OHIO LEGISLATURE Lawmaker plans new bill for public-records requests

A survey found public employees followed the law only about half the time.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Judges could fine government officials $1,000 for wrongfully denying public records requests under proposed legislation that Gov. Bob Taft and House leaders say could pass this year.
Rep. Scott Oelslager, a Canton Republican, said Thursday he could introduce the bill within a few weeks. He's drafted it over the past month with Attorney General Jim Petro and Frank Deaner, president of the Ohio Newspaper Association.
Oelslager tried a few times to strengthen Ohio's public records law in the 1990s when he was in the Senate. Those proposals went nowhere because fellow lawmakers didn't believe there was lack of access, he said.
Survey results
That changed last month, following a survey by the Newspaper Association and The Associated Press that found public employees followed the law only about half the time when asked to provide common records on an unconditional and timely basis as required by law.
"The audit shows that there is a problem," Oelslager said.
House Speaker Larry Householder hasn't seen the details of Oelslager's proposal but thinks the legislation is needed, spokesman Dwight Crum said. "He's hopeful this is something the House can pass this year," Crum said.
Taft also wants more "teeth" in the law, spokesman Orest Holubec said. Taft, Petro and Householder all are Republicans.
Oelslager said he'd introduce a new version if the bill doesn't pass before the Legislature's session ends in December.
The proposal so far includes the fines, mandatory training on public records law for all elected officials, a written policy that all employees in a government office must acknowledge reading, and a requirement that officials denying requests give their full reasoning.
The Newspaper Association still wants education for the public and a requirement that attorney fees be paid by the government for those who successfully appeal a denied records request, Deaner said.
The Ohio Municipal League, representing villages and cities, has urged caution in making changes such as requiring a definite time limit, because not all records are the same.