Section 102.05. Ohio ethics commission created

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 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.

Effective Date: 03-02-1994