Ohio Ethics Law
and Related Statutes









The Ohio Ethics Commission


Ben Rose, Chair

Shirley Mays, Vice Chair

Merom Brachman

Betty Davis

Steve Dettelbach

Ann Marie Tracey









David E. Freel, Executive Director














May 2009



TABLE OF CONTENTS



The Ohio Ethics Law: Revised Code Chapter 102.

R.C. 102.01 Definitions ..................................................................................................... 1

R.C. 102.02 Financial Disclosure ...................................................................................... 2

R.C. 102.021 Post-Employment Disclosure ....................................................................... 6

R.C. 102.022 Financial Disclosure - Limited ..................................................................... 8

R.C. 102.03 Post-Employment, Conflicts of Interest ....................................................... 9

R.C. 102.031 Gifts - Members of the General Assembly....................................................11

R.C. 102.04 Representation, Sales of Goods and Services ...............................................12

R.C. 102.05 Ethics Commission, Creation and Duties .....................................................13

R.C. 102.06 Ethics Commission, Investigative Authority ................................................14

R.C. 102.07 Ethics Commission, Confidentiality .............................................................16

R.C. 102.08 Opinions, Immunity, Education [H.B. 285] .................................................16

R.C. 102.08* Opinions, Immunity, Education [H.B. 492] .................................................17

R.C. 102.09 Responsibilities - Forms and Law ................................................................18

R.C. 102.99 Penalties.........................................................................................................18


RELATED STATUTES:

R.C. 2921.01 Definitions ....................................................................................................18

R.C. 2921.42 Public Contract Restrictions ........................................................................19

R.C. 2921.421 Legal Business Associate Exemption ..........................................................21

R.C. 2921.43 Supplemental Compensation .......................................................................21

OHIO ETHICS LAW: CHAPTER 102. OF THE REVISED CODE
Section 102.01
As used in this chapter:
(A) “Compensation” means money, thing of value, or financial benefit. “Compensation” does not
include reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official
duties.
(B) “Public official or employee” means any person who is elected or appointed to an office or is an
employee of any public agency. “Public official or employee” does not include a person elected or
appointed to the office of precinct, ward, or district committee member under section 3517.03 of the
Revised Code, any presidential elector, or any delegate to a national convention. “Public official or
employee” does not include a person who is a teacher, instructor, professor, or other kind of educator
whose position does not involve the performance of, or authority to perform, administrative or
supervisory functions.
(C) “Public agency” means the general assembly, all courts, any department, division, institution,
board, commission, authority, bureau or other instrumentality of the state, a county, city, village, or
township, the five state retirement systems, or any other governmental entity. “Public agency” does not
include a department, division, institution, board, commission, authority, or other instrumentality of the
state or a county, municipal corporation, township, or other governmental entity that functions
exclusively for cultural, educational, historical, humanitarian, advisory, or research purposes; that does
not expend more than ten thousand dollars per calendar year, excluding salaries and wages of
employees; and whose members are uncompensated.
(D) “Immediate family” means a spouse residing in the person’s household and any dependent child.
(E) “Income” includes gross income as defined and used in the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100
Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as amended, interest and dividends on obligations or securities of any state or
of any political subdivision or authority of any state or political subdivision, and interest or dividends
on obligations of any authority, commission, or instrumentality of the United States.
(F) Except as otherwise provided in division (A) of section 102.08 of the Revised Code, “appropriate
ethics commission” means:
(1) For matters relating to members of the general assembly, employees of the general assembly,
employees of the legislative service commission, and candidates for the office of member of the
general assembly, the joint legislative ethics committee;
(2) For matters relating to judicial officers and employees, and candidates for judicial office, the board
of commissioners on grievances and discipline of the supreme court;
(3) For matters relating to all other persons, the Ohio ethics commission.
(G) “Anything of value” has the same meaning as provided in section 1.03 of the Revised Code and
includes, but is not limited to, a contribution as defined in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.


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(H) “Honorarium” means any payment made in consideration for any speech given, article published,
or attendance at any public or private conference, convention, meeting, social event, meal, or similar
gathering. “Honorarium” does not include ceremonial gifts or awards that have insignificant monetary
value; unsolicited gifts of nominal value or trivial items of informational value; or earned income from
any person, other than a legislative agent, for personal services that are customarily provided in
connection with the practice of a bona fide business, if that business initially began before the public
official or employee conducting that business was elected or appointed to the public official’s or
employee’s office or position of employment.
(I) “Employer” means any person who, directly or indirectly, engages an executive agency lobbyist or
legislative agent.
(J) “Executive agency decision,” “executive agency lobbyist,” and “executive agency lobbying
activity” have the same meanings as in section 121.60 of the Revised Code.
(K) “Legislation,” “legislative agent,” “financial transaction,” and “actively advocate” have the same
meanings as in section 101.70 of the Revised Code.
(L) “Expenditure” has the same meaning as in section 101.70 of the Revised Code when used in
relation to activities of a legislative agent, and the same meaning as in section 121.60 of the Revised
Code when used in relation to activities of an executive agency lobbyist.
Section 102.02
(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (H) of this section, all of the following shall file with the
appropriate ethics commission the disclosure statement described in this division on a form prescribed
by the appropriate commission: every person who is elected to or is a candidate for a state, county, or
city office and every person who is appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term in such an
elective office; all members of the state board of education; the director, assistant directors, deputy
directors, division chiefs, or persons of equivalent rank of any administrative department of the state;
the president or other chief administrative officer of every state institution of higher education as
defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code; the executive director and the members of the capitol
square review and advisory board appointed or employed pursuant to section 105.41 of the Revised
Code; the chief executive officer and the members of the board of each state retirement system; each
employee of a state retirement board who is a state retirement system investment officer licensed
pursuant to section 1707.163 of the Revised Code; the members of the Ohio retirement study council
appointed pursuant to division (C) of section 171.01 of the Revised Code; employees of the Ohio
retirement study council, other than employees who perform purely administrative or clerical
functions; the administrator of workers’ compensation and each member of the bureau of workers’
compensation board of directors; the bureau of workers’ compensation director of investments; the
chief investment officer of the bureau of workers’ compensation; the director appointed by the
workers’ compensation council; all members of the board of commissioners on grievances and
discipline of the supreme court and the ethics commission created under section 102.05 of the Revised
Code; every business manager, treasurer, or superintendent of a city, local, exempted village, joint
vocational, or cooperative education school district or an educational service center; every person who
is elected to or is a candidate for the office of member of a board of education of a city, local,
exempted village, joint vocational, or cooperative education school district or of a governing board of
an educational service center that has a total student count of twelve thousand or more as most recently
determined by the department of education pursuant to section 3317.03 of the Revised Code; every


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person who is appointed to the board of education of a municipal school district pursuant to division
(B) or (F) of section 3311.71 of the Revised Code; all members of the board of directors of a sanitary
district that is established under Chapter 6115. of the Revised Code and organized wholly for the
purpose of providing a water supply for domestic, municipal, and public use, and that includes two
municipal corporations in two counties; every public official or employee who is paid a salary or wage
in accordance with schedule C of section 124.15 or schedule E-2 of section 124.152 of the Revised
Code; members of the board of trustees and the executive director of the southern Ohio agricultural
and community development foundation; and every other public official or employee who is
designated by the appropriate ethics commission pursuant to division (B) of this section.
The disclosure statement shall include all of the following:
(1) The name of the person filing the statement and each member of the person’s immediate family and
all names under which the person or members of the person’s immediate family do business;
(2)(a) Subject to divisions (A)(2)(b) and (c) of this section and except as otherwise provided in section
102.022 of the Revised Code, identification of every source of income, other than income from a
legislative agent identified in division (A)(2)(b) of this section, received during the preceding calendar
year, in the person’s own name or by any other person for the person’s use or benefit, by the person
filing the statement, and a brief description of the nature of the services for which the income was
received. If the person filing the statement is a member of the general assembly, the statement shall
identify the amount of every source of income received in accordance with the following ranges of
amounts: zero or more, but less than one thousand dollars; one thousand dollars or more, but less than
ten thousand dollars; ten thousand dollars or more, but less than twenty-five thousand dollars; twenty-
five thousand dollars or more, but less than fifty thousand dollars; fifty thousand dollars or more, but
less than one hundred thousand dollars; and one hundred thousand dollars or more. Division (A)(2)(a)
of this section shall not be construed to require a person filing the statement who derives income from
a business or profession to disclose the individual items of income that constitute the gross income of
that business or profession, except for those individual items of income that are attributable to the
person’s or, if the income is shared with the person, the partner’s, solicitation of services or goods or
performance, arrangement, or facilitation of services or provision of goods on behalf of the business or
profession of clients, including corporate clients, who are legislative agents. A person who files the
statement under this section shall disclose the identity of and the amount of income received from a
person who the public official or employee knows or has reason to know is doing or seeking to do
business of any kind with the public official’s or employee’s agency.
(b) If the person filing the statement is a member of the general assembly, the statement shall identify
every source of income and the amount of that income that was received from a legislative agent
during the preceding calendar year, in the person’s own name or by any other person for the person’s
use or benefit, by the person filing the statement, and a brief description of the nature of the services
for which the income was received. Division (A)(2)(b) of this section requires the disclosure of clients
of attorneys or persons licensed under section 4732.12 of the Revised Code, or patients of persons
certified under section 4731.14 of the Revised Code, if those clients or patients are legislative agents.
Division (A)(2)(b) of this section requires a person filing the statement who derives income from a
business or profession to disclose those individual items of income that constitute the gross income of
that business or profession that are received from legislative agents.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(2)(c) of this section, division (A)(2)(a) of this section
applies to attorneys, physicians, and other persons who engage in the practice of a profession and who,


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pursuant to a section of the Revised Code, the common law of this state, a code of ethics applicable to
the profession, or otherwise, generally are required not to reveal, disclose, or use confidences of
clients, patients, or other recipients of professional services except under specified circumstances or
generally are required to maintain those types of confidences as privileged communications except
under specified circumstances. Division (A)(2)(a) of this section does not require an attorney,
physician, or other professional subject to a confidentiality requirement as described in division
(A)(2)(c) of this section to disclose the name, other identity, or address of a client, patient, or other
recipient of professional services if the disclosure would threaten the client, patient, or other recipient
of professional services, would reveal details of the subject matter for which legal, medical, or
professional advice or other services were sought, or would reveal an otherwise privileged
communication involving the client, patient, or other recipient of professional services. Division
(A)(2)(a) of this section does not require an attorney, physician, or other professional subject to a
confidentiality requirement as described in division (A)(2)(c) of this section to disclose in the brief
description of the nature of services required by division (A)(2)(a) of this section any information
pertaining to specific professional services rendered for a client, patient, or other recipient of
professional services that would reveal details of the subject matter for which legal, medical, or
professional advice was sought or would reveal an otherwise privileged communication involving the
client, patient, or other recipient of professional services.
(3) The name of every corporation on file with the secretary of state that is incorporated in this state or
holds a certificate of compliance authorizing it to do business in this state, trust, business trust,
partnership, or association that transacts business in this state in which the person filing the statement
or any other person for the person’s use and benefit had during the preceding calendar year an
investment of over one thousand dollars at fair market value as of the thirty-first day of December of
the preceding calendar year, or the date of disposition, whichever is earlier, or in which the person
holds any office or has a fiduciary relationship, and a description of the nature of the investment,
office, or relationship. Division (A)(3) of this section does not require disclosure of the name of any
bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or building and loan association with which the
person filing the statement has a deposit or a withdrawable share account.
(4) All fee simple and leasehold interests to which the person filing the statement holds legal title to or
a beneficial interest in real property located within the state, excluding the person’s residence and
property used primarily for personal recreation;
(5) The names of all persons residing or transacting business in the state to whom the person filing the
statement owes, in the person’s own name or in the name of any other person, more than one thousand
dollars. Division (A)(5) of this section shall not be construed to require the disclosure of debts owed by
the person resulting from the ordinary conduct of a business or profession or debts on the person’s
residence or real property used primarily for personal recreation, except that the superintendent of
financial institutions shall disclose the names of all state-chartered savings and loan associations and of
all service corporations subject to regulation under division (E)(2) of section 1151.34 of the Revised
Code to whom the superintendent in the superintendent’s own name or in the name of any other person
owes any money, and that the superintendent and any deputy superintendent of banks shall disclose the
names of all state-chartered banks and all bank subsidiary corporations subject to regulation under
section 1109.44 of the Revised Code to whom the superintendent or deputy superintendent owes any
money.
(6) The names of all persons residing or transacting business in the state, other than a depository
excluded under division (A)(3) of this section, who owe more than one thousand dollars to the person


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filing the statement, either in the person’s own name or to any person for the person’s use or benefit.
Division (A)(6) of this section shall not be construed to require the disclosure of clients of attorneys or
persons licensed under section 4732.12 or 4732.15 of the Revised Code, or patients of persons certified
under section 4731.14 of the Revised Code, nor the disclosure of debts owed to the person resulting
from the ordinary conduct of a business or profession.
(7) Except as otherwise provided in section 102.022 of the Revised Code, the source of each gift of
over seventy-five dollars, or of each gift of over twenty-five dollars received by a member of the
general assembly from a legislative agent, received by the person in the person’s own name or by any
other person for the person’s use or benefit during the preceding calendar year, except gifts received by
will or by virtue of section 2105.06 of the Revised Code, or received from spouses, parents,
grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, brothers-in-law, sisters-
in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, fathers-in-law, mothers-in-law, or any person to whom the
person filing the statement stands in loco parentis, or received by way of distribution from any inter
vivos or testamentary trust established by a spouse or by an ancestor;
(8) Except as otherwise provided in section 102.022 of the Revised Code, identification of the source
and amount of every payment of expenses incurred for travel to destinations inside or outside this state
that is received by the person in the person’s own name or by any other person for the person’s use or
benefit and that is incurred in connection with the person’s official duties, except for expenses for
travel to meetings or conventions of a national or state organization to which any state agency,
including, but not limited to, any legislative agency or state institution of higher education as defined
in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, pays membership dues, or any political subdivision or any
office or agency of a political subdivision pays membership dues;
(9) Except as otherwise provided in section 102.022 of the Revised Code, identification of the source
of payment of expenses for meals and other food and beverages, other than for meals and other food
and beverages provided at a meeting at which the person participated in a panel, seminar, or speaking
engagement or at a meeting or convention of a national or state organization to which any state agency,
including, but not limited to, any legislative agency or state institution of higher education as defined
in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, pays membership dues, or any political subdivision or any
office or agency of a political subdivision pays membership dues, that are incurred in connection with
the person’s official duties and that exceed one hundred dollars aggregated per calendar year;
(10) If the disclosure statement is filed by a public official or employee described in division (B)(2) of
section 101.73 of the Revised Code or division (B)(2) of section 121.63 of the Revised Code who
receives a statement from a legislative agent, executive agency lobbyist, or employer that contains the
information described in division (F)(2) of section 101.73 of the Revised Code or division (G)(2) of
section 121.63 of the Revised Code, all of the nondisputed information contained in the statement
delivered to that public official or employee by the legislative agent, executive agency lobbyist, or
employer under division (F)(2) of section 101.73 or (G)(2) of section 121.63 of the Revised Code.
A person may file a statement required by this section in person or by mail. A person who is a
candidate for elective office shall file the statement no later than the thirtieth day before the primary,
special, or general election at which the candidacy is to be voted on, whichever election occurs
soonest, except that a person who is a write-in candidate shall file the statement no later than the
twentieth day before the earliest election at which the person’s candidacy is to be voted on. A person
who holds elective office shall file the statement on or before the fifteenth day of April of each year
unless the person is a candidate for office. A person who is appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired


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term in an elective office shall file the statement within fifteen days after the person qualifies for
office. Other persons shall file an annual statement on or before the fifteenth day of April or, if
appointed or employed after that date, within ninety days after appointment or employment. No person
shall be required to file with the appropriate ethics commission more than one statement or pay more
than one filing fee for any one calendar year.
The appropriate ethics commission, for good cause, may extend for a reasonable time the deadline for
filing a statement under this section.
A statement filed under this section is subject to public inspection at locations designated by the
appropriate ethics commission except as otherwise provided in this section.
(B) The Ohio ethics commission, the joint legislative ethics committee, and the board of
commissioners on grievances and discipline of the supreme court, using the rule-making procedures of
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, may require any class of public officials or employees under its
jurisdiction and not specifically excluded by this section whose positions involve a substantial and
material exercise of administrative discretion in the formulation of public policy, expenditure of public
funds, enforcement of laws and rules of the state or a county or city, or the execution of other public
trusts, to file an annual statement on or before the fifteenth day of April under division (A) of this
section. The appropriate ethics commission shall send the public officials or employees written notice
of the requirement by the fifteenth day of February of each year the filing is required unless the public
official or employee is appointed after that date, in which case the notice shall be sent within thirty
days after appointment, and the filing shall be made not later than ninety days after appointment.
Except for disclosure statements filed by members of the board of trustees and the executive director of
the southern Ohio agricultural and community development foundation, disclosure statements filed
under this division with the Ohio ethics commission by members of boards, commissions, or bureaus
of the state for which no compensation is received other than reasonable and necessary expenses shall
be kept confidential. Disclosure statements filed with the Ohio ethics commission under division (A)
of this section by business managers, treasurers, and superintendents of city, local, exempted village,
joint vocational, or cooperative education school districts or educational service centers shall be kept
confidential, except that any person conducting an audit of any such school district or educational
service center pursuant to section 115.56 or Chapter 117. of the Revised Code may examine the
disclosure statement of any business manager, treasurer, or superintendent of that school district or
educational service center. The Ohio ethics commission shall examine each disclosure statement
required to be kept confidential to determine whether a potential conflict of interest exists for the
person who filed the disclosure statement. A potential conflict of interest exists if the private interests
of the person, as indicated by the person’s disclosure statement, might interfere with the public
interests the person is required to serve in the exercise of the person’s authority and duties in the
person’s office or position of employment. If the commission determines that a potential conflict of
interest exists, it shall notify the person who filed the disclosure statement and shall make the portions
of the disclosure statement that indicate a potential conflict of interest subject to public inspection in
the same manner as is provided for other disclosure statements. Any portion of the disclosure statement
that the commission determines does not indicate a potential conflict of interest shall be kept
confidential by the commission and shall not be made subject to public inspection, except as is
necessary for the enforcement of Chapters 102. and 2921. of the Revised Code and except as otherwise
provided in this division.


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(C) No person shall knowingly fail to file, on or before the applicable filing deadline established under
this section, a statement that is required by this section.
(D) No person shall knowingly file a false statement that is required to be filed under this section.
(E)(1) Except as provided in divisions (E)(2) and (3) of this section, the statement required by division
(A) or (B) of this section shall be accompanied by a filing fee of forty dollars.
(2) The statement required by division (A) of this section shall be accompanied by the following filing
fee to be paid by the person who is elected or appointed to, or is a candidate for, any of the following
offices:
For state office, except member of the state board of education
$65
For office of member of general assembly
$40
For county office
$40
For city office
$25
For office of member of the state board of education
$25
For office of member of a city, local, exempted village, or cooperative education
board of education or educational service center governing board
$20
For position of business manager, treasurer, or superintendent of a city, local,
exempted village, joint vocational, or cooperative education school district
or educational service center
$20
(3) No judge of a court of record or candidate for judge of a court of record, and no referee or
magistrate serving a court of record, shall be required to pay the fee required under division (E)(1) or
(2) or (F) of this section.
(4) For any public official who is appointed to a nonelective office of the state and for any employee
who holds a nonelective position in a public agency of the state, the state agency that is the primary
employer of the state official or employee shall pay the fee required under division (E)(1) or (F) of this
section.
(F) If a statement required to be filed under this section is not filed by the date on which it is required
to be filed, the appropriate ethics commission shall assess the person required to file the statement a
late filing fee of ten dollars for each day the statement is not filed, except that the total amount of the
late filing fee shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars.
(G)(1) The appropriate ethics commission other than the Ohio ethics commission shall deposit all fees
it receives under divisions (E) and (F) of this section into the general revenue fund of the state.
(2) The Ohio ethics commission shall deposit all receipts, including, but not limited to, fees it receives
under divisions (E) and (F) of this section and all moneys it receives from settlements under division
(G) of section 102.06 of the Revised Code, into the Ohio ethics commission fund, which is hereby
created in the state treasury. All moneys credited to the fund shall be used solely for expenses related
to the operation and statutory functions of the commission.


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(H) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a person elected or appointed to the office of
precinct, ward, or district committee member under Chapter 3517. of the Revised Code; a presidential
elector; a delegate to a national convention; village or township officials and employees; any physician
or psychiatrist who is paid a salary or wage in accordance with schedule C of section 124.15 or
schedule E-2 of section 124.152 of the Revised Code and whose primary duties do not require the
exercise of administrative discretion; or any member of a board, commission, or bureau of any county
or city who receives less than one thousand dollars per year for serving in that position.
Section 102.021
(A)(1) For the twenty-four month period immediately following the end of the former state elected
officer’s or staff member’s service or public employment, except as provided in division (B) or (D) of
this section, each former state elected officer or staff member who filed or was required to file a
disclosure statement under section 102.02 of the Revised Code shall file, on or before the deadlines
specified in division (D) of this section, with the joint legislative ethics committee a statement that
shall include the information described in divisions (A)(2), (3), (4), and (5) of this section, as
applicable. The statement shall be filed on a form and in the manner specified by the joint legislative
ethics committee. This division does not apply to a state elected officer or staff member who filed or
was required to file a disclosure statement under section 102.02 of the Revised Code, who leaves
service or public employment, and who takes another position as a state elected officer or staff member
who files or is required to file a disclosure statement under that section.
No person shall fail to file, on or before the deadlines specified in division (D) of this section, a
statement that is required by this division.
(2) The statement referred to in division (A)(1) of this section shall describe the source of all income
received, in the former state elected officer’s or staff member’s own name or by any other person for
the person’s use or benefit, and briefly describe the nature of the services for which the income was
received if the source of the income was any of the following:
(a) An executive agency lobbyist or a legislative agent;
(b) The employer of an executive agency lobbyist or legislative agent, except that this division does
not apply if the employer is any state agency or political subdivision of the state;
(c) Any entity, association, or business that, at any time during the two immediately preceding calendar
years, was awarded one or more contracts by one or more state agencies that in the aggregate had a
value of one hundred thousand dollars or more, or bid on one or more contracts to be awarded by one
or more state agencies that in the aggregate had a value of one hundred thousand dollars or more.
(3) If the former state elected officer or staff member received no income as described in division
(A)(2) of this section, the statement referred to in division (A)(1) of this section shall indicate that fact.
(4) If the former state elected officer or staff member directly or indirectly made, either separately or in
combination with another, any expenditure or gift for transportation, lodging, or food or beverages to,
at the request of, for the benefit of, or on behalf of any public officer or employee, and if the former
state elected officer or staff member would be required to report the expenditure or gift in a statement
under sections 101.70 to 101.79 or sections 121.60 to 121.69 of the Revised Code, whichever is
applicable, if the former state elected officer or staff member was a legislative agent or executive


9
agency lobbyist at the time the expenditure or gift was made, the statement referred to in division
(A)(1) of this section shall include all information relative to that gift or expenditure that would be
required in a statement under sections 101.70 to 101.79 or sections 121.60 to 121.69 of the Revised
Code if the former state elected officer or staff member was a legislative agent or executive agency
lobbyist at the time the expenditure or gift was made.
(5) If the former state elected officer or staff member made no expenditure or gift as described in
division (A)(4) of this section, the statement referred to in division (A)(1) of this section shall indicate
that fact.
(B) If, at any time during the twenty-four month period immediately following the end of the former
state elected officer’s or staff member’s service or public employment, a former state elected officer or
staff member who filed or was required to file a disclosure statement under section 102.02 of the
Revised Code becomes a legislative agent or an executive agency lobbyist, the former state elected
officer or staff member shall comply with all registration and filing requirements set forth in sections
101.70 to 101.79 or sections 121.60 to 121.69 of the Revised Code, whichever is applicable, and, the
former state elected officer or staff member also shall file a statement under division (A)(1) of this
section except that the statement filed under division (A)(1) of this section does not need to include
information regarding any income source, expenditure, or gift to the extent that that information was
included in any registration or statement filed under sections 101.70 to 101.79 or sections 121.60 to
121.69 of the Revised Code.
(C) Except as otherwise provided in this division, division (A)(2) of this section applies to attorneys,
physicians, and other persons who engage in the practice of a profession and who, pursuant to a section
of the Revised Code, the common law of this state, a code of ethics applicable to the profession, or
otherwise, generally are required not to reveal, disclose, or use confidences of clients, patients, or other
recipients of professional services except under specified circumstances or generally are required to
maintain those types of confidences as privileged communications except under specified
circumstances. Division (A)(2) of this section does not require an attorney, physician, or other
professional subject to a confidentiality requirement as described in this division to disclose the name,
other identity, or address of a client, patient, or other recipient of professional services if the disclosure
would threaten the client, patient, or other recipient of professional services, would reveal details of the
subject matter for which legal, medical, or professional advice or other services were sought, or would
reveal an otherwise privileged communication involving the client, patient, or other recipient of
professional services. Division (A)(2) of this section does not require an attorney, physician, or other
professional subject to a confidentiality requirement as described in this division to disclose in the brief
description of the nature of services required by division (A)(2) of this section any information
pertaining to specific professional services rendered for a client, patient, or other recipient of
professional services that would reveal details of the subject matter for which legal, medical, or
professional advice was sought or would reveal an otherwise privileged communication involving the
client, patient, or other recipient of professional services.
(D)(1) Each state elected officer or staff member who filed or was required to file a disclosure
statement under section 102.02 of the Revised Code and who leaves public service or public
employment shall file an initial statement under division (A)(1) of this section not later than the day on
which the former state elected officer or staff member leaves public service or public employment. The
initial statement shall specify whether the person will, or will not, receive any income from a source
described in division (A)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section.


10
If a person files an initial statement under this division that states that the person will receive income
from a source described in division (A)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section, the person is required to file
statements under division (A)(2), (3), (4), or (5) of this section at the times specified in division (D)(2)
of this section.
If a person files an initial statement under this division that states that the person will not receive
income from a source described in division (A)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section, except as otherwise
provided in this division, the person is not required to file statements under division (A)(2), (4), or (5)
of this section or to file subsequent statements under division (A)(3) of this section. If a person files an
initial statement under this division that states that the person will not receive income from a source
described in division (A)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section, and, subsequent to the filing of that initial
statement, the person receives any income from a source described in division (A)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of
this section, the person within ten days shall file a statement under division (A)(2) of this section that
contains the information described in that division, and the person thereafter shall file statements under
division (A)(2), (3), (4), or (5) of this section at the times specified in division (D)(2) of this section.
(2) After the filing of the initial statement under division (D)(1) of this section, each person required to
file a statement under division (A)(2), (3), (4), or (5) of this section shall file it on or before the last
calendar day of January, May, and September. The statements described in divisions (A)(2), (3), and
(5) of this section shall relate to the sources of income the person received in the immediately
preceding filing period from each source of income in each of the categories listed in division (A)(2) of
this section. The statement described in division (A)(4) of this section shall include any information
required to be reported regarding expenditures and gifts of the type described in division (A)(4) of this
section occurring since the filing of the immediately preceding statement.
If, pursuant to this division, a person files a statement under division (A)(2) of this section, the person
is required to file statements under division (A)(4) of this section, and subsequent statements under
division (A)(2), (3), or (5) of this section, at the times specified in this division. In addition, if,
subsequent to the filing of the statement under division (A)(2) of this section, the person receives any
income from a source described in division (A)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section that was not listed on
the statement filed under division (A)(2) of this section, the person within ten days shall file a
statement under division (A)(2) of this section that contains the information described in that division
regarding the new income source.
If, pursuant to this division, a person files a statement under division (A)(3) of this section, except as
otherwise provided in this division, the person thereafter is not required to file statements under
division (A)(2), (4), or (5) of this section, or to file subsequent statements under division (A)(3) of this
section. If, subsequent to the filing of the statement under division (A)(3) of this section, the person
receives any income from a source described in division (A)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section, the person
within ten days shall file a statement under division (A)(2) of this section that contains the information
described in that division regarding the new income source, and the person thereafter shall file
statements under division (A)(4) of this section, and subsequent statements under division (A)(2) or (3)
of this section, at the times specified in this division.
(3) No fee shall be required for filing an initial statement under division (D)(1) of this section. The
person filing a statement under division (D)(2) of this section that is required to be filed on or before
the last calendar day of January, May, and September shall pay a ten dollar filing fee with each such
statement not to exceed thirty dollars in any calendar year. The joint legislative ethics committee may
charge late fees in the same manner as specified in division (G) of section 101.72 of the Revised Code.


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(E) Any state elected officer or staff member who filed or was required to file a disclosure statement
under section 102.02 of the Revised Code and who leaves public service or public employment shall
provide a forwarding address to the officer’s or staff member’s last employer, and the employer shall
provide the person’s name and address to the joint legislative ethics committee. The former elected
state officer or staff member shall provide updated forwarding addresses as necessary to the joint
legislative ethics committee during the twenty-four month period during which division (A)(1) of this
section applies. The public agency or appointing authority that was the last employer of a person
required to file a statement under division (A)(2) of this section shall furnish to the person a copy of
the form needed to complete the initial statement required under division (D)(1) of this section.
(F) During the twenty-four month period immediately following the end of the former state elected
officer’s or staff member’s service or public employment, no person required to file a statement under
this section shall receive from a source described in division (A)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section, and
no source described in division (A)(2)(a), (b), or (c) of this section shall pay to that person, any
compensation that is contingent in any way upon the introduction, modification, passage, or defeat of
any legislation or the outcome of any executive agency decision.
(G) As used in this section “state elected officer or staff member” means any elected officer of this
state, any staff, as defined in section 101.70 of the Revised Code, or any staff, as defined in section
121.60 of the Revised Code.
Section 102.022
Each person who is an officer or employee of a political subdivision, who receives compensation of
less than sixteen thousand dollars a year for holding an office or position of employment with that
political subdivision, and who is required to file a statement under section 102.02 of the Revised Code,
and each member of the board of trustees of a state institution of higher education as defined in section
3345.011 of the Revised Code who is required to file a statement under section 102.02 of the Revised
Code, shall include in that statement, in place of the information required by divisions (A)(2), (7), (8),
and (9) of that section, the following information:
(A) Exclusive of reasonable expenses, identification of every source of income over five hundred
dollars received during the preceding calendar year, in the officer’s or employee’s own name or by any
other person for the officer’s or employee’s use or benefit, by the person filing the statement, and a
brief description of the nature of the services for which the income was received. This division shall
not be construed to require the disclosure of clients of attorneys or persons licensed under section
4732.12 or 4732.15 of the Revised Code or patients of persons certified under section 4731.14 of the
Revised Code. This division shall not be construed to require a person filing the statement who derives
income from a business or profession to disclose the individual items of income that constitute the
gross income of the business or profession.
(B) The source of each gift of over five hundred dollars received by the person in the officer’s or
employee’s own name or by any other person for the officer’s or employee’s use or benefit during the
preceding calendar year, except gifts received by will or by virtue of section 2105.06 of the Revised
Code, received from parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, nephews, nieces, uncles,
aunts, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, fathers-in-law, mothers-in-law, or
any person to whom the person filing the statement stands in loco parentis, or received by way of
distribution from any inter vivos or testamentary trust established by a spouse or by an ancestor.


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Section 102.03
(A)(1) No present or former public official or employee shall, during public employment or service or
for twelve months thereafter, represent a client or act in a representative capacity for any person on any
matter in which the public official or employee personally participated as a public official or employee
through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or
other substantial exercise of administrative discretion.
(2) For twenty-four months after the conclusion of service, no former commissioner or attorney
examiner of the public utilities commission shall represent a public utility, as defined in section
4905.02 of the Revised Code, or act in a representative capacity on behalf of such a utility before any
state board, commission, or agency.
(3) For twenty-four months after the conclusion of employment or service, no former public official or
employee who personally participated as a public official or employee through decision, approval,
disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, the development or adoption of solid waste
management plans, investigation, inspection, or other substantial exercise of administrative discretion
under Chapter 343. or 3734. of the Revised Code shall represent a person who is the owner or operator
of a facility, as defined in section 3734.01 of the Revised Code, or who is an applicant for a permit or
license for a facility under that chapter, on any matter in which the public official or employee
personally participated as a public official or employee.
(4) For a period of one year after the conclusion of employment or service as a member or employee of
the general assembly, no former member or employee of the general assembly shall represent, or act in
a representative capacity for, any person on any matter before the general assembly, any committee of
the general assembly, or the controlling board. Division (A)(4) of this section does not apply to or
affect a person who separates from service with the general assembly on or before December 31, 1995.
As used in division (A)(4) of this section “person” does not include any state agency or political
subdivision of the state.
(5) As used in divisions (A)(1), (2), and (3) of this section, “matter” includes any case, proceeding,
application, determination, issue, or question, but does not include the proposal, consideration, or
enactment of statutes, rules, ordinances, resolutions, or charter or constitutional amendments. As used
in division (A)(4) of this section, “matter” includes the proposal, consideration, or enactment of
statutes, resolutions, or constitutional amendments. As used in division (A) of this section, “represent”
includes any formal or informal appearance before, or any written or oral communication with, any
public agency on behalf of any person.
(6) Nothing contained in division (A) of this section shall prohibit, during such period, a former public
official or employee from being retained or employed to represent, assist, or act in a representative
capacity for the public agency by which the public official or employee was employed or on which the
public official or employee served.
(7) Division (A) of this section shall not be construed to prohibit the performance of ministerial
functions, including, but not limited to, the filing or amendment of tax returns, applications for permits
and licenses, incorporation papers, and other similar documents.
(B) No present or former public official or employee shall disclose or use, without appropriate
authorization, any information acquired by the public official or employee in the course of the public


13
official’s or employee’s official duties that is confidential because of statutory provisions, or that has
been clearly designated to the public official or employee as confidential when that confidential
designation is warranted because of the status of the proceedings or the circumstances under which the
information was received and preserving its confidentiality is necessary to the proper conduct of
government business.
(C) No public official or employee shall participate within the scope of duties as a public official or
employee, except through ministerial functions as defined in division (A) of this section, in any license
or rate-making proceeding that directly affects the license or rates of any person, partnership, trust,
business trust, corporation, or association in which the public official or employee or immediate family
owns or controls more than five per cent. No public official or employee shall participate within the
scope of duties as a public official or employee, except through ministerial functions as defined in
division (A) of this section, in any license or rate-making proceeding that directly affects the license or
rates of any person to whom the public official or employee or immediate family, or a partnership,
trust, business trust, corporation, or association of which the public official or employee or the public
official’s or employee’s immediate family owns or controls more than five per cent, has sold goods or
services totaling more than one thousand dollars during the preceding year, unless the public official or
employee has filed a written statement acknowledging that sale with the clerk or secretary of the public
agency and the statement is entered in any public record of the agency’s proceedings. This division
shall not be construed to require the disclosure of clients of attorneys or persons licensed under section
4732.12 or 4732.15 of the Revised Code, or patients of persons certified under section 4731.14 of the
Revised Code.
(D) No public official or employee shall use or authorize the use of the authority or influence of office
or employment to secure anything of value or the promise or offer of anything of value that is of such a
character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon the public official or employee with
respect to that person’s duties.
(E) No public official or employee shall solicit or accept anything of value that is of such a character as
to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon the public official or employee with respect to
that person’s duties.
(F) No person shall promise or give to a public official or employee anything of value that is of such a
character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon the public official or employee with
respect to that person’s duties.
(G) In the absence of bribery or another offense under the Revised Code or a purpose to defraud,
contributions made to a campaign committee, political party, legislative campaign fund, political
action committee, or political contributing entity on behalf of an elected public officer or other public
official or employee who seeks elective office shall be considered to accrue ordinarily to the public
official or employee for the purposes of divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this section.
As used in this division, “contributions,” “campaign committee,” “political party,” “legislative
campaign fund,” “political action committee,” and “political contributing entity” have the same
meanings as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.
(H)(1) No public official or employee, except for the president or other chief administrative officer of
or a member of a board of trustees of a state institution of higher education as defined in section
3345.011 of the Revised Code, who is required to file a financial disclosure statement under section


14
102.02 of the Revised Code shall solicit or accept, and no person shall give to that public official or
employee, an honorarium. Except as provided in division (H)(2) of this section, this division and
divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this section do not prohibit a public official or employee who is required
to file a financial disclosure statement under section 102.02 of the Revised Code from accepting and
do not prohibit a person from giving to that public official or employee the payment of actual travel
expenses, including any expenses incurred in connection with the travel for lodging, and meals, food,
and beverages provided to the public official or employee at a meeting at which the public official or
employee participates in a panel, seminar, or speaking engagement or provided to the public official or
employee at a meeting or convention of a national organization to which any state agency, including,
but not limited to, any state legislative agency or state institution of higher education as defined in
section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, pays membership dues. Except as provided in division (H)(2) of
this section, this division and divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this section do not prohibit a public official
or employee who is not required to file a financial disclosure statement under section 102.02 of the
Revised Code from accepting and do not prohibit a person from promising or giving to that public
official or employee an honorarium or the payment of travel, meal, and lodging expenses if the
honorarium, expenses, or both were paid in recognition of demonstrable business, professional, or
esthetic interests of the public official or employee that exist apart from public office or employment,
including, but not limited to, such a demonstrable interest in public speaking and were not paid by any
person or other entity, or by any representative or association of those persons or entities, that is
regulated by, doing business with, or seeking to do business with the department, division, institution,
board, commission, authority, bureau, or other instrumentality of the governmental entity with which
the public official or employee serves.
(2) No person who is a member of the board of a state retirement system, a state retirement system
investment officer, or an employee of a state retirement system whose position involves substantial and
material exercise of discretion in the investment of retirement system funds shall solicit or accept, and
no person shall give to that board member, officer, or employee, payment of actual travel expenses,
including expenses incurred with the travel for lodging, meals, food, and beverages.
(I) A public official or employee may accept travel, meals, and lodging or expenses or reimbursement
of expenses for travel, meals, and lodging in connection with conferences, seminars, and similar events
related to official duties if the travel, meals, and lodging, expenses, or reimbursement is not of such a
character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon the public official or employee with
respect to that person’s duties. The house of representatives and senate, in their code of ethics, and the
Ohio ethics commission, under section 111.15 of the Revised Code, may adopt rules setting standards
and conditions for the furnishing and acceptance of such travel, meals, and lodging, expenses, or
reimbursement.
A person who acts in compliance with this division and any applicable rules adopted under it, or any
applicable, similar rules adopted by the supreme court governing judicial officers and employees, does
not violate division (D), (E), or (F) of this section. This division does not preclude any person from
seeking an advisory opinion from the appropriate ethics commission under section 102.08 of the
Revised Code.
(J) For purposes of divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this section, the membership of a public official or
employee in an organization shall not be considered, in and of itself, to be of such a character as to
manifest a substantial and improper influence on the public official or employee with respect to that
person’s duties. As used in this division, “organization” means a church or a religious, benevolent,
fraternal, or professional organization that is tax exempt under subsection 501(a) and described in


15
subsection 501(c)(3), (4), (8), (10), or (19) of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986.” This division does
not apply to a public official or employee who is an employee of an organization, serves as a trustee,
director, or officer of an organization, or otherwise holds a fiduciary relationship with an organization.
This division does not allow a public official or employee who is a member of an organization to
participate, formally or informally, in deliberations, discussions, or voting on a matter or to use his
official position with regard to the interests of the organization on the matter if the public official or
employee has assumed a particular responsibility in the organization with respect to the matter or if the
matter would affect that person’s personal, pecuniary interests.
(K) It is not a violation of this section for a prosecuting attorney to appoint assistants and employees in
accordance with division (B) of section 309.06 and section 2921.421 of the Revised Code, for a chief
legal officer of a municipal corporation or an official designated as prosecutor in a municipal
corporation to appoint assistants and employees in accordance with sections 733.621 and 2921.421 of
the Revised Code, for a township law director appointed under section 504.15 of the Revised Code to
appoint assistants and employees in accordance with sections 504.151 and 2921.421 of the Revised
Code, or for a coroner to appoint assistants and employees in accordance with division (B) of section
313.05 of the Revised Code.
As used in this division, “chief legal officer” has the same meaning as in section 733.621 of the
Revised Code.
Section 102.031
(A) As used in this section:
(1) “Business associate” means a person with whom a member of the general assembly is conducting
or undertaking a financial transaction.
(2) “Contribution” has the same meaning as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.
(3) “Employee” does not include a member of the general assembly whose nonlegislative position of
employment does not involve the performance of or the authority to perform administrative or
supervisory functions; or whose nonlegislative position of employment, if the member is a public
employee, does not involve a substantial and material exercise of administrative discretion in the
formulation of public policy, expenditure of public funds, enforcement of laws and rules of the state or
a county or city, or execution of other public trusts.
(B) No member of the general assembly shall vote on any legislation that the member knows is then
being actively advocated if the member is one of the following with respect to a legislative agent or
employer that is then actively advocating on that legislation:
(1) An employee;
(2) A business associate;
(3) A person, other than an employee, who is hired under contract to perform certain services, and that
position involves a substantial and material exercise of administrative discretion in the formulation of
public policy.


16
(C) No member of the general assembly shall knowingly accept any of the following from a legislative
agent or a person required to file a statement described in division (A)(2) of section 102.021 of the
Revised Code:
(1) The payment of any expenses for travel or lodging except as otherwise authorized by division (H)
of section 102.03 of the Revised Code;
(2) More than seventy-five dollars aggregated per calendar year as payment for meals and other food
and beverages, other than for those meals and other food and beverages provided to the member at a
meeting at which the member participates in a panel, seminar, or speaking engagement, at a meeting or
convention of a national organization to which any state agency, including, but not limited to, any
legislative agency or state institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised
Code, pays membership dues, or at a dinner, party, or function to which all members of the general
assembly or all members of either house of the general assembly are invited;
(3) A gift of any amount in the form of cash or the equivalent of cash, or a gift of any other thing of
value whose value exceeds seventy-five dollars. As used in division (C)(3) of this section, “gift” does
not include any contribution or any gifts of meals and other food and beverages or the payment of
expenses incurred for travel to destinations either inside or outside this state that is received by a
member of the general assembly and that is incurred in connection with the member’s official duties.
(D) It is not a violation of division (C)(2) of this section if, within sixty days after receiving notice
from a legislative agent that the legislative agent has provided a member of the general assembly with
more than seventy-five dollars aggregated in a calendar year as payment for meals and other food and
beverages, the member of the general assembly returns to that legislative agent the amount received
that exceeds seventy-five dollars.
(E) The joint legislative ethics committee may impose a fine of not more than one thousand dollars
upon a member of the general assembly who violates division (B) of this section.
Section 102.04
(A) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, no person elected or appointed to an office of or
employed by the general assembly or any department, division, institution, instrumentality, board,
commission, or bureau of the state, excluding the courts, shall receive or agree to receive directly or
indirectly compensation other than from the agency with which he serves for any service rendered or to
be rendered by him personally in any case, proceeding, application, or other matter that is before the
general assembly or any department, division, institution, instrumentality, board, commission, or
bureau of the state, excluding the courts.
(B) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, no person elected or appointed to an office of or
employed by the general assembly or any department, division, institution, instrumentality, board,
commission, or bureau of the state, excluding the courts, shall sell or agree to sell, except through
competitive bidding, any goods or services to the general assembly or any department, division,
institution, instrumentality, board, commission, or bureau of the state, excluding the courts.
(C) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, no person who is elected or appointed to an
office of or employed by a county, township, municipal corporation, or any other governmental entity,
excluding the courts, shall receive or agree to receive directly or indirectly compensation other than


17
from the agency with which he serves for any service rendered or to be rendered by him personally in
any case, proceeding, application, or other matter which is before any agency, department, board,
bureau, commission, or other instrumentality, excluding the courts, of the entity of which he is an
officer or employee.
(D) A public official who is appointed to a nonelective office or a public employee shall be exempted
from division (A), (B), or (C) of this section if both of the following apply:
(1) The agency to which the official or employee wants to sell the goods or services, or before which
the matter that involves the rendering of his services is pending, is an agency other than the one with
which he serves;
(2) Prior to rendering the personal services or selling or agreeing to sell the goods or services, he files a
statement with the appropriate ethics commission, with the public agency with which he serves, and
with the public agency before which the matter is pending or that is purchasing or has agreed to
purchase goods or services.
The required statement shall contain the official’s or employee’s name and home address, the name
and mailing address of the public agencies with which he serves and before which the matter is
pending or that is purchasing or has agreed to purchase goods or services, and a brief description of the
pending matter and of the personal services to be rendered or a brief description of the goods or
services to be purchased. The statement shall also contain the public official’s or employee’s
declaration that he disqualifies himself for a period of two years from any participation as such public
official or employee in any matter involving any public official or employee of the agency before
which the present matter is pending or to which goods or services are to be sold. The two-year period
shall run from the date of the most recently filed statement regarding the agency before which the
matter was pending or to which the goods or services were to be sold. No person shall be required to
file statements under this division with the same public agency regarding a particular matter more than
once in a calendar year.
(E) No public official or employee who files a statement or is required to file a statement under
division (D) of this section shall knowingly fail to disqualify himself from any participation as a public
official or employee of the agency with which he serves in any matter involving any official or
employee of an agency before which a matter for which he rendered personal services was pending or
of a public agency that purchased or agreed to purchase goods or services.
(F) This section shall not be construed to prohibit the performance of ministerial functions including,
but not limited to, the filing, or amendment of tax returns, applications for permits and licenses,
incorporation papers, and other documents.
Section 102.05
There is hereby created the Ohio ethics commission consisting of six members, three of whom shall be
members of each of the two major political parties, to be appointed by the governor with the advice
and consent of the senate. Within thirty days of the effective date of this section, the governor shall
make initial appointments to the commission. Of the initial appointments made to the commission, one
shall be for a term ending one year after the effective date of this section, and the other appointments
shall be for terms ending two, three, four, five, and six years, respectively, after the effective date of
this section. Thereafter, terms of office shall be for six years, each term ending on the same day of the


18
same month of the year as did the term that it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from the date of
his appointment until the end of the term for which he was appointed. Any member appointed to fill a
vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall
hold office for the remainder of that term.
No person shall be appointed to the commission or shall continue to serve as a member of the
commission if the person is subject to section 102.02 of the Revised Code other than by reason of his
appointment to the commission or if the person is a legislative agent registered under sections 101.70
to 101.79 of the Revised Code or an executive agency lobbyist registered under sections 121.60 to
121.69 of the Revised Code. Each member shall be paid seventy-five dollars for each meeting held in
the discharge of his official duties, except that no member shall be paid more than eighteen hundred
dollars in any fiscal year. Each member shall be reimbursed for expenses actually and necessarily
incurred in the performance of his official duties.
The commission shall meet within two weeks after all members have been appointed, at a time and
place determined by the governor. At its first meeting, the commission shall elect a chairman and other
officers that are necessary and shall adopt rules for its procedures. After the first meeting, the
commission shall meet at the call of the chairman or upon the written request of a majority of the
members. A majority of the members of the commission constitutes a quorum. The commission shall
not take any action without the concurrence of a majority of the members of the commission.
The commission may appoint and fix the compensation of an executive director and other technical,
professional, and clerical employees that are necessary to carry out the duties of the commission.
The commission may appoint hearing examiners to conduct hearings pursuant to section 102.06 of the
Revised Code. The hearing examiners have the same powers and authority in conducting the hearings
as is granted to the commission. Within thirty days after the hearing, the hearing examiner shall submit
to the commission a written report of his findings of fact and conclusions of law and a
recommendation of the action to be taken by the commission. The recommendation of the hearing
examiner may be approved, modified, or disapproved by the commission, and no recommendation
shall become the findings of the commission until so ordered by the commission. The findings of the
commission shall have the same effect as if the hearing had been conducted by the commission.
Hearing examiners appointed pursuant to this section shall possess the qualifications the commission
requires. Nothing contained in this section shall preclude the commission from appointing a member of
the commission to serve as a hearing examiner.
Section 102.06
(A) The appropriate ethics commission shall receive and may initiate complaints against persons
subject to this chapter concerning conduct alleged to be in violation of this chapter or section 2921.42
or 2921.43 of the Revised Code. All complaints except those by the commission shall be by affidavit
made on personal knowledge, subject to the penalties of perjury. Complaints by the commission shall
be by affidavit, based upon reasonable cause to believe that a violation has occurred.
(B) The appropriate ethics commission shall investigate complaints, may investigate charges presented
to it, and may request further information, including the specific amount of income from a source,
from any person filing with the commission a statement required by section 102.02 or 102.021 of the
Revised Code, if the information sought is directly relevant to a complaint or charges received by the
commission pursuant to this section. This information is confidential, except that the commission, in


19
its discretion, may share information gathered in the course of any investigation with, or disclose the
information to, the inspector general, any appropriate prosecuting authority, any law enforcement
agency, or any other appropriate ethics commission. If the accused person is a member of the public
employees retirement board, state teachers retirement board, school employees retirement board, board
of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund, or state highway patrol retirement board, or is a
member of the bureau of workers’ compensation board of directors, the appropriate ethics commission,
in its discretion, also may share information gathered in the course of an investigation with, or disclose
the information to, the attorney general and the auditor of state. The person so requested shall furnish
the information to the commission, unless within fifteen days from the date of the request the person
files an action for declaratory judgment challenging the legitimacy of the request in the court of
common pleas of the county of the person’s residence, the person’s place of employment, or Franklin
county. The requested information need not be furnished to the commission during the pendency of the
judicial proceedings. Proceedings of the commission in connection with the declaratory judgment
action shall be kept confidential except as otherwise provided by this section. Before the commission
proceeds to take any formal action against a person who is the subject of an investigation based on
charges presented to the commission, a complaint shall be filed against the person. If the commission
finds that a complaint is not frivolous, and there is reasonable cause to believe that the facts alleged in
a complaint constitute a violation of section 102.02, 102.021, 102.03, 102.04, 102.07, 2921.42, or
2921.43 of the Revised Code, it shall hold a hearing. If the commission does not so find, it shall
dismiss the complaint and notify the accused person in writing of the dismissal of the complaint. The
commission shall not make a report of its finding unless the accused person requests a report. Upon the
request of the accused person, the commission shall make a public report of its finding. The person
against whom the complaint is directed shall be given reasonable notice by certified mail of the date,
time, and place of the hearing and a statement of the charges and the law directly involved and shall be
given the opportunity to be represented by counsel, to have counsel appointed for the person if the
person is unable to afford counsel without undue hardship, to examine the evidence against the person,
to produce evidence and to call and subpoena witnesses in the person’s defense, to confront the
person’s accusers, and to cross-examine witnesses. The commission shall have a stenographic record
made of the hearing. The hearing shall be closed to the public.
(C)(1)(a) If, upon the basis of the hearing, the appropriate ethics commission finds by a preponderance
of the evidence that the facts alleged in the complaint are true and constitute a violation of section
102.02, 102.021, 102.03, 102.04, 102.07, 2921.42, or 2921.43 of the Revised Code, it shall report its
findings to the appropriate prosecuting authority for proceedings in prosecution of the violation and to
the appointing or employing authority of the accused. If the accused person is a member of the public
employees retirement board, state teachers retirement board, school employees retirement board, board
of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund, or state highway patrol retirement board, the
commission also shall report its findings to the Ohio retirement study council.
(b) If the Ohio ethics commission reports its findings to the appropriate prosecuting authority under
division (C)(1)(a) of this section and the prosecuting authority has not initiated any official action on
those findings within ninety days after receiving the commission’s report of them, the commission may
publicly comment that no official action has been taken on its findings, except that the commission
shall make no comment in violation of the Rules of Criminal Procedure or about any indictment that
has been sealed pursuant to any law or those rules. The commission shall make no comment regarding
the merits of its findings. As used in division (C)(1)(b) of this section, “official action” means
prosecution, closure after investigation, or grand jury action resulting in a true bill of indictment or no
true bill of indictment.


20
(2) If the appropriate ethics commission does not find by a preponderance of the evidence that the facts
alleged in the complaint are true and constitute a violation of section 102.02, 102.021, 102.03, 102.04,
102.07, 2921.42, or 2921.43 of the Revised Code or if the commission has not scheduled a hearing
within ninety days after the complaint is filed or has not finally disposed of the complaint within six
months after it has been heard, it shall dismiss the complaint and notify the accused person in writing
of the dismissal of the complaint. The commission shall not make a report of its finding unless the
accused person requests a report. Upon the request of the accused person, the commission shall make a
public report of the finding, but in this case all evidence and the record of the hearing shall remain
confidential unless the accused person also requests that the evidence and record be made public. Upon
request by the accused person, the commission shall make the evidence and the record available for
public inspection.
(D) The appropriate ethics commission, or a member of the commission, may administer oaths, and the
commission may issue subpoenas to any person in the state compelling the attendance of witnesses and
the production of relevant papers, books, accounts, and records. The commission shall issue subpoenas
to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents upon the request of an accused
person. Section 101.42 of the Revised Code shall govern the issuance of these subpoenas insofar as
applicable. Upon the refusal of any person to obey a subpoena or to be sworn or to answer as a witness,
the commission may apply to the court of common pleas of Franklin county under section 2705.03 of
the Revised Code. The court shall hold proceedings in accordance with Chapter 2705. of the Revised
Code. The commission or the accused person may take the depositions of witnesses residing within or
without the state in the same manner as prescribed by law for the taking of depositions in civil actions
in the court of common pleas.
(E) At least once each year, the Ohio ethics commission shall report on its activities of the immediately
preceding year to the majority and minority leaders of the senate and house of representatives of the
general assembly. The report shall indicate the total number of complaints received, initiated, and
investigated by the commission, the total number of complaints for which formal hearings were held,
and the total number of complaints for which formal prosecution was recommended or requested by
the commission. The report also shall indicate the nature of the inappropriate conduct alleged in each
complaint and the governmental entity with which any employee or official that is the subject of a
complaint was employed at the time of the alleged inappropriate conduct.
(F) All papers, records, affidavits, and documents upon any complaint, inquiry, or investigation
relating to the proceedings of the appropriate ethics commission shall be sealed and are private and
confidential, except as otherwise provided in this section and section 102.07 of the Revised Code.
(G)(1) When a complaint or charge is before it, the Ohio ethics commission or the appropriate
prosecuting authority, in consultation with the person filing the complaint or charge, the accused, and
any other person the commission or prosecuting authority considers necessary, may compromise or
settle the complaint or charge with the agreement of the accused. The compromise or settlement may
include mediation, restitution, rescission of affected contracts, forfeiture of any benefits resulting from
a violation or potential violation of law, resignation of a public official or employee, or any other relief
that is agreed upon between the commission or prosecuting authority and the accused.
(2) Any settlement agreement entered into under division (G)(1) of this section shall be in writing and
be accompanied by a statement of the findings of the commission or prosecuting authority and the
reasons for entering into the agreement. The commission or prosecuting authority shall retain the
agreement and statement in the commission’s or prosecuting authority’s office and, in the


21
commission’s or prosecuting authority’s discretion, may make the agreement, the statement, and any
supporting information public, unless the agreement provides otherwise.
(3) If a settlement agreement is breached by the accused, the commission or prosecuting authority, in
the commission’s or prosecuting authority’s discretion, may rescind the agreement and reinstitute any
investigation, hearing, or prosecution of the accused. No information obtained from the accused in
reaching the settlement that is not otherwise discoverable from the accused shall be used in any
proceeding before the commission or by the appropriate prosecuting authority in prosecuting the
violation. Notwithstanding any other section of the Revised Code, if a settlement agreement is
breached, any statute of limitations for a violation of this chapter or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the
Revised Code is tolled from the date the complaint or charge is filed until the date the settlement
agreement is breached.
Section 102.07
No member, employee, or agent of the Ohio ethics commission, board of commissioners on grievances
and discipline of the supreme court, or joint legislative ethics committee shall divulge any information
or any books, papers, or documents presented to the commission, joint legislative ethics committee, or
board of commissioners on grievances and discipline without the consent, in writing, of the appropriate
ethics commission, unless such books, papers, or documents were presented at a public hearing, except
as provided in section 102.06 of the Revised Code.
No person shall divulge information that appears on a disclosure statement and is required to be kept
confidential under division (B) of section 102.02 of the Revised Code.
Section 102.08*
* See also following version of this section and explanation after that version.
(A)(1) Subject to division (A)(2) of this section, the board of commissioners on grievances and
discipline of the supreme court and the house and senate legislative ethics committees may recommend
legislation relating to ethics, conflicts of interest, and financial disclosure and shall render advisory
opinions with regard to questions concerning these matters for persons for whom it is the appropriate
ethics commission. When the appropriate ethics commission renders an advisory opinion relating to a
special set of circumstances involving ethics, conflict of interest, or financial disclosure under Chapter
102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code, the person to whom the opinion was directed
or who was similarly situated may reasonably rely upon the opinion and shall be immune from
criminal prosecutions, civil suits, or actions for removal from his office or position of employment for
a violation of Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code based on facts and
circumstances covered by the opinion, if the opinion states there is no violation of Chapter 102. or
section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code. Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(2) of
this section, the appropriate ethics commission shall include in every advisory opinion it renders a
statement as to whether the set of circumstances described in the opinion constitutes a violation of
section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code. The appropriate ethics commission shall provide a
continuing program of education and information concerning the provisions of Chapter 102. and
sections 2921.42 and 2921.43 of the Revised Code and other provisions of law pertaining to ethics,
conflicts of interest, and financial disclosure. As used in division (A) of this section, "appropriate
ethics commission" does not include the Ohio ethics commission.


22
(2) The board of commissioners on grievances and discipline of the supreme court shall issue advisory
opinions only in a manner consistent with Rule V of the Supreme Court Rules for the Government of
the Bar of Ohio.

(B) The Ohio ethics commission may recommend legislation relating to ethics, conflicts of interest,
and financial disclosure and may render advice with regard to questions concerning these matters for
persons for whom it is the appropriate ethics commission. When the Ohio ethics commission renders a
written formal or staff advisory opinion relating to a special set of circumstances involving ethics,
conflict of interest, or financial disclosure under Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the
Revised Code, the person to whom the opinion was directed or who was similarly situated may
reasonably rely upon the opinion and shall be immune from criminal prosecutions, civil suits, or
actions for removal from his office or position of employment for a violation of Chapter 102. or
section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code based on facts and circumstances covered by the
opinion, if the opinion states there is no violation of Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the
Revised Code. The commission shall provide a continuing program of education and information
concerning the provisions of Chapter 102. and sections 2921.42 and 2921.43 of the Revised Code and
other provisions of law pertaining to ethics, conflicts of interest, and financial disclosure. [Am. Sub.
H.B. 285, effective 03-02-94.]
Section 102.08*
* See also preceding version of this section and explanation below.
(A) The Ohio ethics commission, the board of commissioners on grievances and discipline of the
supreme court, and the joint legislative ethics committee may recommend legislation relating to ethics,
conflicts of interest, and financial disclosure, and render advisory opinions with regard to questions
concerning these matters for persons for whom it is the appropriate ethics commission.

(B) When the Ohio ethics commission or the board of commissioners on grievances and discipline of
the supreme court renders an advisory opinion relating to a special set of circumstances involving
ethics, conflict of interest, or financial disclosure under Chapter 102., section 2921.42, or section
2921.43 of the Revised Code, the person to whom the opinion was directed or who was similarly
situated may reasonably rely upon such opinion and shall be immune from criminal prosecutions, civil
suits, or actions for removal from his office or position of employment for a violation of Chapter 102.,
section 2921.42, or section 2921.43 of the Revised Code based on facts and circumstances covered by
the opinion, if the opinion states there is no violation of Chapter 102., section 2921.42, or section
2921.43 of the Revised Code.
(C) When the joint legislative ethics committee renders an advisory opinion that has been publicly
sought and that relates to a special set of circumstances involving ethics, conflicts of interest, or
financial disclosure under Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code, the person
to whom the opinion was directed or who was similarly situated may reasonable rely upon such
opinion and shall be immune from criminal prosecutions, civil suits, or actions for removal from his
office or position of employment for a violation of Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the
Revised Code based on the facts and circumstances covered by the opinion, if the opinion states that
there is no violation of Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code. When the
joint legislative ethics committee renders an advisory opinion that has been publicly sought, the
advisory opinion is a public record available under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.


23
(D) When the joint legislative ethics committee renders a written opinion that has been privately
sought and that relates to a special set of circumstances involving ethics, conflicts of interest, or
financial disclosure under Chapter 102. or section 2921.42 or 2921.43 of the Revised Code, the written
opinion does not have the legal effect of an advisory opinion issued under division (C) of this section.
When the joint legislative ethics committee renders a written opinion that has been privately sought,
the written opinion is not a public record available under section 149.43 of the Revised Code. The
proceedings of the legislative ethics committee relating to a written opinion that has been privately
sought shall be closed to the public and records relating to these proceedings are not public records
available under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
The person to whom a written opinion is issued under this division may request the committee to issue
the written opinion as an advisory opinion. Upon receiving such a request and with the approval of a
majority of the members of the committee, the committee may issue the written opinion as an advisory
opinion. If the committee issues the written opinion as an advisory opinion, the advisory opinion has
the same legal effect as an advisory opinion issued under division (C) of this section and is a public
record available under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
(E) The joint legislative ethics committee shall issue an advisory opinion under division (C) of this
section or a written opinion under division (D) of this section, whether it is publicly or privately
sought, only at a meeting of the committee and only with the approval of a majority of the members of
the committee.
(F) The appropriate ethics commission shall provide a continuing program of education and
information concerning the provisions of Chapter 102. and sections 2921.42 and 2921.43 of the
Revised Code and other provisions of law pertaining to ethics, conflicts of interest, and financial
disclosure. [Am. Sub. H.B. 492, effective 05-12-94.]
* R.C. 102.08 was amended by Am. Sub. H.B. 285 (eff. 03-02-94) and Am. Sub. H.B. 492 (eff. 05-12-
94). Harmonization pursuant to R.C. 1.52 is in question. Both versions are presented here.
Section 102.09
(A) The secretary of state and the county board of elections shall furnish, to each candidate for
elective office who is required to file a financial disclosure statement by section 102.02 of the Revised
Code, a financial disclosure form, and shall notify the appropriate ethics commission, within fifteen
days of the name of the candidate, and of the subsequent withdrawal, disqualification, or death of the
candidate. The candidate shall acknowledge receipt of the financial disclosure form in writing.
(B) The secretary of state and the county board of elections shall furnish to each person who is
appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term in an elective office, and who is required to file a
financial disclosure statement by section 102.02 of the Revised Code, a financial disclosure form, and
shall notify the appropriate ethics commission within fifteen days of being notified by the appointing
authority, of the name and position of the public official and the date of appointment. The person shall
acknowledge receipt of the financial disclosure form in writing.
(C) The public agency or appointing authority that employs, appoints, or promotes any public official
or employee who, as a result of such employment, appointment, or promotion, is required to file a
financial disclosure statement by section 102.02 of the Revised Code, shall, within fifteen days of the
employment, appointment, or promotion, furnish the public official or employee with a financial


24
disclosure form, and shall notify the appropriate ethics commission of the name and position of the
public official or employee and the date of employment, appointment, or promotion. The public
official or employee shall acknowledge receipt of the financial disclosure form in writing.
(D) Within fifteen days after any public official or employee begins the performance of official duties,
the public agency with which the official or employee serves or the appointing authority shall furnish
the official or employee a copy of Chapter 102. and section 2921.42 of the Revised Code, and may
furnish such other materials as the appropriate ethics commission prepares for distribution. The official
or employee shall acknowledge their receipt in writing. The requirements of this division do not apply
at the time of reappointment or reelection.
Section 102.099
(A) Whoever violates division (C) of section 102.02 or division (C) of section 102.031 of the Revised
Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(B) Whoever violates division (D) of section 102.02 or section 102.021, 102.03, 102.04, or 102.07 of
the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
CHAPTER 2921.
Section 2921.01
As used in sections 2921.01 to 2921.45 of the Revised Code:
(A) “Public official” means any elected or appointed officer, or employee, or agent of the state or any
political subdivision, whether in a temporary or permanent capacity, and includes, but is not limited to,
legislators, judges, and law enforcement officers.
(B) “Public servant” means any of the following:
(1) Any public official;
(2) Any person performing ad hoc a governmental function, including, but not limited to, a juror,
member of a temporary commission, master, arbitrator, advisor, or consultant;
(3) A person who is a candidate for public office, whether or not the person is elected or appointed to
the office for which the person is a candidate. A person is a candidate for purposes of this division if
the person has been nominated according to law for election or appointment to public office, or if the
person has filed a petition or petitions as required by law to have the person’s name placed on the
ballot in a primary, general, or special election, or if the person campaigns as a write-in candidate in
any primary, general, or special election.
(C) “Party official” means any person who holds an elective or appointive post in a political party in
the United States or this state, by virtue of which the person directs, conducts, or participates in
directing or conducting party affairs at any level of responsibility.
(D) “Official proceeding” means any proceeding before a legislative, judicial, administrative, or other
governmental agency or official authorized to take evidence under oath, and includes any proceeding


25
before a referee, hearing examiner, commissioner, notary, or other person taking testimony or a
deposition in connection with an official proceeding.
(E) “Detention” means arrest; confinement in any vehicle subsequent to an arrest; confinement in any
public or private facility for custody of persons charged with or convicted of crime in this state or
another state or under the laws of the United States or alleged or found to be a delinquent child or
unruly child in this state or another state or under the laws of the United States; hospitalization,
institutionalization, or confinement in any public or private facility that is ordered pursuant to or under
the authority of section 2945.37, 2945.371, 2945.38, 2945.39, 2945.40, 2945.401, or 2945.402 of the
Revised Code; confinement in any vehicle for transportation to or from any facility of any of those
natures; detention for extradition or deportation; except as provided in this division, supervision by any
employee of any facility of any of those natures that is incidental to hospitalization, institutionalization,
or confinement in the facility but that occurs outside the facility; supervision by an employee of the
department of rehabilitation and correction of a person on any type of release from a state correctional
institution; or confinement in any vehicle, airplane, or place while being returned from outside of this
state into this state by a private person or entity pursuant to a contract entered into under division (E)
of section 311.29 of the Revised Code or division (B) of section 5149.03 of the Revised Code. For a
person confined in a county jail who participates in a county jail industry program pursuant to section
5147.30 of the Revised Code, “detention” includes time spent at an assigned work site and going to
and from the work site.
(F) “Detention facility” means any public or private place used for the confinement of a person
charged with or convicted of any crime in this state or another state or under the laws of the United
States or alleged or found to be a delinquent child or unruly child in this state or another state or under
the laws of the United States.
(G) “Valuable thing or valuable benefit” includes, but is not limited to, a contribution. This inclusion
does not indicate or imply that a contribution was not included in those terms before September 17,
1986.
(H) “Campaign committee,” “contribution,” “political action committee,” “legislative campaign fund,”
“political party,” and “political contributing entity” have the same meanings as in section 3517.01 of
the Revised Code.
(I) “Provider agreement” and “medical assistance program” have the same meanings as in section
2913.40 of the Revised Code.
Section 2921.42
(A) No public official shall knowingly do any of the following:
(1) Authorize, or employ the authority or influence of the public official’s office to secure
authorization of any public contract in which the public official, a member of the public official’s
family, or any of the public official’s business associates has an interest;
(2) Authorize, or employ the authority or influence of the public official’s office to secure the
investment of public funds in any share, bond, mortgage, or other security, with respect to which the
public official, a member of the public official’s family, or any of the public official’s business


26
associates either has an interest, is an underwriter, or receives any brokerage, origination, or servicing
fees;
(3) During the public official’s term of office or within one year thereafter, occupy any position of
profit in the prosecution of a public contract authorized by the public official or by a legislative body,
commission, or board of which the public official was a member at the time of authorization, unless
the contract was let by competitive bidding to the lowest and best bidder;
(4) Have an interest in the profits or benefits of a public contract entered into by or for the use of the
political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality with which the public official is
connected;
(5) Have an interest in the profits or benefits of a public contract that is not let by competitive bidding
if required by law and that involves more than one hundred fifty dollars.
(B) In the absence of bribery or a purpose to defraud, a public official, member of a public official’s
family, or any of a public official’s business associates shall not be considered as having an interest in
a public contract or the investment of public funds, if all of the following apply:
(1) The interest of that person is limited to owning or controlling shares of the corporation, or being a
creditor of the corporation or other organization, that is the contractor on the public contract involved,
or that is the issuer of the security in which public funds are invested;
(2) The shares owned or controlled by that person do not exceed five per cent of the outstanding shares
of the corporation, and the amount due that person as creditor does not exceed five per cent of the total
indebtedness of the corporation or other organization;
(3) That person, prior to the time the public contract is entered into, files with the political subdivision
or governmental agency or instrumentality involved, an affidavit giving that person’s exact status in
connection with the corporation or other organization.
(C) This section does not apply to a public contract in which a public official, member of a public
official’s family, or one of a public official’s business associates has an interest, when all of the
following apply:
(1) The subject of the public contract is necessary supplies or services for the political subdivision or
governmental agency or instrumentality involved;
(2) The supplies or services are unobtainable elsewhere for the same or lower cost, or are being
furnished to the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality as part of a continuing
course of dealing established prior to the public official’s becoming associated with the political
subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality involved;
(3) The treatment accorded the political subdivision or governmental agency or instrumentality is
either preferential to or the same as that accorded other customers or clients in similar transactions;
(4) The entire transaction is conducted at arm’s length, with full knowledge by the political subdivision
or governmental agency or instrumentality involved, of the interest of the public official, member of
the public official’s family, or business associate, and the public official takes no part in the