Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) is reintroducing legislation aimed at preventing utility companies from funding political activities with ratepayer dollars.
In 2022, Florida Power and Light (FPL), the Sunshine State's largest utility company, was found to be putting money toward so-called "ghost candidates," spying on journalist Nathan Monroe, and influencing editorial decisions of The Capitolist political news site.
Similarly, FirstEnergy, a major utility company in Ohio, was found to have engaged in a massive quid pro quo scheme with former State Speaker of the House Larry Householder, for whom FirstEnergy helped secure his position in exchange for passing a billion-dollar nuclear bailout bill in 2020.
Illinois saw a similar scandal between former State Speaker Michael Madigan and Commonwealth Edison to pass legislation in their favor.
"Electric bills should pay for electricity – not political tricks to hijack elections, mislead voters and steal elections," said Rep. Castor in her press release, adding, "Florida families are tired of being taken advantage of by big utility companies that continue to raise rates while using their hard-earned dollars to bankroll deceitful political activities and block access to cleaner, cheaper energy. It's time for Congress to stand up for customers, stop this abuse, and secure our elections from corporate manipulation."
Rep. Castor's new bill comes on the heels of a similar piece of legislation, the Honest Elections and Campaign, No Gain (HEC No) Act, which requires all former lawmakers and those no longer seeking office to close their campaign accounts within two years of their last election.
After all, many lawmakers were found to have been using campaign websites as personal slush funds, with a campaign advisor to the late Representative Mark Takai (D-HI) continuing to pay out his firm despite Takai having been deceased for 17 months. Former Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) using her funds to cover travel expenses despite being out of office for six months.
