Two lawmakers in the Ohio House want to curb what they call possibly “frivolous” public records requests.
Introduced in June by House Minority Leader Rep. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) and Rep. Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth), House Bill 314 would enable local government agencies and offices to get a court order to limit or deny some records requests.
County courts would be tasked with deciding based on the sheer volume of related or unrelated requests from an individual, and whether evidence shows they are harassing or obstructive in nature, to issue an order limiting or denying future requests from them.
Isaacsohn said the idea came by way of county prosecutors and other public offices at the county level, who have said they are overwhelmed with requests from small numbers of people.
“Fewer than 20 people who submit dozens, hundreds, if not thousands of public records requests that gum up the works, and they are intended to gum up the works to take really precious time and resources from public servants,” Isaacsohn said in an interview.
The intention, he said, is not to weaken Ohio Sunshine Laws more broadly—which is why journalists, some attorneys and state agencies are excluded from the measures in HB 314.
“These are not legitimate, substantive public records requests,” Isaacsohn said of the requests the bill targets.
Under HB 314, government offices would also be able to hire private contractors to deal with “voluminous” public records requests.
The bill awaits its first committee hearing. The legislature won’t be back for any new business before the fall, though the House has session scheduled Monday to vote on veto overrides.
Before lawmakers left for summer recess, they sent Gov. Mike DeWine a measure in the GOP-majority House Bill 96—the biennial state budget—that shields some of their own documents, emails and texts from records requests until after the two-year session adjourns. DeWine did not veto it.
