COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has announced his office found no evidence of law violations related to a Wright State University consultant’s possible status as a lobbyist.
The question was whether Ron Wine, head of Ron Wine Consulting Group and consultant to the university, needed to register as a lobbyist. The Joint Legislative Ethics Commission mandates individuals paid to advocate client needs before the state must register as a lobbyist if that portion of their job exceeds 5 percent of their legislative lobbying workload or 25 percent of their workload for time spent lobbying the executive branch.
Interviews of Wine and examinations of his calendar, phone records and other documents showed that Wine’s workload related to this matter was less than 1 percent.
Ohio Legislative Inspector General Tony Bledsoe requested the state look into the matter. Attorneys from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and Bureau Criminal Investigation handled the case.