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Counter Points is written by WVXU Senior Political Analyst Howard Wilkinson. In it, he shares insights on political news on the local, state and national level that impacts the 2020 election. Counter Points is delivered once a week on Wednesdays and will cease publication soon after the November election is decided.

LaRose Pushes For Campaign Finance Disclosure

from left to right: Rep. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville), Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio), Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park)
Dan Konik
from left to right: Rep. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville), Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio), Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park)

House lawmakers met with Ohio's top elections official to discuss ways of making the state's campaign finance system more transparent. The meeting comes after the former house speaker was indicted for an alleged bribery scheme to get a nuclear power plant bailout through the Ohio General Assembly.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio) voiced his support for the campaign finance proposal, HB737, from Rep. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville) and Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Hill).

Recommendations out of the meeting between LaRose and the legislators included; parity for groups fighting for and against ballot issues, allowing subpoenaing power for the secretary of state's office, and required reporting of donations into independent expenditures, also known as dark money groups.  

"This idea that you can create an LLC, or two, or three to move the money around and have anonymity is not going to be consistent with what we're trying to accomplish here," LaRose said.

Federal investigators accuse former House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) was part of a racketeering scheme that involved millions of dollars secretly flowing through a dark money group, Generation Now, from a utility company widely believed to be FirstEnergy, in order to get a nuclear power plant bailout.

Copyright 2020 The Statehouse News Bureau

Andy Chow is a general assignment state government reporter who focuses on environmental, energy, agriculture, and education-related issues. He started his journalism career as an associate producer with ABC 6/FOX 28 in Columbus before becoming a producer with WBNS 10TV.