A bill sponsored by state Sen. Sandra O’Brien requiring JobsOhio to comply with open records and meetings laws seems to make a lot of sense — and has little chance of being passed.

Several of O’Brien’s fellow Republicans in the state Legislature, including the most-powerful ones, don’t want to see changes to JobsOhio, created in 2011 as a private nonprofit agency to provide incentives to companies to locate and remain in Ohio. The agency is funded through lucrative state liquor profits.

O’Brien, R-Lenox, whose district includes all of Trumbull County, on April 9 introduced a bill that would require JobsOhio comply with the state’s open meetings law, requiring the agency to meet in public and to have its documents be subject to the state’s open records law.

The bill would also require the state auditor to conduct performance audits of the agency every two years. Currently, JobsOhio is audited annually by an outside firm, which is then reviewed by the state auditor. A performance audit is considerably more detailed than a routine regular financial audit.

O’Brien said: “JobsOhio was created by the government and is funded with public dollars. If we’re using public dollars to create jobs, shouldn’t the public know what jobs were created and if the money was well spent?”

O’Brien’s bill, which doesn’t have any co-sponsors, was referred April 15 to the Senate Finance Committee. It hasn’t any hearings — not even the courtesy sponsorship hearing at which the politician who introduced the bill gets to say a few words to the committee.

It’s the same story in the Ohio House where state Reps. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, and Justin Pizzulli, R-Franklin Furnace, introduced a similar JobsOhio transparency bill on March 24, with a single co-sponsor. A day later, it was referred to the House General Government Committee, which hasn’t given the proposal a single hearing.

Neither is likely to even get that first hearing with the Legislature in recess until after the Nov. 3 election and very few Republicans, who are in the supermajority in the House and Senate, are interested in taking on JobsOhio.

JobsOhio has been the subject of scrutiny because of the secrecy it is granted under state law. It doesn’t have to disclose how deals are made, it doesn’t meet in public session and is exempt from the state’s public records law.

The explanation for the secrecy is to protect the privacy of potential business deals and proprietary information being disclosed as well as to let JobsOhio operate at the speed of business and not government, which could kill deals.

When CNBC last week named Ohio as the No. 1 state for business, JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef was among those taking a bow along with Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik.

Nauseef said: “This Top State recognition belongs to Team Ohio. Ohio succeeds because the state government, JobsOhio, the Ohio Department of Development, the JobsOhio Network Partners, regional economic development organizations, higher education, employers, workforce partners, Ohio business advocates and local communities all work toward the same goal. That alignment is one of Ohio’s greatest competitive advantages.”

It’s been reported that some JobsOhio’s board members have ties to businesses that have benefited from the agency and questionable decisions were made by the agency.

JobsOhio officials in April admitted paying $60,000 to Krisanthe Vlachos for a podcast at the recommendation of Ohio State University President Ted Carter. Carter admitted to an extramarital affair with Vlachos and resigned as OSU president.

JobsOhio posted online in April that it was “reviewing clawback options in our contract.”

“JobsOhio’s involvement in this scandal shows they are not who they say they are,” O’Brien said. The $60,000 payment “hardly qualifies as proprietary information.”

She added: “Hiding public dollars from the taxpayers’ view always ends badly.”

JobsOhio has a page on its website about its “transparency recognition,” writing it “takes transparency seriously and goes far beyond the requirements for public nonprofit disclosure.”

JobsOhio touts earned the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency for seven straight years from an organization that ranks nonprofits for information sharing.

The website reads: “JobsOhio balances transparency and competitiveness while utilizing its private nonprofit structure, which is essential to maintaining client and project confidentiality. This structure gives Ohio an advantage as it contends against other states and countries for jobs and investment. During project negotiations, JobsOhio ensures client confidentiality is protected and that competitors do not see offers. Once a project is complete, JobsOhio publicly shares all its executed grant agreements and loans on the JobsOhio website.”

JobsOhio’s website also has a conflict of interest policy, standards of conduct policy and code of regulations.

David Skolnick covers politics for the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.