Whereas; Ohio is among the largest state in the United States without a state False Claims Act; Whereas; Ohio State Local Governments have a history of being the victim of fraud and misrepresentation; Whereas; an Ohio False Claims Act would empower and provide incentives to individual citizens of Ohio who are aware of Fraud Against the State of Ohio, Bureau of Worker's Compensation,Medicaid and other state programs to present evidence of such fraud to the Ohio Attorney General and if necessary ultimately bring claims against those who defraud the taxpayers of the State of Ohio; Whereas; honest businesses who which to contract with the State of Ohio are inhibited by businesses who seek contracts or payments from the state based on fraudulent representations. Whereas the State of Ohio is facing a huge budget shortfall; Whereas State False Claims Acts Throughout the United States have returned billions of dollars to state governments; Be it resolved that by signing this petition,we respectfully request that the Ohio General Assembly enact an Ohio False Claims Act providing individual and corporate citizens of the State of Ohio with the right to bring suit on behalf of the taxpayers of the State of Ohio against businesses and individuals who defraud the state.