Ever since its creation in 2011 by then-Gov. John Kasich as Ohio’s quasi-public nonprofit economic development department, JobsOhio has rightly attracted its fair share of admirers and detractors.

Admirers, such as many in business and development circles, have hailed the agency for its leading role in attracting major companies such as Intel, with its $5 billion investment in the Columbus area and Kimberly-Clark, with its $800 million investment in the Mahoning Valley.

On the other hand, detractors such as government watchdogs, civil liberties organizations and some state lawmakers have criticized its lack of total transparency and accountability to the public that helps fund its very existence.

Those legitimate concerns have long stained the public face of JobsOhio. But now a Valley state senator has stepped forward to present a solution to remove that stain for good.

Specifically, state Sen. Sandra O’Brien, R-Lenox, who represents Trumbull County, has introduced Senate Bill 420. That bill has potential to cure what’s been ailing JobsOhio since its inception 15 years ago.

O’Brien’s legislation, if passed and enacted, would require JobsOhio to comply with this state’s open records law and open meetings statutes. In addition, it would mandate regular performance audits of its operations by the auditor of state.

The need for such protective guardrails is clear and urgent.

Over the years, the agency has drawn the wrath of individuals and agencies as diverse as Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to the progressive American Civil Liberties Union.

For his part, Yost has denounced the nonprofit for operating in “a dark hole” without sufficient oversight, particularly with regard to its spending and use of public assets. The agency, after all, is largely funded through profits from state-operated liquor sales.

For its part, the ACLU has argued that much of JobsOhio’s clandestine operations serve as an invitation to unchecked corruption and abuse and that without airtight openness and transparency, the abuse and misuse of taxpayer dollars becomes increasingly possible.

Just last month, those fears of the ACLU have risen to the surface anew in a corruption scandal starring the agency and former Ohio State University President Ted Carter. That shenanigan involved JobsOhio dishing out a $60,000 grant to sponsor and produce a series of military- and veteran-focused podcasts led by Krisanthe Vlachos, who had a reported “inappropriate” and “romantic” relationship with Carter and for whom the former OSU president facilitated the grant.

In the eventual fallout, only one episode of the podcast was produced and Carter resigned in disgrace his prestigious $1.5 million per year leadership position.

For its part, JobsOhio said it plans to “claw back” the bulk of the disputed grant over the unproduced contracted podcast episodes.

Even Kasich, the veritable father of JobsOhio, castigated the agency’s handling of the podcast sponsorship. He called it “misguided and weak” and said it rose as a “mission drift” away from the department’s goal of focused economic development.

In a nutshell, the podcast quagmire highlights many of the gnawing concerns and fears that have long swirled around the unconventionally structured state agency. They include misuse of public funds, lack of transparency and accountability, potential cronyism, incidents of conflicts of interest and poor management and oversight of public resources.

As O’Brien, sponsor of the needed reform legislation, aptly put it, “JobsOhio involvement in this scandal shows they are not who they say they are. Hiding public dollars from the taxpayers’ view always ends badly.”

Her legislation should gain quick traction and action in the Senate as the sentiment and momentum for an overhaul of JobsOhio’s structure appears to be growing.

Also last month, state Reps. Justin Pizzulli, R-Scioto County, and Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, introduced a similar measure, House Bill 779, in the lower chamber of the Ohio General Assembly. It also calls for mandatory state audits of the agency, public disclosure of all corporate sponsorships, including dollar amounts and conflict-of-interest checks, among other controls.

Together, passage of Senate Bill 420 and House Bill 779 would at long last clear the musty air enveloping JobsOhio and let some much needed sun shine in on its quasi-covert operations that the public has been denied for far too long. In so doing, the seedy underside of the agency would be removed and would no longer overshadow the many good works JobsOhio performs to successfully energize the Buckeye State’s economy.