130th Ohio General Assembly
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H. B. No. 343  As Introduced
As Introduced

129th General Assembly
Regular Session
2011-2012
H. B. No. 343


Representative Hagan, R. 

Cosponsors: Representatives Foley, Antonio, Gerberry, Pillich, Gentile, Fedor, Driehaus, Murray, Yuko 



A BILL
To amend section 187.02; to amend, for the purpose of adopting a new section number as indicated in parentheses, section 3.11 (3.18); to enact new section 3.11 and section 102.10 of the Revised Code to establish a controlled substance testing requirement for statewide elected officials, members of the General Assembly, the Supreme Court, the board of directors of JobsOhio, and recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program money and to establish a process for recalling statewide elected officials and members of the General Assembly.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 187.02 be amended, section 3.11 (3.18) be amended for the purpose of adopting a new section number as indicated in parentheses, that new section 3.11 and section 102.10 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 3.11. (A) As used in this section, "statewide office" means any of the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general.
(B) The holder of any statewide office may be removed from office by the qualified voters of the state. Any member of the general assembly may be removed from office by the qualified voters of the member's district. The procedure to effect such a removal shall be:
(1)(a) If the official whose removal is sought is the holder of a statewide office, a petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least fifteen per cent of the total votes cast in the state for the office of governor at the most recent election for that office, and demanding the election of a successor to the person sought to be removed, shall be filed. If the official whose removal is sought is the holder of an office other than the office of secretary of state, the petition shall be filed with the secretary of state. If the official whose removal is sought is the secretary of state, the petition shall be filed with the governor, and the governor shall fulfill all duties of the secretary of state with regard to that petition.
(b) If the official whose removal is sought is a member of the general assembly, a petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least fifteen per cent of the total votes cast in the respective district for the office of governor at the most recent election for that office, and demanding the election of a successor to the person sought to be removed, shall be filed with the board of elections of the most populous county in the district.
(2) A petition filed under this section shall contain a general statement in not more than two hundred words of the grounds upon which the removal of the official is sought. The form and sufficiency of the petition shall be determined as provided in the general election laws.
(3) If the petition is sufficient, and if the official whose removal is sought does not resign within five days after the sufficiency of the petition has been determined, the question of removal of the official shall appear on the ballot at the next general election or at a special election conducted on the day of the next primary election, if the date of such election is fewer than one hundred fifty days after the petition is filed. If the date of the next succeeding general election or primary election is one hundred fifty or more days after the petition is filed, a special election shall be held to determine the question of the removal of the official, and for the selection of a successor to the official.
If the election is for the removal of the holder of a statewide office, the secretary of state or, if applicable, the governor, shall thereupon order and fix the day for the special election. If the election is for the removal of a general assembly member, the board of elections of the most populous county in the member's district, after consultation with the board of elections of each county with territory in the district, shall thereupon order and fix the day for the special election. Such election shall be held not less than thirty nor more than forty days from the time of the finding of the sufficiency of such petition. The election authorities shall publish notice and make all arrangements for holding such election, which shall be conducted and the result thereof returned and declared in all respects as are the results of regular elections for the applicable office.
(4) The nomination of candidates to succeed the official who is sought to be removed shall be made, without the intervention of a primary election, by filing with the election authorities, at least twenty days prior to the election, a nominating petition that meets the requirements of section 3513.261 of the Revised Code.
(5) The ballots at such a recall election shall, with respect to the official whose removal is sought, submit the question: "Shall (name of person) be removed from the office of (name of office) by recall?"
Immediately following each such question, there shall be printed on the ballots, the two propositions in the order set forth:
"For the recall of (name of person)."
"Against the recall of (name of person)."
Immediately to the left of the proposition shall be placed a square in which the electors may vote for either of such propositions.
Under that question shall be placed the names of candidates to fill the vacancy. The name of the official whose removal is sought shall not appear on the ballot as a candidate to succeed the member's self.
(6) In any such election, if a majority of the votes cast on the question of removal are affirmative, the official whose removal is sought is removed from office upon the announcement of the official canvass of that election, and the candidate receiving the plurality of the votes cast for candidates for that office shall be declared elected. The successor of any person so removed shall hold office during the unexpired term of the successor's predecessor.
(C) No petition shall be filed under this section seeking the removal of an official until the official has served for at least ninety days of the term during which the official is sought to be recalled. The method of removal provided in this section, is in addition to such other methods as are provided by law. If, at any such recall election, the incumbent whose removal is sought is not recalled, the incumbent shall be repaid the incumbent's actual and legitimate expenses for such election from the state treasury.
Sec. 3.11 3.18 No person shall hold at the same time by appointment or election more than one of the following offices: sheriff, county auditor, county treasurer, clerk of the court of common pleas, county recorder, prosecuting attorney, and probate judge.
Sec. 102.10.  (A) As used in this section:
(1)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(1)(b) of this section, "controlled substance test failure" means that an individual is determined by a chemical test to have a concentration of any of the controlled substances specified in division (A)(1)(j) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code, or metabolites of such a controlled substance, in the individual's urine that equals or exceeds any of the applicable levels established in that division for urine.
(b) An individual shall not be determined to have a controlled substance test failure if the individual obtained the controlled substance pursuant to a prescription issued by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs and the individual injected, ingested, or inhaled the controlled substance in accordance with the health professional's directions.
(2) "Licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs" and "prescription" have the same meanings as in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Statewide elected official" means any of the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general.
(4) "TARP recipient" means an officer, executive, or corporate staff member of a financial institution that receives or has received funding from the troubled asset relief program.
(B)(1) Before taking office or fulfilling an individual's appointment and once every year thereafter, statewide elected officials, members of the general assembly, justices of the supreme court, and members of the board of directors of JobsOhio shall be subject to a controlled substance test to determine whether the official, member, justice, or director has a controlled substance test failure. The costs of such testing shall be paid by such official, member, justice, or director.
(2) Once every year TARP recipients shall be subject to a controlled substance test to determine whether the recipient has a controlled substance test failure. The costs of such testing shall be paid by the recipient.
(C) To be considered valid, the controlled substance test shall be performed according to rules adopted by the Ohio ethics commission that shall provide for the test to be conducted in a manner that assures a reasonable degree of dignity while reasonably preventing substitution or contamination of any specimen taken for the test. The rules shall also provide for a manner in which the controlled substance test will be administered before the individual takes office or fulfills the individual's appointment, as applicable, and randomly, on a yearly basis.
(D) Refusal to submit to a controlled substance test as authorized under this section is an admission that the official, member, justice, director, or recipient has a controlled substance test failure.
(E)(1) If a statewide elected official, member of the general assembly, or justice of the supreme court is determined by a controlled substance test conducted under this section to have a controlled substance test failure, the Ohio ethics commission shall refer the officer, member, or justice to an alcohol and drug addiction program certified under section 3793.06 of the Revised Code. Such an official, member, or justice may also be subject to the following, if the criteria for such action otherwise applies: impeachment under Sections 23 and 24 of Article II, Ohio Constitution; removal under Section 17 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution; removal under Section 38, Article II, Ohio Constitution and sections 3.07 to 3.10 of the Revised Code; recall under section 3.11 of the Revised Code; or any other sanction authorized by law or rule covering the respective official, member, or justice.
(2) If a member of the board of directors of JobsOhio is determined by a controlled substance test conducted under this section to have a controlled substance test failure, the member shall be deemed to not fulfill the qualifications for the appointment to the board under section 187.02 of the Revised Code and shall be removed by the governor.
(3) If a TARP recipient is determined by a controlled substance test conducted under this section to have a controlled substance test failure, the Ohio ethics commission shall refer the recipient to an alcohol and drug addiction program certified under section 3793.06 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 187.02.  (A) To qualify for appointment to the board of directors of JobsOhio, an individual must satisfy all of the following:
(1) Has an understanding of generally accepted accounting principles and financial statements;
(2) Possesses the ability to assess the general application of such principles in connection with the accounting for estimates, accruals, and reserves;
(3) Has experience preparing, auditing, analyzing, or evaluating financial statements that present a breadth and level of complexity of accounting issues that are generally comparable to the breadth and complexity of issues that can reasonably be expected to be presented by the JobsOhio corporation's financial statements, or experience actively supervising one or more persons engaged in such activities;
(4) Has an understanding of internal controls and the procedures for financial reporting;
(5) Has an understanding of audit committee functions;
(6) Fulfills the requirements for controlled substance tests required by section 102.10 of the Revised Code.
(B) Specific experience demonstrating the qualifications required by division (A) of this section may be evidenced by any of the following:
(1) Education and experience as a principal financial officer, principal accounting officer, controller, public accountant or auditor, or experience in one or more positions that involve the performance of similar functions;
(2) Experience actively supervising a principal financial officer, principal accounting officer, controller, public accountant, auditor, or person performing similar functions;
(3) Experience overseeing or assessing the performance of companies or public accountants with respect to the preparation, auditing, or evaluation of financial statements;
(4) Other experience considered relevant by the governor consistent with division (A) of this section.
(C) Each individual appointed to the board of directors shall be a citizen of the United States. At least six of the individuals appointed to the board shall be residents of or domiciled in this state.
Section 2.  That existing sections 3.11 and 187.02 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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