Last night, Governor Mike DeWine signed off on House Bill 315, legislation that was originally intended to address township zoning laws. However, in the eleventh hour during last year’s lame-duck session, it was rewritten to include an amendment allowing cities to charge up to $750 to cover the cost of making and distributing copies of public records requests.
The CPC is disappointed that Governor DeWine chose not to veto this bill, as it is a clear attempt to undermine police oversight and make it more difficult for the public to access documents and videos that should be easily available. He and Attorney General Mike Yost have described the process of reviewing and removing sensitive information and images not considered public record as a tedious and expensive, labor-intensive process, respectively. However, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled in 1994 that record seekers should not be charged for the cost of employee labor, as responding to public records requests is part of some employees’ duties. Cities are only allowed to charge for the actual cost of producing copies of those records for anyone who requests them.
Police departments should already be removing restricted portions of body-worn and dashboard camera footage before it becomes available for public consumption. The only difference between going to City Hall to view the footage and receiving a copy by mail should be the DVD it comes on. Currently, in Cleveland, the cost for each copy made is just $3.50.
Cities have the option to opt out of implementing this new law, and we suggest that the city of Cleveland do just that. Families who are already mourning their loved ones should not be charged an exorbitant amount just to get to the truth. Furthermore, news organizations, who did not have the opportunity to raise their concerns before lawmakers passed the bill, will face a significant hit to their operating budgets if Cleveland decides to follow suit.
If news organizations, or even advocacy groups, were required to pay $750 for a copy of every use-of-force incident in 2023, they would have to shell out more than $209,000. This would create yet another hurdle in an already complicated system, further obstructing the public’s right to the transparency they are owed.
Although we are deeply saddened that the passage of this bill could mean some Ohioans will be left behind in their pursuit of justice, we are calling on the city of Cleveland to lead by example and remain as transparent with the public as possible to ensure that we follow Public Records and Open Meetings laws as they were originally intended.