Ohio House Passes Bill to Address Frivolous Public Records Requests

COLUMBUS—State Representative Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) is pleased to announce that the Ohio House of Representatives today passed House Bill 314, legislation to protect local governments from harassing or disruptive public records requests.

House Bill 314, championed by Ray, will allow a public body to request a hearing before a county common pleas court judge to determine whether an individual’s volume of requests is harassing, obstructive or otherwise interfering with government operations. The legislation seeks to protect the public’s right to transparency while also protecting taxpayer dollars by ensuring local governments can operate efficiently.

“House Bill 314 is about protection, not restriction,” said Ray. “It will give local governments reasonable tools to manage harassing requests without limiting legitimate access to public records.”

Public offices will be permitted to charge a fee for requests on a sliding scale outlined in the bill. Additionally, the bill will allow a public office or the individual responsible for maintaining public records to hire a private contractor to help in responding to voluminous public records requests. The office will be permitted to include the cost of the contractor’s service in the costs of the requested records, no higher than the maximum amount on the fee scale for all requests.

House Bill 314 now moves to the Ohio Senate for consideration.