130th Ohio General Assembly
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S. B. No. 366  As Introduced
As Introduced

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
S. B. No. 366


Senator Turner 

Cosponsors: Senators Cafaro, Brown, Schiavoni, Tavares 



A BILL
To amend sections 149.43, 149.45, 319.28, 319.54, 2903.213, 2903.214, 3113.31, 3503.15, and 3509.03 and to enact sections 111.31, 111.32, 111.321, 111.33 to 111.40, 2901.44, 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, to exclude the residential and familial information of a federal law enforcement officer from the definition of a public record, to include federal law enforcement officers among the protected individuals who are authorized to request a public office other than the county auditor to redact the person's address from any record made available to the general public on the internet, and to include those officers among the protected individuals who may request the county auditor to replace the person's name with the person's initials on the general tax list and duplicate, 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 sections 149.43, 149.45, 319.28, 319.54, 2903.213, 2903.214, 3113.31, 3503.15, and 3509.03 be amended and sections 111.31, 111.32, 111.321, 111.33, 111.34, 111.35, 111.36, 111.37, 111.38, 111.39, 111.40, 2901.44, 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) "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.
(B) "Application assistant" means a person who is designated by 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.
(C) "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.
(D) "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.
(E) "Guardian," "incompetent," "parent," and "ward" have the same meanings as in section 2111.01 of the Revised Code.
(F) "Program participant" means a person certified as a program participant under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code.
(G) "Shelter for victims of domestic violence" has the same meaning as in section 3113.33 of the Revised Code.
(H) "Tier I sex offender/child-victim offender," "tier II sex offender/child-victim offender," and "tier III sex offender/child-victim offender" have the same meanings as in section 2950.01 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 111.32. (A) Subject to division (E) of this section, 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.
(E) No tier I sex offender/child-victim offender, tier II sex offender/child-victim offender, or tier III sex offender/child-victim offender is eligible to apply to the secretary of state to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the person's address under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 111.321.  (A) In any criminal action involving 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, upon the conviction or plea of guilty of the defendant, the court shall notify in writing the victim of the offense if an adult person or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of the victim who is a minor, incompetent, or ward of the right of the person to apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code 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 person may apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state pursuant to those sections 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.
(B) In any proceeding under section 2903.213 of the Revised Code, upon the issuance of a protection order, the court shall notify in writing the person who filed the motion for the protection order of the right of the person to apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the person's address or the address of the person on whose behalf the protection order was issued. The person who filed the motion for the protection order may apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state pursuant to those sections to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the person's address or the address of the person on whose behalf the protection order was issued.
(C) In any proceeding under section 2903.214 or 3113.31 of the Revised Code, upon the issuance of a protection order or the approval of a consent agreement, the court shall notify in writing the petitioner in the proceeding of the right of the petitioner to apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the petitioner's address or the address of the person on whose behalf the protection order was issued or the consent agreement was approved. The petitioner may apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state pursuant to those sections to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the petitioner's address or the address of the person on whose behalf the protection order was issued or the consent agreement was approved.
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)(a) The secretary of state shall disclose a program participant's confidential address to a law enforcement officer, prosecuting attorney, city director of law, or similar chief legal officer, or their designees, acting pursuant to a search warrant, subpoena, or court order.
(b) A law enforcement officer may obtain the confidential address of a program participant from an electronic database maintained by the secretary of state under section 111.40 of the Revised Code and accessed through existing electronic databases that are regularly used by law enforcement officers if none of the following applies to the law enforcement officer:
(i) The officer is the offender of a violation as described in division (A)(1)(a) of section 111.32 of the Revised Code.
(ii) The officer is the person against whom a protection order is issued or a consent agreement is approved as described in division (A)(1)(b) of section 111.32 of the Revised Code.
(iii) The officer is the person an applicant reasonably fears as causing the danger of being threatened or physically harmed as described in division (A)(1)(c) of section 111.32 of the Revised Code.
(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)(1) No person who obtains the confidential address of a program participant from the office of the secretary of state shall, with knowledge that the confidential address is protected in the address confidentiality program established under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code, knowingly disclose the confidential address to any person not authorized to receive that confidential address.
(2) Division (B)(1) of this section does not apply to either of the following:
(a) Any disclosure of the confidential address of a program participant to a law enforcement officer acting within the scope of the officer's duties in the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense;
(b) Any disclosure of the confidential address of a program participant in any grand jury proceeding, any judicial proceeding, or any filing, notice, discovery, motion, or other process incident to a judicial proceeding.
(3) Whoever violates division (B)(1) of this section 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 five 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.
(D)(1) The secretary of state shall maintain an electronic database that contains the names and confidential addresses of participants in the address confidentiality program and any other information that the secretary of state considers appropriate regarding the participants. Except as otherwise provided in this division, the database is not a public record open for inspection under section 149.43 of the Revised Code. Subject to division (A)(1)(b) of section 111.36 of the Revised Code, any law enforcement officer may access the database to obtain the confidential address of a program participant.
(2) The secretary of state and the attorney general shall enter into a memorandum of understanding to make any data pertaining to participants in the address confidentiality program available in a secure manner to law enforcement officers while maintaining a high level of safety for program participants.
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, 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, or federal law enforcement officer 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;
(cc) Subject to any provision in sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code, the confidential address of a participant of the address confidentiality program, and all of the records pertaining to the address confidentiality program, established under those sections.
(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, or federal law enforcement officer 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, or federal law enforcement officer:
(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, or federal law enforcement officer, 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, or federal law enforcement officer 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, or federal law enforcement officer;
(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, or federal law enforcement officer 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, or federal law enforcement officer'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, or federal law enforcement officer'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, or federal law enforcement officer'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, or federal law enforcement officer;
(g) A photograph of a peace officer or federal law enforcement 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 or federal law enforcement 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)(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)(5)(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.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "federal law enforcement officer" means any officer of the United States who is authorized by federal law to conduct any investigation of, and make any arrest for, any offense against the United States in violation of federal law.
(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, or federal law enforcement officer 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, or federal law enforcement officer 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, or federal law enforcement officer'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, or federal law enforcement officer'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.
Sec. 149.45. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Personal information" means any of the following:
(a) An individual's social security number;
(b) An individual's federal tax identification number;
(c) An individual's driver's license number or state identification number;
(d) An individual's checking account number, savings account number, or credit card number.
(2) "Public record" and "peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer residential and familial information" have the same meanings as in section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Truncate" means to redact all but the last four digits of an individual's social security number.
(4) "Federal law enforcement officer" means any officer of the United States who is authorized by federal law to conduct any investigation of, and make any arrest for, any offense against the United States in violation of federal law.
(B)(1) No public office or person responsible for a public office's public records shall make available to the general public on the internet any document that contains an individual's social security number without otherwise redacting, encrypting, or truncating the social security number.
(2) A public office or person responsible for a public office's public records that prior to the effective date of this section October 17, 2011, made available to the general public on the internet any document that contains an individual's social security number shall redact, encrypt, or truncate the social security number from that document.
(3) Divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section do not apply to documents that are only accessible through the internet with a password.
(C)(1) An individual may request that a public office or a person responsible for a public office's public records redact personal information of that individual from any record made available to the general public on the internet. An individual who makes a request for redaction pursuant to this division shall make the request in writing on a form developed by the attorney general and shall specify the personal information to be redacted and provide any information that identifies the location of that personal information within a document that contains that personal information.
(2) Upon receiving a request for a redaction pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, a public office or a person responsible for a public office's public records shall act within five business days in accordance with the request to redact the personal information of the individual from any record made available to the general public on the internet, if practicable. If a redaction is not practicable, the public office or person responsible for the public office's public records shall verbally or in writing within five business days after receiving the written request explain to the individual why the redaction is impracticable.
(3) The attorney general shall develop a form to be used by an individual to request a redaction pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section. The form shall include a place to provide any information that identifies the location of the personal information to be redacted.
(D)(1) A peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer may request that a public office other than a county auditor or a person responsible for the public records of a public office other than a county auditor redact the address of the person making the request from any record made available to the general public on the internet that includes peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer residential and familial information of the person making the request. A person who makes a request for a redaction pursuant to this division shall make the request in writing and on a form developed by the attorney general.
(2) Upon receiving a written request for a redaction pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section, a public office other than a county auditor or a person responsible for the public records of a public office other than a county auditor shall act within five business days in accordance with the request to redact the address of the peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer making the request from any record made available to the general public on the internet that includes peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer residential and familial information of the person making the request, if practicable. If a redaction is not practicable, the public office or person responsible for the public office's public records shall verbally or in writing within five business days after receiving the written request explain to the peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer why the redaction is impracticable.
(3) Except as provided in this section and section 319.28 of the Revised Code, a public office other than an employer of a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer or a person responsible for the public records of the employer is not required to redact the residential and familial information of the peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer from other records maintained by the public office.
(4) The attorney general shall develop a form to be used by a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer to request a redaction pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section. The form shall include a place to provide any information that identifies the location of the address of a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer to be redacted.
(E)(1) If a public office or a person responsible for a public office's public records becomes aware that an electronic record of that public office that is made available to the general public on the internet contains an individual's social security number that was mistakenly not redacted, encrypted, or truncated as required by division (B)(1) or (2) of this section, the public office or person responsible for the public office's public records shall redact, encrypt, or truncate the individual's social security number within a reasonable period of time.
(2) A public office or a person responsible for a public office's public records is not liable in damages in a civil action for any harm an individual allegedly sustains as a result of the inclusion of that individual's personal information on any record made available to the general public on the internet or any harm a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer sustains as a result of the inclusion of the address of the peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or federal law enforcement officer on any record made available to the general public on the internet in violation of this section unless the public office or person responsible for the public office's public records acted with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner or division (A)(6)(a) or (c) of section 2744.03 of the Revised Code applies.
Sec. 319.28.  (A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, on or before the first Monday of August, annually, the county auditor shall compile and make up a general tax list of real and public utility property in the county, either in tabular form and alphabetical order, or, with the consent of the county treasurer, by listing all parcels in a permanent parcel number sequence to which a separate alphabetical index is keyed, containing the names of the several persons, companies, firms, partnerships, associations, and corporations in whose names real property has been listed in each township, municipal corporation, special district, or separate school district, or part of either in the auditor's county, placing separately, in appropriate columns opposite each name, the description of each tract, lot, or parcel of real estate, the value of each tract, lot, or parcel, the value of the improvements thereon, and of the names of the several public utilities whose property, subject to taxation on the general tax list and duplicate, has been apportioned by the department of taxation to the county, and the amount so apportioned to each township, municipal corporation, special district, or separate school district or part of either in the auditor's county, as shown by the certificates of apportionment of public utility property. If the name of the owner of any tract, lot, or parcel of real estate is unknown to the auditor, "unknown" shall be entered in the column of names opposite said tract, lot, or parcel. Such lists shall be prepared in duplicate. On or before the first Monday of September in each year, the auditor shall correct such lists in accordance with the additions and deductions ordered by the tax commissioner and by the county board of revision, and shall certify and on the first day of October deliver one copy thereof to the county treasurer. The copies prepared by the auditor shall constitute the auditor's general tax list and treasurer's general duplicate of real and public utility property for the current year.
Once a permanent parcel numbering system has been established in any county as provided by the preceding paragraph, such system shall remain in effect until otherwise agreed upon by the county auditor and county treasurer.
(B)(1) 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, or federal law enforcement officer may submit a written request by affidavit to the county auditor requesting the county auditor to remove the name 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, or federal law enforcement officer from any record made available to the general public on the internet or a publicly accessible database and the general tax list of real and public utility property and the general duplicate of real and public utility property and insert the initials 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, or federal law enforcement officer on any record made available to the general public on the internet or a publicly accessible database and the general tax list of real and public utility property and the general duplicate of real and public utility property as the name 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, or federal law enforcement officer that appears on the deed.
(2) Upon receiving a written request by affidavit described in division (B)(1) of this section, the county auditor shall act within five business days in accordance with the request to remove the name 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, or federal law enforcement officer from any record made available to the general public on the internet or a publicly accessible database and the general tax list of real and public utility property and the general duplicate of real and public utility property and insert initials 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, or federal law enforcement officer on any record made available to the general public on the internet or a publicly accessible database and the general tax list of real and public utility property and the general duplicate of real and public utility property, if practicable. If the removal and insertion is not practicable, the county auditor shall verbally or in writing within five business days after receiving the written request explain to 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, or federal law enforcement officer why the removal and insertion is impracticable.
(C) As used in this section, "federal law enforcement officer" means any officer of the United States who is authorized by federal law to conduct any investigation of, and make any arrest for, any offense against the United States in violation of federal law.
Sec. 319.54.  (A) On all moneys collected by the county treasurer on any tax duplicate of the county, other than estate tax duplicates, and on all moneys received as advance payments of personal property and classified property taxes, the county auditor, on settlement with the treasurer and tax commissioner, on or before the date prescribed by law for such settlement or any lawful extension of such date, shall be allowed as compensation for the county auditor's services the following percentages:
(1) On the first one hundred thousand dollars, two and one-half per cent;
(2) On the next two million dollars, eight thousand three hundred eighteen ten-thousandths of one per cent;
(3) On the next two million dollars, six thousand six hundred fifty-five ten-thousandths of one per cent;
(4) On all further sums, one thousand six hundred sixty-three ten-thousandths of one per cent.
If any settlement is not made on or before the date prescribed by law for such settlement or any lawful extension of such date, the aggregate compensation allowed to the auditor shall be reduced one per cent for each day such settlement is delayed after the prescribed date. No penalty shall apply if the auditor and treasurer grant all requests for advances up to ninety per cent of the settlement pursuant to section 321.34 of the Revised Code. The compensation allowed in accordance with this section on settlements made before the dates prescribed by law, or the reduced compensation allowed in accordance with this section on settlements made after the date prescribed by law or any lawful extension of such date, shall be apportioned ratably by the auditor and deducted from the shares or portions of the revenue payable to the state as well as to the county, townships, municipal corporations, and school districts.
(B) For the purpose of reimbursing county auditors for the expenses associated with the increased number of applications for reductions in real property taxes under sections 323.152 and 4503.065 of the Revised Code that result from the amendment of those sections by Am. Sub. H.B. 119 of the 127th general assembly, there shall be paid from the state's general revenue fund to the county treasury, to the credit of the real estate assessment fund created by section 325.31 of the Revised Code, an amount equal to one per cent of the total annual amount of property tax relief reimbursement paid to that county under sections 323.156 and 4503.068 of the Revised Code for the preceding tax year. Payments made under this division shall be made at the same times and in the same manner as payments made under section 323.156 of the Revised Code.
(C) From all moneys collected by the county treasurer on any tax duplicate of the county, other than estate tax duplicates, and on all moneys received as advance payments of personal property and classified property taxes, there shall be paid into the county treasury to the credit of the real estate assessment fund created by section 325.31 of the Revised Code, an amount to be determined by the county auditor, which shall not exceed the percentages prescribed in divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section.
(1) For payments made after June 30, 2007, and before 2011, the following percentages:
(a) On the first five hundred thousand dollars, four per cent;
(b) On the next five million dollars, two per cent;
(c) On the next five million dollars, one per cent;
(d) On all further sums not exceeding one hundred fifty million dollars, three-quarters of one per cent;
(e) On amounts exceeding one hundred fifty million dollars, five hundred eighty-five thousandths of one per cent.
(2) For payments made in or after 2011, the following percentages:
(a) On the first five hundred thousand dollars, four per cent;
(b) On the next ten million dollars, two per cent;
(c) On amounts exceeding ten million five hundred thousand dollars, three-fourths of one per cent.
Such compensation shall be apportioned ratably by the auditor and deducted from the shares or portions of the revenue payable to the state as well as to the county, townships, municipal corporations, and school districts.
(D) Each county auditor shall receive four per cent of the amount of tax collected and paid into the county treasury, on property omitted and placed by the county auditor on the tax duplicate.
(E) On all estate tax moneys collected by the county treasurer, the county auditor, on settlement semiannually with the tax commissioner, shall be allowed, as compensation for the auditor's services under Chapter 5731. of the Revised Code, the following percentages:
(1) Four per cent on the first one hundred thousand dollars;
(2) One-half of one per cent on all additional sums.
Such percentages shall be computed upon the amount collected and reported at each semiannual settlement, and shall be for the use of the general fund of the county.
(F) On all cigarette license moneys collected by the county treasurer, the county auditor, on settlement semiannually with the treasurer, shall be allowed as compensation for the auditor's services in the issuing of such licenses one-half of one per cent of such moneys, to be apportioned ratably and deducted from the shares of the revenue payable to the county and subdivisions, for the use of the general fund of the county.
(G) The county auditor shall charge and receive fees as follows:
(1) For deeds of land sold for taxes to be paid by the purchaser, five dollars;
(2) For the transfer or entry of land, lot, or part of lot, or the transfer or entry on or after January 1, 2000, of a used manufactured home or mobile home as defined in section 5739.0210 of the Revised Code, fifty cents for each transfer or entry, to be paid by the person requiring it;
(3) For receiving statements of value and administering section 319.202 of the Revised Code, one dollar, or ten cents for each one hundred dollars or fraction of one hundred dollars, whichever is greater, of the value of the real property transferred or, for sales occurring on or after January 1, 2000, the value of the used manufactured home or used mobile home, as defined in section 5739.0210 of the Revised Code, transferred, except no fee shall be charged when the transfer is made:
(a) To or from the United States, this state, or any instrumentality, agency, or political subdivision of the United States or this state;
(b) Solely in order to provide or release security for a debt or obligation;
(c) To confirm or correct a deed previously executed and recorded or when a current owner on any record made available to the general public on the internet or a publicly accessible database and the general tax list of real and public utility property and the general duplicate of real and public utility property is 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, or federal law enforcement officer and is changing the current owner name listed on any record made available to the general public on the internet or a publicly accessible database and the general tax list of real and public utility property and the general duplicate of real and public utility property to the initials of the current owner as prescribed in division (B)(1) of section 319.28 of the Revised Code;
(d) To evidence a gift, in trust or otherwise and whether revocable or irrevocable, between husband and wife, or parent and child or the spouse of either;
(e) On sale for delinquent taxes or assessments;
(f) Pursuant to court order, to the extent that such transfer is not the result of a sale effected or completed pursuant to such order;
(g) Pursuant to a reorganization of corporations or unincorporated associations or pursuant to the dissolution of a corporation, to the extent that the corporation conveys the property to a stockholder as a distribution in kind of the corporation's assets in exchange for the stockholder's shares in the dissolved corporation;
(h) By a subsidiary corporation to its parent corporation for no consideration, nominal consideration, or in sole consideration of the cancellation or surrender of the subsidiary's stock;
(i) By lease, whether or not it extends to mineral or mineral rights, unless the lease is for a term of years renewable forever;
(j) When the value of the real property or the manufactured or mobile home or the value of the interest that is conveyed does not exceed one hundred dollars;
(k) Of an occupied residential property, including a manufactured or mobile home, being transferred to the builder of a new residence or to the dealer of a new manufactured or mobile home when the former residence is traded as part of the consideration for the new residence or new manufactured or mobile home;
(l) To a grantee other than a dealer in real property or in manufactured or mobile homes, solely for the purpose of, and as a step in, the prompt sale of the real property or manufactured or mobile home to others;
(m) To or from a person when no money or other valuable and tangible consideration readily convertible into money is paid or to be paid for the real estate or manufactured or mobile home and the transaction is not a gift;
(n) Pursuant to division (B) of section 317.22 of the Revised Code, or section 2113.61 of the Revised Code, between spouses or to a surviving spouse pursuant to section 5302.17 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to April 4, 1985, between persons pursuant to section 5302.17 or 5302.18 of the Revised Code on or after April 4, 1985, to a person who is a surviving, survivorship tenant pursuant to section 5302.17 of the Revised Code on or after April 4, 1985, or pursuant to section 5309.45 of the Revised Code;
(o) To a trustee acting on behalf of minor children of the deceased;
(p) Of an easement or right-of-way when the value of the interest conveyed does not exceed one thousand dollars;
(q) Of property sold to a surviving spouse pursuant to section 2106.16 of the Revised Code;
(r) To or from an organization exempt from federal income taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 1, as amended, provided such transfer is without consideration and is in furtherance of the charitable or public purposes of such organization;
(s) Among the heirs at law or devisees, including a surviving spouse, of a common decedent, when no consideration in money is paid or to be paid for the real property or manufactured or mobile home;
(t) To a trustee of a trust, when the grantor of the trust has reserved an unlimited power to revoke the trust;
(u) To the grantor of a trust by a trustee of the trust, when the transfer is made to the grantor pursuant to the exercise of the grantor's power to revoke the trust or to withdraw trust assets;
(v) To the beneficiaries of a trust if the fee was paid on the transfer from the grantor of the trust to the trustee or if the transfer is made pursuant to trust provisions which became irrevocable at the death of the grantor;
(w) To a corporation for incorporation into a sports facility constructed pursuant to section 307.696 of the Revised Code;
(x) Between persons pursuant to section 5302.18 of the Revised Code;
(y) From a county land reutilization corporation organized under Chapter 1724. of the Revised Code, or its wholly owned subsidiary, to a third party.
(4) For the cost of publishing the delinquent manufactured home tax list, the delinquent tax list, and the delinquent vacant land tax list, a flat fee, as determined by the county auditor, to be charged to the owner of a home on the delinquent manufactured home tax list or the property owner of land on the delinquent tax list or the delinquent vacant land tax list.
The auditor shall compute and collect the fee. The auditor shall maintain a numbered receipt system, as prescribed by the tax commissioner, and use such receipt system to provide a receipt to each person paying a fee. The auditor shall deposit the receipts of the fees on conveyances in the county treasury daily to the credit of the general fund of the county, except that fees charged and received under division (G)(3) of this section for a transfer of real property to a county land reutilization corporation shall be credited to the county land reutilization corporation fund established under section 321.263 of the Revised Code.
The real property transfer fee provided for in division (G)(3) of this section shall be applicable to any conveyance of real property presented to the auditor on or after January 1, 1968, regardless of its time of execution or delivery.
The transfer fee for a used manufactured home or used mobile home shall be computed by and paid to the county auditor of the county in which the home is located immediately prior to the transfer.
(H) "Federal law enforcement officer" means any officer of the United States who is authorized by federal law to conduct any investigation of, and make any arrest for, any offense against the United States in violation of federal law.
Sec. 2901.44.  (A) In any criminal action involving 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, upon the conviction or plea of guilty of the defendant, the court shall notify in writing the victim of the offense if an adult person or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of the victim who is a minor, incompetent, or ward of the right of the person to apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code 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 person may apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state pursuant to those sections 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.
(B) As used in this section:
(1) "Guardian," "incompetent," "parent," and "ward" have the same meanings as in section 2111.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Application assistant" has the same meaning as in section 111.31 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2903.213.  (A) Except when the complaint involves a person who is a family or household member as defined in section 2919.25 of the Revised Code, upon the filing of a complaint that alleges a violation of section 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.21, 2903.211, 2903.22, or 2911.211 of the Revised Code, a violation of a municipal ordinance substantially similar to section 2903.13, 2903.21, 2903.211, 2903.22, or 2911.211 of the Revised Code, or the commission of a sexually oriented offense, the complainant, the alleged victim, or a family or household member of an alleged victim may file a motion that requests the issuance of a protection order as a pretrial condition of release of the alleged offender, in addition to any bail set under Criminal Rule 46. The motion shall be filed with the clerk of the court that has jurisdiction of the case at any time after the filing of the complaint. If the complaint involves a person who is a family or household member, the complainant, the alleged victim, or the family or household member may file a motion for a temporary protection order pursuant to section 2919.26 of the Revised Code.
(B) A motion for a protection order under this section shall be prepared on a form that is provided by the clerk of the court, and the form shall be substantially as follows:
"Motion for Protection Order
............................
Name and address of court
State of Ohio
v. No. ..........

.............................
Name of Defendant
(Name of person), moves the court to issue a protection order containing terms designed to ensure the safety and protection of the complainant or the alleged victim in the above-captioned case, in relation to the named defendant, pursuant to its authority to issue a protection order under section 2903.213 of the Revised Code.
A complaint, a copy of which has been attached to this motion, has been filed in this court charging the named defendant with a violation of section 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.21, 2903.211, 2903.22, or 2911.211 of the Revised Code, a violation of a municipal ordinance substantially similar to section 2903.13, 2903.21, 2903.211, 2903.22, or 2911.211 of the Revised Code, or the commission of a sexually oriented offense.
I understand that I must appear before the court, at a time set by the court not later than the next day that the court is in session after the filing of this motion, for a hearing on the motion, and that any protection order granted pursuant to this motion is a pretrial condition of release and is effective only until the disposition of the criminal proceeding arising out of the attached complaint or until the issuance under section 2903.214 of the Revised Code of a protection order arising out of the same activities as those that were the basis of the attached complaint.
.....................................
Signature of person
.....................................
Address of person"
(C)(1) As soon as possible after the filing of a motion that requests the issuance of a protection order under this section, but not later than the next day that the court is in session after the filing of the motion, the court shall conduct a hearing to determine whether to issue the order. The person who requested the order shall appear before the court and provide the court with the information that it requests concerning the basis of the motion. If the court finds that the safety and protection of the complainant or the alleged victim may be impaired by the continued presence of the alleged offender, the court may issue a protection order under this section, as a pretrial condition of release, that contains terms designed to ensure the safety and protection of the complainant or the alleged victim, including a requirement that the alleged offender refrain from entering the residence, school, business, or place of employment of the complainant or the alleged victim.
(2)(a) If the court issues a protection order under this section that includes a requirement that the alleged offender refrain from entering the residence, school, business, or place of employment of the complainant or the alleged victim, the order shall clearly state that the order cannot be waived or nullified by an invitation to the alleged offender from the complainant, the alleged victim, or a family or household member to enter the residence, school, business, or place of employment or by the alleged offender's entry into one of those places otherwise upon the consent of the complainant, the alleged victim, or a family or household member.
(b) Division (C)(2)(a) of this section does not limit any discretion of a court to determine that an alleged offender charged with a violation of section 2919.27 of the Revised Code, with a violation of a municipal ordinance substantially equivalent to that section, or with contempt of court, which charge is based on an alleged violation of a protection order issued under this section, did not commit the violation or was not in contempt of court.
(D)(1) Except when the complaint involves a person who is a family or household member as defined in section 2919.25 of the Revised Code, upon the filing of a complaint that alleges a violation specified in division (A) of this section, the court, upon its own motion, may issue a protection order under this section as a pretrial condition of release of the alleged offender if it finds that the safety and protection of the complainant or the alleged victim may be impaired by the continued presence of the alleged offender.
(2) If the court issues a protection order under this section as an ex parte order, it shall conduct, as soon as possible after the issuance of the order but not later than the next day that the court is in session after its issuance, a hearing to determine whether the order should remain in effect, be modified, or be revoked. The hearing shall be conducted under the standards set forth in division (C) of this section.
(3) If a municipal court or a county court issues a protection order under this section and if, subsequent to the issuance of the order, the alleged offender who is the subject of the order is bound over to the court of common pleas for prosecution of a felony arising out of the same activities as those that were the basis of the complaint upon which the order is based, notwithstanding the fact that the order was issued by a municipal court or county court, the order shall remain in effect, as though it were an order of the court of common pleas, while the charges against the alleged offender are pending in the court of common pleas, for the period of time described in division (E)(2) of this section, and the court of common pleas has exclusive jurisdiction to modify the order issued by the municipal court or county court. This division applies when the alleged offender is bound over to the court of common pleas as a result of the person waiving a preliminary hearing on the felony charge, as a result of the municipal court or county court having determined at a preliminary hearing that there is probable cause to believe that the felony has been committed and that the alleged offender committed it, as a result of the alleged offender having been indicted for the felony, or in any other manner.
(E) A protection order that is issued as a pretrial condition of release under this section:
(1) Is in addition to, but shall not be construed as a part of, any bail set under Criminal Rule 46;
(2) Is effective only until the disposition, by the court that issued the order or, in the circumstances described in division (D)(3) of this section, by the court of common pleas to which the alleged offender is bound over for prosecution, of the criminal proceeding arising out of the complaint upon which the order is based or until the issuance under section 2903.214 of the Revised Code of a protection order arising out of the same activities as those that were the basis of the complaint filed under this section;
(3) Shall not be construed as a finding that the alleged offender committed the alleged offense and shall not be introduced as evidence of the commission of the offense at the trial of the alleged offender on the complaint upon which the order is based.
(F) A person who meets the criteria for bail under Criminal Rule 46 and who, if required to do so pursuant to that rule, executes or posts bond or deposits cash or securities as bail, shall not be held in custody pending a hearing before the court on a motion requesting a protection order under this section.
(G)(1) A copy of a protection order that is issued under this section shall be issued by the court to the complainant, to the alleged victim, to the person who requested the order, to the defendant, and to all law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction to enforce the order. The court shall direct that a copy of the order be delivered to the defendant on the same day that the order is entered. If a municipal court or a county court issues a protection order under this section and if, subsequent to the issuance of the order, the defendant who is the subject of the order is bound over to the court of common pleas for prosecution as described in division (D)(3) of this section, the municipal court or county court shall direct that a copy of the order be delivered to the court of common pleas to which the defendant is bound over.
(2) All law enforcement agencies shall establish and maintain an index for the protection orders delivered to the agencies pursuant to division (G)(1) of this section. With respect to each order delivered, each agency shall note on the index the date and time of the agency's receipt of the order.
(3) Regardless of whether the petitioner has registered the protection order in the county in which the officer's agency has jurisdiction, any officer of a law enforcement agency shall enforce a protection order issued pursuant to this section in accordance with the provisions of the order.
(H) Upon a violation of a protection order issued pursuant to this section, the court may issue another protection order under this section, as a pretrial condition of release, that modifies the terms of the order that was violated.
(I)(1) Subject to division (I)(2) of this section and regardless of whether a protection order is issued or a consent agreement is approved by a court of another county or by a court of another state, no court or unit of state or local government shall charge the movant any fee, cost, deposit, or money in connection with the filing of a motion pursuant to this section, in connection with the filing, issuance, registration, modification, enforcement, dismissal, withdrawal, or service of a protection order, consent agreement, or witness subpoena or for obtaining certified copies of a protection order or consent agreement.
(2) Regardless of whether a protection order is issued or a consent agreement is approved pursuant to this section, if the defendant is convicted the court may assess costs against the defendant in connection with the filing, issuance, registration, modification, enforcement, dismissal, withdrawal, or service of a protection order, consent agreement, or witness subpoena or for obtaining a certified copy of a protection order or consent agreement.
(J) Upon the issuance of a protection order under this section, the court shall notify in writing the person who filed the motion for the issuance of the order of the right of the person to apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the person's address or the address of the person on whose behalf the protection order was issued. The person who filed the motion for the issuance of the protection order may apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state pursuant to those sections to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the person's address or the address of the person on whose behalf the protection order was issued.
(K) As used in this section, "sexually:
(1) "Sexually oriented offense" has the same meaning as in section 2950.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Application assistant" has the same meaning as in section 111.31 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2903.214.  (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Court" means the court of common pleas of the county in which the person to be protected by the protection order resides.
(2) "Victim advocate" means a person who provides support and assistance for a person who files a petition under this section.
(3) "Family or household member" has the same meaning as in section 3113.31 of the Revised Code.
(4) "Protection order issued by a court of another state" has the same meaning as in section 2919.27 of the Revised Code.
(5) "Sexually oriented offense" has the same meaning as in section 2950.01 of the Revised Code.
(6) "Electronic monitoring" has the same meaning as in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
(B) The court has jurisdiction over all proceedings under this section.
(C) A person may seek relief under this section for the person, or any parent or adult household member may seek relief under this section on behalf of any other family or household member, by filing a petition with the court. The petition shall contain or state all of the following:
(1) An allegation that the respondent is eighteen years of age or older and engaged in a violation of section 2903.211 of the Revised Code against the person to be protected by the protection order or committed a sexually oriented offense against the person to be protected by the protection order, including a description of the nature and extent of the violation;
(2) If the petitioner seeks relief in the form of electronic monitoring of the respondent, an allegation that at any time preceding the filing of the petition the respondent engaged in conduct that would cause a reasonable person to believe that the health, welfare, or safety of the person to be protected was at risk, a description of the nature and extent of that conduct, and an allegation that the respondent presents a continuing danger to the person to be protected;
(3) A request for relief under this section.
(D)(1) If a person who files a petition pursuant to this section requests an ex parte order, the court shall hold an ex parte hearing as soon as possible after the petition is filed, but not later than the next day that the court is in session after the petition is filed. The court, for good cause shown at the ex parte hearing, may enter any temporary orders, with or without bond, that the court finds necessary for the safety and protection of the person to be protected by the order. Immediate and present danger to the person to be protected by the protection order constitutes good cause for purposes of this section. Immediate and present danger includes, but is not limited to, situations in which the respondent has threatened the person to be protected by the protection order with bodily harm or in which the respondent previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of section 2903.211 of the Revised Code or a sexually oriented offense against the person to be protected by the protection order.
(2)(a) If the court, after an ex parte hearing, issues a protection order described in division (E) of this section, the court shall schedule a full hearing for a date that is within ten court days after the ex parte hearing. The court shall give the respondent notice of, and an opportunity to be heard at, the full hearing. The court shall hold the full hearing on the date scheduled under this division unless the court grants a continuance of the hearing in accordance with this division. Under any of the following circumstances or for any of the following reasons, the court may grant a continuance of the full hearing to a reasonable time determined by the court:
(i) Prior to the date scheduled for the full hearing under this division, the respondent has not been served with the petition filed pursuant to this section and notice of the full hearing.
(ii) The parties consent to the continuance.
(iii) The continuance is needed to allow a party to obtain counsel.
(iv) The continuance is needed for other good cause.
(b) An ex parte order issued under this section does not expire because of a failure to serve notice of the full hearing upon the respondent before the date set for the full hearing under division (D)(2)(a) of this section or because the court grants a continuance under that division.
(3) If a person who files a petition pursuant to this section does not request an ex parte order, or if a person requests an ex parte order but the court does not issue an ex parte order after an ex parte hearing, the court shall proceed as in a normal civil action and grant a full hearing on the matter.
(E)(1)(a) After an ex parte or full hearing, the court may issue any protection order, with or without bond, that contains terms designed to ensure the safety and protection of the person to be protected by the protection order, including, but not limited to, a requirement that the respondent refrain from entering the residence, school, business, or place of employment of the petitioner or family or household member. If the court includes a requirement that the respondent refrain from entering the residence, school, business, or place of employment of the petitioner or family or household member in the order, it also shall include in the order provisions of the type described in division (E)(5) of this section.
(b) After a full hearing, if the court considering a petition that includes an allegation of the type described in division (C)(2) of this section, or the court upon its own motion, finds upon clear and convincing evidence that the petitioner reasonably believed that the respondent's conduct at any time preceding the filing of the petition endangered the health, welfare, or safety of the person to be protected and that the respondent presents a continuing danger to the person to be protected, the court may order that the respondent be electronically monitored for a period of time and under the terms and conditions that the court determines are appropriate. Electronic monitoring shall be in addition to any other relief granted to the petitioner.
(2)(a) Any protection order issued pursuant to this section shall be valid until a date certain but not later than five years from the date of its issuance.
(b) Any protection order issued pursuant to this section may be renewed in the same manner as the original order was issued.
(3) A court may not issue a protection order that requires a petitioner to do or to refrain from doing an act that the court may require a respondent to do or to refrain from doing under division (E)(1) of this section unless all of the following apply:
(a) The respondent files a separate petition for a protection order in accordance with this section.
(b) The petitioner is served with notice of the respondent's petition at least forty-eight hours before the court holds a hearing with respect to the respondent's petition, or the petitioner waives the right to receive this notice.
(c) If the petitioner has requested an ex parte order pursuant to division (D) of this section, the court does not delay any hearing required by that division beyond the time specified in that division in order to consolidate the hearing with a hearing on the petition filed by the respondent.
(d) After a full hearing at which the respondent presents evidence in support of the request for a protection order and the petitioner is afforded an opportunity to defend against that evidence, the court determines that the petitioner has committed a violation of section 2903.211 of the Revised Code against the person to be protected by the protection order issued pursuant to division (E)(3) of this section, has committed a sexually oriented offense against the person to be protected by the protection order issued pursuant to division (E)(3) of this section, or has violated a protection order issued pursuant to section 2903.213 of the Revised Code relative to the person to be protected by the protection order issued pursuant to division (E)(3) of this section.
(4) No protection order issued pursuant to this section shall in any manner affect title to any real property.
(5)(a) If the court issues a protection order under this section that includes a requirement that the alleged offender refrain from entering the residence, school, business, or place of employment of the petitioner or a family or household member, the order shall clearly state that the order cannot be waived or nullified by an invitation to the alleged offender from the complainant to enter the residence, school, business, or place of employment or by the alleged offender's entry into one of those places otherwise upon the consent of the petitioner or family or household member.
(b) Division (E)(5)(a) of this section does not limit any discretion of a court to determine that an alleged offender charged with a violation of section 2919.27 of the Revised Code, with a violation of a municipal ordinance substantially equivalent to that section, or with contempt of court, which charge is based on an alleged violation of a protection order issued under this section, did not commit the violation or was not in contempt of court.
(F)(1) The court shall cause the delivery of a copy of any protection order that is issued under this section to the petitioner, to the respondent, and to all law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction to enforce the order. The court shall direct that a copy of the order be delivered to the respondent on the same day that the order is entered.
(2) Upon the issuance of a protection order under this section, the court shall provide the parties to the order with the following notice orally or by form:
"NOTICE
As a result of this order, it may be unlawful for you to possess or purchase a firearm, including a rifle, pistol, or revolver, or ammunition pursuant to federal law under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8). If you have any questions whether this law makes it illegal for you to possess or purchase a firearm or ammunition, you should consult an attorney."
(3) All law enforcement agencies shall establish and maintain an index for the protection orders delivered to the agencies pursuant to division (F)(1) of this section. With respect to each order delivered, each agency shall note on the index the date and time that it received the order.
(4) Regardless of whether the petitioner has registered the protection order in the county in which the officer's agency has jurisdiction pursuant to division (M) of this section, any officer of a law enforcement agency shall enforce a protection order issued pursuant to this section by any court in this state in accordance with the provisions of the order, including removing the respondent from the premises, if appropriate.
(G) Any proceeding under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure, except that a protection order may be obtained under this section with or without bond. An order issued under this section, other than an ex parte order, that grants a protection order, or that refuses to grant a protection order, is a final, appealable order. The remedies and procedures provided in this section are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other available civil or criminal remedies.
(H) The filing of proceedings under this section does not excuse a person from filing any report or giving any notice required by section 2151.421 of the Revised Code or by any other law.
(I) Any law enforcement agency that investigates an alleged violation of section 2903.211 of the Revised Code or an alleged commission of a sexually oriented offense shall provide information to the victim and the family or household members of the victim regarding the relief available under this section and section 2903.213 of the Revised Code.
(J)(1) Subject to division (J)(2) of this section and regardless of whether a protection order is issued or a consent agreement is approved by a court of another county or by a court of another state, no court or unit of state or local government shall charge the petitioner any fee, cost, deposit, or money in connection with the filing of a petition pursuant to this section, in connection with the filing, issuance, registration, modification, enforcement, dismissal, withdrawal, or service of a protection order, consent agreement, or witness subpoena or for obtaining a certified copy of a protection order or consent agreement.
(2) Regardless of whether a protection order is issued or a consent agreement is approved pursuant to this section, the court may assess costs against the respondent in connection with the filing, issuance, registration, modification, enforcement, dismissal, withdrawal, or service of a protection order, consent agreement, or witness subpoena or for obtaining a certified copy of a protection order or consent agreement.
(K)(1) A person who violates a protection order issued under this section is subject to the following sanctions:
(a) Criminal prosecution for a violation of section 2919.27 of the Revised Code, if the violation of the protection order constitutes a violation of that section;
(b) Punishment for contempt of court.
(2) The punishment of a person for contempt of court for violation of a protection order issued under this section does not bar criminal prosecution of the person for a violation of section 2919.27 of the Revised Code. However, a person punished for contempt of court is entitled to credit for the punishment imposed upon conviction of a violation of that section, and a person convicted of a violation of that section shall not subsequently be punished for contempt of court arising out of the same activity.
(L) In all stages of a proceeding under this section, a petitioner may be accompanied by a victim advocate.
(M)(1) A petitioner who obtains a protection order under this section or a protection order under section 2903.213 of the Revised Code may provide notice of the issuance or approval of the order to the judicial and law enforcement officials in any county other than the county in which the order is issued by registering that order in the other county pursuant to division (M)(2) of this section and filing a copy of the registered order with a law enforcement agency in the other county in accordance with that division. A person who obtains a protection order issued by a court of another state may provide notice of the issuance of the order to the judicial and law enforcement officials in any county of this state by registering the order in that county pursuant to section 2919.272 of the Revised Code and filing a copy of the registered order with a law enforcement agency in that county.
(2) A petitioner may register a protection order issued pursuant to this section or section 2903.213 of the Revised Code in a county other than the county in which the court that issued the order is located in the following manner:
(a) The petitioner shall obtain a certified copy of the order from the clerk of the court that issued the order and present that certified copy to the clerk of the court of common pleas or the clerk of a municipal court or county court in the county in which the order is to be registered.
(b) Upon accepting the certified copy of the order for registration, the clerk of the court of common pleas, municipal court, or county court shall place an endorsement of registration on the order and give the petitioner a copy of the order that bears that proof of registration.
(3) The clerk of each court of common pleas, municipal court, or county court shall maintain a registry of certified copies of protection orders that have been issued by courts in other counties pursuant to this section or section 2903.213 of the Revised Code and that have been registered with the clerk.
(N)(1) If the court orders electronic monitoring of the respondent under this section, the court shall direct the sheriff's office or any other appropriate law enforcement agency to install the electronic monitoring device and to monitor the respondent. Unless the court determines that the respondent is indigent, the court shall order the respondent to pay the cost of the installation and monitoring of the electronic monitoring device. If the court determines that the respondent is indigent and subject to the maximum amount allowable to be paid in any year from the fund and the rules promulgated by the attorney general under division (N)(2) of this section, the cost of the installation and monitoring of the electronic monitoring device may be paid out of funds from the reparations fund created pursuant to section 2743.191 of the Revised Code. The total amount of costs for the installation and monitoring of electronic monitoring devices paid pursuant to this division and sections 2151.34 and 2919.27 of the Revised Code from the reparations fund shall not exceed three hundred thousand dollars per year.
(2) The attorney general may promulgate rules pursuant to section 111.15 of the Revised Code to govern payments made from the reparations fund pursuant to this division and sections 2151.34 and 2919.27 of the Revised Code. The rules may include reasonable limits on the total cost paid pursuant to this division and sections 2151.34 and 2919.27 of the Revised Code per respondent, the amount of the three hundred thousand dollars allocated to each county, and how invoices may be submitted by a county, court, or other entity.
(O)(1) Upon the issuance of a protection order under this section, the court shall notify the petitioner in writing of the right of the petitioner to apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the petitioner's address or the address of the person on whose behalf the protection order was issued. The petitioner may apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state pursuant to those sections to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the petitioner's address or the address of the person on whose behalf the protection order was issued.
(2) As used in division (O)(1) of this section, "application assistant" has the same meaning as in section 111.31 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3113.31.  (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Domestic violence" means the occurrence of one or more of the following acts against a family or household member:
(a) Attempting to cause or recklessly causing bodily injury;
(b) Placing another person by the threat of force in fear of imminent serious physical harm or committing a violation of section 2903.211 or 2911.211 of the Revised Code;
(c) Committing any act with respect to a child that would result in the child being an abused child, as defined in section 2151.031 of the Revised Code;
(d) Committing a sexually oriented offense.
(2) "Court" means the domestic relations division of the court of common pleas in counties that have a domestic relations division and the court of common pleas in counties that do not have a domestic relations division, or the juvenile division of the court of common pleas of the county in which the person to be protected by a protection order issued or a consent agreement approved under this section resides if the respondent is less than eighteen years of age.
(3) "Family or household member" means any of the following:
(a) Any of the following who is residing with or has resided with the respondent:
(i) A spouse, a person living as a spouse, or a former spouse of the respondent;
(ii) A parent, a foster parent, or a child of the respondent, or another person related by consanguinity or affinity to the respondent;
(iii) A parent or a child of a spouse, person living as a spouse, or former spouse of the respondent, or another person related by consanguinity or affinity to a spouse, person living as a spouse, or former spouse of the respondent.
(b) The natural parent of any child of whom the respondent is the other natural parent or is the putative other natural parent.
(4) "Person living as a spouse" means a person who is living or has lived with the respondent in a common law marital relationship, who otherwise is cohabiting with the respondent, or who otherwise has cohabited with the respondent within five years prior to the date of the alleged occurrence of the act in question.
(5) "Victim advocate" means a person who provides support and assistance for a person who files a petition under this section.
(6) "Sexually oriented offense" has the same meaning as in section 2950.01 of the Revised Code.
(B) The court has jurisdiction over all proceedings under this section. The petitioner's right to relief under this section is not affected by the petitioner's leaving the residence or household to avoid further domestic violence.
(C) A person may seek relief under this section on the person's own behalf, or any parent or adult household member may seek relief under this section on behalf of any other family or household member, by filing a petition with the court. The petition shall contain or state:
(1) An allegation that the respondent engaged in domestic violence against a family or household member of the respondent, including a description of the nature and extent of the domestic violence;
(2) The relationship of the respondent to the petitioner, and to the victim if other than the petitioner;
(3) A request for relief under this section.
(D)(1) If a person who files a petition pursuant to this section requests an ex parte order, the court shall hold an ex parte hearing on the same day that the petition is filed. The court, for good cause shown at the ex parte hearing, may enter any temporary orders, with or without bond, including, but not limited to, an order described in division (E)(1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section, that the court finds necessary to protect the family or household member from domestic violence. Immediate and present danger of domestic violence to the family or household member constitutes good cause for purposes of this section. Immediate and present danger includes, but is not limited to, situations in which the respondent has threatened the family or household member with bodily harm, in which the respondent has threatened the family or household member with a sexually oriented offense, or in which the respondent previously has been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or been adjudicated a delinquent child for an offense that constitutes domestic violence against the family or household member.
(2)(a) If the court, after an ex parte hearing, issues an order described in division (E)(1)(b) or (c) of this section, the court shall schedule a full hearing for a date that is within seven court days after the ex parte hearing. If any other type of protection order that is authorized under division (E) of this section is issued by the court after an ex parte hearing, the court shall schedule a full hearing for a date that is within ten court days after the ex parte hearing. The court shall give the respondent notice of, and an opportunity to be heard at, the full hearing. The court shall hold the full hearing on the date scheduled under this division unless the court grants a continuance of the hearing in accordance with this division. Under any of the following circumstances or for any of the following reasons, the court may grant a continuance of the full hearing to a reasonable time determined by the court:
(i) Prior to the date scheduled for the full hearing under this division, the respondent has not been served with the petition filed pursuant to this section and notice of the full hearing.
(ii) The parties consent to the continuance.
(iii) The continuance is needed to allow a party to obtain counsel.
(iv) The continuance is needed for other good cause.
(b) An ex parte order issued under this section does not expire because of a failure to serve notice of the full hearing upon the respondent before the date set for the full hearing under division (D)(2)(a) of this section or because the court grants a continuance under that division.
(3) If a person who files a petition pursuant to this section does not request an ex parte order, or if a person requests an ex parte order but the court does not issue an ex parte order after an ex parte hearing, the court shall proceed as in a normal civil action and grant a full hearing on the matter.
(E)(1) After an ex parte or full hearing, the court may grant any protection order, with or without bond, or approve any consent agreement to bring about a cessation of domestic violence against the family or household members. The order or agreement may:
(a) Direct the respondent to refrain from abusing or from committing sexually oriented offenses against the family or household members;
(b) Grant possession of the residence or household to the petitioner or other family or household member, to the exclusion of the respondent, by evicting the respondent, when the residence or household is owned or leased solely by the petitioner or other family or household member, or by ordering the respondent to vacate the premises, when the residence or household is jointly owned or leased by the respondent, and the petitioner or other family or household member;
(c) When the respondent has a duty to support the petitioner or other family or household member living in the residence or household and the respondent is the sole owner or lessee of the residence or household, grant possession of the residence or household to the petitioner or other family or household member, to the exclusion of the respondent, by ordering the respondent to vacate the premises, or, in the case of a consent agreement, allow the respondent to provide suitable, alternative housing;
(d) Temporarily allocate parental rights and responsibilities for the care of, or establish temporary parenting time rights with regard to, minor children, if no other court has determined, or is determining, the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities for the minor children or parenting time rights;
(e) Require the respondent to maintain support, if the respondent customarily provides for or contributes to the support of the family or household member, or if the respondent has a duty to support the petitioner or family or household member;
(f) Require the respondent, petitioner, victim of domestic violence, or any combination of those persons, to seek counseling;
(g) Require the respondent to refrain from entering the residence, school, business, or place of employment of the petitioner or family or household member;
(h) Grant other relief that the court considers equitable and fair, including, but not limited to, ordering the respondent to permit the use of a motor vehicle by the petitioner or other family or household member and the apportionment of household and family personal property.
(2) If a protection order has been issued pursuant to this section in a prior action involving the respondent and the petitioner or one or more of the family or household members or victims, the court may include in a protection order that it issues a prohibition against the respondent returning to the residence or household. If it includes a prohibition against the respondent returning to the residence or household in the order, it also shall include in the order provisions of the type described in division (E)(7) of this section. This division does not preclude the court from including in a protection order or consent agreement, in circumstances other than those described in this division, a requirement that the respondent be evicted from or vacate the residence or household or refrain from entering the residence, school, business, or place of employment of the petitioner or a family or household member, and, if the court includes any requirement of that type in an order or agreement, the court also shall include in the order provisions of the type described in division (E)(7) of this section.
(3)(a) Any protection order issued or consent agreement approved under this section shall be valid until a date certain, but not later than five years from the date of its issuance or approval, or not later than the date a respondent who is less than eighteen years of age attains nineteen years of age, unless modified or terminated as provided in division (E)(8) of this section.
(b) Subject to the limitation on the duration of an order or agreement set forth in division (E)(3)(a) of this section, any order under division (E)(1)(d) of this section shall terminate on the date that a court in an action for divorce, dissolution of marriage, or legal separation brought by the petitioner or respondent issues an order allocating parental rights and responsibilities for the care of children or on the date that a juvenile court in an action brought by the petitioner or respondent issues an order awarding legal custody of minor children. Subject to the limitation on the duration of an order or agreement set forth in division (E)(3)(a) of this section, any order under division (E)(1)(e) of this section shall terminate on the date that a court in an action for divorce, dissolution of marriage, or legal separation brought by the petitioner or respondent issues a support order or on the date that a juvenile court in an action brought by the petitioner or respondent issues a support order.
(c) Any protection order issued or consent agreement approved pursuant to this section may be renewed in the same manner as the original order or agreement was issued or approved.
(4) A court may not issue a protection order that requires a petitioner to do or to refrain from doing an act that the court may require a respondent to do or to refrain from doing under division (E)(1)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (g), or (h) of this section unless all of the following apply:
(a) The respondent files a separate petition for a protection order in accordance with this section.
(b) The petitioner is served notice of the respondent's petition at least forty-eight hours before the court holds a hearing with respect to the respondent's petition, or the petitioner waives the right to receive this notice.
(c) If the petitioner has requested an ex parte order pursuant to division (D) of this section, the court does not delay any hearing required by that division beyond the time specified in that division in order to consolidate the hearing with a hearing on the petition filed by the respondent.
(d) After a full hearing at which the respondent presents evidence in support of the request for a protection order and the petitioner is afforded an opportunity to defend against that evidence, the court determines that the petitioner has committed an act of domestic violence or has violated a temporary protection order issued pursuant to section 2919.26 of the Revised Code, that both the petitioner and the respondent acted primarily as aggressors, and that neither the petitioner nor the respondent acted primarily in self-defense.
(5) No protection order issued or consent agreement approved under this section shall in any manner affect title to any real property.
(6)(a) If a petitioner, or the child of a petitioner, who obtains a protection order or consent agreement pursuant to division (E)(1) of this section or a temporary protection order pursuant to section 2919.26 of the Revised Code and is the subject of a parenting time order issued pursuant to section 3109.051 or 3109.12 of the Revised Code or a visitation or companionship order issued pursuant to section 3109.051, 3109.11, or 3109.12 of the Revised Code or division (E)(1)(d) of this section granting parenting time rights to the respondent, the court may require the public children services agency of the county in which the court is located to provide supervision of the respondent's exercise of parenting time or visitation or companionship rights with respect to the child for a period not to exceed nine months, if the court makes the following findings of fact:
(i) The child is in danger from the respondent;
(ii) No other person or agency is available to provide the supervision.
(b) A court that requires an agency to provide supervision pursuant to division (E)(6)(a) of this section shall order the respondent to reimburse the agency for the cost of providing the supervision, if it determines that the respondent has sufficient income or resources to pay that cost.
(7)(a) If a protection order issued or consent agreement approved under this section includes a requirement that the respondent be evicted from or vacate the residence or household or refrain from entering the residence, school, business, or place of employment of the petitioner or a family or household member, the order or agreement shall state clearly that the order or agreement cannot be waived or nullified by an invitation to the respondent from the petitioner or other family or household member to enter the residence, school, business, or place of employment or by the respondent's entry into one of those places otherwise upon the consent of the petitioner or other family or household member.
(b) Division (E)(7)(a) of this section does not limit any discretion of a court to determine that a respondent charged with a violation of section 2919.27 of the Revised Code, with a violation of a municipal ordinance substantially equivalent to that section, or with contempt of court, which charge is based on an alleged violation of a protection order issued or consent agreement approved under this section, did not commit the violation or was not in contempt of court.
(8)(a) The court may modify or terminate as provided in division (E)(8) of this section a protection order or consent agreement that was issued after a full hearing under this section. The court that issued the protection order or approved the consent agreement shall hear a motion for modification or termination of the protection order or consent agreement pursuant to division (E)(8) of this section.
(b) Either the petitioner or the respondent of the original protection order or consent agreement may bring a motion for modification or termination of a protection order or consent agreement that was issued or approved after a full hearing. The court shall require notice of the motion to be made as provided by the Rules of Civil Procedure. If the petitioner for the original protection order or consent agreement has requested that the petitioner's address be kept confidential, the court shall not disclose the address to the respondent of the original protection order or consent agreement or any other person, except as otherwise required by law. The moving party has the burden of proof to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that modification or termination of the protection order or consent agreement is appropriate because either the protection order or consent agreement is no longer needed or because the terms of the original protection order or consent agreement are no longer appropriate.
(c) In considering whether to modify or terminate a protection order or consent agreement issued or approved under this section, the court shall consider all relevant factors, including, but not limited to, the following:
(i) Whether the petitioner consents to modification or termination of the protection order or consent agreement;
(ii) Whether the petitioner fears the respondent;
(iii) The current nature of the relationship between the petitioner and the respondent;
(iv) The circumstances of the petitioner and respondent, including the relative proximity of the petitioner's and respondent's workplaces and residences and whether the petitioner and respondent have minor children together;
(v) Whether the respondent has complied with the terms and conditions of the original protection order or consent agreement;
(vi) Whether the respondent has a continuing involvement with illegal drugs or alcohol;
(vii) Whether the respondent has been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or been adjudicated a delinquent child for an offense of violence since the issuance of the protection order or approval of the consent agreement;
(viii) Whether any other protection orders, consent agreements, restraining orders, or no contact orders have been issued against the respondent pursuant to this section, section 2919.26 of the Revised Code, any other provision of state law, or the law of any other state;
(ix) Whether the respondent has participated in any domestic violence treatment, intervention program, or other counseling addressing domestic violence and whether the respondent has completed the treatment, program, or counseling;
(x) The time that has elapsed since the protection order was issued or since the consent agreement was approved;
(xi) The age and health of the respondent;
(xii) When the last incident of abuse, threat of harm, or commission of a sexually oriented offense occurred or other relevant information concerning the safety and protection of the petitioner or other protected parties.
(d) If a protection order or consent agreement is modified or terminated as provided in division (E)(8) of this section, the court shall issue copies of the modified or terminated order or agreement as provided in division (F) of this section. A petitioner may also provide notice of the modification or termination to the judicial and law enforcement officials in any county other than the county in which the order or agreement is modified or terminated as provided in division (N) of this section.
(e) If the respondent moves for modification or termination of a protection order or consent agreement pursuant to this section and the court denies the motion, the court may assess costs against the respondent for the filing of the motion.
(9) Any protection order issued or any consent agreement approved pursuant to this section shall include a provision that the court will automatically seal all of the records of the proceeding in which the order is issued or agreement approved on the date the respondent attains the age of nineteen years unless the petitioner provides the court with evidence that the respondent has not complied with all of the terms of the protection order or consent agreement. The protection order or consent agreement shall specify the date when the respondent attains the age of nineteen years.
(F)(1) A copy of any protection order, or consent agreement, that is issued, approved, modified, or terminated under this section shall be issued by the court to the petitioner, to the respondent, and to all law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction to enforce the order or agreement. The court shall direct that a copy of an order be delivered to the respondent on the same day that the order is entered.
(2) Upon the issuance of a protection order or the approval of a consent agreement under this section, the court shall provide the parties to the order or agreement with the following notice orally or by form:
"NOTICE
As a result of this order or consent agreement, it may be unlawful for you to possess or purchase a firearm, including a rifle, pistol, or revolver, or ammunition pursuant to federal law under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8). If you have any questions whether this law makes it illegal for you to possess or purchase a firearm or ammunition, you should consult an attorney."
(3) All law enforcement agencies shall establish and maintain an index for the protection orders and the approved consent agreements delivered to the agencies pursuant to division (F)(1) of this section. With respect to each order and consent agreement delivered, each agency shall note on the index the date and time that it received the order or consent agreement.
(4) Regardless of whether the petitioner has registered the order or agreement in the county in which the officer's agency has jurisdiction pursuant to division (N) of this section, any officer of a law enforcement agency shall enforce a protection order issued or consent agreement approved by any court in this state in accordance with the provisions of the order or agreement, including removing the respondent from the premises, if appropriate.
(G) Any proceeding under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure, except that an order under this section may be obtained with or without bond. An order issued under this section, other than an ex parte order, that grants a protection order or approves a consent agreement, that refuses to grant a protection order or approve a consent agreement that modifies or terminates a protection order or consent agreement, or that refuses to modify or terminate a protection order or consent agreement, is a final, appealable order. The remedies and procedures provided in this section are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other available civil or criminal remedies.
(H) The filing of proceedings under this section does not excuse a person from filing any report or giving any notice required by section 2151.421 of the Revised Code or by any other law. When a petition under this section alleges domestic violence against minor children, the court shall report the fact, or cause reports to be made, to a county, township, or municipal peace officer under section 2151.421 of the Revised Code.
(I) Any law enforcement agency that investigates a domestic dispute shall provide information to the family or household members involved regarding the relief available under this section and section 2919.26 of the Revised Code.
(J)(1) Subject to divisions (E)(8)(e) and (J)(2) of this section and regardless of whether a protection order is issued or a consent agreement is approved by a court of another county or a court of another state, no court or unit of state or local government shall charge the petitioner any fee, cost, deposit, or money in connection with the filing of a petition pursuant to this section or in connection with the filing, issuance, registration, modification, enforcement, dismissal, withdrawal, or service of a protection order, consent agreement, or witness subpoena or for obtaining a certified copy of a protection order or consent agreement.
(2) Regardless of whether a protection order is issued or a consent agreement is approved pursuant to this section, the court may assess costs against the respondent in connection with the filing, issuance, registration, modification, enforcement, dismissal, withdrawal, or service of a protection order, consent agreement, or witness subpoena or for obtaining a certified copy of a protection order or consent agreement.
(K)(1) The court shall comply with Chapters 3119., 3121., 3123., and 3125. of the Revised Code when it makes or modifies an order for child support under this section.
(2) If any person required to pay child support under an order made under this section on or after April 15, 1985, or modified under this section on or after December 31, 1986, is found in contempt of court for failure to make support payments under the order, the court that makes the finding, in addition to any other penalty or remedy imposed, shall assess all court costs arising out of the contempt proceeding against the person and require the person to pay any reasonable attorney's fees of any adverse party, as determined by the court, that arose in relation to the act of contempt.
(L)(1) A person who violates a protection order issued or a consent agreement approved under this section is subject to the following sanctions:
(a) Criminal prosecution or a delinquent child proceeding for a violation of section 2919.27 of the Revised Code, if the violation of the protection order or consent agreement constitutes a violation of that section;
(b) Punishment for contempt of court.
(2) The punishment of a person for contempt of court for violation of a protection order issued or a consent agreement approved under this section does not bar criminal prosecution of the person or a delinquent child proceeding concerning the person for a violation of section 2919.27 of the Revised Code. However, a person punished for contempt of court is entitled to credit for the punishment imposed upon conviction of or adjudication as a delinquent child for a violation of that section, and a person convicted of or adjudicated a delinquent child for a violation of that section shall not subsequently be punished for contempt of court arising out of the same activity.
(M) In all stages of a proceeding under this section, a petitioner may be accompanied by a victim advocate.
(N)(1) A petitioner who obtains a protection order or consent agreement under this section or a temporary protection order under section 2919.26 of the Revised Code may provide notice of the issuance or approval of the order or agreement to the judicial and law enforcement officials in any county other than the county in which the order is issued or the agreement is approved by registering that order or agreement in the other county pursuant to division (N)(2) of this section and filing a copy of the registered order or registered agreement with a law enforcement agency in the other county in accordance with that division. A person who obtains a protection order issued by a court of another state may provide notice of the issuance of the order to the judicial and law enforcement officials in any county of this state by registering the order in that county pursuant to section 2919.272 of the Revised Code and filing a copy of the registered order with a law enforcement agency in that county.
(2) A petitioner may register a temporary protection order, protection order, or consent agreement in a county other than the county in which the court that issued the order or approved the agreement is located in the following manner:
(a) The petitioner shall obtain a certified copy of the order or agreement from the clerk of the court that issued the order or approved the agreement and present that certified copy to the clerk of the court of common pleas or the clerk of a municipal court or county court in the county in which the order or agreement is to be registered.
(b) Upon accepting the certified copy of the order or agreement for registration, the clerk of the court of common pleas, municipal court, or county court shall place an endorsement of registration on the order or agreement and give the petitioner a copy of the order or agreement that bears that proof of registration.
(3) The clerk of each court of common pleas, the clerk of each municipal court, and the clerk of each county court shall maintain a registry of certified copies of temporary protection orders, protection orders, or consent agreements that have been issued or approved by courts in other counties and that have been registered with the clerk.
(O)(1) Upon the issuance of a protection order or the approval of a consent agreement under this section, the court shall notify the petitioner in writing of the right of the petitioner to apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state under sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the petitioner's address or the address of the person on whose behalf the protection order was issued or the consent agreement was approved. The petitioner may apply with the assistance of an application assistant to the secretary of state pursuant to those sections to have an address designated by the secretary of state serve as the petitioner's address or the address of the person on whose behalf the protection order was issued or the consent agreement was approved.
(2) As used in division (O)(1) of this section, "application assistant" has the same meaning as in section 111.31 of the Revised Code.
(P) Nothing in this section prohibits the domestic relations division of a court of common pleas in counties that have a domestic relations division or a court of common pleas in counties that do not have a domestic relations division from designating a minor child as a protected party on a protection order or consent agreement.
Sec. 3503.15.  (A)(1) The secretary of state shall establish and maintain a statewide voter registration database that shall be administered by the office of the secretary of state and made continuously available to each board of elections and to other agencies as authorized by law.
(2)(a) State agencies, including, but not limited to, the department of health, bureau of motor vehicles, department of job and family services, and the department of rehabilitation and corrections, shall provide any information and data to the secretary of state that is collected in the course of normal business and that is necessary to register to vote, to update an elector's registration, or to maintain the statewide voter registration database established pursuant to this section, except where prohibited by federal law or regulation. The secretary of state shall ensure that any information or data provided to the secretary of state that is confidential in the possession of the entity providing the data remains confidential while in the possession of the secretary of state. No public office, and no public official or employee, shall sell that information or data or use that information or data for profit.
(b) Information provided under this division for maintenance of the statewide voter registration database shall not be used to update the name or address of a registered elector. The name or address of a registered elector shall only be updated as a result of the elector's actions in filing a notice of change of name, change of address, or both.
(c) A board of elections shall contact a registered elector pursuant to the rules adopted under division (D)(7) of this section to verify the accuracy of the information in the statewide voter registration database regarding that elector if that information does not conform with information provided under division (A)(2)(a) of this section and the discrepancy would affect the elector's eligibility to cast a regular ballot.
(3)(a) The secretary of state shall enter into agreements to share information or data that is in the possession of the secretary of state with other states or groups of states, as the secretary of state considers necessary, in order to maintain the statewide voter registration database established pursuant to this section. Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(3)(b) of this section, the secretary of state shall ensure that any information or data provided to the secretary of state that is confidential in the possession of the state providing the data remains confidential while in the possession of the secretary of state.
(b) The secretary of state may provide such otherwise confidential information or data to persons or organizations that are engaging in legitimate governmental purposes related to the maintenance of the statewide voter registration database. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code identifying the persons or organizations who may receive that information or data. The secretary of state shall not share that information or data with a person or organization not identified in those rules. The secretary of state shall ensure that a person or organization that receives confidential information or data under this division keeps the information or data confidential in the person's or organization's possession by, at a minimum, entering into a confidentiality agreement with the person or organization. Any confidentiality agreement entered into under this division shall include a requirement that the person or organization submit to the jurisdiction of this state in the event that the person or organization breaches the agreement.
(4) No person or entity that receives information or data under division (A)(3) of this section shall sell the information or data or use the information or data for profit.
(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;
(6) Methods to retain canceled voter registration records for not less than five years after they are canceled and to record the reason for their cancellation.
(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, by mutual agreement with the bureau of motor vehicles, the content and format of the information and data the bureau of motor vehicles shall provide to the secretary of state under division (A)(2)(a) of this section and the frequency with which the bureau shall provide that information and data;
(7) Establishing a uniform method for addressing instances in which records contained in the statewide voter registration database do not conform with records maintained by an agency, state, or group of states described in division (A)(2)(a) or (3)(a) of this section. That method shall prohibit an elector's voter registration from being canceled on the sole basis that the information in the registration record does not conform to records maintained by such an agency;
(8) 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, 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 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 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.
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 six p.m. on the last Friday 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.
A board of elections that mails an absent voter's ballot application to an elector under this section shall not prepay the return postage for that application.
Except as otherwise provided in this section and in sections 3505.24 and 3509.08 of the Revised Code, an election official shall not fill out any portion of an application for absent voter's ballots on behalf of an applicant. The secretary of state or a board of elections may preprint only an applicant's name and address on an application for absent voter's ballots before mailing that application to the applicant.
Section 2.  That existing sections 149.43, 149.45, 319.28, 319.54, 2903.213, 2903.214, 3113.31, 3503.15, and 3509.03 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. That the version of section 149.43 of the Revised Code that is scheduled to take effect 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:
(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 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, or federal law enforcement officer 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;
(cc) Subject to any provision in sections 111.31 to 111.40 of the Revised Code, the confidential address of a participant of the address confidentiality program, and all of the records pertaining to the address confidentiality program, established under those sections.
(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, or federal law enforcement officer 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, or federal law enforcement officer:
(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, or federal law enforcement officer, 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, or federal law enforcement officer 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, or federal law enforcement officer;
(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, or federal law enforcement officer 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, or federal law enforcement officer'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, or federal law enforcement officer'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, or federal law enforcement officer'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, or federal law enforcement officer;
(g) A photograph of a peace officer or federal law enforcement 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 or federal law enforcement 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.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "federal law enforcement officer" means any officer of the United States who is authorized by federal law to conduct any investigation of, and make any arrest for, any offense against the United States in violation of federal law.
(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, or federal law enforcement officer 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, or federal law enforcement officer 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, or federal law enforcement officer'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, or federal law enforcement officer'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.
Section 4. That the existing version of section 149.43 of the Revised Code that is scheduled to take effect March 20, 2015, is hereby repealed.
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