Merit Institute Merit

The Ohio Government Transparency & Performance Act (OH-GT&P)

Ohio state companion to GT&P. Extends Department of Administrative Services (O.R.C. Ch. 124), Ohio Public Records Act (Sec. 149.43), and Ohio Medicaid Fraud provisions (O.R.C. Sec. 5164.35 et seq.).

THE OHIO GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY & PERFORMANCE ACT (OH-GT&P)

Vehicle: State passage. Ohio General Assembly, regular session. Primary referral to House / Senate State and Local Government / Finance.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “Ohio Government Transparency & Performance Act (OH-GT&P).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The General Assembly finds that Ohio’s State Personnel System operates under O.R.C. Ch. 124; that the Ohio Public Records Act operates under O.R.C. Sec. 149.43; that the Office of Budget and Management administers the Executive Budget under O.R.C. Ch. 126; that the Legislative Service Commission provides fiscal analysis under O.R.C. Ch. 103; that Ohio does not have a general False Claims Act but recovers Medicaid fraud under O.R.C. Sec. 5164.35 et seq. (Medicaid false claims); and that the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit operates under the Office of the Attorney General pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396b(q). This Act extends these frameworks.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH OHIO LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “OH-OBM” means the Office of Budget and Management.
  2. (b) “Publicly visible outcome” means a metric published under Sec. 201.
  3. (c) “MFCA” means Ohio’s Medicaid fraud-recovery authority under O.R.C. Sec. 5164.35 et seq.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing Ohio Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • O.R.C. Ch. 124 (State Personnel).
  • O.R.C. Sec. 149.43 (Public Records).
  • O.R.C. Ch. 126 (Office of Budget and Management).
  • O.R.C. Sec. 5164.35 et seq. (Medicaid fraud).

TITLE II — OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING

Sec. 201. Outcome Metrics for Covered Programs

  1. (a) Each covered program in the Executive Budget shall publish at least three outcome metrics.
  2. (b) The Office of Budget and Management shall publish the Ohio Outcome Dashboard in machine-readable form.

Sec. 202. Fiscal-Note Outcome Integration

  1. (a) Legislative Service Commission fiscal notes shall identify outcome metrics from Sec. 201.

TITLE III — CIVIL-SERVICE MERIT PROTECTIONS

Sec. 301. Codification of Performance-Standards Protections

  1. (a) O.R.C. Ch. 124 is amended so that nothing precludes policy-influencing-position classifications with publicly posted performance standards.
  2. (b) Classifications consistent with O.R.C. Sec. 124.11 (unclassified service).

TITLE IV — OHIO MEDICAID FRAUD QUI TAM (MFCA Rewire)

Sec. 401. Medicaid Fraud Qui Tam Authority

  1. (a) Given that Ohio does not have a general False Claims Act, this Title operates as a Medicaid-specific qui tam authority under O.R.C. Sec. 5164.35 et seq. and in coordination with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396b(q).

Sec. 402. Credentialing and Outcome-Data Fraud

  1. (a) A person presenting a materially false or fraudulent claim involving OHRMC, Federal FRAC, OH-OBSA outcome data, or Medicaid-related credential claims is liable to the State for a civil penalty and treble damages.

Sec. 403. Whistleblower Award

  1. (a) A whistleblower whose information leads to recovery shall receive between 15 and 30 percent of the State recovery, as determined by the Attorney General.

TITLE V — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 502. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect 90 days following enactment.

Canonical federal version: GT&P. Other Ohio bills: OH-ACSA, OH-MEWRA, OH-AI-Workforce.