Bipartisan JobsOhio oversight bill gets first hearing

A bipartisan measure creating new oversight for JobsOhio got its first hearing Tuesday. The bid for greater transparency comes after a podcast scandal that cost the former Ohio State University president his job. But the drumbeat began before that incident.

Former Gov. John Kasich structured the economic development agency as a nonprofit private corporation. JobsOhio holds the state’s liquor franchise and uses the proceeds to fund job creation efforts. But because it’s a private entity, JobsOhio isn’t subject to state sunshine laws.

There has always been grumbling about that lack of oversight. But until recently, Republican officials had largely defended the secrecy as crucial to landing deals with prospective companies.

Cracks began showing early last year. The Ohio Controlling Board considered an early extension of JobsOhio’s liquor franchise that would grant it control through 2053. The deal would cost the corporation nothing, and Attorney General Dave Yost publicly called on JobsOhio leaders to table the effort until they could provide Ohioans “proper consideration and a full explanation.”

The Controlling Board approved the extension in Feb. 2025.

Ohio state Rep. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, was sitting on the controlling board at the time, and the motion was approved over his objection. He’s now one of the sponsors backing the JobsOhio Transparency Act.

Rader stressed that he and his co-sponsor, Ohio state Rep. Justin Pizzulli, R-Scioto County, aren’t trying to hobble the corporation.

“JobsOhio can operate how they operate today under this bill,” Rader said. “It just after the fact, it allows us to see better how these things are being done, and what outcomes there are, and better tracking, better transparency, better accountability.”

“The bottom line here is this,” he added. “This bill is not about whether JobsOhio is successful or unsuccessful, it’s about whether Ohioans can evaluate that success for themselves.”

In a statement, JobsOhio Press Secretary Matt Engelhart said “JobsOhio appreciates our strong working relationship with state legislative leaders. We are committed to maintain our best-in-class transparency while ensuring Ohio remains competitive for economic development opportunities.”

New oversight

JobsOhio already faces regular auditing and produces annual reports. But critics complain the audits don’t reveal enough about JobsOhio’s inner workings, and the reports only describe outcomes in the aggregate.

Ohio House Bill 779 would replace that oversight with the standard two-year audits any other state agency or public entity receives from the Ohio Auditor. In addition, JobsOhio officials would testify annually before state lawmakers to detail the projects that received funding, how much they got, and where they’re located.

In an apparent response to the podcast scandal, the bill also requires JobsOhio to disclose information about any corporate sponsorships or media partners.

“If we can shine light on an organization,” Pizzulli said, “it gives public trust and transparency. I truly believe that had this bill been passed, we wouldn’t have seen such an embarrassment happen to our state.”

He explained he represents one of the poorest districts in the state and his constituents feel “a little offended” at the waste of money.

“Imagine what could have been done to a place like Scioto County and our local economic development had we been given $50,000 to help a few good paying jobs to lift people up out of poverty,” Pizzulli said.

The measure makes changes to future extensions of the liquor franchise as well. Rader explained legislative researchers estimated the most recent extension was worth roughly $16 billion. The proposal would require JobsOhio to pay fair market value for any future franchise rights.

Why it’s needed

Ohio state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, wasn’t buying Pizzulli and Raders’ skepticism. He put it bluntly: have we increased jobs or had a net loss of jobs since JobsOhio began?

Rader and Pizzulli acknowledged there are more jobs now, but said JobsOhio’s role in creating them is murky. Rader described how a company in his district was getting ready to buy a $1.2 million piece of equipment. JobsOhio cut a check for a couple thousand dollars and then claimed credit for creating jobs.

The company is “very appreciative” Rader said, but the public deserves “a much more detailed, granular understanding of how these public dollars are being spent.”

Plummer seemed fine with a bit more transparency — “I don’t mind tweaking some things and flipping over a few rocks.” But he seemed unmoved by the sponsors’ doubts.

“They’ve been very successful in my opinion,” Plummer said.

Pizzulli and Rader contend there’s nothing wrong with JobsOhio’s mission, and if it’s doing as well as it claims, greater oversight will only bolster its reputation.

But the sponsors worry it’s not actually providing an adequate return on investment. Pizzulli described pitching JobsOhio to help with his local economic development agency, a major employer in his district, and a regional infrastructure strategy. Each time they turned him down.

“At some point, after enough conversations lead to nowhere, you begin asking a simple question,” he said. “Who exactly is Jobs Ohio accountable to?”

The information JobsOhio does share, “looks great on paper,” Pizzulli admitted, but he’s not sure it bears scrutiny.

“When you look closer, many of these projects were already happening independently before JobsOhio became involved,” he said. “In several cases, it appeared that a check was written after the fact, and the project was then counted as a JobsOhio success.”

People all over the state buy alcohol. But when Pizzulli sees his community continuing to lag behind others, he wonders whether JobsOhio “is truly serving all regions of Ohio equally or primarily concentrating resources in areas already experiencing growth and momentum.”

“My constituents are not asking for special treatment,” he said. “We’re just asking to not be forgotten.”