SB 397: Enact the JobsOhio Transparency Act
The bill aims to increase transparency and accountability in the management of a state-funded nonprofit corporation. The corporation, named after Ohio, is established to promote economic development, job creation, and job retention. The bill requires the corporation to: * Comply with the auditor of state's responsibilities, including annual audits and reporting on employee compensation and finances. * Establish a board of directors with specific qualifications and terms, including a chairperson and an executive committee. * Adopt a strategic plan, establish a conflicts of interest policy, and hold regular board meetings. * Retain records and establish a records retention policy. * Ensure directors do not receive compensation from the corporation, except for expenses incurred in connection with their services. * Authorize the board to amend the corporation's articles of incorporation or…
| Mar. 25, 2026 | Referred to committee: Government Oversight and Reform |
| Mar. 23, 2026 | Introduced |
As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session
2025-2026
Senator DeMora
To amend sections 187.01, 187.04, and 4313.02 and ..... 1
to enact sections 117.57, 127.20, and 187.15 of ..... 2
the Revised Code to modify the law governing ..... 3
JobsOhio and to name this act the JobsOhio ..... 4
Transparency Act. ..... 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 187.01, 187.04, and 4313.02 be ..... 6
amended and sections 117.57, 127.20, and 187.15 of the Revised ..... 7
Code be enacted to read as follows: ..... 8
nonprofit corporation formed under section 187.01 of the Revised ..... 10
Code and any nonprofit entity the sole member of which is ..... 11
JobsOhio, once every two fiscal years.
In the biennial audit, inquiry shall be made into the methods, accuracy, and legality of the accounts, financial reports, records, files, and reports of the corporation, whether the laws, rules, ordinances, and orders pertaining to the corporation have been observed, and whether the requirements and rules of the auditor of state have been complied with. The audit shall be conducted in accordance with the applicable provisions of Chapter 117. of the Revised Code.
(a) The average salary of employees of the corporation;
(b) The total number of employees employed by the corporation;
(c) The number of employees that make at least four times the median per capita income of the state, as determined by the most recently available data from the United States census bureau.
The governor is hereby authorized to form a nonprofit corporation, to be named "JobsOhio," with the purposes of promoting economic development, job creation, job retention, job training, and the recruitment of business to this state. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the corporation shall be organized and operated in accordance with Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code. The governor shall sign and file articles of incorporation for the corporation with the secretary of state. The legal existence of the corporation shall begin upon the filing of the articles.
In addition to meeting the requirements for articles of incorporation in Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code, the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit corporation shall set forth the following:
(1) Adopt one or more resolutions providing for compensation of the chief investment officer;
(2) Approve an employee compensation plan recommended by the chief investment officer;
(3) Approve a contract with the director of development services for the corporation to assist the director and the department of development services agency with providing services or otherwise carrying out the functions or duties of the agencydepartment, including the operation and management of programs, offices, divisions, or boards, as may be determined by the director of development services in consultation with the governor;
(4) Approve all major contracts for services recommended by the chief investment officer;
(5) Establish an annual strategic plan and standards of measure to be used in evaluating the corporation's success in executing the plan;
(6) Establish a conflicts of interest policy that, at a minimum, complies with section 187.06 of the Revised Code;
(7) Hold a minimum of four board of directors meetings per year at which a quorum of the board is physically present, and such other meetings, at which directors' physical presence is not required, as may be necessary. Meetings at which a quorum of the board is required to be physically present are subject to divisions (C), (D), and (E) of section 187.03 of the Revised Code.
(8) Establish a records retention policy and present the policy, and any subsequent changes to the policy, at a meeting of the board of directors at which a quorum of the board is required to be physically present pursuant to division (F) (7) of this section;
(9) Adopt standards of conduct for the directors.
(1) Commencing with JobsOhio's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012, the financial statements to be audited are to be prepared in accordance with accounting principles and standards set forth in all applicable pronouncements of the governmental accounting standards board;
(2) The firm of independent certified public accountants hired is to conduct a supplemental compliance and control review pursuant to a written agreement by and among the firm, the auditor of state, JobsOhio, and any nonprofit entity the sole member of which is JobsOhio; and
(3) A copy of each financial audit report and each report of the results of the compliance and control review are to be provided to the governor, the auditor of state, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate.
for grants, loans, and tax incentives involving public money shall be between the agency-department and the recipient and shall be enforced by the agencydepartment. JobsOhio may not execute contracts obligating the agency-department for loans, grants, tax credits, or incentive awards recommended by JobsOhio to the agencydepartment. Prior to execution, all contracts between the director and JobsOhio entered into under this section that obligate the agency-department to pay JobsOhio for services rendered are subject to controlling board approval. The term of an initial contract entered into under this section shall not extend beyond June 30, 2013. Thereafter, the director and JobsOhio may renew the contract for subsequent fiscal biennia, but at no time shall a particular contract be effective for longer than a fiscal biennium of the general assembly.
JobsOhio's provision of services to the agency-department as described in this section shall be pursuant to a contract entered into under this section. If at any time the director determines that the contract with JobsOhio may not be renewed for the subsequent fiscal biennium, the director shall notify JobsOhio of the director's decision not later than one hundred twenty days prior to the end of the current fiscal biennium. If the director does not provide such written notice to JobsOhio prior to one hundred days before the end of the current fiscal biennium, the contract shall be renewed upon such terms as the parties may agree, subject to the requirements of this section.
(1) Terms assigning to the corporation the duties of advising and assisting the director in the director's evaluation of the agency-department and the formulation of recommendations under section 187.05 of the Revised Code;
(2) Terms designating records created or received by JobsOhio that shall be made available to the public under the same conditions as are public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code. Documents designated to be made available to the public pursuant to the contract shall be kept on file with the agencydepartment.
Among records to be designated under this division shall be the following:
(a) The corporation's federal income tax returns;
(b) The report of expenditures described in division (B) (3) of section 187.03 of the Revised Code. The records shall be filed with the agency-department at such times and frequency as agreed to by the corporation and the agencydepartment, which shall not be less frequently than quarterly.
(c) The annual total compensation paid to each officer and employee of the corporation;
(d) A copy of the report for each financial audit of the corporation and of each supplemental compliance and control review of the corporation performed by a firm of independent certified public accountants pursuant to division (J) of section 187.01 of the Revised Code.
(e) Records of any fully executed incentive proposals, to be filed annually;
(f) Records pertaining to the monitoring of commitments made by incentive recipients, to be filed annually;
(g) A copy of the minutes of all public meetings described in division (C) of section 187.03 of the Revised Code not otherwise closed to the public.
"JobsOhio shall have no power or authority to bind the state or to assume or create an obligation or responsibility, expressed or implied, on behalf of the state or in its name, nor shall JobsOhio represent to any person that it has any such power or authority, except as expressly provided in this contract."
(2) Records received by JobsOhio from any person or entity that is not subject to section 149.43 of the Revised Code are not public records for purposes of Chapter 149. of the Revised Code, regardless of who may have custody of the records, unless the record is designated to be available to the public by the contract under division (B) (2) of this section.
(3) Records received by JobsOhio from a public office as defined in section 149.011 of the Revised Code that are not public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code when in the custody of the public office are not public records for the purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code regardless of who has custody of the records.
(4) Division (B) of section 4701.19 of the Revised Code applies to any work papers of the firm of independent certified public accountants engaged to perform the annual financial audit and the supplemental compliance and control review described in division (J) of section 187.01 of the Revised Code, and to the financial audit report and any report of the supplemental compliance and control review, unless the record is designated to be available to the public by the contract under division (B) (2) of this section.
(1) Promoting and advocating for the state;
(2) Making recommendations to the agencydepartment;
(3) Performing research for the agencydepartment;
(4) Establishing and managing programs or offices on behalf of the agencydepartment, by contract;
(5) Negotiating on behalf of the state.
(A) The name of the corporation sponsored or the media partnered with;
(B) The dollar amount of funds provided to the corporation or media;
(C) The name of the individual who approved the partnership or sponsorship;
(D) A conflict of interest check;
(E) Whether any public employee or official was involved in the arrangement.
Any such transfer shall be treated as an absolute conveyance and true sale of the interest in the enterprise acquisition project purported to be conveyed for all purposes, and not as a pledge or other security interest. The characterization of any such transfer as a true sale and absolute conveyance shall not be negated or adversely affected by the acquisition or retention by the state of a residual or reversionary interest in the enterprise acquisition project, the participation of any state officer or employee as a member or officer of, or contracting for staff support to, JobsOhio or any subsidiary of JobsOhio, any regulatory responsibility of an officer or employee of the state, including the authority to collect amounts to be received in connection therewith, the retention of the state of any legal title to or interest in any portion of the enterprise acquisition project for the purpose of regulatory activities, or any characterization of JobsOhio or obligations of JobsOhio under accounting, taxation, or securities regulations, or any other reason whatsoever. An absolute conveyance and true sale or lease shall exist under this section regardless of whether JobsOhio has any recourse against the state or the treatment or characterization of the transfer as a financing for any purpose.
Upon and following the transfer, the state shall not have any right, title, or interest in the enterprise acquisition project so transferred other than any residual interest that may be described in the transfer agreement pursuant to the following paragraph and division (D) of this section. Any determination of the fair market value of the enterprise acquisition project reflected in the transfer agreement shall be conclusive and binding on the state and JobsOhio.
Any transfer of the enterprise acquisition project that is a lease or grant of a franchise shall be for a term not to exceed twenty-five years. Any transfer of the enterprise acquisition project that is an assignment and sale, conveyance, or other transfer shall contain a provision that the state shall have the option to have conveyed or transferred back to it, at no cost, the enterprise acquisition project, as it then exists, no later than twenty-five years after the original transfer authorized in the transfer agreement on such other terms as shall be provided in the transfer agreement. The state, at any time and upon agreement with JobsOhio, may extend the original transfer agreement of the enterprise acquisition project for an additional fifteen years from the end of the original term by entering into a new agreement in accordance with this chapter. For this extension to take effect, the extension shall be approved by the controlling board.
The exercise of the powers granted by this section will be for the benefit of the people of the state. All or any portion of the enterprise acquisition project transferred pursuant to the transfer agreement that would be exempt from real property taxes or assessments or real property taxes or assessments in the absence of such transfer shall, as it may from time to time exist thereafter, remain exempt from real property taxes or assessments levied by the state and its subdivisions to the same extent as if not transferred. The gross receipts and income of JobsOhio derived from the enterprise acquisition project shall be exempt from taxation levied by the state and its subdivisions, including, but not limited to, the taxes levied pursuant to Chapters 718., 5739., 5741., 5747., and 5751. of the Revised Code. Any transfer from the state to JobsOhio of the enterprise acquisition project, or item included or to be included in the project, shall be exempt from the taxes levied pursuant to Chapters 5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code.
(a) There is at least one public hearing on the extension.
(b) There is an independent valuation of the enterprise acquisition project to determine its fair market value.
(c) In the agreement providing for the extension, JobsOhio agrees to pay, in exchange for the extension, an amount equal to at least the fair market value of the enterprise acquisition project determined under division (A) (2) (b) of this section.
(1) Funding, payment, or defeasance of outstanding bonds issued pursuant to Chapters 151. and 166. of the Revised Code and secured by pledged liquor profits as defined in section 151.40 of the Revised Code;
(2) Deposit into the general revenue fund;
(3) Deposit into the innovation Ohio loan fund created pursuant to section 166.16 of the Revised Code, the research and development loan fund created pursuant to section 166.20 of the Revised Code, and the logistics and distribution infrastructure fund created pursuant to section 166.26 of the Revised Code;
(4) Conveyance to JobsOhio for the purposes for which it was created.
The transfer agreement may provide or authorize the manner for determining material impairment of the security for any such outstanding obligations, including by assessing and evaluating the revenues of the enterprise acquisition project.
The director of budget and management and the director of commerce shall execute the transfer agreement on behalf of the state. The director of budget and management may also, without need for any other approval, retain or contract for the services of commercial appraisers, underwriters, investment bankers, and financial advisers, as are necessary in the judgment of the director of budget and management to effect the transfer agreement. Any transfer agreement may contain terms and conditions established by the state to carry out and effectuate the purposes of this section, including, without limitation, covenants binding the state in favor of JobsOhio. Any such transfer agreement shall be sufficient to effectuate the transfer without regard to any other laws governing other property sales or financial transactions by the state. The director of budget and management may create any funds or accounts, within or without the state treasury, as are needed for the transactions and activities authorized by this section.
Ownership of the interest in the enterprise acquisition project that is transferred to JobsOhio under this section and the transfer agreement shall be maintained in JobsOhio or a nonprofit entity the sole member of which is JobsOhio until the enterprise acquisition project is transferred back to the state pursuant to the second paragraph of division (A) and division (D) of this section.
The contract shall establish other terms and conditions for the assignment of duties to, and the provision of advice, services, and other assistance by, the division of liquor control, including providing for the necessary staffing and payment by JobsOhio of appropriate compensation to the division for the performance of such duties and the provision of such advice, services, and other assistance. The division of liquor control shall manage and actively supervise the activities required or authorized under sections 4301.10 and 4301.17 of the Revised Code as those sections exist on September 29, 2011, including, but not limited to, controlling the traffic in intoxicating liquor in this state and fixing the wholesale and retail prices at which the various classes, varieties, and brands of spirituous liquor are sold.
The payments from JobsOhio shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the liquor operating services fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund shall be used to pay for the operations of the division specified in this division.
The chief investment officer shall, at or before that time, submit, in writing, the following information to the chairpersons and ranking minority members of each of those committees:
(1) A summary of each project that received funding from JobsOhio in the preceding twelve months;
(2) The amount of funding that each such project received;
(3) The county in which the project was located or in which it primarily operated.
Section 2. That existing sections 187.01, 187.04, and 4313.02 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. This act shall be known as the JobsOhio Transparency Act.
S. B. No. 397
As Introduced