Columbus -- Republican state Auditor Dave Yost voiced confidence March 13 that JobsOhio would provide all of the financial documents he has ordered in a subpoena issued last week.
But he declined comment on what could happen if the private nonprofit fails to comply by next week's deadline.
"I fully anticipate that the administration is going to comply with our lawful subpoena," he told reporters March 13. "They have not communicated to us otherwise. … We don't have a letter saying that they disagree with it or a motion to quash or anything of the sort. I'm eternally optimistic."
Yost is at odds with Gov. John Kasich and Statehouse Republicans over the JobsOhio issue. The auditor believes all of the nonprofit's financial information should be made available to his office for review; Kasich and GOP lawmakers believe access should be limited to public funds.
"Our concern is for accountability, transparency," Yost said. "The nexus of the money is so close to its public source and there are so many public actions involved, we believe it ought to be treated as public money. And the statutory law and case law supports it."
Kasich said JobsOhio has had a full audit conducted by a private firm, the results of which have been released for public review. And he said he and Yost were on the same page, in terms of the need to ensure public funds have been spent appropriately.
"I've had one conversation with him, left him a voice mail," Kasich said. "We're talking about how to get this done. I believe at the end of the day we'll have something figured out."
Marc Kovac is the Dix Capital Bureau Chief. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.
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