House Democrats Hold Press Conference Outlining Legislation to Stop Political Corruption in Ohio

COLUMBUS — State Reps. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake), Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati), Desiree Tims (D-Dayton), and Chris Glassburn (D-North Olmsted) today held a press conference announcing several bills that take aim at the culture of corruption at the Ohio Statehouse. 

The recent HBO documentary "The Dark Money Game" highlighted the secretive, dark money campaign finance practices that ultimately led to the House Bill (HB) 6 scandal, a $60 million dark money bribery scheme that federal authorities later described as “one of the largest public corruption conspiracies in Ohio history.” To this date, not one campaign finance or ethics reform has been passed that better protects Ohioans from future public corruption scandals.

“The FBI showed everyone how dark money directly led to one of the largest public corruption conspiracies in Ohio history, yet nearly 5 years later we still haven’t passed a single law that would prevent it from happening again,” said Rep. Sweeney. “Our legislation is simple: shine a light, follow the money, and let voters see who’s trying to influence them. Ohioans deserve to have transparency and accountability from their elected leaders.”

The legislation introduced today include:

Ohio Anti-Corruption Act (Sweeney, Isaacsohn)

• Close Secret Money Loopholes - Non-profit corporations like 501(c)(4)s and limited liability companies (LLCs) have become vehicles for big money special interests to hide their spending. These companies currently do not have to disclose their funders. The Ohio Anti-Corruption Act closes these loopholes, requiring corporations and LLCs to disclose contributions meant to influence elections.
• Increase Transparency – The Ohio Anti-Corruption Act will strengthen disclosure by requiring corporations and LLCs to tell us more about their true owners and the actual source of funds behind the deceptively benign names of their organizations. The integrity of our democracy depends on transparency and accountability.
• Strengthen Ban on Foreign Money – Foreign money in our elections corrupts our systems, but we haven’t addressed the most common forms of interference. When LLCs hide their true owners or when 501(c)(4)s keep their contributors secret, we don’t know if foreign actors are behind the spending. The Ohio Anti-Corruption Act would close that loophole and ban domestic companies with foreign owners and decision makers from spending in our elections.

“Ohioans deserve a trustworthy government and lawmakers who serve the public interest. Since the HB 6 scandal, the legislature has failed to rebuild that trust. We need transparency around dark money and safeguards to prevent major donors from profiting off taxpayer funded contracts. These bills aim to restore integrity to the Statehouse—because we can’t wait any longer,”  said Rep. Isaacsohn.

The Prohibit Harassment of Petition Circulators Act (Sweeney/Glassburn)

• Amend an existing section of the Ohio Revised Code (3599.13) to prohibit anyone from interfering with an initiative, referendum, recall, or any other petition filed for the purpose of submitting a question, issue, or candidate to the voters at an election.
• Would bar anyone from seeking by harassment, threat, intimidation, or compensation to influence any person to refrain from signing such a petition or to refrain from circulating such a petition; 
• Would bar anyone from compensating any person in exchange for the person violating the above code; 
• Would bar anyone authorizing or directing an employee, as part of the employee's job duties, to violate the above code; 
• Would bar anyone from compensating any person in exchange for the person agreeing to refrain from causing another person to circulate a petition.

“The ability to petition your government for relief is a basic right. Ohioans deserve to sign petitions in peace without harassment by paid thugs.  It's outrageous that paid intimidation and bribery are not already banned uses of campaign funds,” said Rep. Glassburn. 

Prevent “Pay-to-Play” in State Contracting and Public Financing (Isaacsohn/Tims)

• Broadening the definition of covered individuals in contracts to include executives, major owners, spouses, and affiliated PACs.
• Prohibiting campaign contributions from contractors and key personnel during the bidding, term of the contract, and two years afterward.
• Mandating public registration and subsequent quarterly contribution updates from the relevant personnel in any ongoing contract.
• Allows the state to cancel contracts awarded through illegal pay-to-play means. 

“Our bill is about democracy and putting people first. When Ohioans visit the ballot box they have a right to representation that is not for sale. The pay to play corporate practices in exchange for taxpayer dollars via government contracts is unjust. This is not about a documentary, but instead about the people of Ohio,” said Rep. Tims.

House Democrats believe in fighting to restore transparency and accountability to Ohio elections and declaring once and for all: Ohio’s legislature is not for sale.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Pictures from Wednesday’s news conference is attached to this press release. Courtesy: Ohio House Democrats. The press conference in full can be viewed here.