Chapter 121 | State Departments

Section 121.01 | Definition of terms.

• Effective: February 18, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 129th General Assembly

As used in sections 121.01 to 121.20 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Department" means the several departments of state administration enumerated in section 121.02 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Division" means a part of a department established as provided in section 121.07 of the Revised Code for the convenient performance of one or more of the functions committed to a department.

(C) "Departments, offices, and institutions" include every organized body, office, and agency established by the constitution and laws of the state for the exercise of any function of the state government, and every institution or organization which receives any support from the state. "Departments, offices, and institutions" does not include the nonprofit corporation formed under section 187.01 of the Revised Code.

Section 121.02 | Administrative departments and directors created.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

The following administrative departments and their respective directors are hereby created:

(A) The office of budget and management, which shall be administered by the director of budget and management;

(B) The department of commerce, which shall be administered by the director of commerce;

(C) The department of administrative services, which shall be administered by the director of administrative services;

(D) The department of transportation, which shall be administered by the director of transportation;

(E) The department of agriculture, which shall be administered by the director of agriculture;

(F) The department of natural resources, which shall be administered by the director of natural resources;

(G) The department of health, which shall be administered by the director of health;

(H) The department of job and family services, which shall be administered by the director of job and family services;

(I) The department of children and youth, which shall be administered by the director of children and youth;

(J) The department of public safety, which shall be administered by the director of public safety;

(K) The department of mental health and addiction services, which shall be administered by the director of mental health and addiction services;

(L) The department of developmental disabilities, which shall be administered by the director of developmental disabilities;

(M) The department of insurance, which shall be administered by the superintendent of insurance as director thereof;

(N) The department of development, which shall be administered by the director of development;

(O) The department of youth services, which shall be administered by the director of youth services;

(P) The department of rehabilitation and correction, which shall be administered by the director of rehabilitation and correction;

(Q) The environmental protection agency, which shall be administered by the director of environmental protection;

(R) The department of aging, which shall be administered by the director of aging;

(S) The department of veterans services, which shall be administered by the director of veterans services;

(T) The department of medicaid, which shall be administered by the medicaid director;

(U) The department of education and workforce, which shall be administered by the director of education and workforce.

The director of each department shall exercise the powers and perform the duties vested by law in such department.

Last updated September 20, 2023 at 12:19 PM

Section 121.03 | Appointment of administrative department heads.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

The following administrative department heads shall be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, and shall hold their offices during the term of the appointing governor, and are subject to removal at the pleasure of the governor.

(A) The director of budget and management;

(B) The director of commerce;

(C) The director of transportation;

(D) The director of agriculture;

(E) The director of job and family services;

(F) The director of children and youth;

(G) The director of public safety;

(H) The superintendent of insurance;

(I) The director of development;

(J) The tax commissioner;

(K) The director of administrative services;

(L) The director of natural resources;

(M) The director of mental health and addiction services;

(N) The director of developmental disabilities;

(O) The director of health;

(P) The director of youth services;

(Q) The director of rehabilitation and correction;

(R) The director of environmental protection;

(S) The director of aging;

(T) The administrator of workers' compensation who meets the qualifications required under division (A) of section 4121.121 of the Revised Code;

(U) The director of veterans services who meets the qualifications required under section 5902.01 of the Revised Code;

(V) The chancellor of higher education;

(W) The medicaid director;

(X) The director of education and workforce.

Last updated September 20, 2023 at 12:24 PM

Section 121.031 | Administrative department head's regulation authority.

• Effective: June 8, 2022
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 9 - 134th General Assembly

The administrative department head of an administrative department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code or an administrative department head appointed under section 121.03 of the Revised Code may direct an otherwise independent official or state agency that is organized under the administrative department or administrative department head as necessary to achieve reductions in regulatory restrictions in rules in compliance with sections 121.95, 121.951, 121.952, 121.953, and 121.954 of the Revised Code.

Last updated March 15, 2022 at 4:34 PM

Section 121.04 | Offices created in the several departments.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

Offices are created within the several departments as follows:

In the department of commerce:

- Commissioner of securities;

- Superintendent of real estate and professional licensing;

- Superintendent of financial institutions;

- State fire marshal;

- Superintendent of industrial compliance;

- Superintendent of liquor control;

- Superintendent of unclaimed funds;

- Superintendent of marijuana control.

In the department of administrative services:

- Equal employment opportunity coordinator.

In the department of agriculture:

Chiefs of divisions as follows:

- Administration;

- Animal health;

- Livestock environmental permitting;

- Soil and water conservation;

- Dairy;

- Food safety;

- Plant health;

- Markets;

- Meat inspection;

- Consumer protection laboratory;

- Amusement ride safety;

- Enforcement;

- Weights and measures.

In the department of natural resources:

Chiefs of divisions as follows:

- Mineral resources management;

- Oil and gas resources management;

- Forestry;

- Natural areas and preserves;

- Wildlife;

- Geological survey;

- Parks and watercraft;

- Water resources;

- Engineering.

In the department of insurance:

Deputy superintendent of insurance;

- Assistant superintendent of insurance, technical;

- Assistant superintendent of insurance, administrative;

- Assistant superintendent of insurance, research.

Last updated September 7, 2023 at 11:51 AM

Section 121.05 | Assistant directors.

• Effective: April 7, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 130 - 127th General Assembly

Except as otherwise provided in this section, in each department, there shall be an assistant director designated by the director of that department. In the department of health, there shall be two assistant directors, each of whom shall be designated by the director of health. In the department of transportation, there shall be an assistant director for business management, an assistant director for field operations, and an assistant director for transportation policy, each of whom shall be designated by the director of transportation. In the department of insurance, the deputy superintendent of insurance shall be the assistant director. In the department of administrative services, there shall be two assistant directors, each of whom shall be designated by the director of administrative services. In the department of commerce, there shall be two assistant directors, each of whom shall be designated by the director of commerce. In the department of job and family services, there may be up to two assistant directors, each of whom shall be designated by the director of job and family services. In each department with an assistant director, the assistant director shall act as director in the absence or disability of the director and also shall act as director when the position of director is vacant, except that in the department of transportation, the department of health, the department of commerce, the department of administrative services, and the department of job and family services, the director shall designate which assistant director shall act as director in the director's absence. In each department without an assistant director, the director shall designate a deputy director to act as director in the absence or disability of the director.

A director may designate any of the director's assistant directors or a deputy director to serve in the director's place as a member of any board, committee, authority, or commission of which the director is, by law, a member. The designee, when present, shall be counted in determining whether a quorum is present at any meeting. The designee may vote and participate in all proceedings and actions of the board, committee, authority, or commission, provided that the designee shall not execute or cause a facsimile of the designee's signature to be placed on any obligation, or execute any trust agreement or indenture. The designation shall be in writing, executed by the designating director, filed with the secretary of the board, committee, authority, or commission, and shall be in effect until withdrawn or superseded by a new designation.

Section 121.06 | Appointment of officers - term.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The officers mentioned in sections 121.04 and 121.05 of the Revised Code shall be appointed by the director of the department in which their offices are respectively created, and shall hold office during the pleasure of such director.

Section 121.07 | Supervision and control of departments - establishing divisions.

• Effective: September 30, 2021
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 110 - 134th General Assembly

(A) Except as otherwise provided in this division, the officers mentioned in sections 121.04 and 121.05 of the Revised Code and the offices and divisions they administer shall be under the direction, supervision, and control of the directors of their respective departments, and shall perform such duties as the directors prescribe. In performing or exercising any of the examination or regulatory functions, powers, or duties vested by Title XI, Chapters 1733. and 1761., and sections 1315.01 to 1315.18 of the Revised Code in the superintendent of financial institutions, the superintendent of financial institutions and the division of financial institutions are independent of and are not subject to the control of the department or the director of commerce. In the absence of the superintendent of financial institutions, the director of commerce shall, for a limited period of time, perform or exercise any of those functions, powers, or duties or authorize the deputy superintendent for banks to perform or exercise any of the functions, powers, or duties vested by Title XI and sections 1315.01 to 1315.18 of the Revised Code in the superintendent and the deputy superintendent for credit unions to perform or exercise any of the functions, powers, or duties vested by Chapters 1733. and 1761. of the Revised Code in the superintendent.

(B) With the approval of the governor, the director of each department shall establish divisions within the department, and distribute the work of the department among such divisions. Each officer created by section 121.04 of the Revised Code shall be the head of such a division, except for the equal opportunity employment coordinator, who shall report to a position determined by the director of administrative services.

With the approval of the governor, the director of each department may consolidate any two or more of the offices created in the department by section 121.04 of the Revised Code, or reduce the number of or create new divisions therein.

The director of each department may prescribe rules for the government of the department, the conduct of its employees, the performance of its business, and the custody, use, and preservation of the records, papers, books, documents, and property pertaining thereto.

Last updated July 29, 2021 at 4:04 PM

Section 121.08 | Deputy director of administration in department of commerce.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) There is hereby created in the department of commerce the position of deputy director of administration. This officer shall be appointed by the director of commerce, serve under the director's direction, supervision, and control, perform the duties the director prescribes, and hold office during the director's pleasure. The director of commerce may designate an assistant director of commerce to serve as the deputy director of administration. The deputy director of administration shall perform the duties prescribed by the director of commerce in supervising the activities of the division of administration of the department of commerce.

(B) Except as provided in section 121.07 of the Revised Code, the department of commerce shall have all powers and perform all duties vested in the deputy director of administration, the state fire marshal, the superintendent of financial institutions, the superintendent of real estate and professional licensing, the superintendent of liquor control, the superintendent of industrial compliance, the superintendent of unclaimed funds, the superintendent of marijuana control, and the commissioner of securities, and shall have all powers and perform all duties vested by law in all officers, deputies, and employees of those offices. Except as provided in section 121.07 of the Revised Code, wherever powers are conferred or duties imposed upon any of those officers, the powers and duties shall be construed as vested in the department of commerce.

(C)(1) There is hereby created in the department of commerce a division of financial institutions, which shall have all powers and perform all duties vested by law in the superintendent of financial institutions. Wherever powers are conferred or duties imposed upon the superintendent of financial institutions, those powers and duties shall be construed as vested in the division of financial institutions. The division of financial institutions shall be administered by the superintendent of financial institutions.

(2) All provisions of law governing the superintendent of financial institutions shall apply to and govern the superintendent of financial institutions provided for in this section; all authority vested by law in the superintendent of financial institutions with respect to the management of the division of financial institutions shall be construed as vested in the superintendent of financial institutions created by this section with respect to the division of financial institutions provided for in this section; and all rights, privileges, and emoluments conferred by law upon the superintendent of financial institutions shall be construed as conferred upon the superintendent of financial institutions as head of the division of financial institutions. The director of commerce shall not transfer from the division of financial institutions any of the functions specified in division (C)(2) of this section.

(D) There is hereby created in the department of commerce a division of liquor control, which shall have all powers and perform all duties vested by law in the superintendent of liquor control. Wherever powers are conferred or duties are imposed upon the superintendent of liquor control, those powers and duties shall be construed as vested in the division of liquor control. The division of liquor control shall be administered by the superintendent of liquor control.

(E) The director of commerce shall not be interested, directly or indirectly, in any firm or corporation which is a dealer in securities as defined in sections 1707.01 and 1707.14 of the Revised Code, or in any firm or corporation licensed under sections 1321.01 to 1321.19 of the Revised Code.

(F) The director of commerce shall not have any official connection with a savings and loan association, a savings bank, a bank, a bank holding company, a savings and loan association holding company, a consumer finance company, or a credit union that is under the supervision of the division of financial institutions, or a subsidiary of any of the preceding entities, or be interested in the business thereof.

(G) There is hereby created in the state treasury the division of administration fund. The fund shall receive assessments on the operating funds of the department of commerce in accordance with procedures prescribed by the director of commerce. All operating expenses of the division of administration shall be paid from the division of administration fund.

(H) There is hereby created in the department of commerce a division of real estate and professional licensing, which shall be under the control and supervision of the director of commerce. The division of real estate and professional licensing shall be administered by the superintendent of real estate and professional licensing. The superintendent of real estate and professional licensing shall exercise the powers and perform the functions and duties delegated to the superintendent under Chapters 4735., 4763., 4764., 4767., and 4768. of the Revised Code.

(I) There is hereby created in the department of commerce a division of industrial compliance, which shall have all powers and perform all duties vested by law in the superintendent of industrial compliance. Wherever powers are conferred or duties imposed upon the superintendent of industrial compliance, those powers and duties shall be construed as vested in the division of industrial compliance. The division of industrial compliance shall be under the control and supervision of the director of commerce and be administered by the superintendent of industrial compliance.

(J) There is hereby created in the department of commerce a division of unclaimed funds, which shall have all powers and perform all duties delegated to or vested by law in the superintendent of unclaimed funds. Wherever powers are conferred or duties imposed upon the superintendent of unclaimed funds, those powers and duties shall be construed as vested in the division of unclaimed funds. The division of unclaimed funds shall be under the control and supervision of the director of commerce and shall be administered by the superintendent of unclaimed funds. The superintendent of unclaimed funds shall exercise the powers and perform the functions and duties delegated to the superintendent by the director of commerce under section 121.07 and Chapter 169. of the Revised Code, and as may otherwise be provided by law.

(K) There is hereby created in the department of commerce a division of marijuana control, which shall have all powers and perform all duties vested by law in the superintendent of marijuana control. Wherever powers are conferred or duties are imposed upon the superintendent of marijuana control, those powers and duties shall be construed as vested in the division of marijuana control. The division of marijuana control shall be under the control and supervision of the director of commerce and be administered by the superintendent of marijuana control.

(L) The department of commerce or a division of the department created by the Revised Code that is acting with authorization on the department's behalf may request from the bureau of criminal identification and investigation pursuant to section 109.572 of the Revised Code, or coordinate with appropriate federal, state, and local government agencies to accomplish, criminal records checks for the persons whose identities are required to be disclosed by an applicant for the issuance or transfer of a permit, license, certificate of registration, or certification issued or transferred by the department or division. At or before the time of making a request for a criminal records check, the department or division may require any person whose identity is required to be disclosed by an applicant for the issuance or transfer of such a license, permit, certificate of registration, or certification to submit to the department or division valid fingerprint impressions in a format and by any media or means acceptable to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and, when applicable, the federal bureau of investigation. The department or division may cause the bureau of criminal identification and investigation to conduct a criminal records check through the federal bureau of investigation only if the person for whom the criminal records check would be conducted resides or works outside of this state or has resided or worked outside of this state during the preceding five years, or if a criminal records check conducted by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation within this state indicates that the person may have a criminal record outside of this state.

In the case of a criminal records check under section 109.572 of the Revised Code, the department or division shall forward to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation the requisite form, fingerprint impressions, and fee described in division (C) of that section. When requested by the department or division in accordance with this section, the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall request from the federal bureau of investigation any information it has with respect to the person who is the subject of the requested criminal records check and shall forward the requisite fingerprint impressions and information to the federal bureau of investigation for that criminal records check. After conducting a criminal records check or receiving the results of a criminal records check from the federal bureau of investigation, the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall provide the results to the department or division.

The department or division may require any person about whom a criminal records check is requested to pay to the department or division the amount necessary to cover the fee charged to the department or division by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation under division (C)(3) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code, including, when applicable, any fee for a criminal records check conducted by the federal bureau of investigation.

(M) The director of commerce, or the director's designee, may adopt rules to enhance compliance with statutes pertaining to, and rules adopted by, divisions under the direction, supervision, and control of the department or director by offering incentive-based programs that ensure safety and soundness while promoting growth and prosperity in the state.

Last updated September 7, 2023 at 11:53 AM

Section 121.081 | Department of insurance - powers and duties.

• Effective: January 1, 1968
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 97 - 107th General Assembly

All powers and duties vested in and imposed upon the department of commerce prior to September 9, 1957, respecting the superintendent of insurance and any officers, deputies, or employees of the division of insurance, shall after that date be vested in and imposed upon the department of insurance.

Section 121.082 | Superintendent of insurance - prohibited activities.

• Effective: September 9, 1957
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 312 - 102nd General Assembly

The superintendent of insurance shall have no official connection with any insurance company, nor own any stock therein, nor be interested in the business thereof, except as a policyholder.

Section 121.083 | Superintendent of industrial compliance - powers and duties.

• Effective: October 17, 2019
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 166 - 133rd General Assembly

(A) The superintendent of industrial compliance in the department of commerce shall do all of the following:

(1) Administer and enforce the general laws of this state pertaining to buildings, pressure piping, boilers, bedding, upholstered furniture, and stuffed toys, steam engineering, elevators, plumbing, licensed occupations regulated by the department, and travel agents, as they apply to plans review, inspection, code enforcement, testing, licensing, registration, and certification.

(2) Exercise the powers and perform the duties delegated to the superintendent by the director of commerce under Chapters 4109., 4111., and 4115. of the Revised Code.

(3) Collect and collate statistics as are necessary.

(4) Examine and license persons who desire to act as steam engineers, to operate steam boilers, and to act as inspectors of steam boilers, provide for the scope, conduct, and time of such examinations, provide for, regulate, and enforce the renewal and revocation of such licenses, inspect and examine steam boilers and make, publish, and enforce rules and orders for the construction, installation, inspection, and operation of steam boilers, and do, require, and enforce all things necessary to make such examination, inspection, and requirement efficient.

(5) Rent and furnish offices as needed in cities in this state for the conduct of its affairs.

(6) Oversee a chief of construction and compliance, a chief of operations and maintenance, a chief of licensing and certification, a chief of worker protection, and other designees appointed by the director to perform the duties described in this section.

(7) Enforce the rules the board of building standards adopts pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 4104.43 of the Revised Code under the circumstances described in division (D) of that section.

(8) Accept submissions, establish a fee for submissions, and review submissions of certified welding and brazing procedure specifications, procedure qualification records, and performance qualification records for building services piping as required by section 4104.44 of the Revised Code.

(B) The superintendent may enter into a contract with a municipal corporation, township, or county building department certified by the board of building standards pursuant to division (E) of section 3781.10 of the Revised Code, or a municipal or county health district, to do any of the following on behalf of the building department or health district:

(1) Exercise enforcement authority pursuant to section 3781.03 of the Revised Code;

(2) Accept and approve plans and specifications, and make inspections, pursuant to section 3791.04 of the Revised Code;

(3) Enforce the rules adopted pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 4104.43 of the Revised Code.

Section 121.084 | Industrial compliance operating fund.

• Effective: September 30, 2021
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 110 - 134th General Assembly

(A) All moneys collected under sections 3783.05, 3791.07, 4104.07, 4104.18, 4104.44, 4105.17, 4105.20, 4169.03, and 5104.051 of the Revised Code, and any other moneys collected by the division of industrial compliance shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the industrial compliance operating fund, which is hereby created. The department of commerce shall use the moneys in the fund for paying the operating expenses of the division and the administrative assessment described in division (B) of this section.

(B) The director of commerce shall prescribe procedures for assessing the industrial compliance operating fund a proportionate share of the administrative costs of the department of commerce. The assessment shall be made in accordance with those procedures and be paid from the industrial compliance operating fund to the division of administration fund created in section 121.08 of the Revised Code.

Last updated July 29, 2021 at 4:06 PM

Section 121.085 | Financial literacy education fund.

• Effective: September 1, 2008
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 545 - 127th General Assembly

The financial literacy education fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of funds transferred to it from the consumer finance fund pursuant to section 1321.21 of the Revised Code. The fund shall be used to support various adult financial literacy education programs developed or implemented by the director of commerce. The fund shall be administered by the director of commerce who shall adopt rules for the distribution of fund moneys. The director of commerce shall adopt a rule to require that at least one-half of the financial literacy education programs developed or implemented pursuant to this section, and offered to the public, be presented by or available at public community colleges or state institutions throughout the state. The director of commerce shall deliver to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the senate, the minority leader of the house of representatives, and the governor an annual report that includes an outline of each adult financial literacy education program developed or implemented, the number of individuals who were educated by each program, and an accounting for all funds distributed.

Section 121.086 | High school financial literacy fund.

• Effective: October 24, 2024
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 147 - 135th General Assembly

There is hereby created the high school financial literacy fund in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of any moneys appropriated to it, any interest and earnings from the fund, and any other donations, grants, gifts, or other moneys received. All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund. The director of education and workforce shall use moneys in the fund only for the purposes specified in divisions (B) and (E) of section 3319.239 of the Revised Code.

Last updated August 29, 2024 at 8:48 AM

Section 121.09 | Qualifications of director of agriculture and chief of division of animal health.

• Effective: October 17, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 229 - 129th General Assembly

The director of agriculture shall be a person actively identified with agriculture.

The chief of the division of animal health shall be a graduate of a recognized college of veterinary medicine and licensed to practice veterinary medicine and surgery in this state.

Section 121.10 | Director of health - qualifications.

• Effective: July 1, 1993
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 152 - 120th General Assembly

The director of health shall be either:

(A) A physician holding the degree of doctor of medicine from a medical college approved by the state medical board who, before assuming his duties, has been licensed to practice medicine in the state and who has had experience in pursuing some phase of medical practice;

(B) An individual who has had significant experience in the public health profession.

Section 121.11 | Bond and oath of office - blanket bonds - bond may be required of employee.

• Effective: September 29, 1999
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 283 - 123rd General Assembly

(A) Each officer whose office is created by sections 121.02, 121.04, and 121.05 of the Revised Code, before entering upon the duties of office, shall take and subscribe an oath of office as provided by law and give bond, conditioned according to law, with security to be approved by the governor in the penal sum, not less than ten thousand dollars, fixed by the governor. The department of administrative services may procure from any duly authorized corporate surety a blanket bond covering the officers described in those sections and any other officers the governor designates. The bond and oath of the officers described in those sections shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state.

(B) The director of each department, with the approval of the governor, may require any chief of a division, or any officer or employee in the director's department, to give bond in the amount the governor prescribes. The bond or bonds may, in the discretion of the director, be individual, schedule, or blanket bonds.

(C) The premium on any bond required or authorized by this section may be paid from the state treasury.

Section 121.12 | Officer to devote entire time to duties and hold no other office - reimbursement for expenses.

• Effective: July 22, 1994
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 715 - 120th General Assembly

Except as otherwise authorized in this section and section 108.05 of the Revised Code, each officer whose office is created by sections 121.02, 121.04, and 121.05 of the Revised Code shall devote the entire amount of time for which he receives compensation from that office to the duties of the office, and shall hold no other office or position of profit. Such an officer is entitled to his actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties, and may serve as a member of any board or commission to which he is appointed by the governor. Any such officer who serves as a member of a board or commission is entitled to his actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties as a member, but shall receive no other compensation for that service.

Section 121.13 | Advisory boards may be provided.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The director of each department may, with the approval of the governor, establish and appoint advisory boards to aid in the conduct of the work of his department or any division thereof. Such advisory boards shall exercise no administrative function, and their members shall receive no compensation, but may receive their actual and necessary expenses.

Section 121.14 | Employment subject to civil service laws.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Each department may employ, subject to the civil service laws in force at the time the employment is made, the necessary employees, and, if the rate of compensation is not otherwise fixed by law, fix their compensation.

All offices created by sections 121.04 and 121.05 of the Revised Code shall be in the unclassified civil service of the state.

Section 121.15 | Central office for each department - branch offices - restrictions on relocation.

• Effective: March 4, 1998
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 60 - 121st General Assembly

The director of each department shall, with the approval of the governor, maintain a central office at a location in the state that the director finds necessary for the efficient performance of the department. The central office of a department shall not be relocated from Columbus to another location in this state until the director of the department has conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the relocation and provided a copy of the analysis to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate and the relocation has been approved by an act of the general assembly.

The director of each department may, with the approval of the governor, establish and maintain, at places other than the location of the central office, branch offices for the conduct of any one or more functions of the department.

No relocation of departments or employees of departments from one location in this state to another shall be carried out that will result in an increase in the total number of employees of all departments or an increase in the total number of employees in any department that is relocated. This section does not prevent a department from increasing the number of its employees to meet the demands of its workload or for any other reason arising from circumstances unrelated to the department's relocation.

Section 121.17 | Co-operation and coordination of work under direction of governor.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Under the direction of the governor, the directors of departments shall devise a practical and working basis for co-operation and co-ordination of work and for the elimination of duplication and overlapping functions. They shall co-operate with each other in the employment of services and the use of quarters and equipment. The director of any department may empower or require an employee of another department, subject to the consent of the superior officer of the employee, to perform any duty which he might require of his own subordinates.

Section 121.18 | Report by each department.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Each department shall make and file a report of its transactions and proceedings at the time and in the manner prescribed by section 149.01 of the Revised Code.

Section 121.181 | Identification of department acquiring interest in real property.

• Effective: October 26, 1999
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 19 - 123rd General Assembly

Any instrument by which a department acquires an interest in real property, including any deed, transfer, grant, reservation, agreement creating an easement, or lease, shall identify the department for whose use and benefit the interest in real property is acquired, as specified in section 5301.012 of the Revised Code.

Section 121.19 | Power to inspect and examine.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Whenever power is vested in any state department, board, or commission, to inspect, examine, secure data or information, or to procure assistance from another department, office, or institution, a duty is hereby imposed upon the department, office, or institution upon which demand is made to make such power effective.

Section 121.20 | Seal for each department - specifications - use.

• Effective: December 15, 1967
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 164 - 107th General Assembly

Each department shall adopt and keep an official seal, which shall consist of the coat of arms of the state, as described in section 5.04 of the Revised Code, within a circle one and one-fourth inches in diameter, and shall be surrounded by the proper name of the department, to which may be added the title of any division, board, or commission within the department, if the director of the department so prescribes. Such seal may be affixed to any writs and authentications of copies of records and official papers, and to such other instruments as are authorized by law or prescribed by the proper authority in any department to be executed. When so authenticated, any copy of a record, official paper, or other instrument shall be received in evidence in any court in lieu of the original.

Section 121.211 | Retention and disposition of records.

• Effective: July 1, 1985
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 238 - 116th General Assembly

Records in the custody of each agency shall be retained for time periods in accordance with law establishing specific retention periods, and in accordance with retention periods or disposition instructions established by the state records administration.

Section 121.22 | Public meetings - exceptions.

• Effective: April 7, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 254 (GA 134), House Bill 45 (GA 134)

(A) This section shall be liberally construed to require public officials to take official action and to conduct all deliberations upon official business only in open meetings unless the subject matter is specifically excepted by law.

(B) As used in this section:

(1) "Public body" means any of the following:

(a) Any board, commission, committee, council, or similar decision-making body of a state agency, institution, or authority, and any legislative authority or board, commission, committee, council, agency, authority, or similar decision-making body of any county, township, municipal corporation, school district, or other political subdivision or local public institution;

(b) Any committee or subcommittee of a body described in division (B)(1)(a) of this section;

(c) A court of jurisdiction of a sanitary district organized wholly for the purpose of providing a water supply for domestic, municipal, and public use when meeting for the purpose of the appointment, removal, or reappointment of a member of the board of directors of such a district pursuant to section 6115.10 of the Revised Code, if applicable, or for any other matter related to such a district other than litigation involving the district. As used in division (B)(1)(c) of this section, "court of jurisdiction" has the same meaning as "court" in section 6115.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Meeting" means any prearranged discussion of the public business of the public body by a majority of its members.

(3) "Regulated individual" means either of the following:

(a) A student in a state or local public educational institution;

(b) A person who is, voluntarily or involuntarily, an inmate, patient, or resident of a state or local institution because of criminal behavior, mental illness, an intellectual disability, disease, disability, age, or other condition requiring custodial care.

(4) "Public office" has the same meaning as in section 149.011 of the Revised Code.

(C) All meetings of any public body are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times. A member of a public body shall be present in person at a meeting open to the public to be considered present or to vote at the meeting and for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the meeting.

The minutes of a regular or special meeting of any public body shall be promptly prepared, filed, and maintained and shall be open to public inspection. The minutes need only reflect the general subject matter of discussions in executive sessions authorized under division (G) or (J) of this section.

(D) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1) A grand jury;

(2) An audit conference conducted by the auditor of state or independent certified public accountants with officials of the public office that is the subject of the audit;

(3) The adult parole authority when its hearings are conducted at a correctional institution for the sole purpose of interviewing inmates to determine parole or pardon and the department of rehabilitation and correction when its hearings are conducted at a correctional institution for the sole purpose of making determinations under section 2967.271 of the Revised Code regarding the release or maintained incarceration of an offender to whom that section applies;

(4) The organized crime investigations commission established under section 177.01 of the Revised Code;

(5) Meetings of a child fatality review board established under section 307.621 of the Revised Code, meetings related to a review conducted pursuant to guidelines established by the director of health under section 3701.70 of the Revised Code, and meetings conducted pursuant to sections 5153.171 to 5153.173 of the Revised Code;

(6) The state medical board when determining whether to suspend a license or certificate without a prior hearing pursuant to division (G) of either section 4730.25 or 4731.22 of the Revised Code;

(7) The board of nursing when determining whether to suspend a license or certificate without a prior hearing pursuant to division (B) of section 4723.281 of the Revised Code;

(8) The state board of pharmacy when determining whether to do either of the following:

(a) Suspend a license, certification, or registration without a prior hearing, including during meetings conducted by telephone conference, pursuant to Chapters 3719., 3796., 4729., and 4752. of the Revised Code and rules adopted thereunder; or

(b) Restrict a person from obtaining further information from the drug database established in section 4729.75 of the Revised Code without a prior hearing pursuant to division (C) of section 4729.86 of the Revised Code.

(9) The state chiropractic board when determining whether to suspend a license without a hearing pursuant to section 4734.37 of the Revised Code;

(10) The executive committee of the emergency response commission when determining whether to issue an enforcement order or request that a civil action, civil penalty action, or criminal action be brought to enforce Chapter 3750. of the Revised Code;

(11) The board of directors of the nonprofit corporation formed under section 187.01 of the Revised Code or any committee thereof, and the board of directors of any subsidiary of that corporation or a committee thereof;

(12) An audit conference conducted by the audit staff of the department of job and family services with officials of the public office that is the subject of that audit under section 5101.37 of the Revised Code;

(13) The occupational therapy section of the occupational therapy, physical therapy, and athletic trainers board when determining whether to suspend a license without a hearing pursuant to division (E) of section 4755.11 of the Revised Code;

(14) The physical therapy section of the occupational therapy, physical therapy, and athletic trainers board when determining whether to suspend a license without a hearing pursuant to division (F) of section 4755.47 of the Revised Code;

(15) The athletic trainers section of the occupational therapy, physical therapy, and athletic trainers board when determining whether to suspend a license without a hearing pursuant to division (E) of section 4755.64 of the Revised Code;

(16) Meetings of the pregnancy-associated mortality review board established under section 3738.01 of the Revised Code;

(17) Meetings of a fetal-infant mortality review board established under section 3707.71 of the Revised Code;

(18) Meetings of a drug overdose fatality review committee described in section 307.631 of the Revised Code;

(19) Meetings of a suicide fatality review committee described in section 307.641 of the Revised Code;

(20) Meetings of the officers, members, or directors of an existing qualified nonprofit corporation that creates a special improvement district under Chapter 1710. of the Revised Code, at which the public business of the corporation pertaining to a purpose for which the district is created is not discussed;

(21) Meetings of a domestic violence fatality review board established under section 307.651 of the Revised Code.

(E) The controlling board, the tax credit authority, or the minority development financing advisory board, when meeting to consider granting assistance pursuant to Chapter 122. or 166. of the Revised Code, in order to protect the interest of the applicant or the possible investment of public funds, by unanimous vote of all board or authority members present, may close the meeting during consideration of the following information confidentially received by the authority or board from the applicant:

(1) Marketing plans;

(2) Specific business strategy;

(3) Production techniques and trade secrets;

(4) Financial projections;

(5) Personal financial statements of the applicant or members of the applicant's immediate family, including, but not limited to, tax records or other similar information not open to public inspection.

The vote by the authority or board to accept or reject the application, as well as all proceedings of the authority or board not subject to this division, shall be open to the public and governed by this section.

(F) Every public body, by rule, shall establish a reasonable method whereby any person may determine the time and place of all regularly scheduled meetings and the time, place, and purpose of all special meetings. A public body shall not hold a special meeting unless it gives at least twenty-four hours' advance notice to the news media that have requested notification, except in the event of an emergency requiring immediate official action. In the event of an emergency, the member or members calling the meeting shall notify the news media that have requested notification immediately of the time, place, and purpose of the meeting.

The rule shall provide that any person, upon request and payment of a reasonable fee, may obtain reasonable advance notification of all meetings at which any specific type of public business is to be discussed. Provisions for advance notification may include, but are not limited to, mailing the agenda of meetings to all subscribers on a mailing list or mailing notices in self-addressed, stamped envelopes provided by the person.

(G) Except as provided in divisions (G)(8) and (J) of this section, the members of a public body may hold an executive session only after a majority of a quorum of the public body determines, by a roll call vote, to hold an executive session and only at a regular or special meeting for the sole purpose of the consideration of any of the following matters:

(1) To consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official, or the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual, unless the public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual requests a public hearing. Except as otherwise provided by law, no public body shall hold an executive session for the discipline of an elected official for conduct related to the performance of the elected official's official duties or for the elected official's removal from office. If a public body holds an executive session pursuant to division (G)(1) of this section, the motion and vote to hold that executive session shall state which one or more of the approved purposes listed in division (G)(1) of this section are the purposes for which the executive session is to be held, but need not include the name of any person to be considered at the meeting.

(2) To consider the purchase of property for public purposes, the sale of property at competitive bidding, or the sale or other disposition of unneeded, obsolete, or unfit-for-use property in accordance with section 505.10 of the Revised Code, if premature disclosure of information would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to a person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest. No member of a public body shall use division (G)(2) of this section as a subterfuge for providing covert information to prospective buyers or sellers. A purchase or sale of public property is void if the seller or buyer of the public property has received covert information from a member of a public body that has not been disclosed to the general public in sufficient time for other prospective buyers and sellers to prepare and submit offers.

If the minutes of the public body show that all meetings and deliberations of the public body have been conducted in compliance with this section, any instrument executed by the public body purporting to convey, lease, or otherwise dispose of any right, title, or interest in any public property shall be conclusively presumed to have been executed in compliance with this section insofar as title or other interest of any bona fide purchasers, lessees, or transferees of the property is concerned.

(3) Conferences with an attorney for the public body concerning disputes involving the public body that are the subject of pending or imminent court action;

(4) Preparing for, conducting, or reviewing negotiations or bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions of their employment;

(5) Matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or regulations or state statutes;

(6) Details relative to the security arrangements and emergency response protocols for a public body or a public office, if disclosure of the matters discussed could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the security of the public body or public office;

(7) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to Chapter 339. of the Revised Code, a joint township hospital operated pursuant to Chapter 513. of the Revised Code, or a municipal hospital operated pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code, to consider trade secrets, as defined in section 1333.61 of the Revised Code;

(8) To consider confidential information related to the marketing plans, specific business strategy, production techniques, trade secrets, or personal financial statements of an applicant for economic development assistance, or to negotiations with other political subdivisions respecting requests for economic development assistance, provided that both of the following conditions apply:

(a) The information is directly related to a request for economic development assistance that is to be provided or administered under any provision of Chapter 715., 725., 1724., or 1728. or sections 701.07, 3735.67 to 3735.70, 5709.40 to 5709.43, 5709.61 to 5709.69, 5709.73 to 5709.75, or 5709.77 to 5709.81 of the Revised Code, or that involves public infrastructure improvements or the extension of utility services that are directly related to an economic development project.

(b) A unanimous quorum of the public body determines, by a roll call vote, that the executive session is necessary to protect the interests of the applicant or the possible investment or expenditure of public funds to be made in connection with the economic development project.

If a public body holds an executive session to consider any of the matters listed in divisions (G)(2) to (8) of this section, the motion and vote to hold that executive session shall state which one or more of the approved matters listed in those divisions are to be considered at the executive session.

A public body specified in division (B)(1)(c) of this section shall not hold an executive session when meeting for the purposes specified in that division.

(H) A resolution, rule, or formal action of any kind is invalid unless adopted in an open meeting of the public body. A resolution, rule, or formal action adopted in an open meeting that results from deliberations in a meeting not open to the public is invalid unless the deliberations were for a purpose specifically authorized in division (G) or (J) of this section and conducted at an executive session held in compliance with this section. A resolution, rule, or formal action adopted in an open meeting is invalid if the public body that adopted the resolution, rule, or formal action violated division (F) of this section.

(I)(1) Any person may bring an action to enforce this section. An action under division (I)(1) of this section shall be brought within two years after the date of the alleged violation or threatened violation. Upon proof of a violation or threatened violation of this section in an action brought by any person, the court of common pleas shall issue an injunction to compel the members of the public body to comply with its provisions.

(2)(a) If the court of common pleas issues an injunction pursuant to division (I)(1) of this section, the court shall order the public body that it enjoins to pay a civil forfeiture of five hundred dollars to the party that sought the injunction and shall award to that party all court costs and, subject to reduction as described in division (I)(2) of this section, reasonable attorney's fees. The court, in its discretion, may reduce an award of attorney's fees to the party that sought the injunction or not award attorney's fees to that party if the court determines both of the following:

(i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law and case law as it existed at the time of violation or threatened violation that was the basis of the injunction, a well-informed public body reasonably would believe that the public body was not violating or threatening to violate this section;

(ii) That a well-informed public body reasonably would believe that the conduct or threatened conduct that was the basis of the injunction would serve the public policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.

(b) If the court of common pleas does not issue an injunction pursuant to division (I)(1) of this section and the court determines at that time that the bringing of the action was frivolous conduct, as defined in division (A) of section 2323.51 of the Revised Code, the court shall award to the public body all court costs and reasonable attorney's fees, as determined by the court.

(3) Irreparable harm and prejudice to the party that sought the injunction shall be conclusively and irrebuttably presumed upon proof of a violation or threatened violation of this section.

(4) A member of a public body who knowingly violates an injunction issued pursuant to division (I)(1) of this section may be removed from office by an action brought in the court of common pleas for that purpose by the prosecuting attorney or the attorney general.

(J)(1) Pursuant to division (C) of section 5901.09 of the Revised Code, a veterans service commission shall hold an executive session for one or more of the following purposes unless an applicant requests a public hearing:

(a) Interviewing an applicant for financial assistance under sections 5901.01 to 5901.15 of the Revised Code;

(b) Discussing applications, statements, and other documents described in division (B) of section 5901.09 of the Revised Code;

(c) Reviewing matters relating to an applicant's request for financial assistance under sections 5901.01 to 5901.15 of the Revised Code.

(2) A veterans service commission shall not exclude an applicant for, recipient of, or former recipient of financial assistance under sections 5901.01 to 5901.15 of the Revised Code, and shall not exclude representatives selected by the applicant, recipient, or former recipient, from a meeting that the commission conducts as an executive session that pertains to the applicant's, recipient's, or former recipient's application for financial assistance.

(3) A veterans service commission shall vote on the grant or denial of financial assistance under sections 5901.01 to 5901.15 of the Revised Code only in an open meeting of the commission. The minutes of the meeting shall indicate the name, address, and occupation of the applicant, whether the assistance was granted or denied, the amount of the assistance if assistance is granted, and the votes for and against the granting of assistance.

The Legislative Service Commission presents the text of this section as a composite of the section as amended by multiple acts of the General Assembly. This presentation recognizes the principle stated in R.C. 1.52(B) that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation.

Last updated February 15, 2023 at 8:50 AM

Section 121.23 | No award of contract to person found in contempt for failure to correct an unfair labor practice.

• Effective: January 15, 1981
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 661 - 113th General Assembly

(A) The secretary of state shall establish and maintain a list of all persons against whom more than one final, unappealable finding of contempt of court by a federal court or court of appeals has been issued and has remained uncorrected by the court within the immediately preceding two-year period after the listing of the finding by the secretary of state for failure to correct an unfair labor practice prohibited by the "National Labor Relations Act," 49 Stat. 452 (1935), 29 U.S.C.A. 158. The list shall be updated on the first day of each month. The secretary of state shall, within ten days after a person's name is added to the list pursuant to this division, issue written notice to such person stating that the person's name has been placed on the list pursuant to this division and setting forth the specific contempt finding of the court upon which the secretary of state based his determination. Any person who receives such notice may file an application with the secretary of state to have the person's name removed from the list. Upon receiving such application, the secretary of state shall conduct a hearing pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code and afford the applicant the opportunity to present evidence and arguments in support of the application. If after such hearing the secretary of state determines that the person's name was improperly included on the list or that the finding of contempt of court has been corrected by the court, the secretary of state shall immediately remove the person's name from the list.

(B) No department, office, institution, board, commission, or other state agency shall award a public improvement, service, or supply contract or subcontract to any person whose name appears on the most recent list established pursuant to this section and who has received written notice as provided in division (A) of this section.

(C) No person holding a public improvement, service, or supply contract with a state agency shall enter into any subcontract associated with this contract with a person whose name appears on the most recent list established pursuant to this section and who has received written notice as provided in division (A) of this section.

(D) During an emergency situation, a department, office, institution, board, commission, or other state agency may award a contract or subcontract to a person whose name appears on the list if the listed person is the sole source of supply for the goods or services needed by the state agency.

Section 121.30 | Spanish-speaking affair definitions.

• Effective: July 1, 1983
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 291 - 115th General Assembly

As used in sections 121.30 to 121.34 of the Revised Code, "Spanish-speaking people" means persons who possess any of the following characteristics:

(A) Use Spanish as their primary language;

(B) Regard themselves as or are regarded in their community as being of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, South American, Spanish, or other Spanish-speaking origin or descent.

Section 121.31 | Commission on Hispanic-Latino affairs.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

There is hereby created the commission on Hispanic-Latino affairs consisting of eleven voting members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. The speaker of the house of representatives shall recommend to the governor two persons for appointment to the commission, the president of the senate shall recommend to the governor two such persons, and the minority leaders of the house and senate shall each recommend to the governor one such person. The governor shall make initial appointments to the commission. Of the initial appointments made to the commission, three shall be for a term ending October 7, 1978, four shall be for a term ending October 7, 1979, and four shall be for a term ending October 7, 1980.

After the initial appointments by the governor, terms of office shall be for three years. Each term shall end on the same day of the same month of the year as did the term which it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of such term. Any member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. At the first organizational meeting of the commission, the original eleven members shall draw lots to determine the length of the term each member shall serve.

All members of the commission shall speak Spanish, shall be of Spanish-speaking origin, and shall be American citizens or lawful, permanent, resident aliens. Members shall be from urban, suburban, and rural geographical areas representative of Spanish-speaking people with a numerical and geographical balance of the Spanish-speaking population throughout the state.

The commission shall meet not less than six times per calendar year. The commission shall elect a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and other officers from its members as it considers advisable. Six members constitute a quorum. The commission shall adopt rules governing its procedures. No action of the commission is valid without the concurrence of six members.

Each member shall be compensated for work as a member for each day that the member is actually engaged in the performance of work as a member. No member shall be compensated for more than one day each month. In addition, each member shall be reimbursed for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official business.

Last updated October 18, 2023 at 2:05 PM

Section 121.32 | Powers and duties of commission.

• Effective: June 30, 2011
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 171 - 129th General Assembly

The commission on Hispanic-Latino affairs shall:

(A) Gather and disseminate information and conduct hearings, conferences, investigations, and special studies on problems and programs concerning Spanish-speaking people;

(B) Secure appropriate recognition of the accomplishments and contributions of Spanish-speaking people to this state;

(C) Stimulate public awareness of the problems of Spanish-speaking people by conducting a program of public education;

(D) Develop, coordinate, and assist other public and private organizations that serve Spanish-speaking people, including the conducting of training programs for community leadership and service project staff;

(E) Advise the governor, general assembly, and state departments and agencies of the nature, magnitude, and priorities of the problems of Spanish-speaking people;

(F) Advise the governor, general assembly, and state departments and agencies on, and assist in the development and implementation of, comprehensive and coordinated policies, programs, and procedures focusing on the special problems and needs of Spanish-speaking people, especially in the fields of education, employment, energy, health, housing, welfare, and recreation;

(G) Propose new programs concerning Spanish-speaking people to public and private agencies and evaluate for such agencies existing programs or prospective legislation concerning Spanish-speaking people;

(H) Review and approve grants to be made from federal, state, or private funds which are administered or subcontracted by the office of Spanish-speaking affairs;

(I) Review and approve the annual report prepared by the office of Spanish-speaking affairs;

(J) Provide and coordinate the exchange of information relative to the needs of Spanish-speaking people and promote the delivery of state services to such people.

Last updated August 3, 2023 at 2:52 PM

Section 121.33 | Office of Hispanic-Latino affairs - powers and duties.

• Effective: December 2, 1996
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 670 - 121st General Assembly

The office of Hispanic-Latino affairs is hereby created. The office shall be accountable to the commission on Hispanic-Latino affairs. The chief administrator of the office shall be the director of Hispanic-Latino affairs, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the commission.

The director, with the approval of the commission, shall appoint such employees as are necessary to carry out the duties of the office. The employees shall serve at the pleasure of the director.

The office shall compile and provide information to the commission about, and advise it on, solutions to the problems of Spanish-speaking people. The office shall execute the tasks assigned to it by the commission which shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(A) Serve as a clearinghouse to review and comment on all proposals to meet the needs of Spanish-speaking people that are submitted to it by public and private agencies;

(B) Apply for and accept grants and gifts from governmental and private sources to be administered by the office or subcontracted to local agencies;

(C) Monitor and evaluate all programs subcontracted to local agencies by the commission;

(D) Endeavor to assure that Spanish-speaking people have access to decision-making bodies in all state and local governmental departments and agencies;

(E) Submit a full written annual report of its activities, accomplishments, and recommendations to the commission;

(F) Establish advisory committees on special subjects as needed to facilitate and maximize community participation in the operation of the commission. The committees shall be composed of persons representing community organizations and charitable institutions, public officials, and such other persons as the office determines.

(G) Establish with state and local governments and private business and industry relationships that promote and assure equal opportunity for Spanish-speaking people in government, education, and employment.

Section 121.35 | Revision of uniform the eligibility standards.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) Subject to division (B) of this section, the following state agencies shall collaborate to revise and make more uniform the eligibility standards and eligibility determination procedures of programs the state agencies administer:

(1) The department of aging;

(2) The department of development;

(3) The department of developmental disabilities;

(4) The department of education and workforce;

(5) The department of health;

(6) The department of job and family services;

(7) The department of medicaid;

(8) The department of mental health and addiction services;

(9) The opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities agency;

(10) The department of children and youth.

(B) In revising eligibility standards and eligibility determination procedures, a state agency shall not make any program's eligibility standards or eligibility determination procedures inconsistent with state or federal law. To the extent authorized by state and federal law, the revisions may provide for the state agencies to share administrative operations.

Last updated September 5, 2023 at 4:47 PM

Section 121.36 | Contracts entered into by department for provision of home care services to home care dependent adults.

• Effective: October 6, 2009
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 79 - 128th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section, "home care dependent adult" means an individual who resides in a private home or other noninstitutional and unlicensed living arrangement, without the presence of a parent or guardian, but has health and safety needs that require the provision of regularly scheduled home care services to remain in the home or other living arrangement because one of the following is the case:

(1) The individual is at least twenty-one years of age but less than sixty years of age and has a physical disability or mental impairment.

(2) The individual is sixty years of age or older, regardless of whether the individual has a physical disability or mental impairment.

(B) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, the departments of developmental disabilities, aging, job and family services, and health shall each implement this section with respect to all contracts entered into by the department for the provision of home care services to home care dependent adults that are paid for in whole or in part with federal, state, or local funds. Except as provided in division (D) of this section, each department shall also require all public and private entities that receive money from or through the department to comply with this section when entering into contracts for the provision of home care services to home care dependent adults that are paid for in whole or in part with federal, state, or local funds. Such entities may include county boards of developmental disabilities, area agencies on aging, county departments of job and family services, and boards of health of city and general health districts.

(C) Beginning one year after September 26, 2003, each contract subject to this section shall include terms requiring that the provider of home care services to home care dependent adults have a system in place that effectively monitors the delivery of the services by its employees. To be considered an effective monitoring system for purposes of the contract, the system established by a provider must include at least the following components:

(1) When providing home care services to home care dependent adults who have a mental impairment or life-threatening health condition, a mechanism to verify whether the provider's employees are present at the location where the services are to be provided and at the time the services are to be provided;

(2) When providing home care services to all other home care dependent adults, a system to verify at the end of each working day whether the provider's employees have provided the services at the proper location and time;

(3) A protocol to be followed in scheduling a substitute employee when the monitoring system identifies that an employee has failed to provide home care services at the proper location and time, including standards for determining the length of time that may elapse without jeopardizing the health and safety of the home care dependent adult;

(4) Procedures for maintaining records of the information obtained through the monitoring system;

(5) Procedures for compiling annual reports of the information obtained through the monitoring system, including statistics on the rate at which home care services were provided at the proper location and time;

(6) Procedures for conducting random checks of the accuracy of the monitoring system. For purposes of conducting these checks, a random check is considered to be a check of not more than five per cent of the home care visits the provider's employees make to different home care dependent adults within a particular work shift.

(D) In implementing this section, the departments shall exempt providers of home care services who are self-employed providers with no other employees or are otherwise considered by the departments not to be agency providers. The departments shall conduct a study on how the exempted providers may be made subject to the requirement of effectively monitoring whether home care services are being provided and have been provided at the proper location and time. Not later than two years after September 26, 2003, the departments shall prepare a report of their findings and recommendations. The report shall be submitted to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives.

(E) The departments of developmental disabilities, aging, job and family services, and health shall each adopt rules as necessary to implement this section. The rules shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Section 121.37 | Ohio family and children first cabinet council.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A)(1) There is hereby created the Ohio family and children first cabinet council. The council shall be composed of the director of education and workforce, the executive director of the opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities agency, the medicaid director, and the directors of youth services, job and family services, mental health and addiction services, health, developmental disabilities, aging, rehabilitation and correction, children and youth, and budget and management. The chairperson of the council shall be the governor or the governor's designee and shall establish procedures for the council's internal control and management.

The purpose of the cabinet council is to help families seeking government services. This section shall not be interpreted or applied to usurp the role of parents, but solely to streamline and coordinate existing government services for families seeking assistance for their children.

(2) In seeking to fulfill its purpose, the council may do any of the following:

(a) Advise and make recommendations to the governor and general assembly regarding the provision of services to children;

(b) Advise and assess local governments on the coordination of service delivery to children;

(c) Hold meetings at such times and places as may be prescribed by the council's procedures and maintain records of the meetings, except that records identifying individual children are confidential and shall be disclosed only as provided by law;

(d) Develop programs and projects, including pilot projects, to encourage coordinated efforts at the state and local level to improve the state's social service delivery system;

(e) Enter into contracts with and administer grants to county family and children first councils, as well as other county or multicounty organizations to plan and coordinate service delivery between state agencies and local service providers for families and children;

(f) Enter into contracts with and apply for grants from federal agencies or private organizations;

(g) Enter into interagency agreements to encourage coordinated efforts at the state and local level to improve the state's social service delivery system. The agreements may include provisions regarding the receipt, transfer, and expenditure of funds;

(h) Identify public and private funding sources for services provided to alleged or adjudicated unruly children and children who are at risk of being alleged or adjudicated unruly children, including regulations governing access to and use of the services;

(i) Collect information provided by local communities regarding successful programs for prevention, intervention, and treatment of unruly behavior, including evaluations of the programs;

(j) Identify and disseminate publications regarding alleged or adjudicated unruly children and children who are at risk of being alleged or adjudicated unruly children and regarding programs serving those types of children;

(k) Maintain an inventory of strategic planning facilitators for use by government or nonprofit entities that serve alleged or adjudicated unruly children or children who are at risk of being alleged or adjudicated unruly children.

(3) The cabinet council shall provide for the following:

(a) Reviews of service and treatment plans for children for which such reviews are requested;

(b) Assistance as the council determines to be necessary to meet the needs of children referred by county family and children first councils;

(c) Monitoring and supervision of a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multi-disciplinary, interagency system for infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities or delays and their families, as established pursuant to federal grants received and administered by the department of developmental disabilities for early intervention services under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004," 118 Stat. 2744, 20 U.S.C.A. 1400, as amended;

(d) Establishing and maintaining the Ohio automated service coordination system pursuant to section 121.376 of the Revised Code.

(4) The cabinet council shall develop and implement the following:

(a) An interagency process to select the indicators that will be used to measure progress toward increasing child well-being in the state and to update the indicators on an annual basis.

(b) An interagency system to offer guidance and monitor progress toward increasing child well-being in the state and in each county;

(c) An annual plan that identifies state-level agency efforts taken to ensure progress towards increasing child well-being in the state;

(d) A state appeals process to resolve disputes among the members of a county council, established under division (B) of this section, concerning whether reasonable responsibilities are being shared. The appeals process may be accessed only by a majority vote of the council members who are required to serve on the council. Upon appeal, the cabinet council may order that state funds for services to children and families be redirected to a county's board of county commissioners.

(5) On an annual basis, the cabinet council shall submit to the governor and the general assembly a report on the status of efforts to increase child well-being in the state. This report shall be made available to any other person on request.

(6) The cabinet council state office may adopt rules governing the responsibilities of county family and children first councils established in division (B)(3) of this section.

(B)(1) Each board of county commissioners shall establish a county family and children first council. The board may invite any local public or private agency or group that funds, advocates, or provides services to children and families to have a representative become a permanent or temporary member of its county council. Each county council must include the following individuals:

(a) At least three individuals who are not employed by an agency represented on the council and whose families are or have received services from an agency represented on the council or another county's council. Where possible, the number of members representing families shall be equal to twenty per cent of the council's membership.

(b) The director of the board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services that serves the county, or, in the case of a county that has a board of alcohol and drug addiction services and a community mental health board, the directors of both boards. If a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services covers more than one county, the director may designate a person to participate on the county's council.

(c) The health commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, of the board of health of each city and general health district in the county. If the county has two or more health districts, the health commissioner membership may be limited to the commissioners of the two districts with the largest populations.

(d) The director of the county department of job and family services;

(e) The executive director of the public children services agency;

(f) The superintendent of the county board of developmental disabilities or, if the superintendent serves as superintendent of more than one county board of developmental disabilities, the superintendent's designee;

(g) The superintendent of the city, exempted village, or local school district with the largest number of pupils residing in the county, as determined by the department of education and workforce, which shall notify each board of county commissioners of its determination at least biennially;

(h) A school superintendent representing all other school districts with territory in the county, as designated at a biennial meeting of the superintendents of those districts;

(i) A representative of the municipal corporation with the largest population in the county;

(j) The president of the board of county commissioners or an individual designated by the board;

(k) A representative of the department of youth services or an individual designated by the department;

(l) A representative of the county's head start agencies, as defined in section 3301.32 of the Revised Code;

(m) A representative of the county's early intervention collaborative established pursuant to the federal early intervention program operated under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004";

(n) A representative of a local nonprofit entity that funds, advocates, or provides services to children and families.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the public members of a county council are not prohibited from serving on the council and making decisions regarding the duties of the council, including those involving the funding of joint projects and those outlined in the county's service coordination mechanism implemented pursuant to division (C) of this section.

The county's juvenile court judge senior in service or another judge of the juvenile court designated by the administrative judge or, where there is no administrative judge, by the judge senior in service shall serve as the judicial advisor to the county family and children first council. The judge may advise the county council on the court's utilization of resources, services, or programs provided by the entities represented by the members of the county council and how those resources, services, or programs assist the court in its administration of justice. Service of a judge as a judicial advisor pursuant to this section is a judicial function.

(2) The purpose of the county council is to streamline and coordinate existing government services for families seeking services for their children. In seeking to fulfill its purpose, a county council shall provide for the following:

(a) Referrals to the cabinet council of those children for whom the county council cannot provide adequate services;

(b) Development and implementation of a process that annually evaluates and prioritizes services, fills service gaps where possible, and invents new approaches to achieve better results for families and children;

(c) Participation in the development of a countywide, comprehensive, coordinated, multi-disciplinary, interagency system for infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities or delays and their families, as established pursuant to federal grants received and administered by the department of developmental disabilities for early intervention services under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004";

(d) Maintenance of an accountability system to monitor the county council's progress in achieving results for families and children;

(e) Establishment of a mechanism to ensure ongoing input from a broad representation of families who are receiving services within the county system.

(3) A county council shall develop and implement the following:

(a) An interagency process to establish local indicators and monitor the county's progress toward increasing child well-being in the county;

(b) An interagency process to identify local priorities to increase child well-being.

(c) An annual plan that identifies the county's interagency efforts to increase child well-being in the county.

On an annual basis, the county council shall submit a report on the status of efforts by the county to increase child well-being in the county to the county's board of county commissioners and the cabinet council. This report shall be made available to any other person on request.

(4)(a) Except as provided in division (B)(4)(b) of this section, a county council shall comply with the policies, procedures, and activities prescribed by the rules or interagency agreements of a state department participating on the cabinet council whenever the county council performs a function subject to those rules or agreements.

(b) On application of a county council, the cabinet council may grant an exemption from any rules or interagency agreements of a state department participating on the council if an exemption is necessary for the council to implement an alternative program or approach for service delivery to families and children. The application shall describe the proposed program or approach and specify the rules or interagency agreements from which an exemption is necessary. The cabinet council shall approve or disapprove the application in accordance with standards and procedures it shall adopt. If an application is approved, the exemption is effective only while the program or approach is being implemented, including a reasonable period during which the program or approach is being evaluated for effectiveness.

(5)(a) Each county council shall designate an administrative agent for the council from among the following public entities: the board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services, including a board of alcohol and drug addiction or a community mental health board if the county is served by separate boards; the board of county commissioners; any board of health of the county's city and general health districts; the county department of job and family services; the county agency responsible for the administration of children services pursuant to section 5153.15 of the Revised Code; the county board of developmental disabilities; any of the county's boards of education or governing boards of educational service centers; or the county's juvenile court. Any of the foregoing public entities, other than the board of county commissioners, may decline to serve as the council's administrative agent.

A county council's administrative agent shall serve as the council's appointing authority for any employees of the council. The council shall file an annual budget with its administrative agent, with copies filed with the county auditor and with the board of county commissioners, unless the board is serving as the council's administrative agent. The council's administrative agent shall ensure that all expenditures are handled in accordance with policies, procedures, and activities prescribed by state departments in rules, grant agreements, or interagency agreements that are applicable to the council's functions.

The administrative agent of a county council shall send notice of a member's absence if a member listed in division (B)(1) of this section has been absent from either three consecutive meetings of the county council or a county council subcommittee, or from one-quarter of such meetings in a calendar year, whichever is less. The notice shall be sent to the board of county commissioners that establishes the county council and, for the members listed in divisions (B)(1)(b), (c), (e), and (l) of this section, to the governing board overseeing the respective entity; for the member listed in division (B)(1)(f) of this section, to the county board of developmental disabilities that employs the superintendent; for a member listed in division (B)(1)(g) or (h) of this section, to the school board that employs the superintendent; for the member listed in division (B)(1)(i) of this section, to the mayor of the municipal corporation; for the member listed in division (B)(1)(k) of this section, to the director of youth services; and for the member listed in division (B)(1)(n) of this section, to that member's board of trustees.

The administrative agent for a county council may do any of the following on behalf of the council:

(i) Enter into agreements or administer contracts with public or private entities to fulfill specific council business. Such agreements and contracts are exempt from the competitive bidding requirements of section 307.86 of the Revised Code if they have been approved by the county council and they are for the purchase of services for families and children. The approval of the county council is not required to exempt agreements or contracts entered into under section 5139.34, 5139.41, or 5139.43 of the Revised Code from the competitive bidding requirements of section 307.86 of the Revised Code.

(ii) As determined by the council, provide financial stipends, reimbursements, or both, to family representatives for expenses related to council activity;

(iii) Receive by gift, grant, devise, or bequest any moneys, lands, or other property for the purposes for which the council is established. The agent shall hold, apply, and dispose of the moneys, lands, or other property according to the terms of the gift, grant, devise, or bequest. Any interest or earnings shall be treated in the same manner and are subject to the same terms as the gift, grant, devise, or bequest from which it accrues.

(b)(i) If the county council designates the board of county commissioners as its administrative agent, the board may, by resolution, delegate any of its powers and duties as administrative agent to an executive committee the board establishes from the membership of the county council. The board shall name to the executive committee at least the individuals described in divisions (B)(1)(b) to (h) of this section and may appoint the president of the board or another individual as the chair of the executive committee. The executive committee must include at least one family county council representative who does not have a family member employed by an agency represented on the council.

(ii) The executive committee may, with the approval of the board, hire an executive director to assist the county council in administering its powers and duties. The executive director shall serve in the unclassified civil service at the pleasure of the executive committee. The executive director may, with the approval of the executive committee, hire other employees as necessary to properly conduct the county council's business.

(iii) The board may require the executive committee to submit an annual budget to the board for approval and may amend or repeal the resolution that delegated to the executive committee its authority as the county council's administrative agent.

(6) Two or more county councils may enter into an agreement to administer their county councils jointly by creating a regional family and children first council. A regional council possesses the same duties and authority possessed by a county council, except that the duties and authority apply regionally rather than to individual counties. Prior to entering into an agreement to create a regional council, the members of each county council to be part of the regional council shall meet to determine whether all or part of the members of each county council will serve as members of the regional council.

(7) A board of county commissioners may approve a resolution by a majority vote of the board's members that requires the county council to submit a statement to the board each time the council proposes to enter into an agreement, adopt a plan, or make a decision, other than a decision pursuant to section 121.38 of the Revised Code, that requires the expenditure of funds for two or more families. The statement shall describe the proposed agreement, plan, or decision.

Not later than fifteen days after the board receives the statement, it shall, by resolution approved by a majority of its members, approve or disapprove the agreement, plan, or decision. Failure of the board to pass a resolution during that time period shall be considered approval of the agreement, plan, or decision.

An agreement, plan, or decision for which a statement is required to be submitted to the board shall be implemented only if it is approved by the board.

(C) Each county shall develop a county service coordination mechanism. The county service coordination mechanism shall serve as the guiding document for coordination of services in the county. For children who also receive services under the early intervention program, the main provider of service coordination shall be an early intervention service coordinator to ensure compliance with section 5123.02 of the Revised Code. All family service coordination plans shall be developed in accordance with the county service coordination mechanism. The mechanism shall be developed and approved with the participation of the county entities representing child welfare; developmental disabilities; alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services; health; juvenile judges; education; the county family and children first council; and the county early intervention collaborative established pursuant to the federal early intervention program operated under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004." The county shall establish an implementation schedule for the mechanism. The cabinet council may monitor the implementation and administration of each county's service coordination mechanism.

Each mechanism shall include all of the following:

(1) A procedure for an agency, including a juvenile court, or a family voluntarily seeking service coordination, to refer the child and family to the county council for service coordination in accordance with the mechanism;

(2) A procedure ensuring that a family and all appropriate staff from involved agencies, including a representative from the appropriate school district, are notified of and invited to participate in all family service coordination plan meetings;

(3) A procedure that permits a family to initiate a meeting to develop or review the family's service coordination plan and allows the family to invite a family advocate, mentor, or support person of the family's choice to participate in any such meeting;

(4) A procedure for ensuring that a family service coordination plan meeting is conducted for each child who receives service coordination under the mechanism and for whom an emergency out-of-home placement has been made or for whom a nonemergency out-of-home placement is being considered. The meeting shall be conducted within ten days of an emergency out-of-home placement. The meeting shall be conducted before a nonemergency out-of-home placement. The family service coordination plan shall outline how the county council members will jointly pay for services, where applicable, and provide services in the least restrictive environment.

(5) A procedure for monitoring the progress and tracking the outcomes of each service coordination plan requested in the county including monitoring and tracking children in out-of-home placements to assure continued progress, appropriateness of placement, and continuity of care after discharge from placement with appropriate arrangements for housing, treatment, and education;

(6) A procedure for protecting the confidentiality of all personal family information disclosed during service coordination meetings or contained in the comprehensive family service coordination plan;

(7) A procedure for assessing the needs and strengths of any child or family that has been referred to the council for service coordination, including a child whose parent or custodian is voluntarily seeking services, and for ensuring that parents and custodians are afforded the opportunity to participate;

(8) A procedure for development of a family service coordination plan described in division (D) of this section;

(9) A local dispute resolution process to serve as the process that must be used first to resolve disputes among the agencies represented on the county council concerning the provision of services to children, including children who are abused, neglected, dependent, unruly, alleged unruly, or delinquent children and under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and children whose parents or custodians are voluntarily seeking services. The local dispute resolution process shall comply with sections 121.38, 121.381, and 121.382 of the Revised Code. The local dispute resolution process shall be used to resolve disputes between a child's parents or custodians and the county council regarding service coordination. The county council shall inform the parents or custodians of their right to use the dispute resolution process. Parents or custodians shall use existing local agency grievance procedures to address disputes not involving service coordination. The dispute resolution process is in addition to and does not replace other rights or procedures that parents or custodians may have under other sections of the Revised Code.

The cabinet council shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing an administrative review process to address problems that arise concerning the operation of a local dispute resolution process.

Nothing in division (C)(4) of this section shall be interpreted as overriding or affecting decisions of a juvenile court or public children services agency regarding an out-of-home placement, long-term placement, or emergency out-of-home placement.

(D) Each county shall develop a family service coordination plan that does all of the following:

(1) Designates service responsibilities among the various state and local agencies that provide services to children and their families, including children who are abused, neglected, dependent, unruly, or delinquent children and under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and children whose parents or custodians are voluntarily seeking services;

(2) Designates an individual, approved by the family, to track the progress of the family service coordination plan, schedule reviews as necessary, and facilitate the family service coordination plan meeting process;

(3) Ensures that assistance and services to be provided are responsive to the strengths and needs of the family, as well as the family's culture, race, and ethnic group, by allowing the family to offer information and suggestions and participate in decisions. Identified assistance and services shall be provided in the least restrictive environment possible.

(4) Includes a process for dealing with a child who is alleged to be an unruly child. The process shall include methods to divert the child from the juvenile court system;

(5) Includes timelines for completion of goals specified in the plan with regular reviews scheduled to monitor progress toward those goals;

(6) Includes a plan for dealing with short-term crisis situations and safety concerns.

(E)(1) The process provided for under division (D)(4) of this section may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) Designation of the person or agency to conduct the assessment of the child and the child's family as described in division (C)(7) of this section and designation of the instrument or instruments to be used to conduct the assessment;

(b) An emphasis on the personal responsibilities of the child and the parental responsibilities of the parents, guardian, or custodian of the child;

(c) Involvement of local law enforcement agencies and officials.

(2) The method to divert a child from the juvenile court system that must be included in the service coordination process may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) The preparation of a complaint under section 2151.27 of the Revised Code alleging that the child is an unruly child and notifying the child and the parents, guardian, or custodian that the complaint has been prepared to encourage the child and the parents, guardian, or custodian to comply with other methods to divert the child from the juvenile court system;

(b) Conducting a meeting with the child, the parents, guardian, or custodian, and other interested parties to determine the appropriate methods to divert the child from the juvenile court system;

(c) A method to provide to the child and the child's family a short-term respite from a short-term crisis situation involving a confrontation between the child and the parents, guardian, or custodian;

(d) A program to provide a mentor to the child or the parents, guardian, or custodian;

(e) A program to provide parenting education to the parents, guardian, or custodian;

(f) An alternative school program for children who are truant from school, repeatedly disruptive in school, or suspended or expelled from school;

(g) Other appropriate measures, including, but not limited to, any alternative methods to divert a child from the juvenile court system that are identified by the Ohio family and children first cabinet council.

(F) Each county may review and revise the service coordination process described in division (D) of this section based on the availability of funds under Title IV-A of the "Social Security Act," 110 Stat. 2113 (1996), 42 U.S.C.A. 601, as amended, or to the extent resources are available from any other federal, state, or local funds.

(G) As used in this section, "early intervention service coordinator" means a person who holds an early intervention service coordinator credential or an early intervention service coordination supervisor credential issued by the department of developmental disabilities and who assists and enables an infant or toddler with a developmental delay or disability and the child's family to receive the services and rights, including procedural safeguards, required under part C of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004," 20 U.S.C. 1400, as amended.

Last updated August 31, 2023 at 1:14 PM

Section 121.373 | Family and children first administration fund.

• Effective: September 29, 2005
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 66 - 126th General Assembly

There is hereby created in the state treasury the family and children first administration fund. The fund shall consist of money that the director of budget and management transfers from one or more funds of one or more agencies represented on the Ohio family and children first cabinet council. The director may transfer only money that state or federal law permits to be used for the cabinet council's administrative costs. Money in the fund shall be used to pay the cabinet council's administrative costs.

Section 121.375 | Information provided to Ohio family and children first cabinet council.

• Effective: October 16, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 128th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

"At-risk individual" means an individual at great risk of not being able to access available health and social services due to barriers such as poverty, inadequate transportation, culture, and priorities of basic survival.

"Care coordination agency" means a person or government entity that assists at-risk individuals access available health and social services the at-risk individuals need.

(B) A care coordination agency may provide the following information to the Ohio family and children first cabinet council:

(1) The types of individuals the agency identifies as being at-risk individuals;

(2) The total per-individual cost to the agency for care coordination services provided to at-risk individuals;

(3) The administrative cost per individual for care coordination services provided to at-risk individuals;

(4) The specific work products the agency purchased to provide care coordination services to at-risk individuals;

(5) The strategies the agency uses to help at-risk individuals access available health and social services;

(6) The agency's success in helping at-risk individuals access available health and social services;

(7) The mechanisms the agency uses to identify and eliminate duplicate care coordination services.

(C) The Ohio family and children first cabinet council may do either or both of the following:

(1) Give incentives to encourage care coordination agencies to provide information to the council under this section;

(2) Use the information provided to it under this section to help improve care coordination for at-risk individuals throughout the state.

Section 121.376 | Ohio automated service coordination information system.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) The Ohio family and children first cabinet council state office shall establish and maintain the Ohio automated service coordination information system. The information system shall contain county family and children first council records detailing funding sources and information regarding families seeking services from a county council including:

(1) Demographics including:

(a) Number and relationship of family members;

(b) Genders of youth;

(c) Ages of youth;

(d) Races of youth;

(e) Education of youth.

(2) Youth financial resource eligibility information;

(3) History and desired outcomes;

(4) Youth's physical and behavioral health histories, when available;

(5) Names of youth's insurers and physicians, when available;

(6) Individualized plans including:

(a) Referrals made to services;

(b) Services and supports received;

(c) Crisis plans;

(d) Safety plans.

(7) All relevant case file documents;

(8) Any other information related to families served, services provided, or the financial resources used to provide the services.

(B) Each county family and children first council shall enter and update information in the Ohio automated service coordination information system as information becomes available or within five business days of acquiring new information. Failure to enter information may result in the withholding of state funding.

(C) The data in the Ohio automated service coordination information system is confidential, and release of information is limited to those with whom the county family and children first council is permitted by law to share the information. Access to and use of data in the Ohio automated service coordination information system shall be limited to the extent necessary to carry out the duties of the family and children first cabinet council and the county family and children first councils established in section 121.37 of the Revised Code.

(D) Personnel having access to the Ohio automated service coordination information system shall be limited to those individuals who have been educated on the confidentiality requirements of the Ohio automated service coordination information system, who are informed of all penalties, who have been educated in security procedures, and who have provided acknowledgement of rules developed by the Ohio family and children first cabinet council.

(E) Each county family and children first council shall do both of the following:

(1) Establish and implement a policy establishing administrative penalties, up to and including dismissal from employment, for unauthorized access to, disclosure of, or use of data in the Ohio automated service coordination information system;

(2) Monitor access to and use of the Ohio automated service coordination information system to prevent and identify unauthorized use of the system.

(F) No direct access to the Ohio automated service coordination information system shall be requested by or on behalf of, nor approved for or granted to, any researcher conducting research.

(G) The Ohio family and children first cabinet council state office may adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. Of the Revised Code, governing county family and children first councils' access to, entry of, and use of information in the Ohio automated service coordination information system.

Last updated September 11, 2023 at 3:35 PM

Section 121.38 | Resolving agency disputes concerning services or funding.

• Effective: June 30, 2005
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 66 - 126th General Assembly

(A) An agency represented on a county family and children first council that disagrees with the council's decision concerning the services or funding for services a child is to receive from agencies represented on the council may initiate the local dispute resolution process established in the county service coordination mechanism applicable to the council. On completion of the process, the decision maker designated in the mechanism shall issue a written determination that directs one or more agencies represented on the council to provide services or funding for services to the child. The determination shall include a plan of care governing the manner in which the services or funding are to be provided. The decision maker shall base the plan of care on the family service coordination plan developed as part of the county's service coordination mechanism and on evidence presented during the local dispute resolution process. The decision maker may require an agency to provide services or funding only if the child's condition or needs qualify the child for services under the laws governing the agency.

(B) An agency subject to a determination issued pursuant to a local dispute resolution process shall immediately comply with the determination, unless the agency objects to the determination by doing one of the following not later than seven days after the date the written determination is issued:

(1) If the child has been alleged or adjudicated to be an abused, neglected, dependent, unruly, or delinquent child or a juvenile traffic offender, filing in the juvenile court of the county having jurisdiction over the child's case a motion requesting that the court hold a hearing to determine which agencies are to provide services or funding for services to the child.

(2) If the child is not a child described in division (B)(1) of this section, filing in the juvenile court of the county served by the county council a complaint objecting to the determination.

The court shall hold a hearing as soon as possible, but not later than ninety days after the motion or complaint is filed. At least five days before the date on which the court hearing is to be held, the court shall send each agency subject to the determination written notice by first class mail of the date, time, place, and purpose of the court hearing. In the case of a motion filed under division (B)(1) of this section, the court may conduct the hearing as part of the adjudicatory or dispositional hearing concerning the child, if appropriate, and shall provide notice as required for those hearings.

Except in cases in which the hearing is conducted as part of the adjudicatory or dispositional hearing, a hearing held pursuant to this division shall be limited to a determination of which agencies are to provide services or funding for services to the child. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court shall issue an order directing one or more agencies represented on the county council to provide services or funding for services to the child. The order shall include a plan of care governing the manner in which the services or funding are to be provided. The court shall base the plan of care on the family service coordination plan developed as part of the county's service coordination plan and on evidence presented during the hearing. An agency required by the order to provide services or funding shall be a party to any juvenile court proceeding concerning the child. The court may require an agency to provide services or funding for a child only if the child's condition or needs qualify the child for services under the laws governing the agency.

(C) While the local dispute resolution process or court proceedings pursuant to this section are pending, each agency shall provide services and funding as required by the decision made by the county council before dispute resolution was initiated. If an agency that provides services or funds during the local dispute resolution process or court proceedings is determined through the process or proceedings not to be responsible for providing them, it shall be reimbursed for the costs of providing the services or funding by the agencies determined to be responsible for providing them.

Section 121.381 | Family and children first dispute resolution process.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

A parent or custodian who disagrees with a decision rendered by a county family and children first council regarding services for a child may initiate the dispute resolution process established in the county service coordination mechanism pursuant to division (C)(9) of section 121.37 of the Revised Code.

Not later than sixty days after the parent or custodian initiates the dispute resolution process, the council shall make findings regarding the dispute and issue a written determination of its findings.

Last updated September 6, 2023 at 3:22 PM

Section 121.382 | Services continued pending dispute resolution process.

• Effective: June 30, 2005
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 66 - 126th General Assembly

Each agency represented on a county family and children first council that is providing services or funding for services that are the subject of the dispute resolution process initiated by a parent or custodian under section 121.381 of the Revised Code shall continue to provide those services and the funding for those services during the dispute resolution process.

Section 121.39 | Identifying documentation that is basis for legislation dealing with environmental protection.

• Effective: August 18, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 221 - 132nd General Assembly

(A) As used in this section, "environmental protection" means any of the following:

(1) Protection of human health or safety, biological resources, or natural resources by preventing, reducing, or remediating the pollution or degradation of air, land, or water resources or by preventing or limiting the exposure of humans, animals, or plants to pollution;

(2) Appropriation or regulation of privately owned property to preserve air, land, or water resources in a natural state or to wholly or partially restore them to a natural state;

(3) Regulation of the collection, management, treatment, reduction, storage, or disposal of solid, hazardous, radioactive, or other wastes;

(4) Plans or programs to promote or regulate the conservation, recycling, or reuse of energy, materials, or wastes.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (E) of this section, when proposed legislation dealing with environmental protection or containing a component dealing with environmental protection is referred to a committee of the general assembly, other than a committee on rules or reference, the sponsor of the legislation, at the time of the first hearing of the legislation before the committee, shall submit to the members of the committee a written statement identifying either the documentation that is the basis of the legislation or the federal requirement or requirements with which the legislation is intended to comply. If the legislation is not based on documentation or has not been introduced to comply with a federal requirement or requirements, the written statement from the sponsor shall so indicate.

Also at the time of the first hearing of the legislation before the committee, a statewide organization that represents businesses in this state and that elects its board of directors may submit to the members of the committee a written estimate of the costs to the regulated community in this state of complying with the legislation if it is enacted.

At any hearing of the legislation before the committee, a representative of any state agency, environmental advocacy organization, or consumer advocacy organization or any private citizen may present documentation containing an estimate of the monetary and other costs to public health and safety and the environment and to consumers and residential utility customers, and the effects on property values, if the legislation is not enacted.

(C) Until such time as the statement required under division (B) of this section is submitted to the committee to which proposed legislation dealing with environmental protection or containing a component dealing with environmental protection was referred, the legislation shall not be reported by that committee. This requirement does not apply if the component dealing with environmental protection is removed from the legislation or if two-thirds of the members of the committee vote in favor of a motion to report the proposed legislation.

(D) Except as otherwise provided in division (E) of this section, prior to adopting a rule or an amendment proposed to a rule dealing with environmental protection or containing a component dealing with environmental protection, a state agency shall do all of the following:

(1) Consult with organizations that represent political subdivisions, environmental interests, business interests, and other persons affected by the proposed rule or amendment;

(2) Consider documentation relevant to the need for, the environmental benefits or consequences of, other benefits of, and the technological feasibility of the proposed rule or amendment;

(3) Specifically identify whether the proposed rule or amendment is being adopted or amended to enable the state to obtain or maintain approval to administer and enforce a federal environmental law or to participate in a federal environmental program, whether the proposed rule or amendment is more stringent than its federal counterpart, and, if the proposed rule or amendment is more stringent, the rationale for not incorporating its federal counterpart;

(4) Include with the proposed rule or amendment and the rule summary and fiscal analysis required under section 106.024 of the Revised Code, when they are filed with the joint committee on agency rule review in accordance with division (D) of section 111.15 or division (C) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, one of the following in electronic form, as applicable:

(a) The information identified under division (D)(3) of this section and, if the proposed rule or amendment is more stringent than its federal counterpart, as identified in that division, the documentation considered under division (D)(2) of this section;

(b) If an amendment proposed to a rule is being adopted or amended under a state statute that establishes standards with which the amendment shall comply, and the proposed amendment is more stringent than the rule that it is proposing to amend, the documentation considered under division (D)(2) of this section;

(c) If division (D)(4)(a) or (b) of this section is not applicable, the documentation considered under division (D)(2) of this section.

If the agency subsequently files a revision of such a proposed rule or amendment in accordance with division (D) of section 111.15 or division (C) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, the revision shall be accompanied in electronic form by the applicable information or documentation.

Division (D) of this section does not apply to any emergency rule adopted under division (B)(2) of section 111.15 or division (G) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, but does apply to any such rule that subsequently is adopted as a nonemergency rule under either of those divisions.

The information or documentation submitted under division (D)(4) of this section may be in the form of a summary or index of available knowledge or information and shall consist of or be based upon the best available generally accepted knowledge or information in the appropriate fields, as determined by the agency that prepared the documentation.

(E) The statement required under division (B) and the information or documentation required under division (D) of this section need not be prepared or submitted with regard to a proposed statute or rule, or an amendment to a rule, if the statute, rule, or amendment is procedural or budgetary in nature, or governs the organization or operation of a state agency, and will not affect the substantive rights or obligations of any person other than a state agency or an employee or contractor of a state agency.

(F) The insufficiency, incompleteness, or inadequacy of a statement, information, documentation, or a summary of information or documentation provided in accordance with division (B) or (D) of this section shall not be grounds for invalidation of any statute, rule, or amendment to a rule.

(G) This section applies only to the following:

(1) Legislation and components of legislation dealing with environmental protection that are introduced in the general assembly after March 5, 1996;

(2) Rules and rule amendments dealing with environmental protection that are filed with the joint committee on agency rule review in accordance with division (D) of section 111.15 or division (C) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code after March 5, 1996.

Section 121.40 | Ohio commission on service and volunteerism.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) There is hereby created the Ohio commission on service and volunteerism consisting of nineteen voting members including the director of education and workforce or the director's designee, the chancellor of higher education or the chancellor's designee, the director of youth services or the director's designee, the director of aging or the director's designee, and fifteen members who shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate and who shall serve terms of office of three years. The appointees shall include educators, including teachers and administrators; representatives of youth organizations; students and parents; representatives of organizations engaged in volunteer program development and management throughout the state, including youth and conservation programs; and representatives of business, government, nonprofit organizations, social service agencies, veterans organizations, religious organizations, or philanthropies that support or encourage volunteerism within the state. The director of the governor's office of faith-based and community initiatives shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio member of the commission. Members of the commission shall receive no compensation, but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.

(B) The commission shall appoint an executive director for the commission, who shall be in the unclassified civil service. The governor shall be informed of the appointment of an executive director before such an appointment is made. The executive director shall supervise the commission's activities and report to the commission on the progress of those activities. The executive director shall do all things necessary for the efficient and effective implementation of the duties of the commission.

The responsibilities assigned to the executive director do not relieve the members of the commission from final responsibility for the proper performance of the requirements of this section.

(C) The commission or its designee shall do all of the following:

(1) Employ, promote, supervise, and remove all employees as needed in connection with the performance of its duties under this section and may assign duties to those employees as necessary to achieve the most efficient performance of its functions, and to that end may establish, change, or abolish positions, and assign and reassign duties and responsibilities of any employee of the commission. Personnel employed by the commission who are subject to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code shall retain all of their rights and benefits conferred pursuant to that chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as eliminating or interfering with Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code or the rights and benefits conferred under that chapter to public employees or to any bargaining unit.

(2) Maintain its office in Columbus, and may hold sessions at any place within the state;

(3) Acquire facilities, equipment, and supplies necessary to house the commission, its employees, and files and records under its control, and to discharge any duty imposed upon it by law. The expense of these acquisitions shall be audited and paid for in the same manner as other state expenses. For that purpose, the commission shall prepare and submit to the office of budget and management a budget for each biennium according to sections 101.532 and 107.03 of the Revised Code. The budget submitted shall cover the costs of the commission and its staff in the discharge of any duty imposed upon the commission by law. The commission shall not delegate any authority to obligate funds.

(4) Pay its own payroll and other operating expenses from line items designated by the general assembly;

(5) Retain its fiduciary responsibility as appointing authority. Any transaction instructions shall be certified by the appointing authority or its designee.

(6) Establish the overall policy and management of the commission in accordance with this chapter;

(7) Assist in coordinating and preparing the state application for funds under sections 101 to 184 of the "National and Community Service Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 3127 (1990), 42 U.S.C.A. 12411 to 12544, as amended, assist in administering and overseeing the "National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993," P.L. 103-82, 107 Stat. 785, and the americorps program in this state, and assist in developing objectives for a comprehensive strategy to encourage and expand community service programs throughout the state;

(8) Assist the department of education and workforce, school districts, the chancellor of higher education, and institutions of higher education in coordinating community service education programs through cooperative efforts between institutions and organizations in the public and private sectors;

(9) Assist the departments of natural resources, youth services, aging, job and family services, and children and youth in coordinating community service programs through cooperative efforts between institutions and organizations in the public and private sectors;

(10) Suggest individuals and organizations that are available to assist school districts, institutions of higher education, and the departments of natural resources, youth services, aging, job and family services, and children and youth in the establishment of community service programs and assist in investigating sources of funding for implementing these programs;

(11) Assist in evaluating the state's efforts in providing community service programs using standards and methods that are consistent with any statewide objectives for these programs and provide information to the department of education and workforce, school districts, the chancellor of higher education, institutions of higher education, and the departments of natural resources, youth services, aging, job and family services, and children and youth to guide them in making decisions about these programs;

(12) Assist the department of education and workforce in complying with section 3301.70 of the Revised Code and the chancellor of higher education in complying with division (B)(2) of section 3333.043 of the Revised Code.

(D) The commission shall in writing enter into an agreement with another state agency to serve as the commission's fiscal agent. Before entering into such an agreement, the commission shall inform the governor of the terms of the agreement and of the state agency designated to serve as the commission's fiscal agent. The fiscal agent shall be responsible for all the commission's fiscal matters and financial transactions, as specified in the agreement. Services to be provided by the fiscal agent include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Preparing and processing payroll and other personnel documents that the commission executes as the appointing authority;

(2) Maintaining ledgers of accounts and reports of account balances, and monitoring budgets and allotment plans in consultation with the commission; and

(3) Performing other routine support services that the fiscal agent considers appropriate to achieve efficiency.

(E)(1) The commission, in conjunction and consultation with the fiscal agent, has the following authority and responsibility relative to fiscal matters:

(a) Sole authority to draw funds for any and all federal programs in which the commission is authorized to participate;

(b) Sole authority to expend funds from their accounts for programs and any other necessary expenses the commission may incur and its subgrantees may incur; and

(c) Responsibility to cooperate with and inform the fiscal agent fully of all financial transactions.

(2) The commission shall follow all state procurement, fiscal, human resources, statutory, and administrative rule requirements.

(3) The fiscal agent shall determine fees to be charged to the commission, which shall be in proportion to the services performed for the commission.

(4) The commission shall pay fees owed to the fiscal agent from a general revenue fund of the commission or from any other fund from which the operating expenses of the commission are paid. Any amounts set aside for a fiscal year for the payment of these fees shall be used only for the services performed for the commission by the fiscal agent in that fiscal year.

(F) The commission may accept and administer grants from any source, public or private, to carry out any of the commission's functions this section establishes.

Last updated September 5, 2023 at 4:52 PM

Section 121.401 | Adoption of recommended best practices when volunteers have unsupervised access to children.

• Effective: September 29, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section and section 121.402 of the Revised Code, "organization or entity" and "unsupervised access to a child" have the same meanings as in section 109.574 of the Revised Code.

(B) The Ohio commission on service and volunteerism shall adopt a set of "recommended best practices" for organizations or entities to follow when one or more volunteers of the organization or entity have unsupervised access to one or more children or otherwise interact with one or more children. The "recommended best practices" shall focus on, but shall not be limited to, the issue of the safety of the children and, in addition, the screening and supervision of volunteers. The "recommended best practices" shall include as a recommended best practice that the organization or entity subject to a criminal records check performed by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation pursuant to section 109.57, section 109.572, or rules adopted under division (E) of section 109.57 of the Revised Code, all of the following:

(1) All persons who apply to serve as a volunteer in a position in which the person will have unsupervised access to a child on a regular basis.

(2) All volunteers who are in a position in which the person will have unsupervised access to a child on a regular basis and who the organization or entity has not previously subjected to a criminal records check performed by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation.

(C) The set of "recommended best practices" required to be adopted by this section are in addition to the educational program required to be adopted under section 121.402 of the Revised Code.

Section 121.402 | Educational program for volunteers having unsupervised access to children.

• Effective: September 29, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly

(A) The Ohio commission on service and volunteerism shall establish and maintain an educational program that does all of the following:

(1) Makes available to parents and guardians of children notice about the provisions of sections 109.574 to 109.577, section 121.401, and section 121.402 of the Revised Code and information about how to keep children safe when they are under the care, custody, or control of a person other than the parent or guardian;

(2) Makes available to organizations and entities information regarding the best methods of screening and supervising volunteers, how to obtain a criminal records check of a volunteer, confidentiality issues relating to reports of criminal records checks, and record keeping regarding the reports;

(3) Makes available to volunteers information regarding the possibility of being subjected to a criminal records check and displaying appropriate behavior to minors;

(4) Makes available to children advice on personal safety and information on what action to take if someone takes inappropriate action towards a child.

(B) The program shall begin making the materials described in this section available not later than March 22, 2002.

Section 121.403 | Powers of commission - gifts and donations fund - use of moneys.

• Effective: September 29, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly

(A) The Ohio commission on service and volunteerism may do any of the following:

(1) Accept monetary gifts or donations;

(2) Sponsor conferences, meetings, or events in furtherance of the commission's purpose described in section 121.40 of the Revised Code and charge fees for participation or involvement in the conferences, meetings, or events;

(3) Sell promotional items in furtherance of the commission's purpose described in section 121.40 of the Revised Code.

(B) All monetary gifts and donations, funds from the sale of promotional items, contributions received from the issuance of Ohio "volunteer" license plates pursuant to section 4503.93 of the Revised Code, and any fees paid to the commission for conferences, meetings, or events sponsored by the commission shall be deposited into the Ohio commission on service and volunteerism gifts and donations fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. Moneys in the fund may be used only as follows:

(1) To pay operating expenses of the commission, including payroll, personal services, maintenance, equipment, and subsidy payments;

(2) To support commission programs promoting volunteerism and community service in the state;

(3) As matching funds for federal grants.

Section 121.41 | Inspector general definitions.

• Effective: February 18, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 129th General Assembly

As used in sections 121.41 to 121.50 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Appropriate ethics commission" has the same meaning as in section 102.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Appropriate licensing agency" means a public or private entity that is responsible for licensing, certifying, or registering persons who are engaged in a particular vocation.

(C) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the Revised Code and also includes any officer or employee of the state or any political subdivision of the state.

(D) "State agency" has the same meaning as in section 1.60 of the Revised Code and includes the Ohio casino control commission, but does not include any of the following:

(1) The general assembly;

(2) Any court;

(3) The secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general and their respective offices.

(E) "State employee" means any person who is an employee of a state agency, or any person who does business with the state including, only for the purposes of sections 121.41 to 121.50 of the Revised Code, the nonprofit corporation formed under section 187.01 of the Revised Code.

(F) "State officer" means any person who is elected or appointed to a public office in a state agency.

(G) "Wrongful act or omission" means an act or omission, committed in the course of office holding or employment, that is not in accordance with the requirements of law or such standards of proper governmental conduct as are commonly accepted in the community and thereby subverts, or tends to subvert, the process of government.

Section 121.42 | Inspector general - powers and duties.

• Effective: October 31, 1990
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 588 - 118th General Assembly

The inspector general shall do all of the following:

(A) Investigate the management and operation of state agencies on his own initiative in order to determine whether wrongful acts and omissions have been committed or are being committed by state officers or state employees;

(B) Receive complaints under section 121.46 of the Revised Code alleging wrongful acts and omissions, determine whether the information contained in those complaints allege facts that give reasonable cause to investigate, and, if so, investigate to determine if there is reasonable cause to believe that the alleged wrongful act or omission has been committed or is being committed by a state officer or state employee;

(C) Except as otherwise provided in this division, contemporaneously report suspected crimes and wrongful acts or omissions that were or are being committed by state officers or state employees to the governor and to the appropriate state or federal prosecuting authority with jurisdiction over the matter if there is reasonable cause to believe that a crime has occurred or is occurring. In addition, the inspector general shall report the wrongful acts or omissions, as appropriate under the circumstances, to the appropriate ethics commission in accordance with section 102.06 of the Revised Code, the appropriate licensing agency for possible disciplinary action, or the state officer's or state employee's appointing authority for possible disciplinary action. The inspector general shall not report a wrongful act or omission to a person as required by this division if that person allegedly committed or is committing the wrongful act or omission.

(D) Except as otherwise provided in this division, contemporaneously report suspected crimes and wrongful acts or omissions that the inspector general becomes aware of in connection with an investigation of a state agency, state officer, or state employee, and that were or are being committed by persons who are not state officers or state employees to the governor and to the appropriate state or federal prosecuting authority with jurisdiction over the matter if there is reasonable cause to believe that a crime has occurred or is occurring. In addition, the inspector general shall report the wrongful acts or omissions, as appropriate under the circumstances, to the appropriate ethics commission in accordance with section 102.06 of the Revised Code, the appropriate licensing agency for possible disciplinary action, or the person's public or private employer for possible disciplinary action. The inspector general shall not report a wrongful act or omission to a person as required by this division if that person allegedly committed or is committing the wrongful act or omission.

(E) Prepare a detailed report of each investigation that states the basis for the investigation, the action taken in furtherance of the investigation, and whether the investigation revealed that there was reasonable cause to believe that a wrongful act or omission had occurred. If a wrongful act or omission was identified during the investigation, the report shall identify the person who committed the wrongful act or omission, describe the wrongful act or omission, explain how it was detected, indicate to whom it was reported, and describe what the state agency in which the wrongful act or omission was being committed is doing to change its policies or procedures to prevent recurrences of similar wrongful acts or omissions.

(F) Identify other state agencies that also are responsible for investigating, auditing, reviewing, or evaluating the management and operation of state agencies, and negotiate and enter into agreements with these agencies to share information and avoid duplication of effort;

(G) For his own guidance and the guidance of deputy inspectors general, develop and update in the light of experience, both of the following:

(1) Within the scope of the definition in division (G) of section 121.41 of the Revised Code, a working definition of "wrongful act or omission";

(2) A manual of investigative techniques.

(H) Conduct studies of techniques of investigating and detecting, and of preventing or reducing the risk of, wrongful acts and omissions by state officers and state employees;

(I) Consult with state agencies and advise them in developing, implementing, and enforcing policies and procedures that will prevent or reduce the risk of wrongful acts and omissions by their state officers or state employees;

(J) After detecting a wrongful act or omission, review and evaluate the relevant policies and procedures of the state agency in which the wrongful act or omission occurred, and advise the state agency as to any changes that should be made in its policies and procedures so as to prevent recurrences of similar wrongful acts or omissions.

Section 121.421 | Investigation of casino control commission enforcement personnel.

• Effective: June 11, 2012
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 386 - 129th General Assembly

(A) Notwithstanding division (D)(3) of section 121.41 of the Revised Code, in order to determine whether wrongful acts or omissions have been committed or are being committed by present or former employees, the inspector general shall investigate employees of the office of the attorney general who are contractually vested with duties to enforce Chapter 3772. of the Revised Code, including any designated bureau of criminal identification and investigation support staff that are necessary to fulfill the investigatory and law enforcement functions of the Ohio casino control commission. The inspector general and any deputy inspector general may administer oaths, examine witnesses under oath, and issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum to employees of the office of the attorney general to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of all kinds of books, records, papers, and tangible things deemed necessary in the course of any such investigation.

(B) The inspector general may enter into any contracts that are necessary to complete an investigation. The contracts may include contracts for the services of persons who are experts in a particular field and whose expertise is necessary for successful completion of the investigation.

(C) If the authority of the attorney general terminates or expires, the authority vested in the inspector general by this section terminates upon the conclusion of ongoing investigations or upon issuance of the final report of the investigations.

Section 121.43 | Subpoena power - contempt.

• Effective: October 31, 1990
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 588 - 118th General Assembly

In performing any investigation, the inspector general and any deputy inspector general may administer oaths, examine witnesses under oath, and issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of all kinds of books, records, papers, and tangible things. Upon the refusal of a witness to be sworn or to answer any question put to him, or if a person disobeys a subpoena, the inspector general shall apply to the court of common pleas for a contempt order, as in the case of disobedience to the requirements of a subpoena issued from the court of common pleas, or a refusal to testify in the court.

Section 121.44 | Reports of investigations.

• Effective: October 31, 1990
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 588 - 118th General Assembly

(A) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the report of any investigation conducted by the inspector general or any deputy inspector general is a public record, open to public inspection. The inspector general, or a deputy inspector general, with the written approval of the inspector general, may designate all or part of a report as confidential if doing so preserves the confidentiality of matters made confidential by law or appears reasonably necessary to protect the safety of a witness or to avoid disclosure of investigative techniques that, if disclosed, would enable persons who have been or are committing wrongful acts or omissions to avoid detection. Confidential material shall be marked clearly as being confidential.

(B) The inspector general, free of charge, shall provide a copy of each report of an investigation, including wholly and partially confidential reports, to the governor. In addition, the inspector general, free of charge, shall provide a copy of the report of any investigation, including wholly and partially confidential reports, to a prosecuting authority who may undertake criminal prosecution of a wrongful act or omission described in the report, an ethics commission to which a wrongful act or omission described in the report was reported in accordance with section 102.06 of the Revised Code, and a licensing agency, appointing authority, or public or private employer that may take disciplinary action with regard to a wrongful act or omission described in the report. The inspector general shall not provide a copy of any confidential part of the report of an investigation to a person as required by this division if that person allegedly committed the wrongful act or omission described in the report. The governor, a prosecuting authority, ethics commission, licensing agency, appointing authority, or public or private employer that receives a report, all or part of which is designated as confidential, shall take all appropriate measures necessary to preserve the confidentiality of the report.

(C) The inspector general shall provide a copy of any nonconfidential report, or the nonconfidential parts of any report, to any other person who requests the copy and pays a fee prescribed by the inspector general. The fee shall not exceed the cost of reproducing and delivering the report.

Section 121.45 | Cooperating in investigations.

• Effective: October 31, 1990
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 588 - 118th General Assembly

Each state agency, and every state officer and state employee, shall cooperate with, and provide assistance to, the inspector general and any deputy inspector general in the performance of any investigation. In particular, each state agency shall make its premises, equipment, personnel, books, records, and papers readily available to the inspector general or a deputy inspector general.

The inspector general and any deputy inspector general may enter upon the premises of any state agency at any time, without prior announcement, if necessary to the successful completion of an investigation. In the course of an investigation, the inspector general and any deputy inspector general may question any state officer or state employee serving in, and any other person transacting business with, the state agency, and may inspect and copy any books, records, or papers in the possession of the state agency, taking care to preserve the confidentiality of information contained in responses to questions or the books, records, or papers that is made confidential by law.

In performing any investigation, the inspector general and any deputy inspector general shall avoid interfering with the ongoing operations of the state agency being investigated, except insofar as is reasonably necessary to the successful completion of the investigation.

Each state agency shall develop, implement, and enforce policies and procedures that prevent or reduce the risk of wrongful acts and omissions by its state officers or state employees.

Other state agencies that also are responsible for investigating, auditing, reviewing, or evaluating the management and operation of state agencies shall negotiate and enter into agreements with the office of the inspector general for the purpose of sharing information and avoiding duplication of effort.

Section 121.46 | Filing complaint - form.

• Effective: October 31, 1990
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 588 - 118th General Assembly

Any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a state officer or state employee has committed, or is in the process of committing, a wrongful act or omission may prepare and file with the inspector general, a complaint that identifies the person making the report and the state officer or state employee who allegedly committed or is committing the wrongful act or omission, describes the wrongful act or omission, and explains how the person reporting knew or came to his reasonable cause to believe that the state officer or state employee committed or is in the process of committing the wrongful act or omission. The preparation and filing of the complaint described in this section is in addition to any other report of the wrongful act or omission the person is required by law to make.

The inspector general shall prescribe a form for complaints under this section. The inspector general shall provide a blank copy of the form to any person, free of charge. No complaint is defective, however, because it is not made on the form prescribed by the inspector general.

Section 121.47 | Confidential information.

• Effective: October 31, 1990
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 588 - 118th General Assembly

No person shall disclose to any person who is not legally entitled to disclosure of the information, any information that is designated as confidential under section 121.44 of the Revised Code, or any confidential information that is acquired in the course of an investigation under section 121.45 of the Revised Code.

Section 121.48 | Appointment of inspector general.

• Effective: September 29, 2017
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly

There is hereby created the office of the inspector general, to be headed by the inspector general.

The term of the inspector general serving on the effective date of this amendment ends January 11, 2021. The inspector general shall be appointed by the governor quadrennially thereafter, subject to section 121.49 of the Revised Code and the advice and consent of the senate, and shall hold office for a term of four years commencing on the second Monday of January. The governor may remove the inspector general from office only after delivering written notice to the inspector general of the reasons for which the governor intends to remove the inspector general from office and providing the inspector general with an opportunity to appear and show cause why the inspector general should not be removed.

In addition to the duties imposed by section 121.42 of the Revised Code, the inspector general shall manage the office of the inspector general. The inspector general shall establish and maintain offices in Columbus.

The inspector general may employ and fix the compensation of one or more deputy inspectors general. Each deputy inspector general shall serve for a term coinciding with the term of the appointing inspector general, and shall perform the duties, including the performance of investigations, that are assigned by the inspector general. All deputy inspectors general are in the unclassified service and serve at the pleasure of the inspector general.

In addition to deputy inspectors general, the inspector general may employ and fix the compensation of professional, technical, and clerical employees that are necessary for the effective and efficient operation of the office of the inspector general. All professional, technical, and clerical employees of the office of the inspector general are in the unclassified service and serve at the pleasure of the appointing inspector general.

The inspector general may enter into any contracts that are necessary to the operation of the office of the inspector general. The contracts may include, but are not limited to, contracts for the services of persons who are experts in a particular field and whose expertise is necessary to the successful completion of an investigation.

Not later than the first day of March in each year, the inspector general shall publish an annual report summarizing the activities of the inspector general's office during the previous calendar year. The annual report shall not disclose the results of any investigation insofar as the results are designated as confidential under section 121.44 of the Revised Code.

The inspector general shall provide copies of the inspector general's annual report to the governor and the general assembly. The inspector general also shall provide a copy of the annual report to any other person who requests the copy and pays a fee prescribed by the inspector general. The fee shall not exceed the cost of reproducing and delivering the annual report.

Section 121.481 | Special investigations fund.

• Effective: September 29, 1999
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 283 - 123rd General Assembly

The special investigations fund is hereby created in the state treasury for the purpose of paying costs of investigations conducted by the inspector general. In response to requests from the inspector general, the controlling board may make transfers to the fund from the emergency purposes appropriation of the board, subject to the following conditions:

(A) The inspector general shall not request a transfer that would cause the unobligated, unencumbered balance in the fund to exceed one hundred thousand dollars at any one time;

(B) In requesting a transfer, the inspector general shall not disclose any information that would risk impairing the investigation if it became public, provided that after any investigation using money transferred to the fund from an emergency purposes appropriation has been completed, the inspector general shall report to the board the object and cost of the investigation, but not any information designated as confidential under section 121.44 of the Revised Code.

Section 121.482 | Disposition of money received.

• Effective: December 28, 2006
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 699 - 126th General Assembly

Money the inspector general receives pursuant to court orders or settlements shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue fund.

Section 121.483 | Status of deputy inspector general as peace officer.

• Effective: September 29, 2013
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 59 - 130th General Assembly

A deputy inspector general appointed under section 121.48 of the Revised Code, who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, or municipal peace officer basic training program, shall, during the term of the deputy inspector general's appointment, be considered a peace officer for the purpose of maintaining a current and valid basic training certificate pursuant to rules adopted under section 109.74 of the Revised Code.

Section 121.49 | Qualifications.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) Subject to division (B) of this section, only an individual who meets one or more of the following qualifications is eligible to be appointed inspector general:

(1) At least five years experience as a law enforcement officer in this or any other state;

(2) Admission to the bar of this or any other state;

(3) Certification as a certified public accountant in this or any other state;

(4) At least five years service as the comptroller or similar officer of a public or private entity in this or any other state;

(5) At least five years service as a deputy inspector general in this or any other state.

(B) No individual who has been convicted, in this or any other state, of a felony or of any crime involving fraud, dishonesty, or moral turpitude shall be appointed inspector general.

Last updated September 6, 2023 at 3:24 PM

Section 121.50 | Administrative rules.

• Effective: October 31, 1990
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 588 - 118th General Assembly

The inspector general, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt, and may amend and rescind, those rules he finds necessary for the successful implementation and efficient operation of sections 121.41 to 121.48 of the Revised Code.

Section 121.51 | Deputy inspector general for transportation department.

• Effective: April 1, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 2 - 128th General Assembly

There is hereby created in the office of the inspector general the position of deputy inspector general for the department of transportation. The inspector general shall appoint the deputy inspector general, and the deputy inspector general shall serve at the pleasure of the inspector general. A person employed as the deputy inspector general shall have the same qualifications as those specified in section 121.49 of the Revised Code for the inspector general. The inspector general shall provide technical, professional, and clerical assistance to the deputy inspector general.

There is hereby created in the state treasury the deputy inspector general for ODOT fund. The fund shall consist of money credited to the fund for the payment of costs incurred by the deputy inspector general in performing the duties of the deputy inspector general as specified in this section. The inspector general shall use the fund to pay costs incurred by the deputy inspector general in performing the duties of the deputy inspector general as required under this section.

The deputy inspector general shall investigate all wrongful acts or omissions that have been committed or are being committed by employees of the department. In addition, the deputy inspector general shall conduct a program of random review of the processing of contracts associated with building and maintaining the state's infrastructure. The random review program shall be designed by the inspector general. The program shall be confidential and may be altered by the inspector general at any time. The deputy inspector general has the same powers and duties regarding matters concerning the department as those specified in sections 121.42, 121.43, and 121.45 of the Revised Code for the inspector general. Complaints may be filed with the deputy inspector general in the same manner as prescribed for complaints filed with the inspector general under section 121.46 of the Revised Code. All investigations conducted and reports issued by the deputy inspector general are subject to section 121.44 of the Revised Code.

All officers and employees of the department shall cooperate with and provide assistance to the deputy inspector general in the performance of any investigation conducted by the deputy inspector general. In particular, those persons shall make their premises, equipment, personnel, books, records, and papers readily available to the deputy inspector general. In the course of an investigation, the deputy inspector general may question any officers or employees of the department and any person transacting business with the department and may inspect and copy any books, records, or papers in the possession of the department, taking care to preserve the confidentiality of information contained in responses to questions or the books, records, or papers that are made confidential by law. In performing any investigation, the deputy inspector general shall avoid interfering with the ongoing operations of the department, except insofar as is reasonably necessary to complete the investigation successfully.

At the conclusion of an investigation by the deputy inspector general, the deputy inspector general shall deliver to the director of transportation and the governor any case for which remedial action is necessary. The deputy inspector general shall maintain a public record of the activities of the deputy inspector general to the extent permitted under this section, ensuring that the rights of the parties involved in each case are protected. The inspector general shall include in the annual report required by section 121.48 of the Revised Code a summary of the deputy inspector general's activities during the previous year.

No person shall disclose any information that is designated as confidential in accordance with section 121.44 of the Revised Code or any confidential information that is acquired in the course of an investigation conducted under this section to any person who is not legally entitled to disclosure of that information.

Section 121.52 | Deputy inspector general for workers' compensation.

• Effective: June 30, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 15 - 128th General Assembly

There is hereby created in the office of the inspector general the office of deputy inspector general for the bureau of workers' compensation and industrial commission. The inspector general shall appoint the deputy inspector general, and the deputy inspector general shall serve at the pleasure of the inspector general. A person employed as the deputy inspector general shall have the same qualifications as those specified in section 121.49 of the Revised Code for the inspector general. The inspector general shall provide professional and clerical assistance to the deputy inspector general.

The deputy inspector general for the bureau of workers' compensation and the industrial commission shall investigate wrongful acts or omissions that have been committed by or are being committed by officers or employees of the bureau of workers' compensation and the industrial commission. The deputy inspector general has the same powers and duties regarding matters concerning the bureau and the commission as those specified in sections 121.42, 121.43, and 121.45 of the Revised Code for the inspector general. Complaints may be filed with the deputy inspector general in the same manner as prescribed for complaints filed with the inspector general under section 121.46 of the Revised Code. All investigations conducted and reports issued by the deputy inspector general are subject to section 121.44 of the Revised Code.

There is hereby created in the state treasury the deputy inspector general for the bureau of workers' compensation and industrial commission fund, which shall consist of moneys deposited into it that the inspector general receives from the administrator of workers' compensation and receives from the industrial commission in accordance with this section. The inspector general shall use the fund to pay the costs incurred by the deputy inspector general in performing the duties of the deputy inspector general as required under this section.

The members of the industrial commission, bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, workers' compensation audit committee, workers' compensation actuarial committee, and workers' compensation investment committee, and the administrator, and employees of the industrial commission and the bureau shall cooperate with and provide assistance to the deputy inspector general in the performance of any investigation conducted by the deputy inspector general. In particular, those persons shall make their premises, equipment, personnel, books, records, and papers readily available to the deputy inspector general. In the course of an investigation, the deputy inspector general may question any person employed by the industrial commission or the administrator and any person transacting business with the industrial commission, the board, the audit committee, the actuarial committee, the investment committee, the administrator, or the bureau and may inspect and copy any books, records, or papers in the possession of those persons or entities, taking care to preserve the confidentiality of information contained in responses to questions or the books, records, or papers that are made confidential by law.

In performing any investigation, the deputy inspector general shall avoid interfering with the ongoing operations of the entities being investigated, except insofar as is reasonably necessary to successfully complete the investigation.

At the conclusion of an investigation conducted by the deputy inspector general for the bureau of workers' compensation and industrial commission, the deputy inspector general shall deliver to the board, the administrator, the industrial commission, and the governor any case for which remedial action is necessary. The deputy inspector general shall maintain a public record of the activities of the office of the deputy inspector general to the extent permitted under this section, ensuring that the rights of the parties involved in each case are protected. The inspector general shall include in the annual report required under section 121.48 of the Revised Code a summary of the activities of the deputy inspector general during the previous year.

No person shall disclose any information that is designated as confidential in accordance with section 121.44 of the Revised Code or any confidential information that is acquired in the course of an investigation conducted under this section to any person who is not legally entitled to disclosure of that information.

Last updated March 8, 2023 at 12:02 PM

Section 121.531 | Signs specifying ARRA funding prohibited.

• Effective: June 29, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 114 - 129th General Assembly

No recipient or distributor of funds received under the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009," Pub. L. No. 111-5, 123 Stat. 115, shall spend such funds to purchase, produce, erect, or maintain signs identifying the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as the source of specific project funding.

Section 121.60 | Executive agency lobbying definitions.

• Effective: February 18, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 129th General Assembly

As used in sections 121.60 to 121.69 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Person" and "compensation" have the same meanings as in section 101.70 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Expenditure" means any of the following that is made to, at the request of, for the benefit of, or on behalf of an elected executive official, the director of a department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, an executive agency official, or a member of the staff of any public officer or employee listed in this division:

(1) A payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, reimbursement, or gift of money, real estate, or anything of value, including, but not limited to, food and beverages, entertainment, lodging, transportation, or honorariums;

(2) A contract, promise, or agreement to make an expenditure, whether or not legally enforceable;

(3) The purchase, sale, or gift of services or any other thing of value. "Expenditure" does not include a contribution, gift, or grant to a foundation or other charitable organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. "Expenditure" does not include the purchase, sale, or gift of services or any other thing of value that is available to the general public on the same terms as it is available to the persons listed in this division, or an offer or sale of securities to any person listed in this division that is governed by regulation D, 17 C.F.R. 230.501 to 230.508, adopted under the authority of the "Securities Act of 1933," 48 Stat. 74, 15 U.S.C.A. and following, or that is governed by a comparable provision under state law.

(C) "Employer" means any person who, directly or indirectly, engages an executive agency lobbyist.

(D) "Engage" means to make any arrangement, and "engagement" means arrangement, whereby an individual is employed or retained for compensation to act for or on behalf of an employer to influence executive agency decisions or to conduct any executive agency lobbying activity.

(E) "Financial transaction" means a transaction or activity that is conducted or undertaken for profit and arises from the joint ownership or the ownership or part ownership in common of any real or personal property or any commercial or business enterprise of whatever form or nature between the following:

(1) An executive agency lobbyist, the executive agency lobbyist's employer, or a member of the immediate family of the executive agency lobbyist or the executive agency lobbyist's employer; and

(2) Any elected executive official, the director of a department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, an executive agency official, or any member of the staff of a public officer or employee listed in division (E)(2) of this section.

"Financial transaction" does not include any transaction or activity described in division (E) of this section if it is available to the general public on the same terms, or if it is an offer or sale of securities to any person listed in division (E)(2) of this section that is governed by regulation D, 17 C.F.R. 230.501 to 230.508, adopted under the authority of the "Securities Act of 1933," 48 Stat. 74, 15 U.S.C.A. and following, or that is governed by a comparable provision under state law.

(F) "Executive agency" means the office of an elected executive official, a department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, or any other state agency, department, board, or commission controlled or directed by an elected executive official or otherwise subject to an elected executive official's authority. For the purposes of sections 121.60 to 121.69 of the Revised Code only, "executive agency" includes the nonprofit corporation formed under section 187.01 of the Revised Code. "Executive agency" does not include any court, the general assembly, or the controlling board.

(G) "Executive agency decision" means a decision of an executive agency regarding the expenditure of funds of the state or of an executive agency with respect to the award of a contract, grant, lease, or other financial arrangement under which such funds are distributed or allocated, or a regulatory decision of an executive agency or any board or commission of the state. "Executive agency decision" does not include either of the following:

(1) A purchasing decision for which a vendor has filed a statement certifying that the vendor has not made campaign contributions in an amount such that section 3517.13 of the Revised Code would invalidate the decision, if that vendor has not engaged an executive agency lobbyist;

(2) The award of a competitively bid contract for which bid specifications were prepared and for which at least three eligible competitive bids were received by the executive agency.

(H) "Executive agency lobbyist" means any person engaged to influence executive agency decisions or to conduct executive agency lobbying activity as one of the person's main purposes on a regular and substantial basis. "Executive agency lobbyist" does not include an elected or appointed officer or employee of a federal or state agency, state college, state university, or political subdivision who attempts to influence or affect executive agency decisions in a fiduciary capacity as a representative of the officer's or employee's agency, college, university, or political subdivision.

(I) "Executive agency lobbying activity" means contacts made to promote, oppose, or otherwise influence the outcome of an executive agency decision by direct communication with any person described in division (E)(2) of this section, or the Ohio casino control commission. "Lobbying activity" does not include any of the following:

(1) The action of any person having a direct interest in executive agency decisions who, under Section 3 of Article I, Ohio Constitution, assembles together with other persons to consult for their common good, instructs a person listed in the first paragraph of division (I) of this section, or petitions such a person for the redress of grievances;

(2) Contacts made for the sole purpose of gathering information contained in a public record;

(3) Appearances before an executive agency to give testimony.

(J) "Executive agency official" means an officer or employee of an executive agency whose principal duties are to formulate policy or to participate directly or indirectly in the preparation, review, or award of contracts, grants, leases, or other financial arrangements with an executive agency.

(K) "Aggrieved party" means a party entitled to resort to a remedy.

(L) "Elected executive official" means the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, and the attorney general.

(M) "Staff" means any officer or employee of an executive agency whose official duties are to formulate policy and who exercises administrative or supervisory authority or who authorizes the expenditure of state funds.

Section 121.61 | Prohibited acts.

• Effective: May 12, 1994
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 492 - 120th General Assembly

(A) No person shall knowingly fail to register as required under section 121.62 of the Revised Code.

(B) No person shall knowingly fail to keep a receipt or maintain a record that section 121.63 of the Revised Code requires the person to keep or maintain.

(C) No person shall knowingly fail to file a statement that section 121.63 or 121.64 of the Revised Code requires the person to file.

(D) No person shall knowingly file a false statement that section 121.63 or 121.64 of the Revised Code requires the person to file.

Section 121.62 | Initial registration statement - updating information.

• Effective: March 29, 2007
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 699 - 126th General Assembly

(A) Each executive agency lobbyist and each employer shall file with the joint legislative ethics committee, within ten days following the engagement of an executive agency lobbyist, an initial registration statement showing all of the following:

(1) The name, business address, and occupation of the executive agency lobbyist;

(2) The name and business address of the employer or of the real party in interest on whose behalf the executive agency lobbyist is acting, if it is different from the employer. For the purposes of division (A) of this section, where a trade association or other charitable or fraternal organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(c) of the federal Internal Revenue Code is the employer, the statement need not list the names and addresses of every member of the association or organization, so long as the association or organization itself is listed.

(3) A brief description of the executive agency decision to which the engagement relates;

(4) The name of the executive agency or agencies to which the engagement relates.

(B) In addition to the initial registration statement required by division (A) of this section, each executive agency lobbyist and employer shall file with the joint committee, not later than the last day of January, May, and September of each year, an updated registration statement that confirms the continuing existence of each engagement described in an initial registration statement and that lists the specific executive agency decisions that the lobbyist sought to influence under the engagement during the period covered by the updated statement, and with it any statement of expenditures required to be filed by section 121.63 of the Revised Code and any details of financial transactions required to be filed by section 121.64 of the Revised Code.

(C) If an executive agency lobbyist is engaged by more than one employer, the lobbyist shall file a separate initial and updated registration statement for each engagement. If an employer engages more than one executive agency lobbyist, the employer need file only one updated registration statement under division (B) of this section, which shall contain the information required by division (B) of this section regarding all of the executive agency lobbyists engaged by the employer.

(D)(1) A change in any information required by division (A)(1), (2), or (B) of this section shall be reflected in the next updated registration statement filed under division (B) of this section.

(2) Within thirty days following the termination of an engagement, the executive agency lobbyist who was employed under the engagement shall send written notification of the termination to the joint committee.

(E) A registration fee of twenty-five dollars shall be charged for filing an initial registration statement. All money collected from registration fees under this division and late filing fees under division (G) of this section shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the joint legislative ethics committee fund created under section 101.34 of the Revised Code.

(F) Upon registration pursuant to this section, an executive agency lobbyist shall be issued a card by the joint committee showing that the lobbyist is registered. The registration card and the executive agency lobbyist's registration shall be valid from the date of their issuance until the thirty-first day of January of the year following the year in which the initial registration was filed.

(G) The executive director of the joint committee shall be responsible for reviewing each registration statement filed with the joint committee under this section and for determining whether the statement contains all of the required information. If the joint committee determines that the registration statement does not contain all of the required information or that an executive agency lobbyist or employer has failed to file a registration statement, the joint committee shall send written notification by certified mail to the person who filed the registration statement regarding the deficiency in the statement or to the person who failed to file the registration statement regarding the failure. Any person so notified by the joint committee shall, not later than fifteen days after receiving the notice, file a registration statement or an amended registration statement that contains all of the required information. If any person who receives a notice under this division fails to file a registration statement or such an amended registration statement within this fifteen-day period, the joint committee shall assess a late filing fee equal to twelve dollars and fifty cents per day, up to a maximum fee of one hundred dollars, upon that person. The joint committee may waive the late filing fee for good cause shown.

(H) On or before the fifteenth day of March of each year, the joint committee shall, in the manner and form that it determines, publish a report containing statistical information on the registration statements filed with it under this section during the preceding year.

(I) If an employer who engages an executive agency lobbyist is the recipient of a contract, grant, lease, or other financial arrangement pursuant to which funds of the state or of an executive agency are distributed or allocated, the executive agency or any aggrieved party may consider the failure of the employer or the executive agency lobbyist to comply with this section as a breach of a material condition of the contract, grant, lease, or other financial arrangement.

(J) Executive agency officials may require certification from any person seeking the award of a contract, grant, lease, or financial arrangement that the person and the person's employer are in compliance with this section.

Section 121.621 | Disqualification as executive agency lobbyist for certain offenses.

• Effective: September 30, 2021
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 110 - 134th General Assembly

(A) No person shall be permitted to register as an executive agency lobbyist under division (A) or (B) of section 121.62 of the Revised Code if the person is convicted of or pleads guilty to committing on or after the effective date of this section any felony offense listed or described in divisions (A)(1) to (6) of section 101.721 of the Revised Code in the circumstances specified in the particular division.

(B) If an executive agency lobbyist has registered with the joint legislative ethics committee under division (A) or (B) of section 121.62 of the Revised Code and, on or after the effective date of this section and during the period during which the registration is valid, the executive agency lobbyist is convicted of or pleads guilty to any felony offense listed or described in divisions (A)(1) to (6) of section 101.721 of the Revised Code in the circumstances specified in the particular division, the joint legislative ethics committee immediately upon becoming aware of the conviction or guilty plea shall terminate the registration of the person as an executive agency lobbyist, and, after the termination, the ban imposed under division (A) of this section applies to the person.

(C) The ban imposed under divisions (A) and (B) of this section is a lifetime ban, and the offender is forever disqualified from registering as an executive agency lobbyist under section 121.62 of the Revised Code.

(D) For purposes of divisions (A) and (B) of this section, a violation of section 2923.32 of the Revised Code or any other violation or offense that includes as an element a course of conduct or the occurrence of multiple acts is "committed on or after the effective date of this section " if the course of conduct continues, one or more of the multiple acts occurs, or the subject person's accountability for the course of conduct or for one or more of the multiple acts continues, on or after the effective date of this section .

Last updated May 12, 2022 at 11:48 AM

Section 121.63 | Statement of expenditures - records.

• Effective: September 5, 2001
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 94 - 124th General Assembly

(A) Each executive agency lobbyist and each employer shall file with the joint legislative ethics committee, with the updated registration statement required by division (B) of section 121.62 of the Revised Code, a statement of expenditures as specified in divisions (B) and (C) of this section. An executive agency lobbyist shall file a separate statement of expenditures under this section for each employer that engages the executive agency lobbyist.

(B)(1) In addition to the information required by divisions (B)(2) and (3) of this section, a statement filed by an executive agency lobbyist shall show the total amount of expenditures made during the reporting period covered by the statement by the executive agency lobbyist.

(2) If, during a reporting period covered by a statement, an employer or any executive agency lobbyist the employer engaged made, either separately or in combination with each other, expenditures to, at the request of, for the benefit of, or on behalf of a particular elected executive official, the director of a department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, a particular executive agency official, or a particular member of the staff of any public officer listed in division (B)(2) of this section, the employer or executive agency lobbyist also shall state the name of the public officer or employee to whom, at whose request, for whose benefit, or on whose behalf the expenditures were made, the total amount of the expenditures made, a brief description of the expenditures made, the approximate date the expenditures were made, the executive agency decision, if any, sought to be influenced, and the identity of the client on whose behalf the expenditure was made.

As used in division (B)(2) of this section, "expenditures" does not include expenditures made by an executive agency lobbyist as payment for meals and other food and beverages.

(3) If, during a reporting period covered by a statement, an executive agency lobbyist made expenditures as payment for meals and other food and beverages, other than for meals and other food and beverages provided at a meeting at which the person participated in a panel, seminar, or speaking engagement or at a meeting or convention of a national organization to which any state agency, including, but not limited to, any legislative agency or state institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, pays membership dues, that, when added to the amount of previous payments made for meals and other food and beverages by that executive agency lobbyist during that same calendar year, exceeded a total of fifty dollars to, at the request of, for the benefit of, or on behalf of a particular elected executive official, the director of a department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, a particular executive agency official, or any particular member of the staff of any of the public officers or employees listed in division (B)(3) of this section, then the executive agency lobbyist shall also state regarding those expenditures the name of the public officer or employee to whom, at whose request, for whose benefit, or on whose behalf the expenditures were made, the total amount of the expenditures made, a brief description of the expenditures made, the approximate date the expenditures were made, the executive agency decision, if any, sought to be influenced, and the identity of the client on whose behalf the expenditure was made.

(C) In addition to the information required by divisions (B)(2) and (3) of this section, a statement filed by an employer shall show the total amount of expenditures made by the employer filing the statement during the period covered by the statement. As used in this section, "expenditures" does not include the expenses of maintaining office facilities, or the compensation paid to executive agency lobbyists engaged to influence executive agency decisions or conduct executive agency lobbying activity.

No employer shall be required to show any expenditure on a statement filed under this division if the expenditure is reported on a statement filed under division (B)(1), (2), or (3) of this section by an executive agency lobbyist engaged by the employer.

(D) Any statement required to be filed under this section shall be filed at the times specified in section 121.62 of the Revised Code. Each statement shall cover expenditures made during the four-calendar-month period that ended on the last day of the month immediately preceding the month in which the statement is required to be filed.

(E) If it is impractical or impossible for an executive agency lobbyist or employer to determine exact dollar amounts or values of expenditures, reporting of good faith estimates, based on reasonable accounting procedures, constitutes compliance with this division.

(F) Executive agency lobbyists and employers shall retain receipts or maintain records for all expenditures that are required to be reported pursuant to this section. These receipts or records shall be maintained for a period ending on the thirty-first day of December of the second calendar year after the year in which the expenditure was made.

(G)(1) At least ten days before the date on which the statement is filed, each employer or executive agency lobbyist who is required to file an expenditure statement under division (B)(2) or (3) of this section shall deliver a copy of the statement, or the portion showing the expenditure, to the public officer or employee who is listed in the statement as having received the expenditure or on whose behalf it was made.

(2) If, during a reporting period covered by an expenditure statement filed under division (B)(2) of this section, an employer or any executive agency lobbyist the employer engaged made, either separately or in combination with each other, either directly or indirectly, expenditures for an honorarium or for transportation, lodging, or food and beverages purchased for consumption on the premises in which the food and beverages were sold to, at the request of, for the benefit or, or on behalf of any of the public officers or employees described in division (B)(2) of this section, the employer or executive agency lobbyist shall deliver to the public officer or employee a statement that contains all of the nondisputed information prescribed in division (B)(2) of this section with respect to the expenditures described in division (G)(2) of this section. The statement of expenditures made under division (G)(2) of this section shall be delivered to the public officer or employee to whom, at whose request, for whose benefit, or on whose behalf those expenditures were made on the same day in which a copy of the expenditure statement or of a portion showing the expenditure is delivered to the public officer or employee under division (G)(1) of this section. An employer is not required to show any expenditure on a statement delivered under division (G)(2) of this section if the expenditure is shown on a statement delivered under division (G)(2) of this section by a legislative agent engaged by the employer.

Section 121.64 | Statement of financial transactions.

• Effective: May 12, 1994
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 492 - 120th General Assembly

(A) Each executive agency lobbyist who has had any financial transaction with or for the benefit of an elected executive official, the director of a department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, an executive agency official, or any member of the staff of any of the public officers or employees listed in this division shall describe the details of the transaction, including the name of the public officer or employee, the purpose and nature of the transaction, and the date it was made or entered into, in a statement filed with the joint legislative ethics committee with the updated registration statement required by division (B) of section 121.62 of the Revised Code. The statements shall be filed at the times specified in section 121.62 of the Revised Code. Each statement shall describe each financial transaction that occurred during the four-calendar-month period that ended on the last day of the month immediately preceding the month in which the statement is required to be filed.

(B) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, each employer who has had any financial transaction with or for the benefit of an elected executive official, the director of a department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, an executive agency official, or any member of the staff of any of the public officers or employees listed in this division shall describe the details of the transaction, including the name of the public officer or employee, the purpose and nature of the transaction, and the date it was made or entered into, in a statement filed with the joint committee with the updated registration statement required by division (B) of section 121.62 of the Revised Code. The statement shall be filed at the times specified in section 121.62 of the Revised Code. Each statement shall describe each financial transaction that occurred during the four-calendar-month period that ended on the last day of the month immediately preceding the month in which the statement is required to be filed.

(C) At least ten days before the date on which the statement is filed, each employer or executive agency lobbyist who is required to file a statement describing a financial transaction under this section shall deliver a copy of the statement to the public officer or employee with whom or for whose benefit the transaction was made.

(D) No employer shall be required to file any statement under this section or to deliver a copy of the statement to a public officer or employee with whom or for whose benefit the transaction was made if the financial transaction to which the statement pertains is reported by an executive agency lobbyist engaged by the employer.

Section 121.65 | Disputed expenditure or transaction.

• Effective: May 12, 1994
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 492 - 120th General Assembly

If a dispute arises between an elected executive official, the director of a department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, an executive agency official, or any member of the staff of any public officer or employee listed in this division and an employer or executive agency lobbyist with respect to an expenditure or financial transaction alleged in a statement to be filed under section 121.63 or 121.64 of the Revised Code, the public officer or employee, employer, or executive agency lobbyist may file a complaint with the Ohio ethics commission. The commission shall proceed to investigate the complaint as though it were filed under section 102.06 of the Revised Code.

The complaint shall be filed at least three days prior to the time the statement is required to be filed with the joint legislative ethics committee. The time for filing a disputed expenditure or financial transaction in any statement of expenditures or the details of a financial transaction shall be extended pending the final decision of the commission. This extension does not extend the time for filing the nondisputed portions of either type of statement. The commission shall notify the parties of its final decision by certified mail. If the commission decides that the disputed expenditure or financial transaction should be reported, the employer or executive agency lobbyist shall include the matter in an amended statement and file the amended statement not later than ten days after receiving notice of the decision of the commission by certified mail.

An employer or executive agency lobbyist who files a false statement of expenditures or details of a financial transaction is liable in a civil action to any public officer or employee who sustains damage as a result of the filing or publication of the statement.

Section 121.66 | Exceptions.

• Effective: April 10, 1991
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 174 - 118th General Assembly

(A) Sections 121.62 and 121.63 of the Revised Code do not apply to efforts to influence executive agency decisions or conduct executive agency lobbying activity by any of the following:

(1) Appearances at public hearings of the committees of the general assembly, at court proceedings, at rule-making or adjudication proceedings, or at other public meetings;

(2) News, editorial, and advertising statements published in bona fide newspapers, journals, or magazines, or broadcast over radio or television;

(3) The gathering and furnishing of information and news by bona fide reporters, correspondents, or news bureaus to news media described in division (A)(2) of this section;

(4) Publications primarily designed for and distributed to members of bona fide associations or charitable or fraternal nonprofit corporations.

(B) Nothing in sections 121.60 to 121.69 of the Revised Code requires the reporting of, or prohibits an elected executive official from soliciting or accepting, a contribution from or an expenditure by any person if the contribution or expenditure is reported in accordance with Chapter 3517. of the Revised Code.

Section 121.67 | Prohibiting contingent fees.

• Effective: February 18, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 129th General Assembly

(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, no person shall engage any person to influence executive agency decisions or conduct executive agency lobbying activity for compensation that is contingent in any way on the outcome of an executive agency decision and no person shall accept any engagement to influence executive agency decisions or conduct executive agency lobbying activity for compensation that is contingent in any way on the outcome of an executive agency decision.

(B) Division (A) of this section does not prohibit and shall not be construed to prohibit any person from compensating the person's sales employees pursuant to an incentive compensation plan, such as commission sales, if the incentive compensation plan is the same plan used to compensate similarly situated sales employees who are not executive agency lobbyists.

(C) No state elected officer or staff member shall receive or agree to receive directly or indirectly compensation other than from the agency with which the person serves for any service rendered or to be rendered by the person personally in any case, proceeding, application, or other matter that is before the nonprofit corporation formed under section 187.01 of the Revised Code. For purposes of this division, "state elected officer" means any elected officer of this state and "staff member" means any staff as defined in section 101.70 or in section 121.60 of the Revised Code.

Section 121.68 | Statements are public records.

• Effective: May 12, 1994
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 492 - 120th General Assembly

(A) The joint legislative ethics committee shall keep on file the statements required by sections 121.62, 121.63, and 121.64 of the Revised Code. These statements are public records and open to public inspection, and the joint committee shall computerize them so that the information contained in them is readily accessible to the general public. The joint committee shall provide copies of the statements to the general public on request and may charge a reasonable fee not to exceed the cost of copying and delivering the statement.

(B) Not later than the last day of February and October of each year, the joint committee shall compile from the registration statements filed with it a complete and updated list of registered executive agency lobbyists and their employers, and distribute the list to each elected executive official and the director of each department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, who shall distribute the list to the appropriate personnel under his jurisdiction. The joint committee shall provide copies of the list to the general public upon request and may charge a reasonable fee not to exceed the cost of copying and delivering the list.

(C) The joint committee shall maintain a list of all executive agencies. The joint committee shall provide copies of the list to the general public on request and may charge a reasonable fee not to exceed the cost of copying and delivering the document.

(D) The joint committee shall prescribe and make available an appropriate form for the filings required by sections 121.62, 121.63, and 121.64 of the Revised Code. The form shall contain the following notice in boldface type: "ANY PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY FILES A FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY OF FALSIFICATION UNDER SECTION 2921.13 OF THE REVISED CODE, WHICH IS A MISDEMEANOR OF THE FIRST DEGREE."

(E) The joint committee may adopt rules as necessary to implement sections 121.60 to 121.69 of the Revised Code, and any such rules it adopts shall be adopted in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code.

(F) The joint committee shall publish a handbook that explains in clear and concise language the provisions of sections 121.60 to 121.69 of the Revised Code and make it available free of charge to executive agency lobbyists, employers, and any other interested persons.

Section 121.69 | Investigations.

• Effective: January 1, 1991
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 538 - 118th General Assembly

The attorney general and any assistant or special counsel designated by him may investigate compliance with sections 121.60 to 121.68 of the Revised Code in connection with statements required to be filed under these sections and, in the event of an apparent violation, shall report his findings to the prosecuting attorney of Franklin county, who shall institute such proceedings as are appropriate.

Section 121.71 | Incorporation by reference in rule definitions.

• Effective: August 18, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 221 - 132nd General Assembly

As used in sections 121.71 to 121.75 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Agency" means an "agency" as defined in section 111.15 or 119.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Rule" means a new rule or an amendment to an existing rule. "Rule" includes an appendix to a rule.

Section 121.72 | Incorporating rule by reference.

• Effective: August 18, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 221 - 132nd General Assembly

An agency incorporates a text or other material into a rule by reference when it refers in the rule to the text or other material as if it were spelled out or otherwise reproduced in the rule. The agency shall accompany the incorporation by reference with a citation that provides information sufficient to enable a reasonable person to whom the rule applies readily and without charge to find and inspect the text or other material that has been incorporated by reference. The citation shall specify the date of the text or other material or identify a particular edition or version of the text or other material and, if available, the date of the particular edition or version. The citation may include a web site address to the text or other material and may include other information that will enable the text or other material to be found readily and without charge.

An agency that incorporates a text or other material by reference into a rule is presumed to have incorporated by reference a version of the text or other material that is in existence at the time of its incorporation by reference. An agency may not incorporate by reference a future version of the text or other material that is not in existence at the time of its incorporation by reference.

Section 121.73 | Filing material incorporated by reference electronically.

• Effective: August 18, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 221 - 132nd General Assembly

When an agency files the original or a revised version of a rule in proposed form under division (D) of section 111.15 or division (C) of section 119.03, or a rule for review under section 106.03 of the Revised Code, that incorporates a text or other material by reference, the agency also shall file in electronic form, one complete and accurate copy of the text or other material incorporated by reference with, or otherwise shall make the text or other material available to, the joint committee on agency rule review only if the accompanying citation is not such as reasonably would enable the joint committee readily and without charge to find and inspect the text or other material that has been incorporated by reference.

Section 121.74 | Access to material incorporated in rule in final form.

• Effective: August 18, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 221 - 132nd General Assembly

When an agency files a rule in final form that incorporates a text or other material by reference, the agency, prior to the effective date of the rule, shall ensure that the text or other material is available from the agency. The agency promptly and without charge shall make the text or other material available to any person who requests access to the text or other material.

Section 121.75 | Sufficiency of citations.

• Effective: August 18, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 221 - 132nd General Assembly

(A)(1) Sections 121.71 to 121.74 of the Revised Code do not apply to the incorporation by reference into a rule of any of the following:

(a) A section of the Revised Code;

(b) An uncodified statute of this state;

(c) An act of this state in the Laws of Ohio;

(d) A rule in the Administrative Code;

(e) A rule in the Monthly Record; or

(f) A rule in the Register of Ohio.

(2) Sections 121.71 to 121.74 of the Revised Code do not apply to the incorporation by reference into a rule of any of the following:

(a) A section of the United States Code;

(b) An uncodified federal statute appended as a legislative note to a section in the United States Code;

(c) A federal act in the Statutes at Large;

(d) A federal regulation in the Code of Federal Regulations; or

(e) A federal regulation in the Federal Register.

An agency that incorporates a text by reference into a rule under division (A)(2) of this section shall specify the date of the text that is being incorporated by reference.

(B) Sections 121.71 to 121.74 of the Revised Code do not apply to the incorporation by reference into a rule of a text or other material insofar as the text or other material has any of the following characteristics:

(1) It addresses the internal management of an agency;

(2) It obtains or maintains authorization of a federally delegated program in this state;

(3) It addresses or provides for the receipt of federal funds by the state under a federally funded program;

(4) It is a form to be filled out or a digital application into which data is entered to fill out a form or its equivalent, but only if the form or application merely collects information and does not establish principles of law or policy;

(5) It states or restates federal legislative or administrative conclusions, such as interest rates or poverty levels, that are readily ascertainable from reliable sources, and that are not reasonably susceptible to state legislative or administrative variation;

(6) It states or restates generally accepted commercial, industrial, building, fire, plumbing, electrical, safety, or other codes or standards that are readily available to or ascertainable by the persons the standards are likely to affect; or

(7) It is copyrighted text or other material with regard to which permission to use has been obtained.

Section 121.81 | "Agency" and "draft rule" defined; construction of sections.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

As used in sections 121.81 to 121.82 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Agency" means a state agency that is required to file proposed rules for legislative review under division (D) of section 111.15 or division (C) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Draft rule" means any newly proposed rule and any proposed amendment, adoption, or rescission of a rule prior to the filing of that rule for legislative review under division (D) of section 111.15 or division (C) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code and includes a proposed amendment, adoption, or rescission of a rule in both its original and any revised form. "Draft rule" does not include an emergency rule adopted under division (B)(2) of section 111.15 or division (G) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, but does include a rule that is proposed to replace an emergency rule that expires under those divisions.

Sections 121.81 to 121.82 and 121.91 of the Revised Code are complementary to sections 107.51 to 107.55 and 107.61 to 107.63 of the Revised Code.

Last updated September 6, 2023 at 3:45 PM

Section 121.811 | Applicability of business review provisions.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

The offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, auditor of state, secretary of state, treasurer of state, and attorney general shall comply with the business review provisions of sections 106.03 and 106.031 and 121.81 to 121.82 of the Revised Code, but are not required to submit any document to the common sense initiative office or to prepare any document that would have been prepared in response to recommendations of the common sense initiative office, but rather shall prepare all other documents required under the business review provisions and submit them directly to the joint committee on agency rule review along with the proposed or existing rule. The offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, auditor of state, secretary of state, treasurer of state, and attorney general are subject, however, to section 106.05 of the Revised Code.

Last updated September 6, 2023 at 3:46 PM

Section 121.82 | Evaluation of draft rules; business impact analysis.

• Effective: June 30, 2017
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 26 - 132nd General Assembly

In the course of developing a draft rule that is intended to be proposed under division (D) of section 111.15 or division (C) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, an agency shall:

(A) Evaluate the draft rule against the business impact analysis instrument. If, based on that evaluation, the draft rule will not have an adverse impact on businesses, the agency may proceed with the rule-filing process. If the evaluation determines that the draft rule will have an adverse impact on businesses, the agency shall incorporate features into the draft rule that will eliminate or adequately reduce any adverse impact the draft rule might have on businesses;

(B) Prepare a business impact analysis that describes its evaluation of the draft rule against the business impact analysis instrument, that identifies any features that were incorporated into the draft rule as a result of the evaluation, and that explains how those features, if there were any, eliminate or adequately reduce any adverse impact the draft rule might have on businesses;

(C) Transmit a copy of the full text of the draft rule and the business impact analysis electronically to the common sense initiative office, which information shall be made available to the public on the office's web site in accordance with section 107.62 of the Revised Code;

(D) Consider any recommendations made by the common sense initiative office with regard to the draft rule, and either incorporate into the draft rule features the recommendations suggest will eliminate or reduce any adverse impact the draft rule might have on businesses or document, in writing, the reasons those recommendations are not being incorporated into the draft rule; and

(E) Prepare a memorandum of response identifying features suggested by any recommendations that were incorporated into the draft rule and features suggested by any recommendations that were not incorporated into the draft rule, explaining how the features that were incorporated into the draft rule eliminate or reduce any adverse impact the draft rule might have on businesses, and explaining why the features that were not incorporated into the draft rule were not incorporated.

If the draft rule requires liability insurance, a bond, or any other financial responsibility instrument as a condition of licensure, the agency shall conduct a diligent search to determine if the liability insurance, bond, or other financial responsibility instrument is readily available in the amounts required as a condition of licensure, and, when the agency transmits the draft rule to the common sense initiative office, shall certify to the office that the search was conducted.

An agency may not file a proposed rule for legislative review under division (D) of section 111.15 or division (C) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code earlier than the sixteenth business day after electronically transmitting the draft rule to the common sense initiative office.

Section 121.91 | Customer service standards.

• Effective: September 17, 2014
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 3 - 130th General Assembly

(A) Each state agency shall develop, and as it becomes necessary or advisable may improve, customer service standards for each employee of the agency whose duties include a significant level of contact with the public. The agency shall base the standards on the job descriptions of the positions that the employees hold in the agency. An agency is not required to adopt the standards by rule. A state agency that is created after the effective date of this amendment shall develop its initial customer service standards within six months after the effective date of the statute that creates the state agency.

Each state agency shall reduce the standards to writing, and the standards shall be incorporated into employee policy manuals, job descriptions, and employee performance evaluations.

The agency shall post its customer service standards, and any revisions therein, on its web site or, if the agency does not maintain a web site, on the state public notice web site.

The common sense initiative office, upon the request of an agency, may review the agency's customer service standards and transmit any comments it has with regard to the standards to the agency.

(B) The state agency, and its officers and employees, shall comply with the customer service performance standards that have been developed under division (A) of this section. A state agency's compliance with the standards shall be evaluated, by the director of budget and management and the committees of the senate and house of representatives having jurisdiction over the state operating budget, as part of the consideration of the state agency's biennial budget. (If the evaluation is of the office of budget and management, evaluation by the committees is sufficient.) An employee's compliance with the standards shall be evaluated as part of the employee's periodic performance reviews. A state agency's and employee's compliance with the standards may be evaluated as part of any performance audit of the state agency.

Section 121.93 | Review of agency operations.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, an agency shall review its operations to identify principles of law or policy that have not been stated in a rule and that the agency is relying upon in conducting adjudications or other determinations of rights and liabilities or in issuing writings and other materials, such as instructions, directives, policy statements, guidelines, handbooks, manuals, advisories, notices, circulars, advertisements, forms, letters, and opinions. An agency is not required to identify principles of law or policy relied upon in issuing internal management rules as defined n section 111.15 of the Revised Code. The agency shall complete at least one of the reviews during a governor's term.

Within six months after the expiration of a governor's term, the agency electronically shall transmit a report to the joint committee on agency rule review containing the following:

(1) A statement that the agency has completed one or more of the reviews, specifying the exact number of reviews completed during the governor's expired term;

(2) The principles of law or policies identified under this division;

(3) The agency's considerations regarding the identified principles of law or policies under division (B) of this section;

(4) Any principles of law or policies for which the agency determines rulemaking is indicated or for which the agency has commenced the rule-making process under division (C) of this section.

The joint committee on agency rule review shall make the reports available on its web site.

(B) The agency shall determine whether a principle of law or policy thus identified has a general and uniform operation and establishes a legal regulation or standard that would not exist in its absence. If the principle of law or policy has these characteristics, the agency shall determine whether the principle of law or policy should be supplanted by its restatement in a rule to achieve one or more of the following as they are relevant to the principle of law or policy:

(1) Assert the general and uniform operation of the principle of law or policy;

(2) Make the principle of law or policy more readily available to the public;

(3) Make the principle of law or policy more readily available to persons who specifically are affected by the principle of law or policy;

(4) Enable the principle of law or policy to be better known in advance of its application;

(5) Enable greater public participation in improvement and further development of the principle of law or policy;

(6) Enable greater participation by persons specifically affected by the principle of law or policy in the improvement and further development of the principle of law or policy;

(7) Make the principle of law or policy more easily understandable; or

(8) Make the principle of law or policy more readily available to those legally charged with monitoring or reviewing the agency's operations.

If a principle of law or policy aids in the interpretation of an existing rule or statute, the agency shall consider whether the aiding effect clarifies or otherwise resolves an uncertainty in the existing rule or statute. If the principle of law or policy can be so characterized, the agency shall consider whether the principle of law or policy should be supplanted by its restatement in an interpretive rule. The agency may not presume that a principle of law or policy that aids in the interpretation of an existing rule or statute is simply a reiteration of the existing rule or statute.

(C) If the agency determines, in light of the foregoing standards, that rulemaking is indicated, the agency shall commence the rule-making process as soon as it is reasonably feasible to do so, but not later than the date that is six months after the determination was made. The principle of law or policy as it is restated in a rule does not need to be wholly congruent with the supplanted principle of law or policy. The agency lawfully may improve or develop further the supplanted principle of law or policy as it is restated in a rule.

The agency may continue to rely upon the principle of law or policy, but only while it is complying with the preceding paragraph. The agency may not rely upon the principle of law or policy in advising with regard to or in determining the rights or liabilities of a person if the agency fails to commence the rule-making process by the deadline specified in the preceding paragraph, or if, after commencing the rule-making process, the agency neglects or abandons the rule-making process before it is completed.

(D) A principle of law or policy that is relied upon directly or by clear implication from a statute applying to the agency does not need to be supplanted by rule.

(E) This section does not apply to an agency, commission, or committee created in the legislative branch of government or to serve the general assembly including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) The joint legislative ethics committee;

(2) The joint medicaid oversight committee;

(3) The correctional institution inspection committee;

(4) The legislative service commission;

(5) The legislative information services;

(6) The capitol square review and advisory board.

Last updated September 6, 2023 at 3:47 PM

Section 121.931 | Petition to restate a principle of law or policy in a rule.

• Effective: August 18, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 221 - 132nd General Assembly

(A) A person may petition an agency in writing to restate a principle of law or policy in a rule if (1) the person was a party to an adjudication or other determination before an agency that has resulted in an order or other disposition or was a party to a civil action in which judgment has been entered, and (2) the adjudication or other determination, or the civil action, involved a principle of law or policy relied upon by the agency that, under section 121.93 of the Revised Code, should have been supplanted by its restatement in a rule but has not been so supplanted. The petition shall briefly explain why the principle of law or policy should, under section 121.93 of the Revised Code, be supplanted by its restatement in a rule. The person shall send the petition to the agency not later than the ninetieth day after the order or other disposition was issued or the judgment was entered. The person also shall send a copy of the petition to the joint committee on agency rule review.

(B) The agency, not later than the thirtieth day after receiving a timely petition, shall consider the petition in light of section 121.93 of the Revised Code, and shall notify the petitioner in writing, by certified mail, return receipt requested, whether it grants or intends to deny the petition.

(1) If the agency grants the petition, it shall commence the rule-making process as soon as it is reasonably feasible to do so, but not later than the date that is six months after the petition was granted. The principle of law or policy as it is restated in a rule does not need to be wholly congruent with the supplanted principle of law or policy. The agency lawfully may improve or develop further the supplanted principle of law or policy.

The agency may continue to rely upon the principle of law or policy, but only while it is complying with the preceding paragraph. The agency may not rely upon the principle of law or policy in advising with regard to or in determining the rights or liabilities of a person if the agency fails to commence the rule-making process by the deadline specified in the preceding paragraph, or if, after commencing the rule-making process, the agency neglects or abandons the rule-making process before it is completed.

(2) If the agency intends to deny the petition, it shall send the petitioner a notice affording the petitioner an opportunity for a hearing on the petition and briefly explaining why the agency intends to deny the petition. If the petitioner does not in writing request a hearing within fifteen days after receiving the notice, the agency shall deny the petition and notify the petitioner in writing. If the petitioner responds in writing within the fifteen-day period requesting a hearing, the agency, by certified mail, return receipt requested, promptly shall notify the petitioner of the time and place for the hearing, which shall be not earlier than the thirtieth day after the notice was sent to the petitioner.

(C) At the hearing, the agency shall explain why, notwithstanding section 121.93 of the Revised Code, it intends to deny the petition, and the petitioner shall explain why under that section the petitioner believes the agency's intention to be erroneous. The hearing shall be informal. The petitioner may be assisted by counsel at the hearing.

(D) Not later than the thirtieth day after the hearing concludes, the agency shall grant or deny the petition.

(1) If the agency grants the petition, it shall commence the rule-making process as soon as it is reasonably feasible to do so, but not later than the date that is six months after the determination was made. The principle of law or policy as it is restated in a rule does not need to be wholly congruent with the supplanted principle of law or policy. The agency lawfully may improve or develop further the supplanted principle of law or policy as it is restated in a rule.

The agency may continue to rely upon the principle of law or policy, but only while it is complying with the preceding paragraph. The agency may not rely upon the principle of law or policy in advising with regard to or in determining the rights or liabilities of a person if the agency fails to commence the rule-making process by the deadline specified in the preceding paragraph, or if, after commencing the rule-making process, the agency neglects or abandons the rule-making process before it is completed.

(2) If the petitioner failed to appear at the hearing, or if the petitioner failed to persuade the agency that its intention to deny the petition is erroneous, the agency shall deny the petition.

The agency shall send notice in writing to the petitioner of the outcome. If the outcome is denial of the petition, the notice shall explain briefly why the agency is denying the petition. The petitioner is not entitled to appeal the outcome.

Section 121.933 | Applicability of R.C. 101.352, 101.353, 121.93, and 121.931.

• Effective: August 18, 2019
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 221 - 132nd General Assembly

Sections 101.352, 101.353, 121.93, and 121.931 of the Revised Code do not apply to:

(A) The following elected state officers or their offices: the governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, the auditor of state, the treasurer of state, and the attorney general;

(B) A state institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code; or

(C) The public employees retirement system, the Ohio police and fire pension fund, the state teachers retirement system, the school employees retirement system, and the state highway patrol retirement system.

Last updated July 13, 2022 at 12:19 PM

Section 121.95 | Agency review of rules to identify restrictions.

• Effective: October 24, 2024
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 175 - 135th General Assembly

(A) As used in sections 121.95, 121.951, 121.952, 121.953, and 121.954 of the Revised Code, "state agency" means an administrative department created under section 121.02 of the Revised Code, an administrative department head appointed under section 121.03 of the Revised Code, and a state agency organized under an administrative department or administrative department head. "State agency" also includes the department of education and workforce, the state lottery commission, the Ohio casino control commission, the state racing commission, and the public utilities commission of Ohio. Rules adopted by an otherwise independent official or entity organized under a state agency shall be attributed to the agency under which the official or entity is organized for the purposes of sections 121.95, 121.951, 121.952, 121.953, and 121.954 of the Revised Code.

(B) Not later than December 31, 2019, a state agency shall review its existing rules to identify rules having one or more regulatory restrictions that require or prohibit an action and prepare a base inventory of the regulatory restrictions in its existing rules. Rules that include the words "shall," "must," "require," "shall not," "may not," and "prohibit" shall be considered to contain regulatory restrictions.

(C) In the base inventory, the state agency shall indicate all of the following concerning each regulatory restriction:

(1) A description of the regulatory restriction;

(2) The rule number of the rule in which the regulatory restriction appears;

(3) The statute under which the regulatory restriction was adopted;

(4) Whether state or federal law expressly and specifically requires the agency to adopt the regulatory restriction or the agency adopted the regulatory restriction under the agency's general authority;

(5) Whether removing the regulatory restriction would require a change to state or federal law, provided that removing a regulatory restriction adopted under a law granting the agency general authority shall be presumed not to require a change to state or federal law;

(6) Any other information the joint committee on agency rule review considers necessary.

(D) The state agency shall compute and state the total number of regulatory restrictions indicated in the base inventory, shall post the base inventory on its web site, and shall electronically transmit a copy of the inventory to the joint committee. The joint committee shall review the base inventory, then transmit it electronically to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate.

(E) The following types of rules or regulatory restrictions are not required to be included in a state agency's inventory of regulatory restrictions:

(1) An internal management rule;

(2) An emergency rule;

(3) A rule that state or federal law requires the state agency to adopt verbatim;

(4) A regulatory restriction contained in materials or documents incorporated by reference into a rule pursuant to sections 121.71 to 121.75 of the Revised Code;

(5) A rule adopted pursuant to section 1347.15 of the Revised Code;

(6) A rule concerning instant lottery games;

(7) A rule adopted by the Ohio casino control commission or the state lottery commission concerning sports gaming;

(8) Any other rule that is not subject to review under Chapter 106. of the Revised Code;

(9) Any rule that is adopted as a requirement for the state agency to obtain or maintain accreditation or certification from a multistate organization consisting of at least forty-five participating states.

(F) Beginning on October 17, 2019, and ending on June 30, 2025, a state agency may not adopt a new regulatory restriction unless it simultaneously removes two or more other existing regulatory restrictions. The state agency may not satisfy this section by merging two or more existing regulatory restrictions into a single surviving regulatory restriction.

Last updated August 16, 2024 at 8:17 AM

Section 121.951 | Required reduction in regulatory restrictions.

• Effective: June 8, 2022
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 9 - 134th General Assembly

(A)(1) Using the criteria listed in division (A) of section 106.03 of the Revised Code, a state agency shall amend or rescind rules identified in its base inventory of regulatory restrictions prepared under section 121.95 of the Revised Code as necessary to reduce the total number of regulatory restrictions by thirty per cent, according to the following schedule:

(a) A ten per cent reduction not later than June 30, 2023;

(b) A twenty per cent reduction not later than June 30, 2024; and

(c) The thirty per cent reduction not later than June 30, 2025.

When a state agency has achieved a reduction of any percentage in regulatory restrictions, whether or not as specified in this section, the state agency may not adopt or maintain regulatory restrictions that would negate the reduction.

(2) Beginning July 1, 2025, a state agency that has not achieved the specified thirty per cent reduction may not adopt a new regulatory restriction unless it simultaneously removes two or more other existing regulatory restrictions, until the specified thirty per cent reduction has been achieved. The state agency may not fulfill this requirement by merging two or more existing regulatory restrictions into a single surviving regulatory restriction.

(3) A state agency is encouraged to continue to reduce regulatory restrictions after it has achieved the specified thirty per cent reduction.

(B)(1) Not later than September 15, 2022, a state agency shall prepare an historical report of its progress in reducing regulatory restrictions over the period of time beginning when the agency prepared its base inventory under section 121.95 of the Revised Code and ending on June 30, 2022. Annually thereafter, a state agency shall prepare an historical report of its progress in reducing regulatory restrictions over the preceding fiscal year. The state agency shall explain in the report how it applied the criteria described in division (A) of section 106.03 of the Revised Code to its determinations as to which regulatory restrictions to amend or rescind. The state agency shall include a revised inventory of regulatory restrictions with the report.

(2) In the revised inventory, in addition to the information required by section 121.95 of the Revised Code, the state agency shall compute the percentage net reduction in regulatory restrictions by subtracting the current number of regulatory restrictions from the number of regulatory restrictions identified in the base inventory and then dividing the resulting number by the number of regulatory restrictions in the base inventory.

(3) The state agency shall transmit the report electronically to the joint committee on agency rule review. The joint committee shall review the report and shall transmit it electronically to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate. The state agency shall continue preparing and transmitting annual reports until it has reported that it has achieved the required reduction in regulatory restrictions.

Last updated March 15, 2022 at 4:35 PM

Section 121.952 | Failure to reduce regulatory restrictions.

• Effective: June 8, 2022
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 9 - 134th General Assembly

(A) If a state agency fails to reduce regulatory restrictions by a required percentage within one hundred twenty days after a reduction deadline in section 121.951 of the Revised Code, the joint committee on agency rule review shall afford the state agency an opportunity to appear before the joint committee to show cause why the agency's required reduction in regulatory restrictions should be lessened. If the joint committee determines that the state agency has shown cause, the joint committee shall determine a lessened required reduction in regulatory restrictions for that agency and shall submit a written report to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate, indicating the lessened required reduction in regulatory restrictions for that agency and the reason the joint committee determined that lessened required reduction.

(B)(1) If a state agency fails to reduce regulatory restrictions by a required percentage as described in division (A) of this section because the agency's base inventory contains regulatory restrictions that adopt or implement a federal law or rule, the agency may submit both of the following to the joint committee:

(a) A modified inventory of the agency's regulatory restrictions consisting of the agency's base inventory prepared under section 121.95 of the Revised Code minus any rule that the agency identifies as implementing a federal law or rule in a manner that is not more stringent or burdensome than the federal law or rule requires;

(b) A written analysis explaining how each rule identified by the agency implements a federal law or rule in a manner that is not more stringent or burdensome than the federal law or rule requires.

(2) At the appearance before the joint committee described in division (A) of this section, the joint committee may lessen the agency's required reduction in regulatory restrictions based on the modified inventory submitted by the agency.

Last updated March 15, 2022 at 4:36 PM

Section 121.953 | Total permitted regulatory restrictions.

• Effective: June 8, 2022
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 9 - 134th General Assembly

(A) Effective July 1, 2025, the number of regulatory restrictions in this state shall not exceed a number of regulatory restrictions determined by the joint committee on agency rule review in accordance with this section. The joint committee shall determine that number by calculating, for each agency, the number of regulatory restrictions identified by the agency in the base inventory prepared under section 121.95 of the Revised Code, minus the number of regulatory restrictions that represents the percentage reduction the state agency is required to achieve, and then totaling the resulting numbers for all state agencies. The joint committee shall consider any lessened required reductions under section 121.952 of the Revised Code.

(B) A state agency shall contact the joint committee before submitting a proposed rule containing a regulatory restriction, and the joint committee shall determine whether adopting the regulatory restriction would cause the state to exceed the number of regulatory restrictions permitted under this section. A state agency may not adopt a rule if by adopting the rule the state agency would cause the number of regulatory restrictions to exceed the state limit as determined by the joint committee.

Last updated March 15, 2022 at 4:44 PM

Section 121.954 | Exemptions from regulatory restriction reduction.

• Effective: June 8, 2022
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 9 - 134th General Assembly

Notwithstanding any provision of section 121.95 of the Revised Code to the contrary, sections 121.95, 121.951, 121.952, and 121.953 of the Revised Code do not apply to rules adopted by the Ohio casino control commission under Chapter 3775. of the Revised Code.

Last updated March 15, 2022 at 4:46 PM

Section 121.99 | Penalty.

• Effective: May 12, 1994
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 492 - 120th General Assembly

(A) Whoever violates division (A), (B), or (C) of section 121.61 or section 121.67 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

(B) Whoever violates division (D) of section 121.61 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Section 121.991 | Penalty for disclosing confidential information.

• Effective: October 31, 1990
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 588 - 118th General Assembly

Whoever violates section 121.47 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree.