Bill Text: OH HB411 | 2013-2014 | 130th General Assembly | Introduced

Bill Title: That is scheduled to take effect March 20, 2015, to continue the provisions of this act on and after that effective date.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-21 - To Education [HB411 Detail]

Download: Ohio-2013-HB411-Introduced.html
As Introduced

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
H. B. No. 411


Representative Patmon 

Cosponsor: Representative Stebelton 

A BILL
To amend section 149.43 of the Revised Code to 1
include in the definition of public record records 2
kept by a police department established by a 3
qualified nonprofit corporation or a campus police 4
department established by a private college or 5
university and to amend the version of section 6
149.43 of the Revised Code that is scheduled to 7
take effect March 20, 2015, to continue the 8
provisions of this act on and after that effective 9
date.10


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

       Section 1. That section 149.43 of the Revised Code be amended 11
to read as follows:12

       Sec. 149.43.  (A) As used in this section:13

       (1) "Public record" means records kept by any public office, 14
including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, 15
township, and school district units, records kept by a police 16
department established by a qualified nonprofit corporation under 17
section 1702.80 of the Revised Code, records kept by a campus 18
police department established by a private college or university 19
under section 1713.50 of the Revised Code when the board of 20
trustees of the private college or university has entered into an 21
agreement with a political subdivision under division (C) of 22
section 1713.50 of the Revised Code that grants the campus police 23
department with powers and authority outside the property of the 24
private college or university, and records pertaining to the 25
delivery of educational services by an alternative school in this 26
state kept by the nonprofit or for-profit entity operating the 27
alternative school pursuant to section 3313.533 of the Revised 28
Code. "Public record" does not mean any of the following:29

       (a) Medical records;30

       (b) Records pertaining to probation and parole proceedings or 31
to proceedings related to the imposition of community control 32
sanctions and post-release control sanctions;33

       (c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 and 34
division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to 35
appeals of actions arising under those sections;36

       (d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including the 37
contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of 38
health under section 3705.12 of the Revised Code;39

       (e) Information in a record contained in the putative father 40
registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code, 41
regardless of whether the information is held by the department of 42
job and family services or, pursuant to section 3111.69 of the 43
Revised Code, the office of child support in the department or a 44
child support enforcement agency;45

       (f) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of the 46
Revised Code or specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of 47
the Revised Code;48

       (g) Trial preparation records;49

       (h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records;50

       (i) Records containing information that is confidential under 51
section 2710.03 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code;52

       (j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to 53
section 109.573 of the Revised Code;54

       (k) Inmate records released by the department of 55
rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth services 56
or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of section 5120.21 57
of the Revised Code;58

       (l) Records maintained by the department of youth services 59
pertaining to children in its custody released by the department 60
of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and 61
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code;62

       (m) Intellectual property records;63

       (n) Donor profile records;64

       (o) Records maintained by the department of job and family 65
services pursuant to section 3121.894 of the Revised Code;66

       (p) Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, 67
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, 68
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 69
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 70
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 71
investigation residential and familial information;72

       (q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to 73
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code or a municipal hospital operated 74
pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code, information that 75
constitutes a trade secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the 76
Revised Code;77

       (r) Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 78
a person under the age of eighteen;79

       (s) Records provided to, statements made by review board 80
members during meetings of, and all work products of a child 81
fatality review board acting under sections 307.621 to 307.629 of 82
the Revised Code, and child fatality review data submitted by the 83
child fatality review board to the department of health or a 84
national child death review database, other than the report 85
prepared pursuant to division (A) of section 307.626 of the 86
Revised Code;87

       (t) Records provided to and statements made by the executive 88
director of a public children services agency or a prosecuting 89
attorney acting pursuant to section 5153.171 of the Revised Code 90
other than the information released under that section;91

       (u) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in 92
an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator that 93
the board of executives of long-term services and supports 94
administers under section 4751.04 of the Revised Code or contracts 95
under that section with a private or government entity to 96
administer;97

       (v) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or 98
federal law;99

       (w) Proprietary information of or relating to any person that 100
is submitted to or compiled by the Ohio venture capital authority 101
created under section 150.01 of the Revised Code;102

       (x) Financial statements and data any person submits for any 103
purpose to the Ohio housing finance agency or the controlling 104
board in connection with applying for, receiving, or accounting 105
for financial assistance from the agency, and information that 106
identifies any individual who benefits directly or indirectly from 107
financial assistance from the agency;108

       (y) Records listed in section 5101.29 of the Revised Code;109

       (z) Discharges recorded with a county recorder under section 110
317.24 of the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)(2) of 111
that section;112

       (aa) Usage information including names and addresses of 113
specific residential and commercial customers of a municipally 114
owned or operated public utility;115

       (bb) Records described in division (C) of section 187.04 of 116
the Revised Code that are not designated to be made available to 117
the public as provided in that division.118

       (2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" means 119
any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a 120
criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but 121
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a 122
high probability of disclosure of any of the following:123

       (a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged with 124
the offense to which the record pertains, or of an information 125
source or witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably 126
promised;127

       (b) Information provided by an information source or witness 128
to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised, which 129
information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's or 130
witness's identity;131

       (c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or 132
procedures or specific investigatory work product;133

       (d) Information that would endanger the life or physical 134
safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, or 135
a confidential information source.136

       (3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of 137
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or 138
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history, 139
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that 140
is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment.141

       (4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that contains 142
information that is specifically compiled in reasonable 143
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or 144
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and 145
personal trial preparation of an attorney.146

       (5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other than 147
a financial or administrative record, that is produced or 148
collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of 149
higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or 150
research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic, 151
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study or 152
research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction 153
with a governmental body or private concern, and that has not been 154
publicly released, published, or patented.155

       (6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors or 156
potential donors to a public institution of higher education 157
except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and 158
the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation.159

       (7) "Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, 160
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, 161
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 162
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 163
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 164
investigation residential and familial information" means any 165
information that discloses any of the following about a peace 166
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting 167
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 168
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 169
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 170
criminal identification and investigation:171

       (a) The address of the actual personal residence of a peace 172
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, assistant 173
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 174
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 175
firefighter, EMT, or an investigator of the bureau of criminal 176
identification and investigation, except for the state or 177
political subdivision in which the peace officer, parole officer, 178
probation officer, bailiff, assistant prosecuting attorney, 179
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 180
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 181
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 182
investigation resides;183

       (b) Information compiled from referral to or participation in 184
an employee assistance program;185

       (c) The social security number, the residential telephone 186
number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card 187
number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any medical 188
information pertaining to, a peace officer, parole officer, 189
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant 190
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 191
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 192
firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 193
identification and investigation;194

       (d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, 195
including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided 196
to a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, 197
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional 198
employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth 199
services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau 200
of criminal identification and investigation by the peace 201
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 202
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 203
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 204
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 205
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 206
investigation's employer;207

       (e) The identity and amount of any charitable or employment 208
benefit deduction made by the peace officer's, parole officer's, 209
probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant 210
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based 211
correctional facility employee's, youth services employee's, 212
firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 213
identification and investigation's employer from the peace 214
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 215
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 216
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 217
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 218
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 219
investigation's compensation unless the amount of the deduction is 220
required by state or federal law;221

       (f) The name, the residential address, the name of the 222
employer, the address of the employer, the social security number, 223
the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit card, 224
charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency telephone 225
number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of a peace 226
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting 227
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 228
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 229
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 230
criminal identification and investigation;231

       (g) A photograph of a peace officer who holds a position or 232
has an assignment that may include undercover or plain clothes 233
positions or assignments as determined by the peace officer's 234
appointing authority.235

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 236
"peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the 237
Revised Code and also includes the superintendent and troopers of 238
the state highway patrol; it does not include the sheriff of a 239
county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence of the 240
sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the authority of, 241
and perform the duties of the sheriff.242

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5)(9) of this section, 243
"correctional employee" means any employee of the department of 244
rehabilitation and correction who in the course of performing the 245
employee's job duties has or has had contact with inmates and 246
persons under supervision.247

        As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5)(9) of this section, 248
"youth services employee" means any employee of the department of 249
youth services who in the course of performing the employee's job 250
duties has or has had contact with children committed to the 251
custody of the department of youth services.252

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 253
"firefighter" means any regular, paid or volunteer, member of a 254
lawfully constituted fire department of a municipal corporation, 255
township, fire district, or village.256

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "EMT" 257
means EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, and paramedics that provide emergency 258
medical services for a public emergency medical service 259
organization. "Emergency medical service organization," 260
"EMT-basic," "EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the same meanings as in 261
section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.262

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 263
"investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 264
investigation" has the meaning defined in section 2903.11 of the 265
Revised Code.266

       (8) "Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 267
a person under the age of eighteen" means information that is kept 268
in the ordinary course of business by a public office, that 269
pertains to the recreational activities of a person under the age 270
of eighteen years, and that discloses any of the following:271

       (a) The address or telephone number of a person under the age 272
of eighteen or the address or telephone number of that person's 273
parent, guardian, custodian, or emergency contact person;274

       (b) The social security number, birth date, or photographic 275
image of a person under the age of eighteen;276

       (c) Any medical record, history, or information pertaining to 277
a person under the age of eighteen;278

       (d) Any additional information sought or required about a 279
person under the age of eighteen for the purpose of allowing that 280
person to participate in any recreational activity conducted or 281
sponsored by a public office or to use or obtain admission 282
privileges to any recreational facility owned or operated by a 283
public office.284

       (9) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in 285
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.286

       (10) "Post-release control sanction" has the same meaning as 287
in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.288

        (11) "Redaction" means obscuring or deleting any information 289
that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or 290
copying from an item that otherwise meets the definition of a 291
"record" in section 149.011 of the Revised Code.292

       (12) "Designee" and "elected official" have the same meanings 293
as in section 109.43 of the Revised Code.294

       (B)(1) Upon request and subject to division (B)(8) of this 295
section, all public records responsive to the request shall be 296
promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person 297
at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to 298
division (B)(8) of this section, upon request, a public office or 299
person responsible for public records shall make copies of the 300
requested public record available at cost and within a reasonable 301
period of time. If a public record contains information that is 302
exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or to copy the 303
public record, the public office or the person responsible for the 304
public record shall make available all of the information within 305
the public record that is not exempt. When making that public 306
record available for public inspection or copying that public 307
record, the public office or the person responsible for the public 308
record shall notify the requester of any redaction or make the 309
redaction plainly visible. A redaction shall be deemed a denial of 310
a request to inspect or copy the redacted information, except if 311
federal or state law authorizes or requires a public office to 312
make the redaction.313

       (2) To facilitate broader access to public records, a public 314
office or the person responsible for public records shall organize 315
and maintain public records in a manner that they can be made 316
available for inspection or copying in accordance with division 317
(B) of this section. A public office also shall have available a 318
copy of its current records retention schedule at a location 319
readily available to the public. If a requester makes an ambiguous 320
or overly broad request or has difficulty in making a request for 321
copies or inspection of public records under this section such 322
that the public office or the person responsible for the requested 323
public record cannot reasonably identify what public records are 324
being requested, the public office or the person responsible for 325
the requested public record may deny the request but shall provide 326
the requester with an opportunity to revise the request by 327
informing the requester of the manner in which records are 328
maintained by the public office and accessed in the ordinary 329
course of the public office's or person's duties.330

       (3) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in whole, 331
the public office or the person responsible for the requested 332
public record shall provide the requester with an explanation, 333
including legal authority, setting forth why the request was 334
denied. If the initial request was provided in writing, the 335
explanation also shall be provided to the requester in writing. 336
The explanation shall not preclude the public office or the person 337
responsible for the requested public record from relying upon 338
additional reasons or legal authority in defending an action 339
commenced under division (C) of this section.340

       (4) Unless specifically required or authorized by state or 341
federal law or in accordance with division (B) of this section, no 342
public office or person responsible for public records may limit 343
or condition the availability of public records by requiring 344
disclosure of the requester's identity or the intended use of the 345
requested public record. Any requirement that the requester 346
disclose the requestor's identity or the intended use of the 347
requested public record constitutes a denial of the request.348

       (5) A public office or person responsible for public records 349
may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may ask for 350
the requester's identity, and may inquire about the intended use 351
of the information requested, but may do so only after disclosing 352
to the requester that a written request is not mandatory and that 353
the requester may decline to reveal the requester's identity or 354
the intended use and when a written request or disclosure of the 355
identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing 356
the ability of the public office or person responsible for public 357
records to identify, locate, or deliver the public records sought 358
by the requester.359

       (6) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public record 360
in accordance with division (B) of this section, the public office 361
or person responsible for the public record may require that 362
person to pay in advance the cost involved in providing the copy 363
of the public record in accordance with the choice made by the 364
person seeking the copy under this division. The public office or 365
the person responsible for the public record shall permit that 366
person to choose to have the public record duplicated upon paper, 367
upon the same medium upon which the public office or person 368
responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any other 369
medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the 370
public record determines that it reasonably can be duplicated as 371
an integral part of the normal operations of the public office or 372
person responsible for the public record. When the person seeking 373
the copy makes a choice under this division, the public office or 374
person responsible for the public record shall provide a copy of 375
it in accordance with the choice made by the person seeking the 376
copy. Nothing in this section requires a public office or person 377
responsible for the public record to allow the person seeking a 378
copy of the public record to make the copies of the public record.379

       (7) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B) of 380
this section and subject to division (B)(6) of this section, a 381
public office or person responsible for public records shall 382
transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United States 383
mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission within a 384
reasonable period of time after receiving the request for the 385
copy. The public office or person responsible for the public 386
record may require the person making the request to pay in advance 387
the cost of postage if the copy is transmitted by United States 388
mail or the cost of delivery if the copy is transmitted other than 389
by United States mail, and to pay in advance the costs incurred 390
for other supplies used in the mailing, delivery, or transmission.391

       Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it 392
will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time 393
after receiving a request, copies of public records by United 394
States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission 395
pursuant to this division. A public office that adopts a policy 396
and procedures under this division shall comply with them in 397
performing its duties under this division.398

       In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a 399
public office may limit the number of records requested by a 400
person that the office will transmit by United States mail to ten 401
per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing 402
that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested 403
records, or the information contained in them, for commercial 404
purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial" shall be 405
narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering 406
news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen 407
oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of 408
government, or nonprofit educational research.409

       (8) A public office or person responsible for public records 410
is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated pursuant to 411
a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to inspect or to 412
obtain a copy of any public record concerning a criminal 413
investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be a 414
criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the 415
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to 416
inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of 417
acquiring information that is subject to release as a public 418
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence 419
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the 420
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in 421
the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a 422
justiciable claim of the person.423

       (9)(a) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist 424
on or after December 16, 1999, a public office, or person 425
responsible for public records, having custody of the records of 426
the agency employing a specified peace officer, parole officer, 427
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant 428
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 429
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 430
firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 431
identification and investigation shall disclose to the journalist 432
the address of the actual personal residence of the peace officer, 433
parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, 434
assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 435
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 436
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 437
criminal identification and investigation and, if the peace 438
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 439
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 440
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 441
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 442
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 443
investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child is employed by a 444
public office, the name and address of the employer of the peace 445
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 446
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 447
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 448
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 449
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 450
investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child. The request shall 451
include the journalist's name and title and the name and address 452
of the journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of 453
the information sought would be in the public interest.454

       (b) Division (B)(9)(a) of this section also applies to 455
journalist requests for customer information maintained by a 456
municipally owned or operated public utility, other than social 457
security numbers and any private financial information such as 458
credit reports, payment methods, credit card numbers, and bank 459
account information.460

       (c) As used in division (B)(9) of this section, "journalist" 461
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news 462
medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news 463
agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a 464
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, 465
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for 466
the general public.467

       (C)(1) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a 468
public office or the person responsible for public records to 469
promptly prepare a public record and to make it available to the 470
person for inspection in accordance with division (B) of this 471
section or by any other failure of a public office or the person 472
responsible for public records to comply with an obligation in 473
accordance with division (B) of this section, the person allegedly 474
aggrieved may commence a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that 475
orders the public office or the person responsible for the public 476
record to comply with division (B) of this section, that awards 477
court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the person that 478
instituted the mandamus action, and, if applicable, that includes 479
an order fixing statutory damages under division (C)(1) of this 480
section. The mandamus action may be commenced in the court of 481
common pleas of the county in which division (B) of this section 482
allegedly was not complied with, in the supreme court pursuant to 483
its original jurisdiction under Section 2 of Article IV, Ohio 484
Constitution, or in the court of appeals for the appellate 485
district in which division (B) of this section allegedly was not 486
complied with pursuant to its original jurisdiction under Section 487
3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution.488

       If a requestor transmits a written request by hand delivery 489
or certified mail to inspect or receive copies of any public 490
record in a manner that fairly describes the public record or 491
class of public records to the public office or person responsible 492
for the requested public records, except as otherwise provided in 493
this section, the requestor shall be entitled to recover the 494
amount of statutory damages set forth in this division if a court 495
determines that the public office or the person responsible for 496
public records failed to comply with an obligation in accordance 497
with division (B) of this section.498

       The amount of statutory damages shall be fixed at one hundred 499
dollars for each business day during which the public office or 500
person responsible for the requested public records failed to 501
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 502
section, beginning with the day on which the requester files a 503
mandamus action to recover statutory damages, up to a maximum of 504
one thousand dollars. The award of statutory damages shall not be 505
construed as a penalty, but as compensation for injury arising 506
from lost use of the requested information. The existence of this 507
injury shall be conclusively presumed. The award of statutory 508
damages shall be in addition to all other remedies authorized by 509
this section.510

       The court may reduce an award of statutory damages or not 511
award statutory damages if the court determines both of the 512
following:513

       (a) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 514
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 515
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 516
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 517
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 518
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 519
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 520
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 521
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 522
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 523
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 524
section;525

       (b) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 526
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 527
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 528
responsible for the requested public records would serve the 529
public policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as 530
permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.531

       (2)(a) If the court issues a writ of mandamus that orders the 532
public office or the person responsible for the public record to 533
comply with division (B) of this section and determines that the 534
circumstances described in division (C)(1) of this section exist, 535
the court shall determine and award to the relator all court 536
costs.537

       (b) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public 538
office or the person responsible for the public record to comply 539
with division (B) of this section, the court may award reasonable 540
attorney's fees subject to reduction as described in division 541
(C)(2)(c) of this section. The court shall award reasonable 542
attorney's fees, subject to reduction as described in division 543
(C)(2)(c) of this section when either of the following applies:544

        (i) The public office or the person responsible for the 545
public records failed to respond affirmatively or negatively to 546
the public records request in accordance with the time allowed 547
under division (B) of this section.548

        (ii) The public office or the person responsible for the 549
public records promised to permit the relator to inspect or 550
receive copies of the public records requested within a specified 551
period of time but failed to fulfill that promise within that 552
specified period of time.553

       (c) Court costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded under 554
this section shall be construed as remedial and not punitive. 555
Reasonable attorney's fees shall include reasonable fees incurred 556
to produce proof of the reasonableness and amount of the fees and 557
to otherwise litigate entitlement to the fees. The court may 558
reduce an award of attorney's fees to the relator or not award 559
attorney's fees to the relator if the court determines both of the 560
following:561

       (i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 562
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 563
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 564
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 565
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 566
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 567
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 568
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 569
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 570
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 571
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 572
section;573

       (ii) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 574
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 575
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 576
responsible for the requested public records as described in 577
division (C)(2)(c)(i) of this section would serve the public 578
policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting 579
that conduct or threatened conduct.580

       (D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the 581
provisions of this section.582

       (E)(1) To ensure that all employees of public offices are 583
appropriately educated about a public office's obligations under 584
division (B) of this section, all elected officials or their 585
appropriate designees shall attend training approved by the 586
attorney general as provided in section 109.43 of the Revised 587
Code. In addition, all public offices shall adopt a public records 588
policy in compliance with this section for responding to public 589
records requests. In adopting a public records policy under this 590
division, a public office may obtain guidance from the model 591
public records policy developed and provided to the public office 592
by the attorney general under section 109.43 of the Revised Code. 593
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the policy may not 594
limit the number of public records that the public office will 595
make available to a single person, may not limit the number of 596
public records that it will make available during a fixed period 597
of time, and may not establish a fixed period of time before it 598
will respond to a request for inspection or copying of public 599
records, unless that period is less than eight hours.600

       (2) The public office shall distribute the public records 601
policy adopted by the public office under division (E)(1) of this 602
section to the employee of the public office who is the records 603
custodian or records manager or otherwise has custody of the 604
records of that office. The public office shall require that 605
employee to acknowledge receipt of the copy of the public records 606
policy. The public office shall create a poster that describes its 607
public records policy and shall post the poster in a conspicuous 608
place in the public office and in all locations where the public 609
office has branch offices. The public office may post its public 610
records policy on the internet web site of the public office if 611
the public office maintains an internet web site. A public office 612
that has established a manual or handbook of its general policies 613
and procedures for all employees of the public office shall 614
include the public records policy of the public office in the 615
manual or handbook.616

       (F)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules pursuant 617
to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit the number 618
of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by a person 619
for the same records or for updated records during a calendar 620
year. The rules may include provisions for charges to be made for 621
bulk commercial special extraction requests for the actual cost of 622
the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus ten per cent. The 623
bureau may charge for expenses for redacting information, the 624
release of which is prohibited by law.625

       (2) As used in division (F)(1) of this section:626

       (a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, 627
records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative 628
delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct 629
equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual costs 630
paid to private contractors for copying services.631

       (b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a 632
request for copies of a record for information in a format other 633
than the format already available, or information that cannot be 634
extracted without examination of all items in a records series, 635
class of records, or database by a person who intends to use or 636
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale 637
for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special extraction 638
request" does not include a request by a person who gives 639
assurance to the bureau that the person making the request does 640
not intend to use or forward the requested copies for surveys, 641
marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes.642

       (c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, or 643
selling of any good, service, or other product.644

       (d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time 645
spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, 646
the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed by 647
the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer 648
programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction 649
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer or 650
records services.651

       (3) For purposes of divisions (F)(1) and (2) of this section, 652
"surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial 653
purposes" shall be narrowly construed and does not include 654
reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering information to 655
assist citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or 656
activities of government, or nonprofit educational research.657

       Section 2. That existing section 149.43 of the Revised Code 658
is hereby repealed.659

       Section 3. That the version of section 149.43 of the Revised 660
Code that is scheduled to take effect March 20, 2015, be amended 661
to read as follows:662

       Sec. 149.43.  (A) As used in this section:663

       (1) "Public record" means records kept by any public office, 664
including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, 665
township, and school district units, records kept by a police 666
department established by a qualified nonprofit corporation under 667
section 1702.80 of the Revised Code, records kept by a campus 668
police department established by a private college or university 669
under section 1713.50 of the Revised Code when the board of 670
trustees of the private college or university has entered into an 671
agreement with a political subdivision under division (C) of 672
section 1713.50 of the Revised Code that grants the campus police 673
department with powers and authority outside the property of the 674
private college or university, and records pertaining to the 675
delivery of educational services by an alternative school in this 676
state kept by the nonprofit or for-profit entity operating the 677
alternative school pursuant to section 3313.533 of the Revised 678
Code. "Public record" does not mean any of the following:679

       (a) Medical records;680

       (b) Records pertaining to probation and parole proceedings or 681
to proceedings related to the imposition of community control 682
sanctions and post-release control sanctions;683

       (c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 and 684
division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to 685
appeals of actions arising under those sections;686

       (d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including the 687
contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of 688
health under sections 3705.12 to 3705.124 of the Revised Code;689

       (e) Information in a record contained in the putative father 690
registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code, 691
regardless of whether the information is held by the department of 692
job and family services or, pursuant to section 3111.69 of the 693
Revised Code, the office of child support in the department or a 694
child support enforcement agency;695

       (f) Records specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of 696
the Revised Code;697

       (g) Trial preparation records;698

       (h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records;699

       (i) Records containing information that is confidential under 700
section 2710.03 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code;701

       (j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to 702
section 109.573 of the Revised Code;703

       (k) Inmate records released by the department of 704
rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth services 705
or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of section 5120.21 706
of the Revised Code;707

       (l) Records maintained by the department of youth services 708
pertaining to children in its custody released by the department 709
of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and 710
correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code;711

       (m) Intellectual property records;712

       (n) Donor profile records;713

       (o) Records maintained by the department of job and family 714
services pursuant to section 3121.894 of the Revised Code;715

       (p) Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, 716
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, 717
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 718
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 719
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 720
investigation residential and familial information;721

       (q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to 722
Chapter 339. of the Revised Code or a municipal hospital operated 723
pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code, information that 724
constitutes a trade secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the 725
Revised Code;726

       (r) Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 727
a person under the age of eighteen;728

       (s) Records provided to, statements made by review board 729
members during meetings of, and all work products of a child 730
fatality review board acting under sections 307.621 to 307.629 of 731
the Revised Code, and child fatality review data submitted by the 732
child fatality review board to the department of health or a 733
national child death review database, other than the report 734
prepared pursuant to division (A) of section 307.626 of the 735
Revised Code;736

       (t) Records provided to and statements made by the executive 737
director of a public children services agency or a prosecuting 738
attorney acting pursuant to section 5153.171 of the Revised Code 739
other than the information released under that section;740

       (u) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in 741
an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator that 742
the board of executives of long-term services and supports 743
administers under section 4751.04 of the Revised Code or contracts 744
under that section with a private or government entity to 745
administer;746

       (v) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or 747
federal law;748

       (w) Proprietary information of or relating to any person that 749
is submitted to or compiled by the Ohio venture capital authority 750
created under section 150.01 of the Revised Code;751

       (x) Financial statements and data any person submits for any 752
purpose to the Ohio housing finance agency or the controlling 753
board in connection with applying for, receiving, or accounting 754
for financial assistance from the agency, and information that 755
identifies any individual who benefits directly or indirectly from 756
financial assistance from the agency;757

       (y) Records listed in section 5101.29 of the Revised Code;758

       (z) Discharges recorded with a county recorder under section 759
317.24 of the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)(2) of 760
that section;761

       (aa) Usage information including names and addresses of 762
specific residential and commercial customers of a municipally 763
owned or operated public utility;764

       (bb) Records described in division (C) of section 187.04 of 765
the Revised Code that are not designated to be made available to 766
the public as provided in that division.767

       (2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" means 768
any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a 769
criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but 770
only to the extent that the release of the record would create a 771
high probability of disclosure of any of the following:772

       (a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged with 773
the offense to which the record pertains, or of an information 774
source or witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably 775
promised;776

       (b) Information provided by an information source or witness 777
to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised, which 778
information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's or 779
witness's identity;780

       (c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or 781
procedures or specific investigatory work product;782

       (d) Information that would endanger the life or physical 783
safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, or 784
a confidential information source.785

       (3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of 786
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or 787
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history, 788
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that 789
is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment.790

       (4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that contains 791
information that is specifically compiled in reasonable 792
anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or 793
proceeding, including the independent thought processes and 794
personal trial preparation of an attorney.795

       (5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other than 796
a financial or administrative record, that is produced or 797
collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of 798
higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or 799
research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic, 800
technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study or 801
research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction 802
with a governmental body or private concern, and that has not been 803
publicly released, published, or patented.804

       (6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors or 805
potential donors to a public institution of higher education 806
except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and 807
the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation.808

       (7) "Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, 809
bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, 810
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 811
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 812
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 813
investigation residential and familial information" means any 814
information that discloses any of the following about a peace 815
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting 816
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 817
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 818
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 819
criminal identification and investigation:820

       (a) The address of the actual personal residence of a peace 821
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, assistant 822
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 823
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 824
firefighter, EMT, or an investigator of the bureau of criminal 825
identification and investigation, except for the state or 826
political subdivision in which the peace officer, parole officer, 827
probation officer, bailiff, assistant prosecuting attorney, 828
correctional employee, community-based correctional facility 829
employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or 830
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 831
investigation resides;832

       (b) Information compiled from referral to or participation in 833
an employee assistance program;834

       (c) The social security number, the residential telephone 835
number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card 836
number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any medical 837
information pertaining to, a peace officer, parole officer, 838
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant 839
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 840
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 841
firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 842
identification and investigation;843

       (d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, 844
including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided 845
to a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, 846
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional 847
employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth 848
services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau 849
of criminal identification and investigation by the peace 850
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 851
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 852
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 853
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 854
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 855
investigation's employer;856

       (e) The identity and amount of any charitable or employment 857
benefit deduction made by the peace officer's, parole officer's, 858
probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant 859
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based 860
correctional facility employee's, youth services employee's, 861
firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 862
identification and investigation's employer from the peace 863
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 864
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 865
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 866
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 867
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 868
investigation's compensation unless the amount of the deduction is 869
required by state or federal law;870

       (f) The name, the residential address, the name of the 871
employer, the address of the employer, the social security number, 872
the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit card, 873
charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency telephone 874
number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of a peace 875
officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting 876
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 877
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 878
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 879
criminal identification and investigation;880

       (g) A photograph of a peace officer who holds a position or 881
has an assignment that may include undercover or plain clothes 882
positions or assignments as determined by the peace officer's 883
appointing authority.884

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 885
"peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the 886
Revised Code and also includes the superintendent and troopers of 887
the state highway patrol; it does not include the sheriff of a 888
county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence of the 889
sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the authority of, 890
and perform the duties of the sheriff.891

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 892
"correctional employee" means any employee of the department of 893
rehabilitation and correction who in the course of performing the 894
employee's job duties has or has had contact with inmates and 895
persons under supervision.896

        As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 897
"youth services employee" means any employee of the department of 898
youth services who in the course of performing the employee's job 899
duties has or has had contact with children committed to the 900
custody of the department of youth services.901

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 902
"firefighter" means any regular, paid or volunteer, member of a 903
lawfully constituted fire department of a municipal corporation, 904
township, fire district, or village.905

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "EMT" 906
means EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, and paramedics that provide emergency 907
medical services for a public emergency medical service 908
organization. "Emergency medical service organization," 909
"EMT-basic," "EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the same meanings as in 910
section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.911

       As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, 912
"investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 913
investigation" has the meaning defined in section 2903.11 of the 914
Revised Code.915

       (8) "Information pertaining to the recreational activities of 916
a person under the age of eighteen" means information that is kept 917
in the ordinary course of business by a public office, that 918
pertains to the recreational activities of a person under the age 919
of eighteen years, and that discloses any of the following:920

       (a) The address or telephone number of a person under the age 921
of eighteen or the address or telephone number of that person's 922
parent, guardian, custodian, or emergency contact person;923

       (b) The social security number, birth date, or photographic 924
image of a person under the age of eighteen;925

       (c) Any medical record, history, or information pertaining to 926
a person under the age of eighteen;927

       (d) Any additional information sought or required about a 928
person under the age of eighteen for the purpose of allowing that 929
person to participate in any recreational activity conducted or 930
sponsored by a public office or to use or obtain admission 931
privileges to any recreational facility owned or operated by a 932
public office.933

       (9) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in 934
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.935

       (10) "Post-release control sanction" has the same meaning as 936
in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.937

        (11) "Redaction" means obscuring or deleting any information 938
that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or 939
copying from an item that otherwise meets the definition of a 940
"record" in section 149.011 of the Revised Code.941

       (12) "Designee" and "elected official" have the same meanings 942
as in section 109.43 of the Revised Code.943

       (B)(1) Upon request and subject to division (B)(8) of this 944
section, all public records responsive to the request shall be 945
promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person 946
at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to 947
division (B)(8) of this section, upon request, a public office or 948
person responsible for public records shall make copies of the 949
requested public record available at cost and within a reasonable 950
period of time. If a public record contains information that is 951
exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or to copy the 952
public record, the public office or the person responsible for the 953
public record shall make available all of the information within 954
the public record that is not exempt. When making that public 955
record available for public inspection or copying that public 956
record, the public office or the person responsible for the public 957
record shall notify the requester of any redaction or make the 958
redaction plainly visible. A redaction shall be deemed a denial of 959
a request to inspect or copy the redacted information, except if 960
federal or state law authorizes or requires a public office to 961
make the redaction.962

       (2) To facilitate broader access to public records, a public 963
office or the person responsible for public records shall organize 964
and maintain public records in a manner that they can be made 965
available for inspection or copying in accordance with division 966
(B) of this section. A public office also shall have available a 967
copy of its current records retention schedule at a location 968
readily available to the public. If a requester makes an ambiguous 969
or overly broad request or has difficulty in making a request for 970
copies or inspection of public records under this section such 971
that the public office or the person responsible for the requested 972
public record cannot reasonably identify what public records are 973
being requested, the public office or the person responsible for 974
the requested public record may deny the request but shall provide 975
the requester with an opportunity to revise the request by 976
informing the requester of the manner in which records are 977
maintained by the public office and accessed in the ordinary 978
course of the public office's or person's duties.979

       (3) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in whole, 980
the public office or the person responsible for the requested 981
public record shall provide the requester with an explanation, 982
including legal authority, setting forth why the request was 983
denied. If the initial request was provided in writing, the 984
explanation also shall be provided to the requester in writing. 985
The explanation shall not preclude the public office or the person 986
responsible for the requested public record from relying upon 987
additional reasons or legal authority in defending an action 988
commenced under division (C) of this section.989

       (4) Unless specifically required or authorized by state or 990
federal law or in accordance with division (B) of this section, no 991
public office or person responsible for public records may limit 992
or condition the availability of public records by requiring 993
disclosure of the requester's identity or the intended use of the 994
requested public record. Any requirement that the requester 995
disclose the requestor's identity or the intended use of the 996
requested public record constitutes a denial of the request.997

       (5) A public office or person responsible for public records 998
may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may ask for 999
the requester's identity, and may inquire about the intended use 1000
of the information requested, but may do so only after disclosing 1001
to the requester that a written request is not mandatory and that 1002
the requester may decline to reveal the requester's identity or 1003
the intended use and when a written request or disclosure of the 1004
identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing 1005
the ability of the public office or person responsible for public 1006
records to identify, locate, or deliver the public records sought 1007
by the requester.1008

       (6) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public record 1009
in accordance with division (B) of this section, the public office 1010
or person responsible for the public record may require that 1011
person to pay in advance the cost involved in providing the copy 1012
of the public record in accordance with the choice made by the 1013
person seeking the copy under this division. The public office or 1014
the person responsible for the public record shall permit that 1015
person to choose to have the public record duplicated upon paper, 1016
upon the same medium upon which the public office or person 1017
responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any other 1018
medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the 1019
public record determines that it reasonably can be duplicated as 1020
an integral part of the normal operations of the public office or 1021
person responsible for the public record. When the person seeking 1022
the copy makes a choice under this division, the public office or 1023
person responsible for the public record shall provide a copy of 1024
it in accordance with the choice made by the person seeking the 1025
copy. Nothing in this section requires a public office or person 1026
responsible for the public record to allow the person seeking a 1027
copy of the public record to make the copies of the public record.1028

       (7) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B) of 1029
this section and subject to division (B)(6) of this section, a 1030
public office or person responsible for public records shall 1031
transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United States 1032
mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission within a 1033
reasonable period of time after receiving the request for the 1034
copy. The public office or person responsible for the public 1035
record may require the person making the request to pay in advance 1036
the cost of postage if the copy is transmitted by United States 1037
mail or the cost of delivery if the copy is transmitted other than 1038
by United States mail, and to pay in advance the costs incurred 1039
for other supplies used in the mailing, delivery, or transmission.1040

       Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it 1041
will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time 1042
after receiving a request, copies of public records by United 1043
States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission 1044
pursuant to this division. A public office that adopts a policy 1045
and procedures under this division shall comply with them in 1046
performing its duties under this division.1047

       In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a 1048
public office may limit the number of records requested by a 1049
person that the office will transmit by United States mail to ten 1050
per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing 1051
that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested 1052
records, or the information contained in them, for commercial 1053
purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial" shall be 1054
narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering 1055
news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen 1056
oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of 1057
government, or nonprofit educational research.1058

       (8) A public office or person responsible for public records 1059
is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated pursuant to 1060
a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to inspect or to 1061
obtain a copy of any public record concerning a criminal 1062
investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be a 1063
criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the 1064
investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to 1065
inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of 1066
acquiring information that is subject to release as a public 1067
record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence 1068
or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the 1069
judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in 1070
the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a 1071
justiciable claim of the person.1072

       (9)(a) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist 1073
on or after December 16, 1999, a public office, or person 1074
responsible for public records, having custody of the records of 1075
the agency employing a specified peace officer, parole officer, 1076
probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant 1077
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based 1078
correctional facility employee, youth services employee, 1079
firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 1080
identification and investigation shall disclose to the journalist 1081
the address of the actual personal residence of the peace officer, 1082
parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, 1083
assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, 1084
community-based correctional facility employee, youth services 1085
employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of 1086
criminal identification and investigation and, if the peace 1087
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 1088
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 1089
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 1090
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 1091
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 1092
investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child is employed by a 1093
public office, the name and address of the employer of the peace 1094
officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, 1095
prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, 1096
correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility 1097
employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or 1098
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 1099
investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child. The request shall 1100
include the journalist's name and title and the name and address 1101
of the journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of 1102
the information sought would be in the public interest.1103

       (b) Division (B)(9)(a) of this section also applies to 1104
journalist requests for customer information maintained by a 1105
municipally owned or operated public utility, other than social 1106
security numbers and any private financial information such as 1107
credit reports, payment methods, credit card numbers, and bank 1108
account information.1109

       (c) As used in division (B)(9) of this section, "journalist" 1110
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news 1111
medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news 1112
agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a 1113
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, 1114
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for 1115
the general public.1116

       (C)(1) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a 1117
public office or the person responsible for public records to 1118
promptly prepare a public record and to make it available to the 1119
person for inspection in accordance with division (B) of this 1120
section or by any other failure of a public office or the person 1121
responsible for public records to comply with an obligation in 1122
accordance with division (B) of this section, the person allegedly 1123
aggrieved may commence a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that 1124
orders the public office or the person responsible for the public 1125
record to comply with division (B) of this section, that awards 1126
court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the person that 1127
instituted the mandamus action, and, if applicable, that includes 1128
an order fixing statutory damages under division (C)(1) of this 1129
section. The mandamus action may be commenced in the court of 1130
common pleas of the county in which division (B) of this section 1131
allegedly was not complied with, in the supreme court pursuant to 1132
its original jurisdiction under Section 2 of Article IV, Ohio 1133
Constitution, or in the court of appeals for the appellate 1134
district in which division (B) of this section allegedly was not 1135
complied with pursuant to its original jurisdiction under Section 1136
3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution.1137

       If a requestor transmits a written request by hand delivery 1138
or certified mail to inspect or receive copies of any public 1139
record in a manner that fairly describes the public record or 1140
class of public records to the public office or person responsible 1141
for the requested public records, except as otherwise provided in 1142
this section, the requestor shall be entitled to recover the 1143
amount of statutory damages set forth in this division if a court 1144
determines that the public office or the person responsible for 1145
public records failed to comply with an obligation in accordance 1146
with division (B) of this section.1147

       The amount of statutory damages shall be fixed at one hundred 1148
dollars for each business day during which the public office or 1149
person responsible for the requested public records failed to 1150
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 1151
section, beginning with the day on which the requester files a 1152
mandamus action to recover statutory damages, up to a maximum of 1153
one thousand dollars. The award of statutory damages shall not be 1154
construed as a penalty, but as compensation for injury arising 1155
from lost use of the requested information. The existence of this 1156
injury shall be conclusively presumed. The award of statutory 1157
damages shall be in addition to all other remedies authorized by 1158
this section.1159

       The court may reduce an award of statutory damages or not 1160
award statutory damages if the court determines both of the 1161
following:1162

       (a) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 1163
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 1164
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 1165
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 1166
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 1167
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 1168
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 1169
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 1170
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 1171
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 1172
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 1173
section;1174

       (b) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 1175
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 1176
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 1177
responsible for the requested public records would serve the 1178
public policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as 1179
permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.1180

       (2)(a) If the court issues a writ of mandamus that orders the 1181
public office or the person responsible for the public record to 1182
comply with division (B) of this section and determines that the 1183
circumstances described in division (C)(1) of this section exist, 1184
the court shall determine and award to the relator all court 1185
costs.1186

       (b) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public 1187
office or the person responsible for the public record to comply 1188
with division (B) of this section, the court may award reasonable 1189
attorney's fees subject to reduction as described in division 1190
(C)(2)(c) of this section. The court shall award reasonable 1191
attorney's fees, subject to reduction as described in division 1192
(C)(2)(c) of this section when either of the following applies:1193

        (i) The public office or the person responsible for the 1194
public records failed to respond affirmatively or negatively to 1195
the public records request in accordance with the time allowed 1196
under division (B) of this section.1197

        (ii) The public office or the person responsible for the 1198
public records promised to permit the relator to inspect or 1199
receive copies of the public records requested within a specified 1200
period of time but failed to fulfill that promise within that 1201
specified period of time.1202

       (c) Court costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded under 1203
this section shall be construed as remedial and not punitive. 1204
Reasonable attorney's fees shall include reasonable fees incurred 1205
to produce proof of the reasonableness and amount of the fees and 1206
to otherwise litigate entitlement to the fees. The court may 1207
reduce an award of attorney's fees to the relator or not award 1208
attorney's fees to the relator if the court determines both of the 1209
following:1210

       (i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law 1211
and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or 1212
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for 1213
the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure 1214
to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of 1215
this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a 1216
well-informed public office or person responsible for the 1217
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct 1218
or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible 1219
for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to 1220
comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this 1221
section;1222

       (ii) That a well-informed public office or person responsible 1223
for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the 1224
conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person 1225
responsible for the requested public records as described in 1226
division (C)(2)(c)(i) of this section would serve the public 1227
policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting 1228
that conduct or threatened conduct.1229

       (D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the 1230
provisions of this section.1231

       (E)(1) To ensure that all employees of public offices are 1232
appropriately educated about a public office's obligations under 1233
division (B) of this section, all elected officials or their 1234
appropriate designees shall attend training approved by the 1235
attorney general as provided in section 109.43 of the Revised 1236
Code. In addition, all public offices shall adopt a public records 1237
policy in compliance with this section for responding to public 1238
records requests. In adopting a public records policy under this 1239
division, a public office may obtain guidance from the model 1240
public records policy developed and provided to the public office 1241
by the attorney general under section 109.43 of the Revised Code. 1242
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the policy may not 1243
limit the number of public records that the public office will 1244
make available to a single person, may not limit the number of 1245
public records that it will make available during a fixed period 1246
of time, and may not establish a fixed period of time before it 1247
will respond to a request for inspection or copying of public 1248
records, unless that period is less than eight hours.1249

       (2) The public office shall distribute the public records 1250
policy adopted by the public office under division (E)(1) of this 1251
section to the employee of the public office who is the records 1252
custodian or records manager or otherwise has custody of the 1253
records of that office. The public office shall require that 1254
employee to acknowledge receipt of the copy of the public records 1255
policy. The public office shall create a poster that describes its 1256
public records policy and shall post the poster in a conspicuous 1257
place in the public office and in all locations where the public 1258
office has branch offices. The public office may post its public 1259
records policy on the internet web site of the public office if 1260
the public office maintains an internet web site. A public office 1261
that has established a manual or handbook of its general policies 1262
and procedures for all employees of the public office shall 1263
include the public records policy of the public office in the 1264
manual or handbook.1265

       (F)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules pursuant 1266
to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit the number 1267
of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by a person 1268
for the same records or for updated records during a calendar 1269
year. The rules may include provisions for charges to be made for 1270
bulk commercial special extraction requests for the actual cost of 1271
the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus ten per cent. The 1272
bureau may charge for expenses for redacting information, the 1273
release of which is prohibited by law.1274

       (2) As used in division (F)(1) of this section:1275

       (a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, 1276
records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative 1277
delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct 1278
equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual costs 1279
paid to private contractors for copying services.1280

       (b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a 1281
request for copies of a record for information in a format other 1282
than the format already available, or information that cannot be 1283
extracted without examination of all items in a records series, 1284
class of records, or database by a person who intends to use or 1285
forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale 1286
for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special extraction 1287
request" does not include a request by a person who gives 1288
assurance to the bureau that the person making the request does 1289
not intend to use or forward the requested copies for surveys, 1290
marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes.1291

       (c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, or 1292
selling of any good, service, or other product.1293

       (d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time 1294
spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, 1295
the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed by 1296
the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer 1297
programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction 1298
costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer or 1299
records services.1300

       (3) For purposes of divisions (F)(1) and (2) of this section, 1301
"surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial 1302
purposes" shall be narrowly construed and does not include 1303
reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering information to 1304
assist citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or 1305
activities of government, or nonprofit educational research.1306

       Section 4. That the existing version of section 149.43 of the 1307
Revised Code that is scheduled to take effect March 20, 2015, is 1308
hereby repealed.1309

       Section 5. Sections 3 and 4 of this act shall take effect 1310
March 20, 2015.1311

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