Ohio AG sues again to stop HB 6 collection

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost laid the next brick in the wall to block the annual collection of $150 million from Ohioans that, as part of House Bill 6, will go to Energy Harbor, the successor to FirstEnergy’s nuclear plants.

A lawsuit filed Friday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court asks the court to prevent the company from collecting the fee.

“The people of Ohio are about to be shaken down for money they should not have to pay based on how HB 6 was enacted,” Yost said in a news release. “There is no process in place to return the money to residents once it leaves their accounts — so why take it?”

HB 6, which was crafted and approved under corrupt and cloaked actions, calls for the collection of the funds beginning Jan. 1, which will then be paid to Energy Harbor.

In September, Yost filed a civil lawsuit to prevent Energy Harbor from receiving funds collected pursuant to the utility surcharge included in HB 6. Without this new filing, Yost said these so-called nuclear generation fees could still be collected from Ohioans but then held in limbo during litigation.

Named in the suit are two pro forma government defendants who were not at all part of the corrupt enterprise. The preliminary and permanent injunction against the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority and the state treasurer’s office are included only because of the administrative roles bestowed on them by the General Assembly.

Friday’s lawsuit is the first action that would immediately stop the collection of fees.

“With every passing minute this mess gets worse,” Yost said. “We need to stop this process altogether.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2020 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Ohio AG sues again to stop HB 6 collection."