AG Clears Wright State Lobbyist Of Wrongdoing

State investigators found no evidence of lobbying law violations by a Wright State University consultant whose firm was paid nearly 1 million dollars in 2014 to secure state and federal funding to pay for a presidential debate later this year. Republican Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says the investigation focused on whether Ron Wine of Ron Wine Consulting Group should have registered as a lobbyist. State law requires individuals paid to advocate clients' interests before state officials to register as lobbyists if they spend more than 5 percent of their time lobbying the General Assembly or 25 percent of their time lobbying the executive branch. DeWine's statement says investigators found the portion of Wine's work constituting advocacy of either kind was less than 1 percent.