As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 82
2025-2026
Senators DeMora, Gavarone
A B I L L
To amend section 149.43 of the Revised Code to
specify that certain election officials are
designated public service workers for purposes
of the public records law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 149.43 of the Revised Code be
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 149.43. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Public record" means records kept by any public
office, including, but not limited to, state, county, city,
village, township, and school district units, and records
pertaining to the delivery of educational services by an
alternative school in this state kept by the nonprofit or for-
profit entity operating the alternative school pursuant to
section 3313.533 of the Revised Code. "Public record" does not
mean any of the following:
(a) Medical records;
(b) Records pertaining to probation and parole
proceedings, to proceedings related to the imposition of
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community control sanctions and post-release control sanctions,
or to proceedings related to determinations under section
2967.271 of the Revised Code regarding the release or maintained
incarceration of an offender to whom that section applies;
(c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85
and division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to
appeals of actions arising under those sections;
(d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including
the contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of
health under sections 3705.12 to 3705.124 of the Revised Code;
(e) Information in a record contained in the putative
father registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised
Code, regardless of whether the information is held by the
department of job and family services or, pursuant to section
3111.69 of the Revised Code, the office of child support in the
department or a child support enforcement agency;
(f) Records specified in division (A) of section 3107.52
of the Revised Code;
(g) Trial preparation records;
(h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records;
(i) Records containing information that is confidential
under section 2710.03 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code;
(j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to
section 109.573 of the Revised Code;
(k) Inmate records released by the department of
rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth
services or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of
section 5120.21 of the Revised Code;
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(l) Records maintained by the department of youth services
pertaining to children in its custody released by the department
of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code;
(m) Intellectual property records;
(n) Donor profile records;
(o) Records maintained by the department of job and family
services pursuant to section 3121.894 of the Revised Code;
(p) Designated public service worker residential and
familial information;
(q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code or a municipal hospital
operated pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code,
information that constitutes a trade secret, as defined in
section 1333.61 of the Revised Code;
(r) Information pertaining to the recreational activities
of a person under the age of eighteen;
(s) In the case of a child fatality review board acting
under sections 307.621 to 307.629 of the Revised Code or a
review conducted pursuant to guidelines established by the
director of health under section 3701.70 of the Revised Code,
records provided to the board or director, statements made by
board members during meetings of the board or by persons
participating in the director's review, and all work products of
the board or director, and in the case of a child fatality
review board, child fatality review data submitted by the board
to the department of health or a national child death review
database, other than the report prepared pursuant to division
(A) of section 307.626 of the Revised Code;
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(t) Records provided to and statements made by the
executive director of a public children services agency or a
prosecuting attorney acting pursuant to section 5153.171 of the
Revised Code other than the information released under that
section;
(u) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used
in an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator
that the board of executives of long-term services and supports
administers under section 4751.15 of the Revised Code or
contracts under that section with a private or government entity
to administer;
(v) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or
federal law;
(w) Proprietary information of or relating to any person
that is submitted to or compiled by the Ohio venture capital
authority created under section 150.01 of the Revised Code;
(x) Financial statements and data any person submits for
any purpose to the Ohio housing finance agency or the
controlling board in connection with applying for, receiving, or
accounting for financial assistance from the agency, and
information that identifies any individual who benefits directly
or indirectly from financial assistance from the agency;
(y) Records listed in section 5101.29 of the Revised Code;
(z) Discharges recorded with a county recorder under
section 317.24 of the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)
(2) of that section;
(aa) Usage information including names and addresses of
specific residential and commercial customers of a municipally
owned or operated public utility;
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(bb) Records described in division (C) of section 187.04
of the Revised Code that are not designated to be made available
to the public as provided in that division;
(cc) Information and records that are made confidential,
privileged, and not subject to disclosure under divisions (B)
and (C) of section 2949.221 of the Revised Code;
(dd) Personal information, as defined in section 149.45 of
the Revised Code;
(ee) The confidential name, address, and other personally
identifiable information of a program participant in the address
confidentiality program established under sections 111.41 to
111.47 of the Revised Code, including the contents of any
application for absent voter's ballots, absent voter's ballot
identification envelope statement of voter, or provisional
ballot affirmation completed by a program participant who has a
confidential voter registration record; records or portions of
records pertaining to that program that identify the number of
program participants that reside within a precinct, ward,
township, municipal corporation, county, or any other geographic
area smaller than the state; and any real property
confidentiality notice filed under section 111.431 of the
Revised Code and the information described in division (C) of
that section. As used in this division, "confidential address"
and "program participant" have the meaning defined in section
111.41 of the Revised Code.
(ff) Orders for active military service of an individual
serving or with previous service in the armed forces of the
United States, including a reserve component, or the Ohio
organized militia, except that, such order becomes a public
record on the day that is fifteen years after the published date
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or effective date of the call to order;
(gg) The name, address, contact information, or other
personal information of an individual who is less than eighteen
years of age that is included in any record related to a traffic
accident involving a school vehicle in which the individual was
an occupant at the time of the accident;
(hh) Protected health information, as defined in 45 C.F.R.
160.103, that is in a claim for payment for a health care
product, service, or procedure, as well as any other health
claims data in another document that reveals the identity of an
individual who is the subject of the data or could be used to
reveal that individual's identity;
(ii) Any depiction by photograph, film, videotape, or
printed or digital image under either of the following
circumstances:
(i) The depiction is that of a victim of an offense the
release of which would be, to a reasonable person of ordinary
sensibilities, an offensive and objectionable intrusion into the
victim's expectation of bodily privacy and integrity.
(ii) The depiction captures or depicts the victim of a
sexually oriented offense, as defined in section 2950.01 of the
Revised Code, at the actual occurrence of that offense.
(jj) Restricted portions of a body-worn camera or
dashboard camera recording;
(kk) In the case of a fetal-infant mortality review board
acting under sections 3707.70 to 3707.77 of the Revised Code,
records, documents, reports, or other information presented to
the board or a person abstracting such materials on the board's
behalf, statements made by review board members during board
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meetings, all work products of the board, and data submitted by
the board to the department of health or a national infant death
review database, other than the report prepared pursuant to
section 3707.77 of the Revised Code.
(ll) Records, documents, reports, or other information
presented to the pregnancy-associated mortality review board
established under section 3738.01 of the Revised Code,
statements made by board members during board meetings, all work
products of the board, and data submitted by the board to the
department of health, other than the biennial reports prepared
under section 3738.08 of the Revised Code;
(mm) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(1)(oo)
of this section, telephone numbers for a victim, as defined in
section 2930.01 of the Revised Code or a witness to a crime that
are listed on any law enforcement record or report.
(nn) A preneed funeral contract, as defined in section
4717.01 of the Revised Code, and contract terms and personally
identifying information of a preneed funeral contract, that is
contained in a report submitted by or for a funeral home to the
board of embalmers and funeral directors under division (C) of
section 4717.13, division (J) of section 4717.31, or section
4717.41 of the Revised Code.
(oo) Telephone numbers for a party to a motor vehicle
accident subject to the requirements of section 5502.11 of the
Revised Code that are listed on any law enforcement record or
report, except that the telephone numbers described in this
division are not excluded from the definition of "public record"
under this division on and after the thirtieth day after the
occurrence of the motor vehicle accident.
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(pp) Records pertaining to individuals who complete
training under section 5502.703 of the Revised Code to be
permitted by a school district board of education or governing
body of a community school established under Chapter 3314. of
the Revised Code, a STEM school established under Chapter 3326.
of the Revised Code, or a chartered nonpublic school to convey
deadly weapons or dangerous ordnance into a school safety zone;
(qq) Records, documents, reports, or other information
presented to a domestic violence fatality review board
established under section 307.651 of the Revised Code,
statements made by board members during board meetings, all work
products of the board, and data submitted by the board to the
department of health, other than a report prepared pursuant to
section 307.656 of the Revised Code;
(rr) Records, documents, and information the release of
which is prohibited under sections 2930.04 and 2930.07 of the
Revised Code;
(ss) Records of an existing qualified nonprofit
corporation that creates a special improvement district under
Chapter 1710. of the Revised Code that do not pertain to a
purpose for which the district is created;
(tt) Educational support services data, as defined in
section 3319.325 of the Revised Code.
A record that is not a public record under division (A)(1)
of this section and that, under law, is permanently retained
becomes a public record on the day that is seventy-five years
after the day on which the record was created, except for any
record protected by the attorney-client privilege, a trial
preparation record as defined in this section, a statement
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prohibiting the release of identifying information signed under
section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, a denial of release form
filed pursuant to section 3107.46 of the Revised Code, or any
record that is exempt from release or disclosure under section
149.433 of the Revised Code. If the record is a birth
certificate and a biological parent's name redaction request
form has been accepted under section 3107.391 of the Revised
Code, the name of that parent shall be redacted from the birth
certificate before it is released under this paragraph. If any
other section of the Revised Code establishes a time period for
disclosure of a record that conflicts with the time period
specified in this section, the time period in the other section
prevails.
(2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record"
means any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a
criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a
high probability of disclosure of any of the following:
(a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged
with the offense to which the record pertains, or of an
information source or witness to whom confidentiality has been
reasonably promised;
(b) Information provided by an information source or
witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised,
which information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's
or witness's identity;
(c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or
procedures or specific investigatory work product;
(d) Information that would endanger the life or physical
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safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness,
or a confidential information source.
(3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to
or discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical
history, diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient
and that is generated and maintained in the process of medical
treatment.
(4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that
contains information that is specifically compiled in reasonable
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and
personal trial preparation of an attorney.
(5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other
than a financial or administrative record, that is produced or
collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of
higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or
research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic,
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study
or research was sponsored by the institution alone or in
conjunction with a governmental body or private concern, and
that has not been publicly released, published, or patented.
(6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors
or potential donors to a public institution of higher education
except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and
the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation.
(7) "Designated public service worker" means a peace
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee,
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county or multicounty corrections officer, community-based
correctional facility employee, designated Ohio national guard
member, protective services worker, youth services employee,
firefighter, EMT, medical director or member of a cooperating
physician advisory board of an emergency medical service
organization, state board of pharmacy employee, investigator of
the bureau of criminal identification and investigation,
emergency service telecommunicator, forensic mental health
provider, mental health evaluation provider, regional
psychiatric hospital employee, judge, magistrate, or federal law
enforcement officer, or election official .
(8) "Designated public service worker residential and
familial information" means any information that discloses any
of the following about a designated public service worker:
(a) The address of the actual personal residence of a
designated public service worker, except for the following
information:
(i) The address of the actual personal residence of a
prosecuting attorney or judge; and
(ii) The state or political subdivision in which a
designated public service worker resides.
(b) Information compiled from referral to or participation
in an employee assistance program;
(c) The social security number, the residential telephone
number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit
card number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any
medical information pertaining to, a designated public service
worker;
(d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits,
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including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided
to a designated public service worker by the designated public
service worker's employer;
(e) The identity and amount of any charitable or
employment benefit deduction made by the designated public
service worker's employer from the designated public service
worker's compensation, unless the amount of the deduction is
required by state or federal law;
(f) The name, the residential address, the name of the
employer, the address of the employer, the social security
number, the residential telephone number, any bank account,
debit card, charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency
telephone number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of
a designated public service worker;
(g) A photograph of a peace officer who holds a position
or has an assignment that may include undercover or plain
clothes positions or assignments as determined by the peace
officer's appointing authority.
(9) As used in divisions (A)(7) and (15) to (17) of this
section:
"Peace officer" has the meaning defined in section 109.71
of the Revised Code and also includes the superintendent and
troopers of the state highway patrol; it does not include the
sheriff of a county or a supervisory employee who, in the
absence of the sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise
the authority of, and perform the duties of the sheriff.
"Correctional employee" means any employee of the
department of rehabilitation and correction who in the course of
performing the employee's job duties has or has had contact with
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inmates and persons under supervision.
"County or multicounty corrections officer" means any
corrections officer employed by any county or multicounty
correctional facility.
"Designated Ohio national guard member" means a member of
the Ohio national guard who is participating in duties related
to remotely piloted aircraft, including, but not limited to,
pilots, sensor operators, and mission intelligence personnel,
duties related to special forces operations, or duties related
to cybersecurity, and is designated by the adjutant general as a
designated public service worker for those purposes.
"Protective services worker" means any employee of a
county agency who is responsible for child protective services,
child support services, or adult protective services.
"Youth services employee" means any employee of the
department of youth services who in the course of performing the
employee's job duties has or has had contact with children
committed to the custody of the department of youth services.
"Firefighter" means any regular, paid or volunteer, member
of a lawfully constituted fire department of a municipal
corporation, township, fire district, or village.
"EMT" means EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, and paramedics that
provide emergency medical services for a public emergency
medical service organization. "Emergency medical service
organization," "EMT-basic," "EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the
meanings defined in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.
"Investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and
investigation" has the meaning defined in section 2903.11 of the
Revised Code.
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"Emergency service telecommunicator" means an individual
employed by an emergency service provider as defined under
section 128.01 of the Revised Code, whose primary responsibility
is to be an operator for the receipt or processing of calls for
emergency services made by telephone, radio, or other electronic
means.
"Forensic mental health provider" means any employee of a
community mental health service provider or local alcohol, drug
addiction, and mental health services board who, in the course
of the employee's duties, has contact with persons committed to
a local alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services
board by a court order pursuant to section 2945.38, 2945.39,
2945.40, or 2945.402 of the Revised Code.
"Mental health evaluation provider" means an individual
who, under Chapter 5122. of the Revised Code, examines a
respondent who is alleged to be a mentally ill person subject to
court order, as defined in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code,
and reports to the probate court the respondent's mental
condition.
"Regional psychiatric hospital employee" means any
employee of the department of mental health and addiction
services who, in the course of performing the employee's duties,
has contact with patients committed to the department of mental
health and addiction services by a court order pursuant to
section 2945.38, 2945.39, 2945.40, or 2945.402 of the Revised
Code.
"Federal law enforcement officer" has the meaning defined
in section 9.88 of the Revised Code.
"Election official" has the same meaning as in section
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3501.01 of the Revised Code but does not include a precinct
election official or a temporary or part-time employee of a
board of elections.
(10) "Information pertaining to the recreational
activities of a person under the age of eighteen" means
information that is kept in the ordinary course of business by a
public office, that pertains to the recreational activities of a
person under the age of eighteen years, and that discloses any
of the following:
(a) The address or telephone number of a person under the
age of eighteen or the address or telephone number of that
person's parent, guardian, custodian, or emergency contact
person;
(b) The social security number, birth date, or
photographic image of a person under the age of eighteen;
(c) Any medical record, history, or information pertaining
to a person under the age of eighteen;
(d) Any additional information sought or required about a
person under the age of eighteen for the purpose of allowing
that person to participate in any recreational activity
conducted or sponsored by a public office or to use or obtain
admission privileges to any recreational facility owned or
operated by a public office.
(11) "Community control sanction" has the meaning defined
in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
(12) "Post-release control sanction" has the meaning
defined in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.
(13) "Redaction" means obscuring or deleting any
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information that is exempt from the duty to permit public
inspection or copying from an item that otherwise meets the
definition of a "record" in section 149.011 of the Revised Code.
(14) "Designee," "elected official," and "future official"
have the meanings defined in section 109.43 of the Revised Code.
(15) "Body-worn camera" means a visual and audio recording
device worn on the person of a correctional employee, youth
services employee, or peace officer while the correctional
employee, youth services employee, or peace officer is engaged
in the performance of official duties.
(16) "Dashboard camera" means a visual and audio recording
device mounted on a peace officer's vehicle or vessel that is
used while the peace officer is engaged in the performance of
the peace officer's duties.
(17) "Restricted portions of a body-worn camera or
dashboard camera recording" means any visual or audio portion of
a body-worn camera or dashboard camera recording that shows,
communicates, or discloses any of the following:
(a) The image or identity of a child or information that
could lead to the identification of a child who is a primary
subject of the recording when the department of rehabilitation
and correction, department of youth services, or the law
enforcement agency knows or has reason to know the person is a
child based on the department's or law enforcement agency's
records or the content of the recording;
(b) The death of a person or a deceased person's body,
unless the death was caused by a correctional employee, youth
services employee, or peace officer or, subject to division (H)
(1) of this section, the consent of the decedent's executor or
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administrator has been obtained;
(c) The death of a correctional employee, youth services
employee, peace officer, firefighter, paramedic, or other first
responder, occurring while the decedent was engaged in the
performance of official duties, unless, subject to division (H)
(1) of this section, the consent of the decedent's executor or
administrator has been obtained;
(d) Grievous bodily harm, unless the injury was effected
by a correctional employee, youth services employee, or peace
officer or, subject to division (H)(1) of this section, the
consent of the injured person or the injured person's guardian
has been obtained;
(e) An act of severe violence against a person that
results in serious physical harm to the person, unless the act
and injury was effected by a correctional employee, youth
services employee, or peace officer or, subject to division (H)
(1) of this section, the consent of the injured person or the
injured person's guardian has been obtained;
(f) Grievous bodily harm to a correctional employee, youth
services employee, peace officer, firefighter, paramedic, or
other first responder, occurring while the injured person was
engaged in the performance of official duties, unless, subject
to division (H)(1) of this section, the consent of the injured
person or the injured person's guardian has been obtained;
(g) An act of severe violence resulting in serious
physical harm against a correctional employee, youth services
employee, peace officer, firefighter, paramedic, or other first
responder, occurring while the injured person was engaged in the
performance of official duties, unless, subject to division (H)
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(1) of this section, the consent of the injured person or the
injured person's guardian has been obtained;
(h) A person's nude body, unless, subject to division (H)
(1) of this section, the person's consent has been obtained;
(i) Protected health information, the identity of a person
in a health care facility who is not the subject of a
correctional, youth services, or law enforcement encounter, or
any other information in a health care facility that could
identify a person who is not the subject of a correctional,
youth services, or law enforcement encounter;
(j) Information that could identify the alleged victim of
a sex offense, menacing by stalking, or domestic violence;
(k) Information, that does not constitute a confidential
law enforcement investigatory record, that could identify a
person who provides sensitive or confidential information to the
department of rehabilitation and correction, the department of
youth services, or a law enforcement agency when the disclosure
of the person's identity or the information provided could
reasonably be expected to threaten or endanger the safety or
property of the person or another person;
(l) Personal information of a person who is not arrested,
cited, charged, or issued a written warning by a peace officer;
(m) Proprietary correctional, youth services, or police
contingency plans or tactics that are intended to prevent crime
and maintain public order and safety;
(n) A personal conversation unrelated to work between
correctional employees, youth services employees, or peace
officers or between a correctional employee, youth services
employee, or peace officer and an employee of a law enforcement
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agency;
(o) A conversation between a correctional employee, youth
services employee, or peace officer and a member of the public
that does not concern correctional, youth services, or law
enforcement activities;
(p) The interior of a residence, unless the interior of a
residence is the location of an adversarial encounter with, or a
use of force by, a correctional employee, youth services
employee, or peace officer;
(q) Any portion of the interior of a private business that
is not open to the public, unless an adversarial encounter with,
or a use of force by, a correctional employee, youth services
employee, or peace officer occurs in that location.
As used in division (A)(17) of this section:
"Grievous bodily harm" has the same meaning as in section
5924.120 of the Revised Code.
"Health care facility" has the same meaning as in section
1337.11 of the Revised Code.
"Protected health information" has the same meaning as in
45 C.F.R. 160.103.
"Law enforcement agency" means a government entity that
employs peace officers to perform law enforcement duties.
"Personal information" means any government-issued
identification number, date of birth, address, financial
information, or criminal justice information from the law
enforcement automated data system or similar databases.
"Sex offense" has the same meaning as in section 2907.10
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of the Revised Code.
"Firefighter," "paramedic," and "first responder" have the
same meanings as in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) Upon request by any person and subject to division
(B)(8) of this section, all public records responsive to the
request shall be promptly prepared and made available for
inspection to the requester at all reasonable times during
regular business hours. Subject to division (B)(8) of this
section, upon request by any person, a public office or person
responsible for public records shall make copies of the
requested public record available to the requester at cost and
within a reasonable period of time. If a public record contains
information that is exempt from the duty to permit public
inspection or to copy the public record, the public office or
the person responsible for the public record shall make
available all of the information within the public record that
is not exempt. When making that public record available for
public inspection or copying that public record, the public
office or the person responsible for the public record shall
notify the requester of any redaction or make the redaction
plainly visible. A redaction shall be deemed a denial of a
request to inspect or copy the redacted information, except if
federal or state law authorizes or requires a public office to
make the redaction. When the auditor of state receives a request
to inspect or to make a copy of a record that was provided to
the auditor of state for purposes of an audit, but the original
public office has asserted to the auditor of state that the
record is not a public record, the auditor of state may handle
the requests by directing the requestor to the original public
office that provided the record to the auditor of state.
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(2) To facilitate broader access to public records, a
public office or the person responsible for public records shall
organize and maintain public records in a manner that they can
be made available for inspection or copying in accordance with
division (B) of this section. A public office also shall have
available a copy of its current records retention schedule at a
location readily available to the public. If a requester makes
an ambiguous or overly broad request or has difficulty in making
a request for copies or inspection of public records under this
section such that the public office or the person responsible
for the requested public record cannot reasonably identify what
public records are being requested, the public office or the
person responsible for the requested public record may deny the
request but shall provide the requester with an opportunity to
revise the request by informing the requester of the manner in
which records are maintained by the public office and accessed
in the ordinary course of the public office's or person's
duties.
(3) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in
whole, the public office or the person responsible for the
requested public record shall provide the requester with an
explanation, including legal authority, setting forth why the
request was denied. If the initial request was provided in
writing, the explanation also shall be provided to the requester
in writing. The explanation shall not preclude the public office
or the person responsible for the requested public record from
relying upon additional reasons or legal authority in defending
an action commenced under division (C) of this section.
(4) Unless specifically required or authorized by state or
federal law or in accordance with division (B) of this section,
no public office or person responsible for public records may
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limit or condition the availability of public records by
requiring disclosure of the requester's identity or the intended
use of the requested public record. Any requirement that the
requester disclose the requester's identity or the intended use
of the requested public record constitutes a denial of the
request.
(5) A public office or person responsible for public
records may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may
ask for the requester's identity, and may inquire about the
intended use of the information requested, but may do so only
after disclosing to the requester that a written request is not
mandatory, that the requester may decline to reveal the
requester's identity or the intended use, and when a written
request or disclosure of the identity or intended use would
benefit the requester by enhancing the ability of the public
office or person responsible for public records to identify,
locate, or deliver the public records sought by the requester.
(6) If any person requests a copy of a public record in
accordance with division (B) of this section, the public office
or person responsible for the public record may require the
requester to pay in advance the cost involved in providing the
copy of the public record in accordance with the choice made by
the requester under this division. The public office or the
person responsible for the public record shall permit the
requester to choose to have the public record duplicated upon
paper, upon the same medium upon which the public office or
person responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any
other medium upon which the public office or person responsible
for the public record determines that it reasonably can be
duplicated as an integral part of the normal operations of the
public office or person responsible for the public record. When
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the requester makes a choice under this division, the public
office or person responsible for the public record shall provide
a copy of it in accordance with the choice made by the
requester. Nothing in this section requires a public office or
person responsible for the public record to allow the requester
of a copy of the public record to make the copies of the public
record.
(7)(a) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B)
of this section and subject to division (B)(6) of this section,
a public office or person responsible for public records shall
transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United
States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission
within a reasonable period of time after receiving the request
for the copy. The public office or person responsible for the
public record may require the person making the request to pay
in advance the cost of postage if the copy is transmitted by
United States mail or the cost of delivery if the copy is
transmitted other than by United States mail, and to pay in
advance the costs incurred for other supplies used in the
mailing, delivery, or transmission.
(b) Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures
that it will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period
of time after receiving a request, copies of public records by
United States mail or by any other means of delivery or
transmission pursuant to division (B)(7) of this section. A
public office that adopts a policy and procedures under division
(B)(7) of this section shall comply with them in performing its
duties under that division.
(c) In any policy and procedures adopted under division
(B)(7) of this section:
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(i) A public office may limit the number of records
requested by a person that the office will physically deliver by
United States mail or by another delivery service to ten per
month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing that
the person does not intend to use or forward the requested
records, or the information contained in them, for commercial
purposes;
(ii) A public office that chooses to provide some or all
of its public records on a web site that is fully accessible to
and searchable by members of the public at all times, other than
during acts of God outside the public office's control or
maintenance, and that charges no fee to search, access,
download, or otherwise receive records provided on the web site,
may limit to ten per month the number of records requested by a
person that the office will deliver in a digital format, unless
the requested records are not provided on the web site and
unless the person certifies to the office in writing that the
person does not intend to use or forward the requested records,
or the information contained in them, for commercial purposes.
(iii) For purposes of division (B)(7) of this section,
"commercial" shall be narrowly construed and does not include
reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering information
to assist citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or
activities of government, or nonprofit educational research.
(8) A public office or person responsible for public
records is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated
pursuant to a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to
inspect or to obtain a copy of any public record concerning a
criminal investigation or prosecution or concerning what would
be a criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the
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As Introduced
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request
to inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose
of acquiring information that is subject to release as a public
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought
in the public record is necessary to support what appears to be
a justiciable claim of the person.
(9)(a) Upon written request made and signed by a
journalist, a public office, or person responsible for public
records, having custody of the records of the agency employing a
specified designated public service worker shall disclose to the
journalist the address of the actual personal residence of the
designated public service worker and, if the designated public
service worker's spouse, former spouse, or child is employed by
a public office, the name and address of the employer of the
designated public service worker's spouse, former spouse, or
child. The request shall include the journalist's name and title
and the name and address of the journalist's employer and shall
state that disclosure of the information sought would be in the
public interest.
(b) Division (B)(9)(a) of this section also applies to
journalist requests for:
(i) Customer information maintained by a municipally owned
or operated public utility, other than social security numbers
and any private financial information such as credit reports,
payment methods, credit card numbers, and bank account
information;
(ii) Information about minors involved in a school vehicle
accident as provided in division (A)(1)(gg) of this section,
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719 S. B. No. 82 Page 26
As Introduced
other than personal information as defined in section 149.45 of
the Revised Code.
(c) As used in division (B)(9) of this section,
"journalist" means a person engaged in, connected with, or
employed by any news medium, including a newspaper, magazine,
press association, news agency, or wire service, a radio or
television station, or a similar medium, for the purpose of
gathering, processing, transmitting, compiling, editing, or
disseminating information for the general public.
(10) Upon a request made by a victim, victim's attorney,
or victim's representative, as that term is used in section
2930.02 of the Revised Code, a public office or person
responsible for public records shall transmit a copy of a
depiction of the victim as described in division (A)(1)(ii) of
this section to the victim, victim's attorney, or victim's
representative.
(C)(1) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure
of a public office or the person responsible for public records
to promptly prepare a public record and to make it available to
the person for inspection in accordance with division (B) of
this section or by any other failure of a public office or the
person responsible for public records to comply with an
obligation in accordance with division (B) of this section, the
person allegedly aggrieved may do only one of the following, and
not both:
(a) File a complaint with the clerk of the court of claims
or the clerk of the court of common pleas under section 2743.75
of the Revised Code;
(b) Commence a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that
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As Introduced
orders the public office or the person responsible for the
public record to comply with division (B) of this section, that
awards court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the person
that instituted the mandamus action, and, if applicable, that
includes an order fixing statutory damages under division (C)(2)
of this section. The mandamus action may be commenced in the
court of common pleas of the county in which division (B) of
this section allegedly was not complied with, in the supreme
court pursuant to its original jurisdiction under Section 2 of
Article IV, Ohio Constitution, or in the court of appeals for
the appellate district in which division (B) of this section
allegedly was not complied with pursuant to its original
jurisdiction under Section 3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution.
(2) If a requester transmits a written request by hand
delivery, electronic submission, or certified mail to inspect or
receive copies of any public record in a manner that fairly
describes the public record or class of public records to the
public office or person responsible for the requested public
records, except as otherwise provided in this section, the
requester shall be entitled to recover the amount of statutory
damages set forth in this division if a court determines that
the public office or the person responsible for public records
failed to comply with an obligation in accordance with division
(B) of this section.
The amount of statutory damages shall be fixed at one
hundred dollars for each business day during which the public
office or person responsible for the requested public records
failed to comply with an obligation in accordance with division
(B) of this section, beginning with the day on which the
requester files a mandamus action to recover statutory damages,
up to a maximum of one thousand dollars. The award of statutory
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779 S. B. No. 82 Page 28
As Introduced
damages shall not be construed as a penalty, but as compensation
for injury arising from lost use of the requested information.
The existence of this injury shall be conclusively presumed. The
award of statutory damages shall be in addition to all other
remedies authorized by this section.
The court may reduce an award of statutory damages or not
award statutory damages if the court determines both of the
following:
(a) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory
law and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible
for the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a
failure to comply with an obligation in accordance with division
(B) of this section and that was the basis of the mandamus
action, a well-informed public office or person responsible for
the requested public records reasonably would believe that the
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person
responsible for the requested public records did not constitute
a failure to comply with an obligation in accordance with
division (B) of this section;
(b) That a well-informed public office or person
responsible for the requested public records reasonably would
believe that the conduct or threatened conduct of the public
office or person responsible for the requested public records
would serve the public policy that underlies the authority that
is asserted as permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.
(3) In a mandamus action filed under division (C)(1) of
this section, the following apply:
(a)(i) If the court orders the public office or the person
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808 S. B. No. 82 Page 29
As Introduced
responsible for the public record to comply with division (B) of
this section, the court shall determine and award to the relator
all court costs, which shall be construed as remedial and not
punitive.
(ii) If the court makes a determination described in
division (C)(3)(b)(iii) of this section, the court shall
determine and award to the relator all court costs, which shall
be construed as remedial and not punitive.
(b) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public
office or the person responsible for the public record to comply
with division (B) of this section or if the court determines any
of the following, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees
to the relator, subject to division (C)(4) of this section:
(i) The public office or the person responsible for the
public records failed to respond affirmatively or negatively to
the public records request in accordance with the time allowed
under division (B) of this section.
(ii) The public office or the person responsible for the
public records promised to permit the relator to inspect or
receive copies of the public records requested within a
specified period of time but failed to fulfill that promise
within that specified period of time.
(iii) The public office or the person responsible for the
public records acted in bad faith when the office or person
voluntarily made the public records available to the relator for
the first time after the relator commenced the mandamus action,
but before the court issued any order concluding whether or not
the public office or person was required to comply with division
(B) of this section. No discovery may be conducted on the issue
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837 S. B. No. 82 Page 30
As Introduced
of the alleged bad faith of the public office or person
responsible for the public records. This division shall not be
construed as creating a presumption that the public office or
the person responsible for the public records acted in bad faith
when the office or person voluntarily made the public records
available to the relator for the first time after the relator
commenced the mandamus action, but before the court issued any
order described in this division.
(c) The court shall not award attorney's fees to the
relator if the court determines both of the following:
(i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory
law and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible
for the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a
failure to comply with an obligation in accordance with division
(B) of this section and that was the basis of the mandamus
action, a well-informed public office or person responsible for
the requested public records reasonably would believe that the
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person
responsible for the requested public records did not constitute
a failure to comply with an obligation in accordance with
division (B) of this section;
(ii) That a well-informed public office or person
responsible for the requested public records reasonably would
believe that the conduct or threatened conduct of the public
office or person responsible for the requested public records
would serve the public policy that underlies the authority that
is asserted as permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.
(4) All of the following apply to any award of reasonable
attorney's fees awarded under division (C)(3)(b) of this
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867 S. B. No. 82 Page 31
As Introduced
section:
(a) The fees shall be construed as remedial and not
punitive.
(b) The fees awarded shall not exceed the total of the
reasonable attorney's fees incurred before the public record was
made available to the relator and the fees described in division
(C)(4)(c) of this section.
(c) Reasonable attorney's fees shall include reasonable
fees incurred to produce proof of the reasonableness and amount
of the fees and to otherwise litigate entitlement to the fees.
(d) The court may reduce the amount of fees awarded if the
court determines that, given the factual circumstances involved
with the specific public records request, an alternative means
should have been pursued to more effectively and efficiently
resolve the dispute that was subject to the mandamus action
filed under division (C)(1) of this section.
(5) If the court does not issue a writ of mandamus under
division (C) of this section and the court determines at that
time that the bringing of the mandamus action was frivolous
conduct as defined in division (A) of section 2323.51 of the
Revised Code, the court may award to the public office all court
costs, expenses, and reasonable attorney's fees, as determined
by the court.
(D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the
provisions of this section.
(E)(1) To ensure that all employees of public offices are
appropriately educated about a public office's obligations under
division (B) of this section, all elected officials or their
appropriate designees shall attend training approved by the
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As Introduced
attorney general as provided in section 109.43 of the Revised
Code. A future official may satisfy the requirements of this
division by attending the training before taking office,
provided that the future official may not send a designee in the
future official's place.
(2) All public offices shall adopt a public records policy
in compliance with this section for responding to public records
requests. In adopting a public records policy under this
division, a public office may obtain guidance from the model
public records policy developed and provided to the public
office by the attorney general under section 109.43 of the
Revised Code. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
policy may not limit the number of public records that the
public office will make available to a single person, may not
limit the number of public records that it will make available
during a fixed period of time, and may not establish a fixed
period of time before it will respond to a request for
inspection or copying of public records, unless that period is
less than eight hours.
The public office shall distribute the public records
policy adopted by the public office under this division to the
employee of the public office who is the records custodian or
records manager or otherwise has custody of the records of that
office. The public office shall require that employee to
acknowledge receipt of the copy of the public records policy.
The public office shall create a poster that describes its
public records policy and shall post the poster in a conspicuous
place in the public office and in all locations where the public
office has branch offices. The public office may post its public
records policy on the internet web site of the public office if
the public office maintains an internet web site. A public
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As Introduced
office that has established a manual or handbook of its general
policies and procedures for all employees of the public office
shall include the public records policy of the public office in
the manual or handbook.
(F)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules
pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit
the number of bulk commercial special extraction requests made
by a person for the same records or for updated records during a
calendar year. The rules may include provisions for charges to
be made for bulk commercial special extraction requests for the
actual cost of the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus
ten per cent. The bureau may charge for expenses for redacting
information, the release of which is prohibited by law.
(2) As used in division (F)(1) of this section:
(a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies,
records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative
delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct
equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual
costs paid to private contractors for copying services.
(b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a
request for copies of a record for information in a format other
than the format already available, or information that cannot be
extracted without examination of all items in a records series,
class of records, or database by a person who intends to use or
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or
resale for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special
extraction request" does not include a request by a person who
gives assurance to the bureau that the person making the request
does not intend to use or forward the requested copies for
surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial
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957 S. B. No. 82 Page 34
As Introduced
purposes.
(c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying,
or selling of any good, service, or other product.
(d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time
spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task,
the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed
by the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer
programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer
or records services.
(3) For purposes of divisions (F)(1) and (2) of this
section, "surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for
commercial purposes" shall be narrowly construed and does not
include reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering
information to assist citizen oversight or understanding of the
operation or activities of government, or nonprofit educational
research.
(G) A request by a defendant, counsel of a defendant, or
any agent of a defendant in a criminal action that public
records related to that action be made available under this
section shall be considered a demand for discovery pursuant to
the Criminal Rules, except to the extent that the Criminal Rules
plainly indicate a contrary intent. The defendant, counsel of
the defendant, or agent of the defendant making a request under
this division shall serve a copy of the request on the
prosecuting attorney, director of law, or other chief legal
officer responsible for prosecuting the action.
(H)(1) Any portion of a body-worn camera or dashboard
camera recording described in divisions (A)(17)(b) to (h) of
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986 S. B. No. 82 Page 35
As Introduced
this section may be released by consent of the subject of the
recording or a representative of that person, as specified in
those divisions, only if either of the following applies:
(a) The recording will not be used in connection with any
probable or pending criminal proceedings;
(b) The recording has been used in connection with a
criminal proceeding that was dismissed or for which a judgment
has been entered pursuant to Rule 32 of the Rules of Criminal
Procedure, and will not be used again in connection with any
probable or pending criminal proceedings.
(2) If a public office denies a request to release a
restricted portion of a body-worn camera or dashboard camera
recording, as defined in division (A)(17) of this section, any
person may file a mandamus action pursuant to this section or a
complaint with the clerk of the court of claims pursuant to
section 2743.75 of the Revised Code, requesting the court to
order the release of all or portions of the recording. If the
court considering the request determines that the filing
articulates by clear and convincing evidence that the public
interest in the recording substantially outweighs privacy
interests and other interests asserted to deny release, the
court shall order the public office to release the recording.
Section 2. That existing section 149.43 of the Revised
Code is hereby repealed.
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