Democracy flourishes when government operates in the sunshine, available to the citizens it serves and open to public scrutiny. To preserve and encourage openness, the Ohio General Assembly passed the Open Meetings and Public Records acts, collectively known as the “Sunshine Laws.”

Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right and a desire to know; but besides this, they have a right, an indisputable, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean of the characters and conduct of their rulers.
~ A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law John Adams (1765)

A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
~ 9 Writings of James Madison 103 (G. Hunt ed. 1910)

The rule in Ohio is that public records are the people’s records, and that the officials in whose custody they happen to be are merely trustees for the people; therefore anyone may inspect such records at any time, subject only to the limitation that such inspection does not endanger the safety of the record, or unreasonably interfere with the discharge of the duties of the officer having custody of the same.
~ Patterson v. Ayers (1960), 171 Ohio St. 369, 371, 171 N.E.2d508, 509.

A citizen’s ability to evaluate government’s effectiveness is one of the hallmarks of a democratic society. But democratic ideals, like any freedom, come with a price.

The debate over open government attracts strong opinions. On one side are government records custodians who feel a certain protectiveness in the documents they create and use in carrying out their daily duties. On the other side are citizens who view records custodians as mere caretakers — guardians of records that rightfully belong to the citizens.

Public Records and Open Meetings

Public Records
The public’s right to Ohio government records is set out in the Ohio Public Records Act, which can be found in the Ohio Revised Code Section 149.43.

A public record is something that documents the organization, policies, functions, decisions, procedures or other activities of a public office. Public records include:
Records kept by the state, counties, cities, villages, townships and school districts.
Records of any entity that performs a public service and is supported by public funds such as chemical dependency treatment facilities, public hospitals, communication action agencies and courts.
Records of expenditures made by nonprofit agencies in providing services with governmental monies.

The public has the right to prompt inspection of public records and the right to copies within a reasonable period of time. The public office can charge no more than the cost of copying the documents.

The Public Records Act
The Public Records Act makes special provisions for disclosing information about materials used by library patrons. Records that would personally identify a patron and the materials he has inquired about or checked out are generally not public records, but are available to law enforcement under certain circumstances, and can be disclosed under a court order. See Ohio Revised Code Section 149.432 for more information.

The Act also protects records that disclose the configuration of certain aspects of public buildings, such as electrical, ventilation and water systems and security codes. Security records used to protect a public building against attack or sabotage are also protected. For more information, see Ohio Revised Code Section 149.433.

Many other records are exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act and may be disclosed only with a court order. These records include:
Medical records
Student education records
Individual taxpayer records
Records of investigations of potential wrongdoing
Trade secrets
Records containing information covered under the attorney-client privilege

The Ohio Sunshine Law Update, an annual publication of The Ohio Attorney General’s Office, contains a comprehensive review of what records are available to the public under the Ohio Public Records Act.

Federal Freedom of Information Act
Enacted in 1966, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) generally provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information. All agencies of the Executive Branch of the United States Government are required to disclose records upon receiving a written request, except for those records (or portions of them) that are protected from disclosure by certain exemptions and exclusions of the FOIA.

The FOIA does not provide access to records held by Congress or the federal courts, by state or local government agencies, or by private businesses or individuals. All states have their own statutes governing public access to state and local government records. Click here for more information about FOIA and how to make a FOIA request.

Open Meetings
The Ohio Open Meetings Act can be found in Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22.

Public bodies must take official action and conduct deliberations on official business in meetings that are open to the public. This includes:
Meetings of any state board, commission, committee or similar decision-making body of a state agency, institution or authority
Meetings of any legislative authority, board, commission, committee, agency, authority or similar decision-making body of a county, township, municipal corporation, school district or other political subdivision, or local public institution or any subcommittee of a public body

Some public bodies are exempt from the Open Meetings Act such as grand juries, and the Adult Parole Authority. Also, most public bodies may meet in private by meeting in executive session, but they can only discuss certain things in these sessions, such as personnel issues, purchasing property, pending litigation, collective bargaining security arrangements, trade secrets, and other information that must be kept confidential by state or federal law.

The Ohio Sunshine Law Update an annual publication of The Ohio Attorney General’s Office, contains more information about the Ohio Open Meetings Act.

Q.: What is a “Sunshine Law”?
A.: In Ohio, the “Sunshine Laws” refer to Ohio’s Public Records Act and Ohio’s Open Meetings Act. These statutory laws are based on the notion that there should be “openness” in government, with public access to records and meetings and the conduct and activities of government.

Q.: What records are public under Ohio’s Public Records Act?
A.: Generally speaking, a “public record” is a record held by a public office and is intended to include such things as paper, computer disks, film/videotape – that is, any item, regardless of its physical form, that is a stored or fixed medium.

Q.: What is a public office?
A.: The Public Records Act specifically defines a “public office” to include a “state agency, public institution, political subdivision, or any other organized body, office, agency, institution or entity established by the laws of this state for the exercise of any function of government.” That is clearly a broad definition, which is meant to include any entity that performs a public service and is supported by public funds.

Q.: What are a person’s rights under the Public Records Act?
A.: Generally, a person’s rights include the right to a prompt inspection of public records and, upon request, the right to copies of those public records within a reasonable period of time.

Q.: Are there any exceptions under the Public Records Act?
A.: Yes. The Act specifically identifies certain records, which are exempt, including medical records, trial preparation records, confidential law enforcement investigatory records and adoption records, among others.

Q.: What is Ohio’s “Open Meetings Act”?
A.: This law essentially requires all public bodies to take all official actions and hold all deliberations on official business in meetings that are open to the public.

Q.: Do public bodies have to keep minutes?
A.: Yes. The public bodies have to keep full and accurate minutes in order to enable the public to understand and appreciate the rationale behind the public body’s decisions.

Q.: Can a public body ever hold meetings in secret?
A.: Yes. There are specified reasons for a public body to adjourn into what is called an “executive session.” These sessions are not open to the public. The reasons justifying an executive session include discussions about personnel matters, the purchase of property, pending or imminent court action, and collective bargaining.

Q.: Does the media have any “special” rights under Ohio’s “Sunshine Laws”?
A.: No. The Public Records Act and Open Meetings Act apply equally to “all persons” under the law. The media enjoys no special rights under these Sunshine Laws. On the other hand, the press (both print and broadcast media) tends to be very vigilant about protecting people’s rights under the Sunshine Laws. If access to records or meetings is denied, it is often the press that will commence “mandamus” actions in Ohio’s courts to enforce rights under the Sunshine Laws (a “mandamus” court action asks a judge to “mandate” or order a government agency to make records or meetings open and public).

Q.: Why does the media often times go to court about access issues under the Sunshine Laws?
A.: There are a number of reasons why the press (both print and broadcast media) will file lawsuits seeking to enforce access rights under the Sunshine Acts. Clearly, access to records and meetings provide very important sources of information for the press in its newsgathering and information-gathering efforts. In addition, reliance on public records and meetings as sources of information provides important First Amendment protection to the press in situations where it may be sued for defamation (slander or libel) or invasion of privacy.

Q.: Do the Sunshine Laws guarantee access to courtrooms?
A.: No. Our rights to access to public courtrooms has generally evolved from interpretation of the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Ohio as well as important case precedents handed down by the United States Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Q.: Are there any occasions when Ohioans do not have access to Ohio courtrooms?
A.: Generally, our right of access to court proceedings is a well protected right and a courtroom can be closed only in very rare and unique circumstances.

Q.: Are all courts equally accessible by citizens?
A.: No. Juvenile courts are treated somewhat differently, and may restrict public access if, after hearing evidence and arguments, the juvenile court judge finds that there is a “reasonable and substantial” basis for believing that public access could harm the child or endanger the fairness of a judge’s decision, and that the potential for harm outweighs the benefit of public access. Nevertheless, those who want a juvenile court proceeding to be closed must prove that an open proceeding would be harmful.