Gift Made with Intent to Influence
102.03 Restrictions During and After Employment; Bribery Prohibited; Honorarium for Personal Appearance; Reimbursement for Travel Expenses; Membership in Organizations; Activities Related to Gaming
(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)
- 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 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.
- 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 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 the public official’s or employee’s 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.
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 102.03(D)-(J).
Extra Compensation for Official Duties
102.04 Unauthorized Compensation Prohibited; Restricted Transactions; Exemptions
(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.
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 102.04(A).
2921.43 Soliciting or Receiving Improper Compensation
(A) No public servant shall knowingly solicit or accept and no person shall knowingly promise or give to a public servant either of the following:
- Any compensation, other than as allowed by divisions (G), (H), and (I) of section 102.03 of the Revised Code or other provisions of law, to perform the public servant’s official duties, to perform any other act or service in the public servant’s public capacity, for the general performance of the duties of the public servant’s public office or public employment, or as a supplement to the public servant’s public compensation;
- Additional or greater fees or costs than are allowed by law to perform the public servant’s official duties.
(B) No public servant for the public servant’s own personal or business use and no person for the person’s own personal or business use or for the personal or business use of a public servant or party official, shall solicit or accept anything of value in consideration of either of the following:
- Appointing or securing, maintaining, or renewing the appointment of any person to any public office, employment, or agency;
- Preferring, or maintaining the status of, any public employee with respect to compensation, duties, placement, location, promotion, or other material aspects of employment.
(C) No person for the benefit of a political party, campaign committee, legislative campaign fund, political action committee, or political contributing entity shall coerce any contribution in consideration of either of the following:
- Appointing or securing, maintaining, or renewing the appointment of any person to any public office, employment, or agency;
- Preferring, or maintaining the status of, any public employee with respect to compensation, duties, placement, location, promotion, or other material aspects of employment.
(D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of soliciting improper compensation, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2921.43(A)-(D).
Gift Regardless of Giver Status
No current state statute or regulation falls under the category of “Gift Regardless of Giver’s Status.”
Gift from Lobbyist or Regulated Entity
102.031 Restrictions on General Assembly Members Dealing with Legislative Agents
(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:
- The payment of any expenses for travel or lodging except as otherwise authorized by division (H) of section 102.03 of the Revised Code;
- 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;
- 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.
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 102.031(C), (D).
Definitions and Exceptions
Please see above sections for statute specific definitions and exceptions.
Notes/Resources
Resource(s)
