Reps. Schuring and Greenspan Introduce Legislation Aimed at Protecting Taxpayer Dollars

COLUMBUS—State Representatives Kirk Schuring (R-Canton) and Dave Greenspan (R-Westlake) today introduced House Bill 312, which would require local governments to establish credit card policies to protect tax dollars. The bill would:

• Require all government entities to enact a credit card policy detailing allowable uses, number of cards, who can use them, credit limits, and reissue periods
• Require for some governmental entities that accounts and policies be reviewed regularly by an appointed compliance officer other than the treasurer of the government entity
• Ban the use of debit cards, except for certain law-enforcement purposes
• Authorize the Auditor of State to create rules for the disclosure and audit of credit card rewards accrued by local governments

“This legislation encourages and promotes additional transparency and oversight for spending Ohioans’ tax dollars, while affirming a responsive and responsible form of governing,” said Rep. Greenspan.

“I’m honored to be a part of Auditor Yost’s efforts to put safeguards around the use of credit cards by local governments, and I want to commend him for the time he has taken to develop the framework for this legislation,” said Rep. Schuring. “Without the checks and balances that are incorporated in this bill, there is potential exposure for local governments to negligently use or abuse credit cards in a way that will ultimately cost taxpayer dollars.” 

Click here to view a summary of the proposed legislation.

An interactive map of credit and debit card misuse is available here.