CINCINNATI — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an omnibus bill Thursday that includes a provision that allows Ohio law enforcement agencies to charge up to $75 per hour of video requested under the state’s public record laws. The law caps the total at $750.
"We're thankful to the governor for signing the bill," Michael Weinman, Ohio FOP's director of government affairs, told WCPO.
The law is intended to help departments recoup labor costs for the time spent to redact and prepare videos for release once a request is made. Officials said they are also hopeful the law will help prevent bad actors online from monetizing "sensational" videos.
"We get flooded with these requests," Weinman said. "And what they’re looking for is bar fights and different things — something sensational that they can get likes on and get clicks and things like that. And so, what we hope this does is when you increase that charge; it filters those people out.”
Criminal attorney Joshua Evans believes the legislation could backfire.
"It's like putting mud in the clear water of transparency," Evans said. "A lot of people have a lot of distrust in police officers already and this could be looked at as another roadblock for poor people not to be able to get what they need, you know, to make a claim."
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Evans said he believes this law, if not challenged, could further erode trust and hinder accountability for law enforcement.
"It's a public records request," Evans said. "I think public records should be free. I think there's a better way of parsing those people out. It kind of sends a message you can only get justice if you got money and that's never a good message you want to send."
In his press release about the bill signings, DeWine addressed the concerns around this legislation. In a statement, he said in part:
"I strongly support the public’s — and the news media’s — right to access public records. The language in House Bill 315 doesn’t change that right. Law enforcement-worn body cameras and dashboard cameras have been a major improvement for both law enforcement investigations and for accountability.
However, I am sensitive to the fact that this changing technology has affected law enforcement by oftentimes creating unfunded burdens on these agencies, especially when it comes to the often time-consuming and labor-intensive work it takes to provide them as public records.
No law enforcement agency should ever have to choose between diverting resources for officers on the street to move them to administrative tasks like lengthy video redaction reviews for which agencies receive no compensation — and this is especially so for when the requestor of the video is a private company seeking to make money off of these videos."
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