FirstEnergy Scandal Prompts Ohio Coalition to Call for Corporate Dissolution

In response to the FirstEnergy scandal, a coalition of environmental, good government, and community activists in Ohio are calling on the state’s attorney general to take action against the utility. The coalition, known as the FirstEnergy Accountability Coalition, is urging AG Dave Yost to revoke FirstEnergy’s corporate charter due to its involvement in bribery to secure the passage of House Bill 6. They argue that Ohioans should have the right to dissolve corporations as they are the ones who grant them charters.

Sandy Bolzenius from Central Ohio Move to Amend emphasized the importance of holding corporations accountable. The coalition includes members from Save Ohio Parks, the Ohio Nuclear Free Network, and the Ohio Green Party. However, Yost’s office has declined to meet with the group citing ongoing litigation related to the scandal.

In addition to his efforts against FirstEnergy, Yost previously filed a civil suit to block millions of dollars in charges going to Energy Harbor, a FirstEnergy subsidiary that owned Ohio’s nuclear power plants. The suit also seeks to dissolve or reorganize FirstEnergy. In addition, Yost filed a 27-count indictment against two former FirstEnergy executives and a former public utilities commission chair who have pleaded not guilty. The former chair died by suicide recently.

Responding to this scandal and corporations’ involvement in politics, two Ohio Senate Democrats have proposed a resolution challenging U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. Minority Leader Nickie Antonio and Sen. Kent Smith sponsored Senate Resolution 180 which supports an amendment to U.S Constitution that would abolish corporate personhood and money as speech notion. Smith emphasized that this legislation is urgent in light of ongoing bribery and money laundering scandal involving FirstEnergy.[