To amend sections 103.051, 103.0511, 121.24, 122.08, 122.081, and 127.18 and to enact sections 121.81, 121.811, 121.812, 121.813, 121.814, 121.815, 121.82, 122.084, and 3745.016 of the Revised Code to enact the Common Sense Regulation Act to improve state agency regulatory processes, especially as they relate to small businesses, to require state departments to develop customer service training programs, and to require the Director of Environmental Protection to provide environmental regulatory compliance assistance to small businesses.

Section 1. That sections 103.051, 103.0511, 121.24, 122.08, 122.081, and 127.18 be amended and that sections 121.81, 121.811, 121.812, 121.813, 121.814, 121.815, 121.82, 122.084, and 3745.016 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 103.051.  The "Register of Ohio" is an electronic publication that functions as a gazette to which members of the public may readily resort for notice of and information about rule-making processes. The director of the legislative service commission shall publish the register. The register is to include all rule-making documents that are required by statute to be published in the register and a link to the centralized electronic system for regulatory notification. The director shall display the register free of charge on the internet, and shall ensure that printed copies of all or part of a document published in the register can be easily produced by users of the internet.

The director, taking into consideration the public notice and information functions performed by the register, shall update the register at reasonable intervals, but not less often than weekly. The director shall establish a reasonable deadline before each updating. A document received by the director on or before a deadline is to be published in the register upon the register's next updating. The director shall purge a document from the register when its display no longer serves the public notice and information functions performed by the register.

The director upon request of any person shall provide the person with a printed copy of all or part of a document published in the register. The director may charge and collect a fee for this service. Any such fee is not to exceed the actual cost of printing and delivering the printed copy to the person requesting it. The director shall deposit the fees into the state treasury to the credit of the register of Ohio fund.

Sec. 103.0511.  The director of the legislative service commission shall establish and maintain, and enhance and improve, an electronic rule-filing system connecting:

(A) The legislative service commission, the joint committee on agency rule review, the secretary of state, and the office of entrepreneurship and small business division;

(B) The governor, the senate and house of representatives, and the clerks of the senate and house of representatives;

(C) Each agency that files rules and other rule-making and rule-related documents with the legislative service commission, the joint committee on agency rule review, the governor, the secretary of state, the office of entrepreneurship and small business division, the general assembly, or a committee of the senate or house of representatives under section 111.15, 117.20, 119.03, 119.031, 119.032, 119.0311, 119.04, 121.24, 121.39, 127.18, 4141.14, 5117.02, or 5703.14 of the Revised Code or any other statute;

(D) The several publishers of the Administrative Code; and

(E) Any other person or governmental officer or entity whose inclusion in the system is required for the system to be a complete electronic rule-filing system.

The electronic rule-filing system is to enable rules and rule-making and rule-related documents to be filed, and official responses to these filings to be made, exclusively by electronic means.

Sec. 121.24.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Agency" means any agency as defined in division (A)(2) of section 111.15 or division (A) of section 119.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Employee" means a person who is employed by a small business or small organization for at least one thousand eight hundred hours per year.

(3) A rule is "filed in final form" when it is filed with the secretary of state, the director of the legislative service commission, and the joint committee on agency rule review under division (B)(1) of section 111.15, division (A)(1) of section 119.04, division (B)(1) of section 4141.14, or division (A) of section 5703.14 of the Revised Code.

(4) "History trail" means the supplementary information required to be provided on each copy of a proposed rule, which information is not part of the text of the rule, and sets forth the statute prescribing the procedure in accordance with which the proposed rule is required to be adopted, the statute that authorizes the agency to adopt the proposed rule, the statute that the agency intends to amplify or implement by adopting the proposed rule, the effective dates of any previous versions of the rule that is the subject of the proposal, and other similar information as prescribed in rules of the legislative service commission.

(5) "Individual" means any individual who is affected by a rule in the individual's capacity as an officer or employee of a small business or small organization.

(6) "Rule summary and fiscal analysis" means a rule summary and fiscal analysis of a proposed rule that provides the information required by division (B) of section 127.18 of the Revised Code, and that has been prepared in the form prescribed by the joint committee on agency rule review under division (E) of that section.

(7) "Rate" means any rate, classification, fare, toll, rental, or charge of a public utility.

(8) "Rule" means any rule, regulation, or standard having a general and uniform operation, including any appendix thereto, that is adopted, promulgated, and enforced by an agency under the authority of the laws governing the agency. "Rule" includes the adoption of a new rule or the amendment or rescission of an existing rule. "Rule" does not include any of the following:

(a) A rule proposed under section 1121.05, 1121.06, 1155.18, 1163.22, or 1349.33 of the Revised Code;

(b) A rule governing the internal management of an agency that does not affect private rights;

(c) A rule authorized by law to be issued as a temporary written order;

(d) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(8)(d) of this section, a rule or order, whether of a quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial nature, proposed by the public utilities commission. Any rule or order, whether of a quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial nature, proposed by the public utilities commission that determines a rate of a public utility to be just and reasonable is a "rule" for purposes of this section, unless the rule or order contains findings that the public utility, in applying for approval of the rate under section 4909.18 of the Revised Code, stated facts and grounds sufficient for the commission to determine that the proposed rate was just and reasonable.

(e) A proposed rule, the adoption of which is mandated by a federal law or rule, and which must be adopted substantially as prescribed by federal law or rule, to become effective within one hundred twenty days of adoption, so long as the history trail of the proposed rule contains a statement that it is proposed for the purpose of complying with a federal law or rule and a citation to the federal law or rule that mandates substantial compliance;

(9) "Small business" means an independently owned and operated business having fewer than four hundred employees.

(10) "Small organization" means an unincorporated association, sheltered workshop, or nonprofit enterprise having fewer than four hundred employees. This definition is not limited to the types of small organizations expressly mentioned, and includes all other types of small organizations, so long as such organizations have fewer than four hundred employees.

(B) If an agency intends to adopt a rule, and reasonably believes that the proposed rule, if adopted, will be likely to affect individuals, small businesses, or small organizations, the agency shall comply with the following procedure in adopting the rule, in addition to any other procedure required by section 111.15, 119.03, 119.032, 119.04, 127.18, 4141.14, or 5117.02 of the Revised Code or any other statute of this state:

(1) The agency shall prepare a complete and accurate rule summary and fiscal analysis of the original version of the proposed rule.

(2) After complying with division (B)(1) of this section, and at least sixty days before the agency files the proposed rule in final form, the agency shall file with the office of entrepreneurship and small business division, in electronic form, the full text of the original version of the proposed rule and the rule summary and fiscal analysis of such proposed rule.

(3) During a period commencing on the date the original version of the proposed rule is filed pursuant to division (B)(2) of this section and ending forty days thereafter:

(a) The chairperson of the standing committee of the senate or house of representatives having jurisdiction over individuals, small businesses, or small organizations, or any other person having an interest in the proposed rule, may submit comments in electronic form to the agency, to the joint committee on agency rule review, or to both, concerning the expected effect of the proposed rule, if adopted, upon individuals, small businesses, and small organizations. The agency and joint committee shall accept all such timely submitted written comments.

(b) The chairperson of the standing committee of the senate or house of representatives having jurisdiction over individuals, small businesses, or small organizations, in electronic form, may request the agency to appear before the committee and testify, answer questions asked by members of the committee, and produce information in the possession of the agency as requested by the committee, concerning the expected effect of the proposed rule, if adopted, upon individuals, small businesses, or small organizations. Upon receipt of a request from the chairperson of the appropriate standing committee of the senate or house of representatives under division (B)(3)(b) of this section, the agency shall designate an officer or employee of the agency to appear before the committee, and shall otherwise comply with the request, in the manner directed by the request.

(4) The agency shall not proceed to file the proposed rule in final form until it has considered any comments timely submitted to it under division (B)(3)(a) of this section, has identified the issues raised by the comments, has assessed the proposed rule in light of the issues raised by the comments, and has made such revisions in the proposed rule as it considers advisable in light of its assessment.

An agency is not required to put any revised version of a proposed rule through the procedure of divisions (B)(1) to (4) of this section.

(C) Any original version of a proposed rule, rule summary and fiscal analysis, or written comment filed or submitted under division (B) of this section shall be preserved by the agency with which it is filed or to which it is submitted, and is a public record open to public inspection.

(D) Each agency shall prepare a plan that provides for the periodic review, at least once every five years, of each rule of the agency that is not otherwise subject to review under section 119.032 of the Revised Code and that affects individuals, small businesses, or small organizations. The purpose of each periodic review shall be to determine whether the rule that is being reviewed should be continued without change or amended or rescinded, consistent with the purpose, scope, and intent of the applicable statute authorizing adoption of the rule, so as to minimize the economic impact of the rule upon individuals, small businesses, or small organizations. Accordingly, in making each periodic review of a rule, the agency shall consider the continued need for the rule, the nature of any written complaints or comments that the agency has received with regard to the rule, the extent to which the rule duplicates, overlaps, or conflicts with other currently effective rules, and the degree to which technology, economic conditions, and other relevant factors have changed in the area affected by the rule.

Each agency shall annually report to the governor and general assembly, with regard to each of its rules that have been reviewed under this division during the preceding calendar year, the title and administrative code rule number of the rule, a brief summary of the content and operation of the rule, and a brief summary of the results of the review. If the agency is otherwise required to make an annual report to the governor and general assembly, the agency shall report this information in an appropriately designated section of its annual report, whether its annual report is in print or electronic form or both. If, however, the agency is not otherwise required to make an annual report to the governor and general assembly, the agency, on or before the first day of February, shall report this information in a separate report, in electonic electronic form, to the governor and general assembly. In addition to the submissions required by section 101.68 of the Revised Code, and in addition to any requirement of that section to submit notice of the availability of a report instead of copies of the report, the agency shall submit its annual or separate report in electronic form, which provides the information required by this division, to the chairpersons of the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives having jurisdiction over individuals, small businesses, and small organizations.

Each agency having rules in effect on January 1, 1985, that affect individuals, small businesses, or small organizations shall divide those rules into groups, so that at least one-fifth of those rules are reviewed during each year of a five-year period commencing on January 1, 1985. A rule that is newly adopted after January 1, 1985, shall be reviewed five years after its effective date. When a rule has once been reviewed, it shall thereafter be reviewed again at five-year intervals.

(E) Each agency shall designate an individual or office within the agency to be responsible for complying with this division. Each individual or office that has been so designated shall, within ten days after receiving a request therefor from any person:

(1) Provide the person with copies of any rule proposed by the agency that would affect individuals, small businesses, or small organizations;

(2) Provide the person with copies of the rule summary and fiscal analysis of any rule proposed by the agency that would affect individuals, small businesses, or small organizations; or

(3) Find, collate, and make available to the person any information in the possession of the agency regarding a rule proposed by the agency, which information would be of interest to individuals, small businesses, or small organizations.

The agency shall inform the office of entrepreneurship and small business division in writing of the name, address, and telephone number of each individual or office designated under this division. The agency shall promptly inform the office of entrepreneurship and small business division in writing of any change in the information thus provided.

(F) Division (B) of this section does not apply to any emergency rule adopted under division (B)(2) of section 111.15 or division (F) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, except that the emergency rule becomes subject to such division when it is adopted pursuant to the procedure of section 111.15 or 119.03 of the Revised Code for the adoption of rules not of an emergency nature.

(G) The department of taxation shall provide a copy of the full text of any rule proposed by the department that may affect any business in electronic form to the office of entrepreneurship and small business division, and the department shall designate an office within the agency responsible for providing a copy of any such rule within ten days of receiving a request from any person.

Sec. 121.81. As used in sections 121.81 and 121.811 to 121.815 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Rule" means the adoption of a new rule or the amendment or rescission of an existing rule. "Rule" does not include an emergency rule, but does include a rule that is to replace an emergency rule upon its expiration.

(B) A "small business" is an independently owned and operated for-profit or nonprofit business entity, including affiliates, and regardless of legal form, that has fewer than four hundred employees.

(C) A "state agency" is a discrete unit that is organized as a part of, and that carries out one or more functions of, state government and that is authorized or required by statute to adopt rules. "State agency" does not include the elected state officers or their offices, the general assembly or any legislative agency, or the courts or any judicial agency.

Sec. 121.811. Sections 121.81 and 121.812 to 121.815 of the Revised Code are the Common Sense Regulation Act.

Sec. 121.812. (A) On and after July 1, 2010, in the course of developing a rule for proposal and adoption, and in any event before proposing the rule by filing it under divisions (D) and (E) of section 111.15 or divisions (B) and (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, or when reviewing a rule under section 119.032 of the Revised Code, a state agency shall evaluate the rule in light of each of the following considerations:

(1) Whether the rule is necessary to give effect to the statute that underlies the rule;

(2) Whether the rule unnecessarily duplicates a federal regulation or the rules of the state agency or of another state agency;

(3) Whether the state agency has notified all interested persons who have registered through the centralized electronic system for regulatory notification to receive notice that the agency is developing and drafting the rule for proposal and adoption, and whether the state agency has afforded those persons an opportunity to comment to the state agency concerning the substance and the drafting of the rule;

(4) Whether the rule is drafted so that its desired outcome will be achieved, and whether the desired outcome of the rule is based on the best information, including scientific and technical data, that reasonably can be obtained;

(5) Whether the rule will be understandable to the persons to whom the rule is addressed;

(6) Whether the rule can be applied consistently by the state agency to the persons who will be affected by the rule;

(7) Whether, when achieving its underlying regulatory objectives, the rule is a reasonable balance between its underlying regulatory objectives and the regulatory burden it imposes;

(8) Whether it would be advisable for the rule to expire on a specific future date.

(B) The state agency shall prepare a report of its evaluation of the rule. The director of administrative services shall prescribe the form of the report, designing the form so that it will elicit from a state agency when the form is completed whether the state agency has evaluated a rule in light of all the considerations listed in divisions (A)(1) to (8) of this section. The form in addition shall require the state agency to explain the following in particular:

(1) If the rule is duplicative, why the duplication is necessary;

(2) If the state agency has not notified all interested persons who have registered through the centralized electronic system for regulatory notification to receive notice that the agency is developing and drafting the rule for proposal and adoption, why this is the case; and

(3) If the rule, when achieving its regulatory objectives, is not a reasonable balance between its underlying regulatory objectives and the regulatory burden it imposes, why this is the case.

If an existing rule is reviewed under section 119.032 of the Revised Code, but not changed, the state agency may include in the report the reason why the rule was left unchanged.

(C) The head of the state agency or the state agency's chief legal officer shall review the rule and the report for clarity to ensure the state agency has made a good faith effort to evaluate the rule in light of the considerations. The state agency's report shall indicate whether the head of the state agency or the state agency's chief legal officer has completed this review.

(D) The state agency shall transmit a copy of its report electronically to the director of administrative services or the director's designee. The director or the director's designee shall publish a summary of the report on the web site of the centralized electronic system for regulatory notification.

Sec. 121.813. The director of administrative services, not later than July 1, 2010, shall establish, and thereafter shall maintain and improve, a centralized electronic system for regulatory notification that:

(A) Enables interested persons to register to receive notices and other information from a state agency concerning a rule that the state agency is developing and drafting;

(B) Enables the director to publish on the system summaries of reports the director receives under section 121.812 of the Revised Code; and

(C) Enables interested persons to register to receive notices of semiannual meetings that are to be convened under section 121.814 of the Revised Code.

The director shall design the centralized electronic system for regulatory notification so that it enables interested persons to comment electronically on agency regulatory processes.

The centralized electronic system for regulatory notification is complementary to the register of Ohio. The director of the legislative service commission and the director of administrative services shall consult with each other and link the centralized electronic system for regulatory notification and the register of Ohio.

Sec. 121.814. (A) The director of administrative services or the director's designee shall convene semiannual meetings, at convenient times and locations, at which interested persons may comment on agency regulatory processes that are causing unreasonable impediments to the efficient and successful operation of small businesses. The small business advocate shall attend and participate in each semiannual meeting. Comments at a semiannual meeting may be recorded.

The director or the director's designee shall transmit notice of a semiannual meeting, at least one month in advance of the meeting, to interested persons who have registered to receive notices of the meetings through the centralized electronic system for regulatory notification.

(B) Based on comments made at each semiannual meeting, the director or the director's designee shall prepare a priority schedule identifying agency processes that are causing unreasonable impediments to the efficient and successful operation of small businesses, and identifying innovative management tools, such as kaizen, value stream mapping, networking, and root cause analysis, that a state agency might bring to bear to reduce or eliminate these impediments. In identifying agency processes that are causing unreasonable impediments, the director or the director's designee particularly shall take account of state agency processes that derogate the considerations listed in section 121.812 of the Revised Code.

The director or the director's designee shall transmit a copy of the priority schedule to each state agency that is identified in the priority schedule, and shall monitor the efforts state agencies are making to reduce or eliminate impediments identified in the priority schedule. Each state agency identified in a priority schedule shall make efforts to reduce or eliminate the identified impediments and any other impediments it may discover. At each semiannual meeting after the first, the director or the director's designee shall report to those in attendance on the progress state agencies are making at reducing or eliminating previously identified impediments to the efficient and successful operation of small businesses.

The director or the director's designee shall post the priority schedule on the web site of the centralized electronic system for regulatory notification.

Sec. 121.815. The directors of each of the following state agencies shall appoint an ombudsperson: the departments of administrative services, agriculture, commerce, development, health, insurance, job and family services, natural resources, taxation, and transportation, the environmental protection agency, the industrial commission, and the bureau of workers' compensation. The ombudsperson shall report to, and is entitled to have regular direct access to and the attention of, the director or other head of the state agency.

An ombudsperson shall serve as a problem-solving liaison between the state agency and those who are affected by its rules and regulatory processes when normal state agency processes do not produce a satisfactory result. A small business also may request the small business advocate to assist when normal state agency processes do not produce a satisfactory result. The ombudsperson or small business advocate may not, however, become involved with resolving matters that are the subject of an on-going judicial or administrative enforcement action.

If the ombudsperson, with or without the assistance of the small business advocate, is unable to resolve a matter, the ombudsperson may call upon the governor's designee to assist in resolving the matter. The governor's designee shall assist in a neutral way to resolve the matter. The governor's designee shall identify options, and strategies and tactics, for resolving the matter, but may not impose a resolution or make or reverse legal decisions to resolve the matter.

A state agency named in this section shall publish on its web site the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address of its ombudsperson, together with a brief explanation of the ombudsperson's role in resolving matters.

An ombudsperson shall consult with the small business advocate and negotiate arrangements to facilitate mutual interaction and avoid duplication of effort.

Sec. 121.82.  (A) As used in this section, "department" means the several departments of state administration enumerated in section 121.02 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) It is the policy of this state to improve the customer service provided by departments. Each department shall emphasize improved customer service, efficiency, and productivity in employee orientation and employee training. In light of this policy, not later than January 1, 2011, each department, with the assistance of the department of administrative services, shall adopt customer service principles identifying the best practices to be used to provide improved customer service.

(2) Not later than January 1, 2011, each department, with the assistance of the department of administrative services, shall develop a customer service training program that employees designated by the department can complete to improve customer service, efficiency, and productivity. The customer service training program shall emphasize the customer service principles adopted by the department.

(C) Each employee who participates in a customer service training program, upon completion of the program, shall sign a written statement acknowledging that the employee understands the customer service principles adopted by the department and will follow them.

(D) On its web site, each department shall:

(1) In a frequently-asked-question format, post answers to frequently asked questions about the department's regulatory mission and processes; and

(2) Include a customer service survey that users may complete online, or download, complete, and e-mail to the department.

A department shall review all customer service surveys that are completed and returned to the department, and may send the surveys to the governor or the governor's designee.

Sec. 122.08.  (A) There is hereby created within the department of development an office a division to be known as the office of entrepreneurship and small business division. The office division shall be under the supervision of a manager appointed by the director of development. The manager shall be known as the small business advocate.

(B) The office division shall do all of the following:

(1) Act as liaison facilitating interactions between the small business community and state governmental agencies;

(2) Furnish information and technical assistance to persons and small businesses concerning the establishment and maintenance of a small business, and concerning state laws and rules relevant to the operation of a small business. In conjunction with these duties, the office division shall keep a record of all state agency rules affecting individuals, small businesses, or small organizations, as defined in section 121.24 of the Revised Code, and may testify before the joint committee on agency rule review concerning any proposed rule affecting individuals, small businesses, or small organizations.

(3) Prepare and publish the small business register under section 122.081 of the Revised Code;

(4) Receive complaints from small businesses concerning governmental activity, compile and analyze those complaints, and periodically make recommendations to the governor and the general assembly on changes in state laws or agency rules needed to eliminate burdensome and unproductive governmental regulation to improve the economic climate within which small businesses operate;

(5) Receive complaints or questions from small businesses and direct those businesses to the appropriate governmental agency. If, within a reasonable period of time, a complaint is not satisfactorily resolved or a question is not satisfactorily answered, the office division shall, on behalf of the small business, make every effort to secure a satisfactory result. For this purpose, the office division may consult with any state governmental agency and may make any suggestion or request that seems appropriate.

(6) Utilize, to the maximum extent possible, the printed and electronic media to disseminate information of current concern and interest to the small business community and to make known to small businesses the services available through the office division. The office division shall publish such books, pamphlets, and other printed materials, and shall participate in such trade association meetings, conventions, fairs, and other meetings involving the small business community, as the manager small business advocate considers appropriate.

(7) Prepare for inclusion in the department of development's annual report to the governor and general assembly, a description of the activities of the office division and a report of the number of rules affecting individuals, small businesses, and small organizations that were filed with the office division under division (B)(2) of section 121.24 of the Revised Code, during the preceding calendar year;

(8) Operate the Ohio first-stop business connection to assist individuals in identifying and preparing applications for business licenses, permits, and certificates and to serve as the central public distributor for all forms, applications, and other information related to business licensing. Each state agency, board, and commission shall cooperate in providing assistance, information, and materials to enable the connection to perform its duties under this division.

(9) Establish and maintain a toll-free telephone number persons may call during regular business hours, and an e-mail address to which persons may transmit e-mail at any time, to comment to the small business advocate concerning statutes and rules and state agency processes affecting individuals, small businesses, and small organizations. The telephone answering point shall be equipped to record calls that are received after regular business hours.

(10) Consult with each ombudsperson appointed under section 121.815 of the Revised Code and negotiate arrangements to facilitate mutual interaction and avoid duplication of effort.

(C) The office division may, upon the request of a state agency, assist the agency with the preparation of any rule that will affect individuals, small businesses, or small organizations.

(D) The director of development shall assign employees and furnish equipment and supplies to the office division as the director considers necessary for the proper performance of the duties assigned to the office division.

Sec. 122.081.  (A) The office of entrepreneurship and small business division in the department of development shall prepare and publish a "small business register" or contract with any person as provided in this section to prepare and publish the register. The small business register shall contain the following information regarding each proposed rule filed with the office of entrepreneurship and small business division under division (B)(2) of section 121.24 of the Revised Code:

(1) The title and administrative code rule number of the proposed rule;

(2) A brief summary of the proposed rule;

(3) The date on which the proposed rule was filed with the office of entrepreneurship and small business division under division (B)(2) of section 121.24 of the Revised Code; and

(4) The name, address, and telephone number of the individual or office within the agency that proposed the rule who has been designated as being responsible for complying with division (E) of section 121.24 of the Revised Code with regard to the proposed rule.

(B) The small business register shall be published on a weekly basis. The information required under division (A) of this section shall be published in the register no later than two weeks after the proposed rule to which the information relates is filed with the office of entrepreneurship and small business division under division (B)(2) of section 121.24 of the Revised Code. The office of entrepreneurship and small business division shall furnish the small business register, on a single copy or subscription basis, to any person who requests it and pays a single copy price or subscription rate fixed by the office division. The office division shall furnish the chairmen chairpersons of the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives having jurisdiction over individuals, small businesses, and small organizations with free subscriptions to the small business register.

(C) Upon the request of the office of entrepreneurship and small business division, the director of administrative services shall, in accordance with the competitive selection procedure of Chapter 125. of the Revised Code, let a contract for the compilation, printing, and distribution of the small business register.

(D) The office of entrepreneurship and small business division shall adopt, and may amend or rescind, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, such rules as are necessary to enable it to properly carry out this section.

Sec. 122.084. The entrepreneurship and small business division shall establish the Ohio small business panel. The Ohio small business panel shall meet semi-annually to discuss issues relevant to small businesses, including matters such as the special challenges involved in establishing and in efficiently and successfully operating a small business and the statutes and rules and state agency processes that are involved in or relate to the operation of small businesses. As a result of its discussions, the panel may make recommendations for changes in statutes and rules and in state agency processes that are needed to reduce or eliminate burdensome or unproductive governmental regulation to improve the economic climate within which small businesses operate.

The panel may report its recommendations, together with supporting commentary, in a communique. The small business advocate may transmit the communique electronically to the governor, the general assembly, and each state agency to which the recommendations apply.

The Ohio small business panel shall consist of the small business advocate and four members appointed by the governor, two members appointed by the president of the senate, and two members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. Each member shall be representative of the small business community. Initial appointments to the panel shall be made on or before January 1, 2010. Members of the panel shall serve without compensation and without reimbursement for expenses.

The terms of office of all members of the panel, except the small business advocate, shall be for three years, beginning on the first day of January and ending at the close of business on the thirty-first day of December. A vacancy on the panel shall be filled in the same manner as the initial appointment. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the term. The term of office for the small business advocate shall be for the entirety of the advocate's employment as the small business advocate.

The small business advocate shall be the chairperson of the panel, and shall appoint a secretary from among the panel's members.

Five members of the panel constitute a quorum, and the affirmative vote of five members is necessary for any action taken by the panel.

Sec. 127.18.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Rule-making agency" has the same meaning as in division (I) of section 119.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Rule" includes the adoption, amendment, or rescission of a rule.

(3) "Proposed rule" means the original version of a proposed rule, and each revised version of the same proposed rule, that is filed with the joint committee on agency rule review under division (D) of section 111.15 or division (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code.

(B) A rule-making agency shall prepare, in the form prescribed by the joint committee on agency rule review under division (E) of this section, a complete and accurate rule summary and fiscal analysis of each proposed rule that it files under division (D) of section 111.15 or division (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code. A rule-making agency, when completing the rule summary and fiscal analysis, is encouraged to identify and estimate the number of businesses subject to the proposed rule. The rule summary and fiscal analysis shall include all of the following information:

(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the rule-making agency, and the name and telephone number of an individual or office within the agency designated by that agency to be responsible for coordinating and making available information in the possession of the agency regarding the proposed rule;

(2) The Ohio Administrative Code rule number of the proposed rule;

(3) A brief summary of, and the legal basis for, the proposed rule, including citations identifying the statute that prescribes the procedure in accordance with which the rule-making agency is required to adopt the proposed rule, the statute that authorizes the agency to adopt the proposed rule, and the statute that the agency intends to amplify or implement by adopting the proposed rule;

(4) An estimate, in dollars, of the amount by which the proposed rule would increase or decrease revenues or expenditures during the current biennium;

(5) A citation identifying the appropriation that authorizes each expenditure that would be necessitated by the proposed rule;

(6) A summary of the estimated cost of compliance with the rule to all directly affected persons;

(7) The reasons why the rule is being proposed;

(8) If the rule has a fiscal effect on school districts, counties, townships, or municipal corporations, an estimate in dollars of the cost of compliance with the rule, or, if dollar amounts cannot be determined, a written explanation of why it was not possible to ascertain dollar amounts;

(9) If the rule has a fiscal effect on school districts, counties, townships, or municipal corporations and is the result of a federal requirement, a clear explanation that the proposed state rule does not exceed the scope and intent of the requirement, or, if the state rule does exceed the minimum necessary federal requirement, a justification of the excess cost, and an estimate of the costs, including those costs for local governments, exceeding the federal requirement;

(10) If the rule has a fiscal effect on school districts, counties, townships, or municipal corporations, a comprehensive cost estimate that includes the procedure and method of calculating the costs of compliance and identifies major cost categories including personnel costs, new equipment or other capital costs, operating costs, and indirect central service costs related to the rule. The fiscal analysis shall also include a written explanation of the agency's and the affected local government's ability to pay for the new requirements and a statement of any impact the rule will have on economic development.

(11) If the rule incorporates a text or other material by reference, and the agency claims the incorporation by reference is exempt from compliance with sections 121.71 to 121.74 of the Revised Code because the text or other material is generally available to persons who reasonably can be expected to be affected by the rule, an explanation of how the text or other material is generally available to those persons;

(12) If the rule incorporates a text or other material by reference, and it was infeasible for the agency to file the text or other material electronically, an explanation of why filing the text or other material electronically was infeasible;

(13) If the rule is being rescinded and incorporates a text or other material by reference, and it was infeasible for the agency to file the text or other material, an explanation of why filing the text or other material was infeasible;

(14) Any other information the joint committee on agency rule review considers necessary to make the proposed rule or the fiscal effect of the proposed rule fully understandable.

The rule summary and fiscal analysis also shall include a box the rule-making agency can check to indicate that it has evaluated the rule under section 121.812 of the Revised Code and that its report of the evaluation was reviewed by the head of the state agency or the state agency's chief legal officer. Failure to evaluate a rule under that section and to check the box constitutes only failure to prepare a complete and accurate rule summary and fiscal analysis under division (I)(1)(d) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code.

(C) The rule-making agency shall file the rule summary and fiscal analysis in electronic form along with the proposed rule that it files under divisions (D) and (E) of section 111.15 or divisions (B) and (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code. The joint committee on agency rule review shall not accept any proposed rule for filing unless a copy of the rule summary and fiscal analysis of the proposed rule, completely and accurately prepared, is filed along with the proposed rule.

(D) The joint committee on agency rule review shall review the fiscal effect of each proposed rule that is filed under division (D) of section 111.15 or division (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code.

(E) The joint committee on agency rule review shall prescribe the form in which each rule-making agency shall prepare its rule summary and fiscal analysis of a proposed rule.

(F) This section does not require the auditor of state or the auditor of state's designee to prepare or attach a rule summary and fiscal analysis to any copy of a rule proposed under section 117.12, 117.19, 117.38, or 117.43 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3745.016. (A) As used in this section, "small business" means:

(1) A "small business stationary source" as defined in section 3704.01 of the Revised Code; or

(2) If the business does not have a source of an air pollutant, an independently owned or operated business having one hundred or fewer employees.

(B) The director of environmental protection shall establish, as part of the environmental protection agency, a program for providing environmental regulatory compliance assistance to small businesses. The program shall:

(1) Provide environmental regulatory compliance assistance, including on-site environmental regulatory compliance assistance, upon the request of a small business, to assist the small business in identifying relevant environmental regulations and compliance requirements and in completing application and reporting forms relating to environmental regulatory requirements;

(2) Develop educational materials for small businesses regarding state and federal environmental regulatory compliance requirements, and distribute the materials to them free of charge;

(3) Reach out to small businesses and provide them with training on state and federal environmental regulatory compliance requirements free of charge; and

(4) Provide other environmental regulatory compliance assistance to small businesses that will help to improve their compliance with environmental regulation and thereby help to improve the overall cleanliness of Ohio's environment.

(C) Any information, regardless of its form or characteristics, that is created or obtained by the environmental protection agency in the course of administering the environmental regulatory compliance assistance program that identifies or describes an individual facility or operation at a small business is confidential and not a public record open to public inspection unless:

(1) The information reveals a clear and immediate danger to the environment and the health, safety, or welfare of the public;

(2) The information is obtained independently by the director of environmental protection or authorized employees or agents of the environmental protection agency as part of a compliance inspection or investigation or in a judicial or administrative enforcement proceeding; or

(3) The information is emissions data or otherwise pertains to a contaminant source, and treating the information as confidential would be inconsistent with the requirements of law.

Information that is confidential under this division may not be used in any manner for purposes of the enforcement of any environmental compliance requirement or as evidence in any judicial or administrative enforcement proceeding. This paragraph does not confer immunity on a small business from judicial or administrative enforcement that is based upon information obtained by the director of environmental protection or employees or agents of the environmental protection agency, insofar as they are not engaged in administering the environmental regulatory compliance assistance program.

Section 2. That existing sections 103.051, 103.0511, 121.24, 122.08, 122.081, and 127.18 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. This act includes amendments re-naming and re-characterizing the Office of Small Business as the Entrepreneurship and Small Business Division. These amendments do not otherwise affect the organization or the organizational position of the office-now-division as part of the Department of Development. Other amendments pertaining to the office-now-division affect its functions.