COLUMBUS, Ohio — During a press conference on Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted called for House Bill 6 to be repealed and replaced following federal allegations of a bribery and money laundering scheme prosecutors say was perpetrated by Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four of his associates to pass a bill that provided a $1.5 billion taxpayer bailout to two nuclear plants owned by FirstEnergy.
DeWine and Husted have asked the legislature to repeal HB 6 and replace the bill using an open process to ensure the public can have full confidence in the bill.
The governor said that the policy, in his opinion, was good, but “the process by which it was created stinks. It’s terrible. It’s not acceptable.”
DeWine said that repealing and replacing the bill will maintain the jobs and environmental benefits of saving the nuclear power plants while at the same time ensuring that the process in which the policy is adopted is a trustworthy one.
Husted stressed the need for public trust, which he said can only be had by repealing and replacing HB 6.
“No policy is bigger than public trust, and public trust was violated,” Husted said. “The process just undermines public trust, and you can’t have a law on the books that was done in a way that the public can’t trust the process.”
Householder and the four associates were arrested Tuesday on charges in relation to “what is likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio," one that allegedly involved at least $61 million passed through a 501c4 organization controlled by Householder and other entities for the purpose of passing HB 6.
RELATED: State representative announces legislation to repeal HB-6 after arrest of House speaker
