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H. B. No. 522 As IntroducedAs Introduced
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
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A BILL
To amend sections 121.41 and 121.42 of the Revised
Code to require the Inspector General to be
recused from any matter or investigation relating
to a state agency if the Inspector General has a
familial relationship with an employee of that
agency or the Inspector General was formerly
employed by that agency, and to require the
Inspector General to designate a deputy inspector
general to handle all matters relating to an
agency that is the subject of a recusal.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 121.41 and 121.42 of the Revised
Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 121.41. As used in sections 121.41 to 121.50 of the
Revised Code:
(A) "Appropriate ethics commission" has the same meaning as
in section 102.01 of the Revised Code.
(B) "Appropriate licensing agency" means a public or private
entity that is responsible for licensing, certifying, or
registering persons who are engaged in a particular vocation.
(C) "Designated deputy" means a deputy inspector general
designated to act as the inspector general pursuant to division
(K) of section 121.42 of the Revised Code as a result of the
inspector general's recusal regarding a particular state agency.
(D) "Familial relationship" means a relationship in which the
inspector general is a spouse, sibling, natural or adoptive
parent, or natural or adoptive child of an employee of a state
agency.
(E) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the
Revised Code and also includes any officer or employee of the
state or any political subdivision of the state.
(D)(F) "Recusal" means the act of disqualifying oneself or
withdrawing oneself from performing a duty or function as
inspector general.
(G) "State agency" has the same meaning as in section 1.60 of
the Revised Code but does not include any of the following:
(1) The general assembly;
(3) The secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of
state, or attorney general and their respective offices.
(E)(H) "State employee" means any person who is an employee
of a state agency or any person who does business with the state.
(F)(I) "State officer" means any person who is elected or
appointed to a public office in a state agency.
(G)(J) "Wrongful act or omission" means an act or omission,
committed in the course of office holding or employment, that is
not in accordance with the requirements of law or such standards
of proper governmental conduct as are commonly accepted in the
community and thereby subverts, or tends to subvert, the process
of government.
Sec. 121.42. The inspector general shall do all of the
following:
(A) Investigate the management and operation of state
agencies on his the inspector general's own initiative in order to
determine whether wrongful acts and omissions have been committed
or are being committed by state officers or state employees;
(B) Receive complaints under section 121.46 of the Revised
Code alleging wrongful acts and omissions, determine whether the
information contained in those complaints allege facts that give
reasonable cause to investigate, and, if so, investigate to
determine if there is reasonable cause to believe that the alleged
wrongful act or omission has been committed or is being committed
by a state officer or state employee;
(C) Except as otherwise provided in this division,
contemporaneously report suspected crimes and wrongful acts or
omissions that were or are being committed by state officers or
state employees to the governor and to the appropriate state or
federal prosecuting authority with jurisdiction over the matter if
there is reasonable cause to believe that a crime has occurred or
is occurring. In addition, the inspector general shall report the
wrongful acts or omissions, as appropriate under the
circumstances, to the appropriate ethics commission in accordance
with section 102.06 of the Revised Code, the appropriate licensing
agency for possible disciplinary action, or the state officer's or
state employee's appointing authority for possible disciplinary
action. The inspector general shall not report a wrongful act or
omission to a person as required by this division if that person
allegedly committed or is committing the wrongful act or omission.
(D) Except as otherwise provided in this division,
contemporaneously report suspected crimes and wrongful acts or
omissions that the inspector general becomes aware of in
connection with an investigation of a state agency, state officer,
or state employee, and that were or are being committed by persons
who are not state officers or state employees to the governor and
to the appropriate state or federal prosecuting authority with
jurisdiction over the matter if there is reasonable cause to
believe that a crime has occurred or is occurring. In addition,
the inspector general shall report the wrongful acts or omissions,
as appropriate under the circumstances, to the appropriate ethics
commission in accordance with section 102.06 of the Revised Code,
the appropriate licensing agency for possible disciplinary action,
or the person's public or private employer for possible
disciplinary action. The inspector general shall not report a
wrongful act or omission to a person as required by this division
if that person allegedly committed or is committing the wrongful
act or omission.
(E) Prepare a detailed report of each investigation that
states the basis for the investigation, the action taken in
furtherance of the investigation, and whether the investigation
revealed that there was reasonable cause to believe that a
wrongful act or omission had occurred. If a wrongful act or
omission was identified during the investigation, the report shall
identify the person who committed the wrongful act or omission,
describe the wrongful act or omission, explain how it was
detected, indicate to whom it was reported, and describe what the
state agency in which the wrongful act or omission was being
committed is doing to change its policies or procedures to prevent
recurrences of similar wrongful acts or omissions.
(F) Identify other state agencies that also are responsible
for investigating, auditing, reviewing, or evaluating the
management and operation of state agencies, and negotiate and
enter into agreements with these agencies to share information and
avoid duplication of effort;
(G) For his the inspector general's own guidance and the
guidance of deputy inspectors general, develop and update in the
light of experience, both of the following:
(1) Within the scope of the definition in division (G)(J) of
section 121.41 of the Revised Code, a working definition of
"wrongful act or omission";
(2) A manual of investigative techniques.
(H) Conduct studies of techniques of investigating and
detecting, and of preventing or reducing the risk of, wrongful
acts and omissions by state officers and state employees;
(I) Consult with state agencies and advise them in
developing, implementing, and enforcing policies and procedures
that will prevent or reduce the risk of wrongful acts and
omissions by their state officers or state employees;
(J) After detecting a wrongful act or omission, review and
evaluate the relevant policies and procedures of the state agency
in which the wrongful act or omission occurred, and advise the
state agency as to any changes that should be made in its policies
and procedures so as to prevent recurrences of similar wrongful
acts or omissions;
(K) Designate a deputy inspector general to act as inspector
general with respect to all of the inspector general's duties
under this chapter regarding any recusal of the inspector general.
A deputy inspector general designated under this division shall
not have a familial relationship with an employee, or be a former
employee, of the state agency that is the subject of the recusal.
(L) Recuse the inspector general from acting as the inspector
general with respect to any matter or investigation regarding a
state agency if the inspector general has a familial relationship
with an employee of that agency or the state agency formerly
employed the inspector general. The recusal shall include any
issue related to such a state agency, including, but not limited
to, any decision whether to investigate a complaint regarding the
agency.
(1) In the event of a recusal by the inspector general, the
designated deputy shall act as inspector general and assume
administration of the inspector general's office only to the
extent necessary for the designated deputy to resolve any matter
over which the inspector general is or was not able to act as
inspector general due to the recusal.
(2) Any actions related to a recusal by the inspector general
shall be performed in the name of the designated deputy. Any
employee of the inspector general's office, and any employee of
the state agency that is the subject of the recusal, that would
normally be required to communicate with, cooperate with, or
provide assistance to the inspector general regarding a complaint
or as part of an investigation of the state agency subject to the
recusal shall communicate with, cooperate with, or provide
assistance to the designated deputy regarding that state agency as
if the designated deputy were the inspector general, and the
designated deputy shall act as the inspector general with respect
to that state agency.
(3) Nothing in division (K) or (L) of this section shall be
construed to supersede the governor's authority to appoint or
remove the inspector general. The designation of a deputy under
division (K) of this section shall coincide with the term of the
governor or inspector general, whichever is applicable.
Section 2. That existing sections 121.41 and 121.42 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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