HOUSE BILL 6 TIMELINE
This information is based on public records from multiple sources, including Ohio campaign finance reports, state ethics statements, legislative votes, the governor’s office, IRS records, Securities and Exchange Commission disclosures, federal court records and an FBI affidavit.
■ January 2017: Republican Larry Householder and his son ride on the FirstEnergy corporate jet to Donald Trump’s inauguration.
■ Feb. 8, 2017: Partners for Progress is incorporated as a 501(c)4 organization in Ohio. It is funded by FirstEnergy, according to an FBI affidavit.
■ March 2017: Generation Now is formed as a 501(c)4 organization. It is funded by FirstEnergy, FBI and IRS records show.
■ Nov. 30, 2017: Jon Husted becomes Mike DeWine’s running mate.
■ March 31, 2018: FirstEnergy Solutions files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
■ Spring 2018: Generation Now transfers money to a political action committee, which spends money to elect pro-Householder candidates for the Ohio House, according to an FBI affidavit and campaign finance records.
■ Oct. 10, 2018: DeWine attends Republican Governors Association fundraiser in Columbus and meets with
FirstEnergy officials, according to a DeWine spokeswoman.
■ Oct. 11, 2018: FirstEnergy Solutions contributes $500,000 to RGA, IRS records show.
■ Oct. 18, 2018: RGA super PAC American Comeback Committee donated $1 million to Securing Ohio’s Future Action Fund, which backs DeWine for governor.
■ Oct. 23, 2018: RGA nonprofit group State Solutions Inc. contributes $4.5 million to American Comeback Committee, bringing its 2018 year-todate contribution to American Comeback Committee to $11 million.
■ Oct. 23, 2018: American Comeback Committee donated $650,000 to Securing Ohio’s Future Action Fund Inc.
■ Late October 2018: DeWine loans his campaign $3 million in personal funds; this is on top of a previous $1 million personal loan, campaign finance records show.
■ Nov. 6, 2018: DeWine defeats Democrat Richard Cordray in the Ohio governor’s race.
■ Dec 18, 2018: DeWine and Husted dine with FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and
Mike Dowling at Athletic Club of Columbus, said a DeWine spokeswoman.
■ Dec. 31, 2018: Energy attorney Sam Randazzo resigns from his law firm.
■ Jan. 3, 2019: DeWine appoints Dan McCarthy as his legislative director. McCarthy was a lobbyist for FirstEnergy for a decade and headed FirstEnergy’s nonprofit group, Partners for Progress, according to lobbying disclosures and IRS records. McCarthy resigns both positions to join the DeWine team.
■ Jan. 6, 2019: Republican Larry Householder is named Ohio
House speaker on a 52-46 floor vote.
■ Jan. 17, 2019: Randazzo applies for a seat on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
■ Feb. 4, 2019: DeWine appoints Randazzo as PUCO chair.
■ April 12, 2019: Householder holds a news conference to outline a sweeping energy plan called House Bill 6.
■ May 29, 2019: House Bill 6 wins passage in the House on a 53-43 vote.
■ July 17, 2019: House Bill 6 clears the Senate on a 19-12 vote.
■ July 23, 2019: The House agrees to Senate changes. DeWine signs it into law the same day.
■ August-October 2019: Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts, a coalition of business, consumer and environmental groups, seeks to put the new law up for a referendum in November 2020.
■ Fall 2019: DeWine asks FirstEnergy to contribute to help Alice DeWine, the governor’s daughter, run for Greene County prosecutor.
■ October 2019: Facing a fierce counter-campaign, opponents of HB6 fail to gather enough signatures to force a statewide referendum vote. The law takes effect.
■ July 21, 2020: FBI agents arrest Householder, Matt Borges, Neil Clark, Jeff Longstreth and Juan Cespedes. They are accused of taking nearly $61 million in bribe money funneled through Generation Now and other groups to position Householder as speaker and then pass and defend House Bill 6, said an FBI affidavit. All five initially plead not guilty.
■ Oct. 29, 2020: Cespedes and Longstreth plead guilty; FirstEnergy fires CEO Chuck Jones and senior vice presidents Dennis Chack and Mike Dowling, saying they violated company policies.
■ Nov. 16, 2020: The FBI executes a search warrant at a condo owned by Randazzo.
■ Nov. 20, 2020: FirstEnergy tells the Securities and Exchange Commission that it fired Jones and others in part because of a $4.3 million payment to end a consulting agreement in January 2019 with someone who was subsequently appointed in February 2019 as an Ohio regulator over utilities. Randazzo isn’t specifically mentioned.
■ Nov. 21, 2020: Randazzo resigns as PUCO chairman.
■ Feb. 12, 2021: Generation Now guilty plea is announced.