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S. B. No. 366 As Introduced
As Introduced
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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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:
(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
.............................
(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.
.....................................
.....................................
(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:
(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:
(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:
(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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