As Reported by the Senate State Government Oversight and Reform Commtittee

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
Am. S. B. No. 67


Senator Peterson 

Cosponsors: Senators Obhof, Seitz, Hughes, Beagle, Hite 



A BILL
To amend sections 111.15, 117.11, 117.12, 117.16, 1
117.20, and 127.18 and to enact section 117.114 of 2
the Revised Code to create an agreed-upon 3
procedure audit for certain eligible political 4
subdivisions and to eliminate the Auditor of 5
State's exemption from filing a rule summary and 6
fiscal analysis with proposed rules.7


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

       Section 1. That sections 111.15, 117.11, 117.12, 117.16, 8
117.20, and 127.18 be amended and section 117.114 of the Revised 9
Code be enacted to read as follows:10

       Sec. 111.15.  (A) As used in this section:11

       (1) "Rule" includes any rule, regulation, bylaw, or standard 12
having a general and uniform operation adopted by an agency under 13
the authority of the laws governing the agency; any appendix to a 14
rule; and any internal management rule. "Rule" does not include 15
any guideline adopted pursuant to section 3301.0714 of the Revised 16
Code, any order respecting the duties of employees, any finding, 17
any determination of a question of law or fact in a matter 18
presented to an agency, or any rule promulgated pursuant to 19
Chapter 119., section 4141.14, division (C)(1) or (2) of section 20
5117.02, or section 5703.14 of the Revised Code. "Rule" includes 21
any amendment or rescission of a rule.22

       (2) "Agency" means any governmental entity of the state and 23
includes, but is not limited to, any board, department, division, 24
commission, bureau, society, council, institution, state college 25
or university, community college district, technical college 26
district, or state community college. "Agency" does not include 27
the general assembly, the controlling board, the adjutant 28
general's department, or any court.29

       (3) "Internal management rule" means any rule, regulation, 30
bylaw, or standard governing the day-to-day staff procedures and 31
operations within an agency.32

       (4) "Substantive revision" has the same meaning as in 33
division (J) of section 119.01 of the Revised Code.34

       (B)(1) Any rule, other than a rule of an emergency nature, 35
adopted by any agency pursuant to this section shall be effective 36
on the tenth day after the day on which the rule in final form and 37
in compliance with division (B)(3) of this section is filed as 38
follows:39

       (a) The rule shall be filed in electronic form with both the 40
secretary of state and the director of the legislative service 41
commission;42

       (b) The rule shall be filed in electronic form with the joint 43
committee on agency rule review. Division (B)(1)(b) of this 44
section does not apply to any rule to which division (D) of this 45
section does not apply.46

       An agency that adopts or amends a rule that is subject to 47
division (D) of this section shall assign a review date to the 48
rule that is not later than five years after its effective date. 49
If no review date is assigned to a rule, or if a review date 50
assigned to a rule exceeds the five-year maximum, the review date 51
for the rule is five years after its effective date. A rule with a 52
review date is subject to review under section 119.032 of the 53
Revised Code. This paragraph does not apply to a rule of a state 54
college or university, community college district, technical 55
college district, or state community college.56

       If all filings are not completed on the same day, the rule 57
shall be effective on the tenth day after the day on which the 58
latest filing is completed. If an agency in adopting a rule 59
designates an effective date that is later than the effective date 60
provided for by division (B)(1) of this section, the rule if filed 61
as required by such division shall become effective on the later 62
date designated by the agency.63

       Any rule that is required to be filed under division (B)(1) 64
of this section is also subject to division (D) of this section if 65
not exempted by division (D)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), or 66
(8) of this section.67

       If a rule incorporates a text or other material by reference, 68
the agency shall comply with sections 121.71 to 121.76 of the 69
Revised Code.70

       (2) A rule of an emergency nature necessary for the immediate 71
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety shall state 72
the reasons for the necessity. The emergency rule, in final form 73
and in compliance with division (B)(3) of this section, shall be 74
filed in electronic form with the secretary of state, the director 75
of the legislative service commission, and the joint committee on 76
agency rule review. The emergency rule is effective immediately 77
upon completion of the latest filing, except that if the agency in 78
adopting the emergency rule designates an effective date, or date 79
and time of day, that is later than the effective date and time 80
provided for by division (B)(2) of this section, the emergency 81
rule if filed as required by such division shall become effective 82
at the later date, or later date and time of day, designated by 83
the agency.84

       An emergency rule becomes invalid at the end of the ninetieth 85
day it is in effect. Prior to that date, the agency may file the 86
emergency rule as a nonemergency rule in compliance with division 87
(B)(1) of this section. The agency may not refile the emergency 88
rule in compliance with division (B)(2) of this section so that, 89
upon the emergency rule becoming invalid under such division, the 90
emergency rule will continue in effect without interruption for 91
another ninety-day period.92

       (3) An agency shall file a rule under division (B)(1) or (2) 93
of this section in compliance with the following standards and 94
procedures:95

       (a) The rule shall be numbered in accordance with the 96
numbering system devised by the director for the Ohio 97
administrative code.98

       (b) The rule shall be prepared and submitted in compliance 99
with the rules of the legislative service commission.100

       (c) The rule shall clearly state the date on which it is to 101
be effective and the date on which it will expire, if known.102

       (d) Each rule that amends or rescinds another rule shall 103
clearly refer to the rule that is amended or rescinded. Each 104
amendment shall fully restate the rule as amended.105

       If the director of the legislative service commission or the 106
director's designee gives an agency notice pursuant to section 107
103.05 of the Revised Code that a rule filed by the agency is not 108
in compliance with the rules of the legislative service 109
commission, the agency shall within thirty days after receipt of 110
the notice conform the rule to the rules of the commission as 111
directed in the notice.112

       (C) All rules filed pursuant to divisions (B)(1)(a) and (2) 113
of this section shall be recorded by the secretary of state and 114
the director under the title of the agency adopting the rule and 115
shall be numbered according to the numbering system devised by the 116
director. The secretary of state and the director shall preserve 117
the rules in an accessible manner. Each such rule shall be a 118
public record open to public inspection and may be transmitted to 119
any law publishing company that wishes to reproduce it.120

       (D) At least sixty-five days before a board, commission, 121
department, division, or bureau of the government of the state 122
files a rule under division (B)(1) of this section, it shall file 123
the full text of the proposed rule in electronic form with the 124
joint committee on agency rule review, and the proposed rule is 125
subject to legislative review and invalidation under division (I) 126
of section 119.03 of the Revised Code. If a state board, 127
commission, department, division, or bureau makes a substantive 128
revision in a proposed rule after it is filed with the joint 129
committee, the state board, commission, department, division, or 130
bureau shall promptly file the full text of the proposed rule in 131
its revised form in electronic form with the joint committee. The 132
latest version of a proposed rule as filed with the joint 133
committee supersedes each earlier version of the text of the same 134
proposed rule. Except as provided in division (F) of this section, 135
aA state board, commission, department, division, or bureau shall 136
also file the rule summary and fiscal analysis prepared under 137
section 127.18 of the Revised Code in electronic form along with a 138
proposed rule, and along with a proposed rule in revised form, 139
that is filed under this division. If a proposed rule has an 140
adverse impact on businesses, the state board, commission, 141
department, division, or bureau also shall file the business 142
impact analysis, any recommendations received from the common 143
sense initiative office, and the associated memorandum of 144
response, if any, in electronic form along with the proposed rule, 145
or the proposed rule in revised form, that is filed under this 146
division.147

       As used in this division, "commission" includes the public 148
utilities commission when adopting rules under a federal or state 149
statute.150

       This division does not apply to any of the following:151

       (1) A proposed rule of an emergency nature;152

       (2) A rule proposed under section 1121.05, 1121.06, 1155.18, 153
1163.22, 1349.33, 1707.201, 1733.412, 4123.29, 4123.34, 4123.341, 154
4123.342, 4123.40, 4123.411, 4123.44, or 4123.442 of the Revised 155
Code;156

       (3) A rule proposed by an agency other than a board, 157
commission, department, division, or bureau of the government of 158
the state;159

       (4) A proposed internal management rule of a board, 160
commission, department, division, or bureau of the government of 161
the state;162

       (5) Any proposed rule that must be adopted verbatim by an 163
agency pursuant to federal law or rule, to become effective within 164
sixty days of adoption, in order to continue the operation of a 165
federally reimbursed program in this state, so long as the 166
proposed rule contains both of the following:167

       (a) A statement that it is proposed for the purpose of 168
complying with a federal law or rule;169

       (b) A citation to the federal law or rule that requires 170
verbatim compliance.171

       (6) An initial rule proposed by the director of health to 172
impose safety standards and quality-of-care standards with respect 173
to a health service specified in section 3702.11 of the Revised 174
Code, or an initial rule proposed by the director to impose 175
quality standards on a facility listed in division (A)(4) of 176
section 3702.30 of the Revised Code, if section 3702.12 of the 177
Revised Code requires that the rule be adopted under this section;178

       (7) A rule of the state lottery commission pertaining to 179
instant game rules.180

       If a rule is exempt from legislative review under division 181
(D)(5) of this section, and if the federal law or rule pursuant to 182
which the rule was adopted expires, is repealed or rescinded, or 183
otherwise terminates, the rule is thereafter subject to 184
legislative review under division (D) of this section.185

       (E) Whenever a state board, commission, department, division, 186
or bureau files a proposed rule or a proposed rule in revised form 187
under division (D) of this section, it shall also file the full 188
text of the same proposed rule or proposed rule in revised form in 189
electronic form with the secretary of state and the director of 190
the legislative service commission. Except as provided in division 191
(F) of this section, aA state board, commission, department, 192
division, or bureau shall file the rule summary and fiscal 193
analysis prepared under section 127.18 of the Revised Code in 194
electronic form along with a proposed rule or proposed rule in 195
revised form that is filed with the secretary of state or the 196
director of the legislative service commission.197

       (F) Except as otherwise provided in this division, the 198
auditor of state or the auditor of state's designee is not 199
required to file a rule summary and fiscal analysis along with a 200
proposed rule, or proposed rule in revised form, that the auditor 201
of state proposes under section 117.12, 117.19, 117.38, or 117.43 202
of the Revised Code and files under division (D) or (E) of this 203
section.204

       Sec. 117.11.  (A) Except as otherwise provided in this 205
division and in sections 117.112 and, 117.113, and 117.114 of the 206
Revised Code, the auditor of state shall audit each public office 207
at least once every two fiscal years. The auditor of state shall 208
audit a public office each fiscal year if that public office is 209
required to be audited on an annual basis pursuant to "The Single 210
Audit Act of 1984," 98 Stat. 2327, 31 U.S.C.A. 7501 et seq., as 211
amended. In the annual or biennial audit, inquiry shall be made 212
into the methods, accuracy, and legality of the accounts, 213
financial reports, records, files, and reports of the office, 214
whether the laws, rules, ordinances, and orders pertaining to the 215
office have been observed, and whether the requirements and rules 216
of the auditor of state have been complied with. Except as 217
otherwise provided in this division or where auditing standards or 218
procedures dictate otherwise, each audit shall cover at least one 219
fiscal year. If a public office is audited only once every two 220
fiscal years, the audit shall cover both fiscal years.221

       (B) In addition to the annual or biennial audit provided for 222
in division (A) of this section or in section 117.114 of the 223
Revised Code, the auditor of state may conduct an audit of a 224
public office at any time when so requested by the public office 225
or upon the auditor of state's own initiative if the auditor of 226
state has reasonable cause to believe that an additional audit is 227
in the public interest.228

       (C)(1) The auditor of state shall identify any public office 229
in which the auditor of state will be unable to conduct an audit 230
at least once every two fiscal years as required by division (A) 231
of this section and shall provide immediate written notice to the 232
clerk of the legislative authority or governing board of the 233
public office so identified. Within six months of the receipt of 234
such notice, the legislative authority or governing board may 235
engage an independent certified public accountant to conduct an 236
audit pursuant to section 117.12 of the Revised Code.237

       (2) When the chief fiscal officer of a public office notifies 238
the auditor of state that an audit is required at a time prior to 239
the next regularly scheduled audit by the auditor of state, the 240
auditor of state shall either cause an earlier audit to be made by 241
the auditor of state or authorize the legislative authority or 242
governing board of the public office to engage an independent 243
certified public accountant to conduct the required audit. The 244
scope of the audit shall be as authorized by the auditor of state.245

       (3) The auditor of state shall approve the scope of an audit 246
under division (C)(1) or (2) of this section as set forth in the 247
contract for the proposed audit before the contract is executed on 248
behalf of the public office that is to be audited. The independent 249
accountant conducting an audit under division (C)(1) or (2) of 250
this section shall be paid by the public office.251

       (4) The contract for attest services with an independent 252
accountant employed pursuant to this section or section 115.56 of 253
the Revised Code may include binding arbitration provisions, 254
provisions of Chapter 2711. of the Revised Code, or any other 255
alternative dispute resolution procedures to be followed in the 256
event a dispute remains between the state or public office and the 257
independent accountant concerning the terms of or services under 258
the contract, or a breach of the contract, after the 259
administrative provisions of the contract have been exhausted.260

       (D) If a uniform accounting network is established under 261
section 117.101 of the Revised Code, the auditor of state or a 262
certified public accountant employed pursuant to this section or 263
section 115.56 or 117.112 of the Revised Code shall, to the extent 264
practicable, utilize services offered by the network in order to 265
conduct efficient and economical audits of public offices.266

       (E) The auditor of state shall, in accordance with division 267
(A)(3) of section 9.65 of the Revised Code and this section, may268
audit an annuity program for volunteer fire fighters established 269
by a political subdivision under section 9.65 of the Revised Code. 270
As used in this section, "volunteer fire fighters" and "political 271
subdivision" have the same meanings as in division (C) of section 272
9.65 of the Revised Code.273

       Sec. 117.114.  (A) As used in this section:274

       (1) "Qualifying subdivision" means an agricultural society, 275
county board of health, cemetery, conservancy district, family and 276
children first council, fire district, ambulance district, fire 277
and ambulance district, library, park or recreation district, 278
regional planning commission, solid waste district, township, 279
village, water district, sewer district, or water and sewer 280
district, or a political subdivision determined by the auditor of 281
state on a case-by-case basis to be a qualifying subdivision.282

       (2) "Eligible subdivision" means a qualifying subdivision 283
that meets the criteria specified in this section and the criteria 284
established by rule of the auditor of state.285

       (B) The auditor of state shall establish by rule an 286
agreed-upon procedure by which eligible subdivisions may be 287
audited. The rules shall set forth the standards, procedures, 288
guidelines, and reporting requirements for an agreed-upon 289
procedure audit. At a minimum, the rules shall require that, to be 290
eligible for an agreed-upon procedure audit, a political 291
subdivision must be a qualifying subdivision that meets all of the 292
following criteria:293

       (1) The qualifying subdivision's annual budgeted expenditures 294
do not exceed five million dollars for any fiscal year for which 295
the agreed-upon procedure audit will be performed;296

       (2) The qualifying subdivision follows the auditor of state's 297
regulatory, cash, or modified cash accounting basis;298

       (3) The fiscal officer or bookkeeper of the qualifying 299
subdivision did not leave office at any time during the audit 300
period in question;301

       (4) The qualifying subdivision had an audit performed under 302
division (A) of section 117.11 or division (A) of section 117.12 303
of the Revised Code within the prior two audit periods;304

       (5) In its most recent audit report, the qualifying 305
subdivision did not experience any of the following:306

       (a) A qualified, adverse, or disclaimer opinion;307

       (b) A declaration under section 117.41 of the Revised Code 308
that the qualifying subdivision was unauditable;309

       (c)A finding for recovery that indicated fraud or theft in 310
office; or311

       (d) A finding related to material control weaknesses.312

       (6) The qualifying subdivision is not:313

       (a) Under investigation by the auditor of state's special 314
investigations unit or is not otherwise at high risk of fraud as 315
determined by the auditor of state;316

       (b) In a fiscal emergency; or317

       (c) Required to be audited on an annual basis under "The 318
Single Audit Act of 1984," 98 Stat. 2327, 31 U.S.C. 7501 et seq., 319
as amended, or under other laws, grants, bylaws, or debt 320
covenants.321

       (7) The qualifying subdivision does not have outstanding 322
audit fees in arrears; and323

       (8) Any other criteria the auditor of state determines the 324
qualifying subdivision must meet to be eligible for an agreed-upon 325
procedure audit.326

       (C) An eligible subdivision may, but is not required to, 327
engage in an agreed-upon procedure audit. If the eligible 328
subdivision does not engage in an agreed-upon procedure audit 329
under this section and the rules adopted thereunder, the eligible 330
subdivision instead shall undergo an audit under division (A) of 331
section 117.11 or division (A) of section 117.12 of the Revised 332
Code.333

       (D) An agreed-upon procedure audit shall be performed by the 334
auditor of state or by an independent certified public accountant 335
under the attestation standards established by the American 336
institute of certified public accountants. Eligible subdivisions 337
may have an agreed-upon procedure audit in two consecutive audit 338
periods followed by one audit performed under division (A) of 339
section 117.11 or division (A) of section 117.12 of the Revised 340
Code.341

       (E) The auditor of state, on a case-by-case basis, may 342
determine that a qualifying subdivision that fails to meet any one 343
of the criteria established by rule under division (B) of this 344
section is otherwise eligible for an agreed-upon procedure audit 345
and may, in writing, grant a waiver of a particular criterion.346

       (F) An eligible subdivision that engages in an agreed-upon 347
procedure audit shall continue to file an annual financial report 348
as required under section 117.38 of the Revised Code.349

       Sec. 117.12. (A) Any certified public accountant engaged to 350
perform an audit pursuant to division (C) of section 117.11 of the 351
Revised Code shall conduct the audit pursuant to the standards, 352
procedures, and guidelines of the auditor of state for such 353
audits. The auditor of state shall establish these standards, 354
procedures, and guidelines by rule. The audit shall cover the 355
period beginning with the termination date of the most recent 356
audit conducted under this section or under section 117.11 or 357
117.114 of the Revised Code, and ending on the date specified by 358
the auditor of state. The accountant shall inquire into the 359
methods, accuracy, and legality of the accounts, records, files, 360
and reports of the public office and shall note whether, in the 361
accountant's opinion, the laws, rules, ordinances, and orders 362
pertaining to the public office have been complied with. The363

       (B) Any certified public accountant engaged to perform an 364
agreed-upon procedure audit pursuant to section 117.114 of the 365
Revised Code shall conduct the audit pursuant to the standards, 366
procedures, guidelines, and reporting requirements adopted by rule 367
of the auditor of state pursuant to that section.368

       (C) The certified public accountant shall have no authority 369
to make formal findings of illegality, malfeasance, or gross 370
neglect under this divisionsection or section 117.23 of the 371
Revised Code.372

       Sec. 117.16. (A) The auditor of state shall do all of the 373
following:374

       (1) Develop a force account project assessment form that each 375
public office that undertakes force account projects shall use to 376
estimate or report the cost of a force account project. The form 377
shall include costs for employee salaries and benefits, any other 378
labor costs, materials, freight, fuel, hauling, overhead expense, 379
workers' compensation premiums, and all other items of cost and 380
expense, including a reasonable allowance for the use of all tools 381
and equipment used on or in connection with such work and for the 382
depreciation on the tools and equipment.383

       (2) Make the form available to public offices by any 384
cost-effective, convenient method accessible to the auditor of 385
state and the public offices;386

       (3) When conducting an audit under this chapter of a public 387
office that undertakes force account projects, examine the forms 388
and records of a sampling of the force account projects the public 389
office completed since an audit was last conducted, to determine 390
compliance with its force account limits.391

       (B) If the auditor of state receives a complaint from any 392
person that a public office has violated the force account limits 393
established for that office, the auditor of state may conduct an 394
audit in addition to the audit provided in section 117.11 or 395
117.114 of the Revised Code if the auditor of state has reasonable 396
cause to believe that an additional audit is in the public 397
interest.398

        (C)(1) If the auditor of state finds that a county, township, 399
or municipal corporation violated the force account limits 400
established for that political subdivision, the auditor of state, 401
in addition to any other action authorized by this chapter, shall 402
notify the political subdivision that, for a period of one year 403
from the date of the notification, the force account limits for 404
the subdivision are reduced as follows:405

        (a) For a county, the limits shall be ten thousand dollars 406
per mile for construction or reconstruction of a road and forty 407
thousand dollars for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, or 408
repair of a bridge or culvert;409

        (b) For a township, the limit shall be fifteen thousand 410
dollars for maintenance and repair of a road or five thousand per 411
mile for construction or reconstruction of a township road;412

        (c) For a municipal corporation, the limit shall be ten 413
thousand dollars for the construction, reconstruction, widening, 414
resurfacing, or repair of a street or other public way.415

        (2) If the auditor of state finds that a county, township, or 416
municipal corporation violated the force account limits 417
established for that political subdivision a second or subsequent 418
time, the auditor of state, in addition to any other action 419
authorized by this chapter, shall notify the political subdivision 420
that, for a period of two years from the date of the notification, 421
the force account limits for the subdivision are reduced in 422
accordance with division (C)(1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section.423

       (3) If the auditor of state finds that a county, township, or 424
municipal corporation violated the force account limits 425
established for that political subdivision a third or subsequent 426
time, the auditor of state shall certify to the tax commissioner 427
an amount the auditor of state determines to be twenty per cent of 428
the total cost of the force account project that is the basis of 429
the violation. Upon receipt of this certification, the tax 430
commissioner shall withhold the certified amount from any funds 431
under the tax commissioner's control that are due or payable to 432
that political subdivision. The tax commissioner shall promptly 433
deposit this withheld amount to the credit of the local 434
transportation improvement program fund created by section 164.14 435
of the Revised Code.436

        If the tax commissioner determines that no funds are due and 437
payable to the violating political subdivision or that 438
insufficient amounts of such funds are available to cover the 439
entire certified amount, the tax commissioner shall withhold and 440
deposit to the credit of the local transportation improvement 441
program fund any amount available and certify the remaining amount 442
to be withheld to the county auditor of the county in which the 443
political subdivision is located. The county auditor shall 444
withhold from that political subdivision any amount, up to that 445
certified by the tax commissioner, that is available from any 446
funds under the county auditor's control, that is due or payable 447
to that political subdivision, and that can be lawfully withheld. 448
The county auditor shall promptly pay that withheld amount to the 449
tax commissioner for deposit into the local transportation 450
improvement program fund.451

       The payments required under division (C)(3) of this section 452
are in addition to the force account limit reductions described in 453
division (C)(2) of this section and also are in addition to any 454
other action authorized by this chapter. 455

       (D) If the auditor of state finds that a county, township, or 456
municipal corporation violated its force account limits when 457
participating in a joint force account project, the auditor of 458
state shall impose the reduction in force account limits under 459
division (C) of this section on all entities participating in the 460
joint project.461

        (E) As used in this section, "force account limits" means any 462
of the following, as applicable:463

        (1) For a county, the amounts established in section 5543.19 464
of the Revised Code;465

        (2) For a township, the amounts established in section 466
5575.01 of the Revised Code;467

        (3) For a municipal corporation, the amount established in 468
section 723.52 of the Revised Code;469

        (4) For the department of transportation, the amount 470
established in section 5517.02 of the Revised Code.471

       Sec. 117.20.  (A) In adopting rules pursuant to Chapter 117. 472
of the Revised Code, the auditor of state or the auditor of 473
state's designee shall do both of the following:474

       (1) Before adopting any such rule, except a rule of an 475
emergency nature, do each of the following:476

       (a) At least thirty-five days before any public hearing on 477
the proposed rule-making action, mail or send by electronic mail478
notice of the hearing to each public office and to each statewide 479
organization that the auditor of state or designee determines will 480
be affected or that represents persons who will be affected by 481
the proposed rule-making action;482

       (b) Mail or send by electronic mail a copy of the proposed 483
rule to any person or organization that requests a copy within 484
five days after receipt of the request;485

       (c) Consult with appropriate state and local government 486
agencies, or with persons representative of their interests, 487
including statewide organizations of local government officials, 488
and consult with accounting professionals and other interested 489
persons;490

       (d) Conduct, on the date and at the time and place designated 491
in the notice, a public hearing at which any person affected by 492
the proposed rule, including statewide organizations of local 493
government officials, may appear and be heard in person, by 494
attorney, or both, and may present the person's or organization's 495
position or contentions orally or in writing.496

       (2) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(2) of this 497
section, complyComply with divisions (B) to (E) of section 111.15 498
of the Revised Code. The auditor of state is not required to file 499
a rule summary and fiscal analysis along with any copy of a 500
proposed rule, or proposed rule in revised form, that is filed 501
with the joint committee on agency rule review, the secretary of 502
state, or the director of the legislative service commission under 503
division (D) or (E) of section 111.15 of the Revised Code.504

       (B) The auditor of state shall diligently discharge the 505
duties imposed by divisions (A)(1)(a), (b), and (c) of this 506
section, but failure to mail or send by electronic mail any notice 507
or copy of a proposed rule, or to consult with any person or 508
organization, shall not invalidate any rule.509

       (C) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of the Revised 510
Code, the auditor of state may prepare and disseminate, to public 511
offices and other interested persons and organizations, advisory 512
bulletins, directives, and instructions relating to accounting and 513
financial reporting systems, budgeting procedures, fiscal 514
controls, and the constructions by the auditor of state of 515
constitutional and statutory provisions, court decisions, and 516
opinions of the attorney general. The bulletins, directives, and 517
instructions shall be of an advisory nature only.518

       (D) As used in this section, "rule" includes the adoption, 519
amendment, or rescission of a rule.520

       Sec. 127.18.  (A) As used in this section:521

       (1) "Rule-making agency" has the same meaning as in division 522
(I) of section 119.01 of the Revised Code.523

       (2) "Rule" includes the adoption, amendment, or rescission of 524
a rule.525

       (3) "Proposed rule" means the original version of a proposed 526
rule, and each revised version of the same proposed rule, that is 527
filed with the joint committee on agency rule review under 528
division (D) of section 111.15 or division (H) of section 119.03 529
of the Revised Code.530

       (B) A rule-making agency shall prepare, in the form 531
prescribed by the joint committee on agency rule review under 532
division (E) of this section, a complete and accurate rule summary 533
and fiscal analysis of each proposed rule that it files under 534
division (D) of section 111.15 or division (H) of section 119.03 535
of the Revised Code. The rule summary and fiscal analysis shall 536
include all of the following information:537

       (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the 538
rule-making agency, and the name and telephone number of an 539
individual or office within the agency designated by that agency 540
to be responsible for coordinating and making available 541
information in the possession of the agency regarding the proposed 542
rule;543

       (2) The Ohio Administrative Code rule number of the proposed 544
rule;545

       (3) A brief summary of, and the legal basis for, the proposed 546
rule, including citations identifying the statute that prescribes 547
the procedure in accordance with which the rule-making agency is 548
required to adopt the proposed rule, the statute that authorizes 549
the agency to adopt the proposed rule, and the statute that the 550
agency intends to amplify or implement by adopting the proposed 551
rule;552

       (4) An estimate, in dollars, of the amount by which the 553
proposed rule would increase or decrease revenues or expenditures 554
during the current biennium;555

       (5) A citation identifying the appropriation that authorizes 556
each expenditure that would be necessitated by the proposed rule;557

       (6) A summary of the estimated cost of compliance with the 558
rule to all directly affected persons;559

       (7) The reasons why the rule is being proposed;560

       (8) If the rule has a fiscal effect on school districts, 561
counties, townships, or municipal corporations, an estimate in 562
dollars of the cost of compliance with the rule, or, if dollar 563
amounts cannot be determined, a written explanation of why it was 564
not possible to ascertain dollar amounts;565

       (9) If the rule has a fiscal effect on school districts, 566
counties, townships, or municipal corporations and is the result 567
of a federal requirement, a clear explanation that the proposed 568
state rule does not exceed the scope and intent of the 569
requirement, or, if the state rule does exceed the minimum 570
necessary federal requirement, a justification of the excess cost, 571
and an estimate of the costs, including those costs for local 572
governments, exceeding the federal requirement;573

       (10) If the rule has a fiscal effect on school districts, 574
counties, townships, or municipal corporations, a comprehensive 575
cost estimate that includes the procedure and method of 576
calculating the costs of compliance and identifies major cost 577
categories including personnel costs, new equipment or other 578
capital costs, operating costs, and indirect central service costs 579
related to the rule. The fiscal analysis shall also include a 580
written explanation of the agency's and the affected local 581
government's ability to pay for the new requirements and a 582
statement of any impact the rule will have on economic 583
development.584

       (11) If the rule incorporates a text or other material by 585
reference, and the agency claims the incorporation by reference is 586
exempt from compliance with sections 121.71 to 121.74 of the 587
Revised Code because the text or other material is generally 588
available to persons who reasonably can be expected to be affected 589
by the rule, an explanation of how the text or other material is 590
generally available to those persons;591

       (12) If the rule incorporates a text or other material by 592
reference, and it was infeasible for the agency to file the text 593
or other material electronically, an explanation of why filing the 594
text or other material electronically was infeasible;595

       (13) If the rule is being rescinded and incorporates a text 596
or other material by reference, and it was infeasible for the 597
agency to file the text or other material, an explanation of why 598
filing the text or other material was infeasible;599

       (14) Any other information the joint committee on agency rule 600
review considers necessary to make the proposed rule or the fiscal 601
effect of the proposed rule fully understandable.602

       (C) The rule-making agency shall file the rule summary and 603
fiscal analysis in electronic form along with the proposed rule 604
that it files under divisions (D) and (E) of section 111.15 or 605
divisions (B) and (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code. The 606
joint committee on agency rule review shall not accept any 607
proposed rule for filing unless a copy of the rule summary and 608
fiscal analysis of the proposed rule, completely and accurately 609
prepared, is filed along with the proposed rule.610

       (D) The joint committee on agency rule review shall review 611
the fiscal effect of each proposed rule that is filed under 612
division (D) of section 111.15 or division (H) of section 119.03 613
of the Revised Code.614

       (E) The joint committee on agency rule review shall prescribe 615
the form in which each rule-making agency shall prepare its rule 616
summary and fiscal analysis of a proposed rule.617

       (F) This section does not require the auditor of state or the 618
auditor of state's designee to prepare or attach a rule summary 619
and fiscal analysis to any copy of a rule proposed under section 620
117.12, 117.19, 117.38, or 117.43 of the Revised Code.621

       Section 2.  That existing sections 111.15, 117.11, 117.12, 622
117.16, 117.20, and 127.18 of the Revised Code are hereby 623
repealed.624