House Bill 6 referendum effort is dead after group drops lawsuit appeal

The Perry nuclear power plant in Lake County

The Perry nuclear plant in Lake County, seen here, and the Davis Besse plant near Toledo will be subsidized starting in 2021 thanks to House Bill 6. On Wednesday, HB6 opponents ended their legal battle to hold a statewide referendum overturning the nuclear and coal subsidy law. (John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS — "The fight to hold a statewide referendum overturning House Bill 6, Ohio’s new law gutting green-energy standards and subsidizing nuclear and coal power plants, is officially over.

On Tuesday, Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts, the group behind the effort to hold the referendum, filed a motion with the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to drop its appeal seeking to gain more time to gather enough signatures to place the measure on the 2020 ballot.

'We couldn’t see a path forward,' said Gene Pierce, a spokesman for Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts, on Wednesday morning. 'I don’t know what anybody else wants to do, but we’re done.'"

—  Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com

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