Ohio Democrats introduce anti-corruption bills
TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Dark money, bribes and political corruption are all the targets of a new series of proposals from Ohio democrats. They say they want to prevent the same activity that led to the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio’s history.
That $60 million bribery scandal surrounded House Bill 6 in 2019, a nuclear bailout bill that passed because First Energy bribed lawmakers, including the speaker of the house.
Prosecutors say the company funneled their money to lawmakers through a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. Those groups aren’t required to disclose their donors to the public. That would change under one of three bills democrats introduced targeting public corruption.
Another aims to protect petition gatherers from harassment as they try to overturn a piece of legislation. The third looks to crack down on pay-to-play schemes for public contracts.
Democrats say they want to prevent a future House Bill 6 scandal.
“No law in Ohio prevented this scandal. And since not one law has even truly attempted to fix this massive injustice,” said State Representative Bride Rose Sweeney, (D) Westlake.
The top republican in the House told reporters that he doesn’t think Ohio can require disclosures for the aforementioned type of dark-money contributions. He adds that the GOP is working on its own series of ethics reforms.
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