Ex-ohio Senate leader Niehaus admits to ethics violation
Niehaus turned himself in for failing to disclose lobbying clients
Former Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus has admitted an ethics violation after turning himself in for failing to disclose lobbying clients while serving on the board of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority.
Niehaus, a Republican from New Richmond who served as Senate president in 2011-13, reached a settlement approved by the Ohio Ethics Commission last month in which he received a reprimand for violating ethics laws.
Niehaus served on the board of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, which issues bonds and makes loans to businesses for projects to reduce pollution, from March 2013 to October 2019, when he resigned.
The ethics investigation uncovered no evidence that Niehaus’ actions benefited any of his lobbying clients while he served on the authority’s board, according to the settlement agreement.
Niehaus, a principal and lobbyist with Vorys Advisers, requested an advisory opinion from the ethics commission about potential conflicts between two clients, a recently enacted law and his continued service on the air quality board in August 2019.
He then advised the ethics commission that while he had disclosed 184 lobbying clients, he inadvertently failed to file reports on his representation of 17 other clients before the General Assembly and other state agencies over the course of six years.
“Niehaus was cooperative with the investigation, he recognized his oversight in not being in compliance ... and he made efforts to correct the situation through self-reporting and submission of the statements. In addition, Niehaus made no excuses for the oversight and stated he should have been more aware of the filing requirements,” the settlement agreement stated.
rludlow@dispatch.com