S. B. No. 2 As Introduced

Senators Dann, Fingerhut, Miller, Hagan, Fedor, Zurz

A BILL

To amend sections 101.34, 101.99, 102.03, 121.99, 1
127.13, 2921.01, 2921.43, 2923.31, 3501.05, 2
3513.10, 3517.01, 3517.03, 3517.06, 3517.08, 3
3517.082, 3517.09, 3517.092, 3517.10, 3517.102, 4
3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.106, 3517.108, 3517.109, 5
3517.1010, 3517.11, 3517.13, 3517.151, 3517.152, 6
3517.154, 3517.155, 3517.20, 3517.23, 3517.992, 7
3599.03, 3599.031, 5727.61, and 5733.27, and to 8
enact sections 101.80, 101.801, 101.802, 101.803, 9
101.804, 121.80, 121.81, 121.82, 121.83, 121.84, 10
and 3517.1011 of the Revised Code to revise the 11
Campaign Finance Law and the Ethics Law. 12

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That sections 101.34, 101.99, 102.03, 121.99, 13
127.13, 2921.01, 2921.43, 2923.31, 3501.05, 3513.10, 3517.01, 14
3517.03, 3517.06, 3517.08, 3517.082, 3517.09, 3517.092, 3517.10, 15
3517.102, 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.106, 3517.108, 3517.109, 16
3517.1010, 3517.11, 3517.13, 3517.151, 3517.152, 3517.154, 17
3517.155, 3517.20, 3517.23, 3517.992, 3599.03, 3599.031, 5727.61, 18
and 5733.27 be amended and sections 101.80, 101.801, 101.802, 19
101.803, 101.804, 121.80, 121.81, 121.82, 121.83, 121.84, and 20
3517.1011 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: 21

       Sec. 101.34. (A) There is hereby created a joint legislative 22
ethics committee to serve the general assembly. The committee 23
shall be composed of twelve members, six each from the two major 24
political parties, and each member shall serve on the committee 25
during the member's term as a member of that general assembly. Six 26
members of the committee shall be members of the house of 27
representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of 28
representatives, not more than three from the same political 29
party, and six members of the committee shall be members of the 30
senate appointed by the president of the senate, not more than 31
three from the same political party. A vacancy in the committee 32
shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as an 33
original appointment. The members of the committee shall be 34
appointed within fifteen days after the first day of the first 35
regular session of each general assembly, and the committee shall 36
meet and proceed to recommend an ethics code not later than thirty 37
days after the first day of the first regular session of each 38
general assembly. 39

       In the first regular session of each general assembly, the 40
speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint the 41
chairperson of the committee from among the house members of the 42
committee, and the president of the senate shall appoint the 43
vice-chairperson of the committee from among the senate members of 44
the committee. In the second regular session of each general 45
assembly, the president of the senate shall appoint the 46
chairperson of the committee from among the senate members of the 47
committee, and the speaker of the house of representatives shall 48
appoint the vice-chairperson of the committee from among the house 49
members of the committee. The chairperson, vice-chairperson, and 50
members of the committee shall serve until their respective 51
successors are appointed or until they are no longer members of 52
the general assembly. 53

       The committee shall meet at the call of the chairperson or 54
upon the written request of seven members of the committee. 55

       (B) The joint legislative ethics committee: 56

       (1) Shall recommend a code of ethics ~~which~~that is consistent 57
with law to govern all members and employees of each house of the 58
general assembly and all candidates for the office of member of 59
each house; 60

       (2) May receive and hear any complaint ~~which~~that alleges a 61
breach of any privilege of either house, or misconduct of any 62
member, employee, or candidate, or any violation of the 63
appropriate code of ethics; 64

       (3) May obtain information with respect to any complaint 65
filed pursuant to this section and to that end may enforce the 66
attendance and testimony of witnesses, and the production of books 67
and papers; 68

       (4) May recommend whatever sanction is appropriate with 69
respect to a particular member, employee, or candidate as will 70
best maintain in the minds of the public a good opinion of the 71
conduct and character of members and employees of the general 72
assembly; 73

       (5) May recommend legislation to the general assembly 74
relating to the conduct and ethics of members and employees of and 75
candidates for the general assembly; 76

       (6) Shall employ an executive director for the committee and 77
may employ ~~such~~ other staff as the committee determines necessary 78
to assist it in exercising its powers and duties. The executive 79
director and staff of the committee shall be known as the office 80
of legislative inspector general. At least one member of the staff 81
of the committee shall be an attorney at law licensed to practice 82
law in this state. The appointment and removal of the executive 83
director shall require the approval of at least eight members of 84
the committee. 85

       (7) May employ a special counsel to assist the committee in 86
exercising its powers and duties. The appointment and removal of a 87
special counsel shall require the approval of at least eight 88
members of the committee. 89

       (8) Shall act as an advisory body to the general assembly and 90
to individual members, candidates, and employees on questions 91
relating to ethics, possible conflicts of interest, and financial 92
disclosure; 93

       (9) Shall provide for the proper forms on which the statement 94
required pursuant to section 102.02 of the Revised Code shall be 95
filed and instructions as to the filing of the statement; 96

       (10) Exercise the powers and duties prescribed under sections 97
101.70 to 101.79, sections 101.80 to 101.804, sections 101.90 to 98
101.98, ~~and~~ sections 121.60 to 121.69, and sections 121.80 to 99
121.84 of the Revised Code; 100

       (11) Adopt, in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised 101
Code, any rules that are necessary to implement and clarify 102
Chapter 102. and sections 2921.42 and 2921.43 of the Revised Code. 103

       (C) There is hereby created in the state treasury the joint 104
legislative ethics committee fund. ~~Money~~Except as provided in 105
division (E) of section 101.802 and division (E) of section 121.82 106
of the Revised Code, money credited to the fund and any interest 107
and earnings from the fund shall be used solely for the operation 108
of the joint legislative ethics committee and the office of 109
legislative inspector general and for the purchase of data storage 110
and computerization facilities for the statements filed with the 111
joint committee under sections 101.73, 101.74, 101.802, 121.63, 112
~~and~~ 121.64, and 121.82 of the Revised Code. 113

       (D) The chairperson of the joint legislative ethics committee 114
shall issue a written report, not later than the thirty-first day 115
of January of each year, to the speaker and minority leader of the 116
house of representatives and to the president and minority leader 117
of the senate that lists the number of committee meetings and 118
investigations the committee conducted during the immediately 119
preceding calendar year and the number of advisory opinions it 120
issued during the immediately preceding calendar year. 121

       (E) Any investigative report that contains facts and findings 122
regarding a complaint filed with the joint legislative ethics 123
committee and that is prepared by the staff of the committee or a 124
special counsel to the committee shall become a public record upon 125
its acceptance by a vote of the majority of the members of the 126
committee, except for any names of specific individuals and 127
entities contained in the report. If the committee recommends 128
disciplinary action or reports its findings to the appropriate 129
prosecuting authority for proceedings in prosecution of the 130
violations alleged in the complaint, the investigatory report 131
regarding the complaint shall become a public record in its 132
entirety. 133

       (F)(1) Any file obtained by or in the possession of the 134
former house ethics committee or former senate ethics committee 135
shall become the property of the joint legislative ethics 136
committee. Any such file is confidential if either of the 137
following applies: 138

       (a) It is confidential under section 102.06 of the Revised 139
Code or the legislative code of ethics. 140

       (b) If the file was obtained from the former house ethics 141
committee or from the former senate ethics committee, it was 142
confidential under any statute or any provision of a code of 143
ethics that governed the file. 144

       (2) As used in this division, "file" includes, but is not 145
limited to, evidence, documentation, or any other tangible thing. 146

       Sec. 101.80. As used in sections 101.80 to 101.804 of the 147
Revised Code: 148

       (A) "Contribution" means money, property, financial 149
assistance, or any other thing of value given to a person for a 150
social, recreational, benevolent, charitable, fraternal, 151
political, patriotic, athletic, or other purpose. 152

       (B) "Person" hasthe same meaning as in section 101.70 of the 153
Revised Code. 154

       Sec. 101.801. (A) No member of the general assembly or 155
candidate for the office of member of the general assembly shall 156
knowingly fail to maintain a record that section 101.802 of the 157
Revised Code requires the member or candidate to maintain. 158

       (B) No member of the general assembly or candidate for the 159
office of member of the general assembly shall knowingly fail to 160
file a statement that section 101.802 of the Revised Code requires 161
the member or candidate to file. 162

       (C) No member of the general assembly or candidate for the 163
office of member of the general assembly shall knowingly file a 164
false statement that section 101.802 of the Revised Code requires 165
the member or candidate to file. 166

       Sec. 101.802. (A) Each member of the general assembly and 167
each candidate for the office of member of the general assembly 168
shall file by electronic means of transmission with the office of 169
the joint legislative ethics committee, not later than the last 170
day of January, May, and September of each year, a statement of 171
contributions solicited. The statement shall include, for each 172
contribution that was made to a person as a result of a 173
solicitation by the member or candidate, all of the following: 174

       (1) The name and address of the contributor; 175

       (2) The name, address, and employer of the person who 176
received the contribution; 177

       (3) The approximate date the contribution was made; 178

       (4) The dollar amount or fair market value of the 179
contribution. If it is impractical or impossible to determine the 180
exact dollar amount or fair market value of the contribution, 181
reporting of good faith estimates, based on reasonable accounting 182
procedures, constitutes compliance with this requirement. 183

       (B) Each statement shall cover contributions solicited during 184
the four-calendar-month period that ended on the last day of the 185
month immediately preceding the month in which the statement is 186
required to be filed. 187

       (C) Members of the general assembly and candidates for the 188
office of member of the general assembly shall maintain records 189
for all contributions solicited that they are required to report 190
under this section. These records shall be maintained for a period 191
ending on the thirty-first day of December of the second calendar 192
year after the year in which a contribution was made. 193

       (D) If a statement required to be filed under this section is 194
not filed by the date on which it is required to be filed, the 195
joint committee shall assess a late filing fee equal to twelve 196
dollars and fifty cents per day, up to a maximum of one hundred 197
dollars, upon the member of the general assembly or candidate for 198
the office of member of the general assembly. The joint committee 199
may waive the late filing fee for good cause shown. 200

       (E) The joint committee shall deposit all money collected 201
from late filing fees under division (D) of this section into the 202
joint legislative ethics committee fund created under section 203
101.34 of the Revised Code. Money collected from those fees shall 204
be used by the joint committee for the purpose of employing 205
additional special investigators. 206

       Sec. 101.803. (A) The joint legislative ethics committee 207
shall keep on file the statements required by section 101.802 of 208
the Revised Code. Those statements are public records open to 209
public inspection and copying under section 149.43 of the Revised 210
Code. 211

       (B) The joint committee shall provide the information 212
contained in each statement to the secretary of state. The 213
secretary of state shall make this information readily accessible 214
to the general public in a manner that is searchable on the 215
secretary of state's web site. 216

       (C) The joint committee shall prescribe and make available an 217
appropriate process for the filing of the statements by electronic 218
means of transmission. The electronic form shall contain the 219
following notice in boldface type: "ANY PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY FILES 220
A FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY OF FALSIFICATION UNDER SECTION 2921.13 221
OF THE REVISED CODE, WHICH IS A MISDEMEANOR OF THE FIRST DEGREE." 222

       (D) The joint committee may adopt rules as necessary to 223
implement sections 101.80 to 101.804 of the Revised Code. Any 224
rules it adopts shall be adopted in accordance with section 111.15 225
of the Revised Code. 226

       (E) The joint committee shall publish a handbook that 227
explains in clear and concise language sections 101.80 to 101.804 228
of the Revised Code and make it available free of charge to 229
members of the general assembly, candidates for the office of 230
member of the general assembly, and other interested persons. 231

       Sec. 101.804. The attorney general and any assistant or 232
special counsel designated by the attorney general may investigate 233
compliance with sections 101.80 to 101.803 of the Revised Code in 234
connection with statements required to be filed under those 235
sections and, in the event of an apparent violation, shall report 236
the findings of any such investigation to the prosecuting attorney 237
of Franklin county, who shall institute appropriate proceedings. 238

       Sec. 101.99. (A) Whoever violates division (A), (B), or (C) 239
of section 101.71 or of section 101.91, or section 101.77, 240
division (A) or (B) of section 101.801, or section 101.97 of the 241
Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. 242

       (B) Whoever violates division (D) of section 101.71 or of 243
section 101.91 or division (C) of section 101.801 of the Revised 244
Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. 245

       Sec. 102.03. (A)(1) No present or former public official or 246
employee shall, during public employment or service or for twelve 247
months thereafter, represent a client or act in a representative 248
capacity for any person on any matter in which the public official 249
or employee personally participated as a public official or 250
employee through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, 251
the rendering of advice, investigation, or other substantial 252
exercise of administrative discretion. 253

       (2) For twenty-four months after the conclusion of service, 254
no former commissioner or attorney examiner of the public 255
utilities commission shall represent a public utility, as defined 256
in section 4905.02 of the Revised Code, or act in a representative 257
capacity on behalf of such a utility before any state board, 258
commission, or agency. 259

       (3) For twenty-four months after the conclusion of employment 260
or service, no former public official or employee who personally 261
participated as a public official or employee through decision, 262
approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, 263
the development or adoption of solid waste management plans, 264
investigation, inspection, or other substantial exercise of 265
administrative discretion under Chapter 343. or 3734. of the 266
Revised Code shall represent a person who is the owner or operator 267
of a facility, as defined in section 3734.01 of the Revised Code, 268
or who is an applicant for a permit or license for a facility 269
under that chapter, on any matter in which the public official or 270
employee personally participated as a public official or employee. 271

       (4) For a period of one year after the conclusion of 272
employment or service as a member or employee of the general 273
assembly, no former member or employee of the general assembly 274
shall represent, or act in a representative capacity for, any 275
person on any matter before the general assembly, any committee of 276
the general assembly, or the controlling board. Division (A)(4) of 277
this section does not apply to or affect a person who separates 278
from service with the general assembly on or before December 31, 279
1995. As used in division (A)(4) of this section, "person" does 280
not include any state agency or political subdivision of the 281
state. 282

       (5) As used in divisions (A)(1), (2), and (3) of this 283
section, "matter" includes any case, proceeding, application, 284
determination, issue, or question, but does not include the 285
proposal, consideration, or enactment of statutes, rules, 286
ordinances, resolutions, or charter or constitutional amendments. 287
As used in division (A)(4) of this section, "matter" includes the 288
proposal, consideration, or enactment of statutes, resolutions, or 289
constitutional amendments. As used in division (A) of this 290
section, "represent" includes any formal or informal appearance 291
before, or any written or oral communication with, any public 292
agency on behalf of any person. 293

       (6) Nothing contained in division (A) of this section shall 294
prohibit, during such period, a former public official or employee 295
from being retained or employed to represent, assist, or act in a 296
representative capacity for the public agency by which the public 297
official or employee was employed or on which the public official 298
or employee served. 299

       (7) Division (A) of this section shall not be construed to 300
prohibit the performance of ministerial functions, including, but 301
not limited to, the filing or amendment of tax returns, 302
applications for permits and licenses, incorporation papers, and 303
other similar documents. 304

       (B) No present or former public official or employee shall 305
disclose or use, without appropriate authorization, any 306
information acquired by the public official or employee in the 307
course of the public official's or employee's official duties that 308
is confidential because of statutory provisions, or that has been 309
clearly designated to the public official or employee as 310
confidential when that confidential designation is warranted 311
because of the status of the proceedings or the circumstances 312
under which the information was received and preserving its 313
confidentiality is necessary to the proper conduct of government 314
business. 315

       (C) No public official or employee shall participate within 316
the scope of duties as a public official or employee, except 317
through ministerial functions as defined in division (A) of this 318
section, in any license or rate-making proceeding that directly 319
affects the license or rates of any person, partnership, trust, 320
business trust, corporation, or association in which the public 321
official or employee or immediate family owns or controls more 322
than five per cent. No public official or employee shall 323
participate within the scope of duties as a public official or 324
employee, except through ministerial functions as defined in 325
division (A) of this section, in any license or rate-making 326
proceeding that directly affects the license or rates of any 327
person to whom the public official or employee or immediate 328
family, or a partnership, trust, business trust, corporation, or 329
association of which the public official or employee or the public 330
official's or employee's immediate family owns or controls more 331
than five per cent, has sold goods or services totaling more than 332
one thousand dollars during the preceding year, unless the public 333
official or employee has filed a written statement acknowledging 334
that sale with the clerk or secretary of the public agency and the 335
statement is entered in any public record of the agency's 336
proceedings. This division shall not be construed to require the 337
disclosure of clients of attorneys or persons licensed under 338
section 4732.12 or 4732.15 of the Revised Code, or patients of 339
persons certified under section 4731.14 of the Revised Code. 340

       (D) No public official or employee shall use or authorize the 341
use of the authority or influence of office or employment to 342
secure anything of value or the promise or offer of anything of 343
value that is of such a character as to manifest a substantial and 344
improper influence upon the public official or employee with 345
respect to that person's duties. 346

       (E) No public official or employee shall solicit or accept 347
anything of value that is of such a character as to manifest a 348
substantial and improper influence upon the public official or 349
employee with respect to that person's duties. 350

       (F) No person shall promise or give to a public official or 351
employee anything of value that is of such a character as to 352
manifest a substantial and improper influence upon the public 353
official or employee with respect to that person's duties. 354

       (G) In the absence of bribery or another offense under the 355
Revised Code or a purpose to defraud, contributions made to a 356
campaign committee, political party, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 357
political action committee, or political contributing entity, or 358
entity engaging in electioneering on behalf of an elected public 359
officer or other public official or employee who seeks elective 360
office shall be considered to accrue ordinarily to the public 361
official or employee for the purposes of divisions (D), (E), and 362
(F) of this section. 363

       As used in this division, "contributions," "campaign 364
committee," "political party," ~~"legislative campaign fund,"~~ 365
"political action committee," ~~and~~ "political contributing entity," 366
and "entity engaging in electioneering" have the same meanings as 367
in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code. 368

       (H)(1) No public official or employee, except for the 369
president or other chief administrative officer of or a member of 370
a board of trustees of a state institution of higher education as 371
defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, who is required 372
to file a financial disclosure statement under section 102.02 of 373
the Revised Code shall solicit or accept, and no person shall give 374
to that public official or employee, an honorarium. Except as 375
provided in division (H)(2) of this section, this division and 376
divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this section do not prohibit a 377
public official or employee who is required to file a financial 378
disclosure statement under section 102.02 of the Revised Code from 379
accepting and do not prohibit a person from giving to that public 380
official or employee the payment of actual travel expenses, 381
including any expenses incurred in connection with the travel for 382
lodging, and meals, food, and beverages provided to the public 383
official or employee at a meeting at which the public official or 384
employee participates in a panel, seminar, or speaking engagement 385
or provided to the public official or employee at a meeting or 386
convention of a national organization to which any state agency, 387
including, but not limited to, any state legislative agency or 388
state institution of higher education as defined in section 389
3345.011 of the Revised Code, pays membership dues. Except as 390
provided in division (H)(2) of this section, this division and 391
divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this section do not prohibit a 392
public official or employee who is not required to file a 393
financial disclosure statement under section 102.02 of the Revised 394
Code from accepting and do not prohibit a person from promising or 395
giving to that public official or employee an honorarium or the 396
payment of travel, meal, and lodging expenses if the honorarium, 397
expenses, or both were paid in recognition of demonstrable 398
business, professional, or esthetic interests of the public 399
official or employee that exist apart from public office or 400
employment, including, but not limited to, such a demonstrable 401
interest in public speaking and were not paid by any person or 402
other entity, or by any representative or association of those 403
persons or entities, that is regulated by, doing business with, or 404
seeking to do business with the department, division, institution, 405
board, commission, authority, bureau, or other instrumentality of 406
the governmental entity with which the public official or employee 407
serves. 408

       (2) No person who is a member of the board of a state 409
retirement system, a state retirement system investment officer, 410
or an employee of a state retirement system whose position 411
involves substantial and material exercise of discretion in the 412
investment of retirement system funds shall solicit or accept, and 413
no person shall give to that board member, officer, or employee, 414
payment of actual travel expenses, including expenses incurred 415
with the travel for lodging, meals, food, and beverages. 416

       (I) A public official or employee may accept travel, meals, 417
and lodging or expenses or reimbursement of expenses for travel, 418
meals, and lodging in connection with conferences, seminars, and 419
similar events related to official duties if the travel, meals, 420
and lodging, expenses, or reimbursement is not of such a character 421
as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon the 422
public official or employee with respect to that person's duties. 423
The house of representatives and senate, in their code of ethics, 424
and the Ohio ethics commission, under section 111.15 of the 425
Revised Code, may adopt rules setting standards and conditions for 426
the furnishing and acceptance of such travel, meals, and lodging, 427
expenses, or reimbursement. 428

       A person who acts in compliance with this division and any 429
applicable rules adopted under it, or any applicable, similar 430
rules adopted by the supreme court governing judicial officers and 431
employees, does not violate division (D), (E), or (F) of this 432
section. This division does not preclude any person from seeking 433
an advisory opinion from the appropriate ethics commission under 434
section 102.08 of the Revised Code. 435

       (J) For purposes of divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this 436
section, the membership of a public official or employee in an 437
organization shall not be considered, in and of itself, to be of 438
such a character as to manifest a substantial and improper 439
influence on the public official or employee with respect to that 440
person's duties. As used in this division, "organization" means a 441
church or a religious, benevolent, fraternal, or professional 442
organization that is tax exempt under subsection 501(a) and 443
described in subsection 501(c)(3), (4), (8), (10), or (19) of the 444
"Internal Revenue Code of 1986." This division does not apply to a 445
public official or employee who is an employee of an organization, 446
serves as a trustee, director, or officer of an organization, or 447
otherwise holds a fiduciary relationship with an organization. 448
This division does not allow a public official or employee who is 449
a member of an organization to participate, formally or 450
informally, in deliberations, discussions, or voting on a matter 451
or to use ~~his~~the public official's or employee's official 452
position with regard to the interests of the organization on the 453
matter if the public official or employee has assumed a particular 454
responsibility in the organization with respect to the matter or 455
if the matter would affect that person's personal, pecuniary 456
interests. 457

       (K) It is not a violation of this section for a prosecuting 458
attorney to appoint assistants and employees in accordance with 459
division (B) of section 309.06 and section 2921.421 of the Revised 460
Code, for a chief legal officer of a municipal corporation or an 461
official designated as prosecutor in a municipal corporation to 462
appoint assistants and employees in accordance with sections 463
733.621 and 2921.421 of the Revised Code, for a township law 464
director appointed under section 504.15 of the Revised Code to 465
appoint assistants and employees in accordance with sections 466
504.151 and 2921.421 of the Revised Code, or for a coroner to 467
appoint assistants and employees in accordance with division (B) 468
of section 313.05 of the Revised Code. 469

       As used in this division, "chief legal officer" has the same 470
meaning as in section 733.621 of the Revised Code. 471

       Sec. 121.80. As used in sections 121.80 to 121.84 of the 472
Revised Code: 473

       (A) "Contribution" means money, property, financial 474
assistance, or any other thing of value given to a person for a 475
social, recreational, benevolent, charitable, fraternal, 476
political, patriotic, athletic, or other purpose. 477

       (B) "Person" hasthe same meaning as in section 101.70 of the 478
Revised Code. 479

       (C) "Statewide candidate" means the joint candidates for the 480
offices of governor and lieutenant governor or a candidate for the 481
office of secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of 482
state, or attorney general. 483

       (D) "Statewide officeholder" means the governor, lieutenant 484
governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of 485
state, or attorney general. 486

       Sec. 121.81. (A) No statewide officeholder or statewide 487
candidate shall knowingly fail to maintain a record that section 488
121.82 of the Revised Code requires the officeholder or candidate 489
to maintain. 490

       (B) No statewide officeholder or statewide candidate shall 491
knowingly fail to file a statement that section 121.82 of the 492
Revised Code requires the officeholder or candidate to file. 493

       (C) No statewide officeholder or statewide candidate shall 494
knowingly file a false statement that section 121.82 of the 495
Revised Code requires the officeholder or candidate to file. 496

       Sec. 121.82. (A) Each statewide officeholder and each 497
statewide candidate shall file by electronic means of transmission 498
with the office of the joint legislative ethics committee, not 499
later than the last day of January, May, and September of each 500
year, a statement of contributions solicited. The statement shall 501
include, for each contribution that was made to a person as a 502
result of a solicitation by the statewide officeholder or 503
statewide candidate, all of the following: 504

       (1) The name and address of the contributor; 505

       (2) The name, address, and employer of the person who 506
received the contribution; 507

       (3) The approximate date the contribution was made; 508

       (4) The dollar amount or fair market value of the 509
contribution. If it is impractical or impossible to determine the 510
exact dollar amount or fair market value of the contribution, 511
reporting of good faith estimates, based on reasonable accounting 512
procedures, constitutes compliance with this requirement.    513

       (B) Each statement shall cover contributions solicited during 514
the four-calendar-month period that ended on the last day of the 515
month immediately preceding the month in which the statement is 516
required to be filed. 517

       (C) Statewide officeholders and statewide candidates shall 518
maintain records for all contributions solicited that they are 519
required to report under this section. These records shall be 520
maintained for a period ending on the thirty-first day of December 521
of the second calendar year after the year in which a contribution 522
was made. 523

       (D) If a statement required to be filed under this section is 524
not filed by the date on which it is required to be filed, the 525
joint committee shall assess a late filing fee equal to twelve 526
dollars and fifty cents per day, up to a maximum of one hundred 527
dollars, upon the statewide officeholder or statewide candidate. 528
The joint committee may waive the late filing fee for good cause 529
shown. 530

       (E) The joint committee shall deposit all money collected 531
from late filing fees under division (D) of this section into the 532
joint legislative ethics committee fund created under section 533
101.34 of the Revised Code. Money collected from those fees shall 534
be used by the joint committee for the purpose of employing 535
additional special investigators. 536

       Sec. 121.83. (A) The joint legislative ethics committee 537
shall keep on file the statements required by section 121.82 of 538
the Revised Code. Those statements are public records open to 539
public inspection and copying under section 149.43 of the Revised 540
Code. 541

       (B) The joint committee shall provide the information 542
contained in each statement to the secretary of state. The 543
secretary of state shall make this information readily accessible 544
to the general public in a manner that is searchable on the 545
secretary of state's web site. 546

       (C) The joint committee shall prescribe and make available an 547
appropriate process for the filing of the statements by electronic 548
means of transmission. The electronic form shall contain the 549
following notice in boldface type: "ANY PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY FILES 550
A FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY OF FALSIFICATION UNDER SECTION 2921.13 551
OF THE REVISED CODE, WHICH IS A MISDEMEANOR OF THE FIRST DEGREE." 552

       (D) The joint committee may adopt rules as necessary to 553
implement sections 121.80 to 121.84 of the Revised Code. Any rules 554
it adopts shall be adopted in accordance with section 111.15 of 555
the Revised Code. 556

       (E) The joint committee shall publish a handbook that 557
explains in clear and concise language sections 121.80 to 121.84 558
of the Revised Code and make it available free of charge to 559
statewide officeholders, statewide candidates, and other 560
interested persons. 561

       Sec. 121.84. The attorney general and any assistant or 562
special counsel designated by the attorney general may investigate 563
compliance with sections 121.80 to 121.83 of the Revised Code in 564
connection with statements required to be filed under those 565
sections and, in the event of an apparent violation, shall report 566
the findings of any such investigation to the prosecuting attorney 567
of Franklin county, who shall institute appropriate proceedings. 568

       Sec. 121.99. (A) Whoever violates division (A), (B), or (C) 569
of section 121.61 or, section 121.67, or division (A) or (B) of 570
section 121.81 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of 571
the fourth degree. 572

       (B) Whoever violates division (D) of section 121.61 or 573
division (C) of section 121.81 of the Revised Code is guilty of a 574
misdemeanor of the first degree. 575

       Sec. 127.13. (A) The director of budget and management or ~~his~~ 576
the director's designee shall be president of the controlling 577
board. The president shall prepare the proposed agenda for the 578
meetings of the board and shall provide, at least seven days prior 579
to the meeting, copies of the proposed agenda and supporting 580
documentation to the members of the board and to ~~the legislative~~ 581
~~budget office of~~ the legislative service commission. 582

       The director shall designate an employee of the office of 583
budget and management to serve as secretary of the controlling 584
board. The secretary shall assist the president of the board and 585
shall make and keep a record of each request received by the board 586
and of its action ~~thereon~~on the request. The secretary shall 587
certify a copy of the record of each action to each member of the 588
board and to the director. 589

       ~~The~~(B) Subject to division (D) of this section, the 590
controlling board may adopt procedural rules for the conduct of 591
the business of the board, may approve, disapprove, modify as to 592
specific dollar amounts, or defer requests, and may require that a 593
request from the senate, the house of representatives, the supreme 594
court, or an elected member of the executive department as defined 595
in Section 1 of Article III, Ohio Constitution, not currently 596
before the controlling board be added to the agenda for a 597
specified future meeting of the board, provided that such request 598
has been previously submitted to the president for inclusion in 599
the agenda for a board meeting. The controlling board also may 600
adopt rules authorizing the president to act on its behalf in 601
exigent circumstances affecting the public health, safety, or 602
welfare. 603

       (C) The affirmative vote of no fewer than four members of the 604
controlling board shall be required for any action of the board. 605
The board shall meet at least once a month. 606

       (D) In addition to any procedural rules for requests that are 607
adopted by the controlling board under division (B) of this 608
section, any request made to the controlling board that involves 609
the approval of a contract with any business that employs 610
legislative agents or executive agency lobbyists shall include 611
copies of the registration statements that the business and that 612
the legislative agents or executive agency lobbyists employed by 613
that business are required to file with the joint legislative 614
ethics committee under section 101.72 or 121.62 of the Revised 615
Code. 616

       Sec. 2921.01. As used in sections 2921.01 to 2921.45 of the 617
Revised Code: 618

       (A) "Public official" means any elected or appointed officer, 619
or employee, or agent of the state or any political subdivision, 620
whether in a temporary or permanent capacity, and includes, but is 621
not limited to, legislators, judges, and law enforcement officers. 622

       (B) "Public servant" means any of the following: 623

       (1) Any public official; 624

       (2) Any person performing ad hoc a governmental function, 625
including, but not limited to, a juror, member of a temporary 626
commission, master, arbitrator, advisor, or consultant; 627

       (3) A person who is a candidate for public office, whether or 628
not the person is elected or appointed to the office for which the 629
person is a candidate. A person is a candidate for purposes of 630
this division if the person has been nominated according to law 631
for election or appointment to public office, or if the person has 632
filed a petition or petitions as required by law to have the 633
person's name placed on the ballot in a primary, general, or 634
special election, or if the person ~~campaigns as~~files a 635
declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate in any primary, 636
general, or special election. 637

       (C) "Party official" means any person who holds an elective 638
or appointive post in a political party in the United States or 639
this state, by virtue of which the person directs, conducts, or 640
participates in directing or conducting party affairs at any level 641
of responsibility. 642

       (D) "Official proceeding" means any proceeding before a 643
legislative, judicial, administrative, or other governmental 644
agency or official authorized to take evidence under oath, and 645
includes any proceeding before a referee, hearing examiner, 646
commissioner, notary, or other person taking testimony or a 647
deposition in connection with an official proceeding. 648

       (E) "Detention" means arrest; confinement in any vehicle 649
subsequent to an arrest; confinement in any public or private 650
facility for custody of persons charged with or convicted of crime 651
in this state or another state or under the laws of the United 652
States or alleged or found to be a delinquent child or unruly 653
child in this state or another state or under the laws of the 654
United States; hospitalization, institutionalization, or 655
confinement in any public or private facility that is ordered 656
pursuant to or under the authority of section 2945.37, 2945.371, 657
2945.38, 2945.39, 2945.40, 2945.401, or 2945.402 of the Revised 658
Code; confinement in any vehicle for transportation to or from any 659
facility of any of those natures; detention for extradition or 660
deportation; except as provided in this division, supervision by 661
any employee of any facility of any of those natures that is 662
incidental to hospitalization, institutionalization, or 663
confinement in the facility but that occurs outside the facility; 664
supervision by an employee of the department of rehabilitation and 665
correction of a person on any type of release from a state 666
correctional institution; or confinement in any vehicle, airplane, 667
or place while being returned from outside of this state into this 668
state by a private person or entity pursuant to a contract entered 669
into under division (E) of section 311.29 of the Revised Code or 670
division (B) of section 5149.03 of the Revised Code. For a person 671
confined in a county jail who participates in a county jail 672
industry program pursuant to section 5147.30 of the Revised Code, 673
"detention" includes time spent at an assigned work site and going 674
to and from the work site. 675

       (F) "Detention facility" means any public or private place 676
used for the confinement of a person charged with or convicted of 677
any crime in this state or another state or under the laws of the 678
United States or alleged or found to be a delinquent child or 679
unruly child in this state or another state or under the laws of 680
the United States. 681

       (G) "Valuable thing or valuable benefit" includes, but is not 682
limited to, a contribution. This inclusion does not indicate or 683
imply that a contribution was not included in those terms before 684
September 17, 1986. 685

       (H) "Campaign committee," "contribution," "political action 686
committee," ~~"legislative campaign fund,"~~ "political party," ~~and~~ 687
"political contributing entity," and "entity engaging in 688
electioneering" have the same meanings as in section 3517.01 of 689
the Revised Code. 690

       (I) "Provider agreement" and "medical assistance program" 691
have the same meanings as in section 2913.40 of the Revised Code. 692

       Sec. 2921.43. (A) No public servant shall knowingly solicit 693
or accept and no person shall knowingly promise or give to a 694
public servant either of the following: 695

       (1) Any compensation, other than as allowed by divisions (G), 696
(H), and (I) of section 102.03 of the Revised Code or other 697
provisions of law, to perform the public servant's official 698
duties, to perform any other act or service in the public 699
servant's public capacity, for the general performance of the 700
duties of the public servant's public office or public employment, 701
or as a supplement to the public servant's public compensation; 702

       (2) Additional or greater fees or costs than are allowed by 703
law to perform the public servant's official duties. 704

       (B) No public servant for the public servant's own personal 705
or business use, and no person for the person's own personal or 706
business use or for the personal or business use of a public 707
servant or party official, shall solicit or accept anything of 708
value in consideration of either of the following: 709

       (1) Appointing or securing, maintaining, or renewing the 710
appointment of any person to any public office, employment, or 711
agency; 712

       (2) Preferring, or maintaining the status of, any public 713
employee with respect to compensation, duties, placement, 714
location, promotion, or other material aspects of employment. 715

       (C) No person for the benefit of a political party, campaign 716
committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political action committee, 717
or political contributing entity, or entity engaging in 718
electioneering shall coerce any contribution in consideration of 719
either of the following: 720

       (1) Appointing or securing, maintaining, or renewing the 721
appointment of any person to any public office, employment, or 722
agency; 723

       (2) Preferring, or maintaining the status of, any public 724
employee with respect to compensation, duties, placement, 725
location, promotion, or other material aspects of employment. 726

       (D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of soliciting 727
improper compensation, a misdemeanor of the first degree. 728

       (E) A public servant who is convicted of a violation of this 729
section is disqualified from holding any public office, 730
employment, or position of trust in this state for a period of 731
seven years from the date of conviction. 732

       (F) Divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section do not 733
prohibit a person from making voluntary contributions to a 734
political party, campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 735
political action committee, or political contributing entity, or 736
entity engaging in electioneering or prohibit a political party, 737
campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political action 738
committee, or political contributing entity, or entity engaging in 739
electioneering from accepting voluntary contributions. 740

       Sec. 2923.31. As used in sections 2923.31 to 2923.36 of the 741
Revised Code: 742

       (A) "Beneficial interest" means any of the following: 743

       (1) The interest of a person as a beneficiary under a trust 744
in which the trustee holds title to personal or real property; 745

       (2) The interest of a person as a beneficiary under any other 746
trust arrangement under which any other person holds title to 747
personal or real property for the benefit of such person; 748

       (3) The interest of a person under any other form of express 749
fiduciary arrangement under which any other person holds title to 750
personal or real property for the benefit of such person. 751

       "Beneficial interest" does not include the interest of a 752
stockholder in a corporation or the interest of a partner in 753
either a general or limited partnership. 754

       (B) "Costs of investigation and prosecution" and "costs of 755
investigation and litigation" mean all of the costs incurred by 756
the state or a county or municipal corporation under sections 757
2923.31 to 2923.36 of the Revised Code in the prosecution and 758
investigation of any criminal action or in the litigation and 759
investigation of any civil action, and includes, but is not 760
limited to, the costs of resources and personnel. 761

       (C) "Enterprise" includes any individual, sole 762
proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, corporation, 763
trust, union, government agency, or other legal entity, or any 764
organization, association, or group of persons associated in fact 765
although not a legal entity. "Enterprise" includes illicit as well 766
as licit enterprises. 767

       (D) "Innocent person" includes any bona fide purchaser of 768
property that is allegedly involved in a violation of section 769
2923.32 of the Revised Code, including any person who establishes 770
a valid claim to or interest in the property in accordance with 771
division (E) of section 2923.32 of the Revised Code, and any 772
victim of an alleged violation of that section or of any 773
underlying offense involved in an alleged violation of that 774
section. 775

       (E) "Pattern of corrupt activity" means two or more incidents 776
of corrupt activity, whether or not there has been a prior 777
conviction, that are related to the affairs of the same 778
enterprise, are not isolated, and are not so closely related to 779
each other and connected in time and place that they constitute a 780
single event. 781

       At least one of the incidents forming the pattern shall occur 782
on or after January 1, 1986. Unless any incident was an aggravated 783
murder or murder, the last of the incidents forming the pattern 784
shall occur within six years after the commission of any prior 785
incident forming the pattern, excluding any period of imprisonment 786
served by any person engaging in the corrupt activity. 787

       For the purposes of the criminal penalties that may be 788
imposed pursuant to section 2923.32 of the Revised Code, at least 789
one of the incidents forming the pattern shall constitute a felony 790
under the laws of this state in existence at the time it was 791
committed or, if committed in violation of the laws of the United 792
States or of any other state, shall constitute a felony under the 793
law of the United States or the other state and would be a 794
criminal offense under the law of this state if committed in this 795
state. 796

       (F) "Pecuniary value" means money, a negotiable instrument, a 797
commercial interest, or anything of value, as defined in section 798
1.03 of the Revised Code, or any other property or service that 799
has a value in excess of one hundred dollars. 800

       (G) "Person" means any person, as defined in section 1.59 of 801
the Revised Code, and any governmental officer, employee, or 802
entity. 803

       (H) "Personal property" means any personal property, any 804
interest in personal property, or any right, including, but not 805
limited to, bank accounts, debts, corporate stocks, patents, or 806
copyrights. Personal property and any beneficial interest in 807
personal property are deemed to be located where the trustee of 808
the property, the personal property, or the instrument evidencing 809
the right is located. 810

       (I) "Corrupt activity" means engaging in, attempting to 811
engage in, conspiring to engage in, or soliciting, coercing, or 812
intimidating another person to engage in any of the following: 813

       (1) Conduct defined as "racketeering activity" under the 814
"Organized Crime Control Act of 1970," 84 Stat. 941, 18 U.S.C. 815
1961(1)(B), (1)(C), (1)(D), and (1)(E), as amended; 816

       (2) Conduct constituting any of the following: 817

       (a) A violation of section 1315.55, 1322.02, 2903.01, 818
2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2905.01, 2905.02, 819
2905.11, 2905.22, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2909.02, 2909.03, 820
2909.22, 2909.23, 2909.24, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 821
2911.13, 2911.31, 2913.05, 2913.06, 2921.02, 2921.03, 2921.04, 822
2921.11, 2921.12, 2921.32, 2921.41, 2921.42, 2921.43, 2923.12, or 823
2923.17; division (F)(1)(a), (b), or (c) of section 1315.53; 824
division (A)(1) or (2) of section 1707.042; division (B), (C)(4), 825
(D), (E), or (F) of section 1707.44; division (A)(1) or (2) of 826
section 2923.20; division (BB)(1) or (2) of section 3517.13; 827
division (J)(1) of section 4712.02; section 4719.02, 4719.05, or 828
4719.06; division (C), (D), or (E) of section 4719.07; section 829
4719.08; or division (A) of section 4719.09 of the Revised Code. 830

       (b) Any violation of section 3769.11, 3769.15, 3769.16, or 831
3769.19 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, 832
any violation of section 2915.02 of the Revised Code that occurs 833
on or after July 1, 1996, and that, had it occurred prior to that 834
date, would have been a violation of section 3769.11 of the 835
Revised Code as it existed prior to that date, or any violation of 836
section 2915.05 of the Revised Code that occurs on or after July 837
1, 1996, and that, had it occurred prior to that date, would have 838
been a violation of section 3769.15, 3769.16, or 3769.19 of the 839
Revised Code as it existed prior to that date. 840

       (c) Any violation of section 2907.21, 2907.22, 2907.31, 841
2913.02, 2913.11, 2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.32, 2913.34, 2913.42, 842
2913.47, 2913.51, 2915.03, 2925.03, 2925.04, 2925.05, or 2925.37 843
of the Revised Code, any violation of section 2925.11 of the 844
Revised Code that is a felony of the first, second, third, or 845
fourth degree and that occurs on or after July 1, 1996, any 846
violation of section 2915.02 of the Revised Code that occurred 847
prior to July 1, 1996, any violation of section 2915.02 of the 848
Revised Code that occurs on or after July 1, 1996, and that, had 849
it occurred prior to that date, would not have been a violation of 850
section 3769.11 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to that 851
date, any violation of section 2915.06 of the Revised Code as it 852
existed prior to July 1, 1996, or any violation of division (B) of 853
section 2915.05 of the Revised Code as it exists on and after July 854
1, 1996, when the proceeds of the violation, the payments made in 855
the violation, the amount of a claim for payment or for any other 856
benefit that is false or deceptive and that is involved in the 857
violation, or the value of the contraband or other property 858
illegally possessed, sold, or purchased in the violation exceeds 859
five hundred dollars, or any combination of violations described 860
in division (I)(2)(c) of this section when the total proceeds of 861
the combination of violations, payments made in the combination of 862
violations, amount of the claims for payment or for other benefits 863
that is false or deceptive and that is involved in the combination 864
of violations, or value of the contraband or other property 865
illegally possessed, sold, or purchased in the combination of 866
violations exceeds five hundred dollars; 867

       (d) Any violation of section 5743.112 of the Revised Code 868
when the amount of unpaid tax exceeds one hundred dollars; 869

       (e) Any violation or combination of violations of section 870
2907.32 of the Revised Code involving any material or performance 871
containing a display of bestiality or of sexual conduct, as 872
defined in section 2907.01 of the Revised Code, that is explicit 873
and depicted with clearly visible penetration of the genitals or 874
clearly visible penetration by the penis of any orifice when the 875
total proceeds of the violation or combination of violations, the 876
payments made in the violation or combination of violations, or 877
the value of the contraband or other property illegally possessed, 878
sold, or purchased in the violation or combination of violations 879
exceeds five hundred dollars; 880

       (f) Any combination of violations described in division 881
(I)(2)(c) of this section and violations of section 2907.32 of the 882
Revised Code involving any material or performance containing a 883
display of bestiality or of sexual conduct, as defined in section 884
2907.01 of the Revised Code, that is explicit and depicted with 885
clearly visible penetration of the genitals or clearly visible 886
penetration by the penis of any orifice when the total proceeds of 887
the combination of violations, payments made in the combination of 888
violations, amount of the claims for payment or for other benefits 889
that is false or deceptive and that is involved in the combination 890
of violations, or value of the contraband or other property 891
illegally possessed, sold, or purchased in the combination of 892
violations exceeds five hundred dollars. 893

       (3) Conduct constituting a violation of any law of any state 894
other than this state that is substantially similar to the conduct 895
described in division (I)(2) of this section, provided the 896
defendant was convicted of the conduct in a criminal proceeding in 897
the other state. 898

       (J) "Real property" means any real property or any interest 899
in real property, including, but not limited to, any lease of, or 900
mortgage upon, real property. Real property and any beneficial 901
interest in it is deemed to be located where the real property is 902
located. 903

       (K) "Trustee" means any of the following: 904

       (1) Any person acting as trustee under a trust in which the 905
trustee holds title to personal or real property; 906

       (2) Any person who holds title to personal or real property 907
for which any other person has a beneficial interest; 908

       (3) Any successor trustee. 909

       "Trustee" does not include an assignee or trustee for an 910
insolvent debtor or an executor, administrator, administrator with 911
the will annexed, testamentary trustee, guardian, or committee, 912
appointed by, under the control of, or accountable to a court. 913

       (L) "Unlawful debt" means any money or other thing of value 914
constituting principal or interest of a debt that is legally 915
unenforceable in this state in whole or in part because the debt 916
was incurred or contracted in violation of any federal or state 917
law relating to the business of gambling activity or relating to 918
the business of lending money at an usurious rate unless the 919
creditor proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the 920
usurious rate was not intentionally set and that it resulted from 921
a good faith error by the creditor, notwithstanding the 922
maintenance of procedures that were adopted by the creditor to 923
avoid an error of that nature. 924

       Sec. 3501.05. The secretary of state shall do all of the 925
following: 926

       (A) Appoint all members of boards of elections; 927

       (B) Issue instructions by directives and advisories to 928
members of the boards as to the proper methods of conducting 929
elections; 930

       (C) Prepare rules and instructions for the conduct of 931
elections; 932

       (D) Publish and furnish to the boards from time to time a 933
sufficient number of indexed copies of all election laws then in 934
force; 935

       (E) Edit and issue all pamphlets concerning proposed laws or 936
amendments required by law to be submitted to the voters; 937

       (F) Prescribe the form of registration cards, blanks, and 938
records; 939

       (G) Determine and prescribe the forms of ballots and the 940
forms of all blanks, cards of instructions, pollbooks, tally 941
sheets, certificates of election, and forms and blanks required by 942
law for use by candidates, committees, and boards; 943

       (H) Prepare the ballot title or statement to be placed on the 944
ballot for any proposed law or amendment to the constitution to be 945
submitted to the voters of the state; 946

       (I) Certify to the several boards the forms of ballots and 947
names of candidates for state offices, and the form and wording of 948
state referendum questions and issues, as they shall appear on the 949
ballot; 950

       (J) Give final approval to ballot language for any local 951
question or issue approved and transmitted by boards of elections 952
under section 3501.11 of the Revised Code; 953

       (K) Receive all initiative and referendum petitions on state 954
questions and issues and determine and certify to the sufficiency 955
of those petitions; 956

       (L) Require such reports from the several boards as are 957
provided by law, or as the secretary of state considers necessary; 958

       (M) Compel the observance by election officers in the several 959
counties of the requirements of the election laws; 960

       (N)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (N)(2) of 961
this section, investigate the administration of election laws, 962
frauds, and irregularities in elections in any county, and report 963
violations of election laws to the attorney general or prosecuting 964
attorney, or both, for prosecution; 965

       (2) On and after August 24, 1995, report a failure to comply 966
with or a violation of a provision in sections 3517.08 to 3517.13, 967
3517.17, 3517.18, 3517.20 to 3517.22, 3599.03, or 3599.031 of the 968
Revised Code, whenever the secretary of state has or should have 969
knowledge of a failure to comply with or a violation of a 970
provision in one of those sections, by filing a complaint with the 971
Ohio elections commission under section 3517.153 of the Revised 972
Code; 973

       (O) Make an annual report to the governor containing the 974
results of elections, the cost of elections in the various 975
counties, a tabulation of the votes in the several political 976
subdivisions, and other information and recommendations relative 977
to elections the secretary of state considers desirable; 978

       (P) Prescribe and distribute to boards of elections a list of 979
instructions indicating all legal steps necessary to petition 980
successfully for local option elections under sections 4301.32 to 981
4301.41, 4303.29, 4305.14, and 4305.15 of the Revised Code; 982

       (Q) Prescribe a general program to remove ineligible voters 983
from official registration lists by reason of change of residence, 984
which shall be uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in compliance with 985
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the National Voter Registration 986
Act of 1993, including a program that uses the national change of 987
address service provided by the United States postal system 988
through its licensees; 989

       (R) Prescribe a general program for registering voters or 990
updating voter registration information, such as name and 991
residence changes, at designated agencies, the offices of deputy 992
registrars of motor vehicles, public high schools and vocational 993
schools, public libraries, and the offices of county treasurers, 994
and prescribe a program of distribution of voter registration 995
forms through those agencies, the offices of the registrar and 996
deputy registrars of motor vehicles, public high schools and 997
vocational schools, public libraries, and the offices of county 998
treasurers; 999

       (S) To the extent feasible, provide copies, at no cost and 1000
upon request, of the voter registration form in post offices in 1001
this state; 1002

       (T) Adopt rules pursuant to section 111.15 of the Revised 1003
Code for the purpose of implementing the program for registering 1004
voters at designated agencies and the offices of the registrar and 1005
deputy registrars of motor vehicles consistent with this chapter; 1006

       (U) Specify, by a directive issued not later than thirty-five 1007
days prior to the date of an election, the date by which the 1008
boards shall complete the canvass of election returns under 1009
section 3505.32 or 3513.22 of the Revised Code; 1010

       (V) Establish the full-time position of Americans with 1011
Disabilities Act coordinator within the office of the secretary of 1012
state to do all of the following: 1013

       (1) Assist the secretary of state with ensuring that there is 1014
equal access to polling places for persons with disabilities; 1015

       (2) Assist the secretary of state with ensuring that each 1016
voter may cast the voter's ballot in a manner that provides the 1017
same opportunity for access and participation, including privacy 1018
and independence, as for other voters; 1019

       (3) Advise the secretary of state in the development of 1020
standards for the certification of voting machines, marking 1021
devices, and automatic tabulating equipment. 1022

       (W) Make information received from the joint legislative 1023
ethics committee under sections 101.803 and 121.83 of the Revised 1024
Code readily accessible to the general public in a manner that is 1025
searchable on the secretary of state's web site; 1026

       (X) Perform other duties required by law. 1027

       Whenever a primary election is held under section 3513.32 of 1028
the Revised Code or a special election is held under section 1029
3521.03 of the Revised Code to fill a vacancy in the office of 1030
representative to congress, the secretary of state shall establish 1031
a deadline, notwithstanding any other deadline required under the 1032
Revised Code, by which any or all of the following shall occur: 1033
the filing of a declaration of candidacy and petitions or a 1034
statement of candidacy and nominating petition together with the 1035
applicable filing fee; the filing of protests against the 1036
candidacy of any person filing a declaration of candidacy or 1037
nominating petition; the filing of a declaration of intent to be a 1038
write-in candidate; the filing of campaign finance reports; the 1039
preparation of, and the making of corrections or challenges to, 1040
precinct voter registration lists; the receipt of applications for 1041
absent voter's ballots or armed service absent voter's ballots; 1042
the supplying of election materials to precincts by boards of 1043
elections; the holding of hearings by boards of elections to 1044
consider challenges to the right of a person to appear on a voter 1045
registration list; and the scheduling of programs to instruct or 1046
reinstruct election officers. 1047

       In the performance of the secretary of state's duties as the 1048
chief election officer, the secretary of state may administer 1049
oaths, issue subpoenas, summon witnesses, compel the production of 1050
books, papers, records, and other evidence, and fix the time and 1051
place for hearing any matters relating to the administration and 1052
enforcement of the election laws. 1053

       In any controversy involving or arising out of the adoption 1054
of registration or the appropriation of funds for registration, 1055
the secretary of state may, through the attorney general, bring an 1056
action in the name of the state in the court of common pleas of 1057
the county where the cause of action arose or in an adjoining 1058
county, to adjudicate the question. 1059

       In any action involving the laws in Title XXXV of the Revised 1060
Code wherein the interpretation of those laws is in issue in such 1061
a manner that the result of the action will affect the lawful 1062
duties of the secretary of state or of any board of elections, the 1063
secretary of state may, on the secretary of state's motion, be 1064
made a party. 1065

       The secretary of state may apply to any court that is hearing 1066
a case in which the secretary of state is a party, for a change of 1067
venue as a substantive right, and the change of venue shall be 1068
allowed, and the case removed to the court of common pleas of an 1069
adjoining county named in the application or, if there are cases 1070
pending in more than one jurisdiction that involve the same or 1071
similar issues, the court of common pleas of Franklin county. 1072

       Public high schools and vocational schools, public libraries, 1073
and the office of a county treasurer shall implement voter 1074
registration programs as directed by the secretary of state 1075
pursuant to this section. 1076

       Sec. 3513.10. (A) At the time of filing a declaration of 1077
candidacy for nomination for any office, or a declaration of 1078
intent to be a write-in candidate, each candidate, except joint 1079
candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, shall pay a fee 1080
as follows: 1081

For statewide office $100 1082

For court of appeals judge $ 50 1083

For court of common pleas judge $ 50 1084

For county court judge $ 50 1085

For municipal court judge $ 50 1086

For district office including member 1087
of the United States house of 1088
representatives and member of the 1089
general assembly $ 50 1090

For county office $ 50 1091

For city office $ 20 1092

For village office $ 10 1093

For township office $ 10 1094

For member of state board of education $ 20 1095

For member of local, city, or 1096
exempted village board of education 1097
or educational service center 1098
governing board $ 10 1099

       At the time of filing a declaration of candidacy or a 1100
declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate for the offices 1101
of governor and lieutenant governor, the joint candidates shall 1102
jointly pay to the secretary of state a fee of one hundred 1103
dollars. 1104

       (B)(1) At the same time the fee required under division (A) 1105
of this section is paid, each candidate shall pay an additional 1106
fee as follows: 1107

For the joint candidates for governor 1108
and lieutenant governor $ 50 1109

For statewide office $ 50 1110

For district office including member 1111

of the United States house of 1112
representatives and member of the 1113

general assembly $ 35 1114
For member of state board of education $ 35 1115

For court of appeals judge $ 30 1116
For court of common pleas judge $ 30 1117
For county court judge $ 30 1118
For municipal court judge $ 30 1119
For county office $ 30 1120
For city office $ 25 1121
For village office $ 20 1122

For township office $ 20 1123

For member of local, city, ~~county,~~ 1124

or exempted village board of education 1125

or educational service center 1126

governing board $ 20 1127

       (2) Whoever seeks to propose a ballot question or issue to be 1128
submitted to the electors shall pay the following fee at the time 1129
the petition proposing the question or issue is filed: 1130

       (a) If the question or issue is to be submitted to the 1131
electors throughout the entire state, twenty-five dollars; 1132

       (b) If the question or issue is to be submitted to the 1133
electors of a county or of a district that consists of all or part 1134
of two or more counties but less than the entire state, fifteen 1135
dollars; 1136

       (c) If the question or issue is to be submitted to the 1137
electors of a city, twelve dollars and fifty cents; 1138

       (d) If the question or issue is to be submitted to the 1139
electors of a village, a township, a local, city, county, or 1140
exempted village school district, a precinct, or another district 1141
consisting of less than an entire county, ten dollars. 1142

       (C) No fee shall be required of candidates filing for the 1143
office of delegate or alternate to the national convention of 1144
political parties, member of the state central committee, or 1145
member of the county central committee. 1146

       (D) All fees required under division (A) of this section 1147
immediately shall be paid by the officer receiving them into the 1148
state treasury to the credit of the general revenue fund, in the 1149
case of fees received by the secretary of state, and into the 1150
county treasury to the credit of the county general fund, in the 1151
case of fees received by a board of elections. 1152

       (E) The officer who receives a fee required under division 1153
(B) of this section immediately shall pay the fee to the credit of 1154
the Ohio elections commission fund~~, which is hereby created in the~~ 1155
~~state treasury. All moneys credited to the fund shall be used~~ 1156
~~solely for the purpose of paying expenses related to the operation~~ 1157
~~of the Ohio elections commission~~. 1158

       (F)(1) In no case shall a fee paid under this section be 1159
returned to a candidate. 1160

       (2) Whenever a section of law refers to a filing fee to be 1161
paid by a candidate or by a committee proposing a ballot question 1162
or issue to be submitted to the electors, that fee includes the 1163
fees required under divisions (A) and (B) of this section. 1164

       (G) As used in divisions (A) and (B) of this section, 1165
"statewide office" means the office of secretary of state, auditor 1166
of state, treasurer of state, attorney general, justice and chief 1167
justice of the supreme court, and member of the United States 1168
senate. 1169

       Sec. 3517.01. (A) A political party within the meaning of 1170
Title XXXV of the Revised Code is any group of voters that, at the 1171
most recent regular state election, polled for its candidate for 1172
governor in the state or nominees for presidential electors at 1173
least five per cent of the entire vote cast for that office or 1174
that filed with the secretary of state, subsequent to any election 1175
in which it received less than five per cent of that vote, a 1176
petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least 1177
one per cent of the total vote for governor or nominees for 1178
presidential electors at the most recent election, declaring their 1179
intention of organizing a political party, the name of which shall 1180
be stated in the declaration, and of participating in the 1181
succeeding primary election, held in even-numbered years, that 1182
occurs more than one hundred twenty days after the date of filing. 1183
No such group of electors shall assume a name or designation that 1184
is similar, in the opinion of the secretary of state, to that of 1185
an existing political party as to confuse or mislead the voters at 1186
an election. If any political party fails to cast five per cent of 1187
the total vote cast at an election for the office of governor or 1188
president, it shall cease to be a political party. 1189

       (B) Notwithstanding the definitions found in section 3501.01 1190
of the Revised Code, as used in this section, sections 3517.08 to 1191
3517.14, and ~~section~~sections 3517.99 and 3517.992 of the Revised 1192
Code: 1193

       (1) "Campaign committee" means a candidate or a combination 1194
of two or more persons authorized by a candidate under section 1195
3517.081 of the Revised Code to receive contributions and make 1196
expenditures. 1197

       (2) "Campaign treasurer" means an individual appointed by a 1198
candidate under section 3517.081 of the Revised Code. 1199

       (3) "Candidate" has the same meaning as in division (H) of 1200
section 3501.01 of the Revised Code and also includes any person 1201
who, at any time before or after an election, receives 1202
contributions or makes expenditures or other use of contributions, 1203
has given consent for another to receive contributions or make 1204
expenditures or other use of contributions, or appoints a campaign 1205
treasurer, for the purpose of bringing about the person's 1206
nomination or election to public office. When two persons jointly 1207
seek the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, "candidate" 1208
means the pair of candidates jointly. "Candidate" does not include 1209
candidates for election to the offices of member of a county or 1210
state central committee, presidential elector, and delegate to a 1211
national convention or conference of a political party. 1212

       (4) "Continuing association" means an association, other than 1213
a campaign committee, political party, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 1214
political contributing entity, or labor organization, that is 1215
intended to be a permanent organization that has a primary purpose 1216
other than supporting or opposing specific candidates, political 1217
parties, or ballot issues, and that functions on a regular basis 1218
throughout the year. 1219

       (5) "Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit, forgiveness 1220
of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, transfer of funds or 1221
~~transfer~~ of anything of value, including a transfer of funds from 1222
an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the 1223
payment by any person other than the person to whom the services 1224
are rendered for the personal services of another person, which 1225
contribution is made, received, or used for the purpose of 1226
influencing the results of an election. "Contribution" does not 1227
include any of the following: 1228

       (a) Services provided without compensation by individuals 1229
volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a person; 1230

       (b) Ordinary home hospitality; 1231

       (c) The personal expenses of a volunteer paid for by that 1232
volunteer campaign worker; 1233

       (d) Any gift given to a state or county political party 1234
pursuant to section 3517.101 of the Revised Code. As used in 1235
division (B)(5)(d) of this section, "political party" means only a 1236
major political party. 1237

       (6) "Expenditure" means ~~the~~both of the following: 1238

       (a) The disbursement or use of a contribution for the purpose 1239
of influencing the results of an election or of making a 1240
charitable donation under division (G) of section 3517.08 of the 1241
Revised Code; 1242

       (b) The disbursement or use of funds for the direct costs or 1243
indirect costs of producing or airing an electioneering 1244
communication. 1245

       (7) "Personal expenses" includes, but is not limited to, 1246
ordinary expenses for accommodations, clothing, food, personal 1247
motor vehicle or airplane, and home telephone. 1248

       (8) "Political action committee" means a combination of two 1249
or more persons, the primary or incidental purpose of which is to 1250
support or oppose any candidate, political party, or issue, or to 1251
influence the result of any election, and that is not a political 1252
party, a campaign committee, or a political contributing entity, 1253
~~or a legislative campaign fund~~. 1254

       (9) "Public office" means any state, county, municipal, 1255
township, and district office, except an office of a political 1256
party, that is filled by an election and the offices of United 1257
States senator and ~~congressman~~representative. 1258

       (10) "Anything of value" has the same meaning as in section 1259
1.03 of the Revised Code. 1260

       (11) "Beneficiary of a campaign fund" means a candidate, a 1261
public official or employee for whose benefit a campaign fund 1262
exists, and any other person who has ever been a candidate or 1263
public official or employee and for whose benefit a campaign fund 1264
exists. 1265

       (12) "Campaign fund" means money or other property, including 1266
contributions. 1267

       (13) "Public official or employee" has the same meaning as in 1268
section 102.01 of the Revised Code. 1269

       (14) ~~"Caucus" means all of the members of the house of~~ 1270
~~representatives or all of the members of the senate of the general~~ 1271
~~assembly who are members of the same political party.~~ 1272

       ~~(15) "Legislative campaign fund" means a fund that is~~ 1273
~~established as an auxiliary of a state political party and~~ 1274
~~associated with one of the houses of the general assembly.~~ 1275

       ~~(16)~~ "In-kind contribution" means anything of value other 1276
than money that is used to influence the results of an election or 1277
is transferred to or used in support of or in opposition to a 1278
candidate, campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 1279
political party, political action committee, or political 1280
contributing entity, or entity engaging in electioneering and that 1281
is made with the consent of, in coordination, cooperation, or 1282
consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of the 1283
benefited candidate, committee, ~~fund,~~ party, or entity. The 1284
financing of the dissemination, distribution, or republication, in 1285
whole or part, of any broadcast or of any written, graphic, or 1286
other form of campaign materials prepared by the candidate, the 1287
candidate's campaign committee, or their authorized agents is an 1288
in-kind contribution to the candidate and an expenditure by the 1289
candidate. 1290

       ~~(17)~~(15) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure by a 1291
person advocating the election or defeat of an identified 1292
candidate or candidates, that is not made with the consent of, in 1293
coordination, cooperation, or consultation with, or at the request 1294
or suggestion of any candidate or candidates or of the campaign 1295
committee or agent of the candidate or candidates. As used in 1296
division (B)~~(17)~~(15) of this section: 1297

       (a) "Person" means an individual, partnership, unincorporated 1298
business organization or association, political action committee, 1299
political contributing entity, entity engaging in electioneering, 1300
separate segregated fund, association, or ~~any~~ other organization 1301
or group of persons, but not a labor organization or a corporation 1302
unless the labor organization or corporation is a political 1303
contributing entity. 1304

       (b) "Advocating" means any communication containing a message 1305
advocating election or defeat. 1306

       (c) "Identified candidate" means that the name of the 1307
candidate appears, a photograph or drawing of the candidate 1308
appears, or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent by 1309
unambiguous reference. 1310

       (d) "Made in coordination, cooperation, or consultation with, 1311
or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate or the campaign 1312
committee or agent of the candidate" means made pursuant to any 1313
arrangement, coordination, or direction by the candidate, the 1314
candidate's campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior to 1315
the publication, distribution, display, or broadcast of the 1316
communication. An expenditure is presumed to be so made when it is 1317
any of the following: 1318

       (i) Based on information about the candidate's plans, 1319
projects, or needs provided to the person making the expenditure 1320
by the candidate, or by the candidate's campaign committee or 1321
agent, with a view toward having an expenditure made; 1322

       (ii) Made by or through any person who is, or has been, 1323
authorized to raise or expend funds, who is, or has been, an 1324
officer of the candidate's campaign committee, or who is, or has 1325
been, receiving any form of compensation or reimbursement from the 1326
candidate or the candidate's campaign committee or agent; 1327

       (iii) Made by a political party in support of a candidate, 1328
~~unless the expenditure is made by a political party to conduct~~ 1329
~~voter registration or voter education efforts~~. 1330

       (e) "Agent" means any person who has actual oral or written 1331
authority, either express or implied, to make or to authorize the 1332
making of expenditures on behalf of a candidate, or means any 1333
person who has been placed in a position with the candidate's 1334
campaign committee or organization such that it would reasonably 1335
appear that in the ordinary course of campaign-related activities 1336
the person may authorize expenditures. 1337

       ~~(18)~~(16) "Labor organization" means a labor union; an 1338
employee organization; a federation of labor unions, groups, 1339
locals, or other employee organizations; an auxiliary of a labor 1340
union, employee organization, or federation of labor unions, 1341
groups, locals, or other employee organizations; or any other bona 1342
fide organization in which employees participate and that exists 1343
for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers 1344
concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, and other 1345
terms and conditions of employment. 1346

       ~~(19)~~(17) "Separate segregated fund" means a separate 1347
segregated fund established pursuant to the Federal Election 1348
Campaign Act. 1349

       ~~(20)~~(18) "Federal Election Campaign Act" means the "Federal 1350
Election Campaign Act of 1971," 86 Stat. 11, 2 U.S.C.A. 431, et 1351
seq., as amended. 1352

       ~~(21)~~(19) "Political contributing entity" means any entity, 1353
including a corporation or labor organization, that may lawfully 1354
make contributions and expenditures and that is not an individual 1355
or a political action committee, continuing association, campaign 1356
committee, or political party~~, legislative campaign fund,~~ 1357
~~designated state campaign committee, or state candidate fund~~. For 1358
purposes of division (B)~~(21)~~(19) of this section, "lawfully" means 1359
not prohibited by any section of the Revised Code, or authorized 1360
by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. 1361

       (20) "Electioneering communication" means any broadcast, 1362
cable, or satellite communication that refers to a clearly 1363
identified candidate and that is made within sixty days before the 1364
general or special election for which the candidate seeks election 1365
or within thirty days before the primary election for the office 1366
for which the candidate seeks nomination. 1367

       "Electioneering communication" does not include any of the 1368
following: 1369

       (a) A communication appearing in a news story, commentary, or 1370
editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting 1371
station, unless those facilities are owned or controlled by any 1372
political party, political committee, or candidate; 1373

       (b) A communication that constitutes an expenditure or an 1374
independent expenditure under this section; 1375

       (c) A communication that constitutes a candidate debate or 1376
that solely promotes a candidate debate or forum and is made by or 1377
on behalf of the person sponsoring the debate or forum. 1378

       (21) "Entity engaging in electioneering" means an individual, 1379
partnership, unincorporated business organization or association, 1380
political action committee, political contributing entity, 1381
separate segregated fund, association, or other organization or 1382
group of persons, but not a labor organization or a corporation 1383
unless the labor organization or corporation is a political 1384
contributing entity that makes disbursements for the direct costs 1385
or indirect costs of producing or airing an electioneering 1386
communication. 1387

       (22) "Political fundraiser" means any person engaged in 1388
raising contributions for compensation for a campaign committee, 1389
political party, political action committee, political 1390
contributing entity, or entity engaging in electioneering. 1391

       Sec. 3517.03. (A) The controlling committees of each major 1392
political party or organization shall be a state central committee 1393
consisting of two members, one a man and one a woman, representing 1394
either each congressional district in the state or each senatorial 1395
district in the state, as the outgoing committee determines; a 1396
county central committee consisting of one member from each 1397
election precinct in the county, or of one member from each ward 1398
in each city and from each township in the county, as the outgoing 1399
committee determines; and such district, city, township, or other 1400
committees as the rules of the party provide. 1401

       All the members of such committees shall be members of the 1402
party and shall be elected for terms of either two or four years, 1403
as determined by party rules, by direct vote at the primary 1404
election held in an even-numbered year. Except as otherwise 1405
provided in section 3517.02 of the Revised Code, candidates for 1406
election as state central committee members shall be elected at 1407
~~primaries~~primary elections in the same manner as provided in 1408
sections 3513.01 to 3513.32 of the Revised Code for the nomination 1409
of candidates for office in a county. Candidates for election as 1410
members of the county central committee shall be elected at 1411
~~primaries~~primary elections in the same manner as provided in 1412
those sections for the nomination of candidates for county 1413
offices, except as otherwise provided in sections 3513.051 and 1414
3517.02 of the Revised Code. 1415

       Each major party controlling committee shall elect an 1416
executive committee that shall have the powers granted to it by 1417
the party controlling committee, and provided to it by law. When a 1418
judicial, senatorial, or congressional district is comprised of 1419
more than one county, the chairperson and secretary of the county 1420
central committee from each county in that district shall 1421
constitute the judicial, senatorial, or congressional committee of 1422
the district. When a judicial, senatorial, or congressional 1423
district is included within a county, the county central committee 1424
shall constitute the judicial, senatorial, or congressional 1425
committee of the district. 1426

       (B) The controlling committee of each intermediate political 1427
party or organization shall be a state central committee 1428
consisting of two members, one a man and one a woman, from each 1429
congressional district in the state. All members of the committee 1430
shall be members of the party and shall be elected by direct vote 1431
at the primary election held in ~~the~~an even-numbered ~~years~~year. 1432
Except as otherwise provided in section 3517.02 of the Revised 1433
Code, candidates for election shall be elected at the primary 1434
election in the same manner as provided in sections 3513.01 to 1435
3513.32 of the Revised Code. An intermediate political party may 1436
have such other party organization as its rules provide. Each 1437
intermediate party shall file the names ~~and~~, addresses, and 1438
contact information of its officers with the secretary of state. 1439

       (C) A minor political party may elect controlling committees 1440
at a primary election in ~~the~~an even-numbered year by filing a 1441
plan for party organization with the secretary of state on or 1442
before the ninetieth day before the day of the primary election. 1443
The plan shall specify which offices are to be elected and provide 1444
the procedure for qualification of candidates for those offices. 1445
Candidates to be elected pursuant to the plan shall be designated 1446
and qualified on or before the ninetieth day before the day of the 1447
election. Such parties may, in lieu of electing a controlling 1448
committee or other officials, choose such committee or other 1449
officials in accordance with party rules. Each such party shall 1450
file the names ~~and~~, addresses, and contact information of members 1451
of its controlling committee and party officers with the secretary 1452
of state. 1453

       (D) All records of a political party organized under division 1454
(A), (B), or (C) of this section shall be considered to be public 1455
records and shall be maintained and open to public inspection and 1456
copying under section 149.43 of the Revised Code, except that all 1457
records of such a political party shall be maintained and open to 1458
public inspection and copying for a period of at least ten years 1459
after they are created. 1460

       Sec. 3517.06. A list of the names ~~and~~, addresses, and 1461
contact information of the members and officers of the county 1462
central committee and the county executive committee of each 1463
political party shall be filed by the secretary of each committee 1464
in the office of the board of elections of the county in which 1465
~~such~~the committee exists and in the office of the secretary of 1466
state promptly after the organization of each of such ~~committees~~ 1467
committee. A list of the names ~~and~~, addresses, and contact 1468
information of the members of the state central committee and the 1469
state executive committee of each political party shall be filed 1470
by the secretary of each committee in the office of the secretary 1471
of state promptly after the organization of each of such 1472
~~committees~~committee. 1473

       All changes occurring in the membership of a county central 1474
or executive committee after ~~such~~that filing shall be reported 1475
promptly by the secretary of ~~such~~the committee to the board and 1476
to the secretary of state. All changes occurring in the membership 1477
of a state central or executive committee after ~~such~~that filing 1478
shall be reported promptly by the secretary of ~~such~~the committee 1479
to the secretary of state. All such lists shall be open to public 1480
inspection at all times when the offices in which they are filed 1481
are open for business. 1482

       Sec. 3517.08. (A) The personal expenses of a candidate paid 1483
for by the candidate, from the candidate's personal funds, shall 1484
not be considered as a contribution by or an expenditure by the 1485
candidate and shall not be reported under section 3517.10 of the 1486
Revised Code. 1487

       (B)~~(1)~~ An expenditure by a political action committee or a 1488
political contributing entity shall not be considered a 1489
contribution by the political action committee or the political 1490
contributing entity or an expenditure by or on behalf of the 1491
candidate if the purpose of the expenditure is to inform only its 1492
members by means of mailed publications of its activities or 1493
endorsements. 1494

       ~~(2) An expenditure by a political party shall not be~~ 1495
~~considered a contribution by the political party or an expenditure~~ 1496
~~by or on behalf of the candidate if the purpose of the expenditure~~ 1497
~~is to inform predominantly the party's members by means of mailed~~ 1498
~~publications or other direct communication of its activities or~~ 1499
~~endorsements, or for voter contact such as sample ballots, absent~~ 1500
~~voter's ballots application mailings, voter registration, or~~ 1501
~~get-out-the-vote activities.~~ 1502

       (C) An expenditure by a continuing association,or political 1503
contributing entity~~, or political party~~ shall not be considered a 1504
contribution to any campaign committee or an expenditure by or on 1505
behalf of any campaign committee if the purpose of the expenditure 1506
is for the staff and maintenance of the continuing association's, 1507
or political contributing entity's~~, or political party's~~ 1508
headquarters, or for a political poll, survey, index, or other 1509
type of measurement not on behalf of a specific candidate. 1510

       (D) The expenses of maintaining a constituent office paid 1511
for, from the candidate's personal funds, by a candidate who is a 1512
member of the general assembly at the time of the election shall 1513
not be considered a contribution by or an expenditure by or on 1514
behalf of the candidate, and shall not be reported, if the 1515
constituent office is not used for any candidate's campaign 1516
activities. 1517

       (E) The net contribution of each social or fund-raising 1518
activity shall be calculated by totaling all contributions to the 1519
activity minus the expenditures made for the activity. 1520

       (F) An expenditure that purchases goods or services shall be 1521
attributed to an election when the disbursement of funds is made, 1522
rather than at the time the goods or services are used. The 1523
secretary of state, under the procedures of Chapter 119. of the 1524
Revised Code, shall establish rules for the attribution of 1525
expenditures to a candidate when the candidate is a candidate for 1526
more than one office during a reporting period and for 1527
expenditures made in a year in which no election is held. The 1528
secretary of state shall further define by rule those expenditures 1529
that are or are not by or on behalf of a candidate. 1530

       (G) An expenditure for the purpose of a charitable donation 1531
may be made if it is made to an organization that is exempt from 1532
federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in 1533
subsection 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(8), 501(c)(10), or 1534
501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code or is approved by advisory 1535
opinion of the Ohio elections commission as a legitimate 1536
charitable organization. Each expenditure under this division 1537
shall be separately itemized on statements made pursuant to 1538
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code and on reports made under 1539
section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code. 1540

       Sec. 3517.082. (A) Any corporation, any nonprofit 1541
corporation, or any labor organization may establish, administer, 1542
and solicit contributions from the persons listed in division (B) 1543
of this section, to either or both of the following: 1544

       (1) A political action committee of the corporation or labor 1545
organization with respect to state and local elections; 1546

       (2) A separate segregated fund pursuant to the Federal 1547
Election Campaign Act. 1548

       (B)(1) A corporation and a nonprofit corporation may solicit 1549
contributions from its stockholders, officers, directors, trustees 1550
that are not corporations or labor organizations, and employees. 1551

       (2) A nonprofit corporation also may solicit contributions 1552
from: 1553

       (a) Its members that are not corporations or labor 1554
organizations; 1555

       (b) Officers, directors, trustees that are not corporations 1556
or labor organizations, and employees of any members of the 1557
nonprofit corporation. 1558

       (3) A labor organization may solicit contributions from its 1559
members, officers, and employees. 1560

       (C) A corporation, nonprofit corporation, or labor 1561
organization shall report to a political action committee, or to a 1562
separate segregated fund with respect to state and local 1563
elections, the following costs expended by the corporation, 1564
nonprofit corporation, or labor organization that are associated 1565
with establishing, administering, and soliciting contributions to 1566
the political action committee or separate segregated fund 1567
pursuant to division (A) of this section: 1568

       (1) Mailing and printing expenses for direct solicitation of 1569
contributions pursuant to division (D) of this section; 1570

       (2) The portion of an employee's salary or wages attributable 1571
to time hethe employee spends in activities related to 1572
establishing, administering, and soliciting contributions to a 1573
political action committee or separate segregated fund, if that 1574
time exceeds during a reporting period fifty per cent of the time 1575
for which the employee is compensated by the corporation, 1576
nonprofit corporation, or labor organization; 1577

       (3) The cost associated with the purchase, lease, operation, 1578
and use of equipment for activities related to establishing, 1579
administering, and soliciting contributions to a political action 1580
committee or separate segregated fund if during a reporting period 1581
more than fifty per cent of the use of the equipment is for those 1582
activities; 1583

       (4) Professional fees paid by the corporation, nonprofit 1584
corporation, or labor organization for establishing, 1585
administering, and soliciting contributions to a political action 1586
committee or separate segregated fund. 1587

       The political action committee shall itemize the amounts and 1588
purposes of those costs expended by the corporation, nonprofit 1589
corporation, or labor organization and file them as part of the 1590
statement required of political action committees under division 1591
(A) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code on a form prescribed by 1592
the secretary of state. The separate segregated fund with respect 1593
to state and local elections shall file with the secretary of 1594
state a copy of the portion of each report and statement required 1595
under the Federal Election Campaign Act that applies to state and 1596
local elections at the same time that the entire original report 1597
is filed in accordance with that act. 1598

       (D) Solicitations of contributions pursuant to division (B) 1599
of this section from employees of a corporation or nonprofit 1600
corporation or members and employees of a labor organization other 1601
than executive and administrative employees of a corporation or 1602
nonprofit corporation or officers and executive and administrative 1603
employees of a labor organization shall be in writing and shall 1604
not be made more than four times during each calendar year. Any 1605
person who solicits any employee of a corporation or nonprofit 1606
corporation or member or employee of a labor organization for a 1607
contribution to a political action committee established or 1608
administered by the corporation, nonprofit corporation, or labor 1609
organization under division (A)(1) of this section shall inform 1610
the employee or member at the time of the solicitation that hethe 1611
employee or member may refuse to make a contribution without 1612
suffering any reprisal. 1613

       (E) In addition to the laws listed in division (A) of section 1614
4117.10 of the Revised Code that prevail over conflicting 1615
agreements between employee organizations and public employers, 1616
this section prevails over any conflicting provisions of 1617
agreements between labor organizations and public employers 1618
pursuant to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code. 1619

       Sec. 3517.09. (A) No person or committee shall solicit, ask, 1620
invite, or demand, directly or indirectly, orally or in writing, a 1621
contribution, subscription, or payment from a candidate for 1622
nomination or election or from the campaign committee of that 1623
candidate, and no person shall solicit, ask, invite, or demand 1624
that a candidate for nomination or election or the campaign 1625
committee of that candidate subscribe to the support of a club or 1626
organization, buy tickets to an entertainment, ball, supper, or 1627
other meeting, or pay for space in a book, program, or 1628
publication. This division does not apply to any of the following: 1629

       (1) Regular advertisements in periodicals having an 1630
established circulation; 1631

       (2) Regular payments to civic, political, fraternal, social, 1632
charitable, or religious organizations of which the candidate was 1633
a member or contributor six months before the candidate's 1634
candidacy; 1635

       (3) Regular party assessments made by a party against its own 1636
candidates. 1637

       (B) No person shall coerce, intimidate, or cause harm to 1638
another person by an act or failure to act, or shall threaten to 1639
coerce, intimidate, or cause harm to another person, because that 1640
other person makes or does not make a contribution to a candidate, 1641
campaign committee, political party, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 1642
political action committee, or political contributing entity, or 1643
entity engaging in electioneering. 1644

       (C) An employer or labor organization that, directly or 1645
through another person, solicits an employee of the employer or a 1646
member of the labor organization for a contribution to a 1647
candidate, campaign committee, political action committee, 1648
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, or political 1649
contributing entity, or entity engaging in electioneering shall 1650
inform the employee or member at the time of the solicitation that 1651
making a contribution is voluntary and that a decision of the 1652
employee or member to make a contribution or not to make a 1653
contribution will not benefit the employee or member or place the 1654
employee or member at a disadvantage with respect to employment by 1655
the employer or membership in the labor organization. 1656

       Sec. 3517.092. (A) As used in this section: 1657

       (1) "Appointing authority" has the same meaning as in section 1658
124.01 of the Revised Code. 1659

       (2) "State elected officer" means any person appointed or 1660
elected to a state elective office. 1661

       (3) "State elective office" means any of the offices of 1662
governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of 1663
state, treasurer of state, attorney general, member of the state 1664
board of education, member of the general assembly, and justice 1665
and chief justice of the supreme court. 1666

       (4) "County elected officer" means any person appointed or 1667
elected to a county elective office. 1668

       (5) "County elective office" means any of the offices of 1669
county auditor, county treasurer, clerk of the court of common 1670
pleas, sheriff, county recorder, county engineer, county 1671
commissioner, prosecuting attorney, and coroner. 1672

       (6) "Contribution" includes a contribution to any political 1673
party, campaign committee, political action committee, political 1674
contributing entity, or ~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging 1675
in electioneering. 1676

       (B) No state elected officer, no campaign committee of such 1677
an officer, and no other person or entity shall knowingly solicit 1678
or accept a contribution on behalf of that officer or that 1679
officer's campaign committee from any of the following: 1680

       (1) A state employee whose appointing authority is the state 1681
elected officer; 1682

       (2) A state employee whose appointing authority is authorized 1683
or required by law to be appointed by the state elected officer; 1684

       (3) A state employee who functions in or is employed in or by 1685
the same public agency, department, division, or office as the 1686
state elected officer. 1687

       (C) No candidate for a state elective office, no campaign 1688
committee of such a candidate, and no other person or entity shall 1689
knowingly solicit or accept a contribution on behalf of that 1690
candidate or that candidate's campaign committee from any of the 1691
following: 1692

       (1) A state employee at the time of the solicitation, whose 1693
appointing authority will be the candidate, if elected; 1694

       (2) A state employee at the time of the solicitation, whose 1695
appointing authority will be appointed by the candidate, if 1696
elected, as authorized or required by law; 1697

       (3) A state employee at the time of the solicitation, who 1698
will function in or be employed in or by the same public agency, 1699
department, division, or office as the candidate, if elected. 1700

       (D) No county elected officer, no campaign committee of such 1701
an officer, and no other person or entity shall knowingly solicit 1702
a contribution on behalf of that officer or that officer's 1703
campaign committee from any of the following: 1704

       (1) A county employee whose appointing authority is the 1705
county elected officer; 1706

       (2) A county employee whose appointing authority is 1707
authorized or required by law to be appointed by the county 1708
elected officer; 1709

       (3) A county employee who functions in or is employed in or 1710
by the same public agency, department, division, or office as the 1711
county elected officer. 1712

       (E) No candidate for a county elective office, no campaign 1713
committee of such a candidate, and no other person or entity shall 1714
knowingly solicit a contribution on behalf of that candidate or 1715
that candidate's campaign committee from any of the following: 1716

       (1) A county employee at the time of the solicitation, whose 1717
appointing authority will be the candidate, if elected; 1718

       (2) A county employee at the time of the solicitation, whose 1719
appointing authority will be appointed by the candidate, if 1720
elected, as authorized or required by law; 1721

       (3) A county employee at the time of the solicitation, who 1722
will function in or be employed in or by the same public agency, 1723
department, division, or office as the candidate, if elected. 1724

       (F)(1) No public employee shall solicit a contribution from 1725
any person while the public employee is performing the public 1726
employee's official duties or in those areas of a public building 1727
where official business is transacted or conducted. 1728

       (2) No person shall solicit a contribution from any public 1729
employee while the public employee is performing the public 1730
employee's official duties or is in those areas of a public 1731
building where official business is transacted or conducted. 1732

       (3) As used in division (F) of this section, "public 1733
employee" does not include any person holding an elective office. 1734

       (G) The prohibitions in divisions (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F) 1735
of this section are in addition to the prohibitions in sections 1736
124.57, 3304.22, and 4503.032 of the Revised Code. 1737

       Sec. 3517.10. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this 1738
division, every campaign committee, political action committee, 1739
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, ~~and~~ political 1740
contributing entity, and entity engaging in electioneering that 1741
made or received a contribution or made an expenditure in 1742
connection with the nomination or, election, or defeat of any 1743
candidate or in connection with any ballot issue or question at 1744
any election held or to be held in this state shall file, on a 1745
form prescribed under this section,or by electronic means of 1746
transmission as provided in this section and section 3517.106 of 1747
the Revised Code, ~~or, until March 1, 2004, on computer disk as~~ 1748
~~provided in section 3517.106 of the Revised Code,~~ a full, true, 1749
and itemized statement, made under penalty of election 1750
falsification, setting forth in detail the contributions and 1751
expenditures, no later than four p.m. of the following dates: 1752

       (1) The twelfth day before the election to reflect 1753
contributions received and expenditures made from the close of 1754
business on the last day reflected in the last previously filed 1755
statement, if any, to the close of business on the twentieth day 1756
before the election; 1757

       (2) The thirty-eighth day after the election to reflect the 1758
contributions received and expenditures made from the close of 1759
business on the last day reflected in the last previously filed 1760
statement, if any, to the close of business on the seventh day 1761
before the filing of the statement; 1762

       (3) The last business day of January of every year to reflect 1763
the contributions received and expenditures made from the close of 1764
business on the last day reflected in the last previously filed 1765
statement, if any, to the close of business on the last day of 1766
December of the previous year. 1767

       A campaign committee shall only be required to file the 1768
statements prescribed under divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this 1769
section in connection with the nomination or election of the 1770
committee's candidate. 1771

       The statement required under division (A)(1) of this section 1772
shall not be required of any campaign committee, political action 1773
committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, or 1774
political contributing entity, or entity engaging in 1775
electioneering that has received contributions of less than one 1776
thousand dollars and has made expenditures of less than one 1777
thousand dollars at the close of business on the twentieth day 1778
before the election. Those contributions and expenditures shall be 1779
reported in the statement required under division (A)(2) of this 1780
section. 1781

       If an election to select candidates to appear on the general 1782
election ballot is held within sixty days before a general 1783
election, the campaign committee of a successful candidate in the 1784
earlier election may file the statement required by division 1785
(A)(1) of this section for the general election instead of the 1786
statement required by division (A)(2) of this section for the 1787
earlier election if the pregeneral election statement reflects the 1788
status of contributions and expenditures for the period twenty 1789
days before the earlier election to twenty days before the general 1790
election. 1791

       If a person becomes a candidate less than twenty days before 1792
an election, the candidate's campaign committee is not required to 1793
file the statement required by division (A)(1) of this section. 1794

       No statement under division (A)(3) of this section shall be 1795
required for any year in which a campaign committee, political 1796
action committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, or 1797
political contributing entity, or entity engaging in 1798
electioneering is required to file a postgeneral election 1799
statement under division (A)(2) of this section. However, such a 1800
statement may be filed, at the option of the campaign committee, 1801
political action committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political 1802
party, or political contributing entity, or entity engaging in 1803
electioneering. 1804

       No statement under division (A)(3) of this section shall be 1805
required if the campaign committee, political action committee, 1806
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, or political 1807
contributing entity, or entity engaging in electioneering has no 1808
contributions that it has received and no expenditures that it has 1809
made since the last date reflected in its last previously filed 1810
statement. However, the campaign committee, political action 1811
committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, or 1812
political contributing entity, or entity engaging in 1813
electioneering shall file a statement to that effect, on a form 1814
prescribed under this section and made under penalty of election 1815
falsification, on the date required in division (A)(3) of this 1816
section. 1817

       The campaign committee of a statewide candidate shall file a 1818
monthly statement of contributions received during each of the 1819
months of July, August, and September in the year of the general 1820
election in which the candidate seeks office. The campaign 1821
committee of a statewide candidate shall file the monthly 1822
statement not later than three business days after the last day of 1823
the month covered by the statement. During the period beginning on 1824
the nineteenth day before the general election in which a 1825
statewide candidate seeks election to office and extending through 1826
the day of that general election, each time the campaign committee 1827
of the joint candidates for the offices of governor and lieutenant 1828
governor or of a candidate for the office of secretary of state, 1829
auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general receives 1830
a contribution from a contributor that causes the aggregate amount 1831
of contributions received from that contributor during that period 1832
to equal or exceed two thousand five hundred dollars and each time 1833
the campaign committee of a candidate for the office of chief 1834
justice or justice of the supreme court receives a contribution 1835
from a contributor that causes the aggregate amount of 1836
contributions received from that contributor during that period to 1837
exceed five hundred dollars, the campaign committee shall file a 1838
two-business-day statement reflecting that contribution. During 1839
the period beginning on the nineteenth day before a primary 1840
election in which a candidate for statewide office seeks 1841
nomination to office and extending through the day of that primary 1842
election, each time either the campaign committee of a statewide 1843
candidate in that primary election that files a notice under 1844
division (C)(1) of section 3517.103 of the Revised Code or the 1845
campaign committee of a statewide candidate in that primary 1846
election to which, in accordance with division (D) of section 1847
3517.103 of the Revised Code, the contribution limitations 1848
prescribed in section 3517.102 of the Revised Code no longer apply 1849
receives a contribution from a contributor that causes the 1850
aggregate amount of contributions received from that contributor 1851
during that period to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars, 1852
the campaign committee shall file a two-business-day statement 1853
reflecting that contribution. Contributions reported on a 1854
two-business-day statement required to be filed by a campaign 1855
committee of a statewide candidate in a primary election shall 1856
also be included in the postprimary election statement required to 1857
be filed by that campaign committee under division (A)(2) of this 1858
section. A two-business-day statement required by this paragraph 1859
shall be filed not later than two business days after receipt of 1860
the contribution. The statements required by this paragraph shall 1861
be filed in addition to any other statements required by this 1862
section. 1863

       Subject to the secretary of state having implemented, tested, 1864
and verified the successful operation of any system the secretary 1865
of state prescribes pursuant to divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of 1866
this section and division (H)(1) of section 3517.106 of the 1867
Revised Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by 1868
electronic means of transmission, a campaign committee of a 1869
statewide candidate shall file a two-business-day statement under 1870
the preceding paragraph by electronic means of transmission if the 1871
campaign committee is required to file a ~~preelection~~pre-election, 1872
postelection, or monthly statement of contributions and 1873
expenditures by electronic means of transmission under this 1874
section or section 3517.106 of the Revised Code. 1875

       If a campaign committee or political action committee has no 1876
balance on hand and no outstanding obligations and desires to 1877
terminate itself, it shall file a statement to that effect, on a 1878
form prescribed under this section and made under penalty of 1879
election falsification, with the official with whom it files a 1880
statement under division (A) of this section after filing a final 1881
statement of contributions and a final statement of expenditures, 1882
if contributions have been received or expenditures made since the 1883
period reflected in its last previously filed statement. 1884

       (B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(7) of this 1885
section, each statement required by division (A) of this section 1886
shall contain the following information: 1887

       (1) The full name and address of each campaign committee, 1888
political action committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political 1889
party, or political contributing entity, or entity engaging in 1890
electioneering, including any treasurer of the committee, ~~fund,~~ 1891
party, or entity, filing a contribution and expenditure statement; 1892

       (2)(a) In the case of a campaign committee, the candidate's 1893
full name and address; 1894

       (b) In the case of a political action committee, the 1895
registration number assigned to the committee under division 1896
(D)(1) of this section and the name of the candidate or public 1897
official associated with it, if any. 1898

       (3) The date of the election and whether it was or will be a 1899
general, primary, or special election; 1900

       (4) A statement of contributions received, which shall 1901
include the following information: 1902

       (a) The month, day, and year of the contribution; 1903

       (b)(i) The full name and address of each person, political 1904
party, campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political 1905
action committee, or political contributing entity, or entity 1906
engaging in electioneering from whom contributions are received 1907
and the registration number assigned to the political action 1908
committee under division (D)(1) of this section. The requirement 1909
of filing the full address does not apply to any statement filed 1910
by a state or local committee of a political party, to a finance 1911
committee of such committee, or to a committee recognized by a 1912
state or local committee as its fund-raising auxiliary. 1913
Notwithstanding division (F)(1) of this section, the requirement 1914
of filing the full address shall be considered as being met if the 1915
address filed is the same address the contributor provided under 1916
division (E)(1) of this section. 1917

       (ii) If a ~~campaign committee of a statewide candidate or~~ 1918
~~candidate for the office of member of the general assembly~~ 1919
~~receives a~~ contribution is received from an individual that 1920
exceeds one hundred dollars, the name of the individual's current 1921
employer, if any, or, if the individual is self-employed, the 1922
individual's occupation and the name of the individual's business, 1923
if any; 1924

       (iii) If a campaign committee of a statewide candidate or 1925
candidate for the office of member of the general assembly 1926
receives a contribution transmitted pursuant to section 3599.031 1927
of the Revised Code from amounts deducted from the wages and 1928
salaries of two or more employees that exceeds in the aggregate 1929
one hundred dollars during any one filing period under division 1930
(A)(1), (2), or (3) of this section, the full name of the 1931
employees' employer and the full name of the labor organization of 1932
which the employees are members, if any. 1933

       (c) A description of the contribution received, if other than 1934
money; 1935

       (d) The value in dollars and cents of the contribution; 1936

       (e) A separately itemized account of all contributions and 1937
expenditures regardless of the amount, except a receipt of a 1938
contribution from a person in the sum of twenty-five dollars or 1939
less at one social or fund-raising activity and a receipt of a 1940
contribution transmitted pursuant to section 3599.031 of the 1941
Revised Code from amounts deducted from the wages and salaries of 1942
employees if the contribution from the amount deducted from the 1943
wages and salary of any one employee is twenty-five dollars or 1944
less aggregated in a calendar year. An account of the total 1945
contributions from each social or fund-raising activity shall 1946
include a description of and the value of each in-kind 1947
contribution received at that activity from any person who made 1948
one or more such contributions whose aggregate value exceeded two 1949
hundred fifty dollars and shall be listed separately, together 1950
with the expenses incurred and paid in connection with that 1951
activity. A campaign committee, political action committee, 1952
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, or political 1953
contributing entity, or entity engaging in electioneering shall 1954
keep records of contributions from each person in the amount of 1955
twenty-five dollars or less at one social or fund-raising activity 1956
and contributions from amounts deducted under section 3599.031 of 1957
the Revised Code from the wages and salary of each employee in the 1958
amount of twenty-five dollars or less aggregated in a calendar 1959
year. No continuing association that is recognized by a state or 1960
local committee of a political party as an auxiliary of the party 1961
and that makes a contribution from funds derived solely from 1962
regular dues paid by members of the auxiliary shall be required to 1963
list the name or address of any members who paid those dues. 1964

       Contributions that are other income shall be itemized 1965
separately from all other contributions. The information required 1966
under division (B)(4) of this section shall be provided for all 1967
other income itemized. As used in this paragraph, "other income" 1968
means a loan, investment income, or interest income. 1969

       (f) In the case of a campaign committee of a state elected 1970
officer, if a person doing business with the state elected officer 1971
in the officer's official capacity makes a contribution to the 1972
campaign committee of that officer, the information required under 1973
division (B)(4) of this section in regard to that contribution, 1974
which shall be filed together with and considered a part of the 1975
committee's statement of contributions as required under division 1976
(A) of this section but shall be filed on a separate form provided 1977
by the secretary of state. As used in division (B)(4)(f) of this 1978
section: 1979

       (i) "State elected officer" has the same meaning as in 1980
section 3517.092 of the Revised Code. 1981

       (ii) "Person doing business" means a person or an officer of 1982
an entity who enters into one or more contracts with a state 1983
elected officer or anyone authorized to enter into contracts on 1984
behalf of that officer to receive payments for goods or services, 1985
if the payments total, in the aggregate, more than five thousand 1986
dollars during a calendar year. 1987

       (g) In the case of a contribution received through the 1988
efforts of a political fundraiser, the fact that the contribution 1989
was received through those efforts and the name, occupation, and 1990
employer of that political fundraiser. 1991

       (5) A statement of expenditures which shall include the 1992
following information: 1993

       (a) The month, day, and year of the expenditure; 1994

       (b) The full name and address of each person, political 1995
party, campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political 1996
action committee, or political contributing entity, or entity 1997
engaging in electioneering to whom the expenditure was made and 1998
the registration number assigned to the political action committee 1999
under division (D)(1) of this section; 2000

       (c) The object or purpose for which the expenditure was made; 2001

       (d) The amount of each expenditure. 2002

       (C)(1) The statement of contributions and expenditures shall 2003
be signed by the person completing the form. If a statement of 2004
contributions and expenditures is filed by electronic means of 2005
transmission pursuant to this section or section 3517.106 of the 2006
Revised Code, the electronic signature of the person who executes 2007
the statement and transmits the statement by electronic means of 2008
transmission, as provided in division (H) of section 3517.106 of 2009
the Revised Code, shall be attached to or associated with the 2010
statement and shall be binding on all persons and for all purposes 2011
under the campaign finance reporting law as if the signature had 2012
been handwritten in ink on a printed form. 2013

       (2) The person filing the statement, under penalty of 2014
election falsification, shall include with it a list of each 2015
anonymous contribution, the circumstances under which it was 2016
received, and the reason it cannot be attributed to a specific 2017
donor. 2018

       (3) Each statement of a campaign committee of a candidate who 2019
holds public office shall contain a designation of each 2020
contributor who is an employee in any unit or department under the 2021
candidate's direct supervision and control. In a space provided in 2022
the statement, the person filing the statement shall affirm that 2023
each such contribution was voluntarily made. 2024

       (4) A campaign committee that did not receive contributions 2025
or make expenditures in connection with the nomination or election 2026
of its candidate shall file a statement to that effect, on a form 2027
prescribed under this section and made under penalty of election 2028
falsification, on the date required in division (A)(2) of this 2029
section. 2030

       (5) The campaign committee of any person who attempts to 2031
become a candidate and who, for any reason, does not become 2032
certified in accordance with Title XXXV of the Revised Code for 2033
placement on the official ballot of a primary, general, or special 2034
election to be held in this state, and who, at any time prior to 2035
or after an election, receives contributions or makes 2036
expenditures, or has given consent for another to receive 2037
contributions or make expenditures, for the purpose of bringing 2038
about the person's nomination or election to public office, shall 2039
file the statement or statements prescribed by this section and a 2040
termination statement, if applicable. This paragraph does not 2041
apply to any person with respect to an election to the offices of 2042
member of a county or state central committee, presidential 2043
elector, or delegate to a national convention or conference of a 2044
political party. 2045

       (6)(a) The statements required to be filed under this section 2046
shall specify the balance in the hands of the campaign committee, 2047
political action committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political 2048
party, or political contributing entity, or entity engaging in 2049
electioneering and the disposition intended to be made of that 2050
balance. 2051

       (b) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form for all 2052
statements required to be filed under this section and shall 2053
furnish the forms to the boards of elections in the several 2054
counties. The boards of elections shall supply printed copies of 2055
those forms without charge. The secretary of state shall prescribe 2056
the appropriate methodology, protocol, and data file structure for 2057
statements required or permitted to be filed by electronic means 2058
of transmission under division (A) of this section and divisions 2059
(E), (F), and (G) of section 3517.106 of the Revised Code and for 2060
~~statements permitted~~contribution and expenditure information 2061
required to be ~~filed~~reported on ~~computer disk~~a campaign finance 2062
web site under division ~~(F)~~(C) of section ~~3517.106~~3517.1011 of 2063
the Revised Code. Subject to division (A) of this section and 2064
divisions (E), (F), and (G) of section 3517.106 of the Revised 2065
Code, the statements required to be stored on computer by the 2066
secretary of state under division (B) of section 3517.106 of the 2067
Revised Code shall be filed in whatever format the secretary of 2068
state considers necessary to enable the secretary of state to 2069
store the information contained in the statements on computer. Any 2070
such format shall be of a type and nature that is readily 2071
available to whoever is required to file the statements in that 2072
format. 2073

       (c) The secretary of state shall assess the need for training 2074
regarding the filing of campaign finance statements by electronic 2075
means of transmission, the reporting of contribution and 2076
expenditure information on a campaign finance web site, and 2077
~~regarding~~ associated technologies for candidates, campaign 2078
committees, political action committees, ~~legislative campaign~~ 2079
~~funds,~~ political parties, political contributing entities, 2080
entities engaging in electioneering, or individuals, partnerships, 2081
or other entities required or permitted to file statements by 2082
electronic means of transmission under this section or section 2083
3517.105 or 3517.106 of the Revised Code or required to report 2084
contribution and expenditure information on a campaign finance web 2085
site under division (C) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code. 2086
If, in the opinion of the secretary of state, training in these 2087
areas is necessary, the secretary of state shall arrange for the 2088
provision of voluntary training programs for candidates, campaign 2089
committees, political action committees, ~~legislative campaign~~ 2090
~~funds,~~ political parties, political contributing entities, 2091
entities engaging in electioneering, and individuals, 2092
partnerships, and other entities. 2093

       (7) Each monthly statement and each two-business-day 2094
statement required by division (A) of this section shall contain 2095
the information required by divisions (B)(1) to (4), (C)(2), and, 2096
if appropriate, (C)(3) of this section. Each statement shall be 2097
signed as required by division (C)(1) of this section. 2098

       (D)(1) Prior to receiving a contribution or making an 2099
expenditure, every campaign committee, political action committee, 2100
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, or political 2101
contributing entity, or entity engaging in electioneering shall 2102
appoint a treasurer and shall file, on a form prescribed by the 2103
secretary of state, a designation of that appointment, including 2104
the full name and address of the treasurer and of the campaign 2105
committee, political action committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 2106
political party, or political contributing entity, or entity 2107
engaging in electioneering. That designation shall be filed with 2108
the official with whom the campaign committee, political action 2109
committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, or 2110
political contributing entity, or entity engaging in 2111
electioneering is required to file statements under section 2112
3517.11 of the Revised Code. The name of a campaign committee 2113
shall include at least the last name of the campaign committee's 2114
candidate. The secretary of state shall assign a registration 2115
number to each political action committee that files a designation 2116
of the appointment of a treasurer under division (D)(1) of this 2117
section if the political action committee is required by division 2118
(A)(1) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code to file the 2119
statements prescribed by this section with the secretary of state. 2120

       (2) The treasurer appointed under division (D)(1) of this 2121
section shall keep a strict account of all contributions, from 2122
whom received and the purpose for which they were disbursed. 2123

       (3)(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 3517.108 of 2124
the Revised Code, a campaign committee shall deposit all monetary 2125
contributions received by the committee into an account separate 2126
from a personal or business account of the candidate or campaign 2127
committee. 2128

       (b) A political action committee shall deposit all monetary 2129
contributions received by the committee into an account separate 2130
from all other funds. 2131

       (c) A state or county political party ~~may~~shall establish a 2132
~~state candidate~~ fund that is separate from an account that 2133
contains the public moneys received from the Ohio political party 2134
fund under section 3517.17 of the Revised Code and from ~~all other~~ 2135
~~funds~~an account that contains any gifts given to the political 2136
party pursuant to section 3517.101 of the Revised Code. A state or 2137
county political party ~~may~~shall deposit into ~~its state candidate~~ 2138
this fund any amounts of monetary contributions that are made to 2139
or accepted by the political party subject to the applicable 2140
limitations, if any, prescribed in section 3517.102 of the Revised 2141
Code~~. A state or county political party shall deposit~~, and all 2142
other ~~monetary contributions~~moneys received by the party ~~into one~~ 2143
~~or more accounts that are separate from its state candidate fund~~ 2144
~~and from its account that contains~~other than the public moneys 2145
received from the Ohio political party fund under section 3517.17 2146
of the Revised Code and gifts received pursuant to section 2147
3517.101 of the Revised Code. All amounts deposited into this fund 2148
shall be considered to be contributions for the purpose of this 2149
chapter, and all amounts expended from this fund shall be 2150
considered to be expenditures for the purpose of this chapter. 2151

       ~~(d) Each state political party shall have only one~~ 2152
~~legislative campaign fund for each house of the general assembly.~~ 2153
~~Each such fund shall be separate from any other funds or accounts~~ 2154
~~of that state party. A legislative campaign fund is authorized to~~ 2155
~~receive contributions and make expenditures for the primary~~ 2156
~~purpose of furthering the election of candidates who are members~~ 2157
~~of that political party to the house of the general assembly with~~ 2158
~~which that legislative campaign fund is associated. Each~~ 2159
~~legislative campaign fund shall be administered and controlled in~~ 2160
~~a manner designated by the caucus. As used in division (D)(3)(d)~~ 2161
~~of this section, "caucus" has the same meaning as in section~~ 2162
~~3517.01 of the Revised Code and includes, as an ex officio member,~~ 2163
~~the chairperson of the state political party with which the caucus~~ 2164
~~is associated or that chairperson's designee.~~ 2165

       (4) Every expenditure in excess of twenty-five dollars shall 2166
be vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the purpose of the 2167
~~expenditures~~expenditure, that shall be filed with the statement 2168
of expenditures. A canceled check with a notation of the purpose 2169
of the expenditure is a receipted bill for purposes of division 2170
(D)(4) of this section. 2171

       (5) The secretary of state or the board of elections, as the 2172
case may be, shall issue a receipt for each statement filed under 2173
this section and shall preserve a copy of the receipt for a period 2174
of at least six years. All statements filed under this section 2175
shall be open to public inspection in the office where they are 2176
filed and shall be carefully preserved for a period of at least 2177
six years after the year in which they are filed. 2178

       (6) The secretary of state, by rule adopted pursuant to 2179
section 3517.23 of the Revised Code, shall prescribe ~~the~~all of 2180
the following: 2181

       (a) The manner of immediately acknowledging, with date and 2182
time received, and preserving the receipt of statements that are 2183
transmitted by electronic means of transmission to the secretary 2184
of state pursuant to this section or section 3517.106 of the 2185
Revised Code ~~and the~~; 2186

       (b) The manner of immediately acknowledging, with date and 2187
time reported, and preserving the report of contribution and 2188
expenditure information reported on a campaign finance web site 2189
under division (C) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code; 2190

       (c) The manner of preserving the contribution and expenditure 2191
information in ~~those~~the statements and reports described in 2192
divisions (D)(6)(a) and (b) of this section. The secretary of 2193
state shall preserve the contribution and expenditure information 2194
in those statements and reports for at least ten years after the 2195
year in which they are filed ~~by electronic means of transmission~~. 2196

       (7) The secretary of state, pursuant to division (I) of 2197
section 3517.106 of the Revised Code, shall make available online 2198
to the public through the internet the contribution and 2199
expenditure information in all statements, all addenda, 2200
amendments, or other corrections to statements, and all amended 2201
statements filed with the secretary of state by electronic or 2202
other means of transmission under this section, division (B)(2)(b) 2203
or (C)(2)(b) of section 3517.105, or section 3517.106 or 3517.11 2204
of the Revised Code and all contribution and expenditure 2205
information reported on a campaign finance web site under division 2206
(C) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code. The secretary of 2207
state may remove the information from the internet after a 2208
reasonable period of time. 2209

       (E)(1) Any person, political party, campaign committee, 2210
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political action committee, or 2211
political contributing entity, or entity engaging in 2212
electioneering that makes a contribution in connection with the 2213
nomination or election of any candidate or in connection with any 2214
ballot issue or question at any election held or to be held in 2215
this state shall provide its full name and address to the 2216
recipient of the contribution, and to the political fundraiser 2217
through which the contribution was raised, if any, at the time the 2218
contribution is made. The political action committee also shall 2219
provide the registration number assigned to the committee under 2220
division (D)(1) of this section to the recipient of the 2221
contribution at the time the contribution is made. 2222

       (2) Any individual who makes a contribution that exceeds one 2223
hundred dollars ~~to a campaign committee of a statewide candidate~~ 2224
~~or candidate for the office of member of the general assembly~~ 2225
shall provide the name of the individual's current employer, if 2226
any, or, if the individual is self-employed, the individual's 2227
occupation and the name of the individual's business, if any, to 2228
the recipient of the contribution at the time the contribution is 2229
made. Sections 3599.39 and 3599.40 of the Revised Code do not 2230
apply to division (E)(2) of this section. 2231

       (3) If a campaign committee shows that it has exercised its 2232
best efforts to obtain, maintain, and submit the information 2233
required under divisions (B)(4)(b)(ii) and (iii) of this section, 2234
that committee is considered to have met the requirements of those 2235
divisions. A campaign committee shall not be considered to have 2236
exercised its best efforts unless, in connection with written 2237
solicitations, it regularly includes a written request for the 2238
information required under division (B)(4)(b)(ii) of this section 2239
from the contributor or the information required under division 2240
(B)(4)(b)(iii) of this section from whoever transmits the 2241
contribution. 2242

       (4) Any check that a political action committee uses to make 2243
a contribution or an expenditure shall contain the full name and 2244
address of the committee and the registration number assigned to 2245
the committee under division (D)(1) of this section. 2246

       (5) Any political fundraiser that raises contributions for, 2247
at the request of, for the benefit of, or on behalf of a campaign 2248
committee, political party, political action committee, political 2249
contributing entity, or entity engaging in electioneering shall 2250
provide both of the following to the campaign committee, political 2251
party, political action committee, political contributing entity, 2252
or entity engaging in electioneering: 2253

       (a) The name, occupation, and employer of the political 2254
fundraiser; 2255

       (b) The identity of each contributor and the amount of each 2256
contribution raised through the efforts of the political 2257
fundraiser. 2258

       (F) As used in this section: 2259

       (1) "Address" means all of the following if they exist: 2260
apartment number, street, road, or highway name and number, rural 2261
delivery route number, city or village, state, and zip code as 2262
used in a person's post-office address, but not post-office box. 2263
If an address is required in this section, a post-office box and 2264
office, room, or suite number may be included in addition to but 2265
not in lieu of an apartment, street, road, or highway name and 2266
number. If an address is required in this section, a campaign 2267
committee, political action committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 2268
political party, or political contributing entity, or entity 2269
engaging in electioneering may use the business or residence 2270
address of its treasurer or deputy treasurer. The post-office box 2271
number of the campaign committee, political action committee, 2272
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, or political 2273
contributing entity, or entity engaging in electioneering may be 2274
used in addition to that address. 2275

       (2) "Statewide candidate" means the joint candidates for the 2276
offices of governor and lieutenant governor or a candidate for the 2277
office of secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of 2278
state, attorney general, member of the state board of education, 2279
chief justice of the supreme court, or justice of the supreme 2280
court. 2281

       (G) An independent expenditure shall be reported whenever and 2282
in the same manner that an expenditure is required to be reported 2283
under this section and shall be reported pursuant to division 2284
(B)(2)(a) or (C)(2)(a) of section 3517.105 of the Revised Code. 2285

       (H)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(2) of 2286
this section, if, during the combined ~~preelection~~pre-election and 2287
postelection reporting periods for an election, a campaign 2288
committee has received contributions of five hundred dollars or 2289
less and has made expenditures in the total amount of five hundred 2290
dollars or less, it may file a statement to that effect, under 2291
penalty of election falsification, in lieu of the statement 2292
required by division (A)(2) of this section. The statement shall 2293
indicate the total amount of contributions received and the total 2294
amount of expenditures made during those combined reporting 2295
periods. 2296

       (2) In the case of a successful candidate at a primary 2297
election, if either the total contributions received by or the 2298
total expenditures made by the candidate's campaign committee 2299
during the preprimary, postprimary, pregeneral, and postgeneral 2300
election periods combined equal more than five hundred dollars, 2301
the campaign committee may file the statement under division 2302
(H)(1) of this section only for the primary election. The first 2303
statement that the campaign committee files in regard to the 2304
general election shall reflect all contributions received and all 2305
expenditures made during the preprimary and postprimary election 2306
periods. 2307

       (3) Divisions (H)(1) and (2) of this section do not apply if 2308
a campaign committee receives contributions or makes expenditures 2309
prior to the first day of January of the year of the election at 2310
which the candidate seeks nomination or election to office or if 2311
the campaign committee does not file a termination statement with 2312
its postprimary election statement in the case of an unsuccessful 2313
primary election candidate or with its postgeneral election 2314
statement in the case of other candidates. 2315

       (I) In the case of a contribution made by a partnership or 2316
unincorporated business, all of the following apply: 2317

       (1) The recipient of the contribution shall report the 2318
contribution by listing both the partnership or unincorporated 2319
business and the name of the partner or owner making the 2320
contribution. 2321

       (2) For purposes of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code, the 2322
contribution shall be considered to have been made by the partner 2323
or owner reported under division (I)(1) of this section. 2324

       (3) No contribution from a partnership or unincorporated 2325
business shall be accepted unless the recipient reports the 2326
contribution under division (I)(1) of this section. 2327

       (J) A candidate shall have only one campaign committee at any 2328
given time for all of the offices for which the person is a 2329
candidate or holds office. 2330

       (K)(1) In addition to filing a designation of appointment of 2331
a treasurer under division (D)(1) of this section, the campaign 2332
committee of any candidate for an elected municipal office that 2333
pays an annual amount of compensation of five thousand dollars or 2334
less, the campaign committee of any candidate for member of a 2335
board of education except member of the state board of education, 2336
or the campaign committee of any candidate for township trustee or 2337
township clerk may sign, under penalty of election falsification, 2338
a certificate attesting that the committee will not accept 2339
contributions during an election period that exceed in the 2340
aggregate two thousand dollars from all contributors and one 2341
hundred dollars from any one individual, and that the campaign 2342
committee will not make expenditures during an election period 2343
that exceed in the aggregate two thousand dollars. 2344

       The certificate shall be on a form prescribed by the 2345
secretary of state and shall be filed not later than ten days 2346
after the candidate files a declaration of candidacy and petition, 2347
a nominating petition, or a declaration of intent to be a write-in 2348
candidate. 2349

       (2) Except as otherwise provided in division (K)(3) of this 2350
section, a campaign committee that files a certificate under 2351
division (K)(1) of this section is not required to file the 2352
statements required by division (A) of this section. 2353

       (3) If, after filing a certificate under division (K)(1) of 2354
this section, a campaign committee exceeds any of the limitations 2355
described in that division during an election period, the 2356
certificate is void and thereafter the campaign committee shall 2357
file the statements required by division (A) of this section. If 2358
the campaign committee has not previously filed a statement, then 2359
on the first statement the campaign committee is required to file 2360
under division (A) of this section after the committee's 2361
certificate is void, the committee shall report all contributions 2362
received and expenditures made from the time the candidate filed 2363
the candidate's declaration of candidacy and petition, nominating 2364
petition, or declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. 2365

       (4) As used in division (K) of this section, "election 2366
period" means the period of time beginning on the day a person 2367
files a declaration of candidacy and petition, nominating 2368
petition, or declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate 2369
through the day of the election at which the person seeks 2370
nomination to office if the person is not elected to office, or, 2371
if the candidate was nominated in a primary election, the day of 2372
the election at which the candidate seeks office. 2373

       (L) Notwithstanding division (B)(4) of this section, a 2374
political contributing entity that receives contributions from the 2375
dues, membership fees, or other assessments of its members or from 2376
its officers, shareholders, and employees may report the aggregate 2377
amount of contributions received from those contributors and the 2378
number of individuals making those contributions, for each filing 2379
period identified under divisions (A)(1), (2), and (3) of this 2380
section. Division (B)(4) of this section applies to a political 2381
contributing entity with regard to contributions it receives from 2382
all other contributors. 2383

       Sec. 3517.102. (A) Except as otherwise provided in section 2384
3517.103 of the Revised Code, as used in this section and sections 2385
3517.103 and 3517.104 of the Revised Code: 2386

       (1) ~~"Candidate" has the same meaning as in section 3517.01 of~~ 2387
~~the Revised Code but includes only candidates for the offices of~~ 2388
~~governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of~~ 2389
~~state, treasurer of state, attorney general, member of the state~~ 2390
~~board of education, member of the general assembly, chief justice~~ 2391
~~of the supreme court, and justice of the supreme court.~~ 2392

       ~~(2)~~ "Statewide candidate" or "any one statewide candidate" 2393
means the joint candidates for the offices of governor and 2394
lieutenant governor or a candidate for the office of secretary of 2395
state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, attorney general, 2396
member of the state board of education, chief justice of the 2397
supreme court, or justice of the supreme court. 2398

       ~~(3)~~(2) "Senate candidate" means a candidate for the office of 2399
state senator. 2400

       ~~(4)~~(3) "House candidate" means a candidate for the office of 2401
state representative. 2402

       ~~(5)~~(4)(a) "Primary election period" for a candidate begins on 2403
the beginning date of the candidate's pre-filing period specified 2404
in division (A)~~(9)~~(6) of section 3517.109 of the Revised Code and 2405
ends on the day of the primary election. 2406

       (b) In regard to any candidate, the "general election period" 2407
begins on the day after the primary election immediately preceding 2408
the general election at which the candidate seeks an office 2409
specified in division (A)(1) of this section and ends on the 2410
thirty-first day of December following that general election. 2411

       ~~(6) "State candidate fund" means the state candidate fund~~ 2412
~~established by a state or county political party under division~~ 2413
~~(D)(3)(c) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code.~~ 2414

       ~~(7)~~(5) "Postgeneral election statement" means the statement 2415
filed under division (A)(2) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code 2416
by the campaign committee of a candidate after the general 2417
election in which the candidate ran for office ~~or filed by~~ 2418
~~legislative campaign fund after the general election in an~~ 2419
~~even-numbered year~~. 2420

       ~~(8)~~(6) "Contribution" means any contribution that is required 2421
to be reported in the statement of contributions under section 2422
3517.10 of the Revised Code. 2423

       ~~(9) Except as otherwise provided in division (F) of section~~ 2424
~~3517.103 and division (B)(3)(b) of section 3517.1010 of the~~ 2425
~~Revised Code, "designated state campaign committee" means:~~ 2426

       ~~(a) In the case of contributions to or from a state political~~ 2427
~~party, a campaign committee of a statewide candidate, statewide~~ 2428
~~officeholder, senate candidate, house candidate, or member of the~~ 2429
~~general assembly.~~ 2430

       ~~(b) In the case of contributions to or from a county~~ 2431
~~political party, a campaign committee of a statewide candidate,~~ 2432
~~statewide officeholder, senate candidate or house candidate whose~~ 2433
~~candidacy is to be submitted to some or all of the electors in~~ 2434
~~that county, or member of the general assembly whose district~~ 2435
~~contains all or part of that county.~~ 2436

       ~~(c) In the case of contributions to or from a legislative~~ 2437
~~campaign fund, a campaign committee of any of the following:~~ 2438

       ~~(i) A senate or house candidate who, if elected, will be a~~ 2439
~~member of the same party that established the legislative campaign~~ 2440
~~fund and the same house with which the legislative campaign fund~~ 2441
~~is associated;~~ 2442

       ~~(ii) A state senator or state representative who is a member~~ 2443
~~of the same party that established the legislative campaign fund~~ 2444
~~and the same house with which the legislative campaign fund is~~ 2445
~~associated.~~ 2446

       (B)(1) No individual shall make a contribution or 2447
contributions aggregating more than: 2448

       (a) Two thousand ~~five hundred~~ dollars to the campaign 2449
committee of any one ~~statewide~~ candidate in a primary election 2450
period or in a general election period; 2451

       (b) ~~Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign~~ 2452
~~committee of any one senate candidate in a primary election period~~ 2453
~~or in a general election period;~~ 2454

       ~~(c) Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign~~ 2455
~~committee of any one house candidate in a primary election period~~ 2456
~~or in a general election period;~~ 2457

       ~~(d) Five~~Two thousand dollars to any one county political 2458
party ~~for the 1party's state candidate fund or to any one~~ 2459
~~legislative campaign fund~~ in a ~~calendar year~~primary election 2460
period or in a general election period; 2461

       ~~(e) Fifteen~~(c) Two thousand dollars to any one state 2462
political party ~~for the party's state candidate fund~~ in a ~~calendar~~ 2463
~~year~~primary election period or in a general election period; 2464

       ~~(f) Five~~(d) Two thousand dollars to any one political action 2465
committee in a ~~calendar year~~primary election period or in a 2466
general election period; 2467

       ~~(g) Five~~(e) Two thousand dollars to any one political 2468
contributing entity in a ~~calendar year~~primary election period or 2469
in a general election period; 2470

       (f) A total of twenty-five thousand dollars to any 2471
combination of campaign committees, county political parties, 2472
state political parties, political action committees, and 2473
political contributing entities in a calendar year. 2474

       (2) Subject to division (D)(1) of this section, no political 2475
action committee shall make a contribution or contributions 2476
aggregating more than: 2477

       (a) Two thousand ~~five hundred~~ dollars to the campaign 2478
committee of any one ~~statewide~~ candidate in a primary election 2479
period or in a general election period; 2480

       (b) ~~Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign~~ 2481
~~committee of any one senate candidate in a primary election period~~ 2482
~~or in a general election period;~~ 2483

       ~~(c) Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign~~ 2484
~~committee of any one house candidate in a primary election period~~ 2485
~~or in a general election period;~~ 2486

       ~~(d) Five~~Two thousand dollars to any one county political 2487
party ~~for the party's state candidate fund or to any one~~ 2488
~~legislative campaign fund~~ in a ~~calendar year~~primary election 2489
period or in a general election period; 2490

       ~~(e) Fifteen~~(c) Two thousand dollars to any one state 2491
political party ~~for the party's state candidate fund~~ in a ~~calendar~~ 2492
~~year~~primary election period or in a general election period; 2493

       ~~(f)~~(d) Two thousand ~~five hundred~~ dollars to another political 2494
action committee or to a political contributing entity in a 2495
~~calendar year~~primary election period or in a general election 2496
period. This division does not apply to a political action 2497
committee that makes a contribution to a political action 2498
committee or to a political contributing entity affiliated with 2499
it. For purposes of this division, a political action committee is 2500
affiliated with another political action committee or with a 2501
political contributing entity if they are both established, 2502
financed, maintained, or controlled by, or if they are, the same 2503
corporation, organization, labor organization, continuing 2504
association, or other person, including any parent, subsidiary, 2505
division, or department of that corporation, organization, labor 2506
organization, continuing association, or other person. 2507

       (3) No campaign committee shall make a contribution or 2508
contributions aggregating more than: 2509

       (a) Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign 2510
committee of any one ~~statewide~~ candidate in a primary election 2511
period or in a general election period; 2512

       (b) ~~Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign~~ 2513
~~committee of any one senate candidate in a primary election period~~ 2514
~~or in a general election period;~~ 2515

       ~~(c) Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign~~ 2516
~~committee of any one house candidate in a primary election period~~ 2517
~~or in a general election period;~~ 2518

       ~~(d)~~ Two thousand ~~five hundred~~ dollars to any one political 2519
action committee in a ~~calendar year~~primary election period or in 2520
a general election period; 2521

       ~~(e)~~(c) Two thousand ~~five hundred~~ dollars to any one political 2522
contributing entity in a ~~calendar year~~primary election period or 2523
in a general election period. 2524

       (4) Subject to division (D)(3) of this section, no political 2525
party shall make a contribution or contributions aggregating more 2526
than two thousand ~~five hundred~~ dollars to any one political action 2527
committee or to any one political contributing entity in a 2528
~~calendar year~~primary election period or in a general election 2529
period. 2530

       (5) No campaign committee~~, other than a designated state~~ 2531
~~campaign committee,~~ shall make a contribution or contributions 2532
aggregating in a ~~calendar year~~primary election period or in a 2533
general election period more than: 2534

       (a) ~~Fifteen~~Two thousand dollars to any one state political 2535
party ~~for the party's state candidate fund~~; 2536

       (b) ~~Five thousand dollars to any one legislative campaign~~ 2537
~~fund;~~ 2538

       ~~(c) Five~~Two thousand dollars to any one county political 2539
party ~~for the party's state candidate fund~~. 2540

       (6)~~(a) No state candidate fund of a county political party~~ 2541
~~shall make a contribution or contributions, except a contribution~~ 2542
~~or contributions to a designated state campaign committee, in a~~ 2543
~~primary election period or a general election period, aggregating~~ 2544
~~more than:~~ 2545

       ~~(i) Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign~~ 2546
~~committee of any one senate candidate;~~ 2547

       ~~(ii) Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign~~ 2548
~~committee of any one house candidate.~~ 2549

       ~~(b)(i)~~ No ~~state candidate fund of a~~ state or county political 2550
party shall make a ~~transfer or a~~ contribution or ~~transfers or~~ 2551
contributions ~~of cash or cash equivalents to a designated state~~ 2552
~~campaign committee~~ in a primary election period or in a general 2553
election period aggregating more than: 2554

       ~~(I) Five hundred~~two thousand dollars to the campaign 2555
committee of any one ~~statewide~~ candidate; 2556

       ~~(II) One hundred thousand dollars to the campaign committee~~ 2557
~~of any one senate candidate;~~ 2558

       ~~(III) Fifty thousand dollars to the campaign committee of any~~ 2559
~~one house candidate~~. 2560

       ~~(ii) No legislative campaign fund shall make a transfer or a~~ 2561
~~contribution or transfers or contributions of cash or cash~~ 2562
~~equivalents to a designated state campaign committee aggregating~~ 2563
~~more than:~~ 2564

       ~~(I) Fifty thousand dollars in a primary election period or~~ 2565
~~one hundred thousand dollars in a general election period to the~~ 2566
~~campaign committee or any one senate candidate;~~ 2567

       ~~(II) Twenty-five thousand dollars in a primary election~~ 2568
~~period or fifty thousand dollars in a general election period to~~ 2569
~~the campaign committee of any one house candidate.~~ 2570

       ~~(iii) As used in divisions (B)(6)(b) and (C)(6)(a) and (b) of~~ 2571
~~this section, "transfer or contribution of cash or cash~~ 2572
~~equivalents" does not include any in-kind contributions.~~ 2573

       ~~(c) A county political party that has no state candidate fund~~ 2574
~~and that is located in a county having a population of less than~~ 2575
~~one hundred fifty thousand may make one or more contributions from~~ 2576
~~other accounts to any one designated state campaign committee that~~ 2577
~~do not exceed, in the aggregate, two thousand five hundred dollars~~ 2578
~~in any primary election period or general election period. As used~~ 2579
~~in this division, "other accounts" does not include either an~~ 2580
~~account that contains the public moneys received from the Ohio~~ 2581
~~political party fund under section 3517.17 of the Revised Code or~~ 2582
~~the county political party's operating account.~~ 2583

       ~~(d) No legislative campaign fund shall make a contribution,~~ 2584
~~other than to a designated state campaign committee or to the~~ 2585
~~state candidate fund of a political party.~~ 2586

       (7) Subject to division (D)(1) of this section, no political 2587
contributing entity shall make a contribution or contributions 2588
aggregating more than: 2589

       (a) Two thousand ~~five hundred~~ dollars to the campaign 2590
committee of any one ~~statewide~~ candidate in a primary election 2591
period or in a general election period; 2592

       (b) ~~Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign~~ 2593
~~committee of any one senate candidate in a primary election period~~ 2594
~~or in a general election period;~~ 2595

       ~~(c) Two thousand five hundred dollars to the campaign~~ 2596
~~committee of any one house candidate in a primary election period~~ 2597
~~or in a general election period;~~ 2598

       ~~(d) Five~~Two thousand dollars to any one county political 2599
party ~~for the party's state candidate fund or to any one~~ 2600
~~legislative campaign fund~~ in a ~~calendar year~~primary election 2601
period or in a general election period; 2602

       ~~(e) Fifteen~~(c) Two thousand dollars to any one state 2603
political party ~~for the party's state candidate fund~~ in a ~~calendar~~ 2604
~~year~~primary election period or in a general election period; 2605

       ~~(f)~~(d) Two thousand ~~five hundred~~ dollars to another political 2606
contributing entity or to a political action committee in a 2607
~~calendar year~~primary election period or in a general election 2608
period. This division does not apply to a political contributing 2609
entity that makes a contribution to a political contributing 2610
entity or to a political action committee affiliated with it. For 2611
purposes of this division, a political contributing entity is 2612
affiliated with another political contributing entity or with a 2613
political action committee if they are both established, financed, 2614
maintained, or controlled by, or if they are, the same 2615
corporation, organization, labor organization, continuing 2616
association, or other person, including any parent, subsidiary, 2617
division, or department of that corporation, organization, labor 2618
organization, continuing association, or other person. 2619

       (C)(1) Subject to division (D)(1) of this section, no 2620
campaign committee ~~of a statewide candidate~~ shall accept a 2621
contribution or contributions aggregating more than two thousand 2622
~~five hundred~~ dollars from any one individual, from any one 2623
political action committee, from any one political contributing 2624
entity, or from any one other campaign committee, from any one 2625
county political party, or from any one state political party in a 2626
primary election period or in a general election period. 2627

       (2) ~~Subject to division (D)(1) of this section and except for~~ 2628
~~a designated state campaign committee, no campaign committee of a~~ 2629
~~senate candidate shall accept a contribution or contributions~~ 2630
~~aggregating more than two thousand five hundred dollars from any~~ 2631
~~one~~ ~~individual, from any one political action committee, from any~~ 2632
~~one political contributing entity, from any one state candidate~~ 2633
~~fund of a county political party, or from any one other campaign~~ 2634
~~committee~~ in a primary election period or in a general election 2635
period. 2636

       ~~(3) Subject to division (D)(1) of this section and except for~~ 2637
~~a designated state campaign committee, no campaign committee of a~~ 2638
~~house candidate shall accept a contribution or contributions~~ 2639
~~aggregating more than two thousand five hundred dollars from any~~ 2640
~~one individual, from any one political action committee, from any~~ 2641
~~one political contributing entity, from any one state candidate~~ 2642
~~fund of a county political party, or from any one other campaign~~ 2643
~~committee in a primary election period or in a general election~~ 2644
~~period.~~ 2645

       ~~(4)~~(a) Subject to division (D)(1) of this section, no county 2646
political party shall accept a contribution or contributions ~~for~~ 2647
~~the party's state candidate fund~~ aggregating more than ~~five~~two 2648
thousand dollars from any one individual, from any one political 2649
action committee, from any one political contributing entity, or 2650
from any one campaign committee~~, other than a designated state~~ 2651
~~campaign committee,~~ in a ~~calendar year~~primary election period or 2652
in a general election period. 2653

       (b) Subject to division (D)(1) of this section, no state 2654
political party shall accept a contribution or contributions ~~for~~ 2655
~~the party's state candidate fund~~ aggregating more than ~~fifteen~~two 2656
thousand dollars from any one individual, from any one political 2657
action committee, from any one political contributing entity, or 2658
from any one campaign committee~~, other than a designated state~~ 2659
~~campaign committee,~~ in a ~~calendar year~~primary election period or 2660
in a general election period. 2661

       ~~(5) Subject to division (D)(1) of this section, no~~ 2662
~~legislative campaign fund shall accept a contribution or~~ 2663
~~contributions aggregating more than five thousand dollars from any~~ 2664
~~one individual, from any one political action committee, from any~~ 2665
~~one political contributing entity, or from any one campaign~~ 2666
~~committee, other than a designated state campaign committee, in a~~ 2667
~~calendar year.~~ 2668

       ~~(6)(a) No designated state campaign committee shall accept a~~ 2669
~~transfer or contribution of cash or cash equivalents from a state~~ 2670
~~candidate fund of a state or county political party aggregating in~~ 2671
~~a primary election period or a general election period more than:~~ 2672

       ~~(i) Five hundred thousand dollars, in the case of a campaign~~ 2673
~~committee of a statewide candidate;~~ 2674

       ~~(i) Five hundred thousand dollars, in the case of a campaign~~ 2675
~~committee of a statewide candidate;(ii) One hundred thousand~~ 2676
~~dollars, in the case of a campaign committee of a senate~~ 2677
~~candidate;~~ 2678

       ~~(iii) Fifty thousand dollars, in the case of a campaign~~ 2679
~~committee of a house candidate.~~ 2680

       ~~(b) No designated state campaign committee shall accept a~~ 2681
~~transfer or contribution of cash or cash equivalents from a~~ 2682
~~legislative candidate fund aggregating more than:~~ 2683

       ~~(i) Fifty thousand dollars in a primary election period or~~ 2684
~~one hundred thousand dollars in a general election period, in the~~ 2685
~~case of a campaign committee of a senate candidate;~~ 2686

       ~~(ii) Twenty-five thousand dollars in a primary election~~ 2687
~~period or fifty thousand dollars in a general election period, in~~ 2688
~~the case of a campaign committee of a house candidate.~~ 2689

       ~~(7)~~(3)(a) Subject to division (D)(3) of this section, no 2690
political action committee and no political contributing entity 2691
shall accept a contribution or contributions aggregating more than 2692
~~five~~two thousand dollars from any one individual, ~~or more than~~ 2693
~~two thousand five hundred dollars~~ from any one campaign committee, 2694
or from any one political party in a primary election period or in 2695
a general election period. 2696

       (b) Subject to division (D)(1) of this section, no political 2697
action committee shall accept a contribution or contributions 2698
aggregating more than two thousand ~~five hundred~~ dollars from 2699
another political action committee or from a political 2700
contributing entity in a ~~calendar year~~primary election period or 2701
in a general election period. Subject to division (D)(1) of this 2702
section, no political contributing entity shall accept a 2703
contribution or contributions aggregating more than two thousand 2704
~~five hundred~~ dollars from another political contributing entity or 2705
from a political action committee in a ~~calendar year~~primary 2706
election period or in a general election period. This division 2707
does not apply to a political action committee or political 2708
contributing entity that accepts a contribution from a political 2709
action committee or political contributing entity affiliated with 2710
it. For purposes of this division, a political action committee is 2711
affiliated with another political action committee or with a 2712
political contributing entity if they are established, financed, 2713
maintained, or controlled by the same corporation, organization, 2714
labor organization, continuing association, or other person, 2715
including any parent, subsidiary, division, or department of that 2716
corporation, organization, labor organization, continuing 2717
association, or other person. 2718

       (D)(1)(a) For purposes of the limitations prescribed in 2719
division (B)(2) of this section and the limitations prescribed in 2720
divisions (C)(1), (2), ~~(3), (4), (5),~~ and ~~(7)~~(3)(b) of this 2721
section, whichever is applicable, all contributions made by and 2722
all contributions accepted from political action committees that 2723
are established, financed, maintained, or controlled by the same 2724
corporation, organization, labor organization, continuing 2725
association, or other person, including any parent, subsidiary, 2726
division, or department of that corporation, organization, labor 2727
organization, continuing association, or other person, are 2728
considered to have been made by or accepted from a single 2729
political action committee. 2730

       (b) For purposes of the limitations prescribed in division 2731
(B)(7) of this section and the limitations prescribed in divisions 2732
(C)(1), (2), ~~(3), (4),(5),~~ and ~~(7)~~(3)(b) of this section, 2733
whichever is applicable, all contributions made by and all 2734
contributions accepted from political contributing entities that 2735
are established, financed, maintained, or controlled by, or that 2736
are, the same corporation, organization, labor organization, 2737
continuing association, or other person, including any parent, 2738
subsidiary, division, or department of that corporation, 2739
organization, labor organization, continuing association, or other 2740
person, are considered to have been made by or accepted from a 2741
single political contributing entity. 2742

       (2) As used in divisions (B)(1)~~(f)~~(d), (B)(3)~~(d)~~(b), (B)(4), 2743
and (C)~~(7)~~(3) of this section, "political action committee" does 2744
not include a political action committee that is organized to 2745
support or oppose a ballot issue or question and that makes no 2746
contributions to or expenditures on behalf of a political party, 2747
campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political action 2748
committee, or political contributing entity. As used in divisions 2749
(B)(1)~~(g)~~(e), (B)(3)~~(e)~~(c), (B)(4), and (C)~~(7)~~(3) of this section, 2750
"political contributing entity" does not include a political 2751
contributing entity that is organized to support or oppose a 2752
ballot issue or question and that makes no contributions to or 2753
expenditures on behalf of a political party, campaign committee, 2754
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political action committee, or 2755
political contributing entity. 2756

       (3) For purposes of the limitations prescribed in divisions 2757
(B)(4) and (C)~~(7)~~(3)(a) of this section, all contributions made by 2758
and all contributions accepted from a national political party, a 2759
state political party, and a county political party are considered 2760
to have been made by or accepted from a single political party and 2761
shall be combined with each other to determine whether the 2762
limitations have been exceeded. 2763

       (E)~~(1) If a legislative campaign fund has kept a total amount~~ 2764
~~of contributions exceeding one hundred fifty thousand dollars at~~ 2765
~~the close of business on the seventh day before the postgeneral~~ 2766
~~election statement is required to be filed under section 3517.10~~ 2767
~~of the Revised Code, the legislative campaign fund shall comply~~ 2768
~~with division (E)(2) of this section.~~ 2769

       ~~(2)(a) Any legislative campaign fund that has kept a total~~ 2770
~~amount of contributions in excess of the amount specified in~~ 2771
~~division (E)(1) of this section at the close of business on the~~ 2772
~~seventh day before the postgeneral election statement is required~~ 2773
~~to be filed under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code shall~~ 2774
~~dispose of the excess amount in the manner prescribed in division~~ 2775
~~(E)(2)(c)(i), (ii), or (iii) of this section not later than ninety~~ 2776
~~days after the day the postgeneral election statement is required~~ 2777
~~to be filed under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. Any~~ 2778
~~legislative campaign fund that is required to dispose of an excess~~ 2779
~~amount of contributions under this division shall file a statement~~ 2780
~~on the ninetieth day after the postgeneral election statement is~~ 2781
~~required to be filed under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code~~ 2782
~~indicating the total amount of contributions the fund has at the~~ 2783
~~close of business on the seventh day before the postgeneral~~ 2784
~~election statement is required to be filed under section 3517.10~~ 2785
~~of the Revised Code and that the excess contributions were~~ 2786
~~disposed of pursuant to this division and divisions (E)(2)(b) and~~ 2787
~~(c) of this section. The statement shall be on a form prescribed~~ 2788
~~by the secretary of state and shall contain any additional~~ 2789
~~information the secretary of state considers necessary.~~ 2790

       ~~(b) There is hereby created in the state treasury the Ohio~~ 2791
~~elections commission fund. All moneys credited to the fund shall~~ 2792
~~be used solely for the purpose of paying expenses related to the~~ 2793
~~operation of the Ohio elections commission.~~ 2794

       ~~(c) Any legislative campaign fund that is required to dispose~~ 2795
~~of an excess amount of contributions under division (E)(2) of this~~ 2796
~~section shall dispose of that excess amount by doing any of the~~ 2797
~~following:~~ 2798

       ~~(i) Giving the amount to the treasurer of state for deposit~~ 2799
~~into the state treasury to the credit of the Ohio elections~~ 2800
~~commission fund;~~ 2801

       ~~(ii) Giving the amount to individuals who made contributions~~ 2802
~~to that legislative campaign fund as a refund of all or part of~~ 2803
~~their contributions;~~ 2804

       ~~(iii) Giving the amount to a corporation that is exempt from~~ 2805
~~federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in~~ 2806
~~subsection 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.~~ 2807

       ~~(F)(1) No legislative campaign fund shall fail to file a~~ 2808
~~statement required by division (E) of this section.~~ 2809

       ~~(2) No legislative campaign fund shall fail to dispose of~~ 2810
~~excess contributions as required by division (E) of this section.~~ 2811

       ~~(G)~~ Nothing in this section shall affect, be used in 2812
determining, or supersede a limitation on campaign contributions 2813
as provided for in the Federal Election Campaign Act. 2814

       (F) Any contribution that is made, received, or used to pay 2815
the direct costs or indirect costs of producing or airing 2816
electioneering communications shall be subject to the contribution 2817
limits imposed by this section. 2818

       Sec. 3517.103. (A) For purposes of this section: 2819

       (1) "Statewide candidate" means the joint candidates for the 2820
offices of governor and lieutenant governor or a candidate for the 2821
office of secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of 2822
state, attorney general, or member of the state board of 2823
education. 2824

       (2) "Personal funds" means contributions to the campaign 2825
committee of a candidate by the candidate or by the candidate's 2826
spouse, parents, children, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, 2827
brothers, sisters, grandparents, mother-in-law, father-in-law, 2828
brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, or grandparents by marriage. 2829

       (3) When a debt or other obligation incurred by a committee 2830
or by a candidate on behalf of the candidate's committee described 2831
in division (C)(1) or (2) of this section is to be paid from 2832
personal funds, those funds are considered to be expended when the 2833
debt or obligation is incurred, regardless of when it is paid. 2834

       (4) For purposes of ~~Chapter 3517. of the Revised Code~~this 2835
chapter, a candidate is an "opponent" when the candidate has 2836
indicated on the candidate's most recently filed designation of 2837
treasurer that the candidate seeks the same office at the same 2838
primary or general election as another candidate whose campaign 2839
committee has filed a personal funds notice required by division 2840
(C)(1) or (2) of this section. 2841

       (B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2) of 2842
this section, no ~~statewide~~ candidate ~~or candidate for the office~~ 2843
~~of member of the general assembly~~ shall make an expenditure of 2844
personal funds to influence the results of an election for that 2845
candidate's nomination or election to office unless the personal 2846
funds are first deposited into the campaign fund of that 2847
candidate's campaign committee. 2848

       (2) A ~~statewide~~ candidate ~~or candidate for office of the~~ 2849
~~general assembly~~ may make an expenditure of personal funds without 2850
first depositing those funds into the campaign committee's funds 2851
as long as the aggregate total of those expenditures does not 2852
exceed five hundred dollars at any time during an election period. 2853
After the candidate's campaign committee reimburses the candidate 2854
for any direct expenditure of personal funds, the amount that was 2855
reimbursed is no longer included in the aggregate total of 2856
expenditures of personal funds subject to the five-hundred-dollar 2857
limit. 2858

       (C)(1) If the campaign committee of any statewide candidate 2859
has received or expended or expects to expend more than one 2860
hundred thousand dollars of personal funds during a primary 2861
election period or one hundred fifty thousand dollars of personal 2862
funds during a general election period, the campaign committee 2863
shall file a personal funds notice in the manner provided in 2864
division (C)(3) of this section indicating that the committee has 2865
received or expended or expects to expend more than that amount. 2866
For the purpose of this division, a joint team of candidates for 2867
governor and lieutenant governor shall be considered a single 2868
candidate and their personal funds shall be combined. 2869

       (2) If the campaign committee of any ~~senate~~ candidate or 2870
~~house~~other than a statewide candidate has received or expended or 2871
expects to expend more than twenty-five thousand dollars of 2872
personal funds during a primary election period or twenty-five 2873
thousand dollars of personal funds during a general election 2874
period, the campaign committee shall file a personal funds notice 2875
in the manner provided in division (C)(3) of this section 2876
indicating that the committee has received or expended or expects 2877
to expend more than that amount. 2878

       (3) The personal funds notice required in divisions (C)(1) 2879
and (2) of this section and the declaration of no limits required 2880
under division (D)(2) of this section shall be on a form 2881
prescribed by the secretary of state. The personal funds notice 2882
required in divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section shall be 2883
filed not later than the earlier of the following times: 2884

       (a) One hundred twenty days before a primary election, in the 2885
case of personal funds received, expended, or expected to be 2886
expended during a primary election period, or not later than one 2887
hundred twenty days before a general election, in the case of 2888
personal funds received, expended, or expected to be expended 2889
during a general election period; 2890

       (b) Two business days after the candidate's campaign 2891
committee receives or makes an expenditure of personal funds or 2892
the candidate makes an expenditure of personal funds on behalf of 2893
the candidate's campaign committee during that election period 2894
that exceed, in the aggregate, the amount specified in division 2895
(C)(1) or (2) of this section. 2896

       The personal funds notice required under divisions (C)(1) and 2897
(2) of this section and the declaration of no limits required 2898
under division (D)(2) of this section shall be filed wherever the 2899
campaign committee files statements of contributions and 2900
expenditures under section 3517.11 of the Revised Code. The board 2901
of elections shall send to the secretary of state a copy of any 2902
personal funds notice or declaration of no limits filed by the 2903
campaign committee of ~~a senate~~any candidate ~~or house candidate~~ 2904
with the board of elections under division (C)(3) or (D)(2) of 2905
this section. 2906

       (D)(1) Whenever a campaign committee files a notice under 2907
division (C)(1) or (2) of this section, and the campaign committee 2908
of an opponent files a declaration of no limits pursuant to 2909
division (D)(2) of this section within thirty days of the filing 2910
of the personal funds notice under division (C)(1) or (2) of this 2911
section, the contribution limitations prescribed in section 2912
3517.102 of the Revised Code no longer apply to the campaign 2913
committee of the candidate's opponent. 2914

       (2) No campaign committee of a candidate described in 2915
division (D)(1) of this section shall accept any contribution or 2916
contributions from a contributor that exceed the limitations 2917
prescribed in section 3517.102 of the Revised Code until the 2918
committee files a declaration that the committee will accept 2919
contributions that exceed those limitations. This declaration 2920
shall be filed not later than thirty days after a candidate's 2921
opponent has filed a personal funds notice pursuant to division 2922
(C)(1) or (2) of section 3517.103 of the Revised Code, shall be 2923
referred to as the "declaration of no limits," and shall list all 2924
of the following: 2925

       (a) The amount of cash on hand in the candidate's campaign 2926
fund at the end of the day immediately preceding the day on which 2927
the candidate's campaign committee files the declaration of no 2928
limits; 2929

       (b) The value and description of all campaign assets worth 2930
five hundred dollars or more available to the candidate at the end 2931
of the day immediately preceding the day on which the candidate's 2932
campaign committee files the declaration of no limits. 2933

       (3) A candidate who was not an opponent of a candidate who 2934
filed the personal funds notice required under division (C)(3) of 2935
this section on the date the personal funds notice was filed may 2936
file the declaration of no limits pursuant to division (D)(2) of 2937
this section within thirty days after becoming an opponent of the 2938
candidate who filed the personal funds notice. 2939

       (4) If the candidate whose campaign committee filed a 2940
personal funds notice under division (C)(1) or (2) of this section 2941
fails to file a declaration of candidacy for the office listed on 2942
the designation of treasurer filed under division (D) of section 2943
3517.10 of the Revised Code or files a declaration of candidacy or 2944
nominating petition for that office and dies or withdraws, both of 2945
the following apply to the campaign committee of that candidate's 2946
opponent if the opponent has filed a declaration of no limits 2947
pursuant to division (D) of this section: 2948

       (a) No contribution from a contributor may thereafter be 2949
accepted that, when added to the aggregate total of all 2950
contributions received by that committee from that contributor 2951
during the primary election period or general election period, 2952
whichever is applicable, would cause that committee to exceed the 2953
contribution limitations prescribed in section 3517.102 of the 2954
Revised Code for the applicable election period. 2955

       (b) The statement of primary-day finances or the year-end 2956
statement required to be filed under division (E) of section 2957
3517.1010 of the Revised Code shall be filed not later than 2958
fourteen days after the date the candidate's opponent fails to 2959
file a declaration of candidacy or nominating petition by the 2960
appropriate filing deadline, or dies or withdraws. For purposes of 2961
calculating permitted funds under division (A)~~(7)~~(4) of section 2962
3517.1010 of the Revised Code, the primary or general election 2963
period, whichever is applicable, shall be considered to have ended 2964
on the filing deadline, in the case of an opponent who fails to 2965
file a declaration of candidacy or nominating petition, or on the 2966
date of the opponent's death or withdrawal. In such an event, the 2967
filing of a statement of primary-day finances or year-end finances 2968
and the disposing of any excess funds as required under division 2969
(B) of section 3517.1010 of the Revised Code satisfies the 2970
candidate's obligation to file such a statement for that election 2971
period. 2972

       (E)(1) No campaign committee shall fail to file a personal 2973
funds notice as required under division (C)(1) or (2) of this 2974
section. 2975

       (2) No campaign committee shall accept any contribution in 2976
excess of the contribution limitations prescribed in section 2977
3517.102 of the Revised Code: 2978

       (a) Unless a declaration of no limits has been filed under 2979
division (D)(2) of this section; 2980

       (b) In violation of division (D)(4) of this section once the 2981
candidate who filed a personal funds notice under division (C)(3) 2982
of this section fails to file a declaration of candidacy or 2983
nominating petition or that candidate dies or withdraws. 2984

       (3) No campaign committee that violates division (E)(1) of 2985
this section shall expend any personal funds in excess of the 2986
amount specified in division (C)(1) or (2) of this section, 2987
whichever is appropriate to the committee. 2988

       (4) The candidate of any campaign committee that violates 2989
division (E) of this section shall forfeit the candidate's 2990
nomination, if the candidate was nominated, or the office to which 2991
the candidate was elected, if the candidate was elected to office. 2992

       ~~(F)(1) Whenever a campaign committee files a notice under~~ 2993
~~division (C)(1) or (2) of this section or whenever the~~ 2994
~~contribution limitations prescribed in section 3517.102 of the~~ 2995
~~Revised Code do not apply to a campaign committee under division~~ 2996
~~(D)(1) of this section, that committee is not a designated state~~ 2997
~~campaign committee for the purpose of the limitations prescribed~~ 2998
~~in section 3517.102 of the Revised Code with regard to~~ 2999
~~contributions made by that campaign committee to a legislative~~ 3000
~~campaign fund or to a state candidate fund of a state or county~~ 3001
~~political party.~~ 3002

       ~~(2) Division (F)(1) of this section no longer applies to a~~ 3003
~~campaign committee after both of the following occur:~~ 3004

       ~~(a) The primary or general election period during which the~~ 3005
~~contribution limitations prescribed in section 3517.102 of the~~ 3006
~~Revised Code did not apply after being removed pursuant to~~ 3007
~~division (D) of this section has expired;~~ 3008

       ~~(b) When the campaign committee has disposed of all excess~~ 3009
~~funds and excess aggregate contributions as required under section~~ 3010
~~3517.1010 of the Revised Code.~~ 3011

       Sec. 3517.105. (A)(1) As used in this section, "public 3012
political advertising" means advertising to the general public 3013
through a broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, poster, yard 3014
sign, or outdoor advertising facility, by direct mail, or by any 3015
other means of advertising to the general public. 3016

       (2) For purposes of this section and section 3517.20 of the 3017
Revised Code, a person is a member of a political action committee 3018
if the person makes one or more contributions to that political 3019
action committee, and a person is a member of a political 3020
contributing entity if the person makes one or more contributions 3021
to, or pays dues, membership fees, or other assessments to, that 3022
political contributing entity. 3023

       (B)(1) Whenever a candidate, a campaign committee, a 3024
political action committee or political contributing entity with 3025
ten or more members, or ~~a legislative campaign fund~~an entity 3026
engaging in electioneering makes an independent expenditure, or 3027
whenever a political action committee or political contributing 3028
entity with fewer than ten members makes an independent 3029
expenditure in excess of one hundred dollars for a local 3030
candidate, in excess of two hundred fifty dollars for a candidate 3031
for the office of member of the general assembly, or in excess of 3032
five hundred dollars for a statewide candidate, for the purpose of 3033
financing communications advocating the election or defeat of an 3034
identified candidate or solicits without the candidate's express 3035
consent a contribution for or against an identified candidate 3036
through public political advertising, a statement shall appear or 3037
be presented in a clear and conspicuous manner in the advertising 3038
that does both of the following: 3039

       (a) Clearly indicates that the communication or public 3040
political advertising is not authorized by the candidate or the 3041
candidate's campaign committee; 3042

       (b) Clearly identifies the candidate, campaign committee, 3043
political action committee, political contributing entity, or 3044
~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in electioneering that 3045
has paid for the communication or public political advertising in 3046
accordance with section 3517.20 of the Revised Code. 3047

       (2)(a) Whenever any campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign~~ 3048
~~fund,~~ political action committee, political contributing entity, 3049
entity engaging in electioneering, or political party makes an 3050
independent expenditure in support of or opposition to any 3051
candidate, the committee, entity, ~~fund,~~ or party shall report the 3052
independent expenditure and identify the candidate on a statement 3053
prescribed by the secretary of state and filed by the committee, 3054
entity, ~~fund,~~ or political party as part of its statement of 3055
contributions and expenditures pursuant to division (A) of section 3056
3517.10 and division (A) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code. 3057

       (b) Whenever any individual, partnership, or other entity, 3058
except a corporation, labor organization, campaign committee, 3059
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political action committee, political 3060
contributing entity, entity engaging in electioneering, or 3061
political party, makes one or more independent expenditures in 3062
support of or opposition to any candidate, the individual, 3063
partnership, or other entity shall file with the secretary of 3064
state in the case of a statewide candidate, or with the board of 3065
elections in the county in which the candidate files the 3066
candidate's petitions for nomination or election for district or 3067
local office, not later than the dates specified in divisions 3068
(A)(1), (2), and (3) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code, and, 3069
except as otherwise provided in that section, a statement 3070
itemizing all independent expenditures made during the period 3071
since the close of business on the last day reflected in the last 3072
previously filed such statement, if any. The statement shall be 3073
made on a form prescribed by the secretary of state or shall be 3074
filed by electronic means of transmission pursuant to division (G) 3075
of section 3517.106 of the Revised Code as authorized or required 3076
by that division. The statement shall indicate the date and the 3077
amount of each independent expenditure and the candidate on whose 3078
behalf it was made and shall be made under penalty of election 3079
falsification. 3080

       (C)(1) Whenever a corporation, labor organization, campaign 3081
committee, political action committee with ten or more members, or 3082
~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in electioneering makes 3083
an independent expenditure, or whenever a political action 3084
committee with fewer than ten members makes an independent 3085
expenditure in excess of one hundred dollars for a local ballot 3086
issue or question, or in excess of five hundred dollars for a 3087
statewide ballot issue or question, for the purpose of financing 3088
communications advocating support of or opposition to an 3089
identified ballot issue or question or solicits without the 3090
express consent of the ballot issue committee a contribution for 3091
or against an identified ballot issue or question through public 3092
political advertising, a statement shall appear or be presented in 3093
a clear and conspicuous manner in the advertising that does both 3094
of the following: 3095

       (a) Clearly indicates that the communication or public 3096
political advertising is not authorized by the identified ballot 3097
issue committee; 3098

       (b) Clearly identifies the corporation, labor organization, 3099
campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in 3100
electioneering, or political action committee that has paid for 3101
the communication or public political advertising in accordance 3102
with section 3517.20 of the Revised Code. 3103

       (2)(a) Whenever any corporation, labor organization, campaign 3104
committee, ~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in 3105
electioneering, political party, or political action committee 3106
makes an independent expenditure in support of or opposition to 3107
any ballot issue or question, the corporation or labor 3108
organization shall report the independent expenditure in 3109
accordance with division (C) of section 3599.03 of the Revised 3110
Code, and the campaign committee, ~~fund,~~entity, party, or 3111
political action committee shall report the independent 3112
expenditure and identify the ballot issue or question on a 3113
statement prescribed by the secretary of state and filed by the 3114
campaign committee, ~~fund,~~entity, political party, or political 3115
action committee as part of its statement of contributions and 3116
expenditures pursuant to division (A) of section 3517.10 and 3117
division (A) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code. 3118

       (b) Whenever any individual, partnership, or other entity, 3119
except a corporation, labor organization, campaign committee, 3120
~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in electioneering, 3121
political action committee, or political party, makes one or more 3122
independent expenditures in excess of one hundred dollars in 3123
support of or opposition to any ballot issue or question, the 3124
individual, partnership, or other entity shall file with the 3125
secretary of state in the case of a statewide ballot issue or 3126
question, or with the board of elections in the county that 3127
certifies the issue or question for placement on the ballot in the 3128
case of a district or local issue or question, not later than the 3129
dates specified in ~~division~~divisions (A)(1), (2), and (3) of 3130
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code, and, except as otherwise 3131
provided in that section, a statement itemizing all independent 3132
expenditures made during the period since the close of business on 3133
the last day reflected in the last previously filed such 3134
statement, if any. The statement shall be made on a form 3135
prescribed by the secretary of state or shall be filed by 3136
electronic means of transmission pursuant to division (G) of 3137
section 3517.106 of the Revised Code as authorized or required by 3138
that division. The statement shall indicate the date and the 3139
amount of each independent expenditure and the ballot issue or 3140
question in support of or opposition to which it was made and 3141
shall be made under penalty of election falsification. 3142

       (3) No person, campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund~~ 3143
entity engaging in electioneering, political action committee, 3144
corporation, labor organization, or other organization or 3145
association shall use or cause to be used a false or fictitious 3146
name in making an independent expenditure in support of or 3147
opposition to any candidate or any ballot issue or question. A 3148
name is false or fictitious if the person, campaign committee, 3149
~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in electioneering, 3150
political action committee, corporation, labor organization, or 3151
other organization or association does not actually exist or 3152
operate, if the corporation, labor organization, or other 3153
organization or association has failed to file a fictitious name 3154
or other registration with the secretary of state, if it is 3155
required to do so, or if the person, campaign committee, 3156
~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in electioneering, or 3157
political action committee has failed to file a designation of the 3158
appointment of a treasurer, if it is required to do so by division 3159
(D)(1) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. 3160

       Sec. 3517.106. (A) As used in this section: 3161

       (1) "Statewide office" means any of the offices of governor, 3162
lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, 3163
treasurer of state, attorney general, chief justice of the supreme 3164
court, and justice of the supreme court. 3165

       (2) "Addendum to a statement" includes an amendment or other 3166
correction to that statement. 3167

       (B)(1) The secretary of state shall store on computer the 3168
information contained in statements of contributions and 3169
expenditures and monthly statements required to be filed under 3170
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code and in statements of 3171
independent expenditures required to be filed under section 3172
3517.105 of the Revised Code by any of the following: 3173

       ~~(1)~~(a) The campaign committees of candidates for statewide 3174
office; 3175

       ~~(2)~~(b) The political action committees and political 3176
contributing entities described in division (A)(1) of section 3177
3517.11 of the Revised Code; 3178

       ~~(3) Legislative campaign funds;~~ 3179

       ~~(4)~~(c) State political parties; 3180

       ~~(5)~~(d) Individuals, partnerships, corporations, labor 3181
organizations, or other entities that make independent 3182
expenditures in support of or opposition to a statewide candidate 3183
or a statewide ballot issue or question; 3184

       ~~(6)~~(e) The campaign committees of candidates for the office 3185
of member of the general assembly; 3186

       (f) The campaign committees of all other candidates required 3187
to file campaign finance statements by electronic means of 3188
transmission under division (F) of this section; 3189

       (g) Entities engaging in electioneering. 3190

       (2) The secretary of state shall store on computer the 3191
contribution information required to be reported on a campaign 3192
finance web site under division (C) of section 3517.1011 of the 3193
Revised Code. 3194

       (C)(1) The secretary of state shall make available to the 3195
campaign committees, political action committees, political 3196
contributing entities, ~~legislative campaign funds,~~ political 3197
parties, entities engaging in electioneering, individuals, 3198
partnerships, corporations, labor organizations, and other 3199
entities described in division (B) of this section, and to members 3200
of the news media and other interested persons, for a reasonable 3201
fee, computer programs that are compatible with the secretary of 3202
state's method of storing the information contained in the 3203
statements. 3204

       (2) The secretary of state shall make the information 3205
required to be stored under division (B) of this section available 3206
on computer at the secretary of state's office so that, to the 3207
maximum extent feasible, individuals may obtain at the secretary 3208
of state's office any part or all of that information for any 3209
given year, subject to the limitation expressed in division (D) of 3210
this section. 3211

       (D) The secretary of state shall keep the information stored 3212
on computer under division (B) of this section for at least six 3213
years. 3214

       (E)(1) Subject to the secretary of state having implemented, 3215
tested, and verified the successful operation of any system the 3216
secretary of state prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this 3217
section and divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of 3218
the Revised Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by 3219
electronic means of transmission, the campaign committee of each 3220
candidate for statewide office may file the statements prescribed 3221
by section 3517.10 of the Revised Code by electronic means of 3222
transmission or, if the total amount of the contributions received 3223
or the total amount of the expenditures made by the campaign 3224
committee for the applicable reporting period as specified in 3225
division (A) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code exceeds ten 3226
thousand dollars, shall file those statements by electronic means 3227
of transmission. 3228

       Except as otherwise provided in this division, within five 3229
business days after a statement filed by a campaign committee of a 3230
candidate for statewide office is received by the secretary of 3231
state by electronic or other means of transmission, the secretary 3232
of state shall make available online to the public through the 3233
internet, as provided in division (I) of this section, the 3234
contribution and expenditure information in that statement. The 3235
secretary of state shall not make available online to the public 3236
through the internet any contribution or expenditure information 3237
contained in a statement for any candidate until the secretary of 3238
state is able to make available online to the public through the 3239
internet the contribution and expenditure information for all 3240
candidates for a particular office. As soon as the secretary of 3241
state has available all of that information, the secretary of 3242
state shall simultaneously make available online to the public 3243
through the internet the information for all candidates for a 3244
particular office. 3245

       If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is 3246
found to be incomplete or inaccurate after the examination of the 3247
statement for completeness and accuracy pursuant to division 3248
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the campaign 3249
committee shall file by electronic means of transmission any 3250
addendum to the statement that provides the information necessary 3251
to complete or correct the statement or, if required by the 3252
secretary of state under that division, an amended statement. 3253

       Within five business days after the secretary of state 3254
receives from a campaign committee of a candidate for statewide 3255
office an addendum to the statement or an amended statement by 3256
electronic or other means of transmission under this division or 3257
division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the 3258
secretary of state shall make the contribution and expenditure 3259
information in the addendum or amended statement available online 3260
to the public through the internet as provided in division (I) of 3261
this section. 3262

       (2) ~~Subject to division (E)(3) of this section and subject to~~ 3263
~~the secretary of state having implemented, tested, and verified~~ 3264
~~the successful operation of any system the secretary of state~~ 3265
~~prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this section and~~ 3266
~~divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of the Revised~~ 3267
~~Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by electronic~~ 3268
~~means of transmission, a political action committee and a~~ 3269
~~political contributing entity described in division (B)(2) of this~~ 3270
~~section, a legislative campaign fund, and a state political party~~ 3271
~~may file the statements prescribed by section 3517.10 of the~~ 3272
~~Revised Code by electronic means of transmission.~~ 3273

       ~~Within five business days after a statement filed by a~~ 3274
~~political action committee or a political contributing entity~~ 3275
~~described in division (B)(2) of this section, a legislative~~ 3276
~~campaign fund, or a state political party is received by the~~ 3277
~~secretary of state by electronic or other means of transmission,~~ 3278
~~the secretary of state shall make available online to the public~~ 3279
~~through the internet, as provided in division (I) of this section,~~ 3280
~~the contribution and expenditure information in that statement.~~ 3281

       ~~If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is~~ 3282
~~found to be incomplete or inaccurate after the examination of the~~ 3283
~~statement for completeness and accuracy pursuant to division~~ 3284
~~(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the political~~ 3285
~~action committee, political contributing entity, legislative~~ 3286
~~campaign fund, or state political party shall file by electronic~~ 3287
~~means of transmission any addendum to the statement that provides~~ 3288
~~the information necessary to complete or correct the statement or,~~ 3289
~~if required by the secretary of state under that division, an~~ 3290
~~amended statement.~~ 3291

       ~~Within five business days after the secretary of state~~ 3292
~~receives from a political action committee or a political~~ 3293
~~contributing entity described in division (B)(2) of this section,~~ 3294
~~a legislative campaign fund, or a state political party an~~ 3295
~~addendum to the statement or an amended statement by electronic or~~ 3296
~~other means of transmission under this division or division~~ 3297
~~(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the secretary of~~ 3298
~~state shall make the contribution and expenditure information in~~ 3299
~~the addendum or amended statement available online to the public~~ 3300
~~through the internet as provided in division (I) of this section.~~ 3301

       ~~(3)~~ Subject to the secretary of state having implemented, 3302
tested, and verified the successful operation of any system the 3303
secretary of state prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this 3304
section and divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of 3305
the Revised Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by 3306
electronic means of transmission, a political action committee and 3307
a political contributing entity described in division (B)~~(2)~~(1)(b) 3308
of this section, ~~a legislative campaign fund, and~~ a state 3309
political party ~~shall~~, and an entity engaging in electioneering 3310
may file the statements prescribed by section 3517.10 of the 3311
Revised Code by electronic means of transmission or, if the total 3312
amount of the contributions received or the total amount of the 3313
expenditures made by the political action committee, political 3314
contributing entity, ~~legislative campaign fund, or~~state political 3315
party, or entity engaging in electioneering for the applicable 3316
reporting period as specified in division (A) of section 3517.10 3317
of the Revised Code exceeds ten thousand dollars, shall file those 3318
statements by electronic means of transmission. 3319

       Within five business days after a statement filed by a 3320
political action committee or a political contributing entity 3321
described in division (B)~~(2)~~(1)(b) of this section, ~~a legislative~~ 3322
~~campaign fund, or~~ a state political party, or an entity engaging 3323
in electioneering is received by the secretary of state by 3324
electronic or other means of transmission, the secretary of state 3325
shall make available online to the public through the internet, as 3326
provided in division (I) of this section, the contribution and 3327
expenditure information in that statement. 3328

       If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is 3329
found to be incomplete or inaccurate after the examination of the 3330
statement for completeness and accuracy pursuant to division 3331
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the political 3332
action committee, political contributing entity, ~~legislative~~ 3333
~~campaign fund, or~~ state political party, or entity engaging in 3334
electioneering shall file by electronic means of transmission any 3335
addendum to the statement that provides the information necessary 3336
to complete or correct the statement or, if required by the 3337
secretary of state under that division, an amended statement. 3338

       Within five business days after the secretary of state 3339
receives from a political action committee or a political 3340
contributing entity described in division (B)~~(2)~~(1)(b) of this 3341
section, ~~a legislative campaign fund, or~~ a state political party, 3342
or an entity engaging in electioneering an addendum to the 3343
statement or an amended statement by electronic or other means of 3344
transmission under this division or division (B)(3)(a) of section 3345
3517.11 of the Revised Code, the secretary of state shall make the 3346
contribution and expenditure information in the addendum or 3347
amended statement available online to the public through the 3348
internet as provided in division (I) of this section. 3349

       (F)(1) Subject ~~to division (F)(4) of this section and subject~~ 3350
to the secretary of state having implemented, tested, and verified 3351
the successful operation of any system the secretary of state 3352
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this section and 3353
divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of the Revised 3354
Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by electronic 3355
means of transmission ~~or on computer disk~~, a campaign committee of 3356
a candidate for ~~the~~an office ~~of member of the general assembly~~ 3357
other than a statewide office may file the statements prescribed 3358
by section 3517.10 of the Revised Code by electronic means of 3359
transmission to the office of the secretary of state or, ~~until~~ 3360
~~March 1, 2004, on computer disk with the appropriate board of~~ 3361
~~elections specified in division (A)(2) of section 3517.11 of the~~ 3362
~~Revised Code~~if the total amount of the contributions received by 3363
the campaign committee for the applicable reporting period as 3364
specified in division (A) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code 3365
exceeds ten thousand dollars, shall file those statements by 3366
electronic means of transmission to the office of the secretary of 3367
state. 3368

       Except as otherwise provided in this division, within five 3369
business days after a statement filed by a campaign committee of a 3370
candidate for ~~the~~an office ~~of member of the general assembly~~ 3371
other than a statewide office is received by the secretary of 3372
state by electronic or other means of transmission, the secretary 3373
of state shall make available online to the public through the 3374
internet, as provided in division (I) of this section, the 3375
contribution and expenditure information in that statement. The 3376
secretary of state shall not make available online to the public 3377
through the internet any contribution or expenditure information 3378
contained in a statement for any candidate until the secretary of 3379
state is able to make available online to the public through the 3380
internet the contribution and expenditure information for all 3381
candidates for a particular office. As soon as the secretary of 3382
state has available all of that information, the secretary of 3383
state shall simultaneously make available online to the public 3384
through the internet the information for all candidates for a 3385
particular office. 3386

       If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission or 3387
~~on computer disk~~ is found to be incomplete or inaccurate after the 3388
examination of the statement for completeness and accuracy 3389
pursuant to division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised 3390
Code, the campaign committee shall file by electronic means of 3391
transmission to the office of the secretary of state~~, or, until~~ 3392
~~March 1, 2004, on computer disk with the appropriate board of~~ 3393
~~elections if the original statement was filed on computer disk,~~ 3394
any addendum to the statement that provides the information 3395
necessary to complete or correct the statement or, if required by 3396
the secretary of state under that division, an amended statement. 3397

       Within five business days after the secretary of state 3398
receives from a campaign committee of a candidate for ~~the~~an 3399
office ~~of member of the general assembly~~other than a statewide 3400
office an addendum to the statement or an amended statement by 3401
electronic or other means of transmission under this division or 3402
division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the 3403
secretary of state shall make the contribution and expenditure 3404
information in the addendum or amended statement available online 3405
to the public through the internet as provided in division (I) of 3406
this section. 3407

       (2) ~~Until March 1, 2004, if a campaign committee of a~~ 3408
~~candidate for the office of member of the general assembly files a~~ 3409
~~statement of contributions and expenditures, an addendum to the~~ 3410
~~statement, or an amended statement by electronic means of~~ 3411
~~transmission or on computer disk pursuant to division (F)(1) of~~ 3412
~~this section, the campaign committee shall file as prescribed by~~ 3413
~~section 3517.10 of the Revised Code with the appropriate board of~~ 3414
~~elections specified in division (A)(2) of section 3517.11 of the~~ 3415
~~Revised Code a printed version of the statement, addendum, or~~ 3416
~~amended statement filed by electronic means of transmission or on~~ 3417
~~computer disk, in the format that the secretary of state shall~~ 3418
~~prescribe.~~ If a statement, addendum, or amended statement is not 3419
filed by electronic means of transmission ~~or on computer disk~~to 3420
the office of the secretary of state but is filed with the 3421
appropriate board of elections by printed version only, the 3422
campaign committee shall file two copies of the printed version of 3423
the statement, addendum, or amended statement with the ~~appropriate~~ 3424
board of elections. The board of elections shall send one of those 3425
copies by overnight delivery service to the secretary of state 3426
before the close of business on the day the board of elections 3427
receives the statement, addendum, or amended statement. 3428

       ~~(3)(a) Subject to division (F)(4) of this section and subject~~ 3429
~~to the secretary of state having implemented, tested, and verified~~ 3430
~~the successful operation of any system the secretary of state~~ 3431
~~prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this section and~~ 3432
~~divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of the Revised~~ 3433
~~Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by electronic~~ 3434
~~means of transmission or on computer disk, the secretary of state~~ 3435
~~shall assess, and a campaign committee of a candidate for the~~ 3436
~~office of member of the general assembly shall pay, a fee as~~ 3437
~~provided in this division if the campaign committee has not filed~~ 3438
~~the campaign finance statements prescribed by section 3517.10 of~~ 3439
~~the Revised Code by electronic means of transmission or on~~ 3440
~~computer disk pursuant to division (F)(1) of this section. The fee~~ 3441
~~shall be calculated on the total contributions received for the~~ 3442
~~applicable reporting period specified in division (A) of section~~ 3443
~~3517.10 of the Revised Code as follows:~~ 3444

       ~~(i) No fee for total contributions up to and including ten~~ 3445
~~thousand dollars;~~ 3446

       ~~(ii) A fee of fifty dollars for total contributions of over~~ 3447
~~ten thousand dollars up to and including twenty-five thousand~~ 3448
~~dollars;~~ 3449

       ~~(iii) A fee of one hundred fifty dollars for total~~ 3450
~~contributions over twenty-five thousand dollars up to and~~ 3451
~~including fifty thousand dollars;~~ 3452

       ~~(iv) A fee of two hundred dollars for total contributions~~ 3453
~~over fifty thousand dollars.~~ 3454

       ~~(b) No campaign committee of a candidate for the office of~~ 3455
~~member of the general assembly shall be required to pay the fee~~ 3456
~~prescribed by division (F)(3)(a) of this section in connection~~ 3457
~~with the filing of an addendum to a statement of contributions and~~ 3458
~~expenditures or in connection with the filing of an amended~~ 3459
~~statement.~~ 3460

       ~~(c) The fee prescribed by division (F)(3)(a) of this section~~ 3461
~~shall be made payable to the secretary of state and shall be~~ 3462
~~collected by the appropriate board of elections at the time the~~ 3463
~~campaign committee of a candidate for the office of member of the~~ 3464
~~general assembly files the statement of contributions and~~ 3465
~~expenditures. The fee shall be sent along with the statement,~~ 3466
~~before the close of business on the day it is received, to the~~ 3467
~~secretary of state by overnight delivery service.~~ 3468

       ~~(4) Subject to the secretary of state having implemented,~~ 3469
~~tested, and verified the successful operation of any system the~~ 3470
~~secretary of state prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this~~ 3471
~~section and divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of~~ 3472
~~the Revised Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by~~ 3473
~~electronic means of transmission, on and after March 1, 2004, a~~ 3474
~~campaign committee of a candidate for the office of member of the~~ 3475
~~general assembly shall file the statements prescribed by section~~ 3476
~~3517.10 of the Revised Code by electronic means of transmission to~~ 3477
~~the secretary of state if the total amount of the contributions~~ 3478
~~received by the campaign committee for the applicable reporting~~ 3479
~~period as specified in division (A) of section 3517.10 of the~~ 3480
~~Revised Code exceeds ten thousand dollars.~~ 3481

       ~~Except as otherwise provided in this division, within five~~ 3482
~~business days after a statement filed by a campaign committee of a~~ 3483
~~candidate for the office of member of the general assembly is~~ 3484
~~received by the secretary of state by electronic or other means of~~ 3485
~~transmission, the secretary of state shall make available online~~ 3486
~~to the public through the internet, as provided in division (I) of~~ 3487
~~this section, the contribution and expenditure information in that~~ 3488
~~statement. The secretary of state shall not make available online~~ 3489
~~to the public through the internet any contribution or expenditure~~ 3490
~~information contained in a statement for any candidate until the~~ 3491
~~secretary of state is able to make available online to the public~~ 3492
~~through the internet the contribution and expenditure information~~ 3493
~~for all candidates for a particular office. As soon as the~~ 3494
~~secretary of state has available all of that information, the~~ 3495
~~secretary of state shall simultaneously make available online to~~ 3496
~~the public through the internet the information for all candidates~~ 3497
~~for a particular office.~~ 3498

       ~~If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is~~ 3499
~~found to be incomplete or inaccurate after the examination of the~~ 3500
~~statement for completeness and accuracy pursuant to division~~ 3501
~~(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the campaign~~ 3502
~~committee of a candidate for the office of member of the general~~ 3503
~~assembly shall file by electronic means of transmission any~~ 3504
~~addendum to the statement that provides the information necessary~~ 3505
~~to complete or correct the statement or, if required by the~~ 3506
~~secretary of state under that division, an amended statement.~~ 3507

       ~~Within five business days after the secretary of state~~ 3508
~~receives from a campaign committee of a candidate for the office~~ 3509
~~of member of the general assembly an addendum to the statement or~~ 3510
~~an amended statement by electronic or other means of transmission~~ 3511
~~under this division or division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of~~ 3512
~~the Revised Code, the secretary of state shall make the~~ 3513
~~contribution and expenditure information in the addendum or~~ 3514
~~amended statement available online to the public through the~~ 3515
~~internet as provided in division (I) of this section.~~ 3516

       (G)~~(1)~~ Subject ~~to division (G)(2) of this section and subject~~ 3517
to the secretary of state having implemented, tested, and verified 3518
the successful operation of any system the secretary of state 3519
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this section and 3520
divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of the Revised 3521
Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by electronic 3522
means of transmission, any individual, partnership, or other 3523
entity that makes independent expenditures in support of or 3524
opposition to a statewide candidate or a statewide ballot issue or 3525
question as provided in division (B)(2)(b) or (C)(2)(b) of section 3526
3517.105 of the Revised Code may file the statement specified in 3527
that division by electronic means of transmission or, if the total 3528
amount of independent expenditures made during the reporting 3529
period under that division exceeds ten thousand dollars, shall 3530
file the statement by electronic means of transmission. 3531

       Within five business days after a statement filed by an 3532
individual, partnership, or other entity is received by the 3533
secretary of state by electronic or other means of transmission, 3534
the secretary of state shall make available online to the public 3535
through the internet, as provided in division (I) of this section, 3536
the expenditure information in that statement. 3537

       If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is 3538
found to be incomplete or inaccurate after the examination of the 3539
statement for completeness and accuracy pursuant to division 3540
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the individual, 3541
partnership, or other entity shall file by electronic means of 3542
transmission any addendum to the statement that provides the 3543
information necessary to complete or correct the statement or, if 3544
required by the secretary of state under that division, an amended 3545
statement. 3546

       Within five business days after the secretary of state 3547
receives from an individual, partnership, or other entity 3548
described in division (B)(2)(b) or (C)(2)(b) of section 3517.105 3549
of the Revised Code an addendum to the statement or an amended 3550
statement by electronic or other means of transmission under this 3551
division or division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised 3552
Code, the secretary of state shall make the expenditure 3553
information in the addendum or amended statement available online 3554
to the public through the internet as provided in division (I) of 3555
this section. 3556

       ~~(2) Subject to the secretary of state having implemented,~~ 3557
~~tested, and verified the successful operation of any system the~~ 3558
~~secretary of state prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this~~ 3559
~~section and divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of~~ 3560
~~the Revised Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by~~ 3561
~~electronic means of transmission, any individual, partnership, or~~ 3562
~~other entity that makes independent expenditures in support of or~~ 3563
~~opposition to a statewide candidate or a statewide ballot issue or~~ 3564
~~question as provided in division (B)(2)(b) or (C)(2)(b) of section~~ 3565
~~3517.105 of the Revised Code shall file the statement specified in~~ 3566
~~that division by electronic means of transmission if the total~~ 3567
~~amount of the independent expenditures made during the reporting~~ 3568
~~period under that division exceeds ten thousand dollars.~~ 3569

       ~~Within five business days after a statement filed by an~~ 3570
~~individual, partnership, or other entity is received by the~~ 3571
~~secretary of state by electronic or other means of transmission,~~ 3572
~~the secretary of state shall make available online to the public~~ 3573
~~through the internet, as provided in division (I) of this section,~~ 3574
~~the expenditure information in that statement.~~ 3575

       ~~If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is~~ 3576
~~found to be incomplete or inaccurate after the examination of the~~ 3577
~~statement for completeness and accuracy pursuant to division~~ 3578
~~(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the individual,~~ 3579
~~partnership, or other entity shall file by electronic means of~~ 3580
~~transmission any addendum to the statement that provides the~~ 3581
~~information necessary to complete or correct the statement or, if~~ 3582
~~required by the secretary of state under that division, an amended~~ 3583
~~statement.~~ 3584

       ~~Within five business days after the secretary of state~~ 3585
~~receives from an individual, partnership, or other entity~~ 3586
~~described in division (B)(2)(b) or (C)(2)(b) of section 3517.105~~ 3587
~~of the Revised Code an addendum to the statement or an amended~~ 3588
~~statement by electronic or other means of transmission under this~~ 3589
~~division or division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised~~ 3590
~~Code, the secretary of state shall make the expenditure~~ 3591
~~information in the addendum or amended statement available online~~ 3592
~~to the public through the internet as provided in division (I) of~~ 3593
~~this section.~~ 3594

       (H)(1) The secretary of state, by rule adopted pursuant to 3595
section 3517.23 of the Revised Code, shall prescribe one or more 3596
techniques by which a person who executes and transmits by 3597
electronic means a statement of contributions and expenditures, a 3598
statement of independent expenditures, an addendum to either 3599
statement, an amended statement of contributions and expenditures, 3600
or an amended statement of independent expenditures under this 3601
section or section 3517.10 or 3517.105 of the Revised Code or by 3602
which a person who reports contribution and expenditure 3603
information on a campaign finance web site under division (C) of 3604
section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code shall electronically sign 3605
the statement, addendum, or amended statement, or report. Any 3606
technique prescribed by the secretary of state pursuant to this 3607
division shall create an electronic signature that satisfies all 3608
of the following: 3609

       (a) It is unique to the signer. 3610

       (b) It objectively identifies the signer. 3611

       (c) It involves the use of a signature device or other means 3612
or method that is under the sole control of the signer and that 3613
cannot be readily duplicated or compromised. 3614

       (d) It is created and linked to the electronic record to 3615
which it relates in a manner that, if the record or signature is 3616
intentionally or unintentionally changed after signing, the 3617
electronic signature is invalidated. 3618

       (2) An electronic signature prescribed by the secretary of 3619
state under division (H)(1) of this section shall be attached to 3620
or associated with the statement of contributions and 3621
expenditures, the statement of independent expenditures, the 3622
addendum to either statement, the amended statement of 3623
contributions and expenditures, or the amended statement of 3624
independent expenditures that is executed and transmitted by 3625
electronic means by the person to whom the electronic signature is 3626
attributed or, if applicable, attached to or associated with the 3627
contribution and expenditure information on the campaign finance 3628
web site that is reported and maintained by the person to whom the 3629
electronic signature is attributed. The electronic signature that 3630
is attached to or associated with ~~the~~a statement, addendum, or 3631
amended statement, or report on a campaign finance web site under 3632
this division shall be binding on all persons and for all purposes 3633
under the campaign finance reporting law as if the signature had 3634
been handwritten in ink on a printed form ~~of the statement,~~ 3635
~~addendum, or amended statement~~. 3636

       (I) The secretary of state shall make the contribution and 3637
expenditure information in all statements, all addenda to the 3638
statements, and all amended statements that are filed with the 3639
secretary of state by electronic or other means of transmission 3640
under this section or section 3517.10, 3517.105, or 3517.11 of the 3641
Revised Code and the contribution and expenditure information 3642
required to be reported on a campaign finance web site under 3643
division (C) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code available 3644
online to the public by any means that are searchable, viewable, 3645
and accessible through the internet. 3646

       (J)(1) As used in this division, "library" means a library 3647
that is open to the public and that is one of the following: 3648

       (a) A library that is maintained and regulated under section 3649
715.13 of the Revised Code; 3650

       (b) A library that is created, maintained, and regulated 3651
under Chapter 3375. of the Revised Code. 3652

       (2) The secretary of state shall notify all libraries of the 3653
location on the internet at which the contribution and expenditure 3654
information, in campaign finance statements or reported on 3655
campaign finance web sites, which is required to be made available 3656
online to the public through the internet pursuant to division (I) 3657
of this section may be accessed. 3658

       If that location is part of ~~the graphical subnetwork called~~ 3659
the world wide web and if the secretary of state has notified a 3660
library of that world wide web location as required by this 3661
division, the library shall include a link to that world wide web 3662
location on each internet-connected computer it maintains that is 3663
accessible to the public. 3664

       (3) If the system the secretary of state prescribes for the 3665
filing of campaign finance statements by electronic means of 3666
transmission pursuant to division (H)(1) of this section and 3667
divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of the Revised 3668
Code includes filing those statements through the internet via an 3669
~~interactive location on the graphical subnetwork called~~ the world 3670
wide web, the secretary of state shall notify all libraries of the 3671
world wide web location at which those statements may be filed. 3672

       If those statements may be filed through the internet via an 3673
~~interactive location on the graphical subnetwork called~~ the world 3674
wide web and if the secretary of state has notified a library of 3675
that world wide web location as required by this division, the 3676
library shall include a link to that world wide web location on 3677
each internet-connected computer it maintains that is accessible 3678
to the public. 3679

       (K) It is an affirmative defense to a complaint or charge 3680
brought against any campaign committee, political action 3681
committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, political 3682
contributing entity, entity engaging in electioneering, or 3683
individual, partnership, or other entity for the failure to file 3684
by electronic means of transmission a campaign finance statement 3685
as required by this section or section 3517.10 or 3517.105 of the 3686
Revised Code or for the failure to report contribution and 3687
expenditure information on a campaign finance web site as required 3688
by section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code that all of the following 3689
apply to the campaign committee, political action committee, 3690
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, political contributing 3691
entity, entity engaging in electioneering, or individual, 3692
partnership, or other entity ~~that failed to file the required~~ 3693
~~statement~~: 3694

       (1) The campaign committee, political action committee, 3695
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, political contributing 3696
entity, entity engaging in electioneering, or individual, 3697
partnership, or other entity attempted to file the required 3698
statement by electronic means of transmission ~~the required~~ 3699
~~statement~~or attempted to report the required contribution and 3700
expenditure information on the campaign finance web site prior to 3701
the deadline set forth in the applicable section. 3702

       (2) The campaign committee, political action committee, 3703
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, political contributing 3704
entity, entity engaging in electioneering, or individual, 3705
partnership, or other entity was unable to file by electronic 3706
means of transmission or report the required contribution and 3707
expenditure information on the campaign finance web site due to an 3708
expected or unexpected shutdown of the whole or part of the 3709
applicable electronic ~~campaign finance statement-filing~~ system, 3710
such as for maintenance or because of hardware, software, or 3711
network connection failure. 3712

       (3) The campaign committee, political action committee, 3713
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, political contributing 3714
entity, entity engaging in electioneering, or individual, 3715
partnership, or other entity filed the required statement by 3716
electronic means of transmission ~~the required statement~~or 3717
reported the required contribution and expenditure information on 3718
the campaign finance web site within a reasonable period of time 3719
after being unable to so file or report it under the circumstance 3720
described in division (K)(2) of this section. 3721

       Sec. 3517.108. (A) As used in divisions (A) and (B) of this 3722
section: 3723

       (1) ~~"Candidate" has the same meaning as in section 3517.01 of~~ 3724
~~the Revised Code but includes only candidates for the offices of~~ 3725
~~governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of~~ 3726
~~state, treasurer of state, attorney general, member of the state~~ 3727
~~board of education, member of the general assembly, chief justice~~ 3728
~~of the supreme court, and justice of the supreme court.~~ 3729

       ~~(2)~~ A "general election period" begins on the day after the 3730
primary election immediately preceding the general election at 3731
which a candidate seeks an office ~~specified in division (A)(1) of~~ 3732
~~this section~~ and ends on the thirty-first day of December 3733
following that general election. 3734

       ~~(3)~~(2) A "primary election period" begins on the first day of 3735
January of the year following the year in which the general 3736
election was held for the office that the candidate seeks, 3737
including any mid-term election, and ends on the day of the 3738
primary election. 3739

       (B) Whenever the campaign committee of a candidate has unpaid 3740
debt at the end of a primary election period or at the end of a 3741
general election period, the committee may accept additional 3742
contributions during the immediately following election period up 3743
to the applicable limitation prescribed under section 3517.102 of 3744
the Revised Code from any individual, political action committee, 3745
political contributing entity, or other campaign committee who, 3746
during the primary or general election period for which debt 3747
remains unpaid, has contributed less than the contribution 3748
limitations prescribed under section 3517.102 of the Revised Code 3749
applicable to that individual, political action committee, 3750
political contributing entity, or other campaign committee. Any 3751
additional contribution that a campaign committee accepts under 3752
this division shall count toward the applicable limitations 3753
prescribed under section 3517.102 of the Revised Code for that 3754
primary or general election period at the end of which the debt 3755
remains unpaid, and shall not count toward the applicable 3756
limitations for any other primary or general election period if 3757
all of the following conditions apply: 3758

       (1) The campaign committee reports, on the statement required 3759
to be filed under division (A)(2) of section 3517.10 of the 3760
Revised Code, all debt remaining unpaid at the end of the election 3761
period. The committee shall also file a separate statement, on a 3762
form prescribed by the secretary of state, at the same time that 3763
the committee is required to file a statement of contributions and 3764
expenditures under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. The 3765
separate statement shall include the name and address of each 3766
contributor who makes an additional contribution under division 3767
(B) of this section, how the contribution was applied to pay the 3768
unpaid debt as required by division (B)(3) of this section, and 3769
the balance of the unpaid debt after each contribution was applied 3770
to it. 3771

       (2) The additional contributions are accepted only during the 3772
primary or general election period, whichever is applicable, 3773
immediately following the election period covered in the statement 3774
filed under division (B)(1) of this section. 3775

       (3) All additional contributions made under division (B) of 3776
this section are used by the campaign committee that receives them 3777
only to pay the debt of the committee reported under division 3778
(B)(1) of this section. 3779

       (4) The campaign committee maintains a separate account for 3780
all additional contributions made under division (B) of this 3781
section, and uses moneys in that account only to pay the unpaid 3782
debt reported under division (B)(1) of this section and to 3783
administer the account. 3784

       (5) The campaign committee stops accepting additional 3785
contributions after funds sufficient to repay the unpaid debt 3786
reported under division (B)(1) of this section have been raised 3787
and promptly disposes of any contributions received that exceed 3788
the amount of the unpaid debt by returning the excess 3789
contributions to the contributors ~~or by giving the excess~~ 3790
~~contributions to an organization that is exempt from federal~~ 3791
~~income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in~~ 3792
~~subsection 501(c)(3), (4), (8), (10), or (19) of the Internal~~ 3793
~~Revenue Code~~. 3794

       Sec. 3517.109. (A) As used in this section: 3795

       (1) ~~"Candidate" has the same meaning as in section 3517.01 of~~ 3796
~~the Revised Code but includes only candidates for the offices of~~ 3797
~~governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of~~ 3798
~~state, treasurer of state, attorney general, member of the state~~ 3799
~~board of education, and member of the general assembly.~~ 3800

       ~~(2)~~ "Statewide candidate" means the joint candidates for the 3801
offices of governor and lieutenant governor or a candidate for the 3802
office of secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of 3803
state, and attorney general~~, and member of the state board of~~ 3804
~~education~~. 3805

       ~~(3)~~(2) "Senate candidate" means a candidate for the office of 3806
state senator. 3807

       ~~(4) "House candidate" means a candidate for the office of~~ 3808
~~state representative.~~ 3809

       ~~(5) "State office" means the offices of governor, lieutenant~~ 3810
~~governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of~~ 3811
~~state, attorney general, member of the state board of education,~~ 3812
~~and member of the general assembly.~~ 3813

       ~~(6)~~(3) "Aggregate contribution" means the total of all 3814
contributions from a contributor during the pre-filing period. 3815

       ~~(7)~~(4) "Allowable aggregate contribution" means all of the 3816
following: 3817

       (a) In the case of a contribution from a contributor whose 3818
contributions are subject to the contribution limits described in 3819
division (B)(1), (2), (3), ~~(6)(a),~~ or (7) of section 3517.102 of 3820
the Revised Code, that portion of the amount of the contributor's 3821
aggregate contribution that does not exceed the preprimary 3822
contribution limit applicable to that contributor. 3823

       (b) In the case of a contribution or contributions from a 3824
contributor whose contributions are not subject to the 3825
contribution limits described in divisions (B)(1), (2), (3), 3826
~~(6)(a),~~ or (7) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code, the total 3827
of the following: 3828

       (i) That portion of the aggregate contribution that was 3829
received as in-kind services; 3830

       (ii) That portion of the aggregate contribution that was 3831
received as cash ~~and does not exceed the applicable preprimary~~ 3832
~~cash transfer or contribution limits described in division~~ 3833
~~(B)(6)(b) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code~~. 3834

       ~~(8)~~(5) "Excess aggregate contribution" means, for each 3835
contributor, the amount by which that contributor's aggregate 3836
contribution exceeds that contributor's allowable aggregate 3837
contribution. 3838

       ~~(9)~~(6) "Pre-filing period" means the period of time ending on 3839
the day that the candidacy petitions are due for the state office 3840
for which the candidate has filed and beginning on the latest date 3841
of the following: 3842

       (a) The first day of January of the year following the 3843
general election in which that state office was last on the 3844
ballot; 3845

       (b) The first day of January of the year following the 3846
general election in which the candidate was last a candidate for 3847
any office; 3848

       (c) The first day of the month following the primary election 3849
in which the candidate was last a candidate for any office. 3850

       ~~(10)~~(7) "Filing date" means the last date on which a 3851
candidacy petition may be filed for an office. 3852

       ~~(11)~~(8) "Applicable carry-in limit" means ~~thirty-five~~ 3853
~~thousand dollars if the candidate is a house candidate or a~~ 3854
~~candidate for the state board of education, one hundred thousand~~ 3855
~~dollars if the candidate is a senate candidate, and two~~one of the 3856
following: 3857

       (a) Two hundred thousand dollars if the candidate is a 3858
statewide candidate ~~other than a candidate for the state board of~~ 3859
~~education~~; 3860

       (b) One hundred thousand dollars if the candidate is a senate 3861
candidate; 3862

       (c) Thirty-five thousand dollars if the candidate is other 3863
than a statewide candidate or a senate candidate. 3864

       ~~(12)~~(9) "Campaign asset" means prepaid, purchased, or donated 3865
assets available to the candidate on the date of the filing 3866
deadline for the office the candidate is seeking that will be 3867
consumed or depleted in the course of the candidate's election 3868
campaign, including, but not limited to, postage, prepaid rent for 3869
campaign headquarters, prepaid radio, television, and newspaper 3870
advertising, and other prepaid consulting and personal services. 3871

       ~~(13)~~(10) "Permitted funds" means the sum of the following: 3872

       (a) The total of the allowable aggregate contribution of each 3873
contributor; 3874

       (b) The applicable carry-in limit. 3875

       ~~(14)~~(11) "Excess funds" means the amount by which the sum of 3876
the total cash on hand and total reported campaign assets exceeds 3877
permitted funds. 3878

       ~~(15)~~(12) "Covered candidate" means ~~both of the following:~~ 3879

       ~~(a) A candidate who, during the pre-filing period, accepts or~~ 3880
~~has a campaign committee that accepts contributions on the~~ 3881
~~candidate's behalf for the purpose of nominating or electing the~~ 3882
~~candidate to any office not subject to the contribution limits~~ 3883
~~prescribed in section 3517.102 of the Revised Code;~~ 3884

       ~~(b) A~~a person who, during the pre-filing period, accepts or 3885
has a campaign committee that accepts contributions on the 3886
person's behalf prior to the person deciding upon or announcing 3887
the office for which the person will become a candidate for 3888
nomination or election. 3889

       (B) Each candidate who files for ~~state~~ office, not later than 3890
the filing date for that office, shall dispose of any excess 3891
funds. Each covered candidate who files for ~~state~~ office, not 3892
later than the filing date for that office, shall dispose of any 3893
excess aggregate contributions. 3894

       (C) Any campaign committee that is required to dispose of 3895
excess funds or excess aggregate contributions under division (B) 3896
of this section shall dispose of that excess amount or amounts by 3897
~~doing any of the following:~~ 3898

       ~~(1) Giving the amount to the treasurer of state for deposit~~ 3899
~~into the state treasury to the credit of the Ohio elections~~ 3900
~~commission fund;~~ 3901

       ~~(2) Giving~~giving the amount to individuals who made 3902
contributions to that campaign committee as a refund of all or 3903
part of their contributions; 3904

       ~~(3) Giving the amount to a corporation that is exempt from~~ 3905
~~federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in~~ 3906
~~subsection 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code~~. 3907

       (D)(1) Subject to division (D)(2) of this section, no 3908
candidate or covered candidate shall appear on the ballot, even if 3909
certified to appear on the ballot, unless the candidate's or 3910
covered candidate's campaign committee has disposed of excess 3911
funds, excess aggregate contributions, or both as required by 3912
divisions (B) and (C) of this section. 3913

       (2) If the excess aggregate contributions accepted by a 3914
covered candidate or a covered candidate's campaign committee 3915
aggregate a total of less than five thousand dollars from all 3916
contributors, that candidate shall not be prohibited from 3917
appearing on the ballot under division (D)(1) of this section. 3918

       (E)(1) The campaign committee of each candidate required to 3919
dispose of excess funds under this section shall file a report, on 3920
a form prescribed by the secretary of state, with the official or 3921
board with which the candidate is required to file statements 3922
under section 3517.11 of the Revised Code. The report shall be 3923
filed by the seventh day following the filing deadline for the 3924
office the candidate is seeking,and shall indicate the amount of 3925
excess funds disposed of~~, and shall describe the manner in which~~ 3926
~~the campaign committee disposed of the excess amount~~. 3927

       (2) In addition to the information required to be included in 3928
a report filed under division (E)(1) of this section, the campaign 3929
committee of each covered candidate required to dispose of excess 3930
aggregate contributions under this section shall include in that 3931
report the source and amount of each excess aggregate contribution 3932
disposed of ~~and shall describe the manner in which the campaign~~ 3933
~~committee disposed of the excess amount~~. 3934

       (F)(1) Each campaign committee of a candidate who has filed a 3935
declaration of candidacy or a nominating petition ~~for a state~~ 3936
~~office~~, not later than seven days after the date of the filing 3937
deadline for the office the candidate is seeking, shall file a 3938
declaration of filing-day finances, on a form prescribed by the 3939
secretary of state, with the official or board with which the 3940
candidate is required to file statements under section 3517.11 of 3941
the Revised Code. 3942

       (2) A declaration of filing-day finances shall list all of 3943
the following: 3944

       (a) The amount of cash on hand in the candidate's campaign 3945
fund on the date of the filing deadline for the office the 3946
candidate is seeking. 3947

       (b) The value and description of all campaign assets worth 3948
five hundred dollars or more available to the candidate on the 3949
date of the filing. Assets purchased by the campaign shall be 3950
valued at actual cost, and in-kind contributions shall be valued 3951
at market value. 3952

       (c) The total of all aggregate contributions; 3953

       (d) The total of all allowable aggregate contributions; 3954

       (e) The applicable carry-in limit, if any. 3955

       (3) In addition to the information required to be included in 3956
a report of filing-day finances filed under division (F)(1) of 3957
this section, the campaign committee of each covered candidate 3958
shall include both of the following in that report: 3959

       (a) The total of all excess aggregate contributions; 3960

       (b) For each contributor, if any, for whom there is an excess 3961
aggregate contribution, the name, address, aggregate contribution, 3962
and excess aggregate contribution. 3963

       (G) A campaign committee of a candidate is not required to 3964
file a declaration of filing-day finances under division (F) of 3965
this section if all of the following apply: 3966

       (1) The campaign committee has not accepted, during the 3967
pre-filing period, any aggregate contribution greater than the 3968
applicable amount. 3969

       (2) The campaign committee had less than the carry-in amount 3970
in cash on hand at the beginning of the pre-filing period. 3971

       (3) The candidate files a declaration, on a form prescribed 3972
by the secretary of state, with the official or board with which 3973
the candidate is required to file statements under section 3517.11 3974
of the Revised Code not later than seven days after the date of 3975
the filing deadline for the office that candidate is seeking, 3976
stating that the candidate's campaign committee has not accepted 3977
aggregate contributions as described in division (G)(1) of this 3978
section and has less than the carry-in amount in cash on hand as 3979
described in division (G)(2) of this section. 3980

       Sec. 3517.1010. (A) As used in this section: 3981

       (1) "Aggregate contribution," "allowable aggregate 3982
contribution," "excess aggregate contribution," and "pre-filing 3983
period" have the same meanings as in section 3517.109 of the 3984
Revised Code. 3985

       (2) "Filing deadline" means the last date on which a 3986
candidacy petition may be filed for an office. 3987

       (3) "Campaign asset" means prepaid, purchased, or donated 3988
assets, goods, or services available to the candidate's campaign 3989
committee on the date specified in the filing required under 3990
division (F) of this section that will be consumed, depleted, or 3991
used in the course of the candidate's election campaign, 3992
including, but not limited to, postage, rent for any campaign 3993
office, radio, television, and newspaper advertising, and 3994
consulting and personal services. 3995

       (4) "Permitted funds" means one of the following: 3996

       (a) In the case of a disposal of excess funds under division 3997
(B)(1) of this section, the sum of the primary carry-in amount and 3998
the product of both of the following: 3999

       (i) The sum of the campaign committee's net cash on hand and 4000
the campaign committee's total reported campaign assets on the day 4001
of the primary election less the primary carry-in amount; 4002

       (ii) The ratio of the sum of the allowable aggregate 4003
contributions of each contributor to the sum of all contributions 4004
received, during the period extending from the first day on which, 4005
in accordance with division (D) of section 3517.103 of the Revised 4006
Code, the contribution limitations prescribed in section 3517.102 4007
of the Revised Code no longer apply to the campaign committee 4008
through the end of the primary election period. 4009

       For the purposes of division (A)(4)(a) of this section, the 4010
allowable aggregate contribution of each contributor is calculated 4011
as if the limitations on contributions prescribed in section 4012
3517.102 of the Revised Code were in effect. 4013

       As used in division (A)(4)(a) of this section, "primary 4014
carry-in amount" is the sum of the campaign committee's cash on 4015
hand and reported campaign assets as reported on the campaign 4016
committee's declaration of no limits filed pursuant to division 4017
(D) of section 3517.103 of the Revised Code. 4018

       (b) In the case of a disposal of excess funds under division 4019
(B)(5) of this section, the product of both of the following: 4020

       (i) The sum of the cash on hand and reported campaign assets 4021
at the end of the thirty-first day of December immediately 4022
following the general election; 4023

       (ii) The ratio of the sum of the allowable aggregate 4024
contributions of each contributor and the general carry-in amount 4025
to the sum of all contributions received during the general 4026
election period and the general carry-in amount. 4027

       For the purposes of division (A)(4)(b) of this section, when 4028
a candidate has filed a declaration of no limits under division 4029
(D)(2) of section 3517.103 of the Revised Code, the allowable 4030
aggregate contribution calculated for each contributor is 4031
calculated as if the limitations on contributions prescribed in 4032
section 3517.102 of the Revised Code were in effect. 4033

       As used in division (A)(4)(b) of this section, "general 4034
carry-in amount" is the sum of the campaign committee's reported 4035
campaign assets and net cash on hand as of the day of the primary 4036
election, after the committee has disposed of excess funds under 4037
division (B)(1) of this section, if required. "General election 4038
period" has the same meaning as in section 3517.102 of the Revised 4039
Code. 4040

       (5) "Excess funds" means the amount by which the sum of the 4041
campaign committee's cash on hand on the date specified in the 4042
filing required to be made under division (F) of this section and 4043
total reported campaign assets exceeds permitted funds. 4044

       (6) "Net cash on hand" means the cash on hand on the day of 4045
the primary election less the sum of all debts and obligations 4046
reported under division (F) of this section. 4047

       (7) "Statewide office" means the offices of governor, 4048
lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, 4049
treasurer of state, attorney general, and member of the state 4050
board of education. 4051

       (B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (G) of this 4052
section, the campaign committee of any candidate who has filed a 4053
declaration of no limits in accordance with division (D) of 4054
section 3517.103 of the Revised Code, and to which the 4055
contribution limitations prescribed in section 3517.102 of the 4056
Revised Code no longer apply during a primary election period, 4057
shall dispose of any excess funds not later than fourteen days 4058
after the day on which the primary election was held. 4059

       (2) The campaign committee of any candidate that has filed a 4060
personal funds notice under division (C)(1) or (2) of section 4061
3517.103 of the Revised Code shall, at the end of the primary 4062
election period, do one of the following: 4063

       (a) Return that portion of the personal funds remaining in 4064
the candidate's campaign committee fund at the end of the primary 4065
election period that are excess funds not later than fourteen days 4066
after the day on which the primary election was held; 4067

       (b) Retain the personal funds remaining in the candidate's 4068
campaign committee fund at the end of the primary election period 4069
and file a statement with the secretary of state declaring that 4070
the campaign committee will retain those remaining personal funds 4071
in the committee's campaign fund and indicating the amount of 4072
remaining personal funds that would be characterized as excess 4073
funds. 4074

       (3) If a campaign committee elects to retain personal funds 4075
pursuant to division (B)(2)(b) of this section, ~~both of~~ the 4076
~~following apply:~~ 4077

       ~~(a) The~~ amount characterized as excess funds is considered to 4078
be an expenditure of personal funds for the purpose of determining 4079
whether the amount of personal funds the campaign committee has 4080
received under division (C)(1) or (2) of section 3517.103 of the 4081
Revised Code during an election period exceeds the amounts 4082
specified in those divisions. 4083

       ~~(b) The campaign committee is not a designated state campaign~~ 4084
~~committee for the purpose of making contributions to a legislative~~ 4085
~~campaign fund or to the state candidate fund of a state or county~~ 4086
~~political party.~~ 4087

       (4) Except as otherwise provided in division (G) of this 4088
section, the campaign committee of any candidate that has expended 4089
personal funds in excess of the amount specified in division 4090
(C)(1) or (2) of section 3517.103 of the Revised Code shall 4091
dispose of any excess funds not later than fourteen days after the 4092
day on which the primary election is held or the thirty-first day 4093
of December after the day on which the general election was held, 4094
whichever is applicable, or choose to retain personal funds under 4095
division (B)(2) of this section. The calculation of excess funds 4096
under this division shall be made in the same manner that a 4097
campaign committee is required to dispose of excess funds under 4098
division (B)(1) or (5) of this section, whichever election period 4099
is applicable. For the purposes of this division, the allowable 4100
aggregate contribution of each contributor, including one or more 4101
contributions from the candidate and from the candidate's spouse, 4102
parents, children, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers, 4103
sisters, grandparents, mothers-in-law, fathers-in-law, 4104
brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, or grandparents by marriage, is 4105
calculated for that contributor as if the contribution limitations 4106
prescribed by section 3517.102 of the Revised Code were in effect. 4107

       (5) Except as otherwise provided in division (G) of this 4108
section, the campaign committee of any candidate to which, in 4109
accordance with division (D) of section 3517.103 of the Revised 4110
Code, the contribution limitations prescribed in section 3517.102 4111
of the Revised Code no longer apply during a general election 4112
period shall dispose of any excess funds not later than the 4113
thirty-first day of December after the day on which the general 4114
election was held. 4115

       (6) Notwithstanding division (B) of section 3517.109 of the 4116
Revised Code, the amount of excess aggregate contributions 4117
required to be disposed of under that division by a candidate 4118
whose contribution limitations have been reimposed pursuant to 4119
division (D)(4) of section 3517.103 of the Revised Code is limited 4120
to no more than the sum of the following: 4121

       (a) The difference between the sum of the cash on hand and 4122
reported campaign assets on the date of the declaration of 4123
candidacy filing deadline, date of death, or date of withdrawal, 4124
whichever is applicable, less the sum of the cash on hand and 4125
reported campaign assets reported on the campaign committee's 4126
declaration of no limits under division (D)(2) of section 3517.103 4127
of the Revised Code; 4128

       (b) The sum of the aggregate excess contributions of all 4129
contributors made from the beginning of the primary election 4130
period to the day immediately preceding the day on which 4131
contribution limitations prescribed in section 3517.102 of the 4132
Revised Code became inapplicable pursuant to division (D)(1) of 4133
section 3517.103 of the Revised Code. 4134

       (C) Any campaign committee that is required to dispose of 4135
excess funds or excess aggregate contributions under division (B) 4136
of this section shall dispose of the excess amount or amounts in 4137
accordance with division (C) of section 3517.109 of the Revised 4138
Code. 4139

       (D)(1) Any candidate who knowingly fails to dispose of excess 4140
funds or excess aggregate contributions as required by divisions 4141
(B) and (C) of this section, except a candidate whose campaign 4142
committee has been given a letter of substantial compliance as 4143
provided for in division (D)(2) of this section, shall not appear 4144
on the ballot, even if the candidate has been certified to appear 4145
on the ballot. 4146

       (2) The secretary of state shall, after initially examining 4147
and reviewing any declaration provided for in division (F) of this 4148
section and making a determination that a campaign committee has 4149
substantially complied with the disposal requirements of division 4150
(B) of this section, promptly issue to the candidate's campaign 4151
committee a letter certifying that committee's substantial 4152
compliance. 4153

       (3) The campaign committee of a candidate for ~~state~~statewide 4154
office ~~as defined in division (A) of section 3517.109 of the~~ 4155
~~Revised Code~~ has not substantially complied with the disposal 4156
requirements of division (B) of this section if, upon initial 4157
review of a declaration filed pursuant to division (F) of this 4158
section, it is discovered that the candidate's campaign committee 4159
has failed to dispose of excess funds or excess aggregate 4160
contributions totaling in the aggregate more than ten thousand 4161
dollars. 4162

       (4) The campaign committee of a candidate for ~~member of the~~ 4163
~~general assembly~~an office other than a statewide office has not 4164
substantially complied with the disposal requirements of division 4165
(B) of this section if, upon initial review of a declaration filed 4166
pursuant to division (F) of this section, it is discovered that 4167
the candidate's campaign committee has failed to dispose of excess 4168
funds or excess aggregate contributions totaling in the aggregate 4169
more than twenty-five hundred dollars. 4170

       (5) Any campaign committee that has received a letter 4171
indicating substantial compliance as provided for in division 4172
(D)(2) of this section shall, within thirty days after receiving 4173
such a letter, fully comply with the disposal requirements of 4174
division (B) of this section. 4175

       (E) When the campaign committee of a candidate files a 4176
personal funds notice in accordance with division (C), or a 4177
declaration of no limits in accordance with division (D), of 4178
section 3517.103 of the Revised Code, the campaign committee of 4179
each such candidate shall file in the case of a primary election 4180
period a declaration of primary-day finances not later than 4181
fourteen days after the day on which the primary election was 4182
held, or shall file in the case of a general election period a 4183
declaration of year-end finances not later than the last business 4184
day of January of the next calendar year immediately following the 4185
day on which the general election was held. 4186

       (F) The declaration of primary-day finances and declaration 4187
of year-end finances shall be filed on a form prescribed by the 4188
secretary of state and shall list all of the following: 4189

       (1) The amount of net cash on hand in the candidate's 4190
campaign committee fund at the end of the day on which the primary 4191
election was held or cash on hand on the thirty-first day of 4192
December immediately following the day on which the general 4193
election was held, whichever is appropriate; 4194

       (2) In the case of a declaration of primary-day finances, any 4195
debt or other obligation incurred by the committee during the 4196
primary election period and related to the primary election of the 4197
campaign committee's candidate; 4198

       (3) The value and description of all campaign assets worth 4199
five hundred dollars or more available to the candidate at the end 4200
of the day on which the primary election was held or on the 4201
thirty-first day of December immediately following the day on 4202
which the general election was held; 4203

       (4) The total of all aggregate contributions received by the 4204
candidate's campaign committee during the primary or general 4205
election period; 4206

       (5) The total of all allowable aggregate contributions 4207
received by the candidate's campaign committee during the primary 4208
or general election period, whichever is applicable. The allowable 4209
aggregate contribution of each contributor shall be calculated as 4210
if the contribution limitations prescribed by section 3517.102 of 4211
the Revised Code were in effect. 4212

       (6) A description of all excess funds and excess aggregate 4213
contributions disposed of by the candidate's campaign committee in 4214
accordance with division (B) of this section for that election. 4215

       (G) The campaign committee of a candidate is not required to 4216
dispose of excess funds or excess aggregate contributions under 4217
division (B) of this section if both of the following apply: 4218

       (1) The campaign committee has not accepted any aggregate 4219
contribution greater than the amount applicable under that 4220
division. 4221

       (2) The campaign committee files on a form, prescribed by the 4222
secretary of state, with the official or board with which the 4223
candidate is required to file statements under section 3517.11 of 4224
the Revised Code, stating that the committee has not accepted 4225
aggregate contributions as described in division (G)(1) of this 4226
section. 4227

       Sec. 3517.1011. (A) As used in this section, "statewide 4228
office" means any of the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, 4229
secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, attorney 4230
general, member of the state board of education, and justice and 4231
chief justice of the supreme court. 4232

       (B)(1)(a) On and after January 1, 2006, the secretary of 4233
state shall establish a publicly viewable campaign finance web 4234
site that meets the requirements of divisions (H) and (I) of 4235
section 3517.106 of the Revised Code for each campaign committee. 4236

       (b)(i) The secretary of state shall establish the web site 4237
for the campaign committee of a candidate for statewide office 4238
promptly after the person becomes a candidate. 4239

       (ii) A board of elections promptly shall notify the secretary 4240
of state when a person becomes a candidate for any office other 4241
than a statewide office. The secretary of state promptly shall 4242
establish the web site for that candidate's campaign committee 4243
after being notified of the person's candidacy. 4244

       (2) On and after January 1, 2006, the secretary of state 4245
shall establish a publicly viewable campaign finance web site that 4246
meets the requirements of divisions (H) and (I) of section 4247
3517.106 of the Revised Code for each political action committee, 4248
political party, political contributing entity, and entity 4249
engaging in electioneering. 4250

       (C) Each campaign finance web site established under division 4251
(B) of this section shall be made available to the campaign 4252
committee, political action committee, political party, political 4253
contributing entity, or entity engaging in electioneering for 4254
which it is established. The applicable campaign committee, 4255
political action committee, political party, political 4256
contributing entity, or entity engaging in electioneering shall 4257
report on that web site, in accordance with the requirements of 4258
divisions (D) and (E) of this section, each contribution received 4259
that exceeds, in the aggregate, two hundred fifty dollars from a 4260
single contributor and each expenditure made that exceeds two 4261
hundred fifty dollars. 4262

       (D)(1)(a) Subject to division (D)(1)(b) of this section, each 4263
contribution required to be reported on a campaign finance web 4264
site under division (C) of this section shall be reported on that 4265
web site within seventy-two hours after the contribution is 4266
received. 4267

       (b) Each contribution required to be reported on a campaign 4268
finance web site under division (C) of this section that is 4269
received within thirty days prior to the day of an election or 4270
that is received on the day of an election shall be reported on 4271
that web site within twenty-four hours after the contribution is 4272
received. 4273

       (2) Each expenditure required to be reported on a campaign 4274
finance web site under division (C) of this section shall be 4275
reported on that web site within thirty days after the expenditure 4276
is made. 4277

       (3) For each contribution and expenditure required to be 4278
reported on a campaign finance web site under division (C) of this 4279
section, the information to be reported on that web site shall be 4280
the same as the contribution and expenditure information required 4281
to be reported on statements of contributions and expenditures 4282
under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. 4283

       (E) The secretary of state shall determine, by rule adopted 4284
under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, both of the following: 4285

       (1) The manner in which the campaign finance web site shall 4286
be structured and maintained; 4287

       (2) The process by which information required to be reported 4288
on the campaign finance web site shall be verified for accuracy 4289
and timeliness of reporting. 4290

       (F) The reporting of contributions and expenditures under 4291
this section shall be in addition to any reporting required under 4292
other provisions of the campaign finance reporting law. 4293

       Sec. 3517.11. (A)(1) Campaign committees of candidates for 4294
statewide ~~offices~~office or the state board of education, 4295
political action committees or political contributing entities 4296
that make contributions to campaign committees of candidates that 4297
are required to file the statements prescribed by section 3517.10 4298
of the Revised Code with the secretary of state, political action 4299
committees or political contributing entities that make 4300
contributions to campaign committees of candidates for member of 4301
the general assembly, political action committees or political 4302
contributing entities that make contributions to state and 4303
national political parties ~~and to legislative campaign funds~~, 4304
political action committees or political contributing entities 4305
that receive contributions or make expenditures in connection with 4306
a statewide ballot issue, political action committees or political 4307
contributing entities that make contributions to other political 4308
action committees or political contributing entities, political 4309
parties, and campaign committees, except as set forth in division 4310
(A)(3) of this section, ~~legislative campaign funds, and~~ state and 4311
national political parties, and entities engaging in 4312
electioneering shall file the statements prescribed by section 4313
3517.10 of the Revised Code with the secretary of state. 4314

       (2) Except as otherwise provided in division (F) of section 4315
3517.106 of the Revised Code, campaign committees of candidates 4316
for all other offices shall file the statements prescribed by 4317
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code with the board of elections 4318
where their candidates are required to file their petitions or 4319
other papers for nomination or election. 4320

       A campaign committee of a candidate for an office ~~of member~~ 4321
~~of the general assembly~~other than a statewide office shall file 4322
two copies of the printed version of any statement, addendum, or 4323
amended statement if the committee does not file by electronic 4324
means of transmission ~~or on computer disk~~ pursuant to division 4325
(F)(1) of section 3517.106 of the Revised Code but files by 4326
printed version only with the appropriate board of elections. The 4327
board of elections shall send one of those copies by overnight 4328
delivery service to the secretary of state before the close of 4329
business on the day the board of elections receives the statement, 4330
addendum, or amended statement. 4331

       (3) Political action committees or political contributing 4332
entities that only contribute to a county political party, 4333
contribute to campaign committees of candidates whose nomination 4334
or election is to be submitted only to electors within a county, 4335
subdivision, or district, excluding candidates for member of the 4336
general assembly, and receive contributions or make expenditures 4337
in connection with ballot questions or issues to be submitted only 4338
to electors within a county, subdivision, or district shall file 4339
the statements prescribed by section 3517.10 of the Revised Code 4340
with the board of elections in that county or in the county 4341
contained in whole or part within the subdivision or district 4342
having a population greater than that of any other county 4343
contained in whole or part within that subdivision or district, as 4344
the case may be. 4345

       (4) County political parties shall file the statements 4346
prescribed by section 3517.10 of the Revised Code with the board 4347
of elections of their respective counties. 4348

       (B)(1) The official with whom petitions and other papers for 4349
nomination or election to public office are filed shall furnish 4350
each candidate at the time of that filing a copy of sections 4351
3517.01, 3517.08 to 3517.11, 3517.13 to 3517.993, 3599.03, and 4352
3599.031 of the Revised Code and any other materials that the 4353
secretary of state may require. Each candidate receiving the 4354
materials shall acknowledge their receipt in writing. 4355

       (2) On or before the tenth day before the dates on which 4356
statements are required to be filed by section 3517.10 of the 4357
Revised Code, every candidate subject to the provisions of this 4358
section and sections 3517.10 and 3517.106 of the Revised Code 4359
shall be notified of the requirements and applicable penalties of 4360
those sections. The secretary of state, by certified mail, return 4361
receipt requested, shall notify all candidates required to file 4362
those statements with the secretary of state's office. The board 4363
of elections of every county shall notify by first class mail any 4364
candidate who has personally appeared at the office of the board 4365
on or before the tenth day before the statements are required to 4366
be filed and signed a form, to be provided by the secretary of 4367
state, attesting that the candidate has been notified of the 4368
candidate's obligations under the campaign finance law. The board 4369
shall forward the completed form to the secretary of state. The 4370
board shall use certified mail, return receipt requested, to 4371
notify all other candidates required to file those statements with 4372
it. 4373

       (3)(a) Any statement required to be filed under sections 4374
3517.081 to 3517.17 of the Revised Code that is found to be 4375
incomplete or inaccurate by the officer to whom it is submitted 4376
shall be accepted on a conditional basis, and the person who filed 4377
it shall be notified by certified mail as to the incomplete or 4378
inaccurate nature of the statement. The secretary of state may 4379
examine statements filed for candidates for ~~the~~an office of 4380
~~member of the general assembly~~ for completeness and accuracy. The 4381
secretary of state shall examine for completeness and accuracy 4382
statements that campaign committees of candidates for ~~the~~an 4383
office ~~of member of the general assembly~~other than a statewide 4384
office file by electronic means of transmission pursuant to 4385
division (F) of section 3517.106 of the Revised Code. If an 4386
officer at the board of elections where a statement filed for a 4387
candidate for ~~the~~an office ~~of member of the general assembly~~ 4388
other than a statewide office was submitted finds the statement to 4389
be incomplete or inaccurate, the officer shall immediately notify 4390
the secretary of state of its incomplete or inaccurate nature. If 4391
either an officer at the board of elections or the secretary of 4392
state finds a statement filed for a candidate for ~~the~~an office of 4393
~~member of the general assembly~~other than a statewide office to be 4394
incomplete or inaccurate, only the secretary of state shall send 4395
the notification as to the incomplete or inaccurate nature of the 4396
statement. 4397

       Within twenty-one days after receipt of the notice, in the 4398
case of a pre-election statement, a postelection statement, a 4399
monthly statement, or an annual statement prescribed by section 4400
3517.10, an annual statement prescribed by section 3517.101, or a 4401
statement prescribed by division (B)(2)(b) or (C)(2)(b) of section 4402
3517.105 or section 3517.107 of the Revised Code, the recipient 4403
shall file an addendum, amendment, or other correction to the 4404
statement providing the information necessary to complete or 4405
correct the statement. The secretary of state may require that, in 4406
lieu of filing an addendum, amendment, or other correction to a 4407
statement that is filed by electronic means of transmission to the 4408
office of the secretary of state ~~or on computer disk with the~~ 4409
~~appropriate board of elections~~ pursuant to section 3517.106 of the 4410
Revised Code, the recipient of the notice described in this 4411
division file by electronic means of transmission~~, or, until March~~ 4412
~~1, 2004, on computer disk with the appropriate board of elections~~ 4413
~~if the original statement was filed on computer disk,~~ an amended 4414
statement that incorporates the information necessary to complete 4415
or correct the statement. ~~The~~ 4416

       The secretary of state shall determine by rule when an 4417
addendum, amendment, or other correction to a two-business-day 4418
statement prescribed by section 3517.10 of the Revised Code or an 4419
amended two-business-day statement shall be filed. An addendum, 4420
amendment, or other correction to a statement that is filed by 4421
electronic means of transmission ~~or on computer disk~~ pursuant to 4422
section 3517.106 of the Revised Code shall be filed in the same 4423
manner as the statement. ~~The~~ 4424

       The provisions of sections 3517.10 and 3517.106 of the 4425
Revised Code pertaining to the filing of statements of 4426
contributions and expenditures and statements of independent 4427
expenditures by electronic means of transmission ~~or on computer~~ 4428
~~disk~~ apply to the filing of addenda, amendments, or other 4429
corrections to those statements by electronic means of 4430
transmission ~~or, until March 1, 2004, on computer disk~~ and the 4431
filing of amended statements by electronic means of transmission 4432
~~or, until March 1, 2004, on computer disk~~. 4433

       (b) Within five business days after the secretary of state 4434
receives, by electronic or other means of transmission, an 4435
addendum, amendment, or other correction to a statement or an 4436
amended statement under division (B)(3)(a) of this section, the 4437
secretary of state, pursuant to divisions (E), (F), (G), and (I) 4438
of section 3517.106 of the Revised Code, shall make the 4439
contribution and expenditure information in that addendum, 4440
amendment, correction, or amended statement available online to 4441
the public through the internet. 4442

       (4)(a) The secretary of state or the board of elections shall 4443
examine all statements for compliance with sections 3517.08 to 4444
3517.17 of the Revised Code. 4445

       (b) The secretary of state may contract with an individual or 4446
entity not associated with the secretary of state and experienced 4447
in interpreting the campaign finance law of this state to conduct 4448
examinations of statements filed by any statewide candidate, as 4449
defined in section 3517.103 of the Revised Code. 4450

       (c) The examination shall be conducted by a person or entity 4451
qualified to conduct it. The results of the examination shall be 4452
available to the public, and, when the examination is conducted by 4453
an individual or entity not associated with the secretary of 4454
state, the results of the examination shall be reported to the 4455
secretary of state. 4456

       (C)(1) In the event of a failure to file or a late filing of 4457
a statement or report required to be filed under sections 3517.081 4458
to 3517.17 of the Revised Code or if a filed statement or any 4459
addendum, amendment, or other correction to the statement or any 4460
amended statement, if an addendum, amendment, or other correction 4461
or an amended statement is required to be filed, or a report is 4462
incomplete or inaccurate or appears to disclose a failure to 4463
comply with or a violation of law, the official whose duty it is 4464
to examine the statement or report shall promptly file a complaint 4465
with the Ohio elections commission under section 3517.153 of the 4466
Revised Code if the law is one over which the commission has 4467
jurisdiction to hear complaints, or the official shall promptly 4468
report the failure or violation to the board of elections and the 4469
board shall promptly report it to the prosecuting attorney in 4470
accordance with division (J) of section 3501.11 of the Revised 4471
Code. If the official files a complaint with the commission, the 4472
commission shall proceed in accordance with sections 3517.154 to 4473
3517.157 of the Revised Code. 4474

       (2) For purposes of division (C)(1) of this section, a 4475
statement or, report, an addendum, amendment, or other correction 4476
to a statement, or an amended statement required to be filed under 4477
sections 3517.081 to 3517.17 of the Revised Code is incomplete or 4478
inaccurate under this section if the statement or, report, 4479
addendum, amendment, other correction, or amended statement fails 4480
to disclose substantially all contributions that are received from 4481
a source and that are required to be reported under sections 4482
3517.10, 3517.107, ~~and~~ 3517.108, and 3517.1011 of the Revised Code 4483
or if the statement or, addendum, amendment, other correction, or 4484
amended statement fails to disclose at least ninety per cent of 4485
the total contributions received or of the total expenditures made 4486
during the reporting period. 4487

       (D) No certificate of nomination or election shall be issued 4488
to a person, and no person elected to an office shall enter upon 4489
the performance of the duties of that office, until that person or 4490
that person's campaign committee, as appropriate, has fully 4491
complied with this section and sections 3517.08, 3517.081, 4492
3517.10, and 3517.13 of the Revised Code. 4493

       Sec. 3517.13. (A)(1) No campaign committee for a candidate 4494
whose candidacy for nomination or election was submitted to 4495
electors throughout the entire state shall fail to file a complete 4496
and accurate statement required under division (A)(1) of section 4497
3517.10 of the Revised Code. 4498

       (2) No campaign committee of a statewide candidate shall fail 4499
to file a complete and accurate monthly statement, and no campaign 4500
committee of a statewide candidate or a candidate for the office 4501
of chief justice or justice of the supreme court shall fail to 4502
file a complete and accurate two-business-day statement, as 4503
required under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. 4504

       As used in this division, "statewide candidate" has the same 4505
meaning as in division (F)(2) of section 3517.10 of the Revised 4506
Code. 4507

       (B) No campaign committee for a candidate whose candidacy for 4508
nomination or election was submitted to electors within a county 4509
or district shall fail to file a complete and accurate statement 4510
required under division (A)(1) of section 3517.10 of the Revised 4511
Code. 4512

       (C) No campaign committee shall fail to file a complete and 4513
accurate statement required under division (A)(2) of section 4514
3517.10 of the Revised Code. 4515

       (D) No campaign committee shall fail to file a complete and 4516
accurate statement required under division (A)(3) of section 4517
3517.10 of the Revised Code. 4518

       (E) No person other than a campaign committee shall knowingly 4519
fail to file a statement required under section 3517.10 or 4520
3517.107 of the Revised Code. 4521

       (F) No person shall make cash contributions to any person 4522
totaling more than one hundred dollars in each primary, special, 4523
or general election. 4524

       (G)(1)(a) No person shall knowingly conceal or misrepresent 4525
contributions given or received,that are required to be reported 4526
by a provision in sections 3517.08 to 3517.13 of the Revised Code; 4527

       (b) No person shall knowingly conceal or misrepresent 4528
expenditures made, or any other information required to be 4529
reported by a provision in sections 3517.08 to 3517.13 and 3517.17 4530
of the Revised Code. 4531

       (2)(a) No person shall make a contribution to a campaign 4532
committee, political action committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 4533
political party, or political contributing entity, or entity 4534
engaging in electioneering in the name of another person. 4535

       (b) A person does not make a contribution in the name of 4536
another when either of the following applies: 4537

       (i) An individual makes a contribution from a partnership or 4538
unincorporated business account, if the contribution is reported 4539
by listing both the name of the partnership or unincorporated 4540
business and the name of the partner or owner making the 4541
contribution. 4542

       (ii) A person makes a contribution in that person's spouse's 4543
name or in both of their names. 4544

       (H) No person within this state, publishing a newspaper or 4545
other periodical, shall charge a campaign committee for political 4546
advertising a rate in excess of the rate ~~such~~that person would 4547
charge if the campaign committee were a general rate advertiser 4548
whose advertising was directed to promoting its business within 4549
the same area as that encompassed by the particular office that 4550
the candidate of the campaign committee is seeking. The rate shall 4551
take into account the amount of space used, as well as the type of 4552
advertising copy submitted by or on behalf of the campaign 4553
committee. All discount privileges otherwise offered by a 4554
newspaper or periodical to general rate advertisers shall be 4555
available upon equal terms to all campaign committees. 4556

       No person within this state, operating a radio or television 4557
station or network of stations in this state, shall charge a 4558
campaign committee for political broadcasts a rate that exceeds: 4559

       (1) During the forty-five days preceding the date of a 4560
primary election and during the sixty days preceding the date of a 4561
general or special election in which the candidate of the campaign 4562
committee is seeking office, the lowest unit charge of the station 4563
for the same class and amount of time for the same period; 4564

       (2) At any other time, the charges made for comparable use of 4565
~~such~~that station by its other users. 4566

       (I) Subject to divisions (K), (L), (M), and (N) of this 4567
section, no agency or department of this state or any political 4568
subdivision shall award any contract, other than one let by 4569
competitive bidding or a contract incidental to such contract or 4570
which is by force account, for the purchase of goods costing more 4571
than five hundred dollars or services costing more than five 4572
hundred dollars to any individual, partnership, association, 4573
including, without limitation, a professional association 4574
organized under Chapter 1785. of the Revised Code, estate, or 4575
trust if the individual has made or the individual's spouse has 4576
made, or any partner, shareholder, administrator, executor, or 4577
trustee, or the ~~spouses~~spouse of any of them has made, as an 4578
individual, within the two previous calendar years, one or more 4579
contributions totaling in excess of one thousand dollars to the 4580
holder of the public office having ultimate responsibility for the 4581
award of the contract or to the public officer's campaign 4582
committee. 4583

       (J) Subject to divisions (K), (L), (M), and (N) of this 4584
section, no agency or department of this state or any political 4585
subdivision shall award any contract, other than one let by 4586
competitive bidding or a contract incidental to such contract or 4587
which is by force account, for the purchase of goods costing more 4588
than five hundred dollars or services costing more than five 4589
hundred dollars to a corporation or business trust, except a 4590
professional association organized under Chapter 1785. of the 4591
Revised Code, if an owner of more than twenty per cent of the 4592
corporation or business trust or the spouse of ~~such~~that person, 4593
has made, as an individual, within the two previous calendar 4594
years, taking into consideration only owners for all of ~~such~~that 4595
period, one or more contributions totaling in excess of one 4596
thousand dollars to the holder of a public office having ultimate 4597
responsibility for the award of the contract or to the public 4598
officer's campaign committee. 4599

       (K) For purposes of divisions (I) and (J) of this section, if 4600
a public officer who is responsible for the award of a contract is 4601
appointed by the governor, whether or not the appointment is 4602
subject to the advice and consent of the senate, excluding members 4603
of boards, commissions, committees, authorities, councils, boards 4604
of trustees, task forces, and other such entities appointed by the 4605
governor, the office of the governor is considered to have 4606
ultimate responsibility for the award of the contract. 4607

       (L) For purposes of divisions (I) and (J) of this section, if 4608
a public officer who is responsible for the award of a contract is 4609
appointed by the elected chief executive officer of a municipal 4610
corporation, or appointed by the elected chief executive officer 4611
of a county operating under an alternative form of county 4612
government or county charter, excluding members of boards, 4613
commissions, committees, authorities, councils, boards of 4614
trustees, task forces, and other such entities appointed by the 4615
chief executive officer, the office of the chief executive officer 4616
is considered to have ultimate responsibility for the award of the 4617
contract. 4618

       (M)(1) Divisions (I) and (J) of this section do not apply to 4619
contracts awarded by the board of commissioners of the sinking 4620
fund, municipal legislative authorities, boards of education, 4621
boards of county commissioners, boards of township trustees, or 4622
other boards, commissions, committees, authorities, councils, 4623
boards of trustees, task forces, and other such entities created 4624
by law, by the supreme court or courts of appeals, by county 4625
courts consisting of more than one judge, courts of common pleas 4626
consisting of more than one judge, or municipal courts consisting 4627
of more than one judge, or by a division of any court if the 4628
division consists of more than one judge. Division (M)(1) of this 4629
section shall apply to the specified entity only if the members of 4630
the entity act collectively in the award of a contract for goods 4631
or services. 4632

       (2) Divisions (I) and (J) of this section do not apply to 4633
actions of the controlling board. 4634

       (N)(1) Divisions (I) and (J) of this section apply to 4635
contributions made to the holder of a public office having 4636
ultimate responsibility for the award of a contract, or to the 4637
public officer's campaign committee, during the time the person 4638
holds the office and during any time such person was a candidate 4639
for the office. ~~These~~Those divisions do not apply to 4640
contributions made to, or to the campaign committee of, a 4641
candidate for or holder of the office other than the holder of the 4642
office at the time of the award of the contract. 4643

       (2) Divisions (I) and (J) of this section do not apply to 4644
contributions of a partner, shareholder, administrator, executor, 4645
trustee, or owner of more than twenty per cent of a corporation or 4646
business trust made before the person held any of those positions 4647
or after the person ceased to hold any of those positions in the 4648
partnership, association, estate, trust, corporation, or business 4649
trust whose eligibility to be awarded a contract is being 4650
determined, nor to contributions of the person's spouse made 4651
before the person held any of those positions, after the person 4652
ceased to hold any of those positions, before the two were 4653
married, or after the granting of a decree of divorce, dissolution 4654
of marriage, or ~~nullity~~annulment, or after the granting of an 4655
order in an action brought solely for legal separation. These 4656
divisions do not apply to contributions of the spouse of an 4657
individual whose eligibility to be awarded a contract is being 4658
determined made before the two were married, or after the granting 4659
of a decree of divorce, dissolution of marriage, or ~~nullity~~ 4660
annulment, or after the granting of an order in an action brought 4661
solely for legal separation. 4662

       (O) No beneficiary of a campaign fund or other person shall 4663
convert for personal use, and no person shall knowingly give to a 4664
beneficiary of a campaign fund or any other person, for the 4665
beneficiary's or any other person's personal use, anything of 4666
value from the beneficiary's campaign fund, including, without 4667
limitation, payments to a beneficiary for services the beneficiary 4668
personally performs, except as reimbursement for any of the 4669
following: 4670

       (1) Legitimate and verifiable prior campaign expenses 4671
incurred by the beneficiary; 4672

       (2) Legitimate and verifiable, ordinary, and necessary prior 4673
expenses incurred by the beneficiary in connection with duties as 4674
the holder of a public office, including, without limitation, 4675
expenses incurred through participation in nonpartisan or 4676
bipartisan events if the participation of the holder of a public 4677
office would normally be expected; 4678

       (3) Legitimate and verifiable ordinary and necessary prior 4679
expenses incurred by the beneficiary while doing any of the 4680
following: 4681

       (a) ~~Engaged~~Engaging in activities in support of or 4682
opposition to a candidate other than the beneficiary, political 4683
party, or ballot issue; 4684

       (b) Raising funds for a political party, ~~political action~~ 4685
~~committee,~~ political contributing entity, ~~legislative campaign~~ 4686
~~fund,~~ campaign committee, or other candidate; 4687

       (c) Participating in the activities of a political party, 4688
political action committee, political contributing entity, 4689
~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in electioneering, or 4690
campaign committee; or 4691

       (d) Attending a political party convention or other political 4692
meeting. 4693

       For purposes of this division, an expense is incurred 4694
whenever a beneficiary has either made payment or is obligated to 4695
make payment, as by the use of a credit card or other credit 4696
procedure or by the use of goods or services received on account. 4697

       (P) No beneficiary of a campaign fund shall knowingly accept, 4698
and no person shall knowingly give to the beneficiary of a 4699
campaign fund, reimbursement for an expense under division (O) of 4700
this section to the extent that the expense previously was 4701
reimbursed or paid from another source of funds. If an expense is 4702
reimbursed under division (O) of this section and is later paid or 4703
reimbursed, wholly or in part, from another source of funds, the 4704
beneficiary shall repay the reimbursement received under division 4705
(O) of this section to the extent of the payment made or 4706
reimbursement received from the other source. 4707

       (Q) No candidate or public official or employee shall accept 4708
for personal or business use anything of value from a political 4709
party, political action committee, political contributing entity, 4710
~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in electioneering, or 4711
campaign committee other than the candidate's or public official's 4712
or employee's own campaign committee, and no person shall 4713
knowingly give to a candidate or public official or employee 4714
anything of value from a political party, political action 4715
committee, political contributing entity, ~~legislative campaign~~ 4716
~~fund~~entity engaging in electioneering, or such a campaign 4717
committee, except for the following: 4718

       (1) Reimbursement for legitimate and verifiable, ordinary, 4719
and necessary prior expenses not otherwise prohibited by law 4720
incurred by the candidate or public official or employee while 4721
engaged in any legitimate activity of the political party, 4722
political action committee, political contributing entity, 4723
~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in electioneering, or 4724
such campaign committee. Without limitation, reimbursable expenses 4725
under this division include those incurred while doing any of the 4726
following: 4727

       (a) ~~Engaged~~Engaging in activities in support of or 4728
opposition to another candidate, political party, or ballot issue; 4729

       (b) Raising funds for a political party, ~~legislative campaign~~ 4730
~~fund,~~ campaign committee, or another candidate; or 4731

       (c) Attending a political party convention or other political 4732
meeting. 4733

       (2) Compensation not otherwise prohibited by law for actual 4734
and valuable personal services rendered under a written contract 4735
to the political party, political action committee, political 4736
contributing entity, ~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in 4737
electioneering, or such campaign committee for any legitimate 4738
activity of the political party, political action committee, 4739
political contributing entity, ~~legislative campaign fund~~entity 4740
engaging in electioneering, or such campaign committee. 4741

       Reimbursable expenses under this division do not include, and 4742
it is a violation of this division for a candidate or public 4743
official or employee to accept, or for any person to knowingly 4744
give to a candidate or public official or employee from a 4745
political party, political action committee, political 4746
contributing entity, ~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in 4747
electioneering, or campaign committee other than the candidate's 4748
or public official's or employee's own campaign committee, 4749
anything of value for activities primarily related to the 4750
candidate's or public official's or employee's own campaign for 4751
election, except for contributions to the candidate's or public 4752
official's or employee's campaign committee. 4753

       For purposes of this division, an expense is incurred 4754
whenever a candidate or public official or employee has either 4755
made payment or is obligated to make payment, as by the use of a 4756
credit card or other credit procedure, or by the use of goods or 4757
services on account. 4758

       (R)(1) Division (O) or (P) of this section does not prohibit 4759
a campaign committee from making direct advance or post payment 4760
from contributions to vendors for goods and services for which 4761
reimbursement is permitted under division (O) of this section, 4762
except that no campaign committee shall pay its candidate or other 4763
beneficiary for services personally performed by the candidate or 4764
other beneficiary. 4765

       (2) If any expense that may be reimbursed under division (O), 4766
(P), or (Q) of this section is part of other expenses that may not 4767
be paid or reimbursed, the separation of the two types of expenses 4768
for the purpose of allocating for payment or reimbursement those 4769
expenses that may be paid or reimbursed may be by any reasonable 4770
accounting method, considering all of the surrounding 4771
circumstances. 4772

       (3) For purposes of divisions (O), (P), and (Q) of this 4773
section, mileage allowance at a rate not greater than that allowed 4774
by the internal revenue service at the time the travel occurs may 4775
be paid instead of reimbursement for actual travel expenses 4776
allowable. 4777

       (S)(1) As used in division (S) of this section: 4778

       (a) ~~"State elective office" has the same meaning as in~~ 4779
~~section 3517.092 of the Revised Code.~~ 4780

       ~~(b)~~ "Federal office" means a federal office as defined in the 4781
Federal Election Campaign Act. 4782

       ~~(c)~~(b) "Federal campaign committee" means a principal 4783
campaign committee or authorized committee as defined in the 4784
Federal Election Campaign Act. 4785

       (2) No person who is a candidate for ~~state elective~~an office 4786
other than a federal office and who previously sought nomination 4787
or election to a federal office shall transfer any funds or assets 4788
from that person's federal campaign committee for nomination or 4789
election to the federal office to that person's campaign committee 4790
as a candidate for ~~state elective~~an office other than a federal 4791
office. 4792

       (3) No campaign committee of a person who is a candidate for 4793
~~state elective~~an office other than a federal office and who 4794
previously sought nomination or election to a federal office shall 4795
accept any funds or assets from that person's federal campaign 4796
committee for that person's nomination or election to the federal 4797
office. 4798

       (T)~~(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(6)(c) of~~ 4799
~~section 3517.102 of the Revised Code, a state or county political~~ 4800
~~party shall not disburse moneys from any account other than a~~ 4801
~~state candidate fund to make contributions to any of the~~ 4802
~~following:~~ 4803

       ~~(a) A state candidate fund;~~ 4804

       ~~(b) A legislative campaign fund;~~ 4805

       ~~(c) A campaign committee of a candidate for the office of~~ 4806
~~governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of~~ 4807
~~state, treasurer of state, attorney general, member of the state~~ 4808
~~board of education, or member of the general assembly.~~ 4809

       ~~(2) No state candidate fund, legislative campaign fund, or~~ 4810
~~campaign committee of a candidate for any office described in~~ 4811
~~division (T)(1)(c) of this section shall knowingly accept a~~ 4812
~~contribution in violation of division (T)(1) of this section.~~ 4813

       ~~(U)~~ No person shall fail to file the statement required under 4814
section 3517.12 of the Revised Code. 4815

       ~~(V)~~(U) No campaign committee shall fail to file a statement 4816
required under division (K)(3) of section 3517.10 of the Revised 4817
Code. 4818

       ~~(W)~~(V)(1) No foreign national shall, directly or indirectly 4819
through any other person or entity, make a contribution, 4820
expenditure, or independent expenditure or promise, either 4821
expressly or implicitly, to make a contribution, expenditure, or 4822
independent expenditure in support of or opposition to a candidate 4823
for any elective office in this state, including an office of a 4824
political party. 4825

       (2) No candidate, campaign committee, political action 4826
committee, political contributing entity, ~~legislative campaign~~ 4827
~~fund, state candidate fund~~entity engaging in electioneering, 4828
political party, or separate segregated fund shall solicit or 4829
accept a contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure 4830
from a foreign national. The secretary of state may direct any 4831
candidate, committee, fund, entity, or party that accepts a 4832
contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure in violation 4833
of this division to return the contribution, expenditure, or 4834
independent expenditure or, if it is not possible to return the 4835
contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure, then to 4836
return instead the value of it, to the contributor. 4837

       (3) As used in this section, "foreign national" has the same 4838
meaning as in section 441e(b) of the Federal Election Campaign 4839
Act. 4840

       (W) No campaign committee, political action committee, 4841
political party, political contributing entity, or entity engaging 4842
in electioneering shall fail to report a contribution or 4843
expenditure as required to be reported on a campaign finance web 4844
site under division (C) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code. 4845

       (X) No candidate, campaign committee, political action 4846
committee, political contributing entity, entity engaging in 4847
electioneering, political party, separate segregated fund, or 4848
other entity that accepts a contribution or contributions from any 4849
corporation shall make a contribution or promise, either expressly 4850
or implicitly, to make a contribution to any candidate or campaign 4851
committee. 4852

       (Y) No candidate, campaign committee, political action 4853
committee, political party, political contributing entity, or 4854
entity engaging in electioneering shall fail to include, on a 4855
statement filed under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code or on a 4856
report of contribution information under division (C) of section 4857
3517.1011 of the Revised Code, the information required to be 4858
reported under division (B)(4)(g) of section 3517.10 of the 4859
Revised Code for any contribution received through the efforts of 4860
a political fundraiser. 4861

       (Z) No candidate or holder of a public office shall solicit 4862
contributions on behalf of either of the following: 4863

       (1) A political action committee; 4864

       (2) An entity engaging in electioneering. 4865

       (AA)(1) No candidate, campaign committee, political action 4866
committee, political party, political contributing entity, entity 4867
engaging in electioneering, continuing association, or other 4868
person, association, or entity shall do either of the following: 4869

       (a) Pay or offer to pay any political fundraiser if that 4870
payment or the amount of that payment is contingent upon the 4871
amount of contributions raised by the political fundraiser; 4872

       (b) Provide or offer to provide any type of bonus to any 4873
political fundraiser. 4874

       (2) No political fundraiser shall do either of the following: 4875

       (a) Accept any payment or offer of payment from a candidate, 4876
campaign committee, political action committee, political party, 4877
political contributing entity, entity engaging in electioneering, 4878
continuing association, or other person, association, or entity if 4879
the payment or the amount of the payment is contingent upon the 4880
amount of contributions raised by the political fundraiser; 4881

       (b) Accept any type of bonus from a candidate, campaign 4882
committee, political action committee, political party, political 4883
contributing entity, entity engaging in electioneering, continuing 4884
association, or other person, association, or entity. 4885

       (BB)(1) No person shall make a contribution to a political 4886
party, political action committee, or political contributing 4887
entity and designate or attempt to designate that the contribution 4888
be used, partially or exclusively, for a particular candidate. 4889

       (2) No political party, political action committee, or 4890
political contributing entity shall accept any contribution that 4891
has been specifically designated for the partial or exclusive use 4892
of a particular candidate. Any contribution so designated shall be 4893
returned to the contributor and shall not be used or expended by 4894
or on behalf of the candidate. 4895

       Sec. 3517.151. (A) ~~On and after January 1, 1996, complaints~~ 4896
Complaints with respect to acts or failures to act under the 4897
sections listed in division (A) of section 3517.153 of the Revised 4898
Code shall be filed with the Ohio elections commission created 4899
under section 3517.152 of the Revised Code. 4900

       (B)(1) If a complaint filed with the Ohio elections 4901
commission created under section 3517.152 of the Revised Code 4902
alleges an act or failure to act that occurred before August 24, 4903
1995, and the commission imposes a fine, sections 3517.99 and 4904
3517.991 of the Revised Code, and not sections 3517.992 and 4905
3517.993 of the Revised Code, shall apply. 4906

       (2) If a complaint filed with the Ohio elections commission 4907
created under section 3517.152 of the Revised Code alleges an act 4908
or failure to act that is a violation of section 3517.13 of the 4909
Revised Code, former divisions (A) to (R) of that section apply to 4910
the act or failure to act if it occurred before August 24, 1995, 4911
former divisions (A) to (U) of that section apply to the act or 4912
failure to act if it occurs on or after August 24, 1995, but 4913
before July 13, 1998, former divisions (A) to (V) of that section 4914
apply to the act or failure to act if it occurs on or after July 4915
13, 1998, but before ~~the effective date of this amendment~~December 4916
22, 1999, ~~and~~former divisions (A) to (W) of that section apply to 4917
the act or failure to act if it occurs on or after ~~the effective~~ 4918
~~date of this amendment~~December 22, 1999, but before the effective 4919
date of this amendment, and divisions (A) to (BB) of that section 4920
apply to the act or failure to act if it occurs on or after the 4921
effective date of this amendment. 4922

       (C) The Ohio elections commission created under section 4923
3517.14 of the Revised Code is abolished at the close of business 4924
on December 31, 1995. 4925

       Sec. 3517.152. (A)(1) There is hereby created the Ohio 4926
elections commission consisting of seven members. 4927

       Not later than forty-five days after August 24, 1995, the 4928
speaker of the house of representatives and the leader in the 4929
senate of the political party of which the speaker is a member 4930
shall jointly submit to the governor a list of five persons who 4931
are affiliated with that political party. Not later than 4932
forty-five days after August 24, 1995, the two legislative leaders 4933
in the two houses of the general assembly of the major political 4934
party of which the speaker is not a member shall jointly submit to 4935
the governor a list of five persons who are affiliated with the 4936
major political party of which the speaker is not a member. Not 4937
later than fifteen days after receiving each list, the governor 4938
shall appoint three persons from each list to the commission. The 4939
governor shall appoint one person from each list to a term that 4940
ends on December 31, 1996, one person from each list to a term 4941
that ends on December 31, 1997, and one person from each list to a 4942
term that ends on December 31, 1998. 4943

       Not later than thirty days after the governor appoints these 4944
six members, they shall, by a majority vote, appoint to the 4945
commission a seventh member, who shall not be affiliated with a 4946
political party. If the six members fail to appoint the seventh 4947
member within this thirty-day period, the chief justice of the 4948
supreme court, not later than thirty days after the end of the 4949
period during which the six members were required to appoint a 4950
member, shall appoint the seventh member, who shall not be 4951
affiliated with a political party. The seventh member shall be 4952
appointed to a term that ends on December 31, 2001. Terms of the 4953
initial members appointed under this division begin on January 1, 4954
1996. 4955

       (2) If a vacancy occurs in the position of the seventh 4956
member, who is not affiliated with a political party, the six 4957
remaining members by a majority vote shall appoint, not later than 4958
forty-five days after the date of the vacancy, the seventh member 4959
of the commission, who shall not be affiliated with a political 4960
party. If these members fail to appoint the seventh member within 4961
this forty-five-day period, the chief justice of the supreme 4962
court, within fifteen days after the end of this period, shall 4963
appoint the seventh member, who shall not be affiliated with a 4964
political party. If a vacancy occurs in any of the other six 4965
positions on the commission, the legislative leaders of the 4966
political party from whose list of persons the member being 4967
replaced was appointed shall submit to the governor, not later 4968
than thirty days after the date of the vacancy, a list of three 4969
persons who are affiliated with that political party. Not later 4970
than fifteen days after receiving the list, the governor, with the 4971
advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint one person from 4972
the list to the commission. 4973

       (3) At no time shall more than six members of the commission 4974
be affiliated with a political party, and, of these six members, 4975
not more than three shall be affiliated with the same political 4976
party. 4977

       (4) In making appointments to the commission, the governor 4978
shall take into consideration the various geographic areas of this 4979
state and shall appoint members so that those areas are 4980
represented on the commission in a balanced manner, to the extent 4981
feasible. 4982

       (5) Members of the commission shall be registered electors 4983
and shall be of good moral character. 4984

       (B) Each member of the Ohio elections commission shall hold 4985
office from the date of the member's appointment until the end of 4986
the term for which the member was appointed. A member appointed to 4987
fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for 4988
which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for 4989
the remainder of that term. A member shall continue in office 4990
subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the 4991
member's successor takes office or until a period of sixty days 4992
has elapsed, whichever occurs first. After the initial terms of 4993
office provided for in division (A)(1) of this section, terms of 4994
office shall be for five years. 4995

       (C) A vacancy in the Ohio elections commission may be caused 4996
by death, resignation, or three absences from commission meetings 4997
in a calendar year if those absences are caused by reasons 4998
declared invalid by a vote of five members of the remaining 4999
members of the commission. 5000

       (D) Each member of the Ohio elections commission while in the 5001
performance of the business of the commission shall be entitled to 5002
receive compensation at the rate of twenty-five thousand dollars 5003
per year. Members shall be reimbursed for expenses actually and 5004
necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. 5005

       (E) No member of the Ohio elections commission shall serve 5006
more than one full term unless the terms served are served 5007
nonconsecutively. 5008

       (F)(1) No member of the Ohio elections commission shall do or 5009
be any of the following: 5010

       (a) Hold, or be a candidate for, a public office; 5011

       (b) Serve on a committee supporting or opposing a candidate 5012
or ballot question or issue; 5013

       (c) Be an officer of the state central committee, a county 5014
central committee, or a district, city, township, or other 5015
committee of a political party or an officer of the executive 5016
committee of the state central committee, a county central 5017
committee, or a district, city, township, or other committee of a 5018
political party; 5019

       (d) Be a legislative agent as defined in section 101.70 of 5020
the Revised Code or an executive agency lobbyist as defined in 5021
section 121.60 of the Revised Code; 5022

       (e) Solicit or be involved in soliciting contributions on 5023
behalf of a candidate, campaign committee, political party, 5024
political action committee, or political contributing entity, or 5025
entity engaging in electioneering; 5026

       (f) Be in the unclassified service under section 124.11 of 5027
the Revised Code; 5028

       (g) Be a person or employee described in divisions (C)(1) to 5029
(15) of section 4117.01 of the Revised Code. 5030

       (2) No member or employee of the commission shall make a 5031
contribution to, or for the benefit of, a campaign committee or 5032
committee in support of or opposition to a ballot question or 5033
issue, a political party, ~~a legislative campaign fund,~~ a political 5034
action committee, or a political contributing entity, or an entity 5035
engaging in electioneering. 5036

       (G)(1) The members of the Ohio elections commission shall 5037
elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson. At no time shall the 5038
chairperson and vice-chairperson be affiliated with the same 5039
political party. The chairperson shall serve in that capacity for 5040
one year and shall not serve as chairperson more than twice during 5041
a term as a member of the commission. No two successive 5042
chairpersons shall be affiliated with the same political party. 5043

       (2) The commission shall meet at the call of the chairperson 5044
or upon the written request of a majority of the members. The 5045
meetings and hearings of the commission or a panel of the 5046
commission under sections 3517.153 to 3517.157 of the Revised Code 5047
are subject to section 121.22 of the Revised Code. 5048

       (3) The commission shall adopt rules for its procedures in 5049
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. Five of the 5050
seven members constitute a quorum. Except as otherwise provided in 5051
this section and in sections 3517.154 to 3517.157 of the Revised 5052
Code, no action shall be taken without the concurrence of a 5053
majority of the members. 5054

       (H)(1) The Ohio elections commission shall employ the 5055
technical, professional, and clerical employees that are necessary 5056
for it to carry out its duties. 5057

       (2)(a) Notwithstanding section 109.02 of the Revised Code, 5058
the commission shall employ a full-time attorney, and, as needed, 5059
one or more investigatory attorneys to conduct investigations for 5060
the commission or a panel of the commission. The commission may 5061
employ or contract for the services of additional attorneys, as 5062
needed. The full-time attorney shall do all of the following: 5063

       (i) Serve as the commission's attorney in regard to all legal 5064
matters, including representing the commission at appeals from a 5065
final determination of the commission, except that the full-time 5066
attorney shall not perform the duties that an investigatory 5067
attorney is required or requested to perform or that another 5068
attorney the commission employs or contracts with for services is 5069
required or requested to perform, and shall not represent the 5070
commission in any legal proceeding in which the commission is a 5071
named party; 5072

       (ii) At the request of the commission or a panel of the 5073
commission, be present at a hearing held under sections 3517.154 5074
to 3517.156 of the Revised Code to rule on the admissibility of 5075
evidence and to advise on the conduct of procedure; 5076

       (iii) Perform other duties as required by rule of the 5077
commission. 5078

       (b) An attorney employed by or under contract with the 5079
commission shall be licensed to practice law in this state. 5080

       (3)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(3)(b) of 5081
this section, at least five members of the commission shall agree 5082
on the employment of a person, a majority of the members shall 5083
agree on the discharge of an employee, and a person employed by 5084
the commission shall serve at the pleasure of the commission. 5085

       (b) At least five of the seven members shall agree on the 5086
discharge of an investigatory attorney. 5087

       (I) There is hereby created in the state treasury the Ohio 5088
elections commission fund. All moneys credited to the fund shall 5089
be used solely for the purpose of paying expenses related to the 5090
operation of the Ohio elections commission. 5091

       Sec. 3517.154. (A)(1) The full-time attorney for the Ohio 5092
elections commission shall review each complaint filed with the 5093
commission under section 3517.153 of the Revised Code, shall 5094
determine the nature of the complaint, and, unless division 5095
(A)(2)(a) of this section requires that the complaint receive an 5096
automatic expedited hearing, shall make a recommendation to the 5097
commission for its disposition, in accordance with this section. 5098
The attorney shall make the determination and the recommendation, 5099
if required, not later than one business day after the complaint 5100
is filed. 5101

       (2)(a) If the attorney determines that the complaint sets 5102
forth a violation of division (B) of section 3517.21 or division 5103
(B) of section 3517.22 of the Revised Code and that the complaint 5104
is filed during one of the periods of time specified in division 5105
(B)(1) of section 3517.156 of the Revised Code, or that the 5106
complaint sets forth a violation described in division (D) of 5107
section 3517.1010 of the Revised Code, the complaint shall receive 5108
an automatic expedited hearing under section 3517.156 of the 5109
Revised Code. 5110

       (b) If the attorney determines that the complaint sets forth 5111
a failure to comply with or a violation of division (G), (I), (J), 5112
(O), (P), or (Q) of section 3517.13, division (A) of section 5113
3517.21, or division (A) of section 3517.22 of the Revised Code 5114
and that the complaint is filed during one of the periods of time 5115
specified in division (B)(1) of section 3517.156 of the Revised 5116
Code, the attorney shall recommend to the commission that the 5117
complaint receive an expedited hearing under section 3517.156 of 5118
the Revised Code, and the complaint shall receive such a hearing. 5119

       (c) If the attorney determines that the complaint sets forth 5120
a failure to comply with or a violation of a section of the 5121
Revised Code over which the commission has jurisdiction to hear 5122
complaints other than the sections described in divisions 5123
(A)(2)(a) and (b) of this section, and unless the attorney makes a 5124
determination as provided for in division (A)(3) of this section, 5125
the attorney shall recommend to the commission that the complaint 5126
be submitted to the commission under section 3517.155 of the 5127
Revised Code. After the attorney makes that recommendation, the 5128
attorney shall notify all parties to the complaint of the 5129
attorney's recommendation. 5130

       (3)(a) If a complaint sets forth a failure to comply with or 5131
a violation of a section of the Revised Code over which the 5132
commission has jurisdiction to hear complaints other than the 5133
sections described in divisions (A)(2)(a) and (b) of this section 5134
and if the complaint is filed during one of the periods of time 5135
specified in division (B)(1) of section 3517.156 of the Revised 5136
Code, the attorney may determine that the complaint should receive 5137
an expedited hearing under that section. The attorney shall make 5138
that determination by considering one or more of the following: 5139

       (i) The number of prior failures to comply with or violations 5140
of Title XXXV of the Revised Code that the person or entity 5141
against whom the complaint has been brought has committed and any 5142
prior penalties the commission has imposed on the person or 5143
entity; 5144

       (ii) If the complaint involves a statement required to be 5145
filed under section 3517.10, ~~division (E) of section 3517.102, or~~ 5146
~~section~~ 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.107, 3517.108, or 3517.109 of the 5147
Revised Code or an addendum required to be filed under section 5148
3517.11 of the Revised Code that is filed late, how late the 5149
filing is and how much time has elapsed between the deadline for 5150
filing the statement or addendum and the filing of the complaint; 5151

       (iii) If the complaint involves contributions or expenditures 5152
required to be reported under section 3517.10, ~~division (E) of~~ 5153
~~section 3517.102, or section~~ 3517.105, 3517.107, 3517.108, or 5154
3517.109, or 3517.1011 of the Revised Code that are either not 5155
reported or reported late, the number of contributions or 5156
expenditures not reported or how late they were reported; 5157

       (iv) If the complaint involves contributions required to be 5158
reported by a campaign committee under section 3517.10, ~~division~~ 5159
~~(E) of section 3517.102, or section~~ 3517.105, 3517.107, 3517.108, 5160
or 3517.109, or 3517.1011 of the Revised Code that are not 5161
reported, whether any of the contributors of the contributions not 5162
reported have a personal or professional relationship with the 5163
campaign committee's candidate; 5164

       (v) If the complaint involves a statement required to be 5165
filed under section 3517.10, ~~division (E) of section 3517.102, or~~ 5166
~~section~~ 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.107, 3517.108, or 3517.109 of the 5167
Revised Code that is incomplete or a report required to be made on 5168
a campaign finance web site under section 3517.1011 of the Revised 5169
Code that is incomplete, the degree to which it is incomplete; 5170

       (vi) If the complaint involves the receipt of contributions 5171
in violation of section 3599.03 of the Revised Code, the dollar 5172
amount and number of contributions received in violation of that 5173
section; 5174

       (vii) If the complaint involves a failure to make the 5175
identification or a misstatement of the identification required 5176
under section 3517.105 or 3517.20 of the Revised Code, whether the 5177
failure or misstatement was purposely made; 5178

       (viii) If the complaint sets forth a failure to comply with 5179
or a violation of a section of the Revised Code described in 5180
division (A)(2)(c) of this section, whether the person or entity 5181
against whom the complaint has been made has committed more than 5182
one such failure or violation within a reasonable amount of time, 5183
or whether the cumulative nature of the failures or violations 5184
indicates a systematic disregard for the law. 5185

       (b) Prior to making a determination under division (A)(3)(a) 5186
of this section that the complaint should receive an expedited 5187
hearing under section 3517.156 of the Revised Code, the attorney 5188
shall take into consideration the number of panels of the 5189
commission that have cases pending before them and the number of 5190
cases pending before the panels and shall not make a determination 5191
that will place an undue burden on a panel of the commission. 5192

       (c) If the attorney determines that the complaint should 5193
receive an expedited hearing under section 3517.156 of the Revised 5194
Code, the attorney shall recommend to the commission that the 5195
complaint receive an expedited hearing, and, if a majority of the 5196
members of the commission agrees with the recommendation, the 5197
complaint shall receive an expedited hearing under that section. 5198

       (4) The attorney may join two or more complaints if the 5199
attorney determines that the allegations in each complaint are of 5200
the same or similar character, are based on the same act or 5201
failure to act, or are based on two or more acts or failures to 5202
act constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. If one 5203
complaint contains two or more allegations, the attorney may 5204
separate the allegations if they are not of the same or similar 5205
character, if they are not based on the same act or failure to 5206
act, or if they are not based on two or more acts or failures to 5207
act constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. If the attorney 5208
separates the allegations in a complaint, the attorney may make 5209
separate recommendations under division (A)(2) or (3) of this 5210
section for each allegation. 5211

       (B) Whenever a person or other entity files a complaint with 5212
the commission setting forth a failure to comply with or a 5213
violation of a section of the Revised Code as described in 5214
division (A)(2)(c) of this section and the complaint is filed 5215
during one of the periods of time specified in division (B)(1) of 5216
section 3517.156 of the Revised Code, the person or entity may 5217
request an expedited hearing under that section at the time the 5218
complaint is filed. The attorney for the commission shall inform 5219
the members of the commission of that request at the time the 5220
attorney makes a recommendation under division (A) of this 5221
section. The commission may grant the request for an expedited 5222
hearing under this division if it determines that an expedited 5223
hearing is practicable. 5224

       Sec. 3517.155. (A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in 5225
division (B) of this section, the Ohio elections commission shall 5226
hold its first hearing on a complaint filed with it, other than a 5227
complaint that receives an expedited hearing under section 5228
3517.156 of the Revised Code, not later than ninety business days 5229
after the complaint is filed unless the commission has good cause 5230
to hold the hearing after that time, in which case it shall hold 5231
the hearing not later than one hundred eighty business days after 5232
the complaint is filed. At the hearing, the commission shall 5233
determine whether or not the failure to act or the violation 5234
alleged in the complaint has occurred and shall do only one of the 5235
following, except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this 5236
section or in division (B) of section 3517.151 of the Revised 5237
Code: 5238

       (a) Enter a finding that good cause has been shown not to 5239
impose a fine or not to refer the matter to the appropriate 5240
prosecutor; 5241

       (b) Impose a fine under section 3517.993 of the Revised Code; 5242

       (c) Refer the matter to the appropriate prosecutor; 5243

       (d) Direct the secretary of state or appropriate board of 5244
elections with the authority to certify a candidate to the ballot 5245
to remove a candidate's name from the ballot if the candidate is 5246
barred from the ballot under division (D) of section 3517.1010 of 5247
the Revised Code. 5248

       (2) As used in division (A) of this section, "appropriate 5249
prosecutor" means a prosecutor as defined in section 2935.01 of 5250
the Revised Code and either of the following: 5251

       (a) In the case of a failure to comply with or a violation of 5252
law involving a campaign committee or the committee's candidate, a 5253
political party, ~~a legislative campaign fund,~~ a political action 5254
committee, or a political contributing entity, or an entity 5255
engaging in electioneering, that is required to file a statement 5256
of contributions and expenditures with the secretary of state 5257
under division (A) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the 5258
prosecutor of Franklin county; 5259

       (b) In the case of a failure to comply with or a violation of 5260
law involving any other campaign committee or committee's 5261
candidate, or any other political party or political action 5262
committee, either of the following as determined by the 5263
commission: 5264

       (i) The prosecutor of Franklin county; 5265

       (ii) The prosecutor of the county in which the candidacy or 5266
ballot question or issue is submitted to the electors or, if it is 5267
submitted in more than one county, the most populous of those 5268
counties. 5269

       (B) If the commission decides that the evidence is 5270
insufficient for it to determine whether or not the failure to act 5271
or the violation alleged in the complaint has occurred, the 5272
commission, by the affirmative vote of five members, may request 5273
that an investigatory attorney investigate the complaint. Upon 5274
that request, an investigatory attorney shall make an 5275
investigation in order to produce sufficient evidence for the 5276
commission to decide the matter. If the commission requests an 5277
investigation under this division, for good cause shown by the 5278
investigatory attorney, the commission may extend by sixty days 5279
the deadline for holding its first hearing on the complaint as 5280
required in division (A) of this section. 5281

       (C) The commission shall take one of the actions required 5282
under division (A) of this section not later than thirty days 5283
after the close of all the evidence presented. 5284

       (D)(1) The commission shall make any finding of a failure to 5285
comply with or a violation of law in regard to a complaint that 5286
alleges a violation of division (D) of section 3517.1010, division 5287
(A) or (B) of section 3517.21, or division (A) or (B) of section 5288
3517.22 of the Revised Code by clear and convincing evidence. The 5289
commission shall make any finding of a failure to comply with or a 5290
violation of law in regard to any other complaint by a 5291
preponderance of the evidence. 5292

       (2) If the commission finds a violation of division (B) of 5293
section 3517.21 or division (B) of section 3517.22 of the Revised 5294
Code, it shall refer the matter to the appropriate prosecutor 5295
under division (A)(1)(c) of this section and shall not impose a 5296
fine under division (A)(1)(b) of this section or section 3517.993 5297
of the Revised Code. 5298

       (E) In an action before the commission or a panel of the 5299
commission, if the allegations of the complainant are not proved, 5300
and the commission takes the action described in division 5301
(A)(1)(a) of this section or a panel of the commission takes the 5302
action described in division (C)(1) of section 3517.156 of the 5303
Revised Code, the commission or a panel of the commission may find 5304
that the complaint is frivolous, and, if the commission or panel 5305
so finds, the commission shall order the complainant to pay 5306
reasonable attorney's fees and to pay the costs of the commission 5307
or panel as determined by a majority of the members of the 5308
commission. The costs paid to the commission or panel under this 5309
division shall be deposited into the Ohio elections commission 5310
fund. 5311

       Sec. 3517.20. (A)(1) As used in division (A) of this 5312
section: 5313

       (a) "Political publication for or against a candidate" means 5314
a notice, placard, advertisement, sample ballot, brochure, flyer, 5315
direct mailer, or ~~any~~ other form of general publication that is 5316
designed to promote the nomination, election, or defeat of a 5317
candidate. 5318

       (b) "Political publication for or against an issue" means a 5319
notice, placard, advertisement, sample ballot, brochure, flyer, 5320
direct mailer, or ~~any~~ other form of general publication that is 5321
designed to promote the adoption or defeat of a ballot issue or 5322
question or to influence the voters in an election. 5323

       (c) "Public political advertising" means newspapers, 5324
magazines, outdoor advertising facilities, direct mailings, or 5325
other similar types of general public political advertising, or 5326
flyers, handbills, or other nonperiodical printed matter. 5327

       (d) "Statewide candidate" has the same meaning as in section 5328
3517.102 of the Revised Code. 5329

       (e) "Legislative candidate" means a candidate for the office 5330
of member of the general assembly. 5331

       (f) "Local candidate" means a candidate for an elective 5332
office of a political subdivision of this state. 5333

       (g) ~~"Legislative campaign fund" has the same meaning as in~~ 5334
~~section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.~~ 5335

       ~~(h) "Limited political action committee" means a political~~ 5336
~~action committee of fewer than ten members.~~ 5337

       ~~(i)~~ "Limited political contributing entity" means a political 5338
contributing entity of fewer than ten members. 5339

       ~~(j)~~(h) "Designated amount" means one hundred dollars in the 5340
case of a local candidate or a local ballot issue, two hundred 5341
fifty dollars in the case of a legislative candidate, or five 5342
hundred dollars in the case of a statewide candidate or a 5343
statewide ballot issue. 5344

       ~~(k)~~(i) "To issue" includes to print, post, distribute, 5345
reproduce for distribution, or cause to be issued, printed, 5346
posted, distributed, or reproduced for distribution. 5347

       (2) No candidate, campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign~~ 5348
~~fund,~~ political party, political action committee, entity engaging 5349
in electioneering, or other entity, except a ~~political action~~ 5350
~~committee or~~ political contributing entity, shall issue a form of 5351
political publication for or against a candidate, or shall make an 5352
expenditure for the purpose of financing political communications 5353
in support of or opposition to a candidate through public 5354
political advertising, unless the name and residence or business 5355
address of the candidate or the chairperson, treasurer, or 5356
secretary of the campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 5357
political party, political action committee, entity engaging in 5358
electioneering, or other entity that issues or otherwise is 5359
responsible for that political publication or that makes an 5360
expenditure for that political communication appears in a 5361
conspicuous place on that political publication or is contained 5362
within that political communication. 5363

       (3) No ~~limited political action committee or~~ limited 5364
political contributing entity shall do either of the following 5365
unless the name and residence or business address of the 5366
chairperson, treasurer, or secretary of the ~~limited political~~ 5367
~~action committee or~~ limited political contributing entity involved 5368
appears in a conspicuous place in the political publication for or 5369
against a candidate described in division (A)(3)(a) of this 5370
section or is contained within the political communication 5371
described in division (A)(3)(b) of this section: 5372

       (a) Issue a form of political publication for or against a 5373
candidate that costs in excess of the designated amount or that is 5374
issued in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the 5375
request or suggestion of, a candidate, a campaign committee, a 5376
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ a political party, a political action 5377
committee ~~with ten or more members~~, an entity engaging in 5378
electioneering, a political contributing entity with ten or more 5379
members, or a ~~limited political action committee or~~ limited 5380
political contributing entity that spends in excess of the 5381
designated amount on a related or the same or similar political 5382
publication for or against a candidate; 5383

       (b) Make an expenditure in excess of the designated amount in 5384
support of or opposition to a candidate or make an expenditure in 5385
cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or 5386
suggestion of, a candidate, a campaign committee, ~~a legislative~~ 5387
~~campaign fund,~~ a political party, a political action committee 5388
~~with ten or more members~~, an entity engaging in electioneering, a 5389
political contributing entity with ten or more members, or a 5390
~~limited political action committee or~~ limited political 5391
contributing entity that spends in excess of the designated amount 5392
in support of or opposition to the same candidate, for the purpose 5393
of financing political communications in support of or opposition 5394
to that candidate through public political advertising. 5395

       (4) No ~~political action committee with ten or more members~~ 5396
~~and no~~ political contributing entity with ten or more members 5397
shall issue a form of political publication for or against a 5398
candidate, or shall make an expenditure for the purpose of 5399
financing political communications in support of or opposition to 5400
a candidate through public political advertising, unless the name 5401
and residence or business address of the chairperson, treasurer, 5402
or secretary of the ~~political action committee or~~ political 5403
contributing entity that issues or otherwise is responsible for 5404
that political publication or that makes an expenditure for that 5405
political communication through public political advertising 5406
appears in a conspicuous place in that political publication or is 5407
contained within that political communication. 5408

       (5) No corporation, nonprofit corporation, labor 5409
organization, campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 5410
political party, political action committee, entity engaging in 5411
engineering, or other entity~~, except a political action committee,~~ 5412
shall issue a form of political publication for or against an 5413
issue, or shall make an expenditure for the purpose of financing 5414
political communications in support of or opposition to a ballot 5415
issue or question through public political advertising, unless the 5416
name and residence or business address of the chairperson, 5417
treasurer, or secretary of the corporation, nonprofit corporation, 5418
labor organization, campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ 5419
political party, political action committee, entity engaging in 5420
electioneering, or other entity that issues or otherwise is 5421
responsible for that political publication or that makes an 5422
expenditure for that political communication through public 5423
political advertising appears in a conspicuous place in that 5424
political publication or is contained within that political 5425
communication. 5426

       (6) ~~No limited political action committee shall do either of~~ 5427
~~the following unless the name and residence or business address of~~ 5428
~~the chairperson, treasurer, or secretary of the limited political~~ 5429
~~action committee involved appears in a conspicuous place in the~~ 5430
~~political publication for or against a ballot issue described in~~ 5431
~~division (A)(6)(a) of this section or is contained within the~~ 5432
~~political communication described in division (A)(6)(b) of this~~ 5433
~~section:~~ 5434

       ~~(a) Issue a form of political publication for or against a~~ 5435
~~ballot issue that costs in excess of the designated amount or that~~ 5436
~~is issued in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the~~ 5437
~~request or suggestion of, a candidate, a campaign committee, a~~ 5438
~~legislative campaign fund, a political party, a political action~~ 5439
~~committee with ten or more members, or a limited political action~~ 5440
~~committee that spends in excess of the designated amount for a~~ 5441
~~related or the same or similar political publication for or~~ 5442
~~against an issue;~~ 5443

       ~~(b) Make an expenditure in excess of the designated amount in~~ 5444
~~support of or opposition to a ballot issue or make an expenditure~~ 5445
~~in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request~~ 5446
~~or suggestion of, a candidate, a campaign committee, a legislative~~ 5447
~~campaign fund, a political party, a political action committee~~ 5448
~~with ten or more members, or a limited political action committee~~ 5449
~~that spends in excess of the designated amount in support of or~~ 5450
~~opposition to the same ballot issue, for the purpose of financing~~ 5451
~~political communications in support of or opposition to that~~ 5452
~~ballot issue through public political advertising.~~ 5453

       ~~(7) No political action committee with ten or more members~~ 5454
~~shall issue a form of political publication for or against an~~ 5455
~~issue, or shall make an expenditure for the purpose of financing~~ 5456
~~political communications in support of or opposition to a ballot~~ 5457
~~issue or question through public political advertising, unless the~~ 5458
~~name and residence or business address of the chairperson,~~ 5459
~~treasurer, or secretary of the political action committee that~~ 5460
~~issues or otherwise is responsible for that political publication~~ 5461
~~or that makes an expenditure for that political communication~~ 5462
~~appears in a conspicuous place in that political publication or is~~ 5463
~~contained within that political communication.~~ 5464

       ~~(8)~~ The disclaimer "paid political advertisement" is not 5465
sufficient to meet the requirements of this section. 5466

       ~~(9)~~(7) If the political publication described in division (A) 5467
of this section is issued by the regularly constituted central or 5468
executive committee of a political party that is organized as 5469
provided in ~~Chapter 3517. of the Revised Code~~this chapter, it 5470
shall be sufficiently identified if it bears the name of the 5471
committee and its chairperson or treasurer. 5472

       ~~(10)~~(8) If more than one piece of printed matter or printed 5473
political communications are mailed as a single packet, the 5474
requirements of division (A) of this section are met if one of the 5475
pieces of printed matter or printed political communications in 5476
the packet contains the name and residence or business address of 5477
the chairperson, treasurer, or secretary of the organization or 5478
entity that issues or is responsible for the printed matter or 5479
other printed political communications. 5480

       ~~(11)~~(9) This section does not apply to the transmittal of 5481
personal correspondence that is not reproduced by machine for 5482
general distribution. 5483

       ~~(12)~~(10) The secretary of state, by rule, may exempt from the 5484
requirements of this section, printed matter and certain other 5485
kinds of printed communications such as campaign buttons, 5486
balloons, pencils, or similar items, the size or nature of which 5487
makes it unreasonable to add an identification or disclaimer. 5488

       ~~(13)~~(11) The disclaimer or identification described in 5489
division (A) of this section, when paid for by a campaign 5490
committee, shall be identified by the words "paid for by" followed 5491
by the name and address of the campaign committee and the 5492
appropriate officer of the committee, identified by name and 5493
title. The identification or disclaimer may use reasonable 5494
abbreviations for common terms such as "treasurer" or "committee". 5495

       (B)(1) No candidate, campaign committee, ~~legislative campaign~~ 5496
~~fund,~~ political party, political action committee, ~~limited~~ 5497
~~political action committee~~entity engaging in electioneering, 5498
political contributing entity, limited political contributing 5499
entity, or other entity shall utter or cause to be uttered, over 5500
the broadcasting facilities of any radio or television station 5501
within this state, any communication that is designed to promote 5502
the nomination, election, or defeat of a candidate, or the 5503
adoption or defeat of an issue or to influence the voters in an 5504
election, unless the speaker identifies the speaker with the 5505
speaker's name and residence address or unless the communication 5506
identifies the chairperson, treasurer, or secretary of the 5507
organization responsible for the communication with the name and 5508
residence or business address of that officer, except that 5509
communications by radio need not broadcast the residence or 5510
business address of the officer. However, a radio station, for a 5511
period of at least six months, shall keep the residence or 5512
business address on file and divulge it to any person upon 5513
request. 5514

       No person operating a broadcast station or an organ of 5515
printed media shall broadcast or print a paid political 5516
communication that does not contain the identification required by 5517
this section. 5518

       (2) Division (B) of this section does not apply to any 5519
communications made on behalf of a radio or television station or 5520
network by any employee of such radio or television station or 5521
network while acting in the course of the employee's employment. 5522

       (3) No candidate or entity described in division (B)(1) of 5523
this section shall use or cause to be used a false, fictitious, or 5524
fraudulent name or address in the making or issuing of a 5525
publication or communication included within the provisions of 5526
this section. 5527

       (C) Before a prosecution may commence under this section, a 5528
complaint shall be filed with the Ohio elections commission under 5529
section 3517.153 of the Revised Code. After the complaint is 5530
filed, the commission shall proceed in accordance with sections 5531
3517.154 to 3517.157 of the Revised Code. 5532

       Sec. 3517.23. The secretary of state shall adopt rules in 5533
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that are 5534
necessary for the administration and enforcement of sections 5535
3517.08 to 3517.13, 3517.18, 3517.20 to 3517.22, 3599.03, and 5536
3599.031 of the Revised Code and shall provide each candidate, 5537
political action committee, ~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political 5538
party, ~~and~~ political contributing entity, and entity engaging in 5539
electioneering with written instructions and explanations in order 5540
to ensure compliance with sections 3517.08 to 3517.13, 3517.17, 5541
3517.18, 3517.20 to 3517.22, 3599.03, and 3599.031 of the Revised 5542
Code. 5543

       Sec. 3517.992. This section establishes penalties only with 5544
respect to acts or failures to act that occur on and after August 5545
24, 1995. 5546

       (A)(1) A candidate whose campaign committee violates division 5547
(A), (B), (C), (D), or ~~(V)~~(U) of section 3517.13 of the Revised 5548
Code, or a treasurer of a campaign committee who violates any of 5549
those divisions, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars 5550
for each day of violation. 5551

       (2) Whoever violates division (E) of section 3517.13 of the 5552
Revised Code shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars for 5553
each day of violation. 5554

       (B) A political party that violates division (F)(1) of 5555
section 3517.101 of the Revised Code shall be fined not more than 5556
one hundred dollars for each day of violation. 5557

       (C) Whoever violates division (F)(2) of section 3517.101 or 5558
division (G)(1)(b) or (G)(2) of section 3517.13 of the Revised 5559
Code shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or, if the 5560
offender is a person who was nominated or elected to public 5561
office, shall forfeit the nomination or the office to which the 5562
offender was elected, or both. 5563

       (D) Whoever violates division (F) of section 3517.13 of the 5564
Revised Code shall be fined not more than three times the amount 5565
contributed. 5566

       (E) Whoever violates division (H) of section 3517.13 of the 5567
Revised Code shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars. 5568

       (F) Whoever violates division (O), (P), or (Q) of section 5569
3517.13 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the 5570
first degree. 5571

       (G) A state or county committee of a political party that 5572
violates division (B)(1) of section 3517.18 of the Revised Code 5573
shall be fined not more than twice the amount of the improper 5574
expenditure. 5575

       (H) A state or county political party that violates division 5576
(G) of section 3517.101 of the Revised Code shall be fined not 5577
more than twice the amount of the improper expenditure or use. 5578

       (I)(1)(a)(i) Except as otherwise provided in division 5579
(I)(1)(a)(ii) of this section, an individual who violates division 5580
(B)(1)(a) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code is guilty of a 5581
misdemeanor of the first degree. 5582

       (ii) An individual who has been convicted of a violation of 5583
division (B)(1)(a) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code and is 5584
again convicted of a violation of that division is, on the second 5585
conviction and on any subsequent conviction, guilty of a felony of 5586
the third degree. 5587

       (b) Any individual who violates division (B)(1)(b), (c), (d), 5588
or (e) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code and knows that the 5589
contribution the individual makes violates that division shall be 5590
fined an amount equal to three times the amount contributed in 5591
excess of the amount permitted by that division. 5592

       (c)(i) Except as otherwise provided in division (I)(1)(c)(ii) 5593
of this section, an individual who violates division (B)(1)(f) of 5594
section 3517.102 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of 5595
the first degree. 5596

       (ii) An individual who has been convicted of a violation of 5597
division (B)(1)(f) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code and is 5598
again convicted of a violation of that division is, on the second 5599
conviction and on any subsequent conviction, guilty of a felony of 5600
the third degree. 5601

       (2)(a)(i) Except as otherwise provided in division 5602
(I)(2)(a)(ii) of this section, any political action committee that 5603
violates division (B)(2)(a) of section 3517.102 of the Revised 5604
Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. 5605

       (ii) Any political action committee that has been convicted 5606
of a violation of division (B)(2)(a) of section 3517.102 of the 5607
Revised Code and is again convicted of a violation of that 5608
division is, on the second conviction and on any subsequent 5609
conviction, guilty of a felony of the third degree. 5610

       (b) Any political action committee that violates division 5611
(B)(2)(b), (c), or (d) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code 5612
shall be fined an amount equal to three times the amount 5613
contributed in excess of the amount permitted by that division. 5614

       (3)(a)(i) Except as otherwise provided in division 5615
(I)(3)(a)(ii) of this section, any campaign committee that 5616
violates division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.102 of the Revised 5617
Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. 5618

       (ii) Any campaign committee that has been convicted of a 5619
violation of division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.102 of the Revised 5620
Code and is again convicted of a violation of that division is, on 5621
the second conviction and on any subsequent conviction, guilty of 5622
a felony of the third degree. 5623

       (b) Any campaign committee that violates division (B)(3)(b) 5624
or (c) or (B)(5) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall be 5625
fined an amount equal to three times the amount contributed in 5626
excess of the amount permitted by that division. 5627

       (4)(a) ~~Any legislative campaign fund that violates division~~ 5628
~~(B)(6) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall be fined an~~ 5629
~~amount equal to three times the amount transferred or contributed~~ 5630
~~in excess of the amount permitted by that division, as applicable.~~ 5631

       ~~(b) Any~~(i) Except as otherwise provided in division 5632
(I)(4)(a)(ii) of this section, any state political party,or 5633
county political party~~, or state candidate fund of a state~~ 5634
~~political party or county political party~~ that violates division 5635
(B)(6) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code ~~shall be fined an~~ 5636
~~amount equal to three times the amount transferred or contributed~~ 5637
~~in excess of the amount permitted by that division, as applicable~~ 5638
is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. 5639

       (ii) Any state political party or county political party that 5640
has been convicted of a violation of division (B)(6) of section 5641
3517.102 of the Revised Code and is again convicted of a violation 5642
of that division is, on the second conviction and on any 5643
subsequent conviction, guilty of a felony of the third degree. 5644

       ~~(c)~~(b)(i)(I) Except as otherwise provided in division 5645
(I)(4)(b)(i)(II) of this section, any political contributing 5646
entity that violates division (B)(7)(a) of section 3517.102 of the 5647
Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. 5648

       (II) Any political contributing entity that has been 5649
convicted of a violation of division (B)(7)(a) of section 3517.102 5650
of the Revised Code and is again convicted of a violation of that 5651
division is, on the second conviction and on any subsequent 5652
conviction, guilty of a felony of the third degree. 5653

       (ii) Any political contributing entity that violates division 5654
(B)(7)(b), (c), or (d) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code 5655
shall be fined an amount equal to three times the amount 5656
contributed in excess of the amount permitted by that division. 5657

       (5) Any political party that violates division (B)(4) of 5658
section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall be fined an amount 5659
equal to three times the amount contributed in excess of the 5660
amount permitted by that division. 5661

       (6) Notwithstanding divisions (I)(1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) 5662
of this section, no violation of division (B) of section 3517.102 5663
of the Revised Code occurs, and the secretary of state shall not 5664
refer parties to the Ohio elections commission, if the amount 5665
transferred or contributed in excess of the amount permitted by 5666
that division meets either of the following conditions: 5667

       (a) It is completely refunded within five business days after 5668
it is accepted. 5669

       (b) It is completely refunded on or before the tenth business 5670
day after notification to the recipient of the excess transfer or 5671
contribution by the board of elections or the secretary of state 5672
that a transfer or contribution in excess of the permitted amount 5673
has been received. 5674

       (J)(1) Any campaign committee that violates division (C)(1), 5675
~~(2), (3), or (6)~~ of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall be 5676
fined an amount equal to three times the amount accepted in excess 5677
of the amount permitted by that division. 5678

       (2) Any state or county political party that violates 5679
division (C)~~(4)~~(2) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall 5680
be fined an amount ~~from its state candidate fund~~ equal to three 5681
times the amount accepted in excess of the amount permitted by 5682
that division. 5683

       (3) ~~Any legislative campaign fund that violates division~~ 5684
~~(C)(5) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall be fined an~~ 5685
~~amount equal to three times the amount accepted in excess of the~~ 5686
~~amount permitted by that division.~~ 5687

       ~~(4)~~ Any political action committee or political contributing 5688
entity that violates division (C)~~(7)~~(3) of section 3517.102 of the 5689
Revised Code shall be fined an amount equal to three times the 5690
amount accepted in excess of the amount permitted by that 5691
division. 5692

       ~~(5)~~(4) Notwithstanding divisions (J)(1), (2), and (3)~~, and~~ 5693
~~(4)~~ of this section, no violation of division (C) of section 5694
3517.102 of the Revised Code occurs, and the secretary of state 5695
shall not refer parties to the Ohio elections commission, if the 5696
amount transferred or contributed in excess of the amount 5697
permitted to be accepted by that division meets either of the 5698
following conditions: 5699

       (a) It is completely refunded within five business days after 5700
its acceptance. 5701

       (b) It is completely refunded on or before the tenth business 5702
day after notification to the recipient of the excess transfer or 5703
contribution by the board of elections or the secretary of state 5704
that a transfer or contribution in excess of the permitted amount 5705
has been received. 5706

       (K)~~(1) Any legislative campaign fund that violates division~~ 5707
~~(F)(1) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall be fined~~ 5708
~~twenty-five dollars for each day of violation.~~ 5709

       ~~(2) Any legislative campaign fund that violates division~~ 5710
~~(F)(2) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall give to the~~ 5711
~~treasurer of state for deposit into the state treasury to the~~ 5712
~~credit of the Ohio elections commission fund all excess~~ 5713
~~contributions not disposed of as required by division (E) of~~ 5714
~~section 3517.102 of the Revised Code.~~ 5715

       ~~(L)~~ Whoever violates section 3517.105 of the Revised Code 5716
shall be fined one thousand dollars. 5717

       ~~(M)~~(L)(1) Whoever solicits a contribution in violation of 5718
section 3517.092 or violates division (B) of section 3517.09 of 5719
the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. 5720

       (2) Whoever knowingly accepts a contribution in violation of 5721
division (B) or (C) of section 3517.092 of the Revised Code shall 5722
be fined an amount equal to three times the amount accepted in 5723
violation of either of those divisions and shall return to the 5724
contributor any amount so accepted. Whoever unknowingly accepts a 5725
contribution in violation of division (B) or (C) of section 5726
3517.092 of the Revised Code shall return to the contributor any 5727
amount so accepted. 5728

       ~~(N)~~(M) Whoever violates division (S) of section 3517.13 of 5729
the Revised Code shall be fined an amount equal to three times the 5730
amount of funds transferred or three times the value of the assets 5731
transferred in violation of that division. 5732

       ~~(O)~~(N) Any campaign committee that accepts a contribution or 5733
contributions in violation of section 3517.108 of the Revised 5734
Code, uses a contribution in violation of that section, or fails 5735
to dispose of excess contributions in violation of that section 5736
shall be fined an amount equal to three times the amount accepted, 5737
used, or kept in violation of that section. 5738

       ~~(P) Any political party, state candidate fund, legislative~~ 5739
~~candidate fund, or campaign committee that violates division (T)~~ 5740
~~of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code shall be fined an amount~~ 5741
~~equal to three times the amount contributed or accepted in~~ 5742
~~violation of that section.~~ 5743

       ~~(Q)~~(O) A treasurer of a committee or another person who 5744
violates division ~~(U)~~(T) of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code 5745
shall be fined not more than two hundred fifty dollars. 5746

       ~~(R)~~(P) Whoever violates division (I) or (J) of section 5747
3517.13 of the Revised Code shall be fined not more than one 5748
thousand dollars. Whenever a person is found guilty of violating 5749
division (I) or (J) of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code, the 5750
contract awarded in violation of either of those divisions shall 5751
be rescinded if its terms have not yet been performed. 5752

       ~~(S)~~(Q) A candidate whose campaign committee violates or a 5753
treasurer of a campaign committee who violates section 3517.081, 5754
and a candidate whose campaign committee violates, or a treasurer 5755
of a campaign committee, or another person who violates, division 5756
(C) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code, shall be fined not 5757
more than five hundred dollars. 5758

       ~~(T)~~(R) A candidate whose campaign committee violates or a 5759
treasurer of a committee who violates division (B), or a candidate 5760
whose campaign committee violates, a treasurer of a committee, or 5761
another person who violates division (C), of section 3517.09 of 5762
the Revised Code shall be fined not more than one thousand 5763
dollars. 5764

       ~~(U)~~(S) Whoever violates section 3517.20 of the Revised Code 5765
shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars. 5766

       ~~(V)~~(T) Whoever violates section 3517.21 or 3517.22 of the 5767
Revised Code shall be imprisoned for not more than six months or 5768
fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both. 5769

       ~~(W)~~(U) A campaign committee that is required to file a 5770
declaration of no limits under division (D)(2) of section 3517.103 5771
of the Revised Code that, before filing that declaration, accepts 5772
a contribution or contributions that exceed the limitations 5773
prescribed in section 3517.102 of the Revised Code, shall return 5774
that contribution or those contributions to the contributor. 5775

       ~~(X)~~(V) Any campaign committee that fails to file the 5776
declaration of filing-day finances required by division (F) of 5777
section 3517.109 or the declaration of primary-day finances or 5778
declaration of year-end finances required by division (E) of 5779
section 3517.1010 of the Revised Code shall be fined twenty-five 5780
dollars for each day of violation. 5781

       ~~(Y)~~(W) Any campaign committee that fails to dispose of excess 5782
funds or excess aggregate contributions under division (B) of 5783
section 3517.109 of the Revised Code in the manner required by 5784
division (C) of that section or under division (B) of section 5785
3517.1010 of the Revised Code in the manner required by division 5786
(C) of that section shall give to the treasurer of state for 5787
deposit into the Ohio elections commission fund ~~created under~~ 5788
~~division (E)(2)(b) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code~~ all 5789
funds not disposed of pursuant to those divisions. 5790

       ~~(Z)~~(X) Any individual, campaign committee, political action 5791
committee, political contributing entity, ~~legislative campaign~~ 5792
~~fund~~entity engaging in electioneering, political party, or other 5793
entity that violates any provision of sections 3517.09 to 3517.12 5794
of the Revised Code for which no penalty is provided for under any 5795
other division of this section shall be fined not more than one 5796
thousand dollars. 5797

       ~~(AA)~~(Y)(1) Whoever knowingly violates division ~~(W)~~(V)(1) of 5798
section 3517.13 of the Revised Code shall be fined an amount equal 5799
to three times the amount contributed, expended, or promised in 5800
violation of that division or ten thousand dollars, whichever 5801
amount is greater. 5802

       (2) Whoever knowingly violates division ~~(W)~~(V)(2) of section 5803
3517.13 of the Revised Code shall be fined an amount equal to 5804
three times the amount solicited or accepted in violation of that 5805
division or ten thousand dollars, whichever amount is greater. 5806

       (Z)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (Z)(2) of 5807
this section, whoever violates division (G)(1)(a) of section 5808
3517.13 of the Revised Code is guilty of a felony of the fifth 5809
degree. 5810

       (2) Whoever has been convicted of a violation of division 5811
(G)(1)(a) of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code and is again 5812
convicted of a violation of that division is, on the second 5813
conviction and on any subsequent conviction, guilty of a felony of 5814
the third degree. 5815

       (AA)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (AA)(2) of 5816
this section, whoever violates division (W) of section 3517.13 of 5817
the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. 5818

       (2) Whoever has been convicted of a violation of division (W) 5819
of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code and is again convicted of a 5820
violation of that division is, on the second conviction and on any 5821
subsequent conviction, guilty of a felony of the third degree. 5822

       (BB)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (BB)(2) of 5823
this section, whoever violates division (X) of section 3517.13 of 5824
the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. 5825

       (2) Whoever has been convicted of a violation of division (X) 5826
of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code and is again convicted of a 5827
violation of that division is, on the second conviction and on any 5828
subsequent conviction, guilty of a felony of the third degree. 5829

       (CC)(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division 5830
(CC)(1)(b) of this section, whoever violates division (Y) of 5831
section 3517.13 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of 5832
the first degree and shall give to the treasurer of state for 5833
deposit into the state treasury to the credit of the office of the 5834
secretary of state any contribution that was the subject of the 5835
violation of that division. 5836

       (b) Whoever has been convicted of a violation of division (Y) 5837
of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code and is again convicted of a 5838
violation of that division is, on the second conviction and on any 5839
subsequent conviction, guilty of a felony of the third degree and 5840
shall give to the treasurer of state for deposit into the state 5841
treasury to the credit of the office of the secretary of state any 5842
contribution that was the subject of the violation of that 5843
division. 5844

       (2) Any contribution deposited into the state treasury to the 5845
credit of the office of the secretary of state under division 5846
(CC)(1) of this section shall be used by that office for the 5847
purpose of employing additional special investigators. 5848

       (DD)(1) Whoever attempts to violate division (BB)(1) of 5849
section 3517.13 of the Revised Code and has the contribution 5850
attempted to be made under that division refused by the political 5851
party, political action committee, or the political contributing 5852
entity to which it was attempted to be made is guilty of a 5853
misdemeanor of the first degree. 5854

       (2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (DD)(2)(b) of 5855
this section, whoever violates division (BB) of section 3517.13 of 5856
the Revised Code is guilty of a felony of the fourth degree. 5857

       (b) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of section 5858
2923.32 of the Revised Code, whoever has been convicted of a 5859
violation of division (BB) of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code 5860
and is again convicted of a violation of that division is, on the 5861
second and on any subsequent conviction, guilty of a felony of the 5862
third degree. 5863

       Sec. 3599.03. (A) Except to carry on activities specified in 5864
sections 3517.082 and 3599.031 of the Revised Code and except as 5865
provided in divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this section, no 5866
corporation, no nonprofit corporation, and no labor organization, 5867
directly or indirectly, shall pay or use, or offer, advise, 5868
consent, or agree to pay or use, the corporation's money or 5869
property, or the labor organization's money, including dues, 5870
initiation fees, or other assessments paid by members, or 5871
property, for or in aid of or opposition to a political party, a 5872
candidate for election or nomination to public office, a political 5873
action committee, ~~a legislative campaign fund~~an entity engaging 5874
in electioneering, or any organization that supports or opposes 5875
any such candidate, or for any partisan political purpose, shall 5876
violate any law requiring the filing of an affidavit or statement 5877
respecting such use of those funds, or shall pay or use the 5878
corporation's or labor organization's money for the expenses of a 5879
social fund-raising event for its political action committee if an 5880
employee's or labor organization member's right to attend such an 5881
event is predicated on the employee's or member's contribution to 5882
the corporation's or labor organization's political action 5883
committee. 5884

       Whoever violates division (A) of this section shall be fined 5885
not less than five hundred nor more than five thousand dollars. 5886

       (B) No officer, stockholder, attorney, or agent of a 5887
corporation or nonprofit corporation, no member, including an 5888
officer, attorney, or agent, of a labor organization, and no 5889
candidate, political party official, or other individual shall 5890
knowingly aid, advise, solicit, or receive money or other property 5891
in violation of division (A) of this section. 5892

       Whoever violates division (B) of this section shall be fined 5893
not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than 5894
one year, or both. 5895

       (C) A corporation, a nonprofit corporation, or a labor 5896
organization may use its funds or property for or in aid of or 5897
opposition to a proposed or certified ballot issue. Such use of 5898
funds or property shall be reported on a form prescribed by the 5899
secretary of state. Reports of contributions in connection with 5900
statewide ballot issues shall be filed with the secretary of 5901
state. Reports of contributions in connection with local issues 5902
shall be filed with the board of elections of the most populous 5903
county of the district in which the issue is submitted or to be 5904
submitted to the electors. Reports made pursuant to this division 5905
shall be filed by the times specified in divisions (A)(1) and (2) 5906
of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. 5907

       (D) Any gift made pursuant to section 3517.101 of the Revised 5908
Code does not constitute a violation of this section or of any 5909
other section of the Revised Code. 5910

       (E) Any compensation or fees paid by a financial institution 5911
to a state political party for services rendered pursuant to 5912
division (B) of section 3517.19 of the Revised Code do not 5913
constitute a violation of this section or of any other section of 5914
the Revised Code. 5915

       (F) The use by a nonprofit corporation of its money or 5916
property for communicating information for a purpose specified in 5917
division (A) of this section is not a violation of that division 5918
if the stockholders, members, donors, trustees, or officers of the 5919
nonprofit corporation are the predominant recipients of the 5920
communication. 5921

       (G) In addition to the laws listed in division (A) of section 5922
4117.10 of the Revised Code that prevail over conflicting 5923
agreements between employee organizations and public employers, 5924
this section prevails over any conflicting provisions of 5925
agreements between labor organizations and public employers 5926
entered into pursuant to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code. 5927

       (H) As used in this section, "labor organization" has the 5928
same meaning as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code. 5929

       Sec. 3599.031. (A) Notwithstanding any section of the 5930
Revised Code and subject to divisions (C) and (H) of this section, 5931
any employer may deduct from the wages and salaries of its 5932
employees amounts for an account described in division (C) of this 5933
section, a separate segregated fund, a political action committee 5934
of the employer, a political action committee of a labor 5935
organization of the employer's employees, a political action 5936
committee of an association of which the employer is a member, a 5937
political party, or a ballot issue that the employee by written 5938
authorization may designate and shall transmit any amounts so 5939
deducted as a separate written authorization described in division 5940
(C) of this section shall direct. Any authorization authorizing a 5941
deduction from an employee's wages or salary may be on a form that 5942
is used to apply for or authorize membership in or authorize 5943
payment of dues or fees to any organization, but the authorization 5944
for a deduction shall be stated and signed separately from the 5945
application for membership or the authorization for the payment of 5946
dues or fees. The employer either may deduct from the amount to be 5947
so transmitted a uniform amount determined by the employer to be 5948
necessary to defray the actual cost of making such deduction and 5949
transmittal, or may utilize its own funds in an amount it 5950
determines is necessary to defray the actual administrative cost, 5951
including making the deduction and transmittal. 5952

       (B) Any person who solicits an employee to authorize a 5953
deduction from ~~his~~the employee's wages or salary pursuant to 5954
division (A) of this section shall inform the employee at the time 5955
of the solicitation that hethe employee may refuse to authorize a 5956
deduction, and that hethe employee may at any time revoke ~~his~~the 5957
authorization, without suffering any reprisal. 5958

       (C) If an employer establishes a separate account in the name 5959
of an employee for the purpose of depositing into the account 5960
amounts deducted from the wages and salary of the employee 5961
pursuant to division (A) of this section or amounts directly given 5962
by the employee to the employer for the support of a candidate, a 5963
separate segregated fund, a political action committee of the 5964
employer, a political action committee of a labor organization of 5965
the employer's employees, a political action committee of an 5966
association of which the employer is a member, a political party, 5967
~~a legislative campaign fund,~~ or a ballot issue, the employee shall 5968
sign a written authorization designating the recipient of a 5969
disbursement from that account. The written authorization required 5970
under this division is separate and distinct from a written 5971
authorization required under division (A) of this section. The 5972
authorization required under this division shall clearly identify 5973
and designate the candidate, separate segregated fund, political 5974
action committee of the employer, political action committee of a 5975
labor organization of the employer's employees, political action 5976
committee of an association of which the employer is a member, 5977
political party, ~~a legislative campaign fund,~~ or ballot issue that 5978
is to receive any disbursement from the account established 5979
pursuant to this division. No person shall designate the recipient 5980
of a disbursement from the account except the employee from whose 5981
account the disbursement is made. No employer shall make a 5982
disbursement from the account of an employee established under 5983
this division unless the employer has received the written 5984
authorization required under this division. 5985

       (D) An employer shall furnish the recipient of any amount 5986
transmitted pursuant to this section with the employer's full name 5987
and the full name of the labor organization of which the employee 5988
whose amount is being transmitted is a member, if any. An employer 5989
shall keep and maintain the authorization forms of all its 5990
employees from whose wages and salaries any amounts were deducted 5991
pursuant to division (A) of this section and the authorizations of 5992
disbursements from accounts established under division (C) of this 5993
section for a period of at least six years after the year in which 5994
the deductions and disbursements were made. 5995

       (E) An employee who has made an authorization pursuant to 5996
division (A) or (C) of this section may revoke that authorization 5997
at any time. A revocation of the authorization does not affect any 5998
deduction already made from an employee's wages and salary or any 5999
amounts already transmitted or disbursed under this section. 6000

       (F) For purposes of this section and for the purpose of the 6001
information required to be filed under division (B)(4)(b)(iii) of 6002
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code: 6003

       (1) If an employer is a corporation, each subsidiary of a 6004
parent corporation shall be considered an entity separate and 6005
distinct from any other subsidiary and separate and distinct from 6006
the parent corporation. 6007

       (2) Each national, regional, state, and local affiliate of a 6008
labor organization shall be considered a distinct entity. 6009

       (G) Whoever violates division (C) of this section shall be 6010
fined not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars for 6011
each disbursement made in violation of that division. 6012

       (H) No public employer shall deduct from the wages and 6013
salaries of its employees any amounts for the support of any 6014
candidate, separate segregated fund, political action committee, 6015
~~legislative campaign fund,~~ political party, entity engaging in 6016
electioneering, or ballot issue. 6017

       (I) In addition to the laws listed in division (A) of section 6018
4117.10 of the Revised Code that prevail over conflicting 6019
agreements between employee organizations and public employers, 6020
this section prevails over any conflicting provisions of 6021
agreements between labor organizations and public employers 6022
entered into pursuant to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code. 6023

       (J) As used in this section: 6024

       (1) "Labor organization" and "separate segregated fund" have 6025
the same meanings as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code. 6026

       (2) "Public employer" means an employer that is the state or 6027
a state agency, authority, commission, or board, a political 6028
subdivision of the state, a school district or state institution 6029
of higher learning, a public or special district, or any other 6030
public employer. 6031

       (3) "Employee" includes only an employee who is a resident of 6032
or is employed in this state. 6033

       Sec. 5727.61. Every public utility required by law to make 6034
returns, statements, or reports to the tax commissioner under 6035
sections 5727.01 to 5727.62 of the Revised Code shall file 6036
~~therewith~~with them, in ~~such~~the form as the commissioner 6037
prescribes, an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to by a person or 6038
officer having knowledge of the facts, setting forth that ~~such~~the 6039
public utility has not, during the preceding year, except as 6040
permitted by sections 3517.082, 3599.03, and 3599.031 of the 6041
Revised Code, directly or indirectly paid, used, or offered, 6042
consented, or agreed to pay or use any of its money or property 6043
for or in aid of or opposition to a political party, a candidate 6044
for election or nomination to public office, or a political action 6045
committee, ~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in 6046
electioneering, or organization that supports or opposes any such 6047
candidate or in any manner used any of its money or property for 6048
any partisan political purpose whatever, or for the reimbursement 6049
or indemnification of any person for money or property so used. 6050
Such forms of affidavit as the commissioner prescribes shall be 6051
attached to or made a part of the return, statement, or report 6052
required to be made by ~~such~~the public utility under sections 6053
5727.01 to 5727.62 of the Revised Code. 6054

       As used in this section, "entity engaging in electioneering," 6055
"political action committee," and "political party" have the same 6056
meanings as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code. 6057

       Sec. 5733.27. Every corporation required by law to make 6058
returns, statements, or reports to the tax commissioner shall file 6059
~~therewith~~with them, in ~~such~~the form as the commissioner 6060
prescribes, an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to by a person or 6061
officer having knowledge of the facts, setting forth that ~~such~~the 6062
corporation has not, during the preceding year, except as 6063
permitted by sections 3517.082, 3599.03, and 3599.031 of the 6064
Revised Code, directly or indirectly paid, used, or offered, 6065
consented, or agreed to pay or use any of its money or property 6066
for or in aid of or opposition to a political party, a candidate 6067
for election or nomination to public office, or a political action 6068
committee, ~~legislative campaign fund~~entity engaging in 6069
electioneering, or organization that supports or opposes any such 6070
candidate or in any manner used any of its money or property for 6071
any partisan political purpose whatever, or for the reimbursement 6072
or indemnification of any person for money or property so used. 6073
Such forms of affidavit as the commissioner prescribes shall be 6074
attached to or made a part of the return, statement, or report 6075
required to be made by ~~such~~the corporation. 6076

       As used in this section, "entity engaging in electioneering," 6077
"political action committee," and "political party" have the same 6078
meanings as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code. 6079

       Section 2. That existing sections 101.34, 101.99, 102.03, 6080
121.99, 127.13, 2921.01, 2921.43, 2923.31, 3501.05, 3513.10, 6081
3517.01, 3517.03, 3517.06, 3517.08, 3517.082, 3517.09, 3517.092, 6082
3517.10, 3517.102, 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.106, 3517.108, 6083
3517.109, 3517.1010, 3517.11, 3517.13, 3517.151, 3517.152, 6084
3517.154, 3517.155, 3517.20, 3517.23, 3517.992, 3599.03, 3599.031, 6085
5727.61, and 5733.27 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 6086

       Section 3. All accounts of a political party, other than the 6087
account that contains the public moneys received from the Ohio 6088
political party fund under section 3517.17 of the Revised Code or 6089
that contains any gifts given to the political party pursuant to 6090
section 3517.101 of the Revised Code, shall be combined into a 6091
single account pursuant to division (D)(3)(c) of section 3517.10 6092
of the Revised Code. Except as otherwise provided in that 6093
division, all other accounts of a political party, including any 6094
state candidate fund maintained by a state or county political 6095
party prior to the effective date of this section shall be 6096
abolished within ninety days after the effective date of this 6097
section. Not later than the date on which such a state candidate 6098
fund is abolished, any moneys contained in the fund shall be 6099
returned to the contributors to the fund in the full amount each 6100
contributed or, if there is not a sufficient amount in the fund to 6101
return the full amount to each, be returned to each 6102
proportionately. 6103

       Section 4. On and after the effective date of this section, 6104
all records of a political party shall be considered to be public 6105
records and shall be open to public inspection and copying as 6106
provided in division (D) of section 3517.03 of the Revised Code. 6107
All records of a political party in existence on the effective 6108
date of this section shall be maintained and open to public 6109
inspection and copying for a period of ten years from the date 6110
that each record was created or, if the date that the record was 6111
created cannot be determined, shall be maintained and open to 6112
public inspection and copying for a period of ten years from the 6113
effective date of this section. 6114

       Section 5. Within ninety days after the effective date of 6115
this section, each legislative campaign fund established by a 6116
state political party under the version of section 3517.01 of the 6117
Revised Code that was in effect prior to the effective date of 6118
this section shall be abolished. Not later than the date on which 6119
the legislative campaign fund is abolished, any moneys contained 6120
in any account of the legislative campaign fund shall be returned 6121
to the contributors to the fund in the full amount each 6122
contributed or, if there is not a sufficient amount in the fund to 6123
return the full amount to each, be returned to each 6124
proportionately. 6125

       Section 6. Section 3513.10 of the Revised Code is presented 6126
in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. 6127
Sub. H.B. 117 and Am. Sub. S.B. 9 of the 121st General Assembly. 6128
The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division 6129
(B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be 6130
harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds 6131
that the composite is the resulting version of the section in 6132
effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in 6133
this act. 6134

Section 1. That sections 101.34, 101.99, 102.03, 121.99,	13
127.13, 2921.01, 2921.43, 2923.31, 3501.05, 3513.10, 3517.01,	14
3517.03, 3517.06, 3517.08, 3517.082, 3517.09, 3517.092, 3517.10,	15
3517.102, 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.106, 3517.108, 3517.109,	16
3517.1010, 3517.11, 3517.13, 3517.151, 3517.152, 3517.154,	17
3517.155, 3517.20, 3517.23, 3517.992, 3599.03, 3599.031, 5727.61,	18
and 5733.27 be amended and sections 101.80, 101.801, 101.802,	19
101.803, 101.804, 121.80, 121.81, 121.82, 121.83, 121.84, and	20
3517.1011 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:	21

Sec. 101.34. (A) There is hereby created a joint legislative	22
ethics committee to serve the general assembly. The committee	23
shall be composed of twelve members, six each from the two major	24
political parties, and each member shall serve on the committee	25
during the member's term as a member of that general assembly. Six	26
members of the committee shall be members of the house of	27
representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of	28
representatives, not more than three from the same political	29
party, and six members of the committee shall be members of the	30
senate appointed by the president of the senate, not more than	31
three from the same political party. A vacancy in the committee	32
shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as an	33
original appointment. The members of the committee shall be	34
appointed within fifteen days after the first day of the first	35
regular session of each general assembly, and the committee shall	36
meet and proceed to recommend an ethics code not later than thirty	37
days after the first day of the first regular session of each	38
general assembly.	39

In the first regular session of each general assembly, the	40
speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint the	41
chairperson of the committee from among the house members of the	42
committee, and the president of the senate shall appoint the	43
vice-chairperson of the committee from among the senate members of	44
the committee. In the second regular session of each general	45
assembly, the president of the senate shall appoint the	46
chairperson of the committee from among the senate members of the	47
committee, and the speaker of the house of representatives shall	48
appoint the vice-chairperson of the committee from among the house	49
members of the committee. The chairperson, vice-chairperson, and	50
members of the committee shall serve until their respective	51
successors are appointed or until they are no longer members of	52
the general assembly.	53

The committee shall meet at the call of the chairperson or	54
upon the written request of seven members of the committee.	55

(1) Shall recommend a code of ethics ~~which~~that is consistent	57
with law to govern all members and employees of each house of the	58
general assembly and all candidates for the office of member of	59
each house;	60

(2) May receive and hear any complaint ~~which~~that alleges a	61
breach of any privilege of either house, or misconduct of any	62
member, employee, or candidate, or any violation of the	63
appropriate code of ethics;	64

(3) May obtain information with respect to any complaint	65
filed pursuant to this section and to that end may enforce the	66
attendance and testimony of witnesses, and the production of books	67
and papers;	68

(4) May recommend whatever sanction is appropriate with	69
respect to a particular member, employee, or candidate as will	70
best maintain in the minds of the public a good opinion of the	71
conduct and character of members and employees of the general	72
assembly;	73

(5) May recommend legislation to the general assembly	74
relating to the conduct and ethics of members and employees of and	75
candidates for the general assembly;	76

(6) Shall employ an executive director for the committee and	77
may employ ~~such~~ other staff as the committee determines necessary	78
to assist it in exercising its powers and duties. The executive	79
director and staff of the committee shall be known as the office	80
of legislative inspector general. At least one member of the staff	81
of the committee shall be an attorney at law licensed to practice	82
law in this state. The appointment and removal of the executive	83
director shall require the approval of at least eight members of	84
the committee.	85

(7) May employ a special counsel to assist the committee in	86
exercising its powers and duties. The appointment and removal of a	87
special counsel shall require the approval of at least eight	88
members of the committee.	89

(8) Shall act as an advisory body to the general assembly and	90
to individual members, candidates, and employees on questions	91
relating to ethics, possible conflicts of interest, and financial	92
disclosure;	93

(9) Shall provide for the proper forms on which the statement	94
required pursuant to section 102.02 of the Revised Code shall be	95
filed and instructions as to the filing of the statement;	96

(10) Exercise the powers and duties prescribed under sections	97
101.70 to 101.79, sections 101.80 to 101.804, sections 101.90 to	98
101.98, ~~and~~ sections 121.60 to 121.69, and sections 121.80 to	99
121.84 of the Revised Code;	100

(11) Adopt, in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised	101
Code, any rules that are necessary to implement and clarify	102
Chapter 102. and sections 2921.42 and 2921.43 of the Revised Code.	103

(C) There is hereby created in the state treasury the joint	104
legislative ethics committee fund. ~~Money~~Except as provided in	105
division (E) of section 101.802 and division (E) of section 121.82	106
of the Revised Code, money credited to the fund and any interest	107
and earnings from the fund shall be used solely for the operation	108
of the joint legislative ethics committee and the office of	109
legislative inspector general and for the purchase of data storage	110
and computerization facilities for the statements filed with the	111
joint committee under sections 101.73, 101.74, 101.802, 121.63,	112
~~and~~ 121.64, and 121.82 of the Revised Code.	113

(D) The chairperson of the joint legislative ethics committee	114
shall issue a written report, not later than the thirty-first day	115
of January of each year, to the speaker and minority leader of the	116
house of representatives and to the president and minority leader	117
of the senate that lists the number of committee meetings and	118
investigations the committee conducted during the immediately	119
preceding calendar year and the number of advisory opinions it	120
issued during the immediately preceding calendar year.	121

(E) Any investigative report that contains facts and findings	122
regarding a complaint filed with the joint legislative ethics	123
committee and that is prepared by the staff of the committee or a	124
special counsel to the committee shall become a public record upon	125
its acceptance by a vote of the majority of the members of the	126
committee, except for any names of specific individuals and	127
entities contained in the report. If the committee recommends	128
disciplinary action or reports its findings to the appropriate	129
prosecuting authority for proceedings in prosecution of the	130
violations alleged in the complaint, the investigatory report	131
regarding the complaint shall become a public record in its	132
entirety.	133

(F)(1) Any file obtained by or in the possession of the	134
former house ethics committee or former senate ethics committee	135
shall become the property of the joint legislative ethics	136
committee. Any such file is confidential if either of the	137
following applies:	138

(a) It is confidential under section 102.06 of the Revised	139
Code or the legislative code of ethics.	140

(b) If the file was obtained from the former house ethics	141
committee or from the former senate ethics committee, it was	142
confidential under any statute or any provision of a code of	143
ethics that governed the file.	144

(2) As used in this division, "file" includes, but is not	145
limited to, evidence, documentation, or any other tangible thing.	146

Sec. 101.80. As used in sections 101.80 to 101.804 of the	147
Revised Code:	148

(A) "Contribution" means money, property, financial	149
assistance, or any other thing of value given to a person for a	150
social, recreational, benevolent, charitable, fraternal,	151
political, patriotic, athletic, or other purpose.	152

(B) "Person" hasthe same meaning as in section 101.70 of the	153
Revised Code.	154

Sec. 101.801. (A) No member of the general assembly or	155
candidate for the office of member of the general assembly shall	156
knowingly fail to maintain a record that section 101.802 of the	157
Revised Code requires the member or candidate to maintain.	158

(B) No member of the general assembly or candidate for the	159
office of member of the general assembly shall knowingly fail to	160
file a statement that section 101.802 of the Revised Code requires	161
the member or candidate to file.	162

(C) No member of the general assembly or candidate for the	163
office of member of the general assembly shall knowingly file a	164
false statement that section 101.802 of the Revised Code requires	165
the member or candidate to file.	166

Sec. 101.802. (A) Each member of the general assembly and	167
each candidate for the office of member of the general assembly	168
shall file by electronic means of transmission with the office of	169
the joint legislative ethics committee, not later than the last	170
day of January, May, and September of each year, a statement of	171
contributions solicited. The statement shall include, for each	172
contribution that was made to a person as a result of a	173
solicitation by the member or candidate, all of the following:	174

(2) The name, address, and employer of the person who	176
received the contribution;	177