State News

Ohio Dems push affordability legislation; critics tout consequences

(The Center Square) — Ohio House Democrats recently unveiled a series of legislative proposals on a major issue in this year's elections, both statewide and nationally – affordability.

The Democrats blamed 20 years of Republican rule in the Ohio House for the growing costs of housing, health care, childcare and other necessities.

"The time to act on this crisis is now," State Rep. Anita Somani, D-Dublin, said at a news conference.

But critics say continued government handouts often lead to unintended consequences without intended benefits.

Somani, a physician, is sponsoring legislation to lower the cost of health insurance following the expiration of federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. She proposes adding a 1% "assessment fee" on all health insurers in Ohio.

"Currently, healthcare costs are the number one concern for most families," she said. "This issue will only get worse as more and more Ohioans feel the effects of the expiration of the advanced Affordable Care Act tax credits due to Republicans giving billionaires tax cuts."

State Rep. Phil Robinson, D-Solon, said Ohio is unaffordable because of longstanding Republican control of the state government.

"The fact that you cannot afford to buy your first home is because of choices made by people in power," he said. "Your child care costs are the same as a starting salary. Think about that. The same as a starting salary. Gasoline is more than $4 a gallon, and natural gas for heat has gone through the roof.

"For almost two decades, the politicians in charge of Ohio have chosen the super wealthy over the people. With every tax break for millionaires, loopholes for corporations or school vouchers for millionaires, the economy has made less and less sense for regular Ohioans."

Republican House members disagreed, defending their record on the issue of affordability.

"The Ohio House Republican Caucus has continued to prioritize keeping more money in Ohioans' pockets – championing historic property tax relief totaling $3 billion, leading on comprehensive energy reform, expanding access to affordable child care, and flattening the income tax, despite puzzling opposition by House Democrats," Caucus spokeswoman Carolyn Cypret told The Center Square in a statement. "These are real, common-sense solutions that lower people's taxes, support Ohio families and promote economic development."

Simply throwing money at programs is no guarantee of improvement, Greg Lawson, senior research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, told The Center Square.

"The one challenge when you subsidize things is that you tend to increase their cost without necessarily getting all the benefits that you want," Lawson said. "When you just do something that is not tied to outcomes, you end up getting, in a lot of cases, more subpar kinds of outcomes than you do when you have some sort of a defined metric that you want."

David Beasley authored this report.

Jury deadlocks on ex-FirstEnergy execs on bribery charges

(The Center Square) – A jury in Akron deadlocked Tuesday in the trial of two former FirstEnergy executives charged with bribing a state utility board chairman.

Ohio Attorney General David Yost said his office will retry the two men, Michael J. Dowling and Charles E. Jones. The jury deliberated for nine days but could not reach a unanimous verdict.

"We had a hung jury," Yost said in a statement Tuesday. "That means they deliberated for a long time and couldn't get to a verdict that they all agreed on. That means somebody didn't think they were guilty, and some people thought they were, beyond a reasonable doubt."

The state of Ohio "can and will retry these defendants," the attorney general added. "Justice needs to be done."

Jones was the former CEO of FirstEnergy, and Dowling was the former senior vice president of external affairs.

Samuel "Sam" Randazzo, former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, was also indicted.

"Jones and Dowling actively worked to spend FirstEnergy money to improperly influence Randazzo to exercise the authority of PUCO chairman to advance FirstEnergy's regulatory and policy agendas," according to the indictment.

The men engaged "in a scheme to corrupt the PUCO chairman and ratemaking policies, stealing millions of dollars from FirstEnergy and a nonprofit trade group, and tampering with government records," the attorney general's office said in 2024.

The case stretches back to 2019, with the passage of House Bill 6, according to the non-profit group Common Cause Ohio.

The legislation was a bailout for the state's nuclear energy industry and "forced Ohio customers to pay for failing nuclear and coal plants," Common Cause said.

"The House Bill 6 scandal – the biggest in Ohio history –was a $60 million scheme by FirstEnergy and other utility companies to buy seats and votes in the Ohio House to secure passage of a billion-dollar bailout of failing nuclear and coal plants in Ohio and Indiana. The House Bill 6 scandal is the largest public corruption case in Ohio history," Common Cause Ohio said. "Utility companies secretly spent millions of dollars to influence elections and pass a law that forced Ohio residents to pay for failing power plants."

Dowling and Jones were accused of paying Randazzo a $4.3 million bribe to help pass House Bill 6 and obtain favorable rulings for the utility.

Former Speaker of the Ohio House Larry Householder and former Chair of the Republican Party Matt Borges were convicted of racketeering and bribery, and the prosecutions have continued.

Randazzo died in 2024, "likely as the result of suicide," according to Common Cause Ohio.

David Beasley authored this report.

Vertiv gets millions from taxpayers for proposed $50M expansion

(The Center Square) — Technology infrastructure giant Vertiv has announced a $50 million investment that promises to bring 730 jobs to Westerville and Ironton, a move being celebrated by Gov. Mike DeWine.

And it will get millions in taxpayer funds to help the planned projects.

Just weeks after the company made its debut on the S&P 500, ups and downs in the company's valuation demonstrate the volatility of AI amidst a deeply unstable global market.

Investors and job seekers are betting on the company's staying power even as prices soar for the energy demanded in high volume by AI technology. Part of the company's promise, it says, is its commitment to sustainability, developing more efficient infrastructure and cooling systems.

The newly unveiled investment won't be in a new local data center, something Ohio residents have strongly pushed back on. Instead, it's an expansion of its corporate headquarters, which it says will provide new jobs through 2029.

"Ohio has been central to Vertiv's story for more than six decades, and this investment reflects our confidence in the state, our communities, and the people who make growth possible," said Anand Sanghi, president of Vertiv Americas. "By expanding in Westerville and Ironton, we are investing in talent, manufacturing, and long-term capability that will help us better serve customers while continuing to create high-quality opportunities in Ohio."

Though the company has offices internationally, Vertiv got its start in Columbus and is headquartered in Westerville. The company sells data center infrastructure, including the technology required to optimize power distribution and cooling. It also provides maintenance and IT services.

In addition to its corporate headquarters, Ohio is home to two of the company's manufacturing facilities.

"Vertiv's growth here is a testament to Ohio's integral role in the technology industry," said DeWine. "Ohio has the best workforce in the nation, and we are proud that Ohioans will be on the leading edge of Vertiv's work to establish and strengthen the AI supply chain."

Taxpayers are chipping into the investment through a $1 million Delaware County JobsOhio grant, a $3 million Lawrence County JobsOhio grant, and job creation tax credits from the Ohio Department of Development.

"Vertiv's commitment strengthens a proud manufacturing tradition in Lawrence County, while also reinforcing Ohio's role as a national leader in producing the technologies that will drive our state — and our country — forward," said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Department of Development. "This kind of growth is possible because of strong collaboration between partners who believe in what Ohio is, and what it can be."

The race to draw technology investments to individual states has been a competitive one, encouraged at the highest levels by federal promises to unleash energy resources and incentivize development.

The investments aren't always an easy sell for residents, leery of increasing energy bills created by higher demand. Many of the jobs promised by data centers themselves come with construction, with the facilities needing far fewer hands on deck once operational.

In this case, Vertiv says the expansion will create jobs that have been historically more stable, supporting the "growing demand for roles across engineering, sales, services, project management, and related business functions."

Christina Lengyel authored this report.