Ohio Citizen Action Education Fund analyzed contributions to Ohio statewide and legislative officials and Ohio political party committees from January 2005-June 2007 from campaign contributors with an economic or policy interest in the Energy Plan Senate Bill 221. To identify the contributors associated with the development of new energy policy in Ohio, the Money in Politics Project placed a public records request asking for a list of those individuals and their organizations who had met with Governor Ted Strickland, the Energy Advisor, and the Governor’s staff. The Governor’s office provided the Governor’s schedule. To identify other contributors involved in the debate, the Project included those who commented in the press or made a public statement about Senate Bill 221 or regulation of electricity.

Members of the Ohio General Assembly, statewide officeholders, and the political parties have received a combined $2.5 million from moneyed interests with a stake in the future of electricity rates in the state of Ohio.


Findings

There is a direct correlation between the number of meetings with prominent stakeholders and campaign contributions. Political players and campaign contributors have better access than those who represent the public.

Major electric utilities contributed nearly $1 million and had seven meetings with the Governor and his staff. Coal companies contributed $232,460, and a representative of Boich Companies had five meetings with the Governor’s Chief of Staff. Major industrial energy users, manufacturers, contributed a combined $816,065 and participated in six meetings during the development of Strickland’s energy plan.

Meetings with the Governor or the Governor's Staff

Who	Organization	Dates
Bill Sundermeyer	AARP	9/7   JH
Bill Sundermeyer & Ron Bridges	AARP	9/21   TS, MS, JL
Joe Rugola & John Lyle	AFL-CIO	9/18   TS & JH
Joe Rugola & Babe Erdos	AFL-CIO & United Mine Workers	9/18   TS & JH
Jane Harf, Belinda Jones & Bob Powers	American Electric Power	10/1   TS, MS, JH, AS, BH
Mike Morris	American Electric Power	9/6   TS, MS, AS
Paul Barbas & Art Meyer	Dayton Power & Light	9/27   TS, MS, JH
Matt Evans	Boich Companies	8/13  JH,  8/24  JH,  8/31  JH,  9/7  JH,  9/19  JH
Rocky Black & Mike Koren	Ohio Farm Bureau	9/26   JH
Tony Alexander	FirstEnergy	9/10   TS & JH
Mike Dowling	FirstEnergy	8/17  JH,  9/26  JH
Mike Dowling & Leila Vespoli	FirstEnergy	9/6   JH
Sam Randazzo	Industrial Energy Users - Ohio	9/4   TS & JH
Denny Larr	Lobbyist with 26 clients including the Ohio Coalition for Affordable Power, the Ohio Manufacturers' Association & the Ohio Municipal Electric Association	8/31  JH,  9/4  TS & JH,  9/13  JH
Denny Larr & Sandy Theis	Lobbyist with 26 clients and a consultant for the Ohio Manufacturers' Association	9/13   JH
Jack Fisher	Ohio Farm Bureau	9/21   TS, MS, JL
Eric Burkland	Ohio Manufacturers' Association	8/31   JH

                                        TS= Governor Ted Strickland
                                        MS= Energy Advisor Mark Shanahan
                                        JH= Chief of Staff John Haseley
                                        JL= Governor's Environmental Policy Director Jennifer Lynch
                                        AS= Chair of the PUCO Alan Schriber
                                        BH= Governor's Legislative Director Bill Hartnett


Emails from the governor’s office also provide a snapshot of the process. One notable email highlights a meeting to review the Senate testimony of a senior AEP executive with Mark Shanahan, the Energy Advisor, Alan Schriber the Chair of the Public Utilities Commission, Jennifer Lynch, the Governor’s Environmental Policy Director and Bill Hartnett, the Governor’s Legislative Director:



AEP contributed $44,035 Governor Strickland and $57,210 to members of the Ohio Senate.

Political players and campaign contributors have better access than those who represent the public. Representatives of electric utilities, coal companies, and major employers and manufacturers had a combined eighteen individual meetings with the Governor and/or his staff. Public interest advocates like Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy primarily participated in group meetings. Only recognized political powerhouse AARP attended individual meetings.

The Energy Plan Senate Bill 221 is now in the Ohio House. On December 19, 2007, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that the Speaker of the Ohio House, Jon Husted, has been holding stakeholder meetings. According to the Plain Dealer, a list of attendees shows that members of the Speaker’s staff have met privately with representatives of utility companies, large and small manufacturers, and the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel. Ohio environmental groups and advocates for low-income Ohioans were not included in these meetings.


Overview of the money