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Sub. H. B. No. 181As Reported by the House State Government CommitteeAs Reported by the House State Government Committee
125th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2003-2004 |
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REPRESENTATIVES Schaffer, McGregor, Willamowski, Allen, Flowers, Brinkman, C. Evans, Setzer, Wolpert, Aslanides, G. Smith, Buehrer
A BILL
To enact sections 3.16 and 2961.02 of the Revised Code
to
permit the Governor to suspend from office in
accordance with a specified procedure any elected
local government official, other than a judge, charged with a felony
related to the official's administration of, or
conduct in the performance of the duties of, the
office and to prohibit a person who is convicted of
certain felony
theft
offenses, or any other felony
involving
fraud, deceit, or
theft, from
holding a
public office or
position of
public
employment, or
serving in
certain unpaid
volunteer
positions, that
involve substantial
management or
control of
certain public or private
property.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3.16 and 2961.02 of the Revised Code
be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 3.16. (A) As used in this section: (1) "Prosecuting attorney" means the prosecuting attorney of
the county in which the public official serves. (2) "Public official" means any elected officer of a
political subdivision as defined in section 2744.01 of the Revised
Code. "Public official" does not include a judge of a court of record.
(B)(1) If a public official is charged with
a
felony in a
state or federal court and if the attorney general, if the
attorney general is prosecuting the case, or prosecuting attorney
with responsibility to prosecute the case
determines that the
felony relates to the public official's
administration of, or
conduct in the performance of the duties of,
the office of the
public official, the attorney general, if the attorney general is
prosecuting the case, or
prosecuting attorney with responsibility
to prosecute the case shall transmit a copy of the charging
document to the governor with a request that the
governor proceed
as provided in this section. Upon receipt of the attorney general's or prosecuting
attorney's request, the governor shall provide the public official
with a written notice that, not later than fourteen days after the
date of the notice, the public official may file with the governor
a written statement either voluntarily authorizing the governor to
suspend the public official from office or setting forth the
reasons why the public official should not be suspended from
office. If the public official so authorizes a suspension from
office, the governor shall authorize the voluntary suspension, and follow the applicable procedures
set forth in this section; the special commission described in division (B)(2) of this section still shall be established. (2)
Not sooner than fourteen days after the governor's receipt of the
attorney general's or prosecuting attorney's request, a special commission shall be established that, except as otherwise
provided in this division, shall be composed of the attorney
general and two retired justices or judges of a court of record of this state appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court. At least one commission member shall be
of the same political party as the charged public official.
Members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their
services but shall be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in
connection with commission functions from funds appropriated to
the governor's office. If the attorney general is prosecuting the
case against the charged public official, the attorney
general
shall not serve on the commission, and the chief justice of the supreme court shall
additionally
appoint to the commission a third retired justice or judge of a court of record of this state.
(C) Once established, a special commission shall make the
determination required by this division and file a written report
of its findings and that determination with the governor within
fourteen days, unless the governor grants the commission a longer
period of time to take this action. The commission shall
determine whether the public official's administration of, or
conduct in the performance of the duties of, the official's
office, as covered by the charges, adversely affects the
functioning of that office and whether the rights and interests of
the public are adversely affected thereby. If the commission so
determines, it shall include in its report a recommendation that
the public official be suspended from office.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section
l2l.22 of the Revised Code, all meetings of the special commission
shall be closed to the public. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary in section 149.43 of the Revised Code, the records of the
commission shall not be made available to the public for
inspection or copying until the commission files its report with
the governor.
(D) The governor shall review the findings, determination,
and recommendation of the special commission and, if, and only if,
the commission recommends the suspension of the charged public
official, may suspend the public official from office immediately,
without the need for any further action. That suspension shall
continue until one of the following occurs: the public official
is reinstated to office as provided in division (E) of this
section; all charges are disposed of by dismissal or by a finding
or findings of not guilty; or a successor is elected and
qualified
to serve the next succeeding term of the public
official's office. If a special commission does not recommend the suspension
of a public official who previously was voluntarily suspended
from office under division (B) of this section, or if the
governor, after reviewing a special commission's recommendation to
suspend, determines not to continue the suspension of a public
official who previously was voluntarily suspended from office
under division (B) of this section, that public official's
voluntary suspension shall end immediately upon the governor's
review of the commission's recommendation not to suspend or upon
the governor's determination not to continue the voluntary
suspension.
(E) If the governor suspends a public official from office
under division (D) of this section or continues under that
division the suspension of a public official who was voluntarily
suspended from office under division (B) of this section, the
public official may petition the governor to authorize reestablishment of the special
commission involved to again review the official's suspension.
The
governor, in the governor's discretion, may authorize reestablishment of the
commission to review the suspension. If it is reestablished, the
commission, within fourteen days of the reestablishment, shall make
a determination and file a written report of the determination,
its findings, and its recommendation as described in division (C)
of this section. If the commission recommends that the suspension
of the public official not be continued, the public official shall
be immediately reinstated to office.
(F) Any public official suspended from office under this
section shall not exercise any of the rights, powers, or responsibilities of the holder of that office during the period of the suspension. The suspended public official, however, shall retain the title of the holder of that office during the period of the suspension and continue to receive the
compensation that the official is entitled to receive for holding
that office during the period of the suspension, until the public official pleads guilty to or is found
guilty of any felony with which the public official is charged.
For the
duration of the public official's suspension, a
replacement
official shall be appointed or elected to perform the
public
official's
duties of office in the manner provided by law
for
filling a vacancy in
that office. The replacement official
shall
have all of the rights, powers, and responsibilities of, and
shall
be entitled to the same rate of pay as, the suspended public
official. A political subdivision may file a civil action in the appropriate court to recover from any former public official of the political subdivision the amount of compensation paid to that former public official in accordance with this division from the date of the former public official's suspension to the date the former public official pleads guilty to or is found guilty of any felony with which the former public official was charged.
Sec. 2961.02. (A) As used in this section: (1) "Disqualifying offense" means an offense that has both of
the following characteristics: (a) It is one of the following: (i) A theft offense that is a felony; (ii) A felony under the laws of this state,
another state, or the
United States, that is not
covered by division (A)(1)(a)(i) of this section and that involves
fraud, deceit, or theft. (b) It is an offense for which the laws of this state,
another state, or the United States do not otherwise contain a
provision specifying permanent disqualification, or
disqualification for a specified period, from holding a public
office or position of public employment, or from serving as an
unpaid volunteer, as a result of conviction of the offense,
including, but not limited to, a provision such as that in
division (C)(1) of section 2921.41 of the Revised Code. (2) "Political subdivision" has the same meaning as in
section 2744.01 of the Revised Code. (3) "Private entity" includes an individual, corporation,
limited liability company, business trust, estate, trust,
partnership, or association that receives any funds from
a state agency or political
subdivision to perform an activity on behalf of the state agency
or political subdivision. (4) "State agency" has the same meaning as in section 1.60 of
the Revised Code. (5) "Theft offense" has the same meaning as in section
2913.01 of the Revised Code. (6) "Volunteer" means a person who serves as a
volunteer
without compensation with a state agency or political
subdivision
or who serves as a volunteer without compensation with a private
entity, including, but not limited to, an
uncompensated auxiliary police officer, auxiliary deputy sheriff,
or volunteer firefighter. (B) Any person who is convicted of a disqualifying offense is
incompetent to hold a
public office or position of public
employment
or to serve as a
volunteer, if holding the public
office or position of public
employment or serving as the
volunteer involves substantial
management or control over the
property of a state agency,
political subdivision, or private
entity. (C) Division (B) of this section does not apply if a
conviction of a disqualifying offense is reversed, expunged, or
annulled.
The
full pardon of a person convicted of a disqualifying
offense
restores the privileges
forfeited under division (B) of
this
section, but the pardon does
not release the person from the
costs
of the person's conviction
in this state, unless so
specified.
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