WPBN: In case Governor Mike DeWine signs a proposal that was approved by the state assembly this week, individuals in Ohio who are looking for copies of films taken by the police or in jails may be required to pay up to $75 for each hour.
An amendment to the state’s sunshine legislation was surreptitiously introduced and enacted after midnight on Thursday by the legislature that is controlled by the Republican Party.
Additionally, the fee was included in the amendment. It will now be delivered to the desk of the governor who is a Republican. When or if he will take action on it is not quite apparent. A news media organization is advocating for a veto.
Those who advocate for the First Amendment and government transparency have stated that they were taken aback by the legislation, which would give state and local law enforcement agencies the authority to charge individuals for copies of documents that the majority of departments currently release for free or at a very low cost.
Every state and local government agency or department has the ability to determine their own charge, which could be as high as $75 per hour, for footage that are captured by body cameras, dashboard cameras, and surveillance cameras located within jails.
Additionally, they could continue to make these public records available at no cost to the public. Each request would be subject to a maximum price of $750, and this would apply to all departments involved.
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The law is a “major blow for government transparency and accountability,” according to Gary Daniels, who serves as the chief lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Ohio. Daniels and Monica Nieporte, the executive director of the Ohio News Media Association, both stated that they had no indication that lawmakers were even considering such a proposal until after it had already been passed.
DeWine would be urged to veto it, according to her organization, she added.
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Dave Yost, the Attorney General of the state, stated that the law provides a “solid way” to tackle what he described as a “expensive, labor-intensive process.”
The requests for these films that have been made by social media influencers and professional YouTube creators have slowed down the operations of police departments, according to Yost, thus “making the taxpayers subsidize their little garden businesses.”
The cost of acquiring footage might become prohibitive for criminal justice watchdogs and media groups who are attempting to learn more about policing in general or in specific cases, according to critics. This is especially true in situations where numerous officers or multiple agencies respond to a scene.
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A state court ruling that has been in effect for decades would be challenged by this proposal. The ruling stated that public agencies could only charge individuals who are seeking public information for the costs of the item that the record was copied onto, such as paper or a flash drive.
