Am. Sub. H. B. No. 9 As Passed by the House

Representatives Oelslager, Flowers, Buehrer, White, Trakas, Aslanides, Beatty, Blessing, Book, Carano, Cassell, Chandler, Collier, DeBose, Domenick, Evans, C., Evans, D., Fende, Fessler, Garrison, Hagan, Hartnett, Harwood, Healy, Key, Law, Mason, McGregor, R., Otterman, Patton, T., Peterson, Redfern, Reidelbach, Sayre, Schneider, Seitz, Setzer, Skindell, Willamowski, Williams, Woodard, Yuko

A BILL

To amend sections 121.22, 149.011, 149.31, 149.38, 1
149.39, 149.41, 149.42, 149.43, 2923.129, 2
2923.1210, 3319.321, and 4701.19 and to enact 3
sections 109.43, 149.411, 149.412, 2743.31, 4
2743.32, 2743.33, and 2743.34 of the Revised Code 5
to revise the Public Records Law, to create the 6
office of Public Access Counselor in the Court of 7
Claims, to create a library records commission in 8
each public library and a special taxing district 9
records commission in each special taxing 10
district, to allow a concealed carry licensee to 11
prohibit the disclosure of the licensee's 12
information to a journalist, to revise the records 13
commissions laws, and to eliminate the provision 14
that certain records made by a public accountant 15
incident to an audit of a public office or private 16
entity are not public records. 17

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That sections 121.22, 149.011, 149.31, 149.38, 18
149.39, 149.41, 149.42, 149.43, 2923.129, 2923.1210, 3319.321, and 19
4701.19 be amended and sections 109.43, 149.411, 149.412, 2743.31, 20
2743.32, 2743.33, and 2743.34 of the Revised Code be enacted to 21
read as follows: 22

       Sec. 109.43. (A) As used in this section: 23

        (1) "Designee" means a designee of the elected official in 24
the public office if that elected official is the only elected 25
official in the public office involved or a designee of all of the 26
elected officials in the public office if the public office 27
involved includes more than one elected official. 28

        (2) "Elected official" means an official elected to a local 29
or statewide office. "Elected official" does not include the chief 30
justice or a justice of the supreme court, a judge of a court of 31
appeals, court of common pleas, municipal court, or county court, 32
or a clerk of any of those courts. 33

        (3) "Public office" has the same meaning as in section 34
149.011 of the Revised Code. 35

        (4) "Public record" has the same meaning as in section 149.43 36
of the Revised Code. 37

       (B) The attorney general shall develop, provide, and certify 38
training programs and seminars for all elected officials or their 39
appropriate designees in order to enhance the officials' knowledge 40
of the duty to provide access to public records as required by 41
section 149.43 of the Revised Code. The training shall be three 42
hours for every term of office for which the elected official was 43
appointed or elected to the public office involved. The training 44
shall provide elected officials or their appropriate designees 45
with guidance in developing and updating their offices' policies 46
as required under section 149.43 of the Revised Code. The 47
successful completion by an elected official or by an elected 48
official's appropriate designee of the training requirements 49
established by the attorney general under this section shall 50
satisfy the education requirements imposed on elected officials or 51
their appropriate designees under division (E) of section 149.43 52
of the Revised Code. Prior to providing the training programs and 53
seminars under this section to satisfy the education requirements 54
imposed on elected officials or their appropriate designees under 55
division (E) of section 149.43 of the Revised Code, the attorney 56
general shall ensure that the training programs and seminars are 57
accredited by the commission on continuing legal education 58
established by the supreme court. 59

       (C) The attorney general shall not charge any elected 60
official or the appropriate designee of any elected official any 61
fee for attending the training programs and seminars that the 62
attorney general conducts under this section. The attorney general 63
may allow the attendance of any other interested persons at any of 64
the training programs or seminars that the attorney general 65
conducts under this section and shall not charge the person any 66
fee for attending the training program or seminar. 67

       (D) In addition to developing, providing, and certifying 68
training programs and seminars as required under division (B) of 69
this section, the attorney general may contract with one or more 70
other state agencies, political subdivisions, or other public or 71
private entities to conduct the training programs and seminars for 72
elected officials or their appropriate designees under this 73
section. The contract may provide for the attendance of any other 74
interested persons at any of the training programs or seminars 75
conducted by the contracting state agency, political subdivision, 76
or other public or private entity. The contracting state agency, 77
political subdivision, or other public or private entity may 78
charge an elected official, an elected official's appropriate 79
designee, or an interested person a registration fee for attending 80
the training program or seminar conducted by that contracting 81
agency, political subdivision, or entity pursuant to a contract 82
entered into under this division. The attorney general shall 83
determine a reasonable amount for the registration fee based on 84
the actual and necessary expenses associated with the training 85
programs and seminars. 86

        (E) The attorney general shall develop and provide to all 87
public offices a model public records policy for responding to 88
public records requests in compliance with section 149.43 of the 89
Revised Code in order to provide guidance to public offices in 90
developing their own public record policies for responding to 91
public records requests in compliance with that section. 92

        (F) The attorney general may provide any other appropriate 93
training or educational programs about Ohio's "Sunshine Laws," 94
sections 121.22 and 149.43 of the Revised Code, as may be 95
developed and offered by the attorney general or by the attorney 96
general in collaboration with one or more other state agencies, 97
political subdivisions, or other public or private entities. 98

        (G) The auditor of state, in the course of an annual or 99
biennial audit of a public office pursuant to Chapter 117. of the 100
Revised Code, shall audit the public office for compliance with 101
this section and division (E) of section 149.43 of the Revised 102
Code. 103

       Sec. 121.22. (A) This section shall be liberally construed 104
to require public officials to take official action and to conduct 105
all deliberations upon official business only in open meetings 106
unless the subject matter is specifically excepted by law. 107

       (B) As used in this section: 108

       (1) "Public body" means any of the following: 109

       (a) Any board, commission, committee, council, or similar 110
decision-making body of a state agency, institution, or authority, 111
and any legislative authority or board, commission, committee, 112
council, agency, authority, or similar decision-making body of any 113
county, township, municipal corporation, school district, or other 114
political subdivision or local public institution; 115

       (b) Any committee or subcommittee of a body described in 116
division (B)(1)(a) of this section; 117

       (c) A court of jurisdiction of a sanitary district organized 118
wholly for the purpose of providing a water supply for domestic, 119
municipal, and public use when meeting for the purpose of the 120
appointment, removal, or reappointment of a member of the board of 121
directors of such a district pursuant to section 6115.10 of the 122
Revised Code, if applicable, or for any other matter related to 123
such a district other than litigation involving the district. As 124
used in division (B)(1)(c) of this section, "court of 125
jurisdiction" has the same meaning as "court" in section 6115.01 126
of the Revised Code. 127

       (2) "Meeting" means any prearranged discussion of the public 128
business of the public body by a majority of its members. 129

       (3) "Regulated individual" means either of the following: 130

       (a) A student in a state or local public educational 131
institution; 132

       (b) A person who is, voluntarily or involuntarily, an inmate, 133
patient, or resident of a state or local institution because of 134
criminal behavior, mental illness or retardation, disease, 135
disability, age, or other condition requiring custodial care. 136

       (4) "Public office" has the same meaning as in section 137
149.011 of the Revised Code. 138

       (C) All meetings of any public body are declared to be public 139
meetings open to the public at all times. A member of a public 140
body shall be present in person at a meeting open to the public to 141
be considered present or to vote at the meeting and for purposes 142
of determining whether a quorum is present at the meeting. 143

       The minutes of a regular or special meeting of any public 144
body shall be promptly prepared, filed, and maintained and shall 145
be open to public inspection. The minutes need only reflect the 146
general subject matter of discussions in executive sessions 147
authorized under division (G) or (J) of this section. 148

       (D) This section does not apply to any of the following: 149

       (1) A grand jury; 150

       (2) An audit conference conducted by the auditor of state or 151
independent certified public accountants with officials of the 152
public office that is the subject of the audit; 153

       (3) The adult parole authority when its hearings are 154
conducted at a correctional institution for the sole purpose of 155
interviewing inmates to determine parole or pardon; 156

       (4) The organized crime investigations commission established 157
under section 177.01 of the Revised Code; 158

       (5) Meetings of a child fatality review board established 159
under section 307.621 of the Revised Code and meetings conducted 160
pursuant to sections 5153.171 to 5153.173 of the Revised Code; 161

       (6) The state medical board when determining whether to 162
suspend a certificate without a prior hearing pursuant to division 163
(G) of either section 4730.25 or 4731.22 of the Revised Code; 164

       (7) The board of nursing when determining whether to suspend 165
a license or certificate without a prior hearing pursuant to 166
division (B) of section 4723.281 of the Revised Code; 167

       (8) The state board of pharmacy when determining whether to 168
suspend a license without a prior hearing pursuant to division (D) 169
of section 4729.16 of the Revised Code; 170

       (9) The state chiropractic board when determining whether to 171
suspend a license without a hearing pursuant to section 4734.37 of 172
the Revised Code. 173

       (10) The executive committee of the emergency response 174
commission when determining whether to issue an enforcement order 175
or request that a civil action, civil penalty action, or criminal 176
action be brought to enforce Chapter 3750. of the Revised Code. 177

       (E) The controlling board, the development financing advisory 178
council, the industrial technology and enterprise advisory 179
council, the tax credit authority, or the minority development 180
financing advisory board, when meeting to consider granting 181
assistance pursuant to Chapter 122. or 166. of the Revised Code, 182
in order to protect the interest of the applicant or the possible 183
investment of public funds, by unanimous vote of all board, 184
council, or authority members present, may close the meeting 185
during consideration of the following information confidentially 186
received by the authority, council, or board from the applicant: 187

       (1) Marketing plans; 188

       (2) Specific business strategy; 189

       (3) Production techniques and trade secrets; 190

       (4) Financial projections; 191

       (5) Personal financial statements of the applicant or members 192
of the applicant's immediate family, including, but not limited 193
to, tax records or other similar information not open to public 194
inspection. 195

       The vote by the authority, council, or board to accept or 196
reject the application, as well as all proceedings of the 197
authority, council, or board not subject to this division, shall 198
be open to the public and governed by this section. 199

       (F) Every public body, by rule, shall establish a reasonable 200
method whereby any person may determine the time and place of all 201
regularly scheduled meetings and the time, place, and purpose of 202
all special meetings. A public body shall not hold a special 203
meeting unless it gives at least twenty-four hours' advance notice 204
to the news media that have requested notification, except in the 205
event of an emergency requiring immediate official action. In the 206
event of an emergency, the member or members calling the meeting 207
shall notify the news media that have requested notification 208
immediately of the time, place, and purpose of the meeting. 209

       The rule shall provide that any person, upon request and 210
payment of a reasonable fee, may obtain reasonable advance 211
notification of all meetings at which any specific type of public 212
business is to be discussed. Provisions for advance notification 213
may include, but are not limited to, mailing the agenda of 214
meetings to all subscribers on a mailing list or mailing notices 215
in self-addressed, stamped envelopes provided by the person. 216

       (G) Except as provided in division (J) of this section, the 217
members of a public body may hold an executive session only after 218
a majority of a quorum of the public body determines, by a roll 219
call vote, to hold an executive session and only at a regular or 220
special meeting for the sole purpose of the consideration of any 221
of the following matters: 222

       (1) To consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, 223
discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public 224
employee or official, or the investigation of charges or 225
complaints against a public employee, official, licensee, or 226
regulated individual, unless the public employee, official, 227
licensee, or regulated individual requests a public hearing. 228
Except as otherwise provided by law, no public body shall hold an 229
executive session for the discipline of an elected official for 230
conduct related to the performance of the elected official's 231
official duties or for the elected official's removal from office. 232
If a public body holds an executive session pursuant to division 233
(G)(1) of this section, the motion and vote to hold that executive 234
session shall state which one or more of the approved purposes 235
listed in division (G)(1) of this section are the purposes for 236
which the executive session is to be held, but need not include 237
the name of any person to be considered at the meeting. 238

       (2) To consider the purchase of property for public purposes, 239
or for the sale of property at competitive bidding, if premature 240
disclosure of information would give an unfair competitive or 241
bargaining advantage to a person whose personal, private interest 242
is adverse to the general public interest. No member of a public 243
body shall use division (G)(2) of this section as a subterfuge for 244
providing covert information to prospective buyers or sellers. A 245
purchase or sale of public property is void if the seller or buyer 246
of the public property has received covert information from a 247
member of a public body that has not been disclosed to the general 248
public in sufficient time for other prospective buyers and sellers 249
to prepare and submit offers. 250

       If the minutes of the public body show that all meetings and 251
deliberations of the public body have been conducted in compliance 252
with this section, any instrument executed by the public body 253
purporting to convey, lease, or otherwise dispose of any right, 254
title, or interest in any public property shall be conclusively 255
presumed to have been executed in compliance with this section 256
insofar as title or other interest of any bona fide purchasers, 257
lessees, or transferees of the property is concerned. 258

       (3) Conferences with an attorney for the public body 259
concerning disputes involving the public body that are the subject 260
of pending or imminent court action; 261

       (4) Preparing for, conducting, or reviewing negotiations or 262
bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their 263
compensation or other terms and conditions of their employment; 264

       (5) Matters required to be kept confidential by federal law 265
or regulations or state statutes; 266

       (6) Details relative to the security arrangements and 267
emergency response protocols for a public body or a public office, 268
if disclosure of the matters discussed could reasonably be 269
expected to jeopardize the security of the public body or public 270
office; 271

       (7) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to 272
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code or a municipal hospital operated 273
pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code, to consider trade 274
secrets, as defined in section 1333.61 of the Revised Code. 275

       If a public body holds an executive session to consider any 276
of the matters listed in divisions (G)(2) to (7) of this section, 277
the motion and vote to hold that executive session shall state 278
which one or more of the approved matters listed in those 279
divisions are to be considered at the executive session. 280

       A public body specified in division (B)(1)(c) of this section 281
shall not hold an executive session when meeting for the purposes 282
specified in that division. 283

       (H) A resolution, rule, or formal action of any kind is 284
invalid unless adopted in an open meeting of the public body. A 285
resolution, rule, or formal action adopted in an open meeting that 286
results from deliberations in a meeting not open to the public is 287
invalid unless the deliberations were for a purpose specifically 288
authorized in division (G) or (J) of this section and conducted at 289
an executive session held in compliance with this section. A 290
resolution, rule, or formal action adopted in an open meeting is 291
invalid if the public body that adopted the resolution, rule, or 292
formal action violated division (F) of this section. 293

       (I)(1) Any person may bring an action to enforce this 294
section. An action under division (I)(1) of this section shall be 295
brought within two years after the date of the alleged violation 296
or threatened violation. Upon proof of a violation or threatened 297
violation of this section in an action brought by any person, the 298
court of common pleas shall issue an injunction to compel the 299
members of the public body to comply with its provisions. 300

       (2)(a) If the court of common pleas issues an injunction 301
pursuant to division (I)(1) of this section, the court shall order 302
the public body that it enjoins to pay a civil forfeiture of five 303
hundred dollars to the party that sought the injunction and, shall 304
award to that party all court costs and, subject to reduction as 305
described in division (I)(2) of this section, reasonable 306
attorney's fees. The court, in its discretion, may reduce an award 307
of attorney's fees to the party that sought the injunction or not 308
award attorney's fees to that party if the court determines both 309
of the following: 310

       (i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 311
and case law as it existed at the time of violation or threatened 312
violation that was the basis of the injunction, a well-informed 313
public body reasonably would believe that the public body was not 314
violating or threatening to violate this section; 315

       (ii) That a well-informed public body reasonably would 316
believe that the conduct or threatened conduct that was the basis 317
of the injunction would serve the public policy that underlies the 318
authority that is asserted as permitting that conduct or 319
threatened conduct. 320

       (b) If the court of common pleas does not issue an injunction 321
pursuant to division (I)(1) of this section and the court 322
determines at that time that the bringing of the action was 323
frivolous conduct, as defined in division (A) of section 2323.51 324
of the Revised Code, the court shall award to the public body all 325
court costs and reasonable attorney's fees, as determined by the 326
court. 327

       (3) Irreparable harm and prejudice to the party that sought 328
the injunction shall be conclusively and irrebuttably presumed 329
upon proof of a violation or threatened violation of this section. 330

       (4) A member of a public body who knowingly violates an 331
injunction issued pursuant to division (I)(1) of this section may 332
be removed from office by an action brought in the court of common 333
pleas for that purpose by the prosecuting attorney or the attorney 334
general. 335

       (J)(1) Pursuant to division (C) of section 5901.09 of the 336
Revised Code, a veterans service commission shall hold an 337
executive session for one or more of the following purposes unless 338
an applicant requests a public hearing: 339

       (a) Interviewing an applicant for financial assistance under 340
sections 5901.01 to 5901.15 of the Revised Code; 341

       (b) Discussing applications, statements, and other documents 342
described in division (B) of section 5901.09 of the Revised Code; 343

       (c) Reviewing matters relating to an applicant's request for 344
financial assistance under sections 5901.01 to 5901.15 of the 345
Revised Code. 346

       (2) A veterans service commission shall not exclude an 347
applicant for, recipient of, or former recipient of financial 348
assistance under sections 5901.01 to 5901.15 of the Revised Code, 349
and shall not exclude representatives selected by the applicant, 350
recipient, or former recipient, from a meeting that the commission 351
conducts as an executive session that pertains to the applicant's, 352
recipient's, or former recipient's application for financial 353
assistance. 354

       (3) A veterans service commission shall vote on the grant or 355
denial of financial assistance under sections 5901.01 to 5901.15 356
of the Revised Code only in an open meeting of the commission. The 357
minutes of the meeting shall indicate the name, address, and 358
occupation of the applicant, whether the assistance was granted or 359
denied, the amount of the assistance if assistance is granted, and 360
the votes for and against the granting of assistance. 361

       (K) Any person that is denied any of the person's rights 362
under this section may file an informal complaint or a formal 363
complaint with the public access counselor under section 2743.33 364
of the Revised Code. 365

       Sec. 149.011. As used in this chapter, except as otherwise 366
provided: 367

       (A) "Public office" includes any state agency, public 368
institution, political subdivision, or other organized body, 369
office, agency, institution, or entity established by the laws of 370
this state for the exercise of any function of government. 371

       (B) "State agency" includes every department, bureau, board, 372
commission, office, or other organized body established by the 373
constitution and laws of this state for the exercise of any 374
function of state government, including any state-supported 375
institution of higher education, the general assembly, any 376
legislative agency, any court or judicial agency, or any political 377
subdivision or agency of a political subdivision. 378

       (C) "Public money" includes all money received or collected 379
by or due a public official, whether in accordance with or under 380
authority of any law, ordinance, resolution, or order, under color 381
of office, or otherwise. It also includes any money collected by 382
any individual on behalf of a public office or as a purported 383
representative or agent of the public office. 384

       (D) "Public official" includes all officers, employees, or 385
duly authorized representatives or agents of a public office. 386

       (E) "Color of office" includes any act purported or alleged 387
to be done under any law, ordinance, resolution, order, or other 388
pretension to official right, power, or authority. 389

       (F) "Archive" includes any public record that is transferred 390
to the state archives or other designated archival institutions 391
because of the historical information contained on it. 392

       (G) "Records" includes any document, device, or item, 393
regardless of physical form or characteristic, ~~including an~~ 394
~~electronic record as defined in section 1306.01 of the Revised~~ 395
~~Code,~~ created or received by or coming under the jurisdiction of 396
any public office of the state or its political subdivisions, 397
which serves to document the organization, functions, policies, 398
decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the 399
office. "Records" also includes any document, device, or item, 400
regardless of physical form or characteristic, created or received 401
by or coming under the jurisdiction of any public office of the 402
state or its political subdivisions that documents the depletion, 403
expenditure, or depreciation of the resources of a public office 404
even if unauthorized by that office. 405

       Sec. 149.31. (A) The Ohio historical society, in addition to 406
its other functions, shall function as the state archives 407
administration for the state and its political subdivisions. 408

       It shall be the function of the state archives administration 409
to preserve government archives, documents, and records of 410
historical value that may come into its possession from public or 411
private sources. 412

       The archives administration shall evaluate, preserve, 413
arrange, service repair, or make other disposition of, ~~such as~~ 414
including transfer to public libraries, county historical 415
societies, state universities, or other public or quasi-public 416
institutions, agencies, or corporations, of those public records 417
of the state and its political subdivisions that may come into its 418
possession under this section. ~~Such~~Those public records shall be 419
transferred by written agreement only, and only to public or 420
quasi-public institutions, agencies, or corporations capable of 421
meeting accepted archival standards for housing and use. 422

       The archives administration shall be headed by a trained 423
archivist designated by the Ohio historical society, and shall 424
make its services available to county, ~~city~~municipal, township, 425
~~and~~ school district, library, and special taxing district records 426
commissions upon request. The archivist shall be designated as the 427
"state archivist." 428

       (B) The archives administration may purchase or procure for 429
itself, or authorize the board of trustees of an archival 430
institution to purchase or procure, from an insurance company 431
licensed to do business in this state policies of insurance 432
insuring the administration or the members of the board and their 433
officers, employees, and agents against liability on account of 434
damage or injury to persons and property resulting from any act or 435
omission of the board members, officers, employees, and agents in 436
their official capacity. 437

       (C) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code 438
to the contrary, the archives administration may establish a fee 439
schedule, which may include the cost of labor, for researching, 440
retrieving, copying, and mailing copies of public records in the 441
state archives. Revisions to the fee schedule shall be subject to 442
approval by the board of trustees of the Ohio historical society. 443

       Sec. 149.38. (A) There is hereby created in each county a 444
county records commission, composed of the president of the board 445
of county commissioners as chairperson, the prosecuting attorney, 446
the auditor, the recorder, and the clerk of the court of common 447
pleas. The commission shall appoint a secretary, who may or may 448
not be a member of the commission and who shall serve at the 449
pleasure of the commission. The commission may employ an archivist 450
or records manager to serve under its direction. The commission 451
shall meet at least once every six months, and upon call of the 452
chairperson. 453

       (B) The functions of the county records commission shall be 454
to provide rules for retention and disposal of records of the 455
county and to review applications for one-time ~~records~~ disposal of 456
obsolete records and schedules of records retention and ~~disposal~~ 457
disposition submitted by county offices. ~~Records may be disposed~~ 458
~~of by the~~The commission may dispose of records pursuant to the 459
procedure outlined in this section. The commission, at any time, 460
may review any schedule it has previously approved and, for good 461
cause shown, may revise that schedule, subject to division (D) of 462
this section. 463

       (C) When the county records commission has approved any 464
county ~~records~~application for one-time disposal~~, a copy~~ of ~~a list~~ 465
~~of those~~obsolete records ~~shall be sent~~or any schedule of records 466
retention and disposition, the commission shall send that 467
application or schedule to the Ohio historical society for its 468
review. The Ohio historical society shall review the application 469
or schedule within a period of not more than sixty days after its 470
receipt of it. Upon completion of its review, the Ohio historical 471
society shall forward the application for one-time disposal of 472
obsolete records or the schedule of records retention and 473
disposition to the auditor of state~~. If the auditor of state~~ 474
~~disapproves the action by the commission in whole or in part, the~~ 475
~~auditor of state shall so inform the commission~~for the auditor's 476
approval or disapproval. The auditor shall approve or disapprove 477
the application or schedule within a period of not more than sixty 478
days~~, and those records shall not be destroyed~~after receipt of 479
it. Before public records are to be disposed of, the commission 480
shall inform the Ohio historical society of the disposal through 481
the submission of a certificate of records disposal and shall give 482
the society the opportunity for a period of ~~sixty~~fifteen business 483
days to select for its custody ~~such~~those records asthat it 484
considers to be of continuing historical value. ~~When the Ohio~~ 485
~~historical society is so informed that public records are to be~~ 486
~~disposed of~~Upon the expiration of the fifteen-business-day 487
period, the county records commission also shall notify the public 488
libraries, county historical society, state universities, and ~~any~~ 489
other public or quasi-public institutions, agencies, or 490
corporations in the county that have provided the commission with 491
their name and address for these notification purposes, that the 492
commission has informed the Ohio historical society ~~has been so~~ 493
~~informed~~of the records disposal and that the notified entities, 494
upon written agreement with the Ohio historical society pursuant 495
to section 149.31 of the Revised Code, may select records of 496
continuing historical value, including records that may be 497
distributed to any of the notified entities under section 149.31 498
of the Revised Code. 499

       (D) The rules of the county records commission shall include 500
a rule that requires any receipts, checks, vouchers, or other 501
similar records pertaining to expenditures from the delinquent tax 502
and assessment collection fund created in section 321.261 of the 503
Revised Code, from the real estate assessment fund created in 504
section 325.31 of the Revised Code, or from amounts allocated for 505
the furtherance of justice to the county sheriff under section 506
325.071 of the Revised Code or to the prosecuting attorney under 507
section 325.12 of the Revised Code to be retained for at least 508
four years. 509

       (E) No person shall knowingly violate the rule adopted under 510
division (D) of this section. Whoever violates that rule is guilty 511
of a misdemeanor of the first degree. 512

       Sec. 149.39. There is hereby created in each municipal 513
corporation a records commission composed of the chief executive 514
or ~~his~~the chief executive's appointed representative, as ~~chairman~~ 515
chairperson, and the chief fiscal officer, the chief legal 516
officer, and a citizen appointed by the chief executive. The 517
commission shall appoint a secretary, who may or may not be a 518
member of the commission and who shall serve at the pleasure of 519
the commission. The commission may employ an archivist or records 520
manager to serve under its direction. The commission shall meet at 521
least once every six months, and upon call of the ~~chairman~~ 522
chairperson. 523

       The functions of the commission shall be to provide rules for 524
retention and disposal of records of the municipal corporation and 525
to review applications for one-time disposal of obsolete records 526
~~disposal~~ and schedules of records retention and disposition 527
submitted by municipal offices. ~~Records may be disposed of by the~~ 528
The commission may dispose of records pursuant to the procedure 529
outlined in this section. The commission ~~may~~ at any time may 530
review any schedule it has previously approved, and for good cause 531
shown may revise that schedule. 532

       When the municipal records ~~have been~~commission has approved 533
any application for one-time disposal~~, a list~~ of ~~such~~obsolete 534
records ~~shall be sent~~or any schedule of records retention and 535
disposition, the commission shall send that application or 536
schedule to the Ohio historical society for its review. The Ohio 537
historical society shall review the application or schedule within 538
a period of not more than sixty days after its receipt of it. Upon 539
completion of its review, the Ohio historical society shall 540
forward the application for one-time disposal of obsolete records 541
or the schedule of records retention and disposition to the 542
auditor of state~~. If he disapproves of the action by the municipal~~ 543
~~commission, in whole or in part, he shall so inform the commission~~ 544
for the auditor's approval or disapproval. The auditor shall 545
approve or disapprove the application or schedule within a period 546
of not more than sixty days ~~and these records shall not be~~ 547
~~destroyed~~after receipt of it. Before public records are to be 548
disposed of, the commission shall inform the Ohio historical 549
society ~~shall be informed and given~~of the disposal through the 550
submission of a certificate of records disposal and shall give the 551
society the opportunity for a period of ~~sixty~~fifteen business 552
days to select for its custody ~~such~~those public records asthat 553
it considers to be of continuing historical value. 554

       Sec. 149.41. There is hereby created in each city and 555
exempted village school district a school district records 556
commission and in each educational service center an educational 557
service center records commission. Each records commission shall 558
be composed of the president, the treasurer of the board of 559
education or governing board of the educational service center, 560
and the superintendent of schools in each such district or 561
educational service center. The commission shall meet at least 562
once every twelve months. 563

       The function of the commission shall be to review 564
applications for one-time disposal of obsolete records ~~disposal~~ 565
and schedules of records retention and disposition submitted by 566
any employee of the school district or educational service center. 567
~~Records may be disposed of by the~~The commission may dispose of 568
records pursuant to the procedure outlined in this section. The 569
commission ~~may~~ at any time may review any schedule it has 570
previously approved, and for good cause shown may revise that 571
schedule. 572

       When the school district records commission or the 573
educational service center records ~~have been~~commission has 574
approved any application for one-time disposal~~, a list~~ of ~~such~~ 575
obsolete records ~~shall be sent~~or any schedule of records 576
retention and disposition, the appropriate commission shall send 577
that application or schedule to the Ohio historical society for 578
its review. The Ohio historical society shall review the 579
application or schedule within a period of not more than sixty 580
days after its receipt of it. Upon completion of its review, the 581
Ohio historical society shall forward the application for one-time 582
disposal of obsolete records or the schedule of records retention 583
and disposition to the auditor of state~~. If he disapproves the~~ 584
~~action by the commission, in whole or in part, he shall so inform~~ 585
~~the commission~~for the auditor's approval or disapproval. The 586
auditor shall approve or disapprove the application or schedule 587
within a period of not more than sixty days ~~and these records~~ 588
~~shall not be destroyed~~after receipt of it. Before public records 589
are to be disposed of, the appropriate commission shall inform the 590
Ohio historical society ~~shall be informed and given~~of the 591
disposal through the submission of a certificate of records 592
disposal and shall give the society the opportunity for a period 593
of ~~sixty~~fifteen business days to select for its custody ~~such~~ 594
those public records asthat it considers to be of continuing 595
historical value. The society may not review or select for its 596
custody either of the following: 597

       (A) Records containing personally identifiable information 598
concerning any pupil attending a public school other than 599
directory information, as defined in section 3319.321 of the 600
Revised Code, without the written consent of the parent, guardian, 601
or custodian of each such pupil who is less than eighteen years of 602
age, or without the written consent of each such pupil who is 603
eighteen years of age or older; 604

       (B) Records the release of which would, according to the 605
"Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 571, 606
20 U.S.C.A. 1232g, disqualify a school or other educational 607
institution from receiving federal funds. 608

       Sec. 149.411. There is hereby created in each county free 609
public library, municipal free public library, township free 610
public library, county library district, and regional library 611
district a library records commission composed of the members and 612
the clerk of the board of library trustees of the appropriate 613
public library or library district. The commission shall meet at 614
least once every twelve months. 615

       The functions of the commission shall be to review 616
applications for one-time disposal of obsolete records and 617
schedules of records retention and disposition submitted by any 618
employee of the library. The commission may dispose of records 619
pursuant to the procedure outlined in this section. The commission 620
at any time may review any schedule it has previously approved and 621
for good cause shown may revise that schedule. 622

       When the appropriate library records commission has approved 623
any library application for one-time disposal of obsolete records 624
or any schedule of records retention and disposition, the 625
commission shall send that application or schedule to the Ohio 626
historical society for its review. The Ohio historical society 627
shall review the application or schedule within a period of not 628
more than sixty days after its receipt of it. Upon completion of 629
its review, the Ohio historical society shall forward the 630
application for one-time disposal of obsolete records or the 631
schedule of records retention and disposition to the auditor of 632
state for the auditor's approval or disapproval. The auditor shall 633
approve or disapprove the application or schedule within a period 634
of not more than sixty days after receipt of it. Before public 635
records are to be disposed of, the commission shall inform the 636
Ohio historical society of the disposal through the submission of 637
a certificate of records disposal and shall give the society the 638
opportunity for a period of fifteen business days to select for 639
its custody those public records that it considers to be of 640
continuing historical value. The Ohio historical society may not 641
review or select for its custody any records pursuant to section 642
149.432 of the Revised Code. 643

       Sec. 149.412. There is hereby created in each special taxing 644
district that is a public office as defined in section 149.011 of 645
the Revised Code and that is not specifically designated in 646
section 149.38, 149.39, 149.41, 149.411, or 149.42 of the Revised 647
Code a special taxing district records commission composed of, at 648
a minimum, the chairperson, a fiscal representative, and a legal 649
representative of the governing board of the special taxing 650
district. The commission shall meet at least once every twelve 651
months and upon the call of the chairperson. 652

       The functions of the commission shall be to review 653
applications for one-time disposal of obsolete records and 654
schedules of records retention and disposition submitted by any 655
employee of the special taxing district. The commission may 656
dispose of records pursuant to the procedure outlined in this 657
section. The commission at any time may review any schedule it has 658
previously approved and for good cause shown may revise that 659
schedule. 660

       When the special taxing district records commission has 661
approved any special taxing district application for one-time 662
disposal of obsolete records or any schedule of records retention 663
and disposition, the commission shall send that application or 664
schedule to the Ohio historical society for its review. The Ohio 665
historical society shall review the application or schedule within 666
a period of not more than sixty days after its receipt of it. Upon 667
completion of its review, the Ohio historical society shall 668
forward the application for one-time disposal of obsolete records 669
or the schedule of records retention and disposition to the 670
auditor of state for the auditor's approval or disapproval. The 671
auditor shall approve or disapprove the application or schedule 672
within a period of not more than sixty days after receipt of it. 673
Before public records are to be disposed of, the commission shall 674
inform the Ohio historical society of the disposal through the 675
submission of a certificate of records disposal and shall give the 676
society the opportunity for a period of fifteen business days to 677
select for its custody those public records that it considers to 678
be of continuing historical value. 679

       Sec. 149.42. There is hereby created in each township a 680
township records commission, composed of the chairperson of the 681
board of township trustees and the fiscal officer of the township. 682
The commission shall meet at least once every twelve months, and 683
upon call of the chairperson. 684

       The function of the commission shall be to review 685
applications for one-time disposal of obsolete records ~~disposal~~ 686
and schedules of records retention and disposition submitted by 687
township offices. ~~Records may be disposed of by the~~The commission 688
may dispose of records pursuant to the procedure outlined in this 689
section. The commission ~~may~~ at any time may review any schedule it 690
has previously approved, and for good cause shown may revise that 691
schedule. 692

       When the township records ~~have been~~commission has approved 693
any township application for one-time disposal~~, a list~~ of ~~the~~ 694
obsolete records ~~shall be sent~~or any schedule of records 695
retention and disposition, the commission shall send that 696
application or schedule to the Ohio historical society for its 697
review. The Ohio historical society shall review the application 698
or schedule within a period of not more than sixty days after its 699
receipt of it. Upon completion of its review, the Ohio historical 700
society shall forward the application for one-time disposal of 701
obsolete records or the schedule of records retention and 702
disposition to the auditor of state~~. If the auditor of state~~ 703
~~disapproves of the action by the commission, in whole or in part,~~ 704
~~the auditor of state shall so inform the commission~~for the 705
auditor's approval or disapproval. The auditor shall approve or 706
disapprove the application or schedule within a period of not more 707
than sixty days~~, and these records shall not be destroyed~~after 708
receipt of it. Before public records are to be disposed of, the 709
commission shall inform the Ohio historical society ~~shall be~~ 710
~~informed and given~~of the disposal through the submission of a 711
certificate of records disposal and shall give the society the 712
opportunity for a period of ~~sixty~~fifteen business days to select 713
for its custody those public records that it considers to be of 714
continuing historical value. 715

       Sec. 149.43. (A) As used in this section: 716

       (1) "Public record" means records kept by any public office, 717
including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, 718
township, and school district units, ~~and~~ records pertaining to the 719
delivery of educational services by an alternative school in ~~Ohio~~ 720
this state kept by athe nonprofit or for profit entity operating 721
~~such~~the alternative school pursuant to section 3313.533 of the 722
Revised Code, and records kept by any governmental or 723
quasi-governmental entity that receives any governmental housing 724
subsidy or assistance, including, but not limited to, the names 725
and addresses of the owners of property involved in any housing 726
program operated by the entity. "Public record" does not mean any 727
of the following: 728

       (a) Medical records; 729

       (b) Records pertaining to probation and parole proceedings or 730
to proceedings related to the imposition of community control 731
sanctions and post-release control sanctions; 732

       (c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 and 733
division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to 734
appeals of actions arising under those sections; 735

       (d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including the 736
contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of 737
health under section 3705.12 of the Revised Code; 738

       (e) Information in a record contained in the putative father 739
registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code, 740
regardless of whether the information is held by the department of 741
job and family services or, pursuant to section 3111.69 of the 742
Revised Code, the office of child support in the department or a 743
child support enforcement agency; 744

       (f) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of the 745
Revised Code or specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of 746
the Revised Code; 747

       (g) Trial preparation records; 748

       (h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records; 749

       (i) Records containing information that is confidential under 750
section 2710.03 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code; 751

       (j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to 752
section 109.573 of the Revised Code; 753

       (k) Inmate records released by the department of 754
rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth services 755
or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of section 5120.21 756
of the Revised Code; 757

       (l) Records maintained by the department of youth services 758
pertaining to children in its custody released by the department 759
of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and 760
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code; 761

       (m) Intellectual property records; 762

       (n) Donor profile records; 763

       (o) Records maintained by the department of job and family 764
services pursuant to section 3121.894 of the Revised Code; 765

       (p) Peace officer, firefighter, or EMT residential and 766
familial information; 767

       (q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to 768
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code or a municipal hospital operated 769
pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code, information that 770
constitutes a trade secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the 771
Revised Code; 772

       (r) Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 773
a person under the age of eighteen; 774

       (s) Records provided to, statements made by review board 775
members during meetings of, and all work products of a child 776
fatality review board acting under sections 307.621 to 307.629 of 777
the Revised Code, other than the report prepared pursuant to 778
section 307.626 of the Revised Code; 779

       (t) Records provided to and statements made by the executive 780
director of a public children services agency or a prosecuting 781
attorney acting pursuant to section 5153.171 of the Revised Code 782
other than the information released under that section; 783

       (u) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in 784
an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator that 785
the board of examiners of nursing home administrators administers 786
under section 4751.04 of the Revised Code or contracts under that 787
section with a private or government entity to administer; 788

       (v) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or 789
federal law; 790

       (w) Proprietary information of or relating to any person that 791
is submitted to or compiled by the Ohio venture capital authority 792
created under section 150.01 of the Revised Code; 793

       (x) Information reported and evaluations conducted pursuant 794
to section 3701.072 of the Revised Code; 795

       (y) Financial statements and data any person submits for any 796
purpose to the Ohio housing finance agency or the controlling 797
board in connection with applying for, receiving, or accounting 798
for financial assistance from the agency, and information that 799
identifies any individual who benefits directly or indirectly from 800
financial assistance from the agency. 801

       (2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" means 802
any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a 803
criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but 804
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a 805
high probability of disclosure of any of the following: 806

       (a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged with 807
the offense to which the record pertains, or of an information 808
source or witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably 809
promised; 810

       (b) Information provided by an information source or witness 811
to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised, which 812
information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's or 813
witness's identity; 814

       (c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or 815
procedures or specific investigatory work product; 816

       (d) Information that would endanger the life or physical 817
safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, or 818
a confidential information source. 819

       (3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of 820
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or 821
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history, 822
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that 823
is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment. 824

       (4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that contains 825
information that is specifically compiled in reasonable 826
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or 827
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and 828
personal trial preparation of an attorney. 829

       (5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other than 830
a financial or administrative record, that is produced or 831
collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of 832
higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or 833
research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic, 834
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study or 835
research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction 836
with a governmental body or private concern, and that has not been 837
publicly released, published, or patented. 838

       (6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors or 839
potential donors to a public institution of higher education 840
except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and 841
the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation. 842

       (7) "Peace officer, firefighter, or EMT residential and 843
familial information" means either of the following: 844

       (a) Any information maintained in a personnel record of a 845
peace officer, firefighter, or EMT that discloses any of the 846
following: 847

       (i) The address of the actual personal residence of a peace 848
officer, firefighter, or EMT, except for the state or political 849
subdivision in which the peace officer, firefighter, or EMT 850
resides; 851

       (ii) Information compiled from referral to or participation 852
in an employee assistance program; 853

       (iii) The social security number, the residential telephone 854
number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card 855
number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any medical 856
information pertaining to, a peace officer, firefighter, or EMT; 857

       (iv) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, 858
including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided 859
to a peace officer, firefighter, or EMT by the peace officer's, 860
firefighter's, or EMT's employer; 861

       (v) The identity and amount of any charitable or employment 862
benefit deduction made by the peace officer's, firefighter's, or 863
EMT's employer from the peace officer's, firefighter's, or EMT's 864
compensation unless the amount of the deduction is required by 865
state or federal law; 866

       (vi) The name, the residential address, the name of the 867
employer, the address of the employer, the social security number, 868
the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit card, 869
charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency telephone 870
number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of a peace 871
officer, firefighter, or EMT. 872

       (b) Any record that identifies a person's occupation as a 873
peace officer, firefighter, or EMT other than statements required 874
to include the disclosure of that fact under the campaign finance 875
law. 876

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)~~(5)~~(9) of this section, 877
"peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the 878
Revised Code and also includes the superintendent and troopers of 879
the state highway patrol; it does not include the sheriff of a 880
county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence of the 881
sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the authority of, 882
and perform the duties of the sheriff. 883

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)~~(5)~~(9) of this section, 884
"firefighter" means any regular, paid or volunteer, member of a 885
lawfully constituted fire department of a municipal corporation, 886
township, fire district, or village. 887

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)~~(5)~~(9) of this section, 888
"EMT" means EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, and paramedics that provide 889
emergency medical services for a public emergency medical service 890
organization. "Emergency medical service organization," 891
"EMT-basic," "EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the same meanings as in 892
section 4765.01 of the Revised Code. 893

       (8) "Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 894
a person under the age of eighteen" means information that is kept 895
in the ordinary course of business by a public office, that 896
pertains to the recreational activities of a person under the age 897
of eighteen years, and that discloses any of the following: 898

       (a) The address or telephone number of a person under the age 899
of eighteen or the address or telephone number of that person's 900
parent, guardian, custodian, or emergency contact person; 901

       (b) The social security number, birth date, or photographic 902
image of a person under the age of eighteen; 903

       (c) Any medical record, history, or information pertaining to 904
a person under the age of eighteen; 905

       (d) Any additional information sought or required about a 906
person under the age of eighteen for the purpose of allowing that 907
person to participate in any recreational activity conducted or 908
sponsored by a public office or to use or obtain admission 909
privileges to any recreational facility owned or operated by a 910
public office. 911

       (9) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in 912
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code. 913

       (10) "Post-release control sanction" has the same meaning as 914
in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code. 915

        (11) "Redaction" means obscuring or deleting any information 916
that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or 917
copying from an item that otherwise meets the definition of a 918
"record" in section 149.011 of the Revised Code. 919

       (12) "Designee" and "elected official" have the same meanings 920
as in section 109.43 of the Revised Code. 921

       (B)(1) ~~Subject~~Upon request and subject to division (B)~~(4)~~(8) 922
of this section, all public records responsive to the request 923
shall be promptly prepared and made available for inspection to 924
any person at all reasonable times during regular business hours. 925
Subject to division (B)~~(4)~~(8) of this section, upon request and 926
payment in advance of the cost of making copies of the requested 927
public record under this section, a public office or person 928
responsible for public records shall make copies available at 929
cost, within a reasonable period of time. ~~In order to facilitate~~ 930
~~broader access to public records, public offices shall maintain~~ 931
~~public records in a manner that they can be made available for~~ 932
~~inspection in accordance with this division.~~If a public record 933
contains information that is exempt from the duty to permit public 934
inspection or copying, the public office shall make available all 935
of the information within the public record that is not exempt. 936
When making that information available for public inspection or 937
copying, the public office shall notify the requester of any 938
redaction or make the redaction plainly visible. A redaction shall 939
be deemed a denial of a request to inspect or copy the redacted 940
information, except if federal or state law authorizes or requires 941
a public office to make the redaction. 942

       (2) To facilitate broader access to public records, a public 943
office shall organize and maintain public records in a manner that 944
they can be made available for inspection or copying in accordance 945
with division (B) of this section. A public office also shall have 946
available a copy of its current records retention schedule at a 947
location readily available to the public. If a requester makes an 948
ambiguous request or has difficulty in making a request for copies 949
or inspection of public records under this section such that the 950
public office cannot reasonably identify what public records are 951
being requested, the public office may deny the request but shall 952
provide the requester with an opportunity to revise the request by 953
informing the requester of the manner in which records are 954
maintained by the public office and accessed in the ordinary 955
course of the public office's duties. 956

       (3)(a) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in 957
whole, the public office shall provide the requester with an 958
explanation, including legal authority, setting forth why the 959
request was denied. If the initial request was provided in 960
writing, the explanation also shall be provided to the requester 961
in writing. The explanation shall not preclude the public office 962
from relying upon additional reasons or legal authority in 963
defending an action commenced under division (C) of this section. 964

       (b) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in whole, 965
the public office may provide the requester information on how to 966
contact the office of the public access counselor established 967
under section 2743.31 of the Revised Code and the procedures for 968
filing an informal complaint or a formal complaint with the public 969
access counselor under section 2743.33 of the Revised Code. 970

       (4) Unless specifically required by state or federal law or 971
in accordance with division (B) of this section, no public office 972
may limit or condition the availability of public records by 973
requiring disclosure of the requester's identity or the intended 974
use of the requested public record. Any such requirement 975
constitutes a denial of the request. 976

       (5) A public office or person responsible for public records 977
may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may ask for 978
the requester's identity, and may inquire about the intended use 979
of the information requested, but may do so only after disclosing 980
to the requester that a written request is not mandatory and that 981
the requester may decline to reveal the requester's identity or 982
the intended use and when a written request or disclosure of the 983
identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing 984
the ability of the public office or person responsible for public 985
records to identify, locate, or deliver the public records sought 986
by the requester. 987

       ~~(2)~~(6) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public 988
record in accordance with division (B)~~(1)~~ of this section, the 989
public office or person responsible for the public record may 990
require that person to pay in advance the cost involved in 991
providing the copy of the public record in accordance with the 992
choice made by the person seeking the copy under this division. 993
The public office or the person responsible for the public record 994
shall permit that person to choose to have the public record 995
duplicated upon paper, upon the same medium upon which the public 996
office or person responsible for the public record keeps it, or 997
upon any other medium upon which the public office or person 998
responsible for the public record determines that it reasonably 999
can be duplicated as an integral part of the normal operations of 1000
the public office or person responsible for the public record. 1001
When the person seeking the copy makes a choice under this 1002
division, the public office or person responsible for the public 1003
record shall provide a copy of it in accordance with the choice 1004
made by the person seeking the copy. 1005

       ~~(3)~~(7) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B)~~(1)~~ 1006
of this section and subject to division (B)(6) of this section, a 1007
public office or person responsible for public records shall 1008
transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United States 1009
mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission within a 1010
reasonable period of time after receiving the request for the 1011
copy. The public office or person responsible for the public 1012
record may require the person making the request to pay in advance 1013
the cost of postage, if the copy is transmitted by United States 1014
mail, and other supplies used in the mailing, delivery, or 1015
transmission. 1016

       Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it 1017
will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time 1018
after receiving a request, copies of public records by United 1019
States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission 1020
pursuant to this division. A public office that adopts a policy 1021
and procedures under this division shall comply with them in 1022
performing its duties under this division. 1023

       ~~In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a~~ 1024
~~public office may limit the number of records requested by a~~ 1025
~~person that the office will transmit by United States mail to ten~~ 1026
~~per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing~~ 1027
~~that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested~~ 1028
~~records, or the information contained in them, for commercial~~ 1029
~~purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial" shall be~~ 1030
~~narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering~~ 1031
~~news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen~~ 1032
~~oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of~~ 1033
~~government, or nonprofit educational research.~~ 1034

       ~~(4)~~(8) A public office or person responsible for public 1035
records is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated 1036
pursuant to a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to 1037
inspect or to obtain a copy of any public record concerning a 1038
criminal investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be 1039
a criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the 1040
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to 1041
inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of 1042
acquiring information that is subject to release as a public 1043
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence 1044
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the 1045
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in 1046
the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a 1047
justiciable claim of the person. 1048

       ~~(5)~~(9) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist 1049
on or after December 16, 1999, a public office, or person 1050
responsible for public records, having custody of the records of 1051
the agency employing a specified peace officer, firefighter, or 1052
EMT shall disclose to the journalist the address of the actual 1053
personal residence of the peace officer, firefighter, or EMT and, 1054
if the peace officer's, firefighter's, or EMT's spouse, former 1055
spouse, or child is employed by a public office, the name and 1056
address of the employer of the peace officer's, firefighter's, or 1057
EMT's spouse, former spouse, or child. The request shall include 1058
the journalist's name and title and the name and address of the 1059
journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of the 1060
information sought would be in the public interest. 1061

       As used in this division ~~(B)(5) of this section~~, "journalist" 1062
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news 1063
medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news 1064
agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a 1065
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, 1066
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for 1067
the general public. 1068

       (C)(1) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a 1069
public office to promptly prepare a public record and to make it 1070
available to the person for inspection in accordance with division 1071
(B) of this section, or ~~if a person who has requested a copy of a~~ 1072
~~public record allegedly is aggrieved~~ by ~~the~~any other failure of a 1073
public office ~~or the person responsible for the public record to~~ 1074
~~make a copy available to the person allegedly aggrieved~~to comply 1075
with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 1076
section, the person allegedly aggrieved may ~~commence~~do either of 1077
the following: 1078

        (a) File either an informal complaint or a formal complaint 1079
with the public access counselor pursuant to section 2743.33 of 1080
the Revised Code; 1081

        (b) Commence a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that 1082
orders the public office or the person responsible for the public 1083
record to comply with division (B) of this section ~~and~~, that 1084
awards court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the person 1085
that instituted the mandamus action, and, if applicable, that 1086
includes an order fixing statutory damages under division (C)(2) 1087
of this section. The mandamus action may be commenced in the court 1088
of common pleas of the county in which division (B) of this 1089
section allegedly was not complied with, in the supreme court 1090
pursuant to its original jurisdiction under Section 2 of Article 1091
IV, Ohio Constitution, or in the court of appeals for the 1092
appellate district in which division (B) of this section allegedly 1093
was not complied with pursuant to its original jurisdiction under 1094
Section 3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution. A person that 1095
commences a mandamus action under division (C)(1) of this section 1096
may not file with respect to the same public record request that 1097
is the subject of the mandamus action an informal complaint or a 1098
formal complaint with the public access counselor under section 1099
2743.33 of the Revised Code. 1100

       (2) If a person makes a written request to inspect or copy 1101
any public record in a manner that fairly describes the public 1102
record or class of public records requested, the person shall be 1103
entitled to recover the amount of statutory damages set forth in 1104
this division if a court determines both of the following: 1105

       (a) The person filed either an informal complaint or a formal 1106
complaint with the public access counselor pursuant to section 1107
2743.33 of the Revised Code, regardless of whether or not the 1108
parties involved in the applicable complaint reached an agreement 1109
under that section and regardless of whether or not the public 1110
access counselor issued an advisory opinion under that section. 1111

        (b) The public office or the person responsible for public 1112
records failed to comply with a person's request under division 1113
(B) of this section within ten business days after the person 1114
transmitted the request by hand delivery or certified mail to the 1115
public office or person responsible for the requested public 1116
records or within any additional period of time for compliance by 1117
the public office or person responsible for the public records 1118
exercising due diligence if that public office or person asserts 1119
in good faith a reasonable belief that the additional period for 1120
compliance is necessary due to any of the following: 1121

        (i) The age of the requested public records; 1122

        (ii) The volume of the requested public records if those 1123
records consist of more than one hundred pages; 1124

        (iii) The need to examine the requested public records for 1125
any privileged information or any information that is exempt from 1126
inspection and copying under this section or any other section of 1127
the Revised Code; 1128

       (iv) The need to make any redaction of any information in the 1129
requested public records; 1130

        (v) The format of the requested public records being such 1131
that the records are no longer easily accessible. 1132

       The amount of statutory damages shall be fixed at one hundred 1133
dollars for each business day during which the public office or 1134
person responsible for the requested public records failed to make 1135
one or more requested public records available, beginning with the 1136
day on which the requester files a mandamus action to recover 1137
statutory damages, up to a maximum of one thousand dollars. The 1138
statutory damages shall not be construed as penalties, but as 1139
compensation for injury arising from lost use of the requested 1140
information; the existence of this injury shall be conclusively 1141
presumed. The award of statutory damages shall be in addition to 1142
all other remedies authorized by this section. 1143

       (3)(a) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public 1144
office or the person responsible for the public record to comply 1145
with division (B) of this section and determines that the 1146
circumstances described in divisions (C)(2)(a) and (b) of this 1147
section exist, the court shall determine and award to the relator 1148
all court costs. 1149

       (b) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public 1150
office or the person responsible for the public record to comply 1151
with division (B) of this section, the relator filed a formal 1152
complaint with the public access counselor under section 2743.33 1153
of the Revised Code prior to filing the mandamus action, and the 1154
public access counselor issued an advisory opinion under that 1155
section declaring that the relator has the right to inspect or 1156
copy the public records that are the subject of the formal 1157
complaint, subject to division (C)(3)(c) of this section, the 1158
court shall determine and award to the relator reasonable 1159
attorney's fees subject to reduction as described in division 1160
(C)(3)(d) of this section. 1161

       (c) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public 1162
office or the person responsible for the public record to comply 1163
with division (B) of this section, in addition to any other 1164
provisions in this section regarding an award of attorney's fees 1165
to the relator, the following apply: 1166

        (i) The court shall determine and award to the relator 1167
reasonable attorney's fees, subject to reduction as described in 1168
division (C)(2)(d) of this section, if the public office or the 1169
person responsible for the public records did not respond 1170
affirmatively or negatively to the public records request within 1171
the applicable period of time described in division (C)(2)(a) of 1172
this section. 1173

        (ii) The court shall determine and award to the relator 1174
reasonable attorney's fees, subject to reduction as described in 1175
division (C)(2)(d) of this section, if the public office or the 1176
person responsible for the public records promised to permit the 1177
relator to inspect or copy the public records requested within a 1178
specified period of time but failed to fulfill that promise within 1179
that specified period of time. 1180

       (d) Court costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded under 1181
this section shall be construed as remedial and not punitive. 1182
Reasonable attorney's fees shall include reasonable fees incurred 1183
to produce proof of the reasonableness and amount of the fees and 1184
to otherwise litigate entitlement to the fees. The court may 1185
reduce an award of attorney's fees to the relator or not award 1186
attorney's fees to the relator if the court determines both of the 1187
following: 1188

       (i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 1189
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 1190
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 1191
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 1192
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 1193
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 1194
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 1195
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 1196
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 1197
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 1198
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 1199
section; 1200

       (ii) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 1201
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 1202
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 1203
responsible for the requested public records as described in 1204
division (C)(3)(d)(i) of this section would serve the public 1205
policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting 1206
that conduct or threatened conduct. 1207

       (e) If the person who commences the mandamus action under 1208
division (C)(1) of this section did not file an informal complaint 1209
or a formal complaint with the public access counselor pursuant to 1210
section 2743.33 of the Revised Code before filing the action, the 1211
court shall not award to the person any statutory damages but 1212
shall award to the person court costs and may award to the person 1213
reasonable attorney's fees, subject to reduction as described in 1214
division (C)(3)(d) of this section. 1215

       (D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the 1216
provisions of this section. 1217

       (E)(1) To ensure that all employees of public offices are 1218
appropriately educated about a public office's obligations under 1219
division (B) of this section, all elected officials or their 1220
appropriate designees shall attend training approved by the 1221
attorney general as provided in section 109.43 of the Revised 1222
Code. In addition, all public offices shall adopt a public records 1223
policy in compliance with this section for responding to public 1224
records requests. In adopting a public records policy under this 1225
division, a public office may obtain guidance from the model 1226
public records policy developed and provided to the public office 1227
by the attorney general under section 109.43 of the Revised Code. 1228
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the policy may not 1229
limit the number of public records that the public office will 1230
make available to a single person, may not limit the number of 1231
public records that it will make available during a fixed period 1232
of time, and may not establish a fixed period of time before it 1233
will respond to a request for inspection or copying of public 1234
records, unless that period is less than eight hours. 1235

       (2) The public office shall distribute the public records 1236
policy adopted by the public office under division (E)(1) of this 1237
section to the employee of the public office who is the records 1238
custodian or records manager or otherwise has custody of the 1239
records of that office. The public office shall require that 1240
employee to acknowledge receipt of the copy of the public records 1241
policy. The public office shall create a poster that describes its 1242
public records policy and shall post the poster in a conspicuous 1243
place in the public office and in all locations where the public 1244
office has branch offices. The public office may post its public 1245
records policy on the internet web site of the public office if 1246
the public office maintains an internet web site. A public office 1247
that has established a manual or handbook of its general policies 1248
and procedures for all employees of the public office shall 1249
include the public records policy of the public office in the 1250
manual or handbook. 1251

       ~~(E)~~(F)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules 1252
pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit 1253
the number of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by 1254
a person for the same records or for updated records during a 1255
calendar year. The rules may include provisions for charges to be 1256
made for bulk commercial special extraction requests for the 1257
actual cost of the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus ten 1258
per cent. The bureau may charge for expenses for redacting 1259
information, the release of which is prohibited by law. 1260

       (2) As used in ~~divisions (B)(3) and (E)~~division (F)(1) of 1261
this section: 1262

       (a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, 1263
records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative 1264
delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct 1265
equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual costs 1266
paid to private contractors for copying services. 1267

       (b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a 1268
request for copies of a record for information in a format other 1269
than the format already available, or information that cannot be 1270
extracted without examination of all items in a records series, 1271
class of records, or data base by a person who intends to use or 1272
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale 1273
for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special extraction 1274
request" does not include a request by a person who gives 1275
assurance to the bureau that the person making the request does 1276
not intend to use or forward the requested copies for surveys, 1277
marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes. 1278

       (c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, or 1279
selling of any good, service, or other product. 1280

       (d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time 1281
spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, 1282
the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed by 1283
the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer 1284
programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction 1285
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer or 1286
records services. 1287

       (3) For purposes of divisions ~~(E)~~(F)(1) and (2) of this 1288
section, "~~commercial~~ surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale 1289
for commercial purposes" shall be narrowly construed and does not 1290
include reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering 1291
information to assist citizen oversight or understanding of the 1292
operation or activities of government, or nonprofit educational 1293
research. 1294

       Sec. 2743.31. (A) As used in this section and sections 1295
2743.32, 2743.33, and 2743.34 of the Revised Code: 1296

       (1) "Counselor" means the public access counselor appointed 1297
under this section. 1298

       (2) "Meeting" and "public body" have the same meanings as in 1299
section 121.22 of the Revised Code. 1300

       (3) "Public access laws" means sections 121.22 and 149.43 of 1301
the Revised Code. 1302

       (4) "Public entity" means a public body for purposes of 1303
matters concerning section 121.22 of the Revised Code or a public 1304
office for purposes of matters concerning section 149.43 of the 1305
Revised Code. 1306

       (5) "Public office" has the same meaning as in section 1307
149.011 of the Revised Code. 1308

       (6) "Public meeting" means a meeting that is open to the 1309
public under section 121.22 of the Revised Code. 1310

       (7) "Public records" has the same meaning as in section 1311
149.43 of the Revised Code. 1312

       (B) There is hereby established in the court of claims an 1313
office to be known as the office of the public access counselor. 1314
The office of the public access counselor shall be under the 1315
supervision of a public access counselor appointed by the chief 1316
justice of the supreme court. The public office counselor shall 1317
have been admitted to practice as an attorney at law in this state 1318
and shall be engaged in the practice of law in this state. The 1319
chief justice of the supreme court shall appoint the public access 1320
counselor for a term of four years. The chief justice may remove 1321
the public access counselor for cause. If a vacancy occurs in the 1322
office of public access counselor, the chief justice shall appoint 1323
a successor to serve the remainder of the unexpired term of the 1324
public access counselor. The successor appointed to fill a vacancy 1325
in the office of public access counselor shall have been admitted 1326
to practice as an attorney at law in this state and shall be 1327
engaged in the practice of law in this state. 1328

       (C) The public access counselor shall not engage in any 1329
profession, occupation, practice, or business that may conflict 1330
with the duties of the public access counselor under section 1331
2743.32 or 2743.33 of the Revised Code. 1332

       (D) The public access counselor may appoint any employees 1333
necessary to carry out the duties and functions of the office of 1334
the public access counselor. 1335

       Sec. 2743.32. (A) The public access counselor appointed 1336
under section 2743.31 of the Revised Code shall do all of the 1337
following: 1338

       (1) Assist the attorney general in developing and providing 1339
training programs and seminars under section 109.43 of the Revised 1340
Code; 1341

       (2) Receive any informal complaint filed by any person under 1342
section 2743.33 of the Revised Code alleging a public entity's 1343
denial of any of the person's rights under the public access laws 1344
and engage in dispute resolution to encourage the parties to the 1345
informal complaint to reach an agreement under that section; 1346

       (3) Receive any formal complaint filed by any person under 1347
section 2743.33 of the Revised Code alleging a public entity's 1348
denial of any of the person's rights under the public access laws, 1349
investigate the allegations in the complaint, and issue an 1350
advisory opinion regarding any of the person's rights that are the 1351
subject of the formal complaint; 1352

       (4) Make recommendations to the general assembly and to the 1353
supreme court concerning ways to improve public access to public 1354
records and to ensure public attendance at public meetings. 1355

       (B) The counselor shall submit an annual report to the 1356
general assembly and to the supreme court not later than the 1357
thirtieth day of June of each year concerning the activities of 1358
the counselor during the immediately preceding calendar year in 1359
regard to divisions (B)(1) to (5) of this section. The report 1360
shall include all of the following information: 1361

       (1) The total number of informal complaints and the total 1362
number of formal complaints received by the office of the public 1363
access counselor; 1364

       (2) The number of informal complaints and the number of 1365
formal complaints received from the media and received from the 1366
public in general; 1367

       (3) The total number of informal complaints that resulted in 1368
an agreement reached by the parties to the informal complaint and 1369
the total number of formal complaints that resulted in an 1370
agreement reached by the parties to the formal complaint; 1371

       (4) The number of informal complaints and the number of 1372
formal complaints received in regard to the performance of duties 1373
by the applicable public entity under section 121.22 or 149.43 of 1374
the Revised Code by each of the following: 1375

       (a) Public entities, other than political subdivisions or 1376
agencies of political subdivisions; 1377

       (b) Offices and agencies of counties; 1378

       (c) Offices and agencies of municipal corporations; 1379

       (d) Offices and agencies of townships; 1380

       (e) Boards of education; 1381

       (f) Offices and agencies of other political subdivisions. 1382

       (5) The total number of advisory opinions that were issued by 1383
the public access counselor. 1384

       Sec. 2743.33. (A) No person is required to file an informal 1385
complaint or a formal complaint with the public access counselor 1386
under this section before filing an action in court under the 1387
public access laws. The procedures set forth in this section do 1388
not constitute an alternative remedy in the ordinary course of the 1389
law for purposes of seeking any judicial remedy authorized by any 1390
provision in the Revised Code or by any rule of court. 1391

       (B) A public entity shall cooperate with the counselor in any 1392
proceeding under this section. 1393

       (C)(1) Any of the following may file an informal complaint 1394
with the counselor pursuant to the procedures prescribed in 1395
division (F) of this section or may file a formal complaint with 1396
the counselor pursuant to the procedures prescribed in division 1397
(G) of this section: 1398

       (a) Any person that alleges that the person's right to 1399
inspect or copy any public record under section 149.43 of the 1400
Revised Code has been denied in violation of that section; 1401

       (b) Any person that alleges that any of the person's rights 1402
under section 121.22 of the Revised Code has been denied in 1403
violation of that section. 1404

       (2)(a) No person described in division (C)(1)(a) of this 1405
section may file both an informal complaint and a formal complaint 1406
under this section alleging that the person's right to inspect or 1407
copy any public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code 1408
has been denied in violation of that section if the allegations in 1409
the informal complaint and the allegations in the formal complaint 1410
are based on the same facts. 1411

       (b) No person described in division (C)(1)(b) of this section 1412
may file both an informal complaint and a formal complaint under 1413
this section alleging that any of the person's rights under 1414
section 121.22 of the Revised Code has been denied in violation of 1415
that section if the allegations in the informal complaint and the 1416
allegations in the formal complaint are based on the same facts. 1417

       (3) The counselor shall determine and prescribe the form of 1418
an informal complaint and the form of a formal complaint filed 1419
under this section. 1420

       (D)(1) Any person described in division (C)(1)(a) of this 1421
section that chooses to file an informal complaint or a formal 1422
complaint with the counselor shall file the appropriate complaint 1423
not later than thirty days after the date of the alleged denial of 1424
the person's right to inspect or copy any public record under 1425
section 149.43 of the Revised Code. Any person described in 1426
division (C)(1)(b) of this section that chooses to file an 1427
informal complaint or a formal complaint with the counselor shall 1428
file the appropriate complaint not later than thirty days after 1429
the date of the alleged denial of any of the person's rights under 1430
section 121.22 of the Revised Code. 1431

       (2) An informal complaint or a formal complaint is considered 1432
filed on the date the appropriate complaint is received by the 1433
counselor or on the date the appropriate mailed complaint is 1434
postmarked if the counselor receives that mailed complaint more 1435
than thirty days after the applicable date specified in division 1436
(D)(1) of this section. 1437

       (E) Upon receiving an informal complaint or a formal 1438
complaint under division (D)(2) of this section, the counselor 1439
immediately shall forward a copy of the appropriate complaint to 1440
the public entity that is the subject of that complaint. 1441

       (F)(1) Upon receiving an informal complaint under division 1442
(D)(2) of this section, the counselor shall engage in early 1443
intervention, mediation, conciliation, or any other form of 1444
dispute resolution or shall facilitate discussion between the 1445
parties involved in the informal complaint in order to encourage 1446
those parties to reach an agreement on the issues raised in the 1447
informal complaint as soon as practicable. 1448

       (2) If the parties involved in the informal complaint reach 1449
an agreement regarding the issues raised in that complaint, the 1450
counselor shall require that the agreement be in writing and 1451
signed by both parties within seven days after the parties reach 1452
the agreement. The agreement is enforceable in a court. A court 1453
that determines that a party has violated the agreement shall 1454
order that party to pay the reasonable attorney's fees of the 1455
other party. If the informal complaint is based on an alleged 1456
denial by a public office of the complainant's right to inspect or 1457
copy any public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code, 1458
if an agreement is reached under this division between the 1459
complainant and the public office involved in that informal 1460
complaint, and, if a court determines that that public office 1461
violated the agreement, the court shall order the public office to 1462
pay statutory damages to the complainant in the amount specified 1463
in division (C)(2) of section 149.43 of the Revised Code. If the 1464
informal complaint is based on an alleged denial by a public body 1465
of any of the complainant's rights under section 121.22 of the 1466
Revised Code, if an agreement is reached under this division 1467
between the complainant and the public body involved in that 1468
informal complaint, and if a court determines that that public 1469
body violated the agreement, the court shall order the public body 1470
to pay the civil forfeiture to the complainant in the amount 1471
specified in division (I)(2)(a) of section 121.22 of the Revised 1472
Code. 1473

       (3) If any early intervention, mediation, conciliation, or 1474
other form of dispute resolution in which the counselor engages 1475
under division (F)(1) of this section or any discussion between 1476
the parties does not result in any agreement between the parties 1477
on the issues raised in the informal complaint within fourteen 1478
days after the date of the filing of the informal complaint, the 1479
complainant may bring an action in court pursuant to the 1480
applicable public access law. 1481

       (G)(1) Upon receiving a formal complaint under division 1482
(D)(2) of this section, the counselor shall investigate the facts 1483
alleged in the formal complaint. 1484

       (2)(a) Except as provided in division (G)(2)(b) of this 1485
section, if the parties involved in the formal complaint reach an 1486
agreement regarding the issues raised in that complaint either 1487
before or after an advisory opinion is issued under division 1488
(G)(3) of this section, the counselor shall require that the 1489
agreement be in writing and signed by both parties within seven 1490
days after the parties reach the agreement. The agreement is 1491
enforceable in a court. A court that determines that a party has 1492
violated the agreement shall order that party to pay the 1493
reasonable attorney's fees of the other party. If the formal 1494
complaint is based on an alleged denial by a public office of the 1495
complainant's right to inspect or copy any public record under 1496
section 149.43 of the Revised Code, if an agreement is reached 1497
under this division between the complainant and the public office 1498
involved in that formal complaint, and if a court determines that 1499
that public office violated the agreement, the court shall order 1500
the public office to pay statutory damages to the complainant in 1501
the amount specified in division (C)(2) of section 149.43 of the 1502
Revised Code. If the formal complaint is based on an alleged 1503
denial by a public body of any of the complainant's rights under 1504
section 121.22 of the Revised Code, if an agreement is reached 1505
under this division between the complainant and the public body 1506
involved in that formal complaint, and if a court determines that 1507
that public body violated the agreement, the court shall order the 1508
public body to pay the civil forfeiture to the complainant in the 1509
amount specified in division (I)(2)(a) of section 121.22 of the 1510
Revised Code. 1511

       (b) Division (G)(2)(a) of this section does not apply if the 1512
counselor participated in or facilitated any discussion between 1513
the parties in reaching the agreement described in that division. 1514

       (3)(a) Except as provided in division (G)(3)(b) of this 1515
section, the counselor shall issue an advisory opinion on the 1516
formal complaint not later than fourteen days after the complaint 1517
is filed. 1518

       (b) If the counselor determines that a formal complaint has 1519
priority, the counselor shall issue an advisory opinion on the 1520
complaint not later than seven days after the complaint is filed. 1521

       (4) The counselor shall adopt any necessary rules 1522
establishing criteria for formal complaints that have priority 1523
under this section or any other rules necessary to implement the 1524
provisions of this section. 1525

       (5)(a) If the counselor issues an advisory opinion under 1526
division (G)(3) of this section that declares that the complainant 1527
has the right to inspect or copy the public records that are the 1528
subject of the formal complaint, unless the parties involved in 1529
the formal complaint reach an agreement under division (G)(2) of 1530
this section, the complainant may present the advisory opinion to 1531
the public office involved in the formal complaint and request the 1532
public office to make those records available for inspection or 1533
copying by the complainant pursuant to section 149.43 of the 1534
Revised Code. If the public office denies that request or fails to 1535
promptly comply with the request, the complainant may bring an 1536
action in court pursuant to that section. 1537

       (b) If the counselor issues an advisory opinion under 1538
division (G)(3) of this section that declares that the complainant 1539
has that right under section 121.22 of the Revised Code that is 1540
the subject of the formal complaint, unless the parties involved 1541
in the formal complaint reach an agreement under division (G)(2) 1542
of this section, the complainant may present the advisory opinion 1543
to the public body involved in the formal complaint and request 1544
the public body to comply with section 121.22 of the Revised Code 1545
with respect to the complainant's right that is the subject of the 1546
formal complaint. If the public body does not comply with section 1547
121.22 of the Revised Code with respect to that right of the 1548
complainant, the complainant may bring an action in court pursuant 1549
to that section. 1550

       (6) All advisory opinions issued by the counselor under 1551
division (G)(3) of this section shall state the date of issuance 1552
of the opinion, name the parties to the formal complaint, 1553
summarize the factual and legal issues involved, and set forth a 1554
reasoned rationale for the counselor's conclusion, including 1555
citation to legal authority supporting that conclusion. Advisory 1556
opinions issued by the counselor are public records under section 1557
149.43 of the Revised Code. 1558

        (7) The office of the public access counselor may rely on 1559
past advisory opinions issued by the counselor under division 1560
(G)(3) of this section as precedent for that office. Advisory 1561
opinions issued by the counselor under that division do not bind 1562
any court in interpreting or applying section 121.22 or 149.43 of 1563
the Revised Code, and no court may presume that the existence of 1564
an advisory opinion issued by the counselor is evidence against or 1565
in favor of a reduction or denial of an award of reasonable 1566
attorney's fees to a litigant. 1567

       Sec. 2743.34. (A) Any person who files an informal complaint 1568
or a formal complaint with the public access counselor under 1569
section 2743.33 of the Revised Code may withdraw the complaint at 1570
any time by notifying the counselor in writing of the withdrawal. 1571
Upon withdrawing the complaint, that person may bring an action in 1572
court as authorized by the applicable public access law based upon 1573
the same facts that are the subject matter of the complaint that 1574
was withdrawn. 1575

        (B) Any informal complaint or any formal complaint filed with 1576
the public access counselor under section 2743.33 of the Revised 1577
Code does not toll the running of the period of limitations for 1578
bringing an action under section 121.22 or 149.43 of the Revised 1579
Code concerning the subject matter of the informal complaint or 1580
the subject matter of the formal complaint. 1581

       Sec. 2923.129. (A)(1) If a sheriff, the superintendent of the 1582
bureau of criminal identification and investigation, the employees 1583
of the bureau, the Ohio peace officer training commission, or the 1584
employees of the commission make a good faith effort in performing 1585
the duties imposed upon the sheriff, the superintendent, the 1586
bureau's employees, the commission, or the commission's employees 1587
by sections 109.731, 311.41, and 2923.124 to 2923.1213 of the 1588
Revised Code, in addition to the personal immunity provided by 1589
section 9.86 of the Revised Code or division (A)(6) of section 1590
2744.03 of the Revised Code and the governmental immunity of 1591
sections 2744.02 and 2744.03 of the Revised Code and in addition 1592
to any other immunity possessed by the bureau, the commission, and 1593
their employees, the sheriff, the sheriff's office, the county in 1594
which the sheriff has jurisdiction, the bureau, the superintendent 1595
of the bureau, the bureau's employees, the commission, and the 1596
commission's employees are immune from liability in a civil action 1597
for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly 1598
was caused by or related to any of the following: 1599

       (a) The issuance, renewal, suspension, or revocation of a 1600
license to carry a concealed handgun or the issuance, suspension, 1601
or revocation of a temporary emergency license to carry a 1602
concealed handgun; 1603

       (b) The failure to issue, renew, suspend, or revoke a license 1604
to carry a concealed handgun or the failure to issue, suspend, or 1605
revoke a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun; 1606

       (c) Any action or misconduct with a handgun committed by a 1607
licensee. 1608

       (2) Any action of a sheriff relating to the issuance, 1609
renewal, suspension, or revocation of a license to carry a 1610
concealed handgun or the issuance, suspension, or revocation of a 1611
temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun shall be 1612
considered to be a governmental function for purposes of Chapter 1613
2744. of the Revised Code. 1614

       (3) An entity that or instructor who provides a competency 1615
certification of a type described in division (B)(3) of section 1616
2923.125 of the Revised Code is immune from civil liability that 1617
might otherwise be incurred or imposed for any death or any injury 1618
or loss to person or property that is caused by or related to a 1619
person to whom the entity or instructor has issued the competency 1620
certificate if all of the following apply: 1621

        (a) The alleged liability of the entity or instructor relates 1622
to the training provided in the course, class, or program covered 1623
by the competency certificate. 1624

        (b) The entity or instructor makes a good faith effort in 1625
determining whether the person has satisfactorily completed the 1626
course, class, or program and makes a good faith effort in 1627
assessing the person in the competency examination conducted 1628
pursuant to division (G)(2) of section 2923.125 of the Revised 1629
Code. 1630

        (c) The entity or instructor did not issue the competency 1631
certificate with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton 1632
or reckless manner. 1633

       (4) An entity that or instructor who provides a renewed 1634
competency certification of a type described in division (G)(4) of 1635
section 2923.125 of the Revised Code is immune from civil 1636
liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed for any 1637
death or any injury or loss to person or property that is caused 1638
by or related to a person to whom the entity or instructor has 1639
issued the renewed competency certificate if all of the following 1640
apply: 1641

       (a) The entity or instructor makes a good faith effort in 1642
assessing the person in the competency examination conducted 1643
pursuant to division (G)(2) of section 2923.125 of the Revised 1644
Code. 1645

       (b) The entity or instructor did not issue the renewed 1646
competency certificate with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in 1647
a wanton or reckless manner. 1648

        (5) A law enforcement agency that employs a peace officer is 1649
immune from liability in a civil action to recover damages for 1650
injury, death, or loss to person or property allegedly caused by 1651
any act of that peace officer if the act occurred while the peace 1652
officer carried a concealed handgun and was off duty and if the 1653
act allegedly involved the peace officer's use of the concealed 1654
handgun. Sections 9.86 and 9.87, and Chapter 2744., of the Revised 1655
Code apply to any civil action involving a peace officer's use of 1656
a concealed handgun in the performance of the peace officer's 1657
official duties while the peace officer is off duty. 1658

       (B)(1) Notwithstanding section 149.43 of the Revised Code, 1659
except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, the records 1660
that a sheriff keeps relative to the issuance, renewal, 1661
suspension, or revocation of a license to carry a concealed 1662
handgun or the issuance, suspension, or revocation of a temporary 1663
emergency license to carry a concealed handgun, including, but not 1664
limited to, completed applications for the issuance or renewal of 1665
a license, completed affidavits submitted regarding an application 1666
for a temporary emergency license, reports of criminal records 1667
checks and incompetency records checks under section 311.41 of the 1668
Revised Code, and applicants' social security numbers and 1669
fingerprints that are obtained under division (A) of section 1670
311.41 of the Revised Code, are confidential and are not public 1671
records. Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, no 1672
person shall release or otherwise disseminate records that are 1673
confidential under this division unless required to do so pursuant 1674
to a court order. 1675

       (2)(a) Upon a written request made to a sheriff and signed by 1676
a journalist on or after ~~the effective date of this section~~April 1677
8, 2004, except as provided in division (B)(2)(b) of this section, 1678
the sheriff shall disclose to the journalist the name, county of 1679
residence, and date of birth of each person to whom the sheriff 1680
has issued a license or replacement license to carry a concealed 1681
handgun, renewed a license to carry a concealed handgun, or issued 1682
a temporary emergency license or replacement temporary emergency 1683
license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 1684
2923.1213 of the Revised Code. The request shall include the 1685
journalist's name and title, shall include the name and address of 1686
the journalist's employer, and shall state that disclosure of the 1687
information sought would be in the public interest. 1688

       (b) A sheriff who otherwise is required pursuant to division 1689
(B)(2)(a) of this section to disclose to a journalist the name, 1690
county of residence, and date of birth of persons to whom the 1691
sheriff has issued a valid license, replacement license, temporary 1692
emergency license, or replacement temporary emergency license to 1693
carry a concealed handgun shall not disclose that information to a 1694
journalist if the person with a valid license to carry a concealed 1695
handgun has either notified the sheriff, in writing, that the 1696
person does not want the person's name, county of residence, and 1697
date of birth disclosed to a journalist or has indicated on the 1698
person's application for a license or for renewal of a license 1699
that the person does not want the person's information disclosed 1700
to a journalist. 1701

       (c) As used in division (B)(2) of this section, "journalist" 1702
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news 1703
medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news 1704
agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a 1705
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, 1706
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for 1707
the general public. 1708

       (C) Each sheriff shall report to the Ohio peace officer 1709
training commission the number of licenses to carry a concealed 1710
handgun that the sheriff issued, renewed, suspended, revoked, or 1711
denied during the previous quarter of the calendar year, the 1712
number of applications for those licenses for which processing was 1713
suspended in accordance with division (D)(3) of section 2923.125 1714
of the Revised Code during the previous quarter of the calendar 1715
year, and the number of temporary emergency licenses to carry a 1716
concealed handgun that the sheriff issued, suspended, revoked, or 1717
denied during the previous quarter of the calendar year. The 1718
sheriff shall not include in the report the name or any other 1719
identifying information of an applicant or licensee. The sheriff 1720
shall report that information in a manner that permits the 1721
commission to maintain the statistics described in division (D) of 1722
section 109.731 of the Revised Code and to timely prepare the 1723
statistical report described in that division. The information 1724
that is received by the commission under this division is a public 1725
record kept by the commission for the purposes of section 149.43 1726
of the Revised Code. 1727

       (D) Law enforcement agencies may use the information a 1728
sheriff makes available through the use of the law enforcement 1729
automated data system pursuant to division (H) of section 2923.125 1730
or division (B)(2) or (D) of section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code 1731
for law enforcement purposes only. The information is confidential 1732
and is not a public record. A person who releases or otherwise 1733
disseminates this information obtained through the law enforcement 1734
automated data system in a manner not described in this division 1735
is guilty of a violation of section 2913.04 of the Revised Code. 1736

       (E) Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty 1737
of illegal release of confidential concealed handgun license 1738
records, a felony of the fifth degree. In addition to any 1739
penalties imposed under Chapter 2929. of the Revised Code for a 1740
violation of division (B) of this section or a violation of 1741
section 2913.04 of the Revised Code described in division (D) of 1742
this section, if the offender is a sheriff, an employee of a 1743
sheriff, or any other public officer or employee, and if the 1744
violation was willful and deliberate, the offender shall be 1745
subject to a civil fine of one thousand dollars. Any person who is 1746
harmed by a violation of division (B) or (C) of this section or a 1747
violation of section 2913.04 of the Revised Code described in 1748
division (D) of this section has a private cause of action against 1749
the offender for any injury, death, or loss to person or property 1750
that is a proximate result of the violation and may recover court 1751
costs and attorney's fees related to the action. 1752

       Sec. 2923.1210. The application for a license to carry a 1753
concealed handgun or for the renewal of a license of that nature 1754
that is to be used under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code 1755
shall conform substantially to the following form and shall 1756
contain a provision that allows an applicant to opt out of release 1757
of the applicant's name, county of residence, and date of birth to 1758
a journalist: 1759

"Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission APPLICATION FOR A LICENSE TO CARRY A CONCEALED HANDGUN 1760

Please Type or Print in Ink 1761

SECTION I. 1762

This application will not be processed unless all applicable questions have been answered and until all required supporting documents as described in division (B) or (F) of section 2923.125 of the Ohio Revised Code and, unless waived, a cashier's check, certified check, or money order in the amount of the applicable license fee or license renewal fee have been submitted. FEES ARE NONREFUNDABLE. 1763

SECTION II. 1764

Name: 1765

Last First Middle 1766
................ ................ .............. 1767

Social Security Number:...................... 1768

Current Residence: 1769

Street City State County Zip 1770

............ ............ ............ ........... ............ 1771

Mailing Address (If Different From Above): 1772

Street City State Zip 1773

............ ............ ............ .............. 1774

Date of Birth Place of Birth Sex Race Residence Telephone 1775

...../..../.... ............ .... ..... (...)......... 1776

SECTION III. THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE TO BE ANSWERED YES OR NO 1777

(1) Have you been a resident of Ohio for at least forty-five days and have you been a resident for thirty days of the county with whose sheriff you are filing this application or of a county adjacent to that county? .... YES .... NO 1778

(2) Are you at least twenty-one years of age? .... YES .... NO 1779

(3) Are you a fugitive from justice? .... YES .... NO 1780

(4) Are you under indictment for a felony, have you ever been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony, or have you ever been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult? .... YES .... NO 1781

(5) Are you under indictment for or otherwise charged with, or have you ever been convicted of or pleaded guilty to, an offense under Chapter 2925., 3719., or 4729. of the Ohio Revised Code that involves the illegal possession, use, sale, administration, or distribution of or trafficking in a drug of abuse, or have you ever been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act that would be an offense of that nature if committed by an adult? .... YES .... NO 1782

(6) Are you under indictment for or otherwise charged with, or have you been convicted of or pleaded guilty to within three years of the date of this application, a misdemeanor that is an offense of violence or the offense of possessing a revoked or suspended concealed handgun license, or have you been adjudicated a delinquent child within three years of the date of this application for committing an act that would be a misdemeanor of that nature if committed by an adult? .... YES .... NO 1783
(7) Are you under indictment for or otherwise charged with, or have you been convicted of or pleaded guilty to within ten years of the date of this application, resisting arrest, or have you been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing, within ten years of the date of this application an act that if committed by an adult would be the offense of resisting arrest? .... YES .... NO 1784
(8)(a) Are you under indictment for or otherwise charged with assault or negligent assault? .... YES .... NO 1785
(b) Have you been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child two or more times for committing assault or negligent assault within five years of the date of this application? .... YES .... NO 1786
(c) Have you ever been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for assaulting a peace officer? .... YES .... NO 1787
(9)(a) Have you ever been adjudicated as a mental defective? .... YES .... NO 1788
(b) Have you ever been committed to a mental institution? .... YES .... NO 1789
(10) Are you currently subject to a civil protection order, a temporary protection order, or a protection order issued by a court of another state? .... YES .... NO 1790

SECTION IV. YOU MUST COMPLETE THIS SECTION OF THE APPLICATION BY 1791
PROVIDING, TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE, THE ADDRESS OF EACH 1792
PLACE OF RESIDENCE AT WHICH YOU RESIDED AT ANY TIME AFTER YOU 1793
ATTAINED EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND UNTIL YOU COMMENCED YOUR 1794
RESIDENCE AT THE LOCATION IDENTIFIED IN SECTION II OF THIS FORM, 1795
AND THE DATES OF RESIDENCE AT EACH OF THOSE ADDRESSES. IF YOU NEED 1796
MORE SPACE, COMPLETE AN ADDITIONAL SHEET WITH THE ~~relevant~~ 1797
RELEVANT INFORMATION, ATTACH IT TO THE APPLICATION, AND NOTE THE 1798
ATTACHMENT AT THE END OF THIS SECTION. 1799

Residence 1: 1800

Street City State County Zip 1801
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... 1802
   Dates of residence at this address ........................ 1803

Residence 2: 1804

Street City State County Zip 1805
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... 1806
   Dates of residence at this address ........................ 1807

Residence 3: 1808

Street City State County Zip 1809
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... 1810
   Dates of residence at this address ........................ 1811

Residence 4: 1812

Street City State County Zip 1813
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... 1814
   Dates of residence at this address ........................ 1815

SECTION V. 1816

AN APPLICANT WHO KNOWINGLY GIVES A FALSE ANSWER TO ANY QUESTION OR 1817
SUBMITS FALSE INFORMATION ON, OR A FALSE DOCUMENT WITH THE 1818
APPLICATION MAY BE PROSECUTED FOR FALSIFICATION TO OBTAIN A 1819
CONCEALED HANDGUN LICENSE, A FELONY OF THE FOURTH DEGREE, IN 1820
VIOLATION OF SECTION 2921.13 OF THE OHIO REVISED CODE. 1821

(1) I have been furnished, and have read, the pamphlet that 1822
       explains the Ohio firearms laws, that provides instruction in 1823
       dispute resolution and explains the Ohio laws related to that 1824
       matter, and that provides information regarding all aspects 1825
       of the use of deadly force with a firearm, and I am 1826
       knowledgeable of the provisions of those laws and of the 1827
       information on those matters. 1828

(2) I desire a legal means to carry a concealed handgun for 1829
        defense of myself or a member of my family while engaged in 1830
        lawful activity. 1831

(3) I have never been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a crime of 1832
        violence in the state of Ohio or elsewhere. I am of sound 1833
        mind. I hereby certify that the statements contained herein 1834
        are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. 1835
        I understand that if I knowingly make any false statements 1836
        herein I am subject to penalties prescribed by law. I 1837
        authorize the sheriff or the sheriff's designee to inspect 1838
        only those records or documents relevant to information 1839
        required for this application. 1840

(4) The information contained in this application and all attached 1841
       documents are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. 1842

....................... 1843

Signature of Applicant" 1844

       Sec. 3319.321. (A) No person shall release, or permit access 1845
to, the ~~names or other personally identifiable~~directory 1846
information concerning any students attending a public school to 1847
any person or group for use in a profit-making plan or activity. 1848
Notwithstanding division (B)(4) of section 149.43 of the Revised 1849
Code, a person may require disclosure of the requestor's identity 1850
or the intended use of the directory information concerning any 1851
students attending a public school to ascertain whether the 1852
directory information is for use in a profit-making plan or 1853
activity. 1854

       (B) No person shall release, or permit access to, personally 1855
identifiable information other than directory information 1856
concerning any student attending a public school, for purposes 1857
other than those identified in division (C), (E), (G), or (H) of 1858
this section, without the written consent of the parent, guardian, 1859
or custodian of each such student who is less than eighteen years 1860
of age, or without the written consent of each such student who is 1861
eighteen years of age or older. 1862

       (1) For purposes of this section, "directory information" 1863
includes a student's name, address, telephone listing, date and 1864
place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially 1865
recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of 1866
athletic teams, dates of attendance, date of graduation, and 1867
awards received. 1868

       (2)(a) Except as provided in division (B)(2)(b) of this 1869
section, no school district board of education shall impose any 1870
restriction on the presentation of directory information that it 1871
has designated as subject to release in accordance with the 1872
"Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 571, 1873
20 U.S.C. 1232q, as amended, to representatives of the armed 1874
forces, business, industry, charitable institutions, other 1875
employers, and institutions of higher education unless such 1876
restriction is uniformly imposed on each of these types of 1877
representatives, except that if a student eighteen years of age or 1878
older or a student's parent, guardian, or custodian has informed 1879
the board that any or all such information should not be released 1880
without such person's prior written consent, the board shall not 1881
release that information without such person's prior written 1882
consent. 1883

       (b) The names and addresses of students in grades ten through 1884
twelve shall be released to a recruiting officer for any branch of 1885
the United States armed forces who requests such information, 1886
except that such data shall not be released if the student or 1887
student's parent, guardian, or custodian submits to the board a 1888
written request not to release such data. Any data received by a 1889
recruiting officer shall be used solely for the purpose of 1890
providing information to students regarding military service and 1891
shall not be released to any person other than individuals within 1892
the recruiting services of the armed forces. 1893

       (3) Except for directory information and except as provided 1894
in division (E), (G), or (H) of this section, information covered 1895
by this section that is released shall only be transferred to a 1896
third or subsequent party on the condition that such party will 1897
not permit any other party to have access to such information 1898
without written consent of the parent, guardian, or custodian, or 1899
of the student who is eighteen years of age or older. 1900

       (4) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any parent 1901
of a student may give the written parental consent required under 1902
this section. Where parents are separated or divorced, the written 1903
parental consent required under this section may be obtained from 1904
either parent, subject to any agreement between such parents or 1905
court order governing the rights of such parents. In the case of a 1906
student whose legal guardian is in an institution, a person 1907
independent of the institution who has no other conflicting 1908
interests in the case shall be appointed by the board of education 1909
of the school district in which the institution is located to give 1910
the written parental consent required under this section. 1911

       (5)(a) A parent of a student who is not the student's 1912
residential parent, upon request, shall be permitted access to any 1913
records or information concerning the student under the same terms 1914
and conditions under which access to the records or information is 1915
available to the residential parent of that student, provided that 1916
the access of the parent who is not the residential parent is 1917
subject to any agreement between the parents, to division (F) of 1918
this section, and, to the extent described in division (B)(5)(b) 1919
of this section, is subject to any court order issued pursuant to 1920
section 3109.051 of the Revised Code and any other court order 1921
governing the rights of the parents. 1922

       (b) If the residential parent of a student has presented the 1923
keeper of a record or information that is related to the student 1924
with a copy of an order issued under division (H)(1) of section 1925
3109.051 of the Revised Code that limits the terms and conditions 1926
under which the parent who is not the residential parent of the 1927
student is to have access to records and information pertaining to 1928
the student or with a copy of any other court order governing the 1929
rights of the parents that so limits those terms and conditions, 1930
and if the order pertains to the record or information in 1931
question, the keeper of the record or information shall provide 1932
access to the parent who is not the residential parent only to the 1933
extent authorized in the order. If the residential parent has 1934
presented the keeper of the record or information with such an 1935
order, the keeper of the record shall permit the parent who is not 1936
the residential parent to have access to the record or information 1937
only in accordance with the most recent such order that has been 1938
presented to the keeper by the residential parent or the parent 1939
who is not the residential parent. 1940

       (C) Nothing in this section shall limit the administrative 1941
use of public school records by a person acting exclusively in the 1942
person's capacity as an employee of a board of education or of the 1943
state or any of its political subdivisions, any court, or the 1944
federal government, and nothing in this section shall prevent the 1945
transfer of a student's record to an educational institution for a 1946
legitimate educational purpose. However, except as provided in 1947
this section, public school records shall not be released or made 1948
available for any other purpose. Fingerprints, photographs, or 1949
records obtained pursuant to section 3313.96 or 3319.322 of the 1950
Revised Code, or pursuant to division (E) of this section, or any 1951
medical, psychological, guidance, counseling, or other information 1952
that is derived from the use of the fingerprints, photographs, or 1953
records, shall not be admissible as evidence against the minor who 1954
is the subject of the fingerprints, photographs, or records in any 1955
proceeding in any court. The provisions of this division regarding 1956
the administrative use of records by an employee of the state or 1957
any of its political subdivisions or of a court or the federal 1958
government shall be applicable only when the use of the 1959
information is required by a state statute adopted before November 1960
19, 1974, or by federal law. 1961

       (D) A board of education may require, subject to division (E) 1962
of this section, a person seeking to obtain copies of public 1963
school records to pay the cost of reproduction and, in the case of 1964
data released under division (B)(2)(b) of this section, to pay for 1965
any mailing costs, which payment shall not exceed the actual cost 1966
to the school. 1967

       (E) A principal or chief administrative officer of a public 1968
school, or any employee of a public school who is authorized to 1969
handle school records, shall provide access to a student's records 1970
to a law enforcement officer who indicates that the officer is 1971
conducting an investigation and that the student is or may be a 1972
missing child, as defined in section 2901.30 of the Revised Code. 1973
Free copies of information in the student's record shall be 1974
provided, upon request, to the law enforcement officer, if prior 1975
approval is given by the student's parent, guardian, or legal 1976
custodian. Information obtained by the officer shall be used 1977
solely in the investigation of the case. The information may be 1978
used by law enforcement agency personnel in any manner that is 1979
appropriate in solving the case, including, but not limited to, 1980
providing the information to other law enforcement officers and 1981
agencies and to the bureau of criminal identification and 1982
investigation for purposes of computer integration pursuant to 1983
section 2901.30 of the Revised Code. 1984

       (F) No person shall release to a parent of a student who is 1985
not the student's residential parent or to any other person, or 1986
permit a parent of a student who is not the student's residential 1987
parent or permit any other person to have access to, any 1988
information about the location of any elementary or secondary 1989
school to which a student has transferred or information that 1990
would enable the parent who is not the student's residential 1991
parent or the other person to determine the location of that 1992
elementary or secondary school, if the elementary or secondary 1993
school to which the student has transferred and that requested the 1994
records of the student under section 3313.672 of the Revised Code 1995
informs the elementary or secondary school from which the 1996
student's records are obtained that the student is under the care 1997
of a shelter for victims of domestic violence, as defined in 1998
section 3113.33 of the Revised Code. 1999

       (G) A principal or chief administrative officer of a public 2000
school, or any employee of a public school who is authorized to 2001
handle school records, shall comply with any order issued pursuant 2002
to division (D)(1) of section 2151.14 of the Revised Code, any 2003
request for records that is properly made pursuant to division 2004
(D)(3)(a) of section 2151.14 or division (A) of section 2151.141 2005
of the Revised Code, and any determination that is made by a court 2006
pursuant to division (D)(3)(b) of section 2151.14 or division 2007
(B)(1) of section 2151.141 of the Revised Code. 2008

       (H) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, a 2009
principal of a public school, to the extent permitted by the 2010
"Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," shall make 2011
the report required in section 3319.45 of the Revised Code that a 2012
pupil committed any violation listed in division (A) of section 2013
3313.662 of the Revised Code on property owned or controlled by, 2014
or at an activity held under the auspices of, the board of 2015
education, regardless of whether the pupil was sixteen years of 2016
age or older. The principal is not required to obtain the consent 2017
of the pupil who is the subject of the report or the consent of 2018
the pupil's parent, guardian, or custodian before making a report 2019
pursuant to section 3319.45 of the Revised Code. 2020

       Sec. 4701.19. ~~(A)~~ All statements, records, schedules, 2021
working papers, and memoranda made by a certified public 2022
accountant or public accountant incident to or in the course of 2023
professional service to clients by the accountant, except reports 2024
submitted by a certified public accountant or public accountant to 2025
a client, shall be and remain the property of the accountant in 2026
the absence of an express agreement between the accountant and the 2027
client to the contrary. No statement, record, schedule, working 2028
paper, or memorandum of that nature shall be sold, transferred, or 2029
bequeathed without the consent of the client or the client's 2030
personal representative or assignee to any person other than one 2031
or more surviving partners or new partners of the accountant. 2032

       ~~(B) The statements, records, schedules, working papers, and~~ 2033
~~memoranda made by a certified public accountant or public~~ 2034
~~accountant incident to or in the course of performing an audit of~~ 2035
~~a public office or private entity, except reports submitted by the~~ 2036
~~accountant to the client, are not a public record. Statements,~~ 2037
~~records, schedules, working papers, and memoranda that are so made~~ 2038
~~in an audit by a certified public accountant or public accountant~~ 2039
~~and that are in the possession of the auditor of state also are~~ 2040
~~not a public record. As used in this division, "public record" has~~ 2041
~~the same meaning as in section 149.43 of the Revised Code.~~ 2042

       Section 2. That existing sections 121.22, 149.011, 149.31, 2043
149.38, 149.39, 149.41, 149.42, 149.43, 2923.129, 2923.1210, 2044
3319.321, and 4701.19 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 2045

       Section 3. Section 4701.19 of the Revised Code, as amended by 2046
this act, applies to audits described in that section that are 2047
commenced on or after the effective date of this act. 2048

       Section 4. Section 149.43 of the Revised Code is presented 2049
in this act as a composite of the section as amended by Am. Sub. 2050
H.B. 303, Am. Sub. H.B. 431, and Sub. S.B. 222, all of the 125th 2051
General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle 2052
stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that 2053
amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of 2054
simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting 2055
version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of 2056
this act. 2057

Section 1. That sections 121.22, 149.011, 149.31, 149.38,	18
149.39, 149.41, 149.42, 149.43, 2923.129, 2923.1210, 3319.321, and	19
4701.19 be amended and sections 109.43, 149.411, 149.412, 2743.31,	20
2743.32, 2743.33, and 2743.34 of the Revised Code be enacted to	21
read as follows:	22

(1) "Designee" means a designee of the elected official in	24
the public office if that elected official is the only elected	25
official in the public office involved or a designee of all of the	26
elected officials in the public office if the public office	27
involved includes more than one elected official.	28

(2) "Elected official" means an official elected to a local	29
or statewide office. "Elected official" does not include the chief	30
justice or a justice of the supreme court, a judge of a court of	31
appeals, court of common pleas, municipal court, or county court,	32
or a clerk of any of those courts.	33

(3) "Public office" has the same meaning as in section	34
149.011 of the Revised Code.	35

(4) "Public record" has the same meaning as in section 149.43	36
of the Revised Code.	37

(B) The attorney general shall develop, provide, and certify	38
training programs and seminars for all elected officials or their	39
appropriate designees in order to enhance the officials' knowledge	40
of the duty to provide access to public records as required by	41
section 149.43 of the Revised Code. The training shall be three	42
hours for every term of office for which the elected official was	43
appointed or elected to the public office involved. The training	44
shall provide elected officials or their appropriate designees	45
with guidance in developing and updating their offices' policies	46
as required under section 149.43 of the Revised Code. The	47
successful completion by an elected official or by an elected	48
official's appropriate designee of the training requirements	49
established by the attorney general under this section shall	50
satisfy the education requirements imposed on elected officials or	51
their appropriate designees under division (E) of section 149.43	52
of the Revised Code. Prior to providing the training programs and	53
seminars under this section to satisfy the education requirements	54
imposed on elected officials or their appropriate designees under	55
division (E) of section 149.43 of the Revised Code, the attorney	56
general shall ensure that the training programs and seminars are	57
accredited by the commission on continuing legal education	58
established by the supreme court.	59

(C) The attorney general shall not charge any elected	60
official or the appropriate designee of any elected official any	61
fee for attending the training programs and seminars that the	62
attorney general conducts under this section. The attorney general	63
may allow the attendance of any other interested persons at any of	64
the training programs or seminars that the attorney general	65
conducts under this section and shall not charge the person any	66
fee for attending the training program or seminar.	67

(D) In addition to developing, providing, and certifying	68
training programs and seminars as required under division (B) of	69
this section, the attorney general may contract with one or more	70
other state agencies, political subdivisions, or other public or	71
private entities to conduct the training programs and seminars for	72
elected officials or their appropriate designees under this	73
section. The contract may provide for the attendance of any other	74
interested persons at any of the training programs or seminars	75
conducted by the contracting state agency, political subdivision,	76
or other public or private entity. The contracting state agency,	77
political subdivision, or other public or private entity may	78
charge an elected official, an elected official's appropriate	79
designee, or an interested person a registration fee for attending	80
the training program or seminar conducted by that contracting	81
agency, political subdivision, or entity pursuant to a contract	82
entered into under this division. The attorney general shall	83
determine a reasonable amount for the registration fee based on	84
the actual and necessary expenses associated with the training	85
programs and seminars.	86

(E) The attorney general shall develop and provide to all	87
public offices a model public records policy for responding to	88
public records requests in compliance with section 149.43 of the	89
Revised Code in order to provide guidance to public offices in	90
developing their own public record policies for responding to	91
public records requests in compliance with that section.	92

(F) The attorney general may provide any other appropriate	93
training or educational programs about Ohio's "Sunshine Laws,"	94
sections 121.22 and 149.43 of the Revised Code, as may be	95
developed and offered by the attorney general or by the attorney	96
general in collaboration with one or more other state agencies,	97
political subdivisions, or other public or private entities.	98

(G) The auditor of state, in the course of an annual or	99
biennial audit of a public office pursuant to Chapter 117. of the	100
Revised Code, shall audit the public office for compliance with	101
this section and division (E) of section 149.43 of the Revised	102
Code.	103

Sec. 121.22. (A) This section shall be liberally construed	104
to require public officials to take official action and to conduct	105
all deliberations upon official business only in open meetings	106
unless the subject matter is specifically excepted by law.	107

(a) Any board, commission, committee, council, or similar	110
decision-making body of a state agency, institution, or authority,	111
and any legislative authority or board, commission, committee,	112
council, agency, authority, or similar decision-making body of any	113
county, township, municipal corporation, school district, or other	114
political subdivision or local public institution;	115

(b) Any committee or subcommittee of a body described in	116
division (B)(1)(a) of this section;	117

(c) A court of jurisdiction of a sanitary district organized	118
wholly for the purpose of providing a water supply for domestic,	119
municipal, and public use when meeting for the purpose of the	120
appointment, removal, or reappointment of a member of the board of	121
directors of such a district pursuant to section 6115.10 of the	122
Revised Code, if applicable, or for any other matter related to	123
such a district other than litigation involving the district. As	124
used in division (B)(1)(c) of this section, "court of	125
jurisdiction" has the same meaning as "court" in section 6115.01	126
of the Revised Code.	127

(2) "Meeting" means any prearranged discussion of the public	128
business of the public body by a majority of its members.	129

(a) A student in a state or local public educational	131
institution;	132

(b) A person who is, voluntarily or involuntarily, an inmate,	133
patient, or resident of a state or local institution because of	134
criminal behavior, mental illness or retardation, disease,	135
disability, age, or other condition requiring custodial care.	136

(4) "Public office" has the same meaning as in section	137
149.011 of the Revised Code.	138

(C) All meetings of any public body are declared to be public	139
meetings open to the public at all times. A member of a public	140
body shall be present in person at a meeting open to the public to	141
be considered present or to vote at the meeting and for purposes	142
of determining whether a quorum is present at the meeting.	143

The minutes of a regular or special meeting of any public	144
body shall be promptly prepared, filed, and maintained and shall	145
be open to public inspection. The minutes need only reflect the	146
general subject matter of discussions in executive sessions	147
authorized under division (G) or (J) of this section.	148

(2) An audit conference conducted by the auditor of state or	151
independent certified public accountants with officials of the	152
public office that is the subject of the audit;	153

(3) The adult parole authority when its hearings are	154
conducted at a correctional institution for the sole purpose of	155
interviewing inmates to determine parole or pardon;	156

(4) The organized crime investigations commission established	157
under section 177.01 of the Revised Code;	158

(5) Meetings of a child fatality review board established	159
under section 307.621 of the Revised Code and meetings conducted	160
pursuant to sections 5153.171 to 5153.173 of the Revised Code;	161

(6) The state medical board when determining whether to	162
suspend a certificate without a prior hearing pursuant to division	163
(G) of either section 4730.25 or 4731.22 of the Revised Code;	164

(7) The board of nursing when determining whether to suspend	165
a license or certificate without a prior hearing pursuant to	166
division (B) of section 4723.281 of the Revised Code;	167

(8) The state board of pharmacy when determining whether to	168
suspend a license without a prior hearing pursuant to division (D)	169
of section 4729.16 of the Revised Code;	170

(9) The state chiropractic board when determining whether to	171
suspend a license without a hearing pursuant to section 4734.37 of	172
the Revised Code.	173

(10) The executive committee of the emergency response	174
commission when determining whether to issue an enforcement order	175
or request that a civil action, civil penalty action, or criminal	176
action be brought to enforce Chapter 3750. of the Revised Code.	177