To amend sections 149.43, 3503.15, and 3509.03 and to enact sections 111.31 to 111.40 and 3503.151 of the Revised Code to establish an address confidentiality program for individuals who reasonably believe that they are in danger of being threatened or physically harmed by another person.

Section 1.  That sections 149.43, 3503.15, and 3509.03 be amended and sections 111.31, 111.32, 111.33, 111.34, 111.35, 111.36, 111.37, 111.38, 111.39, 111.40, and 3503.151 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 111.31. As used in sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Abused child" has the same meaning as in section 2151.031 of the Revised Code and also includes any child who is the victim of threats of the commission of any act covered by that section.

(B) "Address" means a residential street address, school address, or work address of a person as specified on an application to be a program participant under section 111.32 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Application assistant" means a person who is designated by a court of common pleas, a municipal court, a county court, or the secretary of state to help individuals complete applications to be program participants and who has received training and certification from the secretary of state for that purpose.

(D) "Confidential address" means an address that is required to be kept confidential once a program participant is certified under division (C) of section 111.32 of the Revised Code.

(E) "Governmental entity" means the state, a political subdivision of the state, or any department, agency, board, commission, or other instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision of the state.

(F) "Guardian," "incompetent," "parent," and "ward" have the same meanings as in section 2111.01 of the Revised Code.

(G) "Program participant" means a person certified as a program participant under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code.

(H) "Shelter for victims of domestic violence" has the same meaning as in section 3113.33 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 111.32. (A) An adult person, a parent, or a guardian acting on behalf of a minor, incompetent, or ward may apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the person's address or the address of the minor, incompetent, or ward. The secretary of state shall approve an application if it is filed in the manner and on the form prescribed under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code and if it contains all of the following:

(1) A sworn statement by the applicant that the applicant fears for the safety of the applicant, the applicant's children, or the minor, incompetent, or ward on whose behalf the application is made and that one or more of the following apply:

(a) The applicant provides proof that the applicant, any of the applicant's children, or the minor, incompetent, or ward on whose behalf the application is made is a victim of a violation of section 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.21, 2903.211, 2903.22, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.07, 2907.08, 2907.09, 2911.211, 2919.22, or 2919.25 of the Revised Code.

(b) The applicant provides proof that the applicant, any of the applicant's children, or the minor, incompetent, or ward on whose behalf the application is made has a protection order issued or consent agreement approved under section 2903.213, 2903.214, or 3113.31 of the Revised Code or a protection order issued by a court of another state that has been registered under section 2919.272 of the Revised Code.

(c) The applicant reasonably fears that the applicant, any of the applicant's children, or the minor, incompetent, or ward on whose behalf the application is made is in danger of being threatened or physically harmed by another person.

(2) A designation of the secretary of state as the agent for the purposes of receiving service of process and the receipt of mail;

(3) The mailing address at which the applicant may be contacted by the secretary of state, and the telephone number or numbers at which the applicant may be called by the secretary of state;

(4) The new address or addresses that the applicant requests not be disclosed for the reason that disclosure will increase the risk that the applicant, the applicant's children, or the minor, incompetent, or ward on whose behalf the application is made will be threatened or physically harmed by another person;

(5) The signature of the applicant, the name, work address, and signature of the application assistant who assisted the applicant in applying to become a program participant, and the date on which the applicant and application assistant signed the application;

(6) The name, occupation if known, and contact information if known of the person the applicant reasonably believes will threaten or physically harm the applicant, the applicant's children, or the minor, incompetent, or ward on whose behalf the application is made.

(B) Any person who files an application under division (A) of this section shall file the application with the office of the secretary of state.

(C) Upon the filing of a properly completed application, the secretary of state shall certify the applicant or the minor, incompetent, or ward on whose behalf the application is filed as a program participant. The certification of a program participant shall be valid for four years after the date of the filing of the application for the program participant unless the certification is withdrawn or invalidated before the end of that four-year period. A program participant may renew the program participant's certification pursuant to the renewal procedure adopted by the secretary of state under section 111.40 of the Revised Code.

(D) No person shall falsely attest in an application that disclosure of the applicant's address would endanger the applicant's safety, the safety of the applicant's children, or the safety of the minor, incompetent, or ward on whose behalf the application is made or knowingly provide false or incorrect information upon making an application. A violation of this prohibition shall be grounds for removal from the address confidentiality program.

Sec. 111.33. (A) A program participant may request that a governmental entity use the address designated by the secretary of state as the program participant's address. Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this section, if the program participant requests that a governmental entity use that address, the governmental entity shall accept that address.

(B) A program participant may use the address designated by the secretary of state as the program participant's address at the program participant's place of employment.

(C)(1) The office of the secretary of state shall daily place all first class mail of a program participant that the secretary of state receives that day into an envelope or package and mail that envelope or package to the program participant at the mailing address of the program participant provided in the program participant's application under section 111.32 of the Revised Code.

(2) The secretary of state may contract with the United States postal service to establish special postal rates for the envelopes or packages used in mailing a program participant's first class mail under this section.

(D) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a municipal-owned public utility. The confidential addresses of participants of the address confidentiality program that are maintained by a municipal-owned public utility are not a public record and shall not be released by a municipal-owned public utility or by any employee of a municipal-owned public utility.

Sec. 111.34. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a program participant who is a qualified elector may vote by absent voter's ballots under Chapter 3509. of the Revised Code. The program participant shall apply to the secretary of state for those ballots using the participant's confidential address. Bipartisan teams of employees of the office of the secretary of state shall determine the precinct in which the program participant resides and the ballot style that the program participant should receive and shall request the program participant absent voter's ballot from the board of elections. The board of elections shall send to the secretary of state the ballots appropriate for the precinct where the participant's true residence is located. The office of the secretary of state shall forward the ballot to the program participant and instruct the program participant to return the program participant's ballot to the office of the secretary of state. Bipartisan teams of employees of the office of the secretary of state shall verify that the program participant is registered and eligible to vote using the secretary of state's participant voter registration system and that the ballot envelope was properly completed before forwarding for tabulation the ballot to the board of elections in the county where the program participant voter resides. The absent voter's ballots provided to program participants shall be referred to as "ACP absent voter's ballots." The board of elections shall accept all ballots forwarded by the secretary of state that are postmarked prior to election day for up to ten days after election day.

(B) Each employee of the office of the secretary of state who serves on a bipartisan team that handles program participants' absent voter's ballots shall subscribe to an oath that the employee will faithfully execute the employee's duties to the best of the employee's ability.

(C) Except as otherwise provided in sections 111.35 and 111.36 of the Revised Code and notwithstanding any provision of sections 3503.15 and 3503.26 or any other section of the Revised Code to the contrary, the secretary of state shall not disclose or make a program participant's voter registration record available for public inspection or copying. A program participant's voter registration record will be subject to a mandatory audit every four years by the auditor of state. The results of that audit are not a public record and shall be kept only by the auditor of state and the secretary of state.

(D) "Bipartisan teams" means two designated employees of the office of the secretary of state who are from different political parties.

Sec. 111.35. (A) A person may petition the court of common pleas of Franklin county for a hearing to order the secretary of state to make a program participant's confidential address available to the person.

(B) Upon the filing of a petition under this section, the court shall fix a date for a hearing on it and require the clerk of the court of common pleas of Franklin county to serve a notice of the date, time, place, and purpose of the hearing upon the petitioner and the program participant. The clerk shall notify by electronic means the secretary of state on behalf of the program participant and shall send the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the participant.

(C) Upon receipt of a notice under division (B) of this section by the secretary of state, the secretary of state shall forward by certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy of the individual notice to the program participant at the program participant's confidential address. The return receipt shall be addressed to the clerk of the applicable court of common pleas. The court shall not hear the petition until the clerk receives the return receipt containing proof of service of the notice upon the program participant.

(D) At a hearing under this section, the program participant or the program participant's attorney may appear and be heard. After the hearing and considering the testimony, the court shall issue the requested order only if good cause is shown for the order and it appears to the court by clear and convincing evidence that the disclosure of the program participant's confidential address will not increase the risk that the program participant will be threatened or harmed by another person.

Sec. 111.36. (A) Notwithstanding any provision of sections 3503.15 and 3503.26 or any other section of the Revised Code to the contrary, the secretary of state shall not disclose or make a program participant's confidential address available for inspection or copying, except under the following circumstances:

(1) If a member of a law enforcement agency has a legitimate law enforcement purpose for seeking the confidential address and obtains a court order requiring the office of the secretary of state to release a program participant's confidential address to that person, the office of the secretary of state shall make the program participant's confidential address available to that person.

(2) If a court orders that a program participant's confidential address be made available to a person under section 111.35 of the Revised Code, the secretary of state shall make it available to the person named in the court order.

(3) If the secretary of state has canceled a program participant's certification under section 111.37 of the Revised Code, the secretary of state may make the address available for inspection or copying under section 3503.26 of the Revised Code.

(B) No person who obtains the confidential address of a program participant shall knowingly disclose the confidential address to any person not authorized to receive that confidential address. Whoever violates this division is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.

Sec. 111.37. (A) The secretary of state shall immediately cancel the certification of a program participant under either of the following circumstances:

(1) The program participant's application contained one or more false statements.

(2) The program participant requests to cease being a program participant.

(B) The secretary of state may cancel the certification of a program participant if the program participant's address changes from any address listed on the application made under section 111.32 of the Revised Code, unless the program participant or the person who applied for the program on behalf of the program participant provides the secretary of state with written notice of the change of address within fourteen days after the change of address occurs.

Sec. 111.38. (A) The secretary of state may designate one or more employees or volunteers of various shelters for victims of domestic violence or other agencies within a county that serve victims of abuse to serve as application assistants for the applicants.

(B) Application assistants shall comply with the requirements for training and certification adopted by the secretary of state under section 111.40 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 111.39. (A) Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 2743. or any other section of the Revised Code to the contrary, the state and the office of the secretary of state are not liable in damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly arises from the performance of the secretary of state's duties under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code. Section 9.86 of the Revised Code applies to all officers and employees of the office of the secretary of state in relation to that performance.

(B) Any assistance or counseling rendered to program applicants or program participants by the office of the secretary of state or by certified application assistants is not legal advice.

Sec. 111.40. (A) The secretary of state shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to facilitate the administration of sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code.

(B) The secretary of state also shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to establish the following:

(1) Guidelines for maintaining the confidentiality of the voter registration records of program participants;

(2) Requirements for the training and certification of application assistants;

(3) The application for certification as a program participant;

(4) The procedure for renewal of certification as a program participant.

(C) The secretary of state shall prescribe forms necessary for the administration of the address confidentiality program, including, but not limited to, an address confidentiality program identification card. Application assistants and other persons involved in registering participants in the address confidentiality program shall use the forms prescribed by the secretary of state.

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

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

(a) Medical records;

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

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

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

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

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

(g) Trial preparation records;

(h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records;

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

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

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

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

(m) Intellectual property records;

(n) Donor profile records;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(bb) The confidential address of a participant of the address confidentiality program under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(7) "Peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation residential and familial information" means any information that discloses any of the following about a peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation:

(a) The address of the actual personal residence of a peace officer, parole officer, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or an investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, except for the state or political subdivision in which the peace officer, parole officer, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation resides;

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

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

(d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided to a peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation by the peace officer's, parole officer's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation's employer;

(e) The identity and amount of any charitable or employment benefit deduction made by the peace officer's, parole officer's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation's employer from the peace officer's, parole officer's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation's compensation unless the amount of the deduction is required by state or federal law;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(6) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public record in accordance with division (B) of this section, the public office or person responsible for the public record may require that person to pay in advance the cost involved in providing the copy of the public record in accordance with the choice made by the person seeking the copy under this division. The public office or the person responsible for the public record shall permit that person to choose to have the public record duplicated upon paper, upon the same medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any other medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the public record determines that it reasonably can be duplicated as an integral part of the normal operations of the public office or person responsible for the public record. When the person seeking the copy makes a choice under this division, the public office or person responsible for the public record shall provide a copy of it in accordance with the choice made by the person seeking the copy. Nothing in this section requires a public office or person responsible for the public record to allow the person seeking a copy of the public record to make the copies of the public record.

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

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

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

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

(9) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist on or after December 16, 1999, a public office, or person responsible for public records, having custody of the records of the agency employing a specified peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall disclose to the journalist the address of the actual personal residence of the peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and, if the peace officer's, parole officer's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child is employed by a public office, the name and address of the employer of the peace officer's, parole officer's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child. The request shall include the journalist's name and title and the name and address of the journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of the information sought would be in the public interest.

As used in this division, "journalist" means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for the general public.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sec. 3503.15.  (A) The secretary of state shall establish and maintain a statewide voter registration database that shall be continuously available to each board of elections and to other agencies as authorized by law.

(B) The statewide voter registration database established under this section shall be the official list of registered voters for all elections conducted in this state.

(C) The statewide voter registration database established under this section shall, at a minimum, include all of the following:

(1) An electronic network that connects all board of elections offices with the office of the secretary of state and with the offices of all other boards of elections;

(2) A computer program that harmonizes the records contained in the database with records maintained by each board of elections;

(3) An interactive computer program that allows access to the records contained in the database by each board of elections and by any persons authorized by the secretary of state to add, delete, modify, or print database records, and to conduct updates of the database;

(4) A search program capable of verifying registered voters and their registration information by name, driver's license number, birth date, social security number, or current address;

(5) Safeguards and components to ensure that the integrity, security, and confidentiality of the voter registration information is maintained.

(D) The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code doing all of the following:

(1) Specifying the manner in which existing voter registration records maintained by boards of elections shall be converted to electronic files for inclusion in the statewide voter registration database;

(2) Establishing a uniform method for entering voter registration records into the statewide voter registration database on an expedited basis, but not less than once per day, if new registration information is received;

(3) Establishing a uniform method for purging canceled voter registration records from the statewide voter registration database in accordance with section 3503.21 of the Revised Code;

(4) Specifying the persons authorized to add, delete, modify, or print records contained in the statewide voter registration database and to make updates of that database;

(5) Establishing a process for annually auditing the information contained in the statewide voter registration database;

(6) Establishing a process to keep the voter registration record of a person who is a program participant under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code confidential and not available for public inspection.

(E) A board of elections promptly shall purge a voter's name and voter registration information from the statewide voter registration database in accordance with the rules adopted by the secretary of state under division (D)(3) of this section after the cancellation of a voter's registration under section 3503.21 of the Revised Code.

(F) The secretary of state shall provide training in the operation of the statewide voter registration database to each board of elections and to any persons authorized by the secretary of state to add, delete, modify, or print database records, and to conduct updates of the database.

(G)(1) The statewide voter registration database established under this section shall be made available on a web site of the office of the secretary of state as follows:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (G)(1)(b) of this section, only the following information from the statewide voter registration database regarding a registered voter shall be made available on the web site:

(i) The voter's name;

(ii) The voter's address;

(iii) The voter's precinct number;

(iv) The voter's voting history.

(b) During the thirty days before the day of a primary or general election, the web site interface of the statewide voter registration database shall permit a voter to search for the polling location at which that voter may cast a ballot.

(2) The secretary of state shall establish, by rule adopted under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, a process for boards of elections to notify the secretary of state of changes in the locations of precinct polling places for the purpose of updating the information made available on the secretary of state's web site under division (G)(1)(b) of this section. Those rules shall require a board of elections, during the thirty days before the day of a primary or general election, to notify the secretary of state within one business day of any change to the location of a precinct polling place within the county.

(3) During the thirty days before the day of a primary or general election, not later than one business day after receiving a notification from a county pursuant to division (G)(2) of this section that the location of a precinct polling place has changed, the secretary of state shall update that information on the secretary of state's web site for the purpose of division (G)(1)(b) of this section.

Sec. 3503.151. Notwithstanding any other provision of Chapter 3503. of the Revised Code, the secretary of state shall maintain the voter registration records for participants in the address confidentiality program under sections 111.32 to 111.40 of the Revised Code who are registered or choose to register to vote. The secretary of state shall process new voter registration records and maintain existing voter registration records in the same manner as county boards of elections.

Sec. 3509.03.  Except as provided in section 3509.031 or division (B) of section 3509.08 of the Revised Code, any qualified elector desiring to vote absent voter's ballots at an election shall make written application for those ballots to the director of elections of the county in which the elector's voting residence is located. The application need not be in any particular form but shall contain all of the following:

(A) The elector's name;

(B) The elector's signature;

(C) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;

(D) The elector's date of birth;

(E) One of the following:

(1) The elector's driver's license number;

(2) The last four digits of the elector's social security number;

(3) A copy of the elector's current and valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector.

(F) A statement identifying the election for which absent voter's ballots are requested;

(G) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a qualified elector;

(H) If the request is for primary election ballots, the elector's party affiliation;

(I) If the elector desires ballots to be mailed to the elector, the address to which those ballots shall be mailed.

A voter who will be outside the United States on the day of any election during a calendar year may use a single federal post card application to apply for absent voter's ballots. Those ballots shall be sent to the voter for use at the primary and general elections in that year and any special election to be held on the day in that year specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code for the holding of a primary election, designated by the general assembly for the purpose of submitting constitutional amendments proposed by the general assembly to the voters of the state unless the voter reports a change in the voter's voting status to the board of elections or the voter's intent to vote in any such election in the precinct in this state where the voter is registered to vote. A single federal postcard application shall be processed by the board of elections pursuant to section 3509.04 of the Revised Code the same as if the voter had applied separately for absent voter's ballots for each election. When mailing absent voter's ballots to a voter who applied for them by single federal post card application, the board shall enclose notification to the voter that the voter must report to the board subsequent changes in the voter's voting status or the voter's subsequent intent to vote in any such election in the precinct in this state where the voter is registered to vote. Such notification shall be in a form prescribed by the secretary of state. As used in this section, "voting status" means the voter's name at the time the voter applied for absent voter's ballots by single federal post card application and the voter's address outside the United States to which the voter requested that those ballots be sent.

Each Except as provided in section 111.34 of the Revised Code, each application for absent voter's ballots shall be delivered to the director not earlier than the first day of January of the year of the elections for which the absent voter's ballots are requested or not earlier than ninety days before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted, whichever is earlier, and not later than twelve noon of the third day before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted, or not later than the close of regular business hours on the day before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted if the application is delivered in person to the office of the board.

Section 2.  That existing sections 149.43, 3503.15, and 3509.03 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.