Ohio Attorney General Proposes Transparency Rules for Charities
Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro is proposing new state rules designed to make charitable organizations, including most hospitals, more open and accountable to their donors and the public. He invites public comment on the rules until July 28 before submitting a final draft on August 1 to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. To quote the part of the proposal fack sheet (pdf) most relevant to Hospital Buyer readers:
“The proposed rules provide a recommended Conflict of Interest Policy to be adopted by charitable organizations and would require annual reporting of whether such a policy has been adopted and followed. If not, reporting by larger charitable organizations would be required of incidents in which transactions or business dealings involving conflicts of interest have been approved. The requirements would make board members more carefully consider such transactions before approving them and allow the Attorney General and the public greater scrutiny of the transactions. The proposal is aimed at reducing the potential for conflicts of interest of directors and executives doing business with the charities they serve. Although some business dealings with “insiders” are unavoidable and may even be beneficial to a charity, the proposed rules are aimed at the potential for dealings designed for the financial benefit of the insider.”
See the whole chapter on conflicts of interest here (pdf). All charitable organizations will be encouraged to file the new annual report instead of simply providing the Attorney General with a copy of their financial report required by IRS, as they are allowed to under current state laws.
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July 1, 2006 Related topics: Legal & legislative, Ethics & Scandals