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H. B. No. 58 As IntroducedAs Introduced
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
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A BILL
To amend section 124.341 and to enact section 117.103
of the Revised Code to require the Auditor of
State to establish a fraud-reporting system for
residents and public employees to file anonymous
complaints of fraud and misuse of public funds by
public offices or officials.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 124.341 be amended and section
117.103 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 117.103. (A) The auditor of state shall establish and
maintain a system for the reporting of fraud, including misuse and
misappropriation of public money, by any public office or public
official. The system shall allow Ohio residents and the employees
of any public office to make anonymous complaints through a
toll-free telephone number, the auditor of state's web site, or
the United States mail to the auditor of state's office. The
auditor of state shall review all complaints in a timely manner.
Upon receipt, the complaints are public records under section
149.43 of the Revised Code unless that or another statute
specifies an applicable exemption from the definition of a public
record.
(B)(1) A public office shall provide information about the
Ohio
fraud-reporting system and the means of reporting fraud to
each
new employee upon employment with the public office. Each
new
employee shall confirm receipt of this information within
thirty
days after beginning employment. The auditor of state
shall
provide a model form on the auditor of state's web site to
be
printed and used by new public employees to sign and verify
their
receipt of information as required by this section. The
auditor of
state shall confirm, when conducting an audit under
section 117.11
of the Revised Code, that new employees have been
provided
information as required by this division.
(2) On the effective date of this section, each public office
shall make all its employees aware of the fraud-reporting system
required by this section.
Sec. 124.341. (A) If
an employee in the classified
or
unclassified civil service becomes aware in the course of
employment of a violation of state or federal statutes, rules, or
regulations or the misuse of public resources, and the employee's
supervisor or appointing authority has authority to correct the
violation or misuse, the employee may file a written report
identifying the violation or misuse with
the supervisor or
appointing authority. In addition to or instead of filing a
written report with the supervisor or appointing authority, the
employee may file a written report with the office of internal
auditing created under section 126.45 of the Revised Code or file
a complaint with the auditor of state's fraud-reporting system
under section 117.103 of the Revised Code.
If the employee reasonably believes that a violation or
misuse of public resources is a criminal offense, the employee,
in
addition to or instead of filing a written report or complaint
with the
supervisor, appointing authority, or the office of
internal
auditing, or the auditor of state's fraud-reporting
system, may report it to a
prosecuting
attorney, director of
law,
village solicitor, or
similar chief
legal officer of a
municipal
corporation, to a
peace officer, as
defined in section
2935.01 of
the Revised Code,
or, if the
violation or misuse of
public
resources is within the
jurisdiction
of the inspector
general, to
the inspector general
in accordance
with section
121.46 of the
Revised Code. In
addition to that
report, if the
employee
reasonably believes the
violation or
misuse is also a
violation
of Chapter 102., section
2921.42, or
section 2921.43 of
the
Revised Code,
the employee may report it to
the
appropriate
ethics commission.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this
section, no
officer or
employee
in the classified or
unclassified
civil service shall take any
disciplinary action
against
an
employee
in the classified or unclassified
civil service for
making any
report or filing a complaint as authorized by division
(A) of
this section,
including,
without limitation, doing any of
the
following:
(1) Removing or suspending the employee from employment;
(2) Withholding from the employee salary increases or
employee benefits to which the employee is otherwise entitled;
(3) Transferring or reassigning the employee;
(4) Denying the employee promotion that otherwise would
have
been received;
(5) Reducing the employee in pay or position.
(C)
An employee
in the classified or unclassified
civil
service shall make a reasonable effort to
determine the
accuracy
of any information reported under division
(A) of this
section.
The employee is subject to disciplinary
action,
including
suspension or removal, as determined by the
employee's
appointing
authority, for purposely, knowingly, or
recklessly
reporting false
information under division (A) of this
section.
(D) If an appointing authority takes any disciplinary or
retaliatory action against a classified or unclassified employee
as a result of the employee's having filed a report or complaint
under
division
(A) of this section, the employee's sole and
exclusive
remedy,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, is
to file an
appeal
with the state personnel board of review within
thirty
days after
receiving actual notice of the appointing
authority's
action. If
the employee files such an appeal, the
board shall
immediately
notify the employee's appointing authority
and shall
hear the
appeal. The board may affirm or disaffirm the
action of
the
appointing authority or may issue any other order as
is
appropriate. The order of the board is appealable in accordance
with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(E) As used in this section:
(1) "Purposely," "knowingly," and "recklessly" have the
same
meanings as in section 2901.22 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Appropriate ethics commission" has the same meaning
as
in section 102.01 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Inspector general" means the inspector general
appointed
under section 121.48 of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing section 124.341 of the Revised Code
is hereby repealed.
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