To amend sections 3301.02 and 3301.80 of the Revised Code to abolish the requirement that the State Board of Education be dissolved and recreated following the creation of new State Board of Education districts, to specify that members of the Board as of the time new districts are created shall represent their assigned districts for the term for which they were originally elected, to provide that the Ohio SchoolNet Commission voting members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate serve two-year terms subject to removal at anytime by their respective appointing authorities, and to declare an emergency.

SECTION 1. That sections 3301.02 and 3301.80 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3301.02.  (A) Elected voting members of the state board of education as of the date of a change in district boundaries pursuant to legislation enacted by the general assembly or division (B)(2) of section 3301.01 of the Revised Code shall continue in office until their successors are elected and qualified for office, at which time the board whose successors have been so qualified shall be dissolved. At the first regular state election that occurs after a change in the boundaries of state board of education districts, in conformity with the general election laws of this state, one board member shall be elected from each state board of education district for a term of office beginning the first day of January immediately following such election. The term of office of each elected member shall be determined by lot at the initial organization meeting of the board. The elected members shall by lot select six elected members, each of whom shall serve for a term of four years or until a successor is elected and qualified, and the remaining elected members shall each serve for a term of two years or until a successor is elected and qualified.

(B) At each subsequent regular state election, in conformity with the general election laws of this state, the elected members shall be elected as required by expiration of respective terms, each for a term of four years or until a successor is elected and qualified. One elected member shall be elected from each district respectively in which the term of office of a board member expires on the first day of January following the election except that, when the boundaries of state board of education districts are changed pursuant to legislation enacted by the general assembly or division (B)(2) of section 3301.01 of the Revised Code, division (A) of this section shall govern the election. The term of office of each member so elected shall begin on the first day of January immediately following this election.

(B) At any time the boundaries of state board of education districts are changed under division (B) of section 3301.01 of the Revised Code, a member of the state board whose term will not expire within two years of the time the change in boundaries is made shall represent, for the remainder of the term for which the member was elected, the state board district containing the largest portion of the population of the district from which the member was elected. If more than one member whose term will not so expire would represent the same district under the provisions of this section, either the general assembly, if the general assembly enacted legislation establishing those districts under division (B)(2) of section 3301.01 of the Revised Code, or the governor, if the governor designated the bounderies of the districts under that division, shall designate which member shall represent each district for the balance of the members' terms.

(C) Appointed voting members of the board shall serve four-year terms beginning the first day of January and ending on the thirty-first day of December. Except as provided in division (D) of this section, members may be reappointed.

(D) No person, elected or appointed, shall hold the office of member of the state board of education for a period of longer than two successive terms of four years. Terms shall be considered successive unless separated by a period of four or more years. Only terms beginning on or after January 1, 1996, shall be considered in determining an individual's eligibility to hold office.

Sec. 3301.80.  (A) There is hereby created the Ohio SchoolNet commission as an independent agency. The commission shall administer programs to provide financial and other assistance to school districts and other educational institutions for the acquisition and utilization of educational technology.

The commission is a body corporate and politic, an agency of the state performing essential governmental functions of the state.

(B)(1) The commission shall consist of eleven members, seven of whom are voting members. Of the voting members, one shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and one shall be appointed by the president of the senate. The members appointed by the speaker of the house and the president of the senate shall not be members of the general assembly. The state superintendent of public instruction or a designee of the superintendent, the director of budget and management or a designee of the director, the director of administrative services or a designee of the director, the chairperson of the public utilities commission or a designee of the chairperson, and the director of the Ohio educational telecommunications network commission or a designee of the director shall serve on the commission as ex officio voting members. Of the nonvoting members, two shall be members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house and two shall be members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate. The members appointed from each house shall not be members of the same political party. The commission shall appoint officers from among its members.

(2) The members shall serve without compensation. The voting members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate shall be reimbursed, pursuant to office of budget and management guidelines, for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties.

(3) The terms of office for the members appointed by the speaker of the house and the president of the senate shall be for two years, with each term ending on the same day of the same month as did the term that it succeeds, except that the voting members so appointed may be removed at anytime by their respective appointing authority. The members appointed by the speaker of the house and the president of the senate may be reappointed. Any member appointed from the house of representatives or senate who ceases to be a member of the legislative house from which the member was appointed shall cease to be a member of the commission. Vacancies among appointed members shall be filled in the manner provided for original appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration date of the term for which a predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a member for the remainder of that term. The members appointed by the speaker of the house and the president of the senate shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of that member's term until a successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

(C)(1) The commission shall be under the supervision of an executive director who shall be appointed by the commission. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the commission and shall direct commission employees in the administration of all programs for the provision of financial and other assistance to school districts and other educational institutions for the acquisition and utilization of educational technology.

(2) The employees of the Ohio SchoolNet commission shall be placed in the unclassified service. The commission shall fix the compensation of the executive director. The executive director shall employ and fix the compensation for such employees as necessary to facilitate the activities and purposes of the commission. The employees shall serve at the pleasure of the executive director.

(3) The employees of the Ohio SchoolNet commission shall be exempt from Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code and shall not be public employees as defined in section 4117.01 of the Revised Code.

(D) The Ohio SchoolNet commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Make grants to institutions and other organizations as prescribed by the general assembly for the provision of technical assistance, professional development, and other support services to enable school districts, community schools established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, and other educational institutions to utilize educational technology;

(2) Contract with the department of education, state institutions of higher education, private nonprofit institutions of higher education holding certificates of authorization under section 1713.02 of the Revised Code, and such other public or private entities as the executive director deems necessary for the administration and implementation of the programs under the commission's jurisdiction;

(3) Establish a reporting system to which school districts, community schools established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, and other educational institutions receiving financial assistance pursuant to this section for the acquisition of educational technology report information as to the manner in which such assistance was expended, the manner in which the equipment or services purchased with the assistance is being utilized, the results or outcome of this utilization, and other information as may be required by the commission;

(4) Establish necessary guidelines governing purchasing and procurement by participants in programs administered by the commission that facilitate the timely and effective implementation of such programs;

(5) Take into consideration the efficiency and cost savings of statewide procurement prior to allocating and releasing funds for any programs under its administration.

(E)(1) The executive director shall implement policies and directives issued by the Ohio SchoolNet commission.

(2) The Ohio SchoolNet commission may establish a systems support network to facilitate the timely implementation of the programs, projects, or activities for which it provides assistance.

(3) Chapters 123., 124., 125., and 153., and sections 9.331, 9.332, and 9.333 of the Revised Code do not apply to contracts, programs, projects, or activities of the Ohio SchoolNet commission.

SECTION 2. That existing sections 3301.02 and 3301.80 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

SECTION 3. On the effective date of this section, the terms of office of the current voting members of the Ohio SchoolNet Commission appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate cease to be fixed at two years as provided in section 3301.80 of the Revised Code as that section existed prior to the effective date of this act. Such members shall instead serve the balance of their original two-year terms subject to removal at anytime by their respective appointing authorities pursuant to section 3301.80 of the Revised Code as that section is amended by this act. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is that the State Board of Education otherwise will be dissolved and recreated upon the establishment of new districts, thereby requiring an election of all elected members in 2002. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.