H.B.
435
127th General Assembly
(As Passed by the House)
Reps. White and DeBose, Goodwin, Jones, Mecklenborg, Uecker, Schindel, Slesnick, Boyd, Fende, Yuko, B. Williams, Letson, Strahorn, Brown, Hottinger, Adams, Bacon, Batchelder, Beatty, Bolon, Brinkman, Budish, Celeste, Collier, Combs, Dodd, Dolan, Domenick, Driehaus, Dyer, Evans, Flowers, Garrison, Gerberry, Gibbs, Goyal, J. Hagan, Harwood, Heard, Hughes, Luckie, Lundy, Mallory, Mandel, J. McGregor, Patton, Sayre, Schlichter, Schneider, D. Stewart, J. Stewart, Sykes, Szollosi, S. Williams, Wolpert, Yates
BILL SUMMARY
· Modifies the duties of the Governor's Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives.
· Allows the Governor to appoint an executive director and specifies the executive director's duties.
· Changes the membership and duties of the Advisory Board of the Governor's Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives.
CONTENT AND OPERATION
(R.C. 107.12)
Current law establishes within the office of the Governor the Governor's Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives. The Office is to serve as a clearinghouse of information on federal, state, and local funding for charitable services performed by organizations; encourage organizations to seek public funding for their charitable services; and act as a liaison between state agencies and organizations.[1] The Office also must advise the Governor, General Assembly, and the Advisory Board of the Governor's Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives on the barriers that exist to collaboration between organizations and governmental entities and on ways to remove the barriers. Current law requires the Governor to appoint an executive assistant to manage the Office and perform or oversee the performance of the Office's duties.
Current law establishes the Advisory Board of the Governor's Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives. The Board provides direction, guidance, and oversight to the Office. Advisory Board members serve one-year terms and are not compensated for their service. Any vacancy that occurs on the Board is filled in the same manner as the original appointment. The Board consists of the following individuals:
(1) One employee from each of the Departments of Aging, Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, Rehabilitation and Correction, Health, Job and Family Services, Mental Health, and Youth Services, designated by the department's Director;
(2) Two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker, each from a different political party. At least one of the appointees must be a member of the legislative Black Caucus.
(3) Two members of the Senate appointed by the President, each from a different political party;
(4) Nine representatives of the nonprofit, faith-based and other nonprofit community, three each appointed by the Governor, Speaker, and President.
At its initial meeting, the Advisory Board must elect as chairperson a member who is also a member of the House of Representatives. The Advisory Board must publish an annual report of the Office's activities, on or before August 1 of each year, and provide a copy of the report to the Governor, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House, and the President and Minority Leader of the Senate.
Board members and any organizations that members are affiliated or involved with are ineligible to receive any grant the Office administers or assists in administering.
(R.C. 107.12)
The bill removes from the Office the duty of acting as a liaison between state agencies and organizations and instead requires the Office to assist local, state, and federal agencies in coordinating their activities to secure maximum use of funds and efforts that benefit people receiving charitable services from organizations.
Instead of an executive assistant, the bill requires the Governor to appoint an executive director and such other staff as may be necessary to manage the Office and perform or oversee the performance of its duties. The bill requires the executive director to distribute a strategic plan to the Board for review within 60 days of being appointed and yearly thereafter. The executive director must also report quarterly to the Board on proposed initiatives and policies and include in the report the condition of the budget and finances of the Office.
(R.C. 107.12; Section 3)
Instead of the Directors of Aging, Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, Rehabilitation and Correction, Health, Job and Family Services, Mental Health, and Youth Services each appointing a department employee to the Board, the bill places the Directors, or their designees, on the Board. The bill also adds the Director of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, or the Director's designee, to the Board.
In addition to a chairperson, the bill requires that the Board be presided over by a vice-chairperson who is also a member of the House of Representatives. Beginning January 1, 2009, the chairpersonship and vice-chairpersonship alternate between the members of the House of Representatives according to their party membership. The chairperson and vice-chairperson who are holding office on the effective date of the bill continue to hold office until January 1, 2009.
As under current law, Board members are not to be compensated for their service, but the bill specifies that the members appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the House, and Senate President who are representatives of the nonprofit, faith-based and other nonprofit community must be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in relation to Board meetings.
In addition to providing direction, guidance, and oversight to the Office as under current law, the bill requires the Board to do all of the following: (1) assist in the dissemination of information about, and in the stimulation of public awareness of, the service programs supported by the Office, (2) review the budget and finances of the Office, proposed initiatives and policies, and the executive director's annual strategic plan at Board meetings, and (3) provide feedback for and proposed modifications of the executive director's strategic plan. Within 45 days after submitting a strategic plan, the executive director is required to contact each Board member to obtain feedback. With the approval of the chairperson, the executive director must lead a strategic plan discussion at the first Board meeting following the distribution of the strategic plan.
The bill requires that the Board include its accomplishments in its annual report.
HISTORY
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ACTION |
DATE |
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Introduced |
01-15-08 |
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Reported, H. Health |
04-29-08 |
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Passed House (96-0) |
05-29-08 |
h0435-ph-127.doc/kl
[1] "Organization"
means a faith-based or other organization that provides charitable services to
needy Ohio residents and is exempt from federal income taxation under section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.