Public Records and the Ohio Revised Code
Title 149.40  Only necessary records to be made
Title 149.43  Availability of public records
Selected judicial decisions and opinion on 149.43
The Role of the County Auditor
The Role of the County Recorder
The Role of the County Treasurer
What about Privacy and Public Records?
Is there a Right to Privacy?
USA Patriot Act of 2001

Keeping records is a duty of federal, state, and county offices.  Many records are Public Records.  In the state of Ohio, as in other states, both the types of records and the access to records that shall be maintained and considered Public are spelled out in law.  In Ohio, the law is contained in the Ohio Revised Code.

The applicable sections of the Ohio Revised Code include:

§ 149.40 Only necessary records to be made

The head of each public office shall cause to be made only such records as are necessary for the adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency and for the protection of the legal and financial rights of the state and persons directly affected by the agency's activities.

§ 149.43 Availability of public records

"Public record" means any record that is kept by any public office, including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, township, and school district units.  However, some of these records are excluded from the definition of “public” such as adoption records, DNA records, and certain law enforcement investigatory records.

(B)(1) …All public records shall be promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to division (B)(4) of this section, upon request, a public office or person responsible for public records shall make copies available at cost, within a reasonable period of time. In order to facilitate broader access to public records, public offices shall maintain public records in a manner that they can be made available for inspection in accordance with this division.

(3) Upon a request … a public office or person responsible for public records shall transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United States mail within a reasonable period of time after receiving the request for the copy. The public office or person responsible for the public record may require the person making the request to pay in advance the cost of postage and other supplies used in the mailing.

Selected Annotations to 149.43

• Materials of all varieties (including but not limited to, correspondence, memorandums, notes, reports, audio and video recordings, motion picture films and photographs) which are received by public officials and employees, or created and maintained by them at public expense, are considered records if they serve to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the public office.

Materials classified as public records are available for public inspection.

No cause of action exists for one’s inability to decipher a public record since the public records law requires that documents be copied or made available for inspection….A governmental unit is not required to create a new document to explain or facilitate review of public records already produced.

Appraisal cards which are kept by the office of the county auditor and which contain information used in the valuation and assessment of real property for the purposes of taxation are subject to public inspection.

This cover letter, written by the County Auditor as part of the annual Comprehensive Annual Financial Report clearly outlines both the role of the auditor in a rapidly growing county such as Delaware and the use of Geographic Information Systems.

The Role of the County Recorder

The County Recorder keeps records relating to real estate transactions, e.g. deeds, mortgages, liens, etc.  The county recorder must make the public records of that office available for inspection at all reasonable times during regular business hours and must make copies of such records available within a reasonable period of time.

The Role of the County Treasurer

The Treasurer collects all the money collected by the other departments in county government.

What about Privacy and Public Records?

Consider these aspects of employment by government entities:

• Releasing information about a county employee’s name, job classification, rate of salary, and gross salary does not violate the employee's right to privacy.

• A public employee's name, designation, earnings, withholding taxes, vacation and sick leave record, purchase of retirement service credits, medical or hospitalization insurance deductions, and garnishments and court ordered support payments are public records.
   
• The recorded name, address, and telephone number of each employee of a public school district is a public record open to inspection by any person.  The motive of the person is irrelevant.
   
• Police officers home addresses and phone numbers will be disclosed in the absence of evidence that the release of information would endanger those police officers.

Ohio House Bill 500 was recently introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives.  Review the text of the bill.

The Clintonville ThisWeek published an article recently about HB 500.  Read this article.

Is there a Right to Privacy?

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Links
• RightoPrivacy.com
• American Civil Liberties Union Background Information
• ACLU Privacy Links
• FindLaw Privacy Links

In light of 9/11, Americans rapidly reassessed their position on privacy.  As a result the Patriot Act was passed October 25, 2001 with seemingly far reaching implications for privacy.  View the additional resources on the bottom of this American Library Association page for discussions of the impact of the Patriot Act on our society.