As Introduced 1
123rd General Assembly 4
Regular Session H. B. No. 539 5
1999-2000 6
REPRESENTATIVES GOODMAN-CORBIN-CAREY-VAN VYVEN-EVANS-R. MILLER- 7
JOLIVETTE-VESPER-JACOBSON-WILLIAMS-PRINGLE-REDFERN-FLANNERY- 8
O'BRIEN-DePIERO-ALLEN-HARTNETT 9
_________________________________________________________________ 11
A B I L L
To amend section 149.43 of the Revised Code to 13
exclude from the Public Records Law information 14
pertaining to a person under 18 years of age who
seeks to use community recreational facilities. 15
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 17
Section 1. That section 149.43 of the Revised Code be 19
amended to read as follows: 20
Sec. 149.43. (A) As used in this section: 29
(1) "Public record" means any record that is kept by any 31
public office, including, but not limited to, state, county, 32
city, village, township, and school district units, except that 34
"public record" does not mean any of the following:
(a) Medical records; 36
(b) Records pertaining to probation and parole 38
proceedings;
(c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 40
and division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to 42
appeals of actions arising under those sections; 43
(d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including 45
the contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of 46
health under section 3705.12 of the Revised Code; 47
(e) Information in a record contained in the putative 49
father registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised 50
Code, regardless of whether the information is held by the 51
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department of human services or, pursuant to section 5101.313 of 52
the Revised Code, the division of child support in the department 53
or a child support enforcement agency;
(f) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of 55
the Revised Code or specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 56
of the Revised Code;
(g) Trial preparation records; 58
(h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records; 60
(i) Records containing information that is confidential 62
under section 2317.023 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code; 63
(j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to 66
section 109.573 of the Revised Code;
(k) Inmate records released by the department of 68
rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth services 70
or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of section 5120.21 71
of the Revised Code;
(l) Records maintained by the department of youth services 73
pertaining to children in its custody released by the department 74
of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and 75
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code; 76
(m) Intellectual property records; 78
(n) Donor profile records; 80
(o) Records maintained by the department of human services 82
pursuant to section 5101.312 of the Revised Code; 83
(p) Peace officer residential and familial information; 85
(q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to 88
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code, information that constitutes a 90
trade secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the Revised Code; 91
(q)(r) INFORMATION PERTAINING TO A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF 93
EIGHTEEN WHO SEEKS TO USE COMMUNITY RECREATIONAL FACILITIES; 94
(s) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or 96
federal law. 97
(2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" 99
means any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a 100
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criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but 101
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a 102
high probability of disclosure of any of the following: 103
(a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged 105
with the offense to which the record pertains, or of an 106
information source or witness to whom confidentiality has been 107
reasonably promised; 108
(b) Information provided by an information source or 110
witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised, 111
which information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's 112
or witness's identity; 113
(c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or 115
procedures or specific investigatory work product; 116
(d) Information that would endanger the life or physical 118
safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, 119
or a confidential information source. 120
(3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of 122
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or 123
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history, 124
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that 125
is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment. 126
(4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that 128
contains information that is specifically compiled in reasonable 129
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or 130
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and 131
personal trial preparation of an attorney. 132
(5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other 135
than a financial or administrative record, that is produced or
collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of 136
higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or 137
research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic, 138
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study or 139
research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction
with a governmental body or private concern, and that has not 141
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been publicly released, published, or patented. 142
(6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors 144
or potential donors to a public institution of higher education 145
except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and 146
the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation. 147
(7) "Peace officer residential and familial information" 149
means information that discloses any of the following: 150
(a) The address of the actual personal residence of a 152
peace officer, except for the state or political subdivision in 153
which the peace officer resides; 154
(b) Information compiled from referral to or participation 156
in an employee assistance program; 157
(c) The social security number, the residential telephone 159
number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card 160
number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any medical 161
information pertaining to, a peace officer; 162
(d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, 164
including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided 166
to a peace officer by the peace officer's employer; 167
(e) The identity and amount of any charitable or 169
employment benefit deduction made by the peace officer's employer 170
from the peace officer's compensation unless the amount of the 171
deduction is required by state or federal law; 172
(f) The name, the residential address, the name of the 174
employer, the address of the employer, the social security 175
number, the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit 176
card, charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency 177
telephone number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of 178
a peace officer.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5) of this section, 180
"peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the 182
Revised Code, except that "peace officer" does not include the 183
sheriff of a county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence 184
of the sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the 185
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authority of, and perform the duties of the sheriff. 186
(8) "INFORMATION PERTAINING TO A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF 188
EIGHTEEN WHO SEEKS TO USE COMMUNITY RECREATIONAL FACILITIES" 189
MEANS INFORMATION THAT DISCLOSES ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: 190
(a) THE ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER OF A PERSON UNDER THE 192
AGE OF EIGHTEEN OR THE ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER OF THAT 193
PERSON'S PARENT, GUARDIAN, CUSTODIAN, OR EMERGENCY CONTACT 194
PERSON;
(b) THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, BIRTH DATE, OR 196
PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE OF A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN; 197
(c) ANY MEDICAL RECORD, HISTORY, OR INFORMATION PERTAINING 199
TO A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN; 200
(d) ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SOUGHT OR REQUIRED ABOUT A 202
PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN FOR THE PURPOSE OF ALLOWING THAT 203
PERSON TO USE OR OBTAIN ADMISSION PRIVILEGES TO ANY COMMUNITY 204
RECREATIONAL FACILITY.
(B)(1) Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, all 206
public records shall be promptly prepared and made available for 208
inspection to any person at all reasonable times during regular 209
business hours. Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, upon 210
request, a public office or person responsible for public records 211
shall make copies available at cost, within a reasonable period 212
of time. In order to facilitate broader access to public 213
records, public offices shall maintain public records in a manner 214
that they can be made available for inspection in accordance with 215
this division.
(2) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public 217
record in accordance with division (B)(1) of this section, the 219
public office or person responsible for the public record shall
permit that person to choose to have the public record duplicated 221
upon paper, upon the same medium upon which the public office or 222
person responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any 224
other medium upon which the public office or person responsible
for the public record determines that it reasonably can be 226
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duplicated as an integral part of the normal operations of the 227
public office or person responsible for the public record. When 228
the person seeking the copy makes a choice under this division, 229
the public office or person responsible for the public record 230
shall provide a copy of it in accordance with the choice made by 232
the person seeking the copy.
(3) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B)(1) 234
of this section, a public office or person responsible for public 235
records shall transmit a copy of a public record to any person by 236
United States mail within a reasonable period of time after 237
receiving the request for the copy. The public office or person 239
responsible for the public record may require the person making 240
the request to pay in advance the cost of postage and other 241
supplies used in the mailing. 242
Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it 245
will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time 246
after receiving a request, copies of public records by United 248
States mail pursuant to this division. A public office that 250
adopts a policy and procedures under this division shall comply 251
with them in performing its duties under this division. 252
In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a 254
public office may limit the number of records requested by a 255
person that the office will transmit by United States mail to ten 256
per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing 257
that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested 258
records, or the information contained in them, for commercial 260
purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial" shall be 261
narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering
news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen 262
oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of 263
government, or nonprofit educational research. 264
(4) A public office or person responsible for public 266
records is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated 267
pursuant to a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to 268
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inspect or to obtain a copy of any public record concerning a 269
criminal investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be 270
a criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the 271
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to 272
inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of 273
acquiring information that is subject to release as a public 274
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence 275
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the 276
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in 277
the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a 278
justiciable claim of the person. 279
(5) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist 281
on or after the effective date of this amendment DECEMBER 16, 282
1999, a public office, or person responsible for public records, 283
having custody of the records of the agency employing a specified 284
peace officer shall disclose to the journalist the address of the 286
actual personal residence of the peace officer and, if the peace 287
officer's spouse, former spouse, or child is employed by a public 288
office, the name and address of the employer of the peace 289
officer's spouse, former spouse, or child. The request shall 290
include the journalist's name and title and the name and address 291
of the journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of 292
the information sought would be in the public interest. 293
As used in division (B)(5) of this section, "journalist" 295
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any 296
news medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, 297
news agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a 298
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, 299
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information 300
for the general public. 301
(C) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a 303
public office to promptly prepare a public record and to make it 305
available to the person for inspection in accordance with
division (B) of this section, or if a person who has requested a 307
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copy of a public record allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of 308
a public office or the person responsible for the public record 310
to make a copy available to the person allegedly aggrieved in 311
accordance with division (B) of this section, the person 312
allegedly aggrieved may commence a mandamus action to obtain a 313
judgment that orders the public office or the person responsible 314
for the public record to comply with division (B) of this section 315
and that awards reasonable attorney's fees to the person that 316
instituted the mandamus action. The mandamus action may be 317
commenced in the court of common pleas of the county in which 318
division (B) of this section allegedly was not complied with, in 319
the supreme court pursuant to its original jurisdiction under 320
Section 2 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution, or in the court of 321
appeals for the appellate district in which division (B) of this 322
section allegedly was not complied with pursuant to its original 323
jurisdiction under Section 3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution. 324
(D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the 326
provisions of this section. 327
(E)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules 329
pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit 331
the number of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by
a person for the same records or for updated records during a 332
calendar year. The rules may include provisions for charges to 333
be made for bulk commercial special extraction requests for the 335
actual cost of the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus 336
ten per cent. The bureau may charge for expenses for redacting 337
information, the release of which is prohibited by law. 338
(2) As used in divisions (B)(3) and (E)(1) of this 340
section:
(a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, 342
records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative 343
delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct 344
equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual costs 345
paid to private contractors for copying services. 346
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(b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a 348
request for copies of a record for information in a format other 349
than the format already available, or information that cannot be 350
extracted without examination of all items in a records series, 351
class of records, or data base by a person who intends to use or 352
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or 353
resale for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special 354
extraction request" does not include a request by a person who 355
gives assurance to the bureau that the person making the request 356
does not intend to use or forward the requested copies for 357
surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial 358
purposes.
(c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, 360
or selling of any good, service, or other product. 361
(d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time 363
spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, 364
the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed by 365
the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer 366
programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction 367
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer
or records services. 368
(3) For purposes of divisions (E)(1) and (2) of this 371
section, "commercial surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale" 372
shall be narrowly construed and does not include reporting or
gathering news, reporting or gathering information to assist 374
citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or activities 375
of government, or nonprofit educational research. 376
Section 2. That existing section 149.43 of the Revised 378
Code is hereby repealed. 379
Section 3. Section 149.43 of the Revised Code is presented 381
in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. 383
Sub. S.B. 55 and Am. Sub. S.B. 78 of the 123rd General Assembly,
with the new language of neither of the acts shown in capital 384
letters. This is in recognition of the principle stated in 385
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division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that such 386
amendments are to be harmonized where not substantively 387
irreconcilable and constitutes a legislative finding that such is 388
the resulting version in effect prior to the effective date of 389
this act.