Republicans in the Ohio Senate are regrouping after allegations of sexual harassment forced a high ranking member to resign. That senator’s absence leaves several issues on the table.
Republican Cliff Hite of Findlay was chair of the agriculture committee and a leading voice for the wind energy industry. He resigned after a state employee accused him of propositioning her for sex and harassing her.
Now the Republican caucus plans on having meetings this week to pick up the pieces. That includes possibly picking Hite’s replacement, assigning a new committee chair and finding out if there’s still support for Hite’s bills.
One of his more prominent bills would decrease wind setbacks, which is the minimum distance a wind turbine must be from property lines.
A spokesperson for the Senate Republican Caucus says this issue will be discussed along with other energy policies that they’d like to take on at the beginning of next year.