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This website publishes administrative rules on their effective dates, as designated by the adopting state agencies, colleges, and universities.

Chapter 4901:7-1 | General Provisions

 
 
 
Rule
Rule 4901:7-1-01 | Meetings.
 

(A) This chapter is adopted in compliance with, and under the authority of division (B) of section 4901.021 and division (F) of section 121.22 of the Revised Code.

(B) All meetings of the nominating council at which official action is taken and deliberation upon official business is conducted shall be opened to the public. For the purpose of this rule, the term "meeting" shall mean any prearranged discussion of the public business of the nominating council by a majority of its members. All resolutions, rules, or formal action of any kind shall be adopted in an open meeting of the nominating council. Consistent with division (C) of section 4901.021 of the Revised Code, six members, or their alternates, constitute a quorum.

(C) The nominating council may hold an executive session for the sole purpose of the consideration of a matter contained in division (G) of section 121.22 of the Revised Code. Such executive session may be held only at a meeting for which notice has been given in accordance with rule 4901:7-1-03 of the Administrative Code, and only after a majority of a quorum of the nominating council determines, by a roll call vote, to hold such a session.

(D) Meetings of the nominating council may be recessed for up to three business days.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 4901.021
Amplifies: 4901.021, 121.22
Five Year Review Date: 6/17/2024
Prior Effective Dates: 4/9/2007 (Emer.)
Rule 4901:7-1-02 | Types of meetings.
 

(A) A regularly scheduled meeting is one in which members of the nominating council are informed of the meeting at least seven days prior to the start of the meeting.

(B) A special meeting is one in which members are informed less than seven days but more than forty-eight hours prior to the start of the meeting.

(C) An emergency meeting is one in which members are informed less than forty-eight hours prior to the start of the meeting.

(D) The chairperson must call a regularly scheduled meeting upon receipt of a written request for a meeting signed by two or more members of the council.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 4901.021
Amplifies: 4901.021, 121.22
Five Year Review Date: 6/17/2024
Rule 4901:7-1-03 | Notice of meetings to the public.
 

(A) Any person may determine the time, place, and purpose of all regularly scheduled, special, and emergency meetings of the nominating council by submitting a written request to: "PUC Nominating Council, c/o Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, 180 East Broad Street, 11th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215-3793." Requests shall include the name, address, telephone number, and email address of the person making the request.

(B) Notice of regularly scheduled meetings shall be emailed to those persons who have requested to receive notice, unless regular mail is specifically requested, not less than five days prior to the date of the meeting. If an email is sent, the subject of the email shall be entitled "PUC nominating council meeting notice."

(C) If a special meeting of the nominating council is scheduled, notice of the meeting will be made by email or, if requested, telephone no later than twenty-four hours prior to the special meeting. Calls will be made during the normal business hours of the public utilities commission of Ohio. Such notice shall be complete if an email has been sent or if a telephone message has been left with a representative of the person to whom notice is being provided or if, after reasonable effort, the nominating council coordinator or his or her designated caller has been unable to provide such notice.

(D) Notice of regularly scheduled meetings shall be provided to the public utilities commission for inclusion in the meeting agenda distributed weekly by the commission.

(E) Members of the news media who wish to be notified if an emergency meeting of the nominating council is scheduled should indicate on their request that they are a member of the news media, the news agency that they represent, and a request to be notified when an emergency meeting is scheduled. Notice of emergency meetings will only be given to one representative of any particular news agency.

(F) If an emergency meeting of the nominating council is scheduled, notice of the meeting will be made by email or telephone, if requested, to members of the news media who have requested notification. Calls will be made during the normal business hours of the public utilities commission of Ohio. Such notice shall be complete if an email has been sent or if a telephone message has been left with a representative of the person to whom notice is being provided or if, after reasonable effort, the coordinator of the nominating council or his or her designated caller has been unable to provide such notice.

(G) The coordinator of the nominating council may request that persons verify in writing that they wish to remain on the list of persons to be notified of meetings of the nominating council. The coordinator shall not make such a request more frequent than once in a two-year period.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 4901.021
Amplifies: 4901.021, 121.22
Five Year Review Date: 6/17/2024
Rule 4901:7-1-04 | Selection and duties of chairperson, secretary, and coordinator.
 

(A) Members of the nominating council shall annually select a chairperson and secretary from among its members. The selection shall be made at the first meeting of each calendar year. The selection of the chairperson and secretary shall be by a simple majority vote of the quorum.

(B) Unless removed from office or replaced as a member of the nominating council, the term of office for the chairperson and secretary shall be until the first meeting of the nominating council held the following calendar year. The chairperson or secretary may be removed from office by a simple majority vote of a quorum at any regularly scheduled or special meeting.

(C) The chairperson of the nominating council shall preside over the meetings of the council, schedule meetings of the council, cause notice of the meetings to be provided to members of the nominating council and to those members of the public and news media who have requested notice, approve the language of any publications or notices required to fulfill the obligations of the nominating council, cause such publications to occur, and perform such other duties as required to enable the members of the nominating council to perform their duties.

(D) The secretary of the nominating council shall record the minutes of the meetings. A complete transcript of a meeting, except an executive session, may be substituted for the minutes. If the nominating council holds an executive session, the minutes or transcript shall state the matter to be considered in the session. A draft copy of the minutes or a transcript shall be prepared within fifteen days of each meeting. A copy of the minutes or the transcript of each meeting shall be available for public inspection at the offices of the public utilities commission of Ohio.

(E) If the chairperson has been removed from office or replaced as a member of the nominating council or has otherwise relinquished the position or is not present at a meeting, the secretary shall assume the duties of the chairperson. The secretary may appoint another member of the nominating council to assume temporarily the duties of the secretary.

(F) If the nominating council is without a chairperson and secretary, the coordinator of the nominating council shall schedule a meeting of the nominating council and cause notice of the meeting to be sent to members of the nominating council upon receipt of a written request signed by at least two members of the nominating council.

(G) The coordinator of the nominating council shall be a full-time employee of the public utilities commission of Ohio designated by the chairperson of the public utilities commission of Ohio to assist the nominating council in the performance of its duties. The coordinator shall work with the chairperson and secretary of the nominating council to ensure that notice of requests for applications for the position of commissioner and notice of meetings occur, to gather and distribute to members of the nominating council copies of documents submitted by applicants for the position of commissioner, to schedule applicants for interviews as requested by members of the nominating council, to gather from and distribute information to members of the nominating council, and such other duties as directed by the chairperson or secretary of the nominating council.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 4901.021
Amplifies: 4901.021
Five Year Review Date: 6/17/2024
Rule 4901:7-1-05 | Notices.
 

(A) Unless directed otherwise by the chairperson, the coordinator shall cause the publication of the notice, as shown in the appendix to this rule, to appear in the Akron Beacon Journal, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Plain Dealer (Cleveland), the Columbus Dispatch, Dayton Daily News, the Blade (Toledo), and the Vindicator (Youngstown) once a week for two consecutive weeks, beginning not sooner than December ten nor later than December thirty-one.

(B) The first publication of the notice (appendix A to this rule) shall be made in its entirety and may be made in a preprinted insert in the newspaper. The notice shall contain a statement of the website posting and instructions for accessing the posting. The second publication may be abbreviated if all of the following apply:

(1) The abbreviated notice is at least half the size of the notice in the first publication.

(2) At the same time the abbreviated notice is published, the notice in the first publication is posted in its entirety on the public utilities commission of Ohio's website.

(3) The abbreviated notice contains a statement of the website posting and instructions for accessing the posting.

(C) With the approval of the chairperson, the coordinator shall determine a format for the content of all notices required under this section, and shall consider costs and technological efficiencies in making that determination. Defects in the publication of said notice shall not affect the legality or sufficiency of notices published.

(D) The coordinator shall provide the names of all applicants or all applicants selected to be interviewed by the nominating council to any person requesting the names.

View Appendix

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 4901.021
Amplifies: 4901.021
Five Year Review Date: 6/17/2024
Prior Effective Dates: 4/9/2007 (Emer.), 6/28/2007
Rule 4901:7-1-06 | Schedule following the death of, resignation of, or termination of service by a commissioner of the public utilities commission.
 

Following the death of, resignation of, or termination of service by a commissioner of the public utilities commission, the nominating council coordinator shall consult with the chairperson of the nominating council to establish an expedited schedule for soliciting applications and for evaluating applicants for the vacated position.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 4901.021
Amplifies: 4901.021
Five Year Review Date: 6/17/2024
Prior Effective Dates: 4/9/2007 (Emer.)
Rule 4901:7-1-07 | Multiple vacancies.
 

If multiple vacancies exist or are anticipated on the public utilities commission that could result in the lack of a quorum necessary to conduct business, the nominating council shall act with the utmost expediency to identify the four most fully qualified individuals to accede to the office of commissioner for each vacant position and forward their names to the governor. The chairperson is empowered to take the necessary actions to enable the members of the nominating council to perform their duties. Without limiting those who may be considered, the nominating council may consider persons who have applied for a commissioner position in the previous five years.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 4901.021
Amplifies: 4901.021
Five Year Review Date: 6/17/2024
Prior Effective Dates: 4/9/2007 (Emer.)
Rule 4901:7-1-08 | Notice of meetings when multiple vacancies exist.
 

Notwithstanding rule 4901:7-1-03 of the Administrative Code, when multiple vacancies exist or are anticipated on the public utilities commission that could result in the lack of a quorum necessary to conduct business, notice of meetings of the nominating council shall be deemed sufficient if the notice given substantially complies with the notice requirements of rule 4901:7-1-03 of the Administrative Code or if the notice complies with the requirements of section 121.22 of the Revised Code.

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 4901.021
Amplifies: 4901.021
Five Year Review Date: 6/17/2024
Prior Effective Dates: 4/9/2007 (Emer.)