ahead of corruption trial

Stephens and his team did not respond to News 5, but told Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer that the OVEC plant was "very beneficial" to his district and "very beneficial to the state of Ohio and [regional power grid] from the standpoint of baseload power."

"Based on Speaker Stephens’s prior comments... it’s unlikely that this bill will be taken up by the House of Representatives," a representative for AEP told News 5 when asked about their thoughts on H.B. 120.

OVEC did not respond to comment.

For additional context, both Stephens and Merrin voted against expelling Householder. Merrin voted in favor of H.B. 6. Stephens was chosen by Householder once former speaker Ryan Smith was ousted by the now-convicted felon and came after the H.B. 6 vote.

Road to somewhere

Merrin and his team are in talks with Democrats to discharge the bill from the committee, the Republican said. Meaning, with enough signatures, the legislation would move immediately to a full House vote, superseding the speaker.

"That's probably where we're headed," Merrin said. "I'm confident that there are 50 votes to repeal."

If all 32 Democrats vote for the repeal, which is likely, only 18 Republicans are needed. Merrin's faction of the GOP has more than 18 people.

Whether the Merrin squad is in favor of repealing because they don't like corporate subsidies, they don't like H.B. 6 or they just want to mess with Stephens (or a combination of the options), the Democrats seem willing to accept the unlikely allies.

"There is an intransigent group of folks, a lot of whom have taken a lot of money, frankly, from energy interests and who are refusing to move the bill," Weinstein added. "That's why we're looking at potentially doing alternate paths to get this to the floor because I think Ohioans should have their legislators on the record and they deserve a vote on this bill."

News 5 reached out to Speaker Stephens about possibly being outvoted. He and his team did not respond.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Amid protests from citizens and against strong objections from Democratic legislators at the Ohio Statehouse, lawmakers in the House debated and then passed a resolution that will let voters decide in August whether or not to require a 60% vote to amend the Ohio Constitution, which would make it less likely that an amendment to legalize abortion in Ohio would pass in November.

Watch Ohio Channel video of the proceedings below:

Following speeches by several Democratic and Republican lawmakers, the House voted to pass the resolution by a vote of 62-37. It now heads to the Senate for approval of changes made by the house before being submitted to Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

FULL STORY: Ohio House passes resolution to ask voters to require 60% vote to amend constitution ahead of abortion vote

RELATED:

Lawmakers change constitutional amendment resolution amid looming deadline

Ohio constitution overhaul faces deadline, backlash

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.