Bill
HB 824
Deploying elected officials may be treated as excused absence, preserving pay, seniority, and status, with clear filing rules and accountability for false deployment claims.
Title: Allow deployed elected official to retain the official's position
Purpose and intent
- The bill seeks to permit an elected official who is deployed on active military duty to retain the official’s position without being considered absent, forfeiting, or failing to perform duties due to deployment.
- It adds deployment on active duty as a presumptively valid justification for absence, and provides specific protections and filing requirements to preserve the official’s status, compensation, and seniority.
Key provisions and changes
1) Misconduct and removal procedures (Section 3.07)
- Maintains existing grounds for misconduct in office (e.g., willful overreach, neglect of duty, malfeasance).
- Adds that proceedings for forfeiture of office are in addition to impeachment and other removal methods and do not restrict gubernatorial or other authorities’ removal jurisdiction.
2) Attendance-related forfeiture (Section 3.17)
- Currently allows forfeiture for failure to attend at least 3/5 of meetings over a two-year period (for boards, commissions, councils, etc., excluding General Assembly and judges).
3) Active-duty deployment protections (New Section 3.171)
- Defines key terms: active duty, armed forces, elected official, public body.
- Protections for deployed elected officials (division B):
- Absence due to deployment is treated as excused for meeting-attendance purposes.
- Deemed not absent for purposes of vacancy rules.
- Not considered to have committed nonfeasance or failed duties due to deployment.
- Compensation, benefits, and seniority cannot be reduced or withheld due to deployment.
- Conditions for eligibility (division C):
- (C)(1)(a) Advance written deployment notice when practicable; otherwise notice as soon as reasonably possible.
- (C)(1)(b) Documentation of deployment (dates, etc.) when available; documentation may be redacted for sensitive info and may include orders, verification from commanding officer, pay/duty docs, or other credible evidence.
- (C)(2) Filing requirements specify where to file notices/documentation depending on the office (e.g., Secretary of State, clerk of the Senate/House, court clerks, county/city officials, school boards, etc.).
- (C)(3) Notices of deployment are public records (deployment documents are not public records but filing date is public).
- Misuse penalties (Division D): Filing false deployment notices or docs with intent to obtain unentitled benefits constitutes misconduct in office and removal proceedings may be used.
- Supersession and rules (Division E-F): Section supersedes conflicting local charters/policies but preserves enhanced protections; deployment is considered presumptively valid for absence rules; each house is encouraged to adopt compatible rules.
4) County officer provisions (Section 305.03)
- If a county officer fails to perform duties for 30 consecutive days (absent unless sickness/injury), office may be deemed vacant with certain procedures.
- Absence due to sickness/injury requires medical certificate; prolonged absence triggers vacancy.
- If two county commissioners are absent, the coroner may act as acting county commissioner with corresponding bonding and oath.
- This section explicitly states it does not apply to active-duty military service when 3.171 applies.
5) Township officer absence (Section 503.241)
- Similar vacancy rules for township officers absent 90 consecutive days or residing outside the township; excludes active military service protected by 3.171.
6) Board of Education vacancies (Section 3313.11)
- Addresses vacancies in boards of education due to death, nonresidence, resignation, etc., with rules that align with existing processes and 3.171 for deployed officials.
Effective measures and filing
- Notices and deployment documentation must be filed with designated offices depending on the elected position.
- Some deployment documentation is public; others are confidential but with public-facing filing dates.
- Addresses potential false filings and outlines removal procedures for improper notices.
Who is affected
- Elected officials at the state and political subdivision levels who are deployed on active duty (including governors, legislators, statewide constitutional officers, judges, school boards, and various other public bodies).
- Public bodies and electoral offices that rely on attendance rules and vacancy procedures.
Timeline and procedural notes
- If enacted, the deployment protections would apply prospectively to deployments, with required notice and documentation timelines as outlined above.
- The bill references existing removal and vacancy procedures (Sections 3.07–3.10) and clarifies interplay with those processes.
- It repeals certain existing provisions and integrates new deployment-related rules into the Revised Code sections cited.
Overall impact
- Strengthens job security for deployed elected officials by treating deployment as an excused absence, protecting compensation/seniority, and preventing automatic vacancies or findings of nonfeasance due to deployment.
- Creates clear filing and documentation requirements to verify deployment.
- Balances protections for deployed officials with accountability by allowing for misconduct/removal if false deployment claims are made.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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