As Reported by House Ethics and Standards Committee 1
123rd General Assembly 4
Regular Session Sub. H. B. No. 539 5
1999-2000 6
REPRESENTATIVES GOODMAN-CORBIN-CAREY-VAN VYVEN-EVANS- 9
R. MILLER-JOLIVETTE-VESPER-JACOBSON-WILLIAMS-PRINGLE-REDFERN-
FLANNERY-O'BRIEN-DePIERO-ALLEN-HARTNETT-A. CORE-FERDERBER 10
_________________________________________________________________ 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 the recreational activities of a
person under 18 years of age and to amend the 15
version of section 149.43 of the Revised Code
that is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2000, to 16
continue the provisions of this act on and after 17
that date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 19
Section 1. That section 149.43 of the Revised Code be 21
amended to read as follows: 22
Sec. 149.43. (A) As used in this section: 31
(1) "Public record" means any record that is kept by any 33
public office, including, but not limited to, state, county, 34
city, village, township, and school district units, except that 36
"public record" does not mean any of the following:
(a) Medical records; 38
(b) Records pertaining to probation and parole 40
proceedings;
(c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 42
and division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to 44
appeals of actions arising under those sections; 45
(d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including 47
the contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of 48
2
health under section 3705.12 of the Revised Code; 49
(e) Information in a record contained in the putative 51
father registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised 52
Code, regardless of whether the information is held by the 53
department of human services or, pursuant to section 5101.313 of 54
the Revised Code, the division of child support in the department 55
or a child support enforcement agency;
(f) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of 57
the Revised Code or specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 58
of the Revised Code;
(g) Trial preparation records; 60
(h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records; 62
(i) Records containing information that is confidential 64
under section 2317.023 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code; 65
(j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to 68
section 109.573 of the Revised Code;
(k) Inmate records released by the department of 70
rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth services 72
or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of section 5120.21 73
of the Revised Code;
(l) Records maintained by the department of youth services 75
pertaining to children in its custody released by the department 76
of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and 77
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code; 78
(m) Intellectual property records; 80
(n) Donor profile records; 82
(o) Records maintained by the department of human services 84
pursuant to section 5101.312 of the Revised Code; 85
(p) Peace officer residential and familial information; 87
(q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to 90
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code, information that constitutes a 92
trade secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the Revised Code; 93
(q)(r) INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE RECREATIONAL 95
ACTIVITIES OF A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN; 97
3
(s) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or 99
federal law. 100
(2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" 102
means any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a 103
criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but 104
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a 105
high probability of disclosure of any of the following: 106
(a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged 108
with the offense to which the record pertains, or of an 109
information source or witness to whom confidentiality has been 110
reasonably promised; 111
(b) Information provided by an information source or 113
witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised, 114
which information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's 115
or witness's identity; 116
(c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or 118
procedures or specific investigatory work product; 119
(d) Information that would endanger the life or physical 121
safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, 122
or a confidential information source. 123
(3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of 125
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or 126
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history, 127
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that 128
is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment. 129
(4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that 131
contains information that is specifically compiled in reasonable 132
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or 133
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and 134
personal trial preparation of an attorney. 135
(5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other 138
than a financial or administrative record, that is produced or
collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of 139
higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or 140
4
research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic, 141
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study or 142
research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction
with a governmental body or private concern, and that has not 144
been publicly released, published, or patented. 145
(6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors 147
or potential donors to a public institution of higher education 148
except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and 149
the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation. 150
(7) "Peace officer residential and familial information" 152
means information that discloses any of the following: 153
(a) The address of the actual personal residence of a 155
peace officer, except for the state or political subdivision in 156
which the peace officer resides; 157
(b) Information compiled from referral to or participation 159
in an employee assistance program; 160
(c) The social security number, the residential telephone 162
number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card 163
number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any medical 164
information pertaining to, a peace officer; 165
(d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, 167
including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided 169
to a peace officer by the peace officer's employer; 170
(e) The identity and amount of any charitable or 172
employment benefit deduction made by the peace officer's employer 173
from the peace officer's compensation unless the amount of the 174
deduction is required by state or federal law; 175
(f) The name, the residential address, the name of the 177
employer, the address of the employer, the social security 178
number, the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit 179
card, charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency 180
telephone number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of 181
a peace officer.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5) of this section, 183
5
"peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the 185
Revised Code, except that "peace officer" does not include the 186
sheriff of a county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence 187
of the sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the 188
authority of, and perform the duties of the sheriff. 189
(8) "INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 191
OF A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN" MEANS INFORMATION THAT IS 192
KEPT IN THE ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS BY A PUBLIC OFFICE AND 193
THAT DISCLOSES ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: 194
(a) THE ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER OF A PERSON UNDER THE 196
AGE OF EIGHTEEN OR THE ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER OF THAT 197
PERSON'S PARENT, GUARDIAN, CUSTODIAN, OR EMERGENCY CONTACT 198
PERSON;
(b) THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, BIRTH DATE, OR 200
PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE OF A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN; 201
(c) ANY MEDICAL RECORD, HISTORY, OR INFORMATION PERTAINING 203
TO A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN; 204
(d) ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SOUGHT OR REQUIRED ABOUT A 206
PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN FOR THE PURPOSE OF ALLOWING THAT 207
PERSON TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY CONDUCTED OR 208
SPONSORED BY A PUBLIC OFFICE OR TO USE OR OBTAIN ADMISSION 210
PRIVILEGES TO ANY RECREATIONAL FACILITY OWNED OR OPERATED BY A 211
PUBLIC OFFICE.
(B)(1) Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, all 213
public records shall be promptly prepared and made available for 215
inspection to any person at all reasonable times during regular 216
business hours. Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, upon 217
request, a public office or person responsible for public records 218
shall make copies available at cost, within a reasonable period 219
of time. In order to facilitate broader access to public 220
records, public offices shall maintain public records in a manner 221
that they can be made available for inspection in accordance with 222
this division.
(2) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public 224
6
record in accordance with division (B)(1) of this section, the 226
public office or person responsible for the public record shall
permit that person to choose to have the public record duplicated 228
upon paper, upon the same medium upon which the public office or 229
person responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any 231
other medium upon which the public office or person responsible
for the public record determines that it reasonably can be 233
duplicated as an integral part of the normal operations of the 234
public office or person responsible for the public record. When 235
the person seeking the copy makes a choice under this division, 236
the public office or person responsible for the public record 237
shall provide a copy of it in accordance with the choice made by 239
the person seeking the copy.
(3) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B)(1) 241
of this section, a public office or person responsible for public 242
records shall transmit a copy of a public record to any person by 243
United States mail within a reasonable period of time after 244
receiving the request for the copy. The public office or person 246
responsible for the public record may require the person making 247
the request to pay in advance the cost of postage and other 248
supplies used in the mailing. 249
Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it 252
will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time 253
after receiving a request, copies of public records by United 255
States mail pursuant to this division. A public office that 257
adopts a policy and procedures under this division shall comply 258
with them in performing its duties under this division. 259
In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a 261
public office may limit the number of records requested by a 262
person that the office will transmit by United States mail to ten 263
per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing 264
that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested 265
records, or the information contained in them, for commercial 267
purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial" shall be 268
7
narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering
news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen 269
oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of 270
government, or nonprofit educational research. 271
(4) A public office or person responsible for public 273
records is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated 274
pursuant to a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to 275
inspect or to obtain a copy of any public record concerning a 276
criminal investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be 277
a criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the 278
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to 279
inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of 280
acquiring information that is subject to release as a public 281
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence 282
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the 283
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in 284
the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a 285
justiciable claim of the person. 286
(5) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist 288
on or after the effective date of this amendment DECEMBER 16, 289
1999, a public office, or person responsible for public records, 290
having custody of the records of the agency employing a specified 291
peace officer shall disclose to the journalist the address of the 293
actual personal residence of the peace officer and, if the peace 294
officer's spouse, former spouse, or child is employed by a public 295
office, the name and address of the employer of the peace 296
officer's spouse, former spouse, or child. The request shall 297
include the journalist's name and title and the name and address 298
of the journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of 299
the information sought would be in the public interest. 300
As used in division (B)(5) of this section, "journalist" 302
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any 303
news medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, 304
news agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a 305
8
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, 306
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information 307
for the general public. 308
(C) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a 310
public office to promptly prepare a public record and to make it 312
available to the person for inspection in accordance with
division (B) of this section, or if a person who has requested a 314
copy of a public record allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of 315
a public office or the person responsible for the public record 317
to make a copy available to the person allegedly aggrieved in 318
accordance with division (B) of this section, the person 319
allegedly aggrieved may commence a mandamus action to obtain a 320
judgment that orders the public office or the person responsible 321
for the public record to comply with division (B) of this section 322
and that awards reasonable attorney's fees to the person that 323
instituted the mandamus action. The mandamus action may be 324
commenced in the court of common pleas of the county in which 325
division (B) of this section allegedly was not complied with, in 326
the supreme court pursuant to its original jurisdiction under 327
Section 2 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution, or in the court of 328
appeals for the appellate district in which division (B) of this 329
section allegedly was not complied with pursuant to its original 330
jurisdiction under Section 3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution. 331
(D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the 333
provisions of this section. 334
(E)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules 336
pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit 338
the number of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by
a person for the same records or for updated records during a 339
calendar year. The rules may include provisions for charges to 340
be made for bulk commercial special extraction requests for the 342
actual cost of the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus 343
ten per cent. The bureau may charge for expenses for redacting 344
information, the release of which is prohibited by law. 345
9
(2) As used in divisions (B)(3) and (E)(1) of this 347
section:
(a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, 349
records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative 350
delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct 351
equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual costs 352
paid to private contractors for copying services. 353
(b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a 355
request for copies of a record for information in a format other 356
than the format already available, or information that cannot be 357
extracted without examination of all items in a records series, 358
class of records, or data base by a person who intends to use or 359
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or 360
resale for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special 361
extraction request" does not include a request by a person who 362
gives assurance to the bureau that the person making the request 363
does not intend to use or forward the requested copies for 364
surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial 365
purposes.
(c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, 367
or selling of any good, service, or other product. 368
(d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time 370
spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, 371
the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed by 372
the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer 373
programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction 374
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer
or records services. 375
(3) For purposes of divisions (E)(1) and (2) of this 378
section, "commercial surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale" 379
shall be narrowly construed and does not include reporting or
gathering news, reporting or gathering information to assist 381
citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or activities 382
of government, or nonprofit educational research. 383
10
Section 2. That existing section 149.43 of the Revised 385
Code is hereby repealed. 386
Section 3. That the version of section 149.43 of the 388
Revised Code that is to take effect July 1, 2000, be amended to 389
read as follows: 390
Sec. 149.43. (A) As used in this section: 399
(1) "Public record" means any record that is kept by any 401
public office, including, but not limited to, state, county, 402
city, village, township, and school district units, except that 404
"public record" does not mean any of the following:
(a) Medical records; 406
(b) Records pertaining to probation and parole 408
proceedings;
(c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 410
and division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to 412
appeals of actions arising under those sections; 413
(d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including 415
the contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of 416
health under section 3705.12 of the Revised Code; 417
(e) Information in a record contained in the putative 419
father registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised 420
Code, regardless of whether the information is held by the 421
department of job and family services or, pursuant to section 423
5101.313 of the Revised Code, the division of child support in
the department or a child support enforcement agency; 424
(f) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of 426
the Revised Code or specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 427
of the Revised Code;
(g) Trial preparation records; 429
(h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records; 431
(i) Records containing information that is confidential 433
under section 2317.023 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code; 434
(j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to 437
section 109.573 of the Revised Code;
11
(k) Inmate records released by the department of 439
rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth services 441
or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of section 5120.21 442
of the Revised Code;
(l) Records maintained by the department of youth services 444
pertaining to children in its custody released by the department 445
of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and 446
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code; 447
(m) Intellectual property records; 449
(n) Donor profile records; 451
(o) Records maintained by the department of human services 453
pursuant to section 5101.312 of the Revised Code; 454
(p) Peace officer residential and familial information; 456
(q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to 459
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code, information that constitutes a 461
trade secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the Revised Code; 462
(r) INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 464
OF A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN; 465
(s) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or 467
federal law. 468
(2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" 470
means any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a 471
criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but 472
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a 473
high probability of disclosure of any of the following: 474
(a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged 476
with the offense to which the record pertains, or of an 477
information source or witness to whom confidentiality has been 478
reasonably promised; 479
(b) Information provided by an information source or 481
witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised, 482
which information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's 483
or witness's identity; 484
(c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or 486
12
procedures or specific investigatory work product; 487
(d) Information that would endanger the life or physical 489
safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, 490
or a confidential information source. 491
(3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of 493
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or 494
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history, 495
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that 496
is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment. 497
(4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that 499
contains information that is specifically compiled in reasonable 500
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or 501
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and 502
personal trial preparation of an attorney. 503
(5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other 506
than a financial or administrative record, that is produced or
collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of 507
higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or 508
research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic, 509
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study or 510
research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction
with a governmental body or private concern, and that has not 512
been publicly released, published, or patented. 513
(6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors 515
or potential donors to a public institution of higher education 516
except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and 517
the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation. 518
(7) "Peace officer residential and familial information" 520
means information that discloses any of the following: 521
(a) The address of the actual personal residence of a 523
peace officer, except for the state or political subdivision in 524
which the peace officer resides; 525
(b) Information compiled from referral to or participation 527
in an employee assistance program; 528
13
(c) The social security number, the residential telephone 530
number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card 531
number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any medical 532
information pertaining to, a peace officer; 533
(d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, 535
including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided 537
to a peace officer by the peace officer's employer; 538
(e) The identity and amount of any charitable or 540
employment benefit deduction made by the peace officer's employer 541
from the peace officer's compensation unless the amount of the 542
deduction is required by state or federal law; 543
(f) The name, the residential address, the name of the 545
employer, the address of the employer, the social security 546
number, the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit 547
card, charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency 548
telephone number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of 549
a peace officer.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5) of this section, 551
"peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the 553
Revised Code, except that "peace officer" does not include the 554
sheriff of a county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence 555
of the sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the 556
authority of, and perform the duties of the sheriff. 557
(8) "INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES 559
OF A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN" MEANS INFORMATION THAT IS 561
KEPT IN THE ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS BY A PUBLIC OFFICE AND 562
THAT DISCLOSES ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: 563
(a) THE ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER OF A PERSON UNDER THE 565
AGE OF EIGHTEEN OR THE ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER OF THAT 566
PERSON'S PARENT, GUARDIAN, CUSTODIAN, OR EMERGENCY CONTACT 567
PERSON;
(b) THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, BIRTH DATE, OR 569
PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE OF A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN; 570
(c) ANY MEDICAL RECORD, HISTORY, OR INFORMATION PERTAINING 572
14
TO A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN; 573
(d) ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SOUGHT OR REQUIRED ABOUT A 575
PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN FOR THE PURPOSE OF ALLOWING THAT 576
PERSON TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY CONDUCTED OR 577
SPONSORED BY A PUBLIC OFFICE OR TO USE OR OBTAIN ADMISSION 579
PRIVILEGES TO ANY RECREATIONAL FACILITY OWNED OR OPERATED BY A 580
PUBLIC OFFICE.
(B)(1) Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, all 582
public records shall be promptly prepared and made available for 584
inspection to any person at all reasonable times during regular 585
business hours. Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, upon 586
request, a public office or person responsible for public records 587
shall make copies available at cost, within a reasonable period 588
of time. In order to facilitate broader access to public 589
records, public offices shall maintain public records in a manner 590
that they can be made available for inspection in accordance with 591
this division.
(2) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public 593
record in accordance with division (B)(1) of this section, the 595
public office or person responsible for the public record shall
permit that person to choose to have the public record duplicated 597
upon paper, upon the same medium upon which the public office or 598
person responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any 600
other medium upon which the public office or person responsible
for the public record determines that it reasonably can be 602
duplicated as an integral part of the normal operations of the 603
public office or person responsible for the public record. When 604
the person seeking the copy makes a choice under this division, 605
the public office or person responsible for the public record 606
shall provide a copy of it in accordance with the choice made by 608
the person seeking the copy.
(3) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B)(1) 610
of this section, a public office or person responsible for public 611
records shall transmit a copy of a public record to any person by 612
15
United States mail within a reasonable period of time after 613
receiving the request for the copy. The public office or person 615
responsible for the public record may require the person making 616
the request to pay in advance the cost of postage and other 617
supplies used in the mailing. 618
Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it 621
will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time 622
after receiving a request, copies of public records by United 624
States mail pursuant to this division. A public office that 626
adopts a policy and procedures under this division shall comply 627
with them in performing its duties under this division. 628
In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a 630
public office may limit the number of records requested by a 631
person that the office will transmit by United States mail to ten 632
per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing 633
that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested 634
records, or the information contained in them, for commercial 636
purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial" shall be 637
narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering
news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen 638
oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of 639
government, or nonprofit educational research. 640
(4) A public office or person responsible for public 642
records is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated 643
pursuant to a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to 644
inspect or to obtain a copy of any public record concerning a 645
criminal investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be 646
a criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the 647
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to 648
inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of 649
acquiring information that is subject to release as a public 650
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence 651
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the 652
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in 653
16
the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a 654
justiciable claim of the person. 655
(5) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist 657
on or after the effective date of this amendment DECEMBER 16, 658
1999, a public office, or person responsible for public records, 660
having custody of the records of the agency employing a specified 661
peace officer shall disclose to the journalist the address of the 663
actual personal residence of the peace officer and, if the peace 664
officer's spouse, former spouse, or child is employed by a public 665
office, the name and address of the employer of the peace 666
officer's spouse, former spouse, or child. The request shall 667
include the journalist's name and title and the name and address 668
of the journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of 669
the information sought would be in the public interest. 670
As used in division (B)(5) of this section, "journalist" 672
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any 673
news medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, 674
news agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a 675
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, 676
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information 677
for the general public. 678
(C) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a 680
public office to promptly prepare a public record and to make it 682
available to the person for inspection in accordance with
division (B) of this section, or if a person who has requested a 684
copy of a public record allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of 685
a public office or the person responsible for the public record 687
to make a copy available to the person allegedly aggrieved in 688
accordance with division (B) of this section, the person 689
allegedly aggrieved may commence a mandamus action to obtain a 690
judgment that orders the public office or the person responsible 691
for the public record to comply with division (B) of this section 692
and that awards reasonable attorney's fees to the person that 693
instituted the mandamus action. The mandamus action may be 694
17
commenced in the court of common pleas of the county in which 695
division (B) of this section allegedly was not complied with, in 696
the supreme court pursuant to its original jurisdiction under 697
Section 2 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution, or in the court of 698
appeals for the appellate district in which division (B) of this 699
section allegedly was not complied with pursuant to its original 700
jurisdiction under Section 3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution. 701
(D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the 703
provisions of this section. 704
(E)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules 706
pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit 708
the number of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by
a person for the same records or for updated records during a 709
calendar year. The rules may include provisions for charges to 710
be made for bulk commercial special extraction requests for the 712
actual cost of the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus 713
ten per cent. The bureau may charge for expenses for redacting 714
information, the release of which is prohibited by law. 715
(2) As used in divisions (B)(3) and (E)(1) of this 717
section:
(a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, 719
records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative 720
delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct 721
equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual costs 722
paid to private contractors for copying services. 723
(b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a 725
request for copies of a record for information in a format other 726
than the format already available, or information that cannot be 727
extracted without examination of all items in a records series, 728
class of records, or data base by a person who intends to use or 729
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or 730
resale for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special 731
extraction request" does not include a request by a person who 732
gives assurance to the bureau that the person making the request 733
18
does not intend to use or forward the requested copies for 734
surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial 735
purposes.
(c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, 737
or selling of any good, service, or other product. 738
(d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time 740
spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, 741
the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed by 742
the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer 743
programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction 744
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer
or records services. 745
(3) For purposes of divisions (E)(1) and (2) of this 748
section, "commercial surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale" 749
shall be narrowly construed and does not include reporting or
gathering news, reporting or gathering information to assist 751
citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or activities 752
of government, or nonprofit educational research. 753
Section 4. That the existing version of section 149.43 of 755
the Revised Code that is to take effect July 1, 2000, is hereby 756
repealed.
Section 5. Section 149.43 of the Revised Code is presented 758
in Section 1 of this act as a composite of the section as amended 760
by both Am. Sub. S.B. 55 and Am. Sub. S.B. 78 of the 123rd 761
General Assembly, with the new language of neither of the acts 762
shown in capital letters. This is in recognition of the 763
principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised 764
Code that such amendments are to be harmonized where not 765
substantively irreconcilable and constitutes a legislative 766
finding that such is the resulting version in effect prior to 767
July 1, 2000.