As Introduced

129th General Assembly
Regular Session
2011-2012
H. B. No. 444


Representative Henne 

Cosponsors: Representatives Young, Blair, Schuring, Huffman, Uecker, Slaby, Grossman, Johnson, Newbold, Brenner 



A BILL
To amend sections 149.43, 3313.33, 3313.811, and 1
5705.341 and to enact section 3313.174 of the 2
Revised Code to authorize a pilot program for 3
school districts in Montgomery County to operate 4
certain for-profit activities. 5


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

       Section 1.  That section 3313.174 of the Revised Code be 6
enacted to read as follows:7

       Sec. 3313.174.  As used in this section, "public school" 8
means a school district, a community school established under 9
Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, a STEM school established under 10
Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code, a college-preparatory boarding 11
school established under Chapter 3328. of the Revised Code, an 12
educational service center, or a school operated by a county board 13
of developmental disabilities.14

       This section shall operate as a pilot program, limited to 15
school districts with any territory in Montgomery county, to 16
demonstrate the effect of profit-making activities by school 17
districts.18

       (A) The board of education of any school district with any of 19
its territory located in Montgomery county, by a majority vote of 20
all its members, may approve the operation of any of the following 21
activities for profit by the district, for a duration determined 22
by the board, if the activities are related to the ordinary 23
functions of the school district: 24

       (1) Design, development, distribution, licensing, or sale of 25
technology to another public school, a nonpublic school, or any 26
other nonprofit entity, regardless of where the school or entity 27
is located; 28

       (2) Provision of training, consulting, or educational 29
services to another public school, a nonpublic school, any person, 30
or any other public or private entity, regardless of where the 31
school, person, or entity is located; 32

       (3) Sale of merchandise and other paraphernalia resembling 33
the school district's identified brand; 34

       (4) Except as provided in sections 3313.76 and 3313.78, and 35
subject to the provisions of sections 3313.75 and 3313.77 of the 36
Revised Code, rental of the district's facilities. 37

       (B) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code, 38
operating a for-profit activity under this section shall be 39
considered a proper school purpose.40

       (C) The board may allocate school district funds, property, 41
personnel, and other resources to a for-profit activity approved 42
under this section, so long as the allocation does not 43
substantially interfere with the education of pupils in the school 44
district. The board may acquire real or personal property by lease 45
or purchase for a for-profit activity operated under this section. 46

       (D) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code, 47
the board may determine the price and terms for any licensing 48
agreement, consulting-services agreement, or any other products or 49
services provided by an activity approved under this section. 50
Section 3313.41 of the Revised Code does not apply to nor affect 51
the license or sale of any personal property under this section. 52

       (E) All profits earned by the district through an activity 53
approved under this section shall be either placed in the school 54
district's general fund or reinvested into the operation of the 55
activity. 56

       (F) The provisions of section 3313.17 of the Revised Code 57
apply to a for-profit activity approved under this section.58

       (G)(1) The board may appoint employees, including 59
administrative, teaching, and nonteaching employees, who are 60
completely, primarily, or in part employed to serve the needs of a 61
for-profit activity approved under this section.62

       (2) An employee employed under this division shall serve at 63
the pleasure of the board, subject to any contract entered into 64
between the board and the employee.65

       (3) No employee employed under this division is a "public 66
employee" for purposes of Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code.67

       (4) The provisions of this division prevail over any 68
conflicting provisions of a collective bargaining agreement 69
entered into by the district board on or after the effective date 70
of this section. 71

       (H) No revenue earned by a school district under this section 72
shall affect the district's payments or adjustments under sections 73
321.24 and 323.156 or Chapter 3317. of the Revised Code or the 74
computation of the district's "state education aid" under either 75
section 5727.84 or 5751.20 of the Revised Code. 76

       (I) Not later than three years after the effective date of 77
this section, the superintendent of public instruction, in 78
consultation with school districts undertaking a profit-making 79
activity under this section, shall evaluate the implementation and 80
operation of the pilot program and submit legislative 81
recommendations to the governor and the general assembly, in 82
accordance with section 101.68 of the Revised Code, as to the 83
benefits, burdens, and other issues of the pilot program and 84
whether or to what extent the pilot program should be continued, 85
expanded in scope, or reduced in scope. 86

       Section 2.  That sections 149.43, 3313.33, 3313.811, and 87
5705.341 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:88

       Sec. 149.43.  (A) As used in this section:89

       (1) "Public record" means records kept by any public office, 90
including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, 91
township, and school district units, and records pertaining to the 92
delivery of educational services by an alternative school in this 93
state kept by the nonprofit or for-profit entity operating the 94
alternative school pursuant to section 3313.533 of the Revised 95
Code. "Public record" does not mean any of the following:96

       (a) Medical records;97

       (b) Records pertaining to probation and parole proceedings or 98
to proceedings related to the imposition of community control 99
sanctions and post-release control sanctions;100

       (c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 and 101
division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to 102
appeals of actions arising under those sections;103

       (d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including the 104
contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of 105
health under section 3705.12 of the Revised Code;106

       (e) Information in a record contained in the putative father 107
registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code, 108
regardless of whether the information is held by the department of 109
job and family services or, pursuant to section 3111.69 of the 110
Revised Code, the office of child support in the department or a 111
child support enforcement agency;112

       (f) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of the 113
Revised Code or specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of 114
the Revised Code;115

       (g) Trial preparation records;116

       (h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records;117

       (i) Records containing information that is confidential under 118
section 2710.03 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code;119

       (j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to 120
section 109.573 of the Revised Code;121

       (k) Inmate records released by the department of 122
rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth services 123
or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of section 5120.21 124
of the Revised Code;125

       (l) Records maintained by the department of youth services 126
pertaining to children in its custody released by the department 127
of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and 128
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code;129

       (m) Intellectual property records;130

       (n) Donor profile records;131

       (o) Records maintained by the department of job and family 132
services pursuant to section 3121.894 of the Revised Code;133

       (p) Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, 134
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, 135
correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, 136
or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 137
investigation residential and familial information;138

       (q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to 139
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code or a municipal hospital operated 140
pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code, information that 141
constitutes a trade secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the 142
Revised Code;143

       (r) Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 144
a person under the age of eighteen;145

       (s) Records provided to, statements made by review board 146
members during meetings of, and all work products of a child 147
fatality review board acting under sections 307.621 to 307.629 of 148
the Revised Code, and child fatality review data submitted by the 149
child fatality review board to the department of health or a 150
national child death review database, other than the report 151
prepared pursuant to division (A) of section 307.626 of the 152
Revised Code;153

       (t) Records provided to and statements made by the executive 154
director of a public children services agency or a prosecuting 155
attorney acting pursuant to section 5153.171 of the Revised Code 156
other than the information released under that section;157

       (u) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in 158
an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator that 159
the board of examiners of nursing home administrators administers 160
under section 4751.04 of the Revised Code or contracts under that 161
section with a private or government entity to administer;162

       (v) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or 163
federal law;164

       (w) Proprietary information of or relating to any person that 165
is submitted to or compiled by the Ohio venture capital authority 166
created under section 150.01 of the Revised Code;167

       (x) Information reported and evaluations conducted pursuant 168
to section 3701.072 of the Revised Code;169

       (y) Financial statements and data any person submits for any 170
purpose to the Ohio housing finance agency or the controlling 171
board in connection with applying for, receiving, or accounting 172
for financial assistance from the agency, and information that 173
identifies any individual who benefits directly or indirectly from 174
financial assistance from the agency;175

       (z) Records listed in section 5101.29 of the Revised Code;176

       (aa) Discharges recorded with a county recorder under section 177
317.24 of the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)(2) of 178
that section;179

       (bb) Usage information including names and addresses of 180
specific residential and commercial customers of a municipally 181
owned or operated public utility;182

       (cc) Any documents, electronic files, or other records 183
maintained by a school district pertaining to research and 184
development of technology or other trade secrets associated with a 185
for-profit activity operated by the district under section 186
3313.174 of the Revised Code or any such document maintained by 187
the department of education for purposes of division (I) of that 188
section.189

       (2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" means 190
any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a 191
criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but 192
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a 193
high probability of disclosure of any of the following:194

       (a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged with 195
the offense to which the record pertains, or of an information 196
source or witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably 197
promised;198

       (b) Information provided by an information source or witness 199
to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised, which 200
information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's or 201
witness's identity;202

       (c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or 203
procedures or specific investigatory work product;204

       (d) Information that would endanger the life or physical 205
safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, or 206
a confidential information source.207

       (3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of 208
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or 209
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history, 210
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that 211
is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment.212

       (4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that contains 213
information that is specifically compiled in reasonable 214
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or 215
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and 216
personal trial preparation of an attorney.217

       (5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other than 218
a financial or administrative record, that is produced or 219
collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of 220
higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or 221
research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic, 222
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study or 223
research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction 224
with a governmental body or private concern, and that has not been 225
publicly released, published, or patented.226

       (6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors or 227
potential donors to a public institution of higher education 228
except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and 229
the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation.230

       (7) "Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, 231
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, 232
correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, 233
or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 234
investigation residential and familial information" means any 235
information that discloses any of the following about a peace 236
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting 237
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 238
youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the 239
bureau of criminal identification and investigation:240

       (a) The address of the actual personal residence of a peace 241
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, assistant 242
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services 243
employee, firefighter, EMT, or an investigator of the bureau of 244
criminal identification and investigation, except for the state or 245
political subdivision in which the peace officer, parole officer, 246
probation officer, bailiff, assistant prosecuting attorney, 247
correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, 248
or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 249
investigation resides;250

       (b) Information compiled from referral to or participation in 251
an employee assistance program;252

       (c) The social security number, the residential telephone 253
number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card 254
number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any medical 255
information pertaining to, a peace officer, parole officer, 256
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant 257
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services 258
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 259
criminal identification and investigation;260

       (d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, 261
including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided 262
to a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, 263
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional 264
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 265
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 266
investigation by the peace officer's, parole officer's, probation 267
officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant 268
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services 269
employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of 270
criminal identification and investigation's employer;271

       (e) The identity and amount of any charitable or employment 272
benefit deduction made by the peace officer's, parole officer's, 273
probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant 274
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services 275
employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of 276
criminal identification and investigation's employer from the 277
peace officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 278
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 279
correctional employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, 280
EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification 281
and investigation's compensation unless the amount of the 282
deduction is required by state or federal law;283

       (f) The name, the residential address, the name of the 284
employer, the address of the employer, the social security number, 285
the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit card, 286
charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency telephone 287
number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of a peace 288
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting 289
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 290
youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the 291
bureau of criminal identification and investigation;292

       (g) A photograph of a peace officer who holds a position or 293
has an assignment that may include undercover or plain clothes 294
positions or assignments as determined by the peace officer's 295
appointing authority.296

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 297
"peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the 298
Revised Code and also includes the superintendent and troopers of 299
the state highway patrol; it does not include the sheriff of a 300
county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence of the 301
sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the authority of, 302
and perform the duties of the sheriff.303

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5) of this section, 304
"correctional employee" means any employee of the department of 305
rehabilitation and correction who in the course of performing the 306
employee's job duties has or has had contact with inmates and 307
persons under supervision.308

        As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5) of this section, 309
"youth services employee" means any employee of the department of 310
youth services who in the course of performing the employee's job 311
duties has or has had contact with children committed to the 312
custody of the department of youth services.313

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 314
"firefighter" means any regular, paid or volunteer, member of a 315
lawfully constituted fire department of a municipal corporation, 316
township, fire district, or village.317

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "EMT" 318
means EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, and paramedics that provide emergency 319
medical services for a public emergency medical service 320
organization. "Emergency medical service organization," 321
"EMT-basic," "EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the same meanings as in 322
section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.323

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 324
"investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 325
investigation" has the meaning defined in section 2903.11 of the 326
Revised Code.327

       (8) "Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 328
a person under the age of eighteen" means information that is kept 329
in the ordinary course of business by a public office, that 330
pertains to the recreational activities of a person under the age 331
of eighteen years, and that discloses any of the following:332

       (a) The address or telephone number of a person under the age 333
of eighteen or the address or telephone number of that person's 334
parent, guardian, custodian, or emergency contact person;335

       (b) The social security number, birth date, or photographic 336
image of a person under the age of eighteen;337

       (c) Any medical record, history, or information pertaining to 338
a person under the age of eighteen;339

       (d) Any additional information sought or required about a 340
person under the age of eighteen for the purpose of allowing that 341
person to participate in any recreational activity conducted or 342
sponsored by a public office or to use or obtain admission 343
privileges to any recreational facility owned or operated by a 344
public office.345

       (9) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in 346
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.347

       (10) "Post-release control sanction" has the same meaning as 348
in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.349

        (11) "Redaction" means obscuring or deleting any information 350
that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or 351
copying from an item that otherwise meets the definition of a 352
"record" in section 149.011 of the Revised Code.353

       (12) "Designee" and "elected official" have the same meanings 354
as in section 109.43 of the Revised Code.355

       (B)(1) Upon request and subject to division (B)(8) of this 356
section, all public records responsive to the request shall be 357
promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person 358
at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to 359
division (B)(8) of this section, upon request, a public office or 360
person responsible for public records shall make copies of the 361
requested public record available at cost and within a reasonable 362
period of time. If a public record contains information that is 363
exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or to copy the 364
public record, the public office or the person responsible for the 365
public record shall make available all of the information within 366
the public record that is not exempt. When making that public 367
record available for public inspection or copying that public 368
record, the public office or the person responsible for the public 369
record shall notify the requester of any redaction or make the 370
redaction plainly visible. A redaction shall be deemed a denial of 371
a request to inspect or copy the redacted information, except if 372
federal or state law authorizes or requires a public office to 373
make the redaction.374

       (2) To facilitate broader access to public records, a public 375
office or the person responsible for public records shall organize 376
and maintain public records in a manner that they can be made 377
available for inspection or copying in accordance with division 378
(B) of this section. A public office also shall have available a 379
copy of its current records retention schedule at a location 380
readily available to the public. If a requester makes an ambiguous 381
or overly broad request or has difficulty in making a request for 382
copies or inspection of public records under this section such 383
that the public office or the person responsible for the requested 384
public record cannot reasonably identify what public records are 385
being requested, the public office or the person responsible for 386
the requested public record may deny the request but shall provide 387
the requester with an opportunity to revise the request by 388
informing the requester of the manner in which records are 389
maintained by the public office and accessed in the ordinary 390
course of the public office's or person's duties.391

       (3) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in whole, 392
the public office or the person responsible for the requested 393
public record shall provide the requester with an explanation, 394
including legal authority, setting forth why the request was 395
denied. If the initial request was provided in writing, the 396
explanation also shall be provided to the requester in writing. 397
The explanation shall not preclude the public office or the person 398
responsible for the requested public record from relying upon 399
additional reasons or legal authority in defending an action 400
commenced under division (C) of this section.401

       (4) Unless specifically required or authorized by state or 402
federal law or in accordance with division (B) of this section, no 403
public office or person responsible for public records may limit 404
or condition the availability of public records by requiring 405
disclosure of the requester's identity or the intended use of the 406
requested public record. Any requirement that the requester 407
disclose the requestor's identity or the intended use of the 408
requested public record constitutes a denial of the request.409

       (5) A public office or person responsible for public records 410
may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may ask for 411
the requester's identity, and may inquire about the intended use 412
of the information requested, but may do so only after disclosing 413
to the requester that a written request is not mandatory and that 414
the requester may decline to reveal the requester's identity or 415
the intended use and when a written request or disclosure of the 416
identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing 417
the ability of the public office or person responsible for public 418
records to identify, locate, or deliver the public records sought 419
by the requester.420

       (6) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public record 421
in accordance with division (B) of this section, the public office 422
or person responsible for the public record may require that 423
person to pay in advance the cost involved in providing the copy 424
of the public record in accordance with the choice made by the 425
person seeking the copy under this division. The public office or 426
the person responsible for the public record shall permit that 427
person to choose to have the public record duplicated upon paper, 428
upon the same medium upon which the public office or person 429
responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any other 430
medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the 431
public record determines that it reasonably can be duplicated as 432
an integral part of the normal operations of the public office or 433
person responsible for the public record. When the person seeking 434
the copy makes a choice under this division, the public office or 435
person responsible for the public record shall provide a copy of 436
it in accordance with the choice made by the person seeking the 437
copy. Nothing in this section requires a public office or person 438
responsible for the public record to allow the person seeking a 439
copy of the public record to make the copies of the public record.440

       (7) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B) of 441
this section and subject to division (B)(6) of this section, a 442
public office or person responsible for public records shall 443
transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United States 444
mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission within a 445
reasonable period of time after receiving the request for the 446
copy. The public office or person responsible for the public 447
record may require the person making the request to pay in advance 448
the cost of postage if the copy is transmitted by United States 449
mail or the cost of delivery if the copy is transmitted other than 450
by United States mail, and to pay in advance the costs incurred 451
for other supplies used in the mailing, delivery, or transmission.452

       Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it 453
will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time 454
after receiving a request, copies of public records by United 455
States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission 456
pursuant to this division. A public office that adopts a policy 457
and procedures under this division shall comply with them in 458
performing its duties under this division.459

       In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a 460
public office may limit the number of records requested by a 461
person that the office will transmit by United States mail to ten 462
per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing 463
that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested 464
records, or the information contained in them, for commercial 465
purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial" shall be 466
narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering 467
news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen 468
oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of 469
government, or nonprofit educational research.470

       (8) A public office or person responsible for public records 471
is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated pursuant to 472
a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to inspect or to 473
obtain a copy of any public record concerning a criminal 474
investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be a 475
criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the 476
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to 477
inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of 478
acquiring information that is subject to release as a public 479
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence 480
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the 481
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in 482
the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a 483
justiciable claim of the person.484

       (9)(a) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist 485
on or after December 16, 1999, a public office, or person 486
responsible for public records, having custody of the records of 487
the agency employing a specified peace officer, parole officer, 488
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant 489
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services 490
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 491
criminal identification and investigation shall disclose to the 492
journalist the address of the actual personal residence of the 493
peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, 494
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional 495
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 496
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 497
investigation and, if the peace officer's, parole officer's, 498
probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant 499
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services 500
employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of 501
criminal identification and investigation's spouse, former spouse, 502
or child is employed by a public office, the name and address of 503
the employer of the peace officer's, parole officer's, probation 504
officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant 505
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services 506
employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of 507
criminal identification and investigation's spouse, former spouse, 508
or child. The request shall include the journalist's name and 509
title and the name and address of the journalist's employer and 510
shall state that disclosure of the information sought would be in 511
the public interest.512

       (b) Division (B)(9)(a) of this section also applies to 513
journalist requests for customer information maintained by a 514
municipally owned or operated public utility, other than social 515
security numbers and any private financial information such as 516
credit reports, payment methods, credit card numbers, and bank 517
account information.518

       (c) As used in division (B)(9) of this section, "journalist" 519
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news 520
medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news 521
agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a 522
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, 523
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for 524
the general public.525

       (C)(1) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a 526
public office or the person responsible for public records to 527
promptly prepare a public record and to make it available to the 528
person for inspection in accordance with division (B) of this 529
section or by any other failure of a public office or the person 530
responsible for public records to comply with an obligation in 531
accordance with division (B) of this section, the person allegedly 532
aggrieved may commence a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that 533
orders the public office or the person responsible for the public 534
record to comply with division (B) of this section, that awards 535
court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the person that 536
instituted the mandamus action, and, if applicable, that includes 537
an order fixing statutory damages under division (C)(1) of this 538
section. The mandamus action may be commenced in the court of 539
common pleas of the county in which division (B) of this section 540
allegedly was not complied with, in the supreme court pursuant to 541
its original jurisdiction under Section 2 of Article IV, Ohio 542
Constitution, or in the court of appeals for the appellate 543
district in which division (B) of this section allegedly was not 544
complied with pursuant to its original jurisdiction under Section 545
3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution.546

       If a requestor transmits a written request by hand delivery 547
or certified mail to inspect or receive copies of any public 548
record in a manner that fairly describes the public record or 549
class of public records to the public office or person responsible 550
for the requested public records, except as otherwise provided in 551
this section, the requestor shall be entitled to recover the 552
amount of statutory damages set forth in this division if a court 553
determines that the public office or the person responsible for 554
public records failed to comply with an obligation in accordance 555
with division (B) of this section.556

       The amount of statutory damages shall be fixed at one hundred 557
dollars for each business day during which the public office or 558
person responsible for the requested public records failed to 559
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 560
section, beginning with the day on which the requester files a 561
mandamus action to recover statutory damages, up to a maximum of 562
one thousand dollars. The award of statutory damages shall not be 563
construed as a penalty, but as compensation for injury arising 564
from lost use of the requested information. The existence of this 565
injury shall be conclusively presumed. The award of statutory 566
damages shall be in addition to all other remedies authorized by 567
this section.568

       The court may reduce an award of statutory damages or not 569
award statutory damages if the court determines both of the 570
following:571

       (a) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 572
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 573
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 574
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 575
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 576
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 577
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 578
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 579
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 580
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 581
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 582
section;583

       (b) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 584
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 585
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 586
responsible for the requested public records would serve the 587
public policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as 588
permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.589

       (2)(a) If the court issues a writ of mandamus that orders the 590
public office or the person responsible for the public record to 591
comply with division (B) of this section and determines that the 592
circumstances described in division (C)(1) of this section exist, 593
the court shall determine and award to the relator all court 594
costs.595

       (b) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public 596
office or the person responsible for the public record to comply 597
with division (B) of this section, the court may award reasonable 598
attorney's fees subject to reduction as described in division 599
(C)(2)(c) of this section. The court shall award reasonable 600
attorney's fees, subject to reduction as described in division 601
(C)(2)(c) of this section when either of the following applies:602

        (i) The public office or the person responsible for the 603
public records failed to respond affirmatively or negatively to 604
the public records request in accordance with the time allowed 605
under division (B) of this section.606

        (ii) The public office or the person responsible for the 607
public records promised to permit the relator to inspect or 608
receive copies of the public records requested within a specified 609
period of time but failed to fulfill that promise within that 610
specified period of time.611

       (c) Court costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded under 612
this section shall be construed as remedial and not punitive. 613
Reasonable attorney's fees shall include reasonable fees incurred 614
to produce proof of the reasonableness and amount of the fees and 615
to otherwise litigate entitlement to the fees. The court may 616
reduce an award of attorney's fees to the relator or not award 617
attorney's fees to the relator if the court determines both of the 618
following:619

       (i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 620
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 621
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 622
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 623
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 624
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 625
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 626
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 627
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 628
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 629
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 630
section;631

       (ii) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 632
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 633
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 634
responsible for the requested public records as described in 635
division (C)(2)(c)(i) of this section would serve the public 636
policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting 637
that conduct or threatened conduct.638

       (D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the 639
provisions of this section.640

       (E)(1) To ensure that all employees of public offices are 641
appropriately educated about a public office's obligations under 642
division (B) of this section, all elected officials or their 643
appropriate designees shall attend training approved by the 644
attorney general as provided in section 109.43 of the Revised 645
Code. In addition, all public offices shall adopt a public records 646
policy in compliance with this section for responding to public 647
records requests. In adopting a public records policy under this 648
division, a public office may obtain guidance from the model 649
public records policy developed and provided to the public office 650
by the attorney general under section 109.43 of the Revised Code. 651
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the policy may not 652
limit the number of public records that the public office will 653
make available to a single person, may not limit the number of 654
public records that it will make available during a fixed period 655
of time, and may not establish a fixed period of time before it 656
will respond to a request for inspection or copying of public 657
records, unless that period is less than eight hours.658

       (2) The public office shall distribute the public records 659
policy adopted by the public office under division (E)(1) of this 660
section to the employee of the public office who is the records 661
custodian or records manager or otherwise has custody of the 662
records of that office. The public office shall require that 663
employee to acknowledge receipt of the copy of the public records 664
policy. The public office shall create a poster that describes its 665
public records policy and shall post the poster in a conspicuous 666
place in the public office and in all locations where the public 667
office has branch offices. The public office may post its public 668
records policy on the internet web site of the public office if 669
the public office maintains an internet web site. A public office 670
that has established a manual or handbook of its general policies 671
and procedures for all employees of the public office shall 672
include the public records policy of the public office in the 673
manual or handbook.674

       (F)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules pursuant 675
to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit the number 676
of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by a person 677
for the same records or for updated records during a calendar 678
year. The rules may include provisions for charges to be made for 679
bulk commercial special extraction requests for the actual cost of 680
the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus ten per cent. The 681
bureau may charge for expenses for redacting information, the 682
release of which is prohibited by law.683

       (2) As used in division (F)(1) of this section:684

       (a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, 685
records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative 686
delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct 687
equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual costs 688
paid to private contractors for copying services.689

       (b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a 690
request for copies of a record for information in a format other 691
than the format already available, or information that cannot be 692
extracted without examination of all items in a records series, 693
class of records, or data base by a person who intends to use or 694
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale 695
for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special extraction 696
request" does not include a request by a person who gives 697
assurance to the bureau that the person making the request does 698
not intend to use or forward the requested copies for surveys, 699
marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes.700

       (c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, or 701
selling of any good, service, or other product.702

       (d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time 703
spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, 704
the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed by 705
the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer 706
programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction 707
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer or 708
records services.709

       (3) For purposes of divisions (F)(1) and (2) of this section, 710
"surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial 711
purposes" shall be narrowly construed and does not include 712
reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering information to 713
assist citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or 714
activities of government, or nonprofit educational research.715

       Sec. 3313.33.  (A) Conveyances made by a board of education,716
including conveyances and contracts necessary for the operation of 717
a for-profit activity under section 3313.174 of the Revised Code,718
shall be executed by the president and treasurer thereof. 719

       (B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, no 720
member of the board shall have, directly or indirectly, any 721
pecuniary interest in any contract of the board or be employed in 722
any manner for compensation by the board of which the person is a 723
member. No contract shall be binding upon any board unless it is 724
made or authorized at a regular or special meeting of such board.725

       (C) A member of the board may have a pecuniary interest in a 726
contract of the board if all of the following apply:727

       (1) The member's pecuniary interest in that contract is that 728
the member is employed by a political subdivision, 729
instrumentality, or agency of the state that is contracting with 730
the board;731

       (2) The member does not participate in any discussion or 732
debate regarding the contract or vote on the contract;733

       (3) The member files with the school district treasurer an 734
affidavit stating the member's exact employment status with the 735
political subdivision, instrumentality, or agency contracting with 736
the board.737

       (D) This section does not apply where a member of the board, 738
being a shareholder of a corporation but not being an officer or 739
director thereof, owns not in excess of five per cent of the stock 740
of such corporation. If a stockholder desires to avail self of the 741
exception, before entering upon such contract such person shall 742
first file with the treasurer an affidavit stating the 743
stockholder's exact status and connection with said corporation.744

       This section does not apply where a member of the board 745
elects to be covered by a health care plan under section 3313.202 746
of the Revised Code.747

       Sec. 3313.811.  No board, the principal or teacher of any 748
schoolroom, or class organization of any school district shall 749
sell or offer for sale, or supervise the sale of uniform school 750
supplies, foods, candies, or like supplies for profit on the 751
school premises except when the profit derived from such sale is 752
to be used for school purposes or for any activity in connection 753
with the school on whose premises such uniform school supplies, 754
food, candies, or supplies are sold or offered for sale. No 755
individual student or class of students, acting as an agent for 756
any person or group of persons directly connected with the school 757
shall sell or offer for sale for profit outside the school 758
building, any such articles, except when the profit derived from 759
such sale is to be used for school purposes or for any activity in 760
connection with the school.761

       Uniform school supplies are those adopted by the board for 762
use in the schools of the district.763

       The enforcement of this section shall be under the 764
jurisdiction of the state board of education.765

       The school district board of education shall provide 766
revolving accounts for the purchase and sale of uniform school 767
supplies either by appropriations from the general fund or 768
accumulation from sales or receipts. Such accounts shall be kept 769
separate from other transactions of the board.770

       This section does not apply to a for-profit activity approved 771
by a district board under section 3313.174 of the Revised Code.772

       Sec. 5705.341.  Any person required to pay taxes on real, 773
public utility, or tangible personal property in any taxing 774
district or other political subdivision of this state may appeal 775
to the board of tax appeals from the action of the county budget 776
commission of any county which relates to the fixing of uniform 777
rates of taxation and the rate necessary to be levied by each 778
taxing authority within its subdivision or taxing unit and which 779
action has been certified by the county budget commission to the 780
taxing authority of any political subdivision or other taxing 781
district within the county.782

       Such appeal shall be in writing and shall set forth the tax 783
rate complained of and the reason that such a tax rate is not 784
necessary to produce the revenue needed by the taxing district or 785
political subdivision for the ensuing fiscal year as those needs 786
are set out in the tax budget of said taxing unit or, if adoption 787
of a tax budget was waived under section 5705.281 of the Revised 788
Code, as set out in such other information the district or 789
subdivision was required to provide under that section, or that 790
the action of the budget commission appealed from does not 791
otherwise comply with sections 5705.01 to 5705.47 of the Revised 792
Code. The notice of appeal shall be filed with the board of tax 793
appeals, and a true copy thereof shall be filed with the tax 794
commissioner, the county auditor, and with the fiscal officer of 795
each taxing district or political subdivision authorized to levy 796
the tax complained of, and such notice of appeal and copies 797
thereof must be filed within thirty days after the budget 798
commission has certified its action as provided by section 5705.34 799
of the Revised Code. Such notice of appeal and the copies thereof 800
may be filed either in person or by certified mail. If filed by 801
certified mail, the date of the United States postmark placed on 802
the sender's receipt by the postal employee to whom the notice of 803
appeal is presented shall be treated as the date of filing.804

       Prior to filing the appeal provided by this section, the 805
appellant shall deposit with the county auditor of the county or, 806
in the event the appeal concerns joint taxing districts in two or 807
more counties, with the county auditor of the county with the 808
greatest valuation of taxable property the sum of five hundred 809
dollars to cover the costs of the proceeding. The county auditor 810
shall forthwith issue a pay-in order and pay such money into the 811
county treasury to the credit of the general fund. The appellant 812
shall produce the receipt of the county treasurer for such deposit 813
and shall file such receipt with the notice of appeal.814

       The board of tax appeals shall forthwith consider the matter 815
presented on appeal from the action of the county budget 816
commission and may modify any action of the commission with 817
reference to the fixing of tax rates, to the end that no tax rate 818
shall be levied above that necessary to produce the revenue needed 819
by the taxing district or political subdivision for the ensuing 820
fiscal year and to the end that the action of the budget 821
commission appealed from shall otherwise be in conformity with 822
sections 5705.01 to 5705.47 of the Revised Code. The findings of 823
the board of tax appeals shall be substituted for the findings of 824
the budget commission and shall be sent to the county auditor and 825
the taxing authority of the taxing district or political 826
subdivision affected as the action of such budget commission under 827
sections 5705.01 to 5705.47 of the Revised Code and to the tax 828
commissioner. At the request of an appellant, the findings of the 829
board of tax appeals shall be sent by certified mail at the 830
appellant's expense.831

       The board of tax appeals shall promptly prepare a cost bill 832
listing the expenses incurred by the board in conducting any 833
hearing on the appeal and certify the cost bill to the county 834
auditor of the county receiving the deposit for costs, who shall 835
forthwith draw a warrant on the general fund of the county in 836
favor of the person or persons named in the bill of costs 837
certified by the board of tax appeals.838

       In the event the appellant prevails, the board of tax appeals 839
promptly shall direct the county auditor to refund the deposit to 840
the appellant and the costs shall be taxed to the taxing district 841
or political subdivision involved in the appeal. The county 842
auditor shall withhold from any funds then or thereafter in the 843
auditor's possession belonging to the taxing district or political 844
subdivision named in the order of the board of tax appeals and 845
shall reimburse the general fund of the county.846

       If the appellant fails, the costs shall be deducted from the 847
deposit provided for in this section and any balance which remains 848
shall be refunded promptly to the appellant by warrant of the 849
county auditor drawn on the general fund of the county.850

       Nothing in this section or any section of the Revised Code 851
shall permit or require the levying of any rate of taxation, 852
whether within the ten-mill limitation or whether the levy has 853
been approved by the electors of the taxing district, the 854
political subdivision, or the charter of a municipal corporation 855
in excess of such ten-mill limitation, unless such rate of 856
taxation for the ensuing fiscal year is clearly required by a 857
budget of the taxing district or political subdivision properly 858
and lawfully adopted under this chapter, or by other information 859
that must be provided under section 5705.281 of the Revised Code 860
if a tax budget was waived. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 861
profits or benefits derived from a for-profit activity approved by 862
a school district board of education and operated by the district 863
under section 3313.174 of the Revised Code may not be used to 864
reduce the district's levying of any rate of taxation or its tax 865
revenue as determined by the county budget commission. However, 866
the school district board may reduce the rate of taxation of a 867
levy approved by the electors, at its discretion, due to revenue 868
the district receives from that activity.869

       In the event more than one appeal is filed involving the same 870
taxing district or political subdivision, all such appeals may be 871
consolidated by the board of tax appeals and heard at the same 872
time.873

       Nothing herein contained shall be construed to bar or 874
prohibit the tax commissioner from initiating an investigation or 875
hearing on the commissioner's own motion.876

       The tax commissioner shall adopt and issue such orders, 877
rules, and instructions, not inconsistent with law, as the 878
commissioner deems necessary, as to the exercise of the powers and 879
the discharge of the duties of any particular county budget 880
commission, county auditor, or other officer which relate to the 881
budget, the assessment of property, or the levy and collection of 882
taxes. The commissioner shall cause the orders and instructions 883
issued by the commissioner to be obeyed.884

       Section 3. That existing sections 149.43, 3313.33, 3313.811, 885
and 5705.341 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.886

       Section 4.  Section 149.43 of the Revised Code is presented 887
in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Sub. 888
H.B. 64 and Am. Sub. H.B. 153 of the 129th General Assembly. The 889
General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of 890
section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be 891
harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds 892
that the composite is the resulting version of the section in 893
effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in 894
this act.895