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Bill Title: To generally prohibit any person from knowingly conducting any transaction of public funds to the benefit of any campaign committee, political action committee, legislative campaign fund, political party, campaign fund, political committee, separate segregated fund, or candidate.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 47-8)
Status: (Passed) 2012-09-05 - Effective Date
[HB326 Detail]Download: Ohio-2011-HB326-Introduced.html
As Introduced
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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Representatives McClain, Hill
Cosponsors:
Representatives Huffman, Grossman, Hagan, C., Martin, Thompson, Stebelton, Derickson, Adams, J., Adams, R., Blair, Ruhl, Sears, Young, Dovilla, Hayes, Maag, Combs, Carney
A BILL
| To amend sections 9.03 and 3599.40 of the Revised | 1 |
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Code to prohibit a person from using public funds | 2 |
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for specified purposes and to specify that a | 3 |
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person or a political subdivision who violates the | 4 |
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prohibition is guilty of a first degree | 5 |
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 9.03 and 3599.40 of the Revised Code | 7 |
be amended to read as follows: | 8 |
Sec. 9.03. (A) As used in this section, "political | 9 |
subdivision" means any body corporate and politic, except a | 10 |
municipal corporation that has adopted a charter under Section 7 | 11 |
of Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution, and except a county that has | 12 |
adopted a charter under Sections 3 and 4 of Article X, Ohio | 13 |
Constitution, to which both of the following apply: | 14 |
(1) It is responsible for governmental activities only in a | 15 |
geographic area smaller than the state. | 16 |
(2) It is subject to the sovereign immunity of the state. | 17 |
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this | 18 |
section, the governing body of a political subdivision may use | 19 |
public funds to publish and distribute newsletters, or to use any | 20 |
other means, to communicate information about the plans, policies, | 21 |
and operations of the political subdivision to members of the | 22 |
public within the political subdivision and to other persons who | 23 |
may be affected by the political subdivision. | 24 |
(C) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(7) of | 25 |
section 340.03 or division (A)(12) of section 340.033 of the | 26 |
Revised Code, no governing body of a political subdivision and no | 27 |
person shall use public funds to do any of the following: | 28 |
(1) Publish, distribute, or otherwise communicate information | 29 |
that does any of the following: | 30 |
(a) Contains defamatory, libelous, or obscene matter; | 31 |
(b) Promotes alcoholic beverages, cigarettes or other tobacco | 32 |
products, or any illegal product, service, or activity; | 33 |
(c) Promotes illegal discrimination on the basis of race, | 34 |
color, religion, national origin, handicap, age, or ancestry; | 35 |
(d) Supports or opposes any labor organization or any action | 36 |
by, on behalf of, or against any labor organization; | 37 |
(e) Supports or opposes the nomination or election of a | 38 |
candidate for public office, the investigation, prosecution, or | 39 |
recall of a public official, or the passage of a levy or bond | 40 |
issue. | 41 |
(2) Compensate any employee of the political subdivision for | 42 |
time spent on any activity to influence the outcome of an election | 43 |
for any of the purposes described in division (C)(1)(e) of this | 44 |
section. Division (C)(2) of this section does not prohibit the use | 45 |
of public funds to compensate an employee of a political | 46 |
subdivision for attending a public meeting to present information | 47 |
about the political subdivision's finances, activities, and | 48 |
governmental actions in a manner that is not designed to influence | 49 |
the outcome of an election or the passage of a levy or bond issue, | 50 |
even though the election, levy, or bond issue is discussed or | 51 |
debated at the meeting. | 52 |
(D) Nothing in this section prohibits or restricts any | 53 |
political subdivision from sponsoring, participating in, or doing | 54 |
any of the following: | 55 |
(1) Charitable or public service advertising that is not | 56 |
commercial in nature; | 57 |
(2) Advertising of exhibitions, performances, programs, | 58 |
products, or services that are provided by employees of a | 59 |
political subdivision or are provided at or through premises owned | 60 |
or operated by a political subdivision; | 61 |
(3) Licensing an interest in a name or mark that is owned or | 62 |
controlled by the political subdivision. | 63 |
(E) As used in this section, "cigarettes" and "tobacco | 64 |
product" have the same meanings as in section 5743.01 of the | 65 |
Revised Code. | 66 |
Sec. 3599.40. Except as otherwise provided in section | 67 |
3599.39 of the Revised Code, whoever violates any provision of | 68 |
Title XXXV of the Revised Code, unless otherwise provided in such | 69 |
title, and whoever knowingly violates division (C)(1)(e) or (2) of | 70 |
section 9.03 of the Revised Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor of | 71 |
the first degree. | 72 |
Section 2. That existing sections 9.03 and 3599.40 of the | 73 |
Revised Code are hereby repealed. | 74 |