Government & Accountability

Independent research on how Ohio government works, how public money is used, how authority is distributed, and how public institutions are held accountable.

OCG research on government performance, public spending, oversight, transparency, economic-development incentives and institutional power.

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Begin with a curated sequence of visuals designed to give you the foundation before you explore the issue in depth.

Government & Accountability: Start Here

A guided introduction to how Ohio government uses money, exercises authority, provides public access and measures accountability.

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Go Deeper

Explore a specific part of this issue through a focused guided learning path.

Government & Accountability: Who Has the Power?

A focused path through Ohio institutional authority, vetoes, overrides and decision-making.

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Government & Accountability: Economic Development & Accountability

A focused path through incentives, announced outcomes, verification and taxpayer-return questions.

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Government & Accountability: Transparency & Public Access

A focused path through public records, participation and government review processes.

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Government & Accountability: Follow the Money

A focused path through spending proposals, savings claims, waste terminology and oversight.

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Explore the Research

Browse OCG's charts, explainers, and data by subtopic. Select a Visual to see the explanation, sources, and verification behind it.

Explainer

Government Performance

City Outcomes Have More Than One Possible Cause

City outcomes can reflect political leadership and broader economic, demographic and geographic forces at the same time.

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Explainer

Government Power & Structure

What Does a Legislative Supermajority Change?

A legislative supermajority changes some checks on a governor, but it does not erase every institutional limit.

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Explainer

Government Power & Structure

Who Has What Power in Ohio State Government?

Ohio state-government authority is distributed among the governor, General Assembly and other independently elected offices.

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Explainer

Transparency & Public Records

Ohio Public Records: What HB 314 Would Change

House Bill 314 would change several parts of Ohio's Public Records Law at once.

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Explainer

Waste, Fraud & Oversight

Fraud, Waste, Improper Payments & Questioned Costs Are Not the Same Thing

Oversight terms such as fraud, improper payment, questioned cost and waste describe different kinds of findings.

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Explainer

Waste, Fraud & Oversight

25 Years of Ohio Government Findings: Don't Just Add These Numbers Together

Twenty-five years of Ohio oversight findings do not form one clean, additive dataset.

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Explainer

Spending & Efficiency

A Proposed Cut Is Not Necessarily Net Savings

A headline spending cut and the government's eventual net savings can be different numbers.

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Explainer

Spending & Efficiency

Ohio State Spending: Where Are the Major Reduction Proposals?

Ohio spending-reduction proposals span programs, operations and government-management tools—not one single budget category.

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Explainer

Economic Development & Incentives

What Would a JobsOhio Taxpayer-Return Ledger Need to Show?

What information would Ohio need to judge whether an economic-development incentive produced a public return?

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Explainer

Economic Development & Incentives

JobsOhio: Announced Outcomes ≠ Verified Outcomes

Economic-development announcements describe commitments; accountability requires checking what was actually delivered.

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Government Power & Structure

Explainer

Who Taxes & Who Receives

Who Can Actually Change Your Property Taxes?

Property values, levy decisions, voter approval, statewide rules and tax collection are controlled by different actors under Ohio law.

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Transparency & Public Records

Explainer

Policy & Proposals

Where Can the Public Actually Participate?

Ohio data-center projects involve multiple decisions. Learn where to find zoning hearings, environmental notices, permit records and energy proceedings—and where different concerns belong.

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Economic Development & Incentives

Explainer

Economics & Incentives

Did the Incentive Actually Pay Off?

Evaluate data-center incentives by comparing promised public benefits with delivered investment, permanent jobs, payroll, tax revenue and infrastructure costs.

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Government Power & Structure

Explainer

Policy & Proposals

Who Reviews What? Ohio Data Center Approvals

Ohio does not have one universal data-center permit. Zoning, building, environmental, water, power-infrastructure, utility and tax-incentive decisions can be handled by different entities depending on the project.

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Economic Development & Incentives

Data

Economics & Incentives

Billions in Investment ≠ Thousands of Permanent Jobs

Data-center announcements often combine very large capital-investment figures with employment claims that measure different things. Investment, construction employment, permanent operations jobs, payroll and public incentives should be evaluated separately.

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Economic Development & Incentives

Data

Economics & Incentives

What Tax Incentive Does Ohio Give Data Centers?

Ohio law allows qualifying data centers to receive a complete or partial sales-and-use tax exemption on a broad range of equipment, including computing, cooling, electrical, and construction infrastructure.

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Government Performance

Question

Policy & Proposals

What Should Ohio Be Asking About Data Centers?

Large data-center projects can affect electricity, water, public incentives, infrastructure and communities. A useful policy discussion starts by making the major questions explicit.

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LONG-FORM RESEARCH

Research Papers

Go beyond the visuals with the full OCG research behind this topic.

White Paper No. 005

Leadership, Population, and Place: A Descriptive Review of Selected Major Ohio Cities, 1980–2026

A descriptive review of political leadership, population trends and competing explanations for divergent city outcomes.

Published

July 18, 2026

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White Paper No. 002

The Ledger Behind the Deal: A Framework for Assessing JobsOhio's Return to Ohio Taxpayers

A framework for distinguishing announced outcomes from verified outcomes and evaluating taxpayer return.

Published

July 13, 2026

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White Paper No. 011

Rewriting the Rules of Access: What House Bill 314 Would Change in Ohio's Public Records Law

A descriptive analysis of Substitute House Bill 314 and its proposed amendments to Ohio's Public Records Law.

Published

July 31, 2026

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White Paper No. 017

Governor and General Assembly: Institutional Leverage Under a Legislative Supermajority

A descriptive analysis of gubernatorial powers, legislative override authority and other statewide executive offices under a legislative supermajority.

Published

August 17, 2026

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White Paper No. 024

The Last Six Weeks: Ohio's Lame Duck Session, 2000–2024

This report examines 13 Ohio post-election legislative periods from 2000 through 2024. Of 751 bills receiving final legislative action, 677 became law. It measures legislative volume, compressed voting schedules, amendments, committee hearings, departing legislators' votes, vetoes, and reform proposals without taking a position on whether lame duck sessions should continue.

Published

October 9, 2026

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White Paper No. 007

Options Identified for Reducing Ohio State Government Spending

Catalogs publicly advanced proposals for reducing or slowing Ohio state spending and distinguishes documented savings from cost shifts, avoided growth, and research leads.

Published

July 27, 2026

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White Paper No. 008

Where Did the Money Go? Taxpayer-Funded Fraud, Waste, and Improper Payments in Ohio State Government, 2001–2026

Compiles selected major findings of fraud, improper payments, questioned costs, and waste in Ohio state-administered programs across four gubernatorial administrations.

Published

July 29, 2026

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