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Sub. H. B. No. 324 As Reported by the House Finance and Appropriations CommitteeAs Reported by the House Finance and Appropriations Committee
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Representatives Duffey, Hagan, C.
Cosponsors:
Representatives Amstutz, Blair, Butler, Henne, Landis, Roegner, Schuring, Sears, Terhar, Bishoff, Hackett, Young, Brown
A BILL
To amend section 149.43 and to enact sections
117.432, 149.60, 149.62, and 149.65 of the Revised
Code to create the DataOhio Board, to specify
requirements for posting public records online, to
require the Auditor of State to adopt rules
regarding a uniform accounting system for public
offices, to establish an online catalog of public
data at data.Ohio.gov, to establish the Local
Government Information Exchange Grant Program, and
to amend the version of section 149.43 of the
Revised Code that is scheduled to take effect on
March 20, 2015, to continue the provisions of this
act on and after that effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 149.43 be amended and sections
117.432, 149.60, 149.62, and 149.65 of the Revised Code be enacted
to read as follows:
Sec. 117.432. (A) The general assembly recognizes that
government transparency requires a common language of definitions
for public information and that uniform accounting procedures and
charts of accounts improve financial management while maintaining
the principle of home rule over local matters. It is declared to
be a public purpose and function of the state to facilitate the
ability of the public easily to compare public data generated by
the state and other public offices using this common language.
(B) Within two years after the effective date of this
section, the auditor of state shall establish, by rule adopted
under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, appropriate uniform
accounting procedures and charts of accounts that may be used by
all public offices. Public offices that maintain their financial
records in accordance with the rules established by the auditor of
state under this section shall be declared by the auditor to have
earned a "DataOhio Transparency Award-Uniformity of Accounting."
(C) Not later than four years after the effective date of
this section, the auditor of state shall submit to the general
assembly proposed legislation to establish uniform accounting
procedures and charts of accounts for all public offices. In doing
so, the auditor of state shall consider the experience of public
offices that have maintained their financial records in accordance
with the rules established under this section.
The auditor of state may designate existing uniform
accounting procedures or charts of accounts that satisfy the
requirements of division (B) or (C) of this section, or may
supplement or amend existing uniform accounting procedures or
charts of accounts to satisfy the requirements of division (B) or
(C) of this section.
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:
(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, probation officer,
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney,
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility
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 executives of long-term services and supports
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) 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;
(y) Records listed in section 5101.29 of the Revised Code;
(z) Discharges recorded with a county recorder under section
317.24 of the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)(2) of
that section;
(aa) Usage information including names and addresses of
specific residential and commercial customers of a municipally
owned or operated public utility;
(bb) Records described in division (C) of section 187.04 of
the Revised Code that are not designated to be made available to
the public as provided in that division.
(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, probation officer,
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney,
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility
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, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee,
community-based correctional facility 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, probation officer, bailiff, assistant
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based
correctional facility 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,
probation officer, bailiff, assistant prosecuting attorney,
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility
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,
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based
correctional facility 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, probation officer, bailiff,
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional
employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth
services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau
of criminal identification and investigation by the peace
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's,
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's,
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility
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,
probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based
correctional facility 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, probation officer's, bailiff's,
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's,
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility
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, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee,
community-based correctional facility 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)(a) 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,
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based
correctional facility 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, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney,
assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee,
community-based correctional facility 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, probation officer's, bailiff's,
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's,
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility
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, probation officer's, bailiff's,
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's,
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility
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.
(b) Division (B)(9)(a) of this section also applies to
journalist requests for customer information maintained by a
municipally owned or operated public utility, other than social
security numbers and any private financial information such as
credit reports, payment methods, credit card numbers, and bank
account information.
(c) As used in division (B)(9) of this section, "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 database 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.
(G)(1) A public office that posts a public record on its web
site, or on a public web site maintained or authorized by the
state, shall make its best efforts to post the public record in an
open format so that the public record, or the data contained in
the public record, is capable of being searched, viewed, and
downloaded by the public, and is in a format that is machine
readable.
A public office that opts in to posting public records online
in an open format, and that has amended its public records policy
to indicate it has opted to do so, shall make its best effort to
continue to post such records online in an open format in
accordance with its public records policy.
(2) A public office that opts in to posting public records
online in an open format shall include in the public office's
public records policy a statement of which public records the
public office posts in accordance with the requirements of
division (G)(1) of this section. A public office shall submit to
the DataOhio board, not later than thirty days after amending its
public records policy regarding public records posted in
accordance with the requirements of division (G)(1) of this
section, the portion of its public records policy that states
which public records are posted.
(3) Nothing in this section requires a public office to post
public records to a web site. A public office's decision regarding
which public records to post in accordance with the requirements
of division (G)(1) of this section, if any, is solely within the
discretion of the public office. A public office's decision in
this regard is final and may not be modified except by action of
the public office.
Sec. 149.60. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Metropolitan planning organization" means a metropolitan
planning organization designated under section 9(a) of the
"Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962," 76 Stat. 1148, 23 U.S.C. 134,
as amended.
(2) "Public record" has the meaning defined in section 149.43
of the Revised Code.
(B) There is the local government information exchange grant
program in the department of administrative services. The program
shall be administered by the director of administrative services.
The director shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised
Code as are necessary to administer the program. The rules shall
include all of the following:
(1) Grant eligibility criteria, which shall include a
requirement that a grantee be a county, township, municipal
corporation, or public library, or a regional planning commission,
metropolitan planning organization, or regional council of
governments, which may apply on behalf of a county, township,
municipal corporation, or public library or group thereof to
assist them in meeting the requirements of this section;
(2) Specifications for what data points must be included by a
county, township, municipal corporation, or public library in
order for the county, township, municipal corporation, or public
library to be eligible for the grant funding;
(3) A requirement that electronic data satisfying the grant
criteria be posted on the internet, by the county, township,
municipal corporation, or public library or by the state, in an
open format that is capable of being searched, viewed, and
downloaded by the public;
(4) Specifications for consistent formatting and technology
standards for electronic data satisfying the grant eligibility
criteria; and
(5) Specifications for accounting standards for data provided
by a county, township, municipal corporation, or public library.
Required data points may be different for counties,
townships, municipal corporations, or public libraries.
(C) The director shall disburse a grant of ten thousand
dollars to each county, township, municipal corporation, or public
library that meets the grant eligibility criteria established by
the director, or to a regional planning commission, metropolitan
planning organization, or regional council of governments for each
county, township, municipal corporation, or public library applied
for that meets the grant eligibility criteria established by the
director. Grants shall be awarded in the order in which the
counties, townships, municipal corporations, or public libraries
have met the eligibility criteria. The total amount of grants
awarded shall not exceed the amount that can be funded with
appropriations made by the general assembly for this purpose.
Sec. 149.62. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Local government" means bodies corporate and politic
responsible for governmental activities only in geographical areas
smaller than that of the state.
(2) "Open format" has the meaning defined contextually in
section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Public record" has the meaning defined in section 149.43
of the Revised Code.
(B) The general assembly recognizes that public-use data from
public offices offers an avenue toward open and transparent
government, stimulates business innovation, and can help public
offices become more effective. It is declared to be a public
purpose and function of the state to facilitate the ability of the
public easily to find, download, and use data sets that are
generated and held by the state government and other public
offices. With these goals in mind, the general assembly creates
the DataOhio board to do all of the following:
(1) Recommend categories of public records that state
agencies and local governments should make available to the public
online in an open format;
(2) Recommend technology standards for open data use in the
state that reflect the most current standards used nationally and
in other states;
(3) Recommend accounting standards for financial data in the
state to facilitate comparison across public offices and services;
(4) Recommend metadata definitional standards for
nonfinancial data in the state to facilitate comparison and use of
this data across public offices; and
(5) Consider creation by the state of data.ohio.gov, an
online catalog of data sets made available by state agencies and
local governments, as well as collaboration with efforts underway
at the federal and state levels.
The board shall deliver a report of its findings and
recommendations to the general assembly not later than one year
after the effective date of this section, and thereafter shall
deliver a report of its findings and recommendations by the
thirty-first day of March each year.
(C) The DataOhio board shall consist of the following members
or their designees:
(2) The attorney general;
(3) The auditor of state;
(4) The secretary of state;
(5) The treasurer of state;
(6) The speaker of the house of representatives;
(7) The president of the senate;
(8) The minority leader of the house of representatives;
(9) The minority leader of the senate;
(10) The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents;
(11) The state librarian;
(12) One member who represents data consumers to be appointed
by the chairperson after the chairperson is selected; and
(13) Three members who represent local governments to be
appointed by the chairperson after the chairperson is selected.
The board also shall consist of one or more ex officio,
nonvoting members or their designees appointed by the chairperson
after the chairperson is selected.
At its initial meeting, the board shall select a chairperson
from among its members. The chairperson shall select a member of
the board to serve as the board's secretary.
Members of the board shall serve without compensation but
shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties.
(D) The state library of Ohio shall provide necessary meeting
facilities to the board.
The initial meeting of the board shall be held at the call of
the state librarian and not later than thirty days after the
effective date of this section. After the initial meeting, all
meetings of the board shall be held at the call of the
chairperson.
(E) The presence of a majority of the members of the board
constitutes a quorum for the conduct of its business. The
concurrence of at least a majority of the members of the board is
necessary for any action to be taken by the board.
Sec. 149.65. As used in this section, "public record" has
the meaning defined in section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
The auditor of state shall establish, administer, and operate
a web site to function as a portal and catalog where public
records and data sets of public records, created by state
government and other public offices, can be located and accessed
by the public online. The web site shall offer access to public
records or data sets of public records posted online by public
offices through providing web links to web sites of public offices
that contain such information. The web site may post original data
or data sets that contain original content or summarized content
of data sets obtained from public offices.
The auditor shall consult with the state librarian regarding
the collection, aggregation, presentation, and accessibility of
data in relation to the web site.
The web site shall be registered at data.Ohio.gov. The state
shall consider participation and affiliation of data.Ohio.gov with
data.gov, the official online data catalog of the United States
government.
The auditor of state shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code that specify policies and procedures for the
administration and operation of data.Ohio.gov. The rules shall
include a requirement that the auditor may not charge a fee in
relation to data.Ohio.gov. The auditor of state shall make every
effort to ensure that data provided online at data.Ohio.gov via
web link or posted as original data is open format and machine
readable.
Section 2. That existing section 149.43 of the Revised Code
is hereby repealed.
Section 3. That the version of section 149.43 of the Revised
Code that is scheduled to take effect on March 20, 2015, be
amended to read as follows:
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:
(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 sections 3705.12 to 3705.124 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 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, probation officer,
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney,
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility
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 executives of long-term services and supports
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) 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;
(y) Records listed in section 5101.29 of the Revised Code;
(z) Discharges recorded with a county recorder under section
317.24 of the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)(2) of
that section;
(aa) Usage information including names and addresses of
specific residential and commercial customers of a municipally
owned or operated public utility;
(bb) Records described in division (C) of section 187.04 of
the Revised Code that are not designated to be made available to
the public as provided in that division.
(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, probation officer,
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney,
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility
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, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee,
community-based correctional facility 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, probation officer, bailiff, assistant
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based
correctional facility 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,
probation officer, bailiff, assistant prosecuting attorney,
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility
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,
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based
correctional facility 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, probation officer, bailiff,
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional
employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth
services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau
of criminal identification and investigation by the peace
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's,
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's,
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility
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,
probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based
correctional facility 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, probation officer's, bailiff's,
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's,
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility
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, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee,
community-based correctional facility 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)(9) 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)(9) 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)(a) 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,
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based
correctional facility 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, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney,
assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee,
community-based correctional facility 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, probation officer's, bailiff's,
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's,
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility
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, probation officer's, bailiff's,
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's,
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility
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.
(b) Division (B)(9)(a) of this section also applies to
journalist requests for customer information maintained by a
municipally owned or operated public utility, other than social
security numbers and any private financial information such as
credit reports, payment methods, credit card numbers, and bank
account information.
(c) As used in division (B)(9) of this section, "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 database 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.
(G)(1) A public office that posts a public record on its web
site, or on a public web site maintained or authorized by the
state, shall make its best efforts to post the public record in an
open format so that the public record, or the data contained in
the public record, is capable of being searched, viewed, and
downloaded by the public, and is in a format that is machine
readable.
A public office that opts in to posting public records online
in an open format, and that has amended its public records policy
to indicate it has opted to do so, shall make its best effort to
continue to post such records online in an open format in
accordance with its public records policy.
(2) A public office that opts in to posting public records
online in an open format shall include in the public office's
public records policy a statement of which public records the
public office posts in accordance with the requirements of
division (G)(1) of this section. A public office shall submit to
the DataOhio board, not later than thirty days after amending its
public records policy regarding public records posted in
accordance with the requirements of division (G)(1) of this
section, the portion of its public records policy that states
which public records are posted.
(3) Nothing in this section requires a public office to post
public records to a web site. A public office's decision regarding
which public records to post in accordance with the requirements
of division (G)(1) of this section, if any, is solely within the
discretion of the public office. A public office's decision in
this regard is final and may not be modified except by action of
the public office.
Section 4. That the existing version of section 149.43 of
the Revised Code that is scheduled to take effect on March 20,
2015, is hereby repealed.
Section 5. Sections 3 and 4 of this act take effect on March
20, 2015.
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