Bill Text: OH HB58 | 2009-2010 | 128th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: 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.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-04 - To State Government [HB58 Detail]
Download: Ohio-2009-HB58-Introduced.html
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Representative McGregor
To amend section 124.341 and to enact section 117.103 | 1 |
of the Revised Code to require the Auditor of | 2 |
State to establish a fraud-reporting system for | 3 |
residents and public employees to file anonymous | 4 |
complaints of fraud and misuse of public funds by | 5 |
public offices or officials. | 6 |
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 124.341 be amended and section | 7 |
117.103 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 8 |
Sec. 117.103. (A) The auditor of state shall establish and | 9 |
maintain a system for the reporting of fraud, including misuse and | 10 |
misappropriation of public money, by any public office or public | 11 |
official. The system shall allow Ohio residents and the employees | 12 |
of any public office to make anonymous complaints through a | 13 |
toll-free telephone number, the auditor of state's web site, or | 14 |
the United States mail to the auditor of state's office. The | 15 |
auditor of state shall review all complaints in a timely manner. | 16 |
Upon receipt, the complaints are public records under section | 17 |
149.43 of the Revised Code unless that or another statute | 18 |
specifies an applicable exemption from the definition of a public | 19 |
record. | 20 |
(B)(1) A public office shall provide information about the | 21 |
Ohio fraud-reporting system and the means of reporting fraud to | 22 |
each new employee upon employment with the public office. Each | 23 |
new employee shall confirm receipt of this information within | 24 |
thirty days after beginning employment. The auditor of state | 25 |
shall provide a model form on the auditor of state's web site to | 26 |
be printed and used by new public employees to sign and verify | 27 |
their receipt of information as required by this section. The | 28 |
auditor of state shall confirm, when conducting an audit under | 29 |
section 117.11 of the Revised Code, that new employees have been | 30 |
provided information as required by this division. | 31 |
(2) On the effective date of this section, each public office | 32 |
shall make all its employees aware of the fraud-reporting system | 33 |
required by this section. | 34 |
Sec. 124.341. (A) If an employee in the classified or | 35 |
unclassified civil service becomes aware in the course of | 36 |
employment of a violation of state or federal statutes, rules, or | 37 |
regulations or the misuse of public resources, and the employee's | 38 |
supervisor or appointing authority has authority to correct the | 39 |
violation or misuse, the employee may file a written report | 40 |
identifying the violation or misuse with the supervisor or | 41 |
appointing authority. In addition to or instead of filing a | 42 |
written report with the supervisor or appointing authority, the | 43 |
employee may file a written report with the office of internal | 44 |
auditing created under section 126.45 of the Revised Code or file | 45 |
a complaint with the auditor of state's fraud-reporting system | 46 |
under section 117.103 of the Revised Code. | 47 |
If the employee reasonably believes that a violation or | 48 |
misuse of public resources is a criminal offense, the employee, in | 49 |
addition to or instead of filing a written report or complaint | 50 |
with the
supervisor, appointing authority, | 51 |
internal auditing, or the auditor of state's fraud-reporting | 52 |
system, may report it to a prosecuting attorney, director of law, | 53 |
village solicitor, or similar chief legal officer of a municipal | 54 |
corporation, to a peace officer, as defined in section 2935.01 of | 55 |
the Revised Code, or, if the violation or misuse of public | 56 |
resources is within the jurisdiction of the inspector general, to | 57 |
the inspector general in accordance with section 121.46 of the | 58 |
Revised Code. In addition to that report, if the employee | 59 |
reasonably believes the violation or misuse is also a violation | 60 |
of Chapter 102., section 2921.42, or section 2921.43 of the | 61 |
Revised Code, the employee may report it to the appropriate | 62 |
ethics commission. | 63 |
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this | 64 |
section, no officer or employee in the classified or unclassified | 65 |
civil service shall take any disciplinary action against an | 66 |
employee in the classified or unclassified civil service for | 67 |
making any report or filing a complaint as authorized by division | 68 |
(A) of this section, including, without limitation, doing any of | 69 |
the following: | 70 |
(1) Removing or suspending the employee from employment; | 71 |
(2) Withholding from the employee salary increases or | 72 |
employee benefits to which the employee is otherwise entitled; | 73 |
(3) Transferring or reassigning the employee; | 74 |
(4) Denying the employee promotion that otherwise would have | 75 |
been received; | 76 |
(5) Reducing the employee in pay or position. | 77 |
(C) An employee in the classified or unclassified civil | 78 |
service shall make a reasonable effort to determine the accuracy | 79 |
of any information reported under division (A) of this section. | 80 |
The employee is subject to disciplinary action, including | 81 |
suspension or removal, as determined by the employee's appointing | 82 |
authority, for purposely, knowingly, or recklessly reporting false | 83 |
information under division (A) of this section. | 84 |
(D) If an appointing authority takes any disciplinary or | 85 |
retaliatory action against a classified or unclassified employee | 86 |
as a result of the employee's having filed a report or complaint | 87 |
under division (A) of this section, the employee's sole and | 88 |
exclusive remedy, notwithstanding any other provision of law, is | 89 |
to file an appeal with the state personnel board of review within | 90 |
thirty days after receiving actual notice of the appointing | 91 |
authority's action. If the employee files such an appeal, the | 92 |
board shall immediately notify the employee's appointing authority | 93 |
and shall hear the appeal. The board may affirm or disaffirm the | 94 |
action of the appointing authority or may issue any other order as | 95 |
is appropriate. The order of the board is appealable in accordance | 96 |
with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. | 97 |
(E) As used in this section: | 98 |
(1) "Purposely," "knowingly," and "recklessly" have the same | 99 |
meanings as in section 2901.22 of the Revised Code. | 100 |
(2) "Appropriate ethics commission" has the same meaning as | 101 |
in section 102.01 of the Revised Code. | 102 |
(3) "Inspector general" means the inspector general appointed | 103 |
under section 121.48 of the Revised Code. | 104 |
Section 2. That existing section 124.341 of the Revised Code | 105 |
is hereby repealed. | 106 |