Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
The office of the Ohio attorney general, consumer protection
section shall be comprised of administrative, education and community outreach,
investigative, legal, consumer
assistance ,and economic crimes divisions. It shall be the
function of these divisions to:
(A)
Adopt, amend, and repeal procedural rules;
(B) Make available for public inspection all
rules and all other written statements of policy or interpretations adopted or
used by the office of the attorney general, consumer protection section in the
discharge of its functions, together with all judgments, including supporting
opinions, by courts of this state that determine the rights of the parties and
concerning which appellate remedies have been exhausted, or lost by the
expiration of the time for appeal, determining that specific acts or practices
violate section 1345.02 or
1345.03 of the Revised
Code;
(C) Inform consumers and
suppliers on a continuing basis of acts or practices which violate section
1345.02 or
1345.03 of the Revised
Code;
(D) Cooperate with state and
local officials, officials of other states, and officials of the federal
government in the administration of comparable statutes;
(E) Report annually on or before the first
day of January to the governor and general assembly on the operations of the
office of the attorney general, consumer protection section in respect to
sections 1345.01 to
1345.13 of the Revised Code, and
on the acts or practices occurring in this state that violate such sections.
The report shall include a statement of investigatory and enforcement
procedures and policies, of the number of investigations and enforcement
proceedings instituted and other activities of the state and of other persons
to promote the purposes of sections
1345.01 to
1345.13 of the Revised
Code;
(F) Conduct research, make
inquiries, hold public hearings, and publish studies relating to consumer
transactions;
(G) Adopt, amend, and
repeal substantive rules defining with reasonable specificity acts or practices
which violate sections
1345.02 and
1345.03 of the Revised
Code;
(H) Without limiting the
scope of activities of the consumer protection section of the office of the
attorney general, and without limiting the responsibilities of each of the
divisions of the consumer protection section, the following shall constitute
the duties of each division:
(1) The
administrative division shall:
(a) Direct and
supervise the overall planning and operation of the consumer protection
section;
(b) Propose the adoption,
amendment, or rescission of procedural rules concerning the internal management
of consumer protection section;
(c)
Promulgate substantive rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised
Code which define acts or practices which violate sections
1345.02 and
1345.03 of the Revised
Code;
(d) Recommend to the attorney
general appropriate disposition of petitions requesting adoption, amendment or
repeal of substantive rules that are submitted pursuant to division (E) of
section 1345.05 of the Revised
Code;
(e) Cooperate with state and
local officials, officials of other states, and officials of the federal
government in the administration of laws comparable to those set forth in rule 109:4-1-02 of the Administrative Code;
(f) Report
annually on or before the first day of January to the governor and the general
assembly on the operations of the office of the attorney general, consumer
protection section in respect to sections
1345.01 to
1345.13 of the Revised Code, and
on the acts or practices occurring in this state that violate such sections.
The report shall include a statement of investigation and enforcement
procedures and policies, of the number of investigations and enforcement
proceedings instituted and of their disposition, and other activities of the
state and of other persons to promote the purposes of sections
1345.01 to
1345.13 of the Revised
Code.
(2) The
investigative and complaint division shall:
(a) Receive and process complaints made by
persons concerning events over which the consumer protection section has
jurisdiction;
(b) Conduct
investigations of matters coming to the attention of the consumer protection
section by complaints or through its own inquiries to determine whether a
person or group of persons is complying with those laws referred to in rule 109:4-1-02 of the Administrative Code;
(c) Recommend
to the administrative division, based upon information received by it, that an
enforcement proceeding against a person or group of persons be instituted to
effectuate the purposes of those laws referred to in rule 109:4-1-02 of the Administrative Code;
(d)
Participate in fact-finding and investigatory hearings to determine consumer
problems, aid in the preparation of substantive rules, aid in the resolution of
complaints, when appropriate, and aid in the preparation of enforcement
proceedings when appropriate.
(3) The legal division shall:
(a) Make recommendations to the
administrative division of enforcement proceedings which should be taken where
it appears that a violation of those laws referred to in rule 109:4-1-02 of the Administrative Code has occurred;
(b) Take all necessary steps to effectuate
those enforcement proceedings, as directed by the administrative
division;
(c) Aid in the
promulgation of substantive rules and participate in the conduct of public
hearings, as directed by the administrative division.
(4) The public information/research division
shall:
(a) Publicize the organization and
operation of the consumer protection section and inform the public as to how to
obtain information and make submissions or requests;
(b) Respond to inquiries concerning all rules
and other written statements of policy or interpretations adopted or used by
the office of the attorney general, consumer protection section in the
discharge of its functions together with all judgments, including supporting
opinions by courts of this state that determine the rights of the parties and
concerning which appellate remedies have been exhausted, or lost by expiration
of the time for appeal, determining that specific acts or practices violate
those laws set forth in rule 109:4-1-02 of the Administrative Code. Such responses shall be consistent with the laws of this
state governing confidential and/or privileged materials.
(5) The education and community outreach
division may:
(a) Prepare publications or
consumer education material for distribution to the public including placement
on the attorney general website;
(b)
Attend public events to distribute consumer education materials, to make
presentations, and to collaborate with other agencies, organizations and
persons interested in consumer advocacy issues;
(c) Plan, sponsor and conduct events for
public participation in consumer advocacy issues;
(d) Train other agencies, organizations and
persons on consumer protection best practices;
(e) Organize community groups to educate and
advocate for their citizenry on consumer protection issues.
(6)
The
economic crimes division may:
(a)
Review complaints received by the Ohio attorney
general's office for potential criminal acts;
(b)
Work with local,
state, or federal law enforcement to facilitate the investigation of economic
and financial crimes;
(c)
Work with county or federal prosecutors to facilitate
the prosecution of economic and financial crimes;
(d)
Train or give
presentations to other agencies, organizations, and persons on economic or
financial crimes;
(e)
Upon request, serve as special prosecutors or special
assistant United States attorneys.
