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Kasich, Legislature facing hot-button issues in ’16
Second of a three-part series
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
There are plenty of issues that could put Gov. John Kasich and Republican legislative leaders at odds in the new year.
The administration and the Legislature continue to have different positions on an increase in taxes on oil and gas produced via horizontal hydraulic fracturing.
The governor doesn’t appear to be on board with legislative proposals to place a billion-dollar bond proposal before voters to pay for water-quality improvement initiatives.
And Kasich and legislators still have to reach an agreement on renewable- energy mandates, which were placed on hold last year pending further review.
The governor offered comments on those and other areas during a year-end speech before a small chamber of commerce audience in his suburban Columbus hometown.
Here are five potentially controversial topics he covered:
Severance Tax
The governor remains at odds with lawmakers over the severance tax issue – Kasich wants an increase in rates for oil and gas produced through the use of fracking in eastern Ohio’s shale oilfields, but Republican lawmakers have balked at his proposals.
“Let’s remember, this is one we just always agree to disagree on,” the governor said. “People say, you know, there’s not much drilling. Well, then there’s no severance tax. They say, well, the margins are smaller. Our [proposal] is based on a percentage of what they make. We’ll continue to [push for an increase]. I’ve always thought this is going to be a very difficult one. It took me 10 years ... to get to a balanced budget. What I worry about, though, is some enterprising politician or politicians who stick a severance tax on the ballot, jack it up real high and use the money for lots of things that people would vote for.”
Water Bond Issue
Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and others are pushing for a multiyear, billion-dollar bond issue to pay for water and sewer system improvements, as part of a larger effort to improve Ohio’s water quality and prevent future toxic algal blooms.
Sen. Randy Gardner of Bowling Green also is heading a “Lake Erie Caucus,” a bipartisan group considering water-related bond proposals.
Asked by reporters about the issue, Kasich was not supportive.
“I think we’ve spent a lot of money,” he said. “These folks have done a fantastic job in terms of not putting fertilizer on frozen ground. That was one that was praised by both the agriculture lobby and also the environmentalists. And we’ve spent a ton of money. I think we’re making progress on it. ... I don’t see any reason to really do any more at this point. I think we are doing a lot. This problem is multifaceted with this whole area being subjected to runoff with other states, with what happens in Detroit with their disposal system, with things that come out of Canada. We’re all working together to try to deal with this, and I think we’re dealing with it effectively. We spent a ton of money. We’ve now passed legislation. ... I think we’re going to get there on this.”
Renewable Benchmarks
Last year, lawmakers passed and the governor signed legislation freezing Ohio’s renewable energy and efficiency mandates for two years, pending a review by a study committee and the possibility of change.
Last session’s SB 310 stemmed from law changes enacted about seven years ago requiring power companies to generate a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources and to institute efficiency initiatives. Utilities are allowed to pass the costs of meeting the mandates onto their customers.
Among other provisions, the legislation froze renewable energy and efficiency benchmarks for two years. Absent legislative action in the new year, the benchmarks will restart in 2017.
Kasich acknowledged the difficulty in tackling the issue.
“It’s one we’ve gone back and forth on,” he said. “I believe we should develop renewables, but we have to develop them at a rate that is consistent with the ability to not drive up the costs so high that our manufacturers have to buy out-of-state power at higher prices and put people out of work. But I think we also have to be part of the national solution on renewables, and the Legislature’s now beginning to look at what we should do, and hopefully we can reach an agreement because I would hate to go back to a 25 percent mandate. I don’t think that’ll happen. I think we will reach an agreement and we’ve got to not be ideological in this and figure out how this renewable mandate or renewable goal fits in with out national perspective and Ohio’s economy.”
Other Energy Policy
Kasich deferred to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on specific energy policy decisions.
But, he offered, “If we don’t have a vibrant energy industry in the state, we’ve got a problem with jobs in the future. I think they have to be practical and realistic, but I do not talk to my PUCO commissioners about this. ... The only thing I ask them when I appoint them is just look at the facts and make a decision. I could care less about interest groups or who cares what. We have to do what’s in the long-term interest of making sure that Ohio is a place where people can have certainty about power.”
Redistricting
In November, voters overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan plan to reform the way Ohio draws its legislative district lines.
Shortly after the vote, Republican House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger of Clarksville told reporters he thought the state should wait and see how the new setup worked before moving forward with a comparable reform package for congressional redistricting.
Kasich told reporters he supports congressional redistricting reform, and he said he’s going to push the issue.
“I support redistricting reform dramatically,” he said. “This will be something I’m going to do, whether I’m elected president or whether I’m here. I think we need to eliminate gerrymandering. We’ve got to figure out a way to do it. We’ve got to be aggressive on it. We’ve got to have more competitive districts. That to me is what’s good for the state of Ohio and what’s good for the country.”