WHEREAS, The Joint Legislative Ethics Committee is the | 13 |
appropriate ethics
committee for matters relating to members and | 14 |
employees of the General
Assembly, employees of any legislative | 15 |
agency, including the Correctional Institution Inspection | 16 |
Committee, Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, Legislative | 17 |
Information Systems, Legislative Inspector General, and | 18 |
Legislative Service Commission, and candidates for
the office of | 19 |
member of the General Assembly; now therefore be it | 20 |
All members of the Senate or the House of
Representatives | 30 |
shall
conduct themselves at all
times so as to reflect credit
upon | 31 |
the member's respective chamber of the
General Assembly,
shall | 32 |
obey all rules of the member's
respective chamber of the
General | 33 |
Assembly, and shall conform
the member's conduct to
this
Code of | 34 |
Ethics. All employees of the Senate or
House of
Representatives | 35 |
and all employees of any legislative agency shall conduct | 36 |
themselves at all times so as to reflect
credit upon the | 37 |
employee's respective
chamber of the General
Assembly or | 38 |
institution of
employment, shall obey all rules of the
employee's | 39 |
respective chamber of the
General Assembly or
institution of | 40 |
employment, and shall
conform the employee's
conduct to this Code | 41 |
of Ethics. | 42 |
(A) The Office of the Legislative Inspector General shall | 44 |
accept disclosure
statements filed by members and employees of the | 45 |
General Assembly and
employees of any legislative agency pursuant | 46 |
to section 102.02 of
the Revised Code and
shall maintain a file of | 47 |
all disclosure statements that
are filed
pursuant to that section. | 48 |
Every member of the General
Assembly
and every employee of the | 49 |
General Assembly and any legislative agency who is required to | 50 |
file a financial disclosure
statement,
within the period | 51 |
prescribed by law, shall file with
the Office of the
Legislative | 52 |
Inspector General, a disclosure
statement as provided for by | 53 |
section 102.02 of the Revised Code.
Each member and each employee | 54 |
of the
General Assembly and employee
of any legislative
agency | 55 |
required to file a financial
disclosure statement, within the | 56 |
period and in the manner
prescribed by section 102.02 of the | 57 |
Revised Code, shall receive
from the
Office of the Legislative | 58 |
Inspector General the form on
which the statement
shall be | 59 |
prepared. | 60 |
(B) Division (A)(2)(c) of section 102.02 of the Revised Code | 61 |
applies to
members of the General Assembly who are attorneys or | 62 |
physicians or who
otherwise engage in the practice of a profession | 63 |
and to the clients, patients,
and other recipients of professional | 64 |
services of members of the General
Assembly who are attorneys or | 65 |
physicians or who otherwise engage in
the
practice of a | 66 |
profession, even if those clients, patients, and other
recipients | 67 |
of professional services are legislative agents. | 68 |
(C) Division (A)(8) of section 102.02 of the Revised
Code | 69 |
requires a member of the General Assembly
and an employee of the | 70 |
General Assembly or any
legislative agency required to
file a | 71 |
disclosure statement under section 102.02 of the Revised
Code to | 72 |
identify on a
disclosure statement
the source and amount
of any | 73 |
payment of expenses incurred for travel to
destinations
inside or | 74 |
outside this state
that the member or employee receives
in the | 75 |
member's or
employee's own name or that another person
receives | 76 |
for the member's or employee's use or benefit in
connection
with | 77 |
the member's or employee's official
duties, except
for expenses | 78 |
for
travel to meetings or conventions of a national
or state | 79 |
organization to which
any state agency, including, but not limited | 80 |
to, any legislative agency or state institution of higher | 81 |
education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, pays | 82 |
membership dues, or any political subdivision or any office or | 83 |
agency of a political subdivision pays membership
dues. | 84 |
(D) Division (A)(9) of section 102.02 of the Revised Code | 85 |
requires a
member of the General Assembly and an
employee of the | 86 |
General Assembly or any legislative
agency required to
file a | 87 |
disclosure statement
under section 102.02 of the Revised
Code to | 88 |
identify on a disclosure statement
the source of payment
of | 89 |
expenses for meals and other food and beverages that
are
incurred | 90 |
in connection with the person's official duties and that
exceed | 91 |
one
hundred dollars aggregated per
calendar year, except
for | 92 |
expenses for meals and other food and beverages
provided at a | 93 |
meeting at which the member or employee participated in a panel, | 94 |
seminar, or speaking engagement or at a meeting or convention of a | 95 |
national or
state organization to which a state agency, including, | 96 |
but not limited to, any legislative agency or state institution of | 97 |
higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised | 98 |
Code, pays membership dues, or any political subdivision or any | 99 |
office or agency of a political subdivision pays
membership dues. | 100 |
(E)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (E)(2)
of | 101 |
this section, in accordance with section 102.02 of the Revised | 102 |
Code, every
member of the General Assembly and every employee of | 103 |
the General Assembly or any legislative agency
required to file an | 104 |
annual statement under section
102.02 of the
Revised Code shall | 105 |
disclose the source of a gift
or gifts, where
the value of the | 106 |
gift or gifts aggregated per calendar year
exceeds seventy-five | 107 |
dollars, except gifts received by will or by
virtue of
section | 108 |
2105.06 of the Revised Code, or received from
spouses, parents, | 109 |
grandparents,
children, grandchildren, siblings,
nephews, nieces, | 110 |
uncles, aunts, cousins,
brothers-in-law,
sisters-in-law, | 111 |
sons-in-law, daughters-in-law,
fathers-in-law,
mothers-in-law, | 112 |
step-relations, or any person to whom the
member
or employee of | 113 |
the General Assembly or employee of any legislative agency stands | 114 |
in loco
parentis, or received by way of
distribution from any | 115 |
inter vivos or
testamentary trust
established by a
spouse or by an | 116 |
ancestor. | 117 |
Any member of the General Assembly who engages in the conduct | 126 |
or practice of a
particular business, profession, trade, or | 127 |
occupation that is subject to
licensing or regulation by any | 128 |
branch, department, division, institution,
instrumentality, board, | 129 |
commission, or bureau of the state shall file a
notice that the | 130 |
member is the holder of a particular license,
or is engaged in | 131 |
such activity, as part of the financial disclosure statement | 132 |
required by section 102.02 of the Revised Code. | 133 |
(A) Except as provided in division (D) of section 102.04 of | 160 |
the Revised Code,
no person elected to or employed by the General | 161 |
Assembly or employed by any legislative agency shall
receive or | 162 |
agree to receive,
directly or indirectly, compensation
other than | 163 |
from the house with which
the person serves or from any | 164 |
legislative agency, if the person is a legislative
agency | 165 |
employee, for any service rendered
or to be
rendered by the person | 166 |
personally in any case,
proceeding,
application, or
other matter | 167 |
that is before the General
Assembly
or any department, division, | 168 |
institution, instrumentality, board,
commission, or bureau of the | 169 |
state,
excluding the courts. | 170 |
Except as provided in division (D) of section 102.04 of the | 176 |
Revised Code, no
person elected to or employed by the General | 177 |
Assembly or employed by any legislative agency shall sell or agree | 178 |
to sell, except
through competitive bidding, any goods or services | 179 |
to the
General
Assembly or any department, division,
institution, | 180 |
instrumentality, board, commission, or bureau of the state, | 181 |
excluding the courts. | 182 |
(2) More than seventy-five dollars aggregated per calendar | 189 |
year as
payment for meals and other food and beverages,
other than | 190 |
for those meals and other food and beverages provided to the | 191 |
member
or employee at a meeting at which the member or employee | 192 |
participates in a
panel, seminar, or speaking engagement, at a | 193 |
meeting or convention of a
national organization to which either | 194 |
house of the General
Assembly or any
state agency, including, but | 195 |
not limited to, any legislative agency or state institution of | 196 |
higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised | 197 |
Code, pays membership dues, or at a dinner, party, or
function to | 198 |
which
all members of the General
Assembly or all
members of either | 199 |
house of the General
Assembly are invited. | 200 |
(C) No member or employee of the General Assembly or
employee | 201 |
of any legislative agency shall
knowingly accept from a | 202 |
legislative agent a
gift of any amount in
the form of cash or
the | 203 |
equivalent of cash, or a gift or gifts of
any other thing of value | 204 |
where
the value of the gift or gifts
aggregated per calendar year | 205 |
exceeds
seventy-five dollars. As
used in this division, "gift" | 206 |
does not include any contribution as
defined in section
3517.01 of | 207 |
the
Revised Code or
any gifts of
meals and other food and | 208 |
beverages or the payment of expenses
incurred for travel to | 209 |
destinations either inside or outside this
state that
is received | 210 |
by a member of the General Assembly and
that is
incurred in | 211 |
connection with the member's official duties. | 212 |
(D) It is not a violation of division (B)(2) of this section | 213 |
if,
within sixty
days after receiving notice pursuant to division | 214 |
(F)(2) of section 101.73 of
the Revised Code from a legislative | 215 |
agent that the legislative agent has
provided a member of the | 216 |
General Assembly or an employee of the General
Assembly or any | 217 |
legislative agency with more than seventy-five dollars
aggregated | 218 |
in a
calendar year as payment for meals and other food
and | 219 |
beverages that were
purchased for consumption on the premises
in | 220 |
which the food and beverages were
sold, the member or employee
of | 221 |
the General Assembly or employee of any legislative agency returns | 222 |
to that
legislative agent the amount received
that exceeds | 223 |
seventy-five dollars. | 224 |
No present or former member or employee
of the General | 226 |
Assembly or present or former employee of any legislative agency | 227 |
shall disclose or use for
the member's or employee's
personal | 228 |
profit, without appropriate
authorization, any
information | 229 |
acquired
by the member or employee in the course of
the
member's | 230 |
or employee's official duties that has been clearly
designated
to | 231 |
the member or employee as confidential when such
confidential | 232 |
designation is warranted because
of the status of the
proceedings | 233 |
or the circumstances under which the
information was
received and | 234 |
preserving its confidentiality is necessary to
the
proper conduct | 235 |
of government business. No present or former
member
or employee of | 236 |
the General Assembly or present or former
employee of
any | 237 |
legislative agency shall disclose or
use,
without appropriate | 238 |
authorization, any information acquired
by
the member
or employee | 239 |
in the course of the member's or
employee's official duties that | 240 |
is confidential because of
statutory
provisions, except as | 241 |
provided in
section 101.30 of the
Revised Code or Section 12 or 13 | 242 |
of Article II, Ohio
Constitution. | 243 |
(C) No member of the General Assembly shall solicit or | 258 |
receive funds from any
legislative agent who is registered | 259 |
pursuant to section 101.72 of the Revised
Code, for use other than | 260 |
by a political party, campaign committee,
legislative campaign | 261 |
fund, political action committee,
or political contributing | 262 |
entity, as
defined in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code, except | 263 |
that a member may
solicit or receive funds from any legislative | 264 |
agent on behalf of religious and
benevolent organizations | 265 |
regulated by Chapter 1716. of the Revised Code or
charitable | 266 |
organizations that have registered with the
Attorney General | 267 |
pursuant to section 109.26 or 1716.02 of the Revised Code. | 268 |
(D) In the absence of bribery or another offense under the | 269 |
Revised
Code or a purpose to defraud, the receipt of | 270 |
contributions, as defined
in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code, | 271 |
made to a campaign committee,
political party, legislative | 272 |
campaign fund, political action
committee, or political | 273 |
contributing entity on behalf of a
member of or candidate for the | 274 |
General Assembly does not violate divisions (A)
and (B) of this | 275 |
section. | 276 |
(E) A member or employee of the General Assembly and an | 277 |
employee of any legislative agency may accept travel,
meals, and | 278 |
lodging or expenses or reimbursement of expenses for
travel, | 279 |
meals, and
lodging in connection with conferences,
seminars, and | 280 |
similar events related
to the member's or employee's
official | 281 |
duties if the travel,
meals, lodging, expenses, or
reimbursement | 282 |
is not of such a character as to manifest a
substantial and | 283 |
improper influence upon the member or employee
with respect
to | 284 |
those duties and if, in relation to expenses or
reimbursement for | 285 |
travel
or lodging provided to a member by a
legislative agent, the | 286 |
expenses or
reimbursement are not made in
violation of division | 287 |
(C)(1) of section
102.031 of the Revised
Code. A member or | 288 |
employee
who acts in compliance with this
division does not | 289 |
violate division (A), (B),
or (C) of this
section. | 290 |
(B)(1) In accordance with section 3517.092 of the Revised | 295 |
Code, no member of or candidate for the General Assembly, no | 296 |
campaign committee of a member of or candidate for the General | 297 |
Assembly, no legislative caucus campaign committee, and no other | 298 |
person or entity shall knowingly solicit or accept a contribution | 299 |
on behalf of that member or candidate, that member's or | 300 |
candidate's campaign committee, or a legislative caucus campaign | 301 |
committee from any of the following: | 302 |
(C) In addition to any complaint brought or penalty that may | 324 |
be imposed under sections 3517.152 to 3517.157 of the Revised | 325 |
Code, the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee may receive and | 326 |
initiate complaints against members and employees of, and | 327 |
candidates for, the General Assembly and employees of any | 328 |
legislative agency concerning conduct alleged to be in violation | 329 |
of this section. Upon a finding of a violation of this section, | 330 |
the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee may recommend whatever | 331 |
sanction is appropriate with respect to a particular member, | 332 |
employee, or candidate as will best maintain in the minds of the | 333 |
public a good opinion of the conduct and character of members and | 334 |
employees of the General Assembly. | 335 |
(A) No member of or candidate for the General Assembly shall | 337 |
convert,
receive, or accept for personal or business use anything | 338 |
of value from
the member's or candidate's campaign fund, as | 339 |
defined in
section 3517.01 of the Revised Code, including, without | 340 |
limitation, payments
to the member or candidate for services | 341 |
personally performed by the member or
candidate, except as | 342 |
reimbursement for any of the following: | 343 |
(C) No member of or candidate for the General Assembly shall | 370 |
knowingly
receive or accept reimbursement for an expense under | 371 |
division (A) of this
section to the extent that the expense | 372 |
previously was reimbursed or paid from
another source of funds. If | 373 |
an expense is reimbursed under division (A) of
this section and is | 374 |
later paid or reimbursed, wholly or in part, from another
source | 375 |
of funds, a member or candidate shall immediately repay the | 376 |
reimbursement received under division (A) of this section to the | 377 |
extent of the
payment made or reimbursement received from the | 378 |
other source. | 379 |
(D) A member of the General Assembly may be reimbursed under | 380 |
division (A)(1)
or (3) of this section for expenses
incurred for | 381 |
the member's meals and lodging in Franklin County if the expenses | 382 |
otherwise meet the requirements for reimbursement under division | 383 |
(A)(1) or (3) of this section and were not incurred while the | 384 |
member was in
Franklin County to attend floor sessions of the | 385 |
General Assembly or meetings
of its committees, except that a | 386 |
member may be reimbursed under division
(A)(1), (2), or (3) of | 387 |
this section for expenses incurred for the member's
meals in | 388 |
Franklin County at any time if the expenses otherwise meet the | 389 |
requirements for reimbursement under division (A)(1), (2), or (3) | 390 |
of this
section and were incurred for meals at which the member | 391 |
hosted other persons. | 392 |
(1) Reimbursement for legitimate and verifiable, ordinary, | 399 |
and necessary
prior expenses not otherwise prohibited by law | 400 |
incurred by the member or
candidate while engaged in any | 401 |
legitimate activity of the political party,
political action | 402 |
committee, legislative campaign fund, political
contributing | 403 |
entity, or such campaign committee. Without
limitation, | 404 |
reimbursable expenses under this division include those incurred | 405 |
while doing
any of the following: | 406 |
(2) Compensation not otherwise prohibited by law for actual | 413 |
and valuable
personal services rendered under a written contract | 414 |
to the political party,
political action committee, legislative | 415 |
campaign fund, political
contributing entity, or the
member's or | 416 |
candidate's own campaign
committee for any legitimate activity of | 417 |
the political party, political action
committee, legislative | 418 |
campaign fund, political contributing
entity, or such campaign | 419 |
committee. | 420 |
Reimbursable expenses under this division do not include, and | 421 |
it is a
violation of this division for a member or candidate to | 422 |
accept from a
political party, political action committee, | 423 |
legislative campaign
fund, political contributing entity, or | 424 |
campaign committee other
than the member's or candidate's own | 425 |
campaign committee, anything of value for
activities primarily | 426 |
related to the member's or candidate's own campaign for
election, | 427 |
except for contributions to the member's or candidate's campaign | 428 |
committee. | 429 |
(A) No member of the General Assembly, employee of the | 458 |
General Assembly who
is required to file a financial disclosure | 459 |
statement under section 102.02 of
the Revised Code, or employee of | 460 |
any legislative agency who is
required to file a
financial | 461 |
disclosure statement under section 102.02 of the
Revised
Code | 462 |
shall solicit or accept an honorarium. This division and
divisions | 463 |
(A), (B), and (C) of Section 7 of this Code of Ethics do
not | 464 |
prohibit a member or employee who is required to file a
financial | 465 |
disclosure
statement under section 102.02 of the Revised
Code from | 466 |
accepting the payment
of actual travel expenses,
including any | 467 |
expenses incurred in connection with
the travel for
lodging, and | 468 |
meals, food, and beverages provided to the member
or
employee at a | 469 |
meeting at which the member or employee participates
in a
panel, | 470 |
seminar, or speaking engagement or provided to the
member or | 471 |
employee
at a meeting or convention of a national
organization to | 472 |
which either house of
the General Assembly, or any state agency, | 473 |
including, but not limited to, any legislative agency or state | 474 |
institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of | 475 |
the Revised Code, pays
membership
dues. This division and | 476 |
divisions (A), (B), and (C) of Section 7
of this Code of Ethics do | 477 |
not prohibit an employee of the General
Assembly or
employee of | 478 |
any legislative agency who is
not required to file a
financial | 479 |
disclosure statement under
section 102.02 of the Revised Code from | 480 |
accepting an honorarium or
the payment of travel, meal, and | 481 |
lodging
expenses if the
honorarium, expenses, or both were paid in | 482 |
recognition of
demonstrable business, professional, or esthetic | 483 |
interests of the
employee
that exist apart from the employee's | 484 |
public employment,
including, but not limited to, such a | 485 |
demonstrable interest in
public speaking
and were not paid by any | 486 |
person or other entity,
or by any representative or
association of | 487 |
such person
or
entities, that is regulated by, doing business | 488 |
with, or seeking to
do
business with the General Assembly or any | 489 |
legislative agency. | 490 |
(C) As used in this section, "honorarium" means any payment | 494 |
made
in consideration for any speech given, article published, or | 495 |
attendance at any
public or private conference, convention, | 496 |
meeting, social event, meal, or
similar gathering. "Honorarium" | 497 |
does not include ceremonial gifts or awards
that have | 498 |
insignificant monetary value; unsolicited gifts of nominal value | 499 |
or
trivial items of informational value; or earned income from any | 500 |
person, other
than a legislative agent, for personal services that | 501 |
are customarily provided
in connection with the practice of a bona | 502 |
fide business, if that business
initially began before the member | 503 |
or employee conducting that business was
elected or appointed to | 504 |
the member's or employee's office or
position of employment. | 505 |
(B) When the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee renders an | 520 |
advisory opinion
that has been publicly sought and that relates to | 521 |
a special set of
circumstances involving ethics,
conflicts of | 522 |
interest, or financial disclosure
under Chapter 102.
or section | 523 |
2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code, the
person to
whom the | 524 |
opinion was directed or who was similarly situated may
reasonably | 525 |
rely upon such opinion and shall be immune from
criminal | 526 |
prosecutions, civil suits, or actions for removal from
the | 527 |
person's office or position of employment for a violation of | 528 |
Chapter 102.
or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code | 529 |
based on facts and
circumstances covered by the opinion, if
the | 530 |
opinion states that there is no violation of Chapter 102. or | 531 |
section
2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code. The committee | 532 |
shall include in every
advisory opinion it renders a statement as | 533 |
to whether the set of circumstances
described in the advisory | 534 |
opinion constitutes a violation of section 2921.42
or 2921.43 of | 535 |
the Revised
Code. When the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee | 536 |
renders an opinion that has
been publicly sought, the advisory | 537 |
opinion is a public record available under
section 149.43 of the | 538 |
Revised Code. | 539 |
(C) When the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee renders a | 540 |
written opinion
that has been privately sought and that relates to | 541 |
a special set of
circumstances involving ethics, conflicts of | 542 |
interest, or financial disclosure
under Chapter 102. or section | 543 |
2921.42 or 2921.43 of
the Revised Code, the written opinion does | 544 |
not have the legal effect of an
advisory opinion issued under | 545 |
division (B) of this section. When the Joint
Legislative Ethics | 546 |
Committee renders a written opinion that has been privately | 547 |
sought, the written opinion is not a public record available under | 548 |
section
149.43 of the Revised Code. | 549 |
The person to whom a written opinion is issued under this | 550 |
division may
request the committee to issue the written opinion as | 551 |
an advisory opinion.
The
person may make the request at any time | 552 |
within thirty days after the written
opinion is issued and prior | 553 |
to committing any proposed action discussed in the
written | 554 |
opinion. Upon receiving a timely request and with the approval of | 555 |
a
majority of the members of the committee, the committee may | 556 |
issue the written
opinion as an advisory opinion. If the
committee | 557 |
issues the written opinion as
an advisory opinion, the
advisory | 558 |
opinion has the same legal effect as an
advisory opinion
issued | 559 |
under division (B) of
this section and is a public record | 560 |
available under section 149.43 of the
Revised Code. If the
person | 561 |
commits any proposed action discussed in the
written
opinion | 562 |
before the committee issues the written opinion as an
advisory | 563 |
opinion, the
advisory opinion grants no immunity to the
person | 564 |
regarding any action that is
discussed in the written
opinion and | 565 |
that the person commits before the
committee issues
the written | 566 |
opinion as an advisory opinion. | 567 |
(E) All requests for an opinion shall be submitted in
writing | 573 |
by
the member or employee of or candidate for the General
Assembly | 574 |
or employee of any legislative agency who
desires the opinion and | 575 |
shall state in
the request whether the
opinion is being publicly | 576 |
or privately sought. If the
request
fails to state whether the | 577 |
opinion is being publicly or
privately
sought, the committee shall | 578 |
consider the opinion to be privately
sought. The committee shall | 579 |
issue in writing all advisory
opinions that have
been publicly | 580 |
sought, appropriately number
them, and make them available for | 581 |
public inspection. The Joint
Legislative Ethics Committee shall | 582 |
conduct all
of its proceedings
surrounding the rendering of an | 583 |
opinion so as to protect
the
confidentiality of those named in the | 584 |
request for the opinion. | 585 |
(A)(1) The Joint
Legislative Ethics Committee shall receive, | 587 |
and may initiate, complaints
concerning breach of privilege and | 588 |
complaints against members and employees of
and candidates for the | 589 |
General Assembly and employees of any legislative agency | 590 |
concerning conduct alleged to be misconduct, a
violation of | 591 |
Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the
Revised Code, | 592 |
this Code of
Ethics, or the House or Senate rules.
All complaints | 593 |
except those by
the committee shall be by affidavit
made on | 594 |
personal knowledge, subject to the penalties of perjury.
A | 595 |
complaint by the
committee shall be by affidavit, based upon
facts | 596 |
that constitute reasonable
cause to believe that a breach of | 597 |
privilege, misconduct, or a violation of the
House or Senate | 598 |
rules, this Code of Ethics, or Chapter 102. or section 2921.42
or | 599 |
2921.43 of the
Revised Code, has occurred. The complaint shall not | 600 |
contain innuendo, speculative assertions, or conclusory | 601 |
statements. | 602 |
At the first meeting of the committee in each calendar year, | 603 |
the
chairperson of the committee for that year shall
appoint an | 604 |
investigation
subcommittee. The subcommittee shall
consist
of the | 605 |
chairperson of the committee for that year
and a member of the | 606 |
committee
who is a member of the chamber and
political party of | 607 |
which the
chairperson is
not a member.
This subcommittee shall | 608 |
have the authority to issue subpoenas
regarding complaints | 609 |
referred to it and approve depositions by the
Office of
the | 610 |
Legislative Inspector General. | 611 |
(2) A complaint other than a complaint by the committee
shall | 612 |
be filed
with the executive director of the Office of the | 613 |
Legislative Inspector General
of the Joint Legislative Ethics | 614 |
Committee. Upon receiving the
complaint, the executive director
or | 615 |
the executive director's designee shall
gather, if necessary, | 616 |
preliminary facts surrounding the complaint for
presentation to | 617 |
the
chairperson or committee. Thereafter, the
executive
director | 618 |
shall seal the complaint
and deliver it to the
chairperson of the | 619 |
Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.
A
complaint by the committee | 620 |
shall be drafted by the legal
counsel
of the Office of the | 621 |
Legislative Inspector General, and, if at
least
eight members of | 622 |
the
committee
approve the draft complaint,
the draft complaint | 623 |
shall be a complaint by the
committee and
shall be filed with the | 624 |
Office of the
Legislative Inspector
General and delivered to
the | 625 |
chairperson of the
committee. | 626 |
Within fourteen days after the filing of a complaint by a | 627 |
complainant,
the
chairperson shall notify the complainant
that the | 628 |
complaint has been filed
with the committee, that all
further | 629 |
proceedings of the committee are
confidential, that the
committee | 630 |
is required to dismiss the complaint if it is
not
disposed of | 631 |
within six months after the complaint is filed, and
that, if a | 632 |
report dealing with the complaint has not been
published in the | 633 |
House or Senate Journal, as appropriate, within
that time, the | 634 |
complaint has been dismissed because no violation
was found to | 635 |
have been
committed by the accused person. Within
fourteen days | 636 |
after the filing of any
complaint, the
chairperson shall deliver a | 637 |
copy of the complaint to the accused
person and shall notify the | 638 |
accused person that the accused
person
may file, within twenty | 639 |
days after receiving the
copy, a written
response to the complaint | 640 |
with the
executive director of the
Office of the Legislative | 641 |
Inspector General
and, if desired, may
file in addition to the | 642 |
written response a
request to appear
personally before the | 643 |
committee to answer to the
complaint. The
executive director | 644 |
immediately shall seal the written response
to
the complaint, the | 645 |
request, or both and deliver the written
response, the
request, or | 646 |
both to the
chairperson. | 647 |
Within forty-five days after the filing of any complaint
and | 648 |
at
least twenty days after the
chairperson has delivered a
copy
of | 649 |
the complaint to the accused
person, the
chairperson
shall convene | 650 |
a meeting of the committee regarding the
complaint.
If at least | 651 |
eight members of the committee find that the complaint
before the | 652 |
committee is not frivolous and that the facts alleged
constitute | 653 |
on
their face a breach of privilege, misconduct, a
violation of | 654 |
this Code of
Ethics or the House or Senate Rules,
or
a violation | 655 |
of Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the
Revised
Code, | 656 |
the committee shall refer the complaint to the
Office of the | 657 |
Legislative
Inspector General for further
investigation and may | 658 |
delegate to the investigation
subcommittee
appointed pursuant to | 659 |
division
(A)(1) of this section the
authority to issue
subpoenas | 660 |
regarding a given complaint or other
matter. The
chairperson of | 661 |
the
committee shall notify
the accused of the referral. Unless | 662 |
eight members of
the
committee find that the complaint before the | 663 |
committee alleges
facts that,
on their face, constitute a breach | 664 |
of privilege,
misconduct, a violation of
this Code of Ethics or | 665 |
the House or
Senate Rules, or a violation of Chapter
102. or | 666 |
sections 2921.42
or 2921.43 of the Revised Code, the committee | 667 |
shall
dismiss the
complaint. | 668 |
(B) The Office of the Legislative Inspector General shall | 669 |
investigate each
complaint referred to it by the committee and | 670 |
shall investigate any other
matters as
directed by the committee. | 671 |
The Office of
the Legislative Inspector General may request | 672 |
further information from the complainant, any person presenting | 673 |
charges to the
committee, the accused person if the information | 674 |
sought is directly relevant
to a complaint or charges received by | 675 |
the committee pursuant to this section,
and any other person it | 676 |
believes may have information pertaining to the
complaint or other | 677 |
matter referred for investigation to the
Office of the Legislative | 678 |
Inspector General. It may request the committee to
issue a | 679 |
subpoena to obtain any necessary information. Upon the approval
of | 680 |
the investigation subcommittee
appointed pursuant to division | 681 |
(A)(1) of this section, the
Office of the Legislative Inspector | 682 |
General may depose any person. Any person
interviewed or deposed | 683 |
by the Office of the Legislative Inspector General may
be | 684 |
represented by an attorney. The substance of any request for | 685 |
further
information and the information
provided pursuant to any | 686 |
request are confidential. Except as otherwise
provided in this | 687 |
section, the person from whom information is requested shall
not | 688 |
divulge the substance of the committee's request to any person | 689 |
other than
the person's attorney and shall not divulge the | 690 |
information
provided in response to the request to any person | 691 |
other than
the person's attorney and any person necessary to | 692 |
prepare the information for delivery to the committee. Except as | 693 |
otherwise
provided in this section, no attorney or person who | 694 |
prepares information for
delivery to the committee shall divulge | 695 |
the substance of the committee's
request or the information | 696 |
provided in response to the request. | 697 |
Upon the completion of an investigation based on a
complaint | 698 |
referred to the Office of the Legislative
Inspector General, the | 699 |
executive director, or the executive
director's designee, shall | 700 |
present to the committee
the executive director's or designee's | 701 |
preliminary findings
with respect to the facts and evidence | 702 |
gathered regarding the complaint. Upon
receiving the preliminary | 703 |
findings, the committee, upon a vote of at least eight members of | 704 |
the
committee, may refer the complaint back to the Office
of the | 705 |
Legislative Inspector General for further investigation, hold a | 706 |
hearing pursuant to divisions (D) and (G) of this section,
order | 707 |
remedial action pursuant to division (D) of this
section, or | 708 |
dismiss the complaint. | 709 |
Upon the completion of an investigation of any other matter | 710 |
referred to the
Office of the Legislative Inspector
General, the | 711 |
executive director or the executive director's designee
shall | 712 |
present to the committee the executive director's or designee's | 713 |
preliminary findings with respect to the facts and evidence | 714 |
gathered regarding
the matter referred. Upon receiving the | 715 |
preliminary findings, the committee,
upon a vote of at least eight | 716 |
members of the committee, may refer the matter
back to the Office | 717 |
of the Legislative Inspector
General for further investigation, | 718 |
request that a complaint be
drafted by the legal counsel of the | 719 |
Office of the
Legislative Inspector General, terminate the | 720 |
investigation, or hold a hearing pursuant to division (E) of
this | 721 |
section. | 722 |
(E)(1) If, in any case in which a complaint is filed with
the | 741 |
committee, at least eight members of the committee find that
the | 742 |
complaint is
not frivolous and there is reasonable cause to | 743 |
believe that the facts alleged
in the complaint constitute a | 744 |
breach of privilege, misconduct, or a violation
of Chapter 102. or | 745 |
section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code, this Code
of | 746 |
Ethics, or the House or Senate Rules, the committee shall hold a | 747 |
hearing.
At the hearing, the legal counsel of the Office of the | 748 |
Legislative Inspector
General shall present to the committee the | 749 |
case against the accused
person, introduce evidence, call | 750 |
witnesses, and
cross-examine
witnesses. The
chairperson
of the | 751 |
committee shall make all rulings regarding
procedure and
the | 752 |
admissibility of evidence. The hearing and all related
proceedings | 753 |
of the committee are absolutely confidential as
provided under | 754 |
this Code of Ethics and section 102.06 of the
Revised Code. No | 755 |
member or
employee of the
committee, person who
staffs or | 756 |
otherwise serves the committee, witness, or
other person
shall | 757 |
divulge any information about the hearing or related
proceedings, | 758 |
except that a witness and the complainant may
consult
with an | 759 |
attorney before and after the hearing and any related
proceeding, | 760 |
any witness may be represented by an attorney while
the witness is | 761 |
being examined or cross-examined, the accused
person may be | 762 |
represented by an
attorney at all stages of the
proceedings, and | 763 |
the attorney of the accused
person may attend all
hearings and | 764 |
related proceedings of the committee. | 765 |
(2) If, in any case in which a complaint is filed with the | 766 |
committee, at least eight members of the committee find that
the | 767 |
complaint is frivolous or that there is no reasonable cause to | 768 |
believe
that the charge or complaint constitutes a breach of | 769 |
privilege, misconduct, or
a violation of Chapter 102. or section | 770 |
2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code,
this Code of Ethics, or | 771 |
the House or Senate Rules, the committee shall
dismiss the | 772 |
complaint and notify the accused person in writing of the | 773 |
dismissal
of
the complaint. If the committee so
dismisses the | 774 |
complaint, the committee shall not issue a report of its
findings | 775 |
unless the accused person requests a report. If the accused
person | 776 |
requests a report, the committee shall issue a report in | 777 |
accordance with
division (F)(2) of this section. | 778 |
(3) If, in any case in which a complaint is filed with the | 779 |
committee, the committee finds by unanimous concurrence of its | 780 |
membership that
there is reasonable cause to believe that the | 781 |
charges presented constitute a
breach of privilege, misconduct, or | 782 |
a violation of this Code of
Ethics or the House or Senate Rules | 783 |
but do
not constitute a violation of Chapter 102. or section | 784 |
2921.42 or
2921.43 of the Revised Code and also finds by unanimous | 785 |
concurrence of its membership that
the
breach of privilege, | 786 |
misconduct, or violation was in good faith and without
wrongful | 787 |
intent and the person has taken or will take suitable remedial | 788 |
action, it may order the person to take any further remedial | 789 |
action it considers
necessary and, upon satisfaction that any | 790 |
order it makes is complied with,
terminate the investigation, with | 791 |
the concurrence of the accused person. If
an
investigation is so | 792 |
terminated, the committee shall not issue a report of its
findings | 793 |
unless the accused person requests a report. If the accused
person | 794 |
requests a report, the committee shall issue a report in | 795 |
accordance with
division (F)(2) of this section. If the accused | 796 |
person fails to
comply with an order of the committee, the | 797 |
committee, upon concurrence of at
least eight of its members, | 798 |
shall proceed with the original complaint filed
against the | 799 |
person. | 800 |
(F)(1) If, upon the basis of the hearing, at least eight | 801 |
members
of the committee find, based upon a preponderance of the | 802 |
evidence, that the
facts alleged in the complaint are true and | 803 |
constitute a violation of
Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or | 804 |
2921.43 of
the Revised Code, the committee, upon concurrence of at | 805 |
least eight of its
members, shall order the Office of the | 806 |
Legislative Inspector General to
prepare a report of the | 807 |
committee's findings to the appropriate prosecuting
authority or | 808 |
other appropriate body for proceedings in prosecution of the | 809 |
violations and, in accordance with division
(F)(1) of this | 810 |
section, issue a report to the General
Assembly recommending | 811 |
reprimand, censure, expulsion, or other sanction the
committee | 812 |
considers appropriate. Upon
acceptance by at least eight members | 813 |
of the committee of the report to the
appropriate prosecuting | 814 |
authority or other appropriate body, the committee
shall report | 815 |
its findings to the appropriate prosecuting authority, the | 816 |
Elections Commission, or other appropriate body. This report is | 817 |
the
investigative report described in division (E) of section | 818 |
101.34 of the
Revised Code and shall contain any findings of fact | 819 |
and conclusions of law made by the committee. This report shall | 820 |
not contain
any papers, records, affidavits, or documents upon any | 821 |
complaint, inquiry, or
investigation relating to the proceedings | 822 |
of the committee. If at least eight
members of the committee
find, | 823 |
based upon a preponderance of the evidence,
that the facts
alleged | 824 |
in the complaint are true and constitute a violation of
division | 825 |
(B) of section 102.031 of the Revised Code,
the committee
may | 826 |
impose a fine of not more than one thousand dollars upon the | 827 |
member. | 828 |
(2) If, upon the basis of the hearing, at least eight
members | 829 |
of the committee find, based upon a preponderance of the
evidence, | 830 |
that a breach of privilege has been committed or
that a
member or | 831 |
employee of or candidate for the General Assembly or
employee
of | 832 |
any legislative agency has violated a
provision of this
Code of | 833 |
Ethics or the House or Senate Rules that
is not a violation of | 834 |
Chapter 102. or
section 2921.42 or
2921.43
of the Revised Code, or | 835 |
has committed misconduct, the
committee,
upon concurrence of at | 836 |
least eight of its members and in
accordance
with division (F)(1) | 837 |
of this section, may
issue a
report recommending reprimand, | 838 |
censure, expulsion, or other
sanction
the committee considers | 839 |
appropriate or, upon a finding by
unanimous
concurrence of its | 840 |
membership that the breach of
privilege, misconduct, or
violation | 841 |
was in
good faith and without
wrongful intent and the person has | 842 |
taken or will take
suitable
remedial action, may order the person | 843 |
to take any further remedial
action it considers necessary and, | 844 |
upon satisfaction that any
order it makes
is complied with, | 845 |
dismiss the complaint without
issuing a report of its
findings, | 846 |
unless the accused person
requests a report. If the accused person | 847 |
requests a
report, the
committee shall issue a report in | 848 |
accordance with division
(F)(2)
of this section. If the person | 849 |
fails
to comply with an order of
the committee, the committee, | 850 |
upon concurrence of
eight of its
members, shall recommend some | 851 |
sanction. | 852 |
(3) If, upon the basis of the hearing, at least eight
members | 853 |
of the committee do not find, based upon a preponderance
of the | 854 |
evidence, that the facts alleged in a complaint constitute
a | 855 |
breach of privilege, misconduct, or a violation of
Chapter 102.
or | 856 |
section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code, this Code of | 857 |
Ethics, or the House or Senate Rules, the committee shall dismiss | 858 |
the
complaint. The complaint shall also be dismissed if the | 859 |
committee has not
conducted a
hearing within ninety days after the | 860 |
complaint is filed with the committee, or
if the committee has not | 861 |
finally disposed of the complaint within six months
after the | 862 |
complaint is filed with the committee. The committee shall
notify | 863 |
the accused person in writing of the dismissal of the complaint. | 864 |
The
committee shall not
issue a report of its findings unless the | 865 |
accused person requests a report.
If the accused person requests | 866 |
a report, the committee shall issue a report in
accordance with | 867 |
division (F)(2) of this
section. If the committee issues the | 868 |
report, all evidence and the record of
the hearing shall remain | 869 |
confidential unless the accused person also requests
that the | 870 |
evidence and record be made public. Upon request by the accused | 871 |
person, the committee shall make the evidence and the record | 872 |
available for
public inspection. | 873 |
(G)(1) Any report of the committee that is issued pursuant
to | 874 |
division (E)(1) of this section and contains a
finding that the | 875 |
facts in the complaint are true and constitute a violation of | 876 |
Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised
Code, or | 877 |
that is issued pursuant to division
(E)(2) of this section and | 878 |
contains a finding
that a breach of privilege, misconduct, or | 879 |
violation of this Code of Ethics
or the House or Senate Rules has | 880 |
occurred and recommends reprimand, censure,
expulsion, or another | 881 |
appropriate sanction, shall be entered in the
House Journal and | 882 |
the Senate Journal. The House of Representatives and the
Senate | 883 |
shall vote on approval of any report entered in the House or | 884 |
Senate
Journal in accordance with this division. Concurrence of | 885 |
two-thirds of the
members of both the House and the Senate shall | 886 |
be necessary for approval of
the report, and, upon approval, any | 887 |
recommended sanction shall be imposed
immediately. | 888 |
(2) If the investigation of the committee results in a | 889 |
finding that a
complaint that is filed is frivolous or that no | 890 |
misconduct, breach of
privilege, or violation of Chapter 102. or | 891 |
section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the
Revised Code, this Code of | 892 |
Ethics, or the
House or Senate Rules has been committed or if the | 893 |
committee terminates an
investigation or dismisses a complaint | 894 |
pursuant to division
(E)(2) or (3) of this section, the committee | 895 |
shall
not issue a report of its findings unless the accused person | 896 |
requests a
report. If the accused person requests a report, the | 897 |
committee shall issue a
report and publish it in the House | 898 |
Journal, if the accused person is a member
or employee of, or | 899 |
candidate for, the House of Representatives, or the Senate | 900 |
Journal, if the accused person is a member or employee of, or | 901 |
candidate for,
the Senate or an employee of any legislative | 902 |
agency. A report
published in the House or Senate
Journal under | 903 |
division
(F)(2) of this section does not require a
vote by the | 904 |
House
or Senate. | 905 |
(H) A person against whom a complaint is filed shall be
given
| 906 |
by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal | 907 |
service reasonable notice of the date, time, and
place of the | 908 |
hearing
and a statement of the charges and the law or
provision | 909 |
directly involved, and
shall be granted the following
rights: to | 910 |
be represented by counsel, to have
counsel appointed
for the | 911 |
person if the person is unable to afford counsel
without
undue | 912 |
hardship, to examine the evidence against the person, to
have | 913 |
access to all information relative to the complaint that is
in the | 914 |
possession
or knowledge of the committee or the Office of
the | 915 |
Legislative Inspector General, to produce evidence
and to call
and | 916 |
subpoena witnesses in the person's defense, to confront the | 917 |
person's accusers, to cross-examine witnesses, to have a | 918 |
stenographic record
made of the hearing, to have the hearing | 919 |
follow the rules of evidence
applicable to the courts of this | 920 |
state, and to have the hearing closed to the
public. A person, | 921 |
with the approval of the committee, may waive any or all of
such | 922 |
rights by executing a written waiver and filing it with the | 923 |
committee. | 924 |
(I) The
chairperson of the committee and the
executive | 925 |
director and chief
legal counsel of the Office of the
Legislative | 926 |
Inspector General may administer oaths, and the
committee or the | 927 |
investigation subcommittee appointed pursuant to
division
(A)(1) | 928 |
of this section may issue subpoenas to
any person
in the state | 929 |
compelling the attendance of witnesses and the
production of | 930 |
relevant papers, books, accounts, and records. The
committee or | 931 |
the investigation subcommittee shall
issue subpoenas
to compel
the | 932 |
attendance of witnesses and the production of
documents upon the | 933 |
request
of an accused person. Section 101.42
of the Revised Code | 934 |
shall govern the issuance of such subpoenas
insofar as applicable. | 935 |
Upon the
refusal of any person to obey a
subpoena, be sworn, or | 936 |
answer as a witness,
the committee or the
investigation | 937 |
subcommittee may apply to the
Court of Common Pleas
of Franklin | 938 |
County under section 2705.03 of the Revised
Code. The
court shall | 939 |
hold proceedings in accordance with
Chapter 2705. of
the Revised | 940 |
Code. The committee, the Office of the
Legislative
Inspector | 941 |
General, or the accused person may take the
depositions
of | 942 |
witnesses residing within or without the state in the same
manner | 943 |
as prescribed by law for the taking of depositions in civil | 944 |
actions in
the court of common pleas. | 945 |
(J)(1) All complaints, papers, records, affidavits, and | 946 |
documents
upon any complaint, inquiry, or investigation relating | 947 |
to the proceedings of
the committee shall be sealed and are | 948 |
private and confidential, except as
otherwise provided in this | 949 |
section. The substance of any charges received by
the committee | 950 |
and of any request made by the committee for further
information, | 951 |
any information received by the committee, all testimony and
other | 952 |
evidence
presented during a hearing, and all committee discussions | 953 |
are private and
confidential, except as otherwise provided in this | 954 |
section. No person serving
on or employed in the service of the | 955 |
committee, or employee of the Office of
the Legislative Inspector | 956 |
General who staffs or otherwise assists the
committee or the | 957 |
Office of the Legislative Inspector General employee who
staffs | 958 |
the committee shall divulge any of the following: | 959 |
(b) Discussion of any complaint, request for an advisory | 980 |
opinion,
charges presented to the committee, information related | 981 |
to a complaint, to an
advisory opinion request, or to charges | 982 |
presented to the committee,
proceedings
of the committee, or other | 983 |
papers, records, affidavits, documents, or
proceedings that are | 984 |
made private and confidential by this section between the
members | 985 |
of the committee and any of the following: | 986 |
(c) The preparation of any documents necessary for the | 995 |
operation
of the committee by employees of the General Assembly | 996 |
assigned to the
committee
chairperson, employees of the
General | 997 |
Assembly assigned to staff the committee, or employees of
the | 998 |
Office of the
Legislative Inspector General who assist the
Office | 999 |
of the Legislative
Inspector
General employee assigned to
staff | 1000 |
the
committee, except that any confidentiality requirements
of | 1001 |
this section
applicable to the members of the committee shall | 1002 |
apply to the employees of the
General Assembly, committee, or | 1003 |
Office of the Legislative Inspector General
who prepare those | 1004 |
documents. | 1005 |