Senate passes nuclear bill, but House adjourns without acting

SANDUSKY — The Ohio General Assembly stopped just short Wednesday of passing a bill to save the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Oak Harbor, passing the latest version of the measure in the Senate but not in the House.The House adjourned just after 9 p.m. Wednesday without taking up the measure. Supporters had hoped the House would accept the measure as amended by the Senate.A capitol source told the Register the House would take up the measure Aug. 1 if it couldn't come up with enough votes Wednesday.The bill should be able to pick up one more vote on that date, when the new state representative for Erie and Ottawa counties, Douglas "DJ" Swearingen, takes office. Swearingen has said he supports keeping the plant open.House Bill 6 tacks a fee onto electrical bills to provide a subsidy to keep the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants open. The two plants support about 1,300 jobs, including about 700 at Davis-Besse. Those 700 include 100 contract workers and 600 who work at the plant. More than 400 Davis-Besse employees are from Ottawa and Erie Counties.The measure was voted out of a Senate committee Wednesday, then the full Senate approved the measure 19-12.State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, voted in favor of the measure and spoke in favor of it on the Senate floor.Gavarone, while conceding that House Bill 6 is not a "perfect bill," listed her reasons for supporting it. She noted Davis-Besse supports hundreds of good-paying jobs and provides important tax revenue for local public schools."It's quite simple for me to explain why I'm supporting the bill," she said. "I support clean energy, and nuclear plants provide that. I support children attending quality schools, and nuclear plants provide that. I support good-paying jobs, and nuclear plants provide that."The bill will also reduce energy prices for consumers, she said.