(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today submitted an annual report to the Ohio General Assembly regarding business entities that were granted economic development awards from the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) with performance periods ending in 2010 detailing the extent those entities complied with the terms and conditions of the awards they received.
“In these challenging economic times, it is critical that Ohioans know whether companies receiving public money or tax credits from the Ohio Department of Development are delivering on their promises,” said Attorney General DeWine. “I am pleased to provide this analysis of our findings to provide a benchmark for performance and to ensure transparency for Ohio taxpayers.”
In December of 2008 the Ohio General Assembly enacted a measure directing the Ohio Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to monitor the performance of businesses accepting state awards for economic development from ODOD. The Attorney General’s Office conducted a three-phase review of the active economic development awards administered by ODOD. In the first phase, the AGO identified all 2,990 active economic development awards in which incentives are characterized as Grants, Tax Credits, Loans, and Workforce Guarantee awards. In the second phase, the AGO audited the information reported by ODOD to assess its reliability. And, in the third phase, the AGO identified those businesses which were subject to specific performance metrics and for which an ODOD compliance determination was possible.
Among all active awards, the performance periods for 420 awards ended in 2010. The businesses receiving the 420 awards were obligated to file a closeout report covering calendar year 2010. After examining the information provided in the closeout reports and determining whether the businesses met the terms and conditions of their state awards, ODOD reported to the AGO that businesses receiving 220 awards did comply and businesses receiving 200 awards did not. This represents an overall compliance rate of 52.4 percent.
–30–
Documents
2011 Report to the General Assembly: Business Entity Compliance with State Awards for Economic Development (PDF)
Media Contacts
Lisa Hackley: 614-466-3840
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840