COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — It has been two weeks since Larry Householder, the former Speaker of the Ohio House, was found guilty of racketeering in an energy bailout legislation scandal. That legislation was called House Bill 6, and while the portions that directly relate to the bribery scandal have been repealed, many parts of it are still law.

Democratic Reps. Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) And Sean Brennan (D-Parma) are sponsoring House Bill 120 to repeal the portion of HB6 that supports Ohio Valley Electric Corporation coal plants.

“Let’s coalesce around the parts of this bill that really need to go,” Weinstein said. “The bill was fueled and passed through illegal means, it’s indisputable. I think we owe it to Ohioans to do the right thing.”

But not all lawmakers agree that repealing HB 6 is necessary.

“I was advocating that those go in the bill,” Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) said. “Nobody’s ever accused me of any bribery or corruption, so it’s unrelated to anything that was on issue in the Householder trial.”

HB120 has garnered some bipartisan support, and while Weinstein said that’s a sign that the repeal is necessary, Seitz doesn’t believe bipartisanship is enough.

“I would not foresee the bill going anywhere,” Seitz said.

Before HB6, utilities already had the option to attach charges for OVEC. Setiz said those charges got out of hand, sometimes reaching $6 a month. Under HB6, those subsidy charges are capped at $1.50 a month.

Seitz said now with natural gas prices spiking, ratepayers are receiving credits on their bills because “coal is back in the money.”

“When you look back at the lifetime of HB6, those plants have been a big, big loser for Ohioans,” Weinstein said. “I don’t think it should take a war for those to temporarily be competitive.”

Seitz cautioned against banking on low natural gas prices and said the OVEC provisions in HB6 “operate as a hedge.”

“You never want to put your eggs in one basket,” Seitz said.

But both lawmakers agree that Ohio’s energy efficiency program needs to change.

“Our energy efficiency program was broken apart,” Weinstein said. “PUCO’s own study showed that it saved Ohioans billions of dollars in the cheapest energy there is — energy we don’t need to use. So, I’d love to see that program restored.”

Seitz is sponsoring a bipartisan bill to do so alongside Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake). Seitz said that bill has the support of all the utility companies and the environmental community — and Weinstein said he supports it too. But Weinstein said Ohio needs to prioritize renewable sources in its energy policy.

“I’d like to ease pathways for the renewed growth of solar power and wind power. One way to do that is through community solar access programs. So, that’s another piece of legislation I’m working on too,” he said. “Instead of propping up legacy fuel sources that have a very limited life span, I’d like to see us put our energy behind renewable sources.”

Seitz disagreed, saying until renewable energy is more reliable, Ohio needs to continue to support base-load plants like coal, nuclear and natural gas.

“Demand for electricity is going up, baseload plants are being retired at a rate faster than expected and the gap is not being fulfilled by renewable sources,” Seitz said.