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Declaration Regarding Material Assistance/Non-assistance to a Terrorist Organization (DMA)
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What it is
DMA is an acronym for “Declaration Regarding Material Assistance/Nonassistance to a Terrorist Organization.” The DMA is a questionnaire which must be completed by certain applicants to certify that they have not provided “material assistance” to a terrorist organization.
Its purpose
The DMA was created to provide the state with an additional tool to deter and prosecute acts of terrorism within Ohio.
Where it came from
The DMA is a provision of Senate Bill 9 , which is Ohio’s homeland security and anti-terrorism legislation. The revised version of the bill was signed into law by Governor Taft on January 11, 2006. Sections 2909.32, 2909.33, and 2909.34 of the Ohio Revised Code officially defined and created the DMA.
Defining “Material Assistance”
- Material Assistance, as defined by the statute, means any of the following:
Membership in an organization listed on the U.S. State Department’s Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL),
- Use of the person’s position of prominence within any country to persuade others to support an organization on the TEL,
- Knowingly soliciting funds or other things of value for an organization on the TEL,
- Solicitation of any individual for membership in an organization on the TEL,
- Commission of an act that a person knows, or reasonably should have known, affords material support or resources to an organization on the TEL,
- Hiring or compensating a person known by the person hiring or providing compensation to be a member of an organization on the TEL, or a person known by the person hiring or providing compensation to be engaged in planning, assisting in or carrying out an act of terrorism.
What is the TEL?
The Terrorist Exclusion List is a list of foreign organizations known to support and/or engage in acts of terrorism. The list is maintained by the United States Department of State.
Defining “Material Support or Resources”
Material Support or Resources, as defined by the statute, means currency, payment instruments (check, draft, money order, traveler’s check, cashiers check, teller’s check), other financial securities, funds, transfer of funds, and financial services that are in excess of $100, as well as communications, lodging, training, safe houses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel, transportation, and other physical assets except medicine or religious materials.
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The Declaration forms can be found in PDF format on the Ohio Homeland Security
Web site.
Where is the TEL found?
The Terrorist Exclusion List can be found on the same Web site.
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The DMA applies to four types of applications:
- Certain state issued licenses
- Public employment
- Business contracts and funding
- Business relations with agencies that choose to pre-certify
Which DMA form should I complete?
There are four separate DMA forms, one for each of the four areas identified above. You must complete and submit the DMA form that corresponds to what you are applying for. If you are applying for a subject license, you must complete and submit the “State Issued License” DMA. If you are applying for public employment, you must complete and submit the “Public Employment” DMA, etc.
Which licenses are subject?
The list of state issued licenses that are subject to the declaration may be found on the Ohio Homeland Security website. If you or your organization is applying for any of the licenses listed, then you must complete the DMA and submit it along with your application to the issuing agency or entity.
Which public employment positions are subject?
Any applicant under final consideration for employment with the State, any instrumentality of the State, or any political subdivision of the State must complete and submit a DMA. There are no exempt positions.
Do I need to complete and submit a DMA to my employer if I was already working prior to the effective date of April 14, 2006?
No. Employees hired before the effective date are not required to submit a DMA form. The requirements only affect new hires after the effective date.
What types of government business or funding contracts are subject?
O.R.C. section 2909.33 (C) sets forth the requirements for government contracts. In general, this section states:
Prior to entering into a contract with any state agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision to conduct business or receive funding, a person or private entity must complete a DMA form, but only if the person or entity has received, or will have received as a result of the pending contract, an aggregate amount greater than $100,000 in business or funding, excluding the amount of any personal benefit, excluding the amount of any personal benefit, from the state, instrumentalities, and political subdivisions during the current fiscal year, measured from July 1st until June 30th.
If a person or entity has not, or will not, meet the above threshold during the current fiscal year, they do not have to complete a DMA form. State agencies, instrumentalities and political subdivisions should include a provision in their contracts by which the person or entity certifies that he/it either does not meet the threshold and therefore is not required to complete a DMA form, or he/it does meet the threshold but has either completed a DMA form with an answer of “no” to all questions or precertified with the Office of Budget and Management (OBM).
Personal benefit means:
• Pensions, disability and survivor benefits;
• Money, goods, services or other things of value provided by the United States, the state, or a political subdivision of the state to which the recipient is entitled to by reason of age, medical condition, or a financial need that is established pursuant to an act of congress or the general assembly; or
• Salary or compensation a person receives as an employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state.
If I'm completing a DMA form on behalf of a company or organization, do I need to fill out the section of the form that requests personal information?
Yes. A record must be maintained of who completed the declaration on behalf of the company. Signatures are rarely legible.
Are there any exceptions?
The following types of contracts or transactions made by the state, an instrumentality of the state, or a political subdivision of the state are not subject to the DMA requirements (ORC Section 2909.33 (H)):
• An investment in a company that is publicly traded in any U.S. market
• An investment that is traded on a foreign market where U.S. investors regularly make investments
• An investment that is made through an agent or investment manager who has fiduciary responsibility to the investor
• An investment in public agency debt
• An investment in derivatives that are regulated by a government agency
• Any contract to conduct business or receive funding between state agencies, instrumentalities, or political subdivisions of the state
• Any person, company, affiliated group, or organization providing necessary, nonelective healthcare services
• Financial services (which include, but are not limited to, services related to currency, payment instruments, other financial securities, funds, and transfer of funds) provided by or through either of the following:
• A federally insured depository institution that is subject to anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism requirements under federal law or any subsidiary of such a depository institution;
• An affiliate of a depository institution described in division (H)6)a) of this section, other than an affiliate that is a subsidiary of the depository institution, when the affiliate is subject to anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism requirements under federal law.
What is pre-certification and is it required?
O.R.C. Section 2909.33(A)(3) sets forth the pre-certification process. This is a voluntary process and is especially beneficial to companies that enter into several contracts with the state, instrumentalities or political subdivisions.
Pre-certification is the process by which a person, company, affiliated group, or organization provides a completed DMA form (with an answer of “no” to all questions) to the OBM, asserting that the person/company has not provided material assistance to an organization on the terrorist exclusion list. If the OBM grants a person or company pre-certification, such person or company does not have to complete any further DMA forms prior to the expiration of its pre-certification.
When does pre-certification expire?
All pre-certifications expire on June 30 in the second year of each state's biennium period. To be pre-certified during the two years subsequent to that expiration date, an entity must submit a new declaration to the director of OBM pursuant to rules the director adopts.
What if I provide material assistance after becoming pre-certified?
Any person, company, affiliated group, or organization that is pre-certified and takes any action or learns of anything that would result in an answer of “yes” to any question on the DMA form shall cease to represent that it is pre-certified and, within 30 days of taking that action or learning the new information, shall notify the director of OBM to request its pre-certification be rescinded.
What are the penalties for falsely representing pre-certification?
When applying for a contract, falsely representing pre-certification, or representing precertification when that precertification has been rescinded or should have been rescinded, is a felony of the fifth degree.
Who do I submit the completed DMA form to?
You must submit the completed DMA form along with your application to the agency or entity to which you are applying for employment, a license, or business or funding contract.
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What constitutes a positive response?
A positive response is indicated either by selecting “yes” to any question on the questionnaire, or failing to answer “no” to any question.
What if I do not answer any of the six questions?
If you do not answer any of the six questions on the questionnaire, this does constitute a positive response.
What happens to my application if I provide a positive response?
• If you applied for a license, your application will be denied (ORC Section 2909.32(C)).
• If you applied for a contract, you will be prohibited from doing business or receiving funding from the state (ORC Section 2909.33(E)).
• If you applied for public employment, you will be denied employment (ORC Section 2909.34(C)).
What if I lie on the DMA?
Refusing to disclose the provision of material assistance once it has knowingly been provided or making false statements on the DMA is a fifth degree felony. Any applicant that provides false disclosure is further permanently banned from conducting business with or seeking funding from any state agency, instrumentality of the state, or political subdivision of the state.
What if I provide material assistance after my application has been accepted?
If you applied for a license: The issuing agency will revoke your license if you take any action after licensure that would result in a positive response on the DMA if it were to be administered again. A hearing in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Ohio Revised Code will be conducted by the issuing agency prior to revocation.
If you applied for public employment: The employer may terminate any employee who takes any action that would result in a positive response on the DMA if it were to be administered again. However, no employer may terminate any employee without following at least one of the following hearing procedures:
• If the employee is entitled to termination proceedings under a collective bargaining agreement, the employer must comply with those procedures.
• If the employee is entitled to termination proceedings under ORC Section 124.34(C), then the employer must comply with those proceedings.
• If the employee does not qualify for either of the termination proceedings described above, the employer must comply with the procedures outlined in ORC Section 124.34(B).
If you applied for a business contract or funding: Any person, company, affiliated group or organization that had not provided material assistance at the time the DMA form was completed, but starts providing material assistance during the course of doing business with or receiving funding from any government entity in the state is prohibited from entering into any additional contracts to do business with or receiving funding from the state, instrumentality or political subdivision for a period of ten years after the provision of material assistance is discovered (ORC Section 2909.33(F)).
What if I provide false certification?
• If you are license holder:
If you fail to complete and attach a DMA form, fail to disclose material assistance, or make false statements regarding material assistance to an organization you knew or should have known was on the terrorist exclusion list, your application will be denied and your license will be revoked (ORC Section 2909.32(E)).
Additionally, failing to disclose the provision of material assistance or knowingly making false statements regarding material assistance is a felony of the fifth degree (ORC Section 2909.32(F)).
• If you applied for a contract:
If you knowingly provide a false certification, you will be permanently banned from conducting business with or receiving funding from the state, an agency or instrumentality of the state, or a political subdivision of the state and will be guilty of a felony of the fifth degree (ORC Section 2909.33(G)(1)).
• If you applied for public employment:
Failing to disclose the provision of material assistance or knowingly making false statements regarding material assistance is a felony of the fifth degree (ORC Section 2909.34(E)).
What if my company did not previously complete a DMA form because, at that time, it had not received more than $100,000 in business or funding, but it later enters into another contract that will result in an aggregate amount over $100,000?
Once a person or company reaches the $100,000 threshold, they have 30 days to complete a DMA form. If they fail to complete a form within this time frame, they are subject to daily fines.
ORC Section 2909.32(G)(2) states:
“Any person, company, affiliated group, or organization that fails to certify as this section requires is subject to a fine of one thousand dollars for each day of doing business or receiving funding, except that any person, company, affiliated group, or organization that first reaches the threshold of one hundred thousand dollars in business or funding, due to the contract that it is entering into, shall not be subject to the fine for the first thirty days after entering into that contract, after which it shall be subject to the fine for each day that it is not certified.”
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If you feel the denial of you application due to a positive response on the DMA was inappropriate or unjust, you may request a review of the denial.
How soon after the denial must I file my request?
• If you applied for a license: You have sixty (60) days after the mailing date of the notice of denial of licensure to file a request to have the Department of Public Safety review the denial.
• If you applied for a contract: You have sixty (60) days after the mailing date of OBM’s notice of prohibition against doing business or receiving funding to file a request to have the Department of Public Safety review the prohibition.
• If you applied for public employment: You have sixty (60) days after the mailing date of the notice of denial of employment to file a request to have the Department of Public Safety review the denial.
How must the request be filed?
The request forms are available in PDF format on the Ohio Homeland Security Web site. The form must be completed in its entirety and submitted to the Department of Public Safety’s Homeland Security Division by certified mail. The address information appears on the form itself.
What happens once the request is filed?
Once the request has been filed, it is considered by the Department of Public Safety and decided upon within 30 days. The Department will overturn a denial if all of the following apply:
(1) The provision of material assistance to an organization on the TEL was made more than 10 years before the DMA was filled out, or the provision of material assistance was made within the prior 10 years, but the organization was either not on the TEL at the time, or would not have merited inclusion on the TEL if the TEL had existed, or if it was unreasonable at the time to know of the organization’s activities that warranted its inclusion on the list;
(2)
It is unlikely that you will provide material assistance to an organization on the TEL in the future; and
(3) You do not pose a risk to the residents of the state.
Can I further appeal the case if the review board upholds the denial or prohibition?
You may further appeal the case pursuant to Chapter 119 of the Ohio Revised Code.
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Direct all questions regarding the DMA to the agency or entity to which you will be submitting your application. They will provide additional contact information to you if they cannot answer your questions.
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