Administration Office 614-728-5458 Fax 614-466-5087 September 25, 2020 Honorable Steve Wilson Chairman, Energy and Public Utilities Committee Senate Building 1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 Honorable Jim Hoops Chairman, Select Committee on Energy and Policy Oversight Riffe Center 77 S. High Street, 11th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 Dear Chairman Wilson and Chairman Hoops, I have followed with interest the diligent work regarding possible alternatives to HB 6 considered by the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee and the House Select Committee on Energy Policy and Oversight. I write today to clear up one particular point: there is nothing in Ohio’s civil lawsuit preventing or even hindering company representatives from appearing in public before your committees to answer questions – particularly questions about whether they are, in fact, profitable. It is true Ohio is seeking a restraining order to prevent the various Defendants, including Energy Harbor, from lobbying the General Assembly. This requested order is designed to prevent the kind of behind-closed-doors discussions that contributed to the current morass. There is absolutely no reason to restrain them from answering questions in the light of day – and well into the night, as long as it is a public session. In fact, Ohioans would welcome it, and it would without question aid in producing a fair, well-informed energy bill from your committees. Accordingly, we will ask the Court, should it grant our motion, to include express language allowing company representatives to appear before legislative bodies in public meetings. It is also important to point out that at present, no Fifth Amendment issues are implicated by either FirstEnergy or Energy Harbor providing testimony to your committees. The action by my office is a civil suit, not criminal. The federal criminal indictment on this matter does not name FirstEnergy, nor any of its affiliated corporations as defendants. Of course, company officers may invoke the protections of the Fifth Amendment if they fear their answers may incriminate them. HB 6 was largely based on a single premise – that the nuclear generating plants are enormous financial liabilities and are at risk of imminent closure without a public bailout. Knowing what we know now, these corporations have lost any benefit of the doubt. They owe it to the legislature and the public to appear before the committees and provide a detailed financial accounting of their operations. 30 E. Broad Street, 17th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215 www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov Chairman Steve Wilson Chairman Jim Hoops Re: HB 6 Witness Considerations September 25, 2020 p 2 Our case is about finding the truth. It makes no difference to me whether the truth is uncovered in a committee room or in a courtroom. I appreciate the steps you and other leaders in the legislature are taking to review HB 6, and I assure you that my civil suit will not hinder those important efforts. Yours, Dave Yost Ohio Attorney General cc: Ranking Member Sandra Williams, Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee Ranking Member David Leland, Select Committee on Energy and Policy Oversight Members of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee Members of the Select Committee on Energy and Policy Oversight Frank Strigari, Chief Legal Counsel, Ohio Senate Paul Disantis, Interim Chief Legal Counsel, Ohio House