For more information, contact:
Ohio Ethics Commission
(614) 466-7090

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS DIRECTORS TO FILE DISCLOSURE

The Ohio Ethics Commission has announced that directors of community-based corrections agencies providing local corrections services will be required to file annual Financial Disclosure Statements. Disclosure statements are filed by many public officials to identify and help protect against conflicts of interest that may be encountered in the expenditure and administration of public funds.

The announcement follows the Ethics Commission’s review at its August meeting of recently-passed legislation (Amended Substitute House Bill 162). The legislation revised the operation and administration of local correction agencies and enhanced ethics requirements. It is effective October 12, 2006. Based upon the legislation, the Ethics Commission unanimously voted to require those serving as community-based corrections facilities directors to file Financial Disclosure Statements.

Community-based corrections facility directors must submit the first disclosure statement, covering 2005, within 90 days of the effective date of the legislation. The next statement for 2006 will be due on April 16, 2007; annual statements will be filed thereafter. These disclosures will be available for public review and report information for the duration of the prior calendar year.

Commission members emphasized the importance of ethics protections against conflicts of interest and the disclosure of potential conflicts for those who perform significant public duties paid for by Ohio citizens. Commission members also took the opportunity to acknowledge the valuable and often unnoticed contribution these agencies make to public safety. “Public agencies providing local corrections services are extremely effective, and provide a significant benefit to their communities and the entire state,” Commission Chairman Sarah Brown stated.

The Ohio Ethics Commission is an independent state agency that applies and administers the Ethics Law for state and local public officials and employees outside of the General Assembly and judiciary. The Commission was created more than 30 years ago upon the enactment of the Ohio Ethics Law in 1973.

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