Sunshine Week—an annual, nonpartisan collaboration dedicated to shining a light on the importance of public records and open government—once again is upon us. This year, as in many years past, the ACLU of Ohio is pulling up the blinds and cracking open the windows to show how state lawmakers have simultaneously made it more difficult, and in some respects, easier for Ohioans to request public records from government bodies.
First, though, be sure to check out our activist’s guide on public records and open meeting laws, the one-stop-shop on everything citizen watchdogs need to know about Ohio’s Sunshine laws and how anyone can make use of them to submit public records requests.
Police Body Camera Footage
So, how have Ohio lawmakers expanded and restricted access to public records over the years? Let’s start with the bad news.
In the case of police video footage, Ohio law now permits (but does not require) state and local law enforcement agencies to charge requesters for video footage up to $75 per hour of video produced, capped at $750 total.
This law change was amended into an unrelated bill that passed in the waning hours of the 135th General Assembly, at the end of 2024, and was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine in January 2025. The public had zero opportunity to provide input on this change. Now, effectively, requesters of those records—whether they be news media or concerned citizens—face a possible paywall, depending on where they live, to get access to police video footage.
Fortunately for requesters of any other types of records, though, the only cost they must pay is for the paper (or digital medium) on which the records are produced for the time being. More on that later!
“Legislative Documents”
Additionally, lawmakers approved another change to public records law as part of House Bill (HB) 96, the state’s operating budget law for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. This provision exempts “legislative documents” from public records law during the two-year session in which the documents are produced.
These records could be a wide variety of things—texts and emails between lawmakers and their staff, internal memos on bills prepared for lawmakers, draft versions of speeches they might be giving, and so forth. Oftentimes, these types of documents can help the public understand (among many other things) what a lawmaker’s motivation is for introducing a bill or casting a certain vote, as well as the influence of lobbyists and interest groups in the legislative process.
Just like the police video law, a group of lawmakers amended this provision into HB 96 at the 11th hour (1:30am, in fact!) of closed-door debate on the operating budget bill, again with zero opportunity for public input.
House Bill 314
Unfortunately, some lawmakers do not seem content with these changes. In fact, some members of the Ohio House are inclined to clamp down further on access to public records with the introduction of HB 314. If this bill were to become law, it would allow public offices to take requesters to court if the office believes that the requester’s intent is to “harass” or “disrupt” the office with their request.
Beyond that, HB 314 would permit public offices to contract with third parties to process “voluminous” requests on the office’s behalf and foot the requester with the cost of the contractor’s services.
Either of these changes would be incredibly detrimental, especially for the many Ohioans who cannot afford to hire an attorney, pay court costs, and/or pay the cost of a third party’s contract just to get the public records to which we all are entitled. This bill is still working its way through the legislative process, so we have time to stop it before it becomes law., The ACLU of Ohio stands firmly against it.
Silver Linings
Fortunately, there remains some good news! For starters, the legislature in 2016 created a process through which public records requesters can file a complaint form with the Ohio Court of Claims if the requester is not satisfied with the public office’s response. Ohio is pretty unique in this regard—most other states (if not all) do not provide requesters with the option to take government offices to court. Refer back to our activist’s guide on public records for a step-by-step process on how to do so.
Additionally, going back to the topic of law enforcement video footage, lawmakers in 2019 established that police body camera recordings are public records, with some circumstantial exceptions. This access is critical for many Ohioans, particularly for those who are the victims of police violence themselves, or loved ones who are seeking the recording(s) on the victim’s behalf.
All told, recent changes to public records law are a mixed bag. It is abundantly clear in this era of government overreach at the federal, state, and local level , that citizen activists and watchdogs have never been more important. Our state’s sunshine laws still afford Ohioans significant opportunity to hold government accountable. It is incumbent upon all of us to take that opportunity, in defense of our rights and the rights of our neighbors.