Require electronic recordings of all parole board hearings

hb31_05_EN

(136th General Assembly)

(Substitute
House Bill Number 31)

AN
ACT

To amend sections 149.43,
2929.20, 5120.115, 5120.21, 5149.10, and 5149.101 and to enact
section 5149.102 of the Revised Code to require electronic recordings
to be made of certain parole board hearings, to make electronic
recordings of full parole board hearings public records, and to
provide the prosecuting attorney access to Department of
Rehabilitation and Correction health care records for certain parole
and judicial release cases.

Be
it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:

Section
1.
That
sections 149.43,
2929.20,
5120.115, 5120.21,

5149.10
,
and 5149.101

be amended and section 5149.102 of the Revised Code be enacted to
read as follows:

Sec.
149.43.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Public record" means records kept by any public office,
including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village,
township, and school district units, and records pertaining to the
delivery of educational services by an alternative school in this
state kept by the nonprofit or for-profit entity operating the
alternative school pursuant to section 3313.533 of the Revised Code.
"Public record" does not mean any of the following:

(a)
Medical records;

(b)
Records pertaining to
probation

the
following:

(i)
Probation
and
parole proceedings,
to
proceedings
including
parole board hearings made as provided in sections 5149.10 and
5149.102 of the Revised Code, revocation hearings under section
2967.15 of the Revised Code, and post-release control violation
hearings under section 2967.28 of the Revised Code, except for the
electronic recording of full parole board hearings under section
5149.101 of the Revised Code made as provided in section 5149.10 of
the Revised Code;

(ii)
Proceedings
related
to the imposition of community control sanctions and post-release
control sanctions,

or to proceedings

including
the electronic recording of post-release control hearings under
section 2967.28 of the Revised Code made as provided in sections
5149.10 and 5149.102 of the Revised Code;

(iii)
Proceedings
related
to determinations under section 2967.271 of the Revised Code
regarding the release or maintained incarceration of an offender to
whom that section applies;

(iv)
All written and oral statements provided by a victim or victim's
representative to the department of rehabilitation and correction in
connection with the pendency of any pardon, commutation, or parole,
and any personally identifying information or information likely to
identify a victim or member of the victim's family contained in an
electronic recording of a full parole board hearing.

(c)
Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 and division (C)
of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to appeals of actions
arising under those sections;

(d)
Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including the contents of
an adoption file maintained by the department of health under
sections 3705.12 to 3705.124 of the Revised Code;

(e)
Information in a record contained in the putative father registry
established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code, regardless of
whether the information is held by the department of children and
youth or, pursuant to section 3111.69 of the Revised Code, the office
of child support in the department of job and family services or a
child support enforcement agency;

(f)
Records specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of the Revised
Code;

(g)
Trial preparation records, prior to the conclusion of all direct
appeals or, if no appeal is filed, prior to the expiration of the
time during which an appeal may be filed, or, if no trial has
occurred, until the civil or criminal action or proceeding has ended
without the possibility of direct appeal or each agency, office, or
official responsible for the matter has made a decision not to
proceed with the matter;

(h)
Confidential law enforcement investigatory records;

(i)
Records containing information that is confidential under section
2710.03 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code;

(j)
DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to section 109.573 of
the Revised Code;

(k)
Inmate records under section 5120.21 of the Revised Code, except for
permitted disclosure of the information listed in division (E)(1) of
that section;

(l)
Records maintained by the department of youth services pertaining to
children in its custody released by the department of youth services
to the department of rehabilitation and correction pursuant to
section 5139.05 of the Revised Code;

(m)
Intellectual property records;

(n)
Donor profile records;

(o)
Records maintained by the department of job and family services
pursuant to section 3121.894 of the Revised Code;

(p)
Designated public service worker residential and familial
information;

(q)
In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to Chapter 339. of
the Revised Code or a municipal hospital operated pursuant to Chapter
749. of the Revised Code, information that constitutes a trade
secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the Revised Code;

(r)
Information pertaining to the recreational activities of a person
under the age of eighteen;

(s)
In the case of a child fatality review board acting under sections
307.621 to 307.629 of the Revised Code or a review conducted pursuant
to guidelines established by the director of health under section
3701.70 of the Revised Code, records provided to the board or
director, statements made by board members during meetings of the
board or by persons participating in the director's review, and all
work products of the board or director, and in the case of a child
fatality review board, child fatality review data submitted by the
board to the department of health or a national child death review
database, other than the report prepared pursuant to division (A) of
section 307.626 of the Revised Code;

(t)
Records provided to and statements made by the executive director of
a public children services agency or a prosecuting attorney acting
pursuant to section 5153.171 of the Revised Code other than the
information released under that section;

(u)
Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in an
examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator that the
board of executives of long-term services and supports administers
under section 4751.15 of the Revised Code or contracts under that
section with a private or government entity to administer;

(v)
Records the release of which is prohibited by state or federal law;

(w)
Proprietary information of or relating to any person that is
submitted to or compiled by the Ohio venture capital authority
created under section 150.01 of the Revised Code;

(x)
Financial statements and data any person submits for any purpose to
the Ohio housing finance agency or the controlling board in
connection with applying for, receiving, or accounting for financial
assistance from the agency, and information that identifies any
individual who benefits directly or indirectly from financial
assistance from the agency;

(y)
Records listed in section 5101.29 of the Revised Code;

(z)
Discharges recorded with a county recorder under section 317.24 of
the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)(2) of that section;

(aa)
Usage information including names and addresses of specific
residential and commercial customers of a municipally owned or
operated public utility;

(bb)
Records described in division (C) of section 187.04 of the Revised
Code that are not designated to be made available to the public as
provided in that division;

(cc)
Information and records that are made confidential, privileged, and
not subject to disclosure under divisions (B) and (C) of section
2949.221 of the Revised Code;

(dd)
Personal information, as defined in section 149.45 of the Revised
Code;

(ee)
The confidential name, address, and other personally identifiable
information of a program participant in the address confidentiality
program established under sections 111.41 to 111.47 of the Revised
Code, including the contents of any application for absent voter's
ballots, absent voter's ballot identification envelope statement of
voter, or provisional ballot affirmation completed by a program
participant who has a confidential voter registration record; records
or portions of records pertaining to that program that identify the
number of program participants that reside within a precinct, ward,
township, municipal corporation, county, or any other geographic area
smaller than the state; and any real property confidentiality notice
filed under section 111.431 of the Revised Code and the information
described in division (C) of that section. As used in this division,
"confidential address" and "program participant"
have the meaning defined in section 111.41 of the Revised Code.

(ff)
Orders for active military service of an individual serving or with
previous service in the armed forces of the United States, including
a reserve component, or the Ohio organized militia, except that, such
order becomes a public record on the day that is fifteen years after
the published date or effective date of the call to order;

(gg)
The name, address, contact information, or other personal information
of an individual who is less than eighteen years of age that is
included in any record related to a traffic accident involving a
school vehicle in which the individual was an occupant at the time of
the accident;

(hh)
Protected health information, as defined in 45 C.F.R. 160.103, that
is in a claim for payment for a health care product, service, or
procedure, as well as any other health claims data in another
document that reveals the identity of an individual who is the
subject of the data or could be used to reveal that individual's
identity;

(ii)
Any depiction by photograph, film, videotape, or printed or digital
image under either of the following circumstances:

(i)
The depiction is that of a victim of an offense the release of which
would be, to a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities, an
offensive and objectionable intrusion into the victim's expectation
of bodily privacy and integrity.

(ii)
The depiction captures or depicts the victim of a sexually oriented
offense, as defined in section 2950.01 of the Revised Code, at the
actual occurrence of that offense.

(jj)
Restricted portions of a body-worn camera or dashboard camera
recording;

(kk)
In the case of a fetal-infant mortality review board acting under
sections 3707.70 to 3707.77 of the Revised Code, records, documents,
reports, or other information presented to the board or a person
abstracting such materials on the board's behalf, statements made by
review board members during board meetings, all work products of the
board, and data submitted by the board to the department of health or
a national infant death review database, other than the report
prepared pursuant to section 3707.77 of the Revised Code.

(ll)
Records, documents, reports, or other information presented to the
pregnancy-associated mortality review board established under section
5180.27 of the Revised Code, statements made by board members during
board meetings, all work products of the board, and data submitted by
the board to the department of health, other than the biennial
reports prepared under section 5180.277 of the Revised Code;

(mm)
Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(1)(oo) of this section,
telephone numbers for a victim, as defined in section 2930.01 of the
Revised Code or a witness to a crime that are listed on any law
enforcement record or report.

(nn)
A preneed funeral contract, as defined in section 4717.01 of the
Revised Code, and contract terms and personally identifying
information of a preneed funeral contract, that is contained in a
report submitted by or for a funeral home to the board of embalmers
and funeral directors under division (C) of section 4717.13, division
(J) of section 4717.31, or section 4717.41 of the Revised Code.

(oo)
Telephone numbers for a party to a motor vehicle accident subject to
the requirements of section 5502.11 of the Revised Code that are
listed on any law enforcement record or report, except that the
telephone numbers described in this division are not excluded from
the definition of "public record" under this division on
and after the thirtieth day after the occurrence of the motor vehicle
accident.

(pp)
Records pertaining to individuals who complete training under section
5502.703 of the Revised Code to be permitted by a school district
board of education or governing body of a community school
established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, a STEM school
established under Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code, or a chartered
nonpublic school to convey deadly weapons or dangerous ordnance into
a school safety zone;

(qq)
Records, documents, reports, or other information presented to a
domestic violence fatality review board established under section
307.651 of the Revised Code, statements made by board members during
board meetings, all work products of the board, and data submitted by
the board to the department of health, other than a report prepared
pursuant to section 307.656 of the Revised Code;

(rr)
Records, documents, and information the release of which is
prohibited under sections 2930.04 and 2930.07 of the Revised Code;

(ss)
Records of an existing qualified nonprofit corporation that creates a
special improvement district under Chapter 1710. of the Revised Code
that do not pertain to a purpose for which the district is created;

(tt)
Educational support services data, as defined in section 3319.325 of
the Revised Code;

(uu)
Records of the past, current, and future work schedule of a
designated public service worker. As used in division (A)(1)(uu) of
this section, "work schedule" does not include the docket
of cases of a court, judge, or magistrate;

(vv)
A request form or confirmation letter submitted to a public office
under section 149.45 of the Revised Code;

(ww)
An affidavit or confirmation letter submitted under section 319.28 of
the Revised Code;

(xx)
License or certificate application or renewal responses and
supporting documentation submitted to the state medical board
regarding an applicant's, or a license or certificate holder's,
inability to practice according to acceptable and prevailing
standards of care by reason of a medical condition;

(yy)
Images and data captured by an automated license plate recognition
system that are maintained in a law enforcement database;

(zz)
Attorney work product record;

(aaa)
Any entry on the public calendar of an elected official that is for
any date that is after the date the record is requested;

(bbb)
Records pertaining to burial sites under section 149.3010 of the
Revised Code.

A
record that is not a public record under division (A)(1) of this
section and that, under law, is permanently retained becomes a public
record on the day that is seventy-five years after the day on which
the record was created, or in the case of a record that is not a
public record under division (A)(1)(uu) of this section that is
retained, three years after the day on which the record was created,
except for any record protected by the attorney-client privilege, a
trial preparation record as defined in this section, a statement
prohibiting the release of identifying information signed under
section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, a denial of release form filed
pursuant to section 3107.46 of the Revised Code, records pertaining
to burial sites under section 149.3010 of the Revised Code, or any
record that is exempt from release or disclosure under section
149.433 of the Revised Code. If the record is a birth certificate and
a biological parent's name redaction request form has been accepted
under section 3107.391 of the Revised Code, the name of that parent
shall be redacted from the birth certificate before it is released
under this paragraph. If any other section of the Revised Code
establishes a time period for disclosure of a record that conflicts
with the time period specified in this section, the time period in
the other section prevails.

(2)(a)
"Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" means
any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a criminal,
quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but only to the
extent that the release of the record would create a high probability
of disclosure of any of the following:

(i)
The identity of a suspect who has not been charged with the offense
to which the record pertains, or of an information source or witness
to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised;

(ii)
Information provided by an information source or witness to whom
confidentiality has been reasonably promised, which information would
reasonably tend to disclose the source's or witness's identity;

(iii)
Specific confidential investigatory techniques or procedures or
specific investigatory work product;

(iv)
Information that would endanger the life or physical safety of law
enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, or a confidential
information source.

(b)
As used in divisions (A)(2) and (18) of this section, "specific
investigatory work product" means information assembled by law
enforcement officials in connection with a probable or pending
criminal or civil proceeding, with the exception of routine incident
reports. "Specific investigatory work product" is not a
public record prior to the conclusion of all direct appeals, or, if
no appeal is filed, prior to the expiration of the time during which
an appeal may be filed, or, if no trial has occurred, until the
criminal or civil proceeding has ended without possibility of direct
appeal or each agency, office, or official responsible for the matter
has made a decision not to proceed with the matter.

(3)
"Medical record" means any document or combination of
documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or
discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history,
diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that is
generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment.

(4)
"Trial preparation record" means any record created by or
for another party or by or for that party's representative, in
reasonable anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal
action or proceeding, that is not a confidential law enforcement
investigatory record or attorney work product record and that
contains factual information that is specifically compiled for that
civil or criminal action or proceeding.

(5)
"Intellectual property record" means a record, other than a
financial or administrative record, that is produced or collected by
or for faculty or staff of a state institution of higher learning in
the conduct of or as a result of study or research on an educational,
commercial, scientific, artistic, technical, or scholarly issue,
regardless of whether the study or research was sponsored by the
institution alone or in conjunction with a governmental body or
private concern, and that has not been publicly released, published,
or patented.

(6)
"Donor profile record" means all records about donors or
potential donors to a public institution of higher education except
the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and the date,
amount, and conditions of the actual donation.

(7)
"Designated public service worker" means a peace officer,
parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney,
assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, county or
multicounty corrections officer, community-based correctional
facility employee, designated Ohio national guard member, protective
services worker, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, medical
director or member of a cooperating physician advisory board of an
emergency medical service organization, state board of pharmacy
employee, investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and
investigation, emergency service telecommunicator, forensic mental
health provider, mental health evaluation provider, regional
psychiatric hospital employee, judge, magistrate, or federal law
enforcement officer.

(8)
"Designated public service worker residential and familial
information" means any information that discloses any of the
following about a designated public service worker:

(a)
The address of the actual personal residence of a designated public
service worker, except for the following information:

(i)
The address of the actual personal residence of a prosecuting
attorney or judge; and

(ii)
The state or political subdivision in which a designated public
service worker resides.

(b)
Information compiled from referral to or participation in an employee
assistance program;

(c)
The social security number, the residential telephone number, any
bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card number, or the
emergency telephone number of, or any medical information pertaining
to, a designated public service worker;

(d)
The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, including, but
not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided to a designated
public service worker by the designated public service worker's
employer;

(e)
The identity and amount of any charitable or employment benefit
deduction made by the designated public service worker's employer
from the designated public service worker's compensation, unless the
amount of the deduction is required by state or federal law;

(f)
The name, the residential address, the name of the employer, the
address of the employer, the social security number, the residential
telephone number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or
credit card number, or the emergency telephone number of the spouse,
a former spouse, or any child of a designated public service worker;

(g)
A photograph of a peace officer who holds a position or has an
assignment that may include undercover or plain clothes positions or
assignments as determined by the peace officer's appointing
authority.

(9)
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (15) to (17) of this section:

"Peace
officer" has the meaning defined in section 109.71 of the
Revised Code and also includes the superintendent and troopers of the
state highway patrol; it does not include the sheriff of a county or
a supervisory employee who, in the absence of the sheriff, is
authorized to stand in for, exercise the authority of, and perform
the duties of the sheriff.

"Correctional
employee" means any employee of the department of rehabilitation
and correction who in the course of performing the employee's job
duties has or has had contact with inmates and persons under
supervision.

"County
or multicounty corrections officer" means any corrections
officer employed by any county or multicounty correctional facility.

"Designated
Ohio national guard member" means a member of the Ohio national
guard who is participating in duties related to remotely piloted
aircraft, including, but not limited to, pilots, sensor operators,
and mission intelligence personnel, duties related to special forces
operations, or duties related to cybersecurity, and is designated by
the adjutant general as a designated public service worker for those
purposes.

"Protective
services worker" means any employee of a county agency who is
responsible for child protective services, child support services, or
adult protective services.

"Youth
services employee" means any employee of the department of youth
services who in the course of performing the employee's job duties
has or has had contact with children committed to the custody of the
department of youth services.

"Firefighter"
means any regular, paid or volunteer, member of a lawfully
constituted fire department of a municipal corporation, township,
fire district, or village.

"EMT"
means EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, and paramedics that provide emergency
medical services for a public emergency medical service organization.
"Emergency medical service organization," "EMT-basic,"
"EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the meanings
defined in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.

"Investigator
of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation" has
the meaning defined in section 2903.11 of the Revised Code.

"Emergency
service telecommunicator" means an individual employed by an
emergency service provider as defined under section 128.01 of the
Revised Code, whose primary responsibility is to be an operator for
the receipt or processing of calls for emergency services made by
telephone, radio, or other electronic means.

"Forensic
mental health provider" means any employee of a community mental
health service provider or local alcohol, drug addiction, and mental
health services board who, in the course of the employee's duties,
has contact with persons committed to a local alcohol, drug
addiction, and mental health services board by a court order pursuant
to section 2945.38, 2945.39, 2945.40, or 2945.402 of the Revised
Code.

"Mental
health evaluation provider" means an individual who, under
Chapter 5122. of the Revised Code, examines a respondent who is
alleged to be a mentally ill person subject to court order, as
defined in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code, and reports to the
probate court the respondent's mental condition.

"Regional
psychiatric hospital employee" means any employee of the
department of
mental
health and addiction services
behavioral
health
who,
in the course of performing the employee's duties, has contact with
patients committed to the department of
mental
health and addiction services
behavioral
health
by
a court order pursuant to section 2945.38, 2945.39, 2945.40, or
2945.402 of the Revised Code.

"Federal
law enforcement officer" has the meaning defined in section 9.88
of the Revised Code.

(10)
"Information pertaining to the recreational activities of a
person under the age of eighteen" means information that is kept
in the ordinary course of business by a public office, that pertains
to the recreational activities of a person under the age of eighteen
years, and that discloses any of the following:

(a)
The address or telephone number of a person under the age of eighteen
or the address or telephone number of that person's parent, guardian,
custodian, or emergency contact person;

(b)
The social security number, birth date, or photographic image of a
person under the age of eighteen;

(c)
Any medical record, history, or information pertaining to a person
under the age of eighteen;

(d)
Any additional information sought or required about a person under
the age of eighteen for the purpose of allowing that person to
participate in any recreational activity conducted or sponsored by a
public office or to use or obtain admission privileges to any
recreational facility owned or operated by a public office.

(11)
"Community control sanction" has the meaning defined in
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.

(12)
"Post-release control sanction" has the meaning defined in
section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.

(13)
"Redaction" means obscuring or deleting any information
that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or copying
from an item that otherwise meets the definition of a "record"
in section 149.011 of the Revised Code.

(14)
"Designee," "elected official," and "future
official" have the meanings defined in section 109.43 of the
Revised Code.

(15)
"Body-worn camera" means a visual and audio recording
device worn on the person of a correctional employee, youth services
employee, or peace officer while the correctional employee, youth
services employee, or peace officer is engaged in the performance of
official duties.

(16)
"Dashboard camera" means a visual and audio recording
device mounted on a peace officer's vehicle or vessel that is used
while the peace officer is engaged in the performance of the peace
officer's duties.

(17)
"Restricted portions of a body-worn camera or dashboard camera
recording" means any visual or audio portion of a body-worn
camera or dashboard camera recording that shows, communicates, or
discloses any of the following:

(a)
The image or identity of a child or information that could lead to
the identification of a child who is a primary subject of the
recording when the department of rehabilitation and correction,
department of youth services, or the law enforcement agency knows or
has reason to know the person is a child based on the department's or
law enforcement agency's records or the content of the recording;

(b)
The death of a person or a deceased person's body, unless the death
was caused by a correctional employee, youth services employee, or
peace officer or, subject to division (H)(1) of this section, the
consent of the decedent's executor or administrator has been
obtained;

(c)
The death of a correctional employee, youth services employee, peace
officer, firefighter, paramedic, or other first responder, occurring
while the decedent was engaged in the performance of official duties,
unless, subject to division (H)(1) of this section, the consent of
the decedent's executor or administrator has been obtained;

(d)
Grievous bodily harm, unless the injury was effected by a
correctional employee, youth services employee, or peace officer or,
subject to division (H)(1) of this section, the consent of the
injured person or the injured person's guardian has been obtained;

(e)
An act of severe violence against a person that results in serious
physical harm to the person, unless the act and injury was effected
by a correctional employee, youth services employee, or peace officer
or, subject to division (H)(1) of this section, the consent of the
injured person or the injured person's guardian has been obtained;

(f)
Grievous bodily harm to a correctional employee, youth services
employee, peace officer, firefighter, paramedic, or other first
responder, occurring while the injured person was engaged in the
performance of official duties, unless, subject to division (H)(1) of
this section, the consent of the injured person or the injured
person's guardian has been obtained;

(g)
An act of severe violence resulting in serious physical harm against
a correctional employee, youth services employee, peace officer,
firefighter, paramedic, or other first responder, occurring while the
injured person was engaged in the performance of official duties,
unless, subject to division (H)(1) of this section, the consent of
the injured person or the injured person's guardian has been
obtained;

(h)
A person's nude body, unless, subject to division (H)(1) of this
section, the person's consent has been obtained;

(i)
Protected health information, the identity of a person in a health
care facility who is not the subject of a correctional, youth
services, or law enforcement encounter, or any other information in a
health care facility that could identify a person who is not the
subject of a correctional, youth services, or law enforcement
encounter;

(j)
Information that could identify the alleged victim of a sex offense,
menacing by stalking, or domestic violence;

(k)
Information, that does not constitute a confidential law enforcement
investigatory record, that could identify a person who provides
sensitive or confidential information to the department of
rehabilitation and correction, the department of youth services, or a
law enforcement agency when the disclosure of the person's identity
or the information provided could reasonably be expected to threaten
or endanger the safety or property of the person or another person;

(l)
Personal information of a person who is not arrested, cited, charged,
or issued a written warning by a peace officer;

(m)
Proprietary correctional, youth services, or police contingency plans
or tactics that are intended to prevent crime and maintain public
order and safety;

(n)
A personal conversation unrelated to work between correctional
employees, youth services employees, or peace officers or between a
correctional employee, youth services employee, or peace officer and
an employee of a law enforcement agency;

(o)
A conversation between a correctional employee, youth services
employee, or peace officer and a member of the public that does not
concern correctional, youth services, or law enforcement activities;

(p)
The interior of a residence, unless the interior of a residence is
the location of an adversarial encounter with, or a use of force by,
a correctional employee, youth services employee, or peace officer;

(q)
Any portion of the interior of a private business that is not open to
the public, unless an adversarial encounter with, or a use of force
by, a correctional employee, youth services employee, or peace
officer occurs in that location.

As
used in division (A)(17) of this section:

"Grievous
bodily harm" has the same meaning as in section 5924.120 of the
Revised Code.

"Health
care facility" has the same meaning as in section 1337.11 of the
Revised Code.

"Protected
health information" has the same meaning as in 45 C.F.R.
160.103.

"Law
enforcement agency" means a government entity that employs peace
officers to perform law enforcement duties.

"Personal
information" means any government-issued identification number,
date of birth, address, financial information, or criminal justice
information from the law enforcement automated data system or similar
databases.

"Sex
offense" has the same meaning as in section 2907.10 of the
Revised Code.

"Firefighter,"
"paramedic," and "first responder" have the same
meanings as in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.

(18)
"Attorney work product record" means a record that is not
specific investigatory work product or a trial preparation record and
that is created by an attorney, or by the agent of an attorney, in
reasonable anticipation of or for litigation, trial, or
administrative proceedings, when acting in an official capacity on
behalf of the state, a political subdivision of the state, a state
agency, a public official, or a public employee, that documents the
independent thought processes, mental impressions, legal theories,
strategies, analysis, or reasoning of an attorney or the agent of an
attorney.

(19)
"Elected official" means a person who is elected or
appointed to an elective office of the state or a political
subdivision.

(20)
"Public calendar" means a calendar or appointment book
maintained by an elected official to schedule the elected official's
activities in relation to the elected official's position as an
elected official. "Public calendar" does not include a
personal calendar or appointment book maintained solely for an
elected official's personal convenience that does not serve to
document the elected official's official activities or functions or
the official activities or functions of the elected official's public
office.

(21)
"Member of the victim's family" has the same meaning as in
section 2930.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1)
Upon request by any person and subject to division (B)(8) of this
section, all public records responsive to the request shall be
promptly prepared and made available for inspection to the requester
at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to
division (B)(8) of this section, upon request by any person, a public
office or person responsible for public records shall make copies of
the requested public record available to the requester at cost and
within a reasonable period of time.

When
considering whether a state or local law enforcement agency or a
prosecuting attorney's office promptly prepared a video record for
inspection or produced a copy of a video record within a reasonable
period of time, in addition to any other factors, a court shall
consider the time required for a state or local law enforcement
agency or a prosecuting attorney's office to retrieve, download,
review, redact, seek legal advice regarding, and produce the video
record. Except as specified in division (B)(11) of this section,
notwithstanding any other requirement set forth in Chapter 149. of
the Revised Code, a state or local law enforcement agency or a
prosecuting attorney's office may charge a requester the actual cost
associated with preparing a video record for inspection or
production, not to exceed seventy-five dollars per hour of video
produced, nor seven hundred fifty dollars total. As used in this
division, "actual cost," with respect to video records
only, means all costs incurred by the state or local law enforcement
agency or a prosecuting attorney's office in reviewing, blurring or
otherwise obscuring, redacting, uploading, or producing the video
records, including but not limited to the storage medium on which the
record is produced, staff time, and any other relevant overhead
necessary to comply with the request. A state or local law
enforcement agency or a prosecuting attorney's office may include in
its public records policy the requirement that a requester pay the
estimated actual cost before beginning the process of preparing a
video record for inspection or production. Where a state or local law
enforcement agency or a prosecuting attorney's office imposes such a
requirement, its obligation to produce a video or make it available
for inspection begins once the estimated actual cost is paid in full
by the requester. A state or local law enforcement agency or a
prosecuting attorney's office shall provide the requester with the
estimated actual cost within five business days of receipt of the
public records request. If the actual cost exceeds the estimated
actual cost, a state or local law enforcement agency or a prosecuting
attorney's office may charge a requester for the difference upon
fulfilling a request for video records if the requester is notified
in advance that the actual cost may be up to twenty per cent higher
than the estimated actual cost. A state or local law enforcement
agency or a prosecuting attorney's office shall not charge a
requester a difference that exceeds twenty per cent of the estimated
actual cost.

If
a public record contains information that is exempt from the duty to
permit public inspection or to copy the public record, the public
office or the person responsible for the public record shall make
available all of the information within the public record that is not
exempt. When making that public record available for public
inspection or copying that public record, the public office or the
person responsible for the public record shall notify the requester
of any redaction or make the redaction plainly visible. A redaction
shall be deemed a denial of a request to inspect or copy the redacted
information, except if federal or state law authorizes or requires a
public office to make the redaction. When the auditor of state
receives a request to inspect or to make a copy of a record that was
provided to the auditor of state for purposes of an audit, but the
original public office has asserted to the auditor of state that the
record is not a public record, the auditor of state may handle the
requests by directing the requestor to the original public office
that provided the record to the auditor of state.

(2)
To facilitate broader access to public records, a public office or
the person responsible for public records shall organize and maintain
public records in a manner that they can be made available for
inspection or copying in accordance with division (B) of this
section. A public office also shall have available a copy of its
current records retention schedule at a location readily available to
the public. If a requester makes an ambiguous or overly broad request
or has difficulty in making a request for copies or inspection of
public records under this section such that the public office or the
person responsible for the requested public record cannot reasonably
identify what public records are being requested, the public office
or the person responsible for the requested public record may deny
the request but shall provide the requester with an opportunity to
revise the request by informing the requester of the manner in which
records are maintained by the public office and accessed in the
ordinary course of the public office's or person's duties.

(3)
If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in whole, the public
office or the person responsible for the requested public record
shall provide the requester with an explanation, including legal
authority, setting forth why the request was denied. If the initial
request was provided in writing, the explanation also shall be
provided to the requester in writing. The explanation shall not
preclude the public office or the person responsible for the
requested public record from relying upon additional reasons or legal
authority in defending an action commenced under division (C) of this
section.

(4)
Unless specifically required or authorized by state or federal law or
in accordance with division (B) of this section, no public office or
person responsible for public records may limit or condition the
availability of public records by requiring disclosure of the
requester's identity or the intended use of the requested public
record. Any requirement that the requester disclose the requester's
identity or the intended use of the requested public record
constitutes a denial of the request.

(5)
A public office or person responsible for public records may ask a
requester to make the request in writing, may ask for the requester's
identity, and may inquire about the intended use of the information
requested, but may do so only after disclosing to the requester that
a written request is not mandatory, that the requester may decline to
reveal the requester's identity or the intended use, and when a
written request or disclosure of the identity or intended use would
benefit the requester by enhancing the ability of the public office
or person responsible for public records to identify, locate, or
deliver the public records sought by the requester.

(6)
If any person requests a copy of a public record in accordance with
division (B) of this section, the public office or person responsible
for the public record may require the requester to pay in advance the
cost involved in providing the copy of the public record in
accordance with the choice made by the requester under this division.
The public office or the person responsible for the public record
shall permit the requester to choose to have the public record
duplicated upon paper, upon the same medium upon which the public
office or person responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon
any other medium upon which the public office or person responsible
for the public record determines that it reasonably can be duplicated
as an integral part of the normal operations of the public office or
person responsible for the public record. When the requester makes a
choice under this division, the public office or person responsible
for the public record shall provide a copy of it in accordance with
the choice made by the requester. Nothing in this section requires a
public office or person responsible for the public record to allow
the requester of a copy of the public record to make the copies of
the public record.

(7)(a)
Upon a request made in accordance with division (B) of this section
and subject to division (B)(6) of this section, a public office or
person responsible for public records shall transmit a copy of a
public record to any person by United States mail or by any other
means of delivery or transmission 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 if the copy is
transmitted by United States mail or the cost of delivery if the copy
is transmitted other than by United States mail, and to pay in
advance the costs incurred for other supplies used in the mailing,
delivery, or transmission.

(b)
Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it will
follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time after
receiving a request, copies of public records by United States mail
or by any other means of delivery or transmission pursuant to
division (B)(7) of this section. A public office that adopts a policy
and procedures under division (B)(7) of this section shall comply
with them in performing its duties under that division.

(c)
In any policy and procedures adopted under division (B)(7) of this
section:

(i)
A public office may limit the number of records requested by a person
that the office will physically deliver by United States mail or by
another delivery service to ten per month, unless the person
certifies to the office in writing that the person does not intend to
use or forward the requested records, or the information contained in
them, for commercial purposes;

(ii)
A public office that chooses to provide some or all of its public
records on a web site that is fully accessible to and searchable by
members of the public at all times, other than during acts of God
outside the public office's control or maintenance, and that charges
no fee to search, access, download, or otherwise receive records
provided on the web site, may limit to ten per month the number of
records requested by a person that the office will deliver in a
digital format, unless the requested records are not provided on the
web site and unless the person certifies to the office in writing
that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested
records, or the information contained in them, for commercial
purposes.

(iii)
For purposes of division (B)(7) of this section, "commercial"
shall be narrowly construed and does not include reporting or
gathering news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen
oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of
government, or nonprofit educational research.

(8)
A public office or person responsible for public records is not
required to permit a person who is incarcerated pursuant to a
criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to inspect or to
obtain a copy of any public record concerning a criminal
investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be a criminal
investigation or prosecution if the subject of the investigation or
prosecution were an adult, unless the request to inspect or to obtain
a copy of the record is for the purpose of acquiring information that
is subject to release as a public record under this section and the
judge who imposed the sentence or made the adjudication with respect
to the person, or the judge's successor in office, finds that the
information sought in the public record is necessary to support what
appears to be a justiciable claim of the person. As used in this
division, "public record concerning a criminal investigation or
prosecution or concerning what would be a criminal investigation or
prosecution if the subject of the investigation were an adult"
includes, but is not limited to, personnel files and payroll and
attendance records of designated public service workers.

(9)(a)
Upon written request made and signed by a journalist, a public
office, or person responsible for public records, having custody of
the records of the agency employing a specified designated public
service worker shall disclose to the journalist the address of the
actual personal residence of the designated public service worker
and, if the designated public service worker's spouse, former spouse,
or child is employed by a public office, the name and address of the
employer of the designated public service worker's spouse, former
spouse, or child, and any past, current, and future work schedules of
the designated public service worker. The request shall include the
journalist's name and title and the name and address of the
journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of the
information sought would be in the public interest.

(b)
Division (B)(9)(a) of this section also applies to journalist
requests for:

(i)
Customer information maintained by a municipally owned or operated
public utility, other than social security numbers and any private
financial information such as credit reports, payment methods, credit
card numbers, and bank account information;

(ii)
Information about minors involved in a school vehicle accident as
provided in division (A)(1)(gg) of this section, other than personal
information as defined in section 149.45 of the Revised Code;

(iii)
A request form submitted to a public office under section 149.45 of
the Revised Code;

(iv)
An affidavit submitted under section 319.28 of the Revised Code.

(c)
As used in division (B)(9) of this section, "journalist"
means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news
medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news
agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a similar
medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, transmitting,
compiling, editing, or disseminating information for the general
public.

(10)
Upon a request made by a victim, victim's attorney, or victim's
representative, as that term is used in section 2930.02 of the
Revised Code, a public office or person responsible for public
records shall transmit a copy of a depiction of the victim as
described in division (A)(1)(ii) of this section to the victim,
victim's attorney, or victim's representative.

(11)
A state or local law enforcement agency or a prosecuting attorney's
office shall not charge a fee for preparing a video record for
inspection, or producing a copy of a video record, when the requester
of the video record is a victim, as defined in Ohio Constitution,
Article I, Section 10a, or who is a victim who suffered loss and
could seek remedy through a tort action as defined by section
2307.011 of the Revised Code, who reasonably asserts that the video
recording relates to the act or omission that caused the victim's
harm or loss, or who is the legal counsel or insurer of the victim. A
fee under this section may only be waived upon the receipt of an
affidavit by the victim or the victim's legal counsel identifying
that the use of the video is to investigate harm or damages that may
have been captured on the video.

As
used in this division, "legal counsel of the victim" means
an attorney who, at the time of making the request, produces to the
state or local law enforcement agency or a prosecuting attorney's
office a signed retention agreement or letter of representation that
establishes that the attorney is representing the victim.

(C)(1)
If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a public office
or the person responsible for public records to promptly prepare a
public record and to make it available to the person for inspection
in accordance with division (B) of this section or by any other
failure of a public office or the person responsible for public
records to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B)
of this section, the person allegedly aggrieved may serve pursuant to
Rule 4 of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure a complaint, on a form
prescribed by the clerk of the court of claims, to the public office
or person responsible for public records allegedly responsible for
the alleged failure. Upon receipt of the complaint of the person
allegedly aggrieved, the public office or person responsible for
public records has three business days to cure or otherwise address
the failure alleged in the complaint. The person allegedly aggrieved
shall not file a complaint with a court or commence a mandamus action
under this section within the three-day period. Upon the expiration
of the three-day period, the person allegedly aggrieved may, subject
to the requirements of division (C)(2) of this section, do only one
of the following, and not both:

(a)
File a complaint with the clerk of the court of claims or the clerk
of the court of common pleas under section 2743.75 of the Revised
Code;

(b)
Commence a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that orders the
public office or the person responsible for the public record to
comply with division (B) of this section, that awards court costs and
reasonable attorney's fees to the person that instituted the mandamus
action, and, if applicable, that includes an order fixing statutory
damages under division (C)(3) of this section. The mandamus action
may be commenced in the court of common pleas of the county in which
division (B) of this section allegedly was not complied with, in the
supreme court pursuant to its original jurisdiction under Section 2
of Article IV, Ohio Constitution, or in the court of appeals for the
appellate district in which division (B) of this section allegedly
was not complied with pursuant to its original jurisdiction under
Section 3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution.

(2)
Upon filing a complaint or mandamus action with a court under
divisions (C)(1)(a) or (b) of this section, a person allegedly
aggrieved shall file with the court, in conjunction with the person's
complaint or petition, a written affirmation stating that the person
properly transmitted a complaint to the public office or person
responsible for public records, the failure alleged in the complaint
has not been cured or otherwise resolved to the person's
satisfaction, and that the complaint was transmitted to the public
office or person responsible for public records at least three
business days before the filing of the suit. If the person fails to
file an affirmation pursuant to this division, the suit shall be
dismissed.

(3)
If a requester transmits a written request by hand delivery,
electronic submission, or certified mail to inspect or receive copies
of any public record in a manner that fairly describes the public
record or class of public records to the public office or person
responsible for the requested public records, except as otherwise
provided in this section, the requester shall be entitled to recover
the amount of statutory damages set forth in this division if a court
determines that the public office or the person responsible for
public records failed to comply with an obligation in accordance with
division (B) of this section. Statutory damages are not available
pursuant to this section to a person committed to the custody of the
department of rehabilitation and correction or the United States
bureau of prisons, or a child committed to the department of youth
services as permitted in Chapter 2152. of the Revised Code.

The
amount of statutory damages shall be fixed at one hundred dollars for
each business day during which the public office or person
responsible for the requested public records failed to comply with an
obligation in accordance with division (B) of this section, beginning
with the day on which the requester files a mandamus action to
recover statutory damages, up to a maximum of one thousand dollars.
The award of statutory damages shall not be construed as a penalty,
but as compensation for injury arising from lost use of the requested
information. The existence of this injury shall be conclusively
presumed. The award of statutory damages shall be in addition to all
other remedies authorized by this section.

The
court may reduce an award of statutory damages or not award statutory
damages if the court determines both of the following:

(a)
That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law and case law
as it existed at the time of the conduct or threatened conduct of the
public office or person responsible for the requested public records
that allegedly constitutes a failure to comply with an obligation in
accordance with division (B) of this section and that was the basis
of the mandamus action, a well-informed public office or person
responsible for the requested public records reasonably would believe
that the conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person
responsible for the requested public records did not constitute a
failure to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B)
of this section;

(b)
That a well-informed public office or person responsible for the
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct or
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for the
requested public records would serve the public policy that underlies
the authority that is asserted as permitting that conduct or
threatened conduct.

(4)
In a mandamus action filed under division (C)(1) of this section, the
following apply:

(a)(i)
If the court orders the public office or the person responsible for
the public record to comply with division (B) of this section, the
court shall determine and award to the relator all court costs, which
shall be construed as remedial and not punitive.

(ii)
If the court makes a determination described in division
(C)(4)(b)(iii) of this section, the court shall determine and award
to the relator all court costs, which shall be construed as remedial
and not punitive.

(b)
If the court renders a judgment that orders the public office or the
person responsible for the public record to comply with division (B)
of this section or if the court determines any of the following, the
court may award reasonable attorney's fees to the relator, subject to
division (C)(5) of this section:

(i)
The public office or the person responsible for the public records
failed to respond affirmatively or negatively to the public records
request in accordance with the time allowed under division (B) of
this section.

(ii)
The public office or the person responsible for the public records
promised to permit the relator to inspect or receive copies of the
public records requested within a specified period of time but failed
to fulfill that promise within that specified period of time.

(iii)
The public office or the person responsible for the public records
acted in bad faith when the office or person voluntarily made the
public records available to the relator for the first time after the
relator commenced the mandamus action, but before the court issued
any order concluding whether or not the public office or person was
required to comply with division (B) of this section. No discovery
may be conducted on the issue of the alleged bad faith of the public
office or person responsible for the public records. This division
shall not be construed as creating a presumption that the public
office or the person responsible for the public records acted in bad
faith when the office or person voluntarily made the public records
available to the relator for the first time after the relator
commenced the mandamus action, but before the court issued any order
described in this division.

(c)
The court shall not award attorney's fees to the relator if the court
determines both of the following:

(i)
That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law and case law
as it existed at the time of the conduct or threatened conduct of the
public office or person responsible for the requested public records
that allegedly constitutes a failure to comply with an obligation in
accordance with division (B) of this section and that was the basis
of the mandamus action, a well-informed public office or person
responsible for the requested public records reasonably would believe
that the conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person
responsible for the requested public records did not constitute a
failure to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B)
of this section;

(ii)
That a well-informed public office or person responsible for the
requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct or
threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for the
requested public records would serve the public policy that underlies
the authority that is asserted as permitting that conduct or
threatened conduct.

(5)
All of the following apply to any award of reasonable attorney's fees
awarded under division (C)(4)(b) of this section:

(a)
The fees shall be construed as remedial and not punitive.

(b)
The fees awarded shall not exceed the total of the reasonable
attorney's fees incurred before the public record was made available
to the relator and the fees described in division (C)(5)(c) of this
section.

(c)
Reasonable attorney's fees shall include reasonable fees incurred to
produce proof of the reasonableness and amount of the fees and to
otherwise litigate entitlement to the fees.

(d)
The court may reduce the amount of fees awarded if the court
determines that, given the factual circumstances involved with the
specific public records request, an alternative means should have
been pursued to more effectively and efficiently resolve the dispute
that was subject to the mandamus action filed under division (C)(1)
of this section.

(6)
If the court does not issue a writ of mandamus under division (C) of
this section and the court determines at that time that the bringing
of the mandamus action was frivolous conduct as defined in division
(A) of section 2323.51 of the Revised Code, the court may award to
the public office all court costs, expenses, and reasonable
attorney's fees, as determined by the court.

(D)
Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the provisions of
this section.

(E)(1)
To ensure that all employees of public offices are appropriately
educated about a public office's obligations under division (B) of
this section, all elected officials or their appropriate designees
shall attend training approved by the attorney general as provided in
section 109.43 of the Revised Code. A future official may satisfy the
requirements of this division by attending the training before taking
office, provided that the future official may not send a designee in
the future official's place.

(2)
All public offices shall adopt a public records policy in compliance
with this section for responding to public records requests. In
adopting a public records policy under this division, a public office
may obtain guidance from the model public records policy developed
and provided to the public office by the attorney general under
section 109.43 of the Revised Code. Except as otherwise provided in
this section, the policy may not limit the number of public records
that the public office will make available to a single person, may
not limit the number of public records that it will make available
during a fixed period of time, and may not establish a fixed period
of time before it will respond to a request for inspection or copying
of public records, unless that period is less than eight hours.

The
public office shall distribute the public records policy adopted by
the public office under this division to the employee of the public
office who is the records custodian or records manager or otherwise
has custody of the records of that office. The public office shall
require that employee to acknowledge receipt of the copy of the
public records policy. The public office shall create a poster that
describes its public records policy and shall post the poster in a
conspicuous place in the public office and in all locations where the
public office has branch offices. The public office may post its
public records policy on the internet web site of the public office
if the public office maintains an internet web site. A public office
that has established a manual or handbook of its general policies and
procedures for all employees of the public office shall include the
public records policy of the public office in the manual or handbook.

(F)(1)
The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119.
of the Revised Code to reasonably limit the number of bulk commercial
special extraction requests made by a person for the same records or
for updated records during a calendar year. The rules may include
provisions for charges to be made for bulk commercial special
extraction requests for the actual cost of the bureau, plus special
extraction costs, plus ten per cent. The bureau may charge for
expenses for redacting information, the release of which is
prohibited by law.

(2)
As used in division (F)(1) of this section:

(a)
"Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, records
storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative delivery costs,
or other transmitting costs, and any direct equipment operating and
maintenance costs, including actual costs paid to private contractors
for copying services.

(b)
"Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a
request for copies of a record for information in a format other than
the format already available, or information that cannot be extracted
without examination of all items in a records series, class of
records, or database by a person who intends to use or forward the
copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial
purposes. "Bulk commercial special extraction request" does
not include a request by a person who gives assurance to the bureau
that the person making the request does not intend to use or forward
the requested copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale
for commercial purposes.

(c)
"Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, or
selling of any good, service, or other product.

(d)
"Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time spent
by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, the actual
amount paid to outside private contractors employed by the bureau, or
the actual cost incurred to create computer programs to make the
special extraction. "Special extraction costs" include any
charges paid to a public agency for computer or records services.

(3)
For purposes of divisions (F)(1) and (2) of this section, "surveys,
marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes"
shall be narrowly construed and does not include reporting or
gathering news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen
oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of
government, or nonprofit educational research.

(G)
A request by a defendant, counsel of a defendant, or any agent of a
defendant in a criminal action that public records related to that
action be made available under this section shall be considered a
demand for discovery pursuant to the Criminal Rules, except to the
extent that the Criminal Rules plainly indicate a contrary intent.
The defendant, counsel of the defendant, or agent of the defendant
making a request under this division shall serve a copy of the
request on the prosecuting attorney, director of law, or other chief
legal officer responsible for prosecuting the action.

(H)(1)
Any portion of a body-worn camera or dashboard camera recording
described in divisions (A)(17)(b) to (h) of this section may be
released by consent of the subject of the recording or a
representative of that person, as specified in those divisions, only
if either of the following applies:

(a)
The recording will not be used in connection with any probable or
pending criminal proceedings;

(b)
The recording has been used in connection with a criminal proceeding
that was dismissed or for which a judgment has been entered pursuant
to Rule 32 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, and will not be used
again in connection with any probable or pending criminal
proceedings.

(2)
If a public office denies a request to release a restricted portion
of a body-worn camera or dashboard camera recording, as defined in
division (A)(17) of this section, any person may file a mandamus
action pursuant to this section or a complaint with the clerk of the
court of claims pursuant to section 2743.75 of the Revised Code,
requesting the court to order the release of all or portions of the
recording. If the court considering the request determines that the
filing articulates by clear and convincing evidence that the public
interest in the recording substantially outweighs privacy interests
and other interests asserted to deny release, the court shall order
the public office to release the recording.

Sec.
2929.20.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)(a)
Except as provided in division (A)(1)(b) of this section, "eligible
offender" means any person who, on or after April 7, 2009, is
serving a stated prison term that includes one or more nonmandatory
prison terms. A person may be an eligible offender and also may be an
eighty per cent-qualifying offender or, during a declared state of
emergency, a state of emergency-qualifying offender.

(b)
"Eligible offender" does not include any person who, on or
after April 7, 2009, is serving a stated prison term for any of the
following criminal offenses that was a felony and was committed while
the person held a public office in this state:

(i)
A violation of section 2921.02, 2921.03, 2921.05, 2921.31, 2921.32,
2921.41, 2921.42, or 2923.32 of the Revised Code;

(ii)
A violation of section 2913.42, 2921.04, 2921.11, or 2921.12 of the
Revised Code, when the conduct constituting the violation was related
to the duties of the offender's public office or to the offender's
actions as a public official holding that public office;

(iii)
A violation of an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of
this or any other state or the United States that is substantially
equivalent to any violation listed in division (A)(1)(b)(i) of this
section;

(iv)
A violation of an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of
this or any other state or the United States that is substantially
equivalent to any violation listed in division (A)(1)(b)(ii) of this
section, when the conduct constituting the violation was related to
the duties of the offender's public office or to the offender's
actions as a public official holding that public office;

(v)
A conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or complicity in
committing any offense listed in division (A)(1)(b)(i) or described
in division (A)(1)(b)(iii) of this section;

(vi)
A conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or complicity in
committing any offense listed in division (A)(1)(b)(ii) or described
in division (A)(1)(b)(iv) of this section, if the conduct
constituting the offense that was the subject of the conspiracy, that
would have constituted the offense attempted, or constituting the
offense in which the offender was complicit was or would have been
related to the duties of the offender's public office or to the
offender's actions as a public official holding that public office.

(2)
"State of emergency-qualifying offender" means any inmate
to whom all of the following apply:

(a)
The inmate is serving a stated prison term during a state of
emergency that is declared by the governor as a direct response to a
pandemic or public health emergency.

(b)
The geographical area covered by the declared state of emergency
includes the location at which the inmate is serving the stated
prison term described in division (A)(2)(a) of this section.

(c)
There is a direct nexus between the emergency that is the basis of
the governor's declaration of the state of emergency and the
circumstances of, and need for release of, the inmate.

(3)(a)
"Eighty per cent-qualifying offender" means an offender who
is serving a stated prison term of one year or more, on or after
April 4, 2023, who has commenced service of that stated prison term,
who is not serving a stated prison term that includes a disqualifying
prison term or a stated prison term that consists solely of one or
more restricting prison terms, and to whom either of the following
applies:

(i)
If the offender is serving a stated prison term of one year or more
that includes one or more restricting prison terms and one or more
eligible prison terms, the offender has fully served all restricting
prison terms and has served eighty per cent of that stated prison
term that remains to be served after all restricting prison terms
have been fully served.

(ii)
If the offender is serving a stated prison term of one year or more
that consists solely of one or more eligible prison terms, the
offender has served eighty per cent of that stated prison term.

(b)
For purposes of determining whether an offender is an eighty per
cent-qualifying offender under division (A)(3)(a) of this section:

(i)
If the offender's stated prison term includes consecutive prison
terms, any restricting prison terms shall be deemed served prior to
any eligible prison terms that run consecutively to the restricting
prison terms, and the eligible prison terms are deemed to commence
after all of the restricting prison terms have been fully served.

(ii)
An offender serving a stated prison term of one year or more that
includes a mandatory prison term that is not a disqualifying prison
term and is not a restricting prison term is not automatically
disqualified from being an eighty per cent-qualifying offender as a
result of the offender's service of that mandatory term for release
from prison under this section, and the offender may be eligible for
release from prison in accordance with this division and division (O)
of this section.

(4)
"Nonmandatory prison term" means a prison term that is not
a mandatory prison term.

(5)
"Public office" means any elected federal, state, or local
government office in this state.

(6)
"Victim's representative" has the same meaning as in
section 2930.01 of the Revised Code.

(7)
"Imminent danger of death," "medically incapacitated,"
and "terminal illness" have the same meanings as in section
2967.05 of the Revised Code.

(8)
"Aggregated nonmandatory prison term or terms" means the
aggregate of the following:

(a)
All nonmandatory definite prison terms;

(b)
With respect to any non-life felony indefinite prison term, all
nonmandatory minimum prison terms imposed as part of the non-life
felony indefinite prison term or terms.

(9)
"Deadly weapon" and "dangerous ordnance" have the
same meanings as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.

(10)
"Disqualifying prison term" means any of the following:

(a)
A prison term imposed for aggravated murder, murder, voluntary
manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault,
kidnapping, rape, aggravated arson, aggravated burglary, or
aggravated robbery;

(b)
A prison term imposed for complicity in, an attempt to commit, or
conspiracy to commit any offense listed in division (A)(10)(a) of
this section;

(c)
A prison term of life imprisonment, including any term of life
imprisonment that has parole eligibility;

(d)
A prison term imposed for any felony other than carrying a concealed
weapon an essential element of which is any conduct or failure to act
expressly involving any deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance;

(e)
A prison term imposed for any violation of section 2925.03 of the
Revised Code that is a felony of the first or second degree;

(f)
A prison term imposed for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity
in violation of section 2923.32 of the Revised Code;

(g)
A prison term imposed pursuant to section 2971.03 of the Revised
Code;

(h)
A prison term imposed for any sexually oriented offense.

(11)
"Eligible prison term" means any prison term that is not a
disqualifying prison term and is not a restricting prison term.

(12)
"Restricting prison term" means any of the following:

(a)
A mandatory prison term imposed under division (B)(1)(a), (B)(1)(c),
(B)(1)(f), (B)(1)(g), (B)(2), or (B)(7) of section 2929.14 of the
Revised Code for a specification of the type described in that
division;

(b)
In the case of an offender who has been sentenced to a mandatory
prison term for a specification of the type described in division
(A)(12)(a) of this section, the prison term imposed for the felony
offense for which the specification was stated at the end of the body
of the indictment, count in the indictment, or information charging
the offense;

(c)
A prison term imposed for trafficking in persons;

(d)
A prison term imposed for any offense that is described in division
(A)(12)(d)(i) of this section if division (A)(12)(d)(ii) of this
section applies to the offender:

(i)
The offense is a felony of the first or second degree that is an
offense of violence and that is not described in division (A)(10)(a)
or (b) of this section, an attempt to commit a felony of the first or
second degree that is an offense of violence and that is not
described in division (A)(10)(a) or (b) of this section if the
attempt is a felony of the first or second degree, or an offense
under an existing or former law of this state, another state, or the
United States that is or was substantially equivalent to any other
offense described in this division.

(ii)
The offender previously was convicted of or pleaded guilty to any
offense listed in division (A)(10) or (A)(12)(d)(i) of this section.

(13)
"Sexually oriented offense" has the same meaning as in
section 2950.01 of the Revised Code.

(14)
"Stated prison term of one year or more" means a definite
prison term of one year or more imposed as a stated prison term, or a
minimum prison term of one year or more imposed as part of a stated
prison term that is a non-life felony indefinite prison term.

(B)
On the motion of an eligible offender, on the motion of a state of
emergency-qualifying offender made during the declared state of
emergency, or on its own motion with respect to an eligible offender
or with respect to a state of emergency-qualifying offender during
the declared state of emergency, the sentencing court may reduce the
offender's aggregated nonmandatory prison term or terms through a
judicial release under this section.

(C)(1)
Subject to division (C)(2) of this section, an eligible offender may
file a motion for judicial release with the sentencing court, or a
state of emergency-qualifying offender may file a motion for judicial
release with the sentencing court during the declared state of
emergency, within the following applicable periods:

(a)
If the aggregated nonmandatory prison term or terms is less than two
years, the eligible offender or state of emergency-qualifying
offender may file the motion at any time after the offender is
delivered to a state correctional institution or, if the prison term
includes a mandatory prison term or terms, at any time after the
expiration of all mandatory prison terms.

(b)
If the aggregated nonmandatory prison term or terms is at least two
years but less than five years, the eligible offender or state of
emergency-qualifying offender may file the motion not earlier than
one hundred eighty days after the offender is delivered to a state
correctional institution or, if the prison term includes a mandatory
prison term or terms, not earlier than one hundred eighty days after
the expiration of all mandatory prison terms.

(c)
If the aggregated nonmandatory prison term or terms is five years,
the eligible offender or state of emergency-qualifying offender may
file the motion not earlier than the date on which the offender has
served four years of the offender's stated prison term or, if the
prison term includes a mandatory prison term or terms, not earlier
than four years after the expiration of all mandatory prison terms.

(d)
If the aggregated nonmandatory prison term or terms is more than five
years but not more than ten years, the eligible offender or state of
emergency-qualifying offender may file the motion not earlier than
the date on which the offender has served five years of the
offender's stated prison term or, if the prison term includes a
mandatory prison term or terms, not earlier than five years after the
expiration of all mandatory prison terms.

(e)
If the aggregated nonmandatory prison term or terms is more than ten
years, the eligible offender or state of emergency-qualifying
offender may file the motion not earlier than the later of the date
on which the offender has served one-half of the offender's stated
prison term or the date specified in division (C)(1)(d) of this
section.

(f)
With respect to a state of emergency-qualifying offender, if the
offender's prison term does not include a mandatory prison term or
terms, or if the offender's prison term includes one or more
mandatory prison terms and the offender has completed the mandatory
prison term or terms, the state of emergency-qualifying offender may
file the motion at any time during the offender's aggregated
nonmandatory prison term or terms, provided that time also is during
the declared state of emergency.

(2)
During any single declared state of emergency, a state of
emergency-qualifying offender may only file a motion for judicial
release as a state of emergency-qualifying offender with the
sentencing court during that declared state of emergency once every
six months.

(D)(1)(a)
Upon receipt of a timely motion for judicial release filed by an
eligible offender or a state of emergency-qualifying offender under
division (C) of this section, or upon the sentencing court's own
motion made within the appropriate time specified in that division,
the court may deny the motion without a hearing or schedule a hearing
on the motion. The court may grant the motion without a hearing for
an offender under consideration for judicial release as a state of
emergency-qualifying offender, but the court shall not grant the
motion without a hearing for an offender under consideration as an
eligible offender. If a court denies a motion without a hearing, the
court later may consider judicial release for that eligible offender
or that state of emergency-qualifying offender on a subsequent
motion. For an offender under consideration for judicial release as
an eligible offender, but not for one under consideration as a state
of emergency-qualifying offender, the court may deny the motion with
prejudice. If a court denies a motion with prejudice, the court may
later consider judicial release on its own motion. For an offender
under consideration for judicial release as a state of
emergency-qualifying offender, the court shall not deny a motion with
prejudice. For an offender under consideration for judicial release
as an eligible offender, but not for one under consideration as a
state of emergency-qualifying offender, if a court denies a motion
after a hearing, the court shall not consider a subsequent motion for
that offender based on the offender's classification as an eligible
offender. The court may hold multiple hearings for any offender under
consideration for judicial release as a state of emergency-qualifying
offender, but shall hold only one hearing for any offender under
consideration as an eligible offender.

(b)
If an offender is under consideration for judicial release as an
eligible offender and the motion is denied, and if the offender at
that time also is or subsequently becomes a state of
emergency-qualifying offender, the denial does not limit or affect
any right of the offender to file a motion under this section for
consideration for judicial release as a state of emergency-qualifying
offender or for the court on its own motion to consider the offender
for judicial release as a state of emergency-qualifying offender.

If
an offender is under consideration for judicial release as a state of
emergency-qualifying offender and the motion is denied, and if the
offender at that time also is or subsequently becomes an eligible
offender, the denial does not limit or affect any right of the
offender to file a motion under this section for consideration for
judicial release as an eligible offender or for the court on its own
motion to consider the offender for judicial release as an eligible
offender.

(2)(a)
With respect to a motion for judicial release filed by an offender as
an eligible offender or made by the court on its own motion for an
offender as an eligible offender, a hearing under this section shall
be conducted in open court not less than thirty or more than sixty
days after the motion is filed, provided that the court may delay the
hearing for one hundred eighty additional days. If the court holds a
hearing, the court shall enter a ruling on the motion within ten days
after the hearing. If the court denies the motion without a hearing,
the court shall enter its ruling on the motion within sixty days
after the motion is filed.

(b)
With respect to a motion for judicial release filed by an offender as
a state of emergency-qualifying offender or made by the court on its
own motion for an offender as a state of emergency-qualifying
offender, the court shall notify the prosecuting attorney of the
county in which the offender was indicted and may order the
prosecuting attorney to respond to the motion in writing within ten
days. The prosecuting attorney shall notify the victim pursuant to
the Ohio Constitution. The prosecuting attorney shall include in the
response any statement that the victim wants to be represented to the
court. The court shall consider any response from the prosecuting
attorney and any statement from the victim in its ruling on the
motion. After receiving the response from the prosecuting attorney,
the court either shall order a hearing consistent with divisions (E)
to (I) of this section as soon as possible, or shall enter its ruling
on the motion for judicial release as soon as possible. If the court
conducts a hearing, the hearing shall be conducted in open court or
by a virtual, telephonic, or other form of remote hearing. If the
court holds a hearing, the court shall enter a ruling on the motion
within ten days after the hearing. If the court denies the motion
without a hearing, the court shall enter its ruling on the motion
within ten days after the motion is filed or after it receives the
response from the prosecuting attorney.

(E)
If a court schedules a hearing under divisions (D)(1) and (2)(a) of
this section or under divisions (D)(1) and (2)(b) of this section,
the court shall notify the subject eligible offender or state of
emergency-qualifying offender and the head of the state correctional
institution in which that subject offender is confined prior to the
hearing. The head of the state correctional institution immediately
shall notify the appropriate person at the department of
rehabilitation and correction of the hearing, and the department
within twenty-four hours after receipt of the notice, shall post on
the database it maintains pursuant to section 5120.66 of the Revised
Code the subject offender's name and all of the information specified
in division (A)(1)(c)(i) of that section. If the court schedules a
hearing for judicial release, the court promptly shall give notice of
the hearing to the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the
subject eligible offender or state of emergency-qualifying offender
was indicted. Upon receipt of the notice from the court, the
prosecuting attorney shall do whichever of the following is
applicable:

(1)
Subject to division (E)(2) of this section, notify the victim of the
offense and the victim's representative, if applicable, pursuant to
the Ohio Constitution and division (B) of section 2930.16 of the
Revised Code;

(2)
If the offense was an offense of violence that is a felony of the
first, second, or third degree, except as otherwise provided in this
division, pursuant to the Ohio Constitution, notify the victim and
the victim's representative, if applicable, of the hearing regardless
of whether the victim or victim's representative has requested the
notification. Except when notice to the victim is required under the
Ohio Constitution, the notice of the hearing shall not be given under
this division to a victim or victim's representative if the victim or
victim's representative has requested pursuant to division (B)(2) of
section 2930.03 of the Revised Code that the victim or the victim's
representative not be provided the notice. If notice is to be
provided to a victim or victim's representative under this division,
the prosecuting attorney may give the notice by any reasonable means,
including regular mail, telephone, and electronic mail, in accordance
with division (D)(1) of section 2930.16 of the Revised Code. If the
notice is based on an offense committed prior to March 22, 2013, the
notice also shall include the opt-out information described in
division (D)(1) of section 2930.16 of the Revised Code. The
prosecuting attorney, in accordance with division (D)(2) of section
2930.16 of the Revised Code, shall keep a record of all attempts to
provide the notice, and of all notices provided, under this division.
Division (E)(2) of this section, and the notice-related provisions of
division (K) of this section, division (D)(1) of section 2930.16,
division (H) of section 2967.12, division (E)(1)(b) of section
2967.19 as it existed prior to April 4, 2023, division (A)(3)(b) of
section 2967.26, division (D)(1) of section 2967.28, and division
(A)(2) of section 5149.101 of the Revised Code enacted in the act in
which division (E)(2) of this section was enacted, shall be known as
"Roberta's Law."

(F)
Upon an offender's successful completion of rehabilitative
activities, the head of the state correctional institution may notify
the sentencing court of the successful completion of the activities.

(G)
Prior to the date of the hearing on a motion for judicial release
made by an eligible offender, by a state of emergency-qualifying
offender, or by a court on its own under this section, the head of
the state correctional institution in which the subject offender is
confined shall send to the court an institutional summary report on
the offender's conduct in the institution and in any institution from
which the offender may have been transferred. Upon the request of the
prosecuting attorney of the county in which the subject offender was
indicted or of any law enforcement agency, the head of the state
correctional institution, at the same time the person sends the
institutional summary report to the court, also shall send a copy of
the report to the requesting prosecuting attorney and law enforcement
agencies. The institutional summary report shall cover the subject
offender's participation in school, vocational training, work,
treatment, and other rehabilitative activities and any disciplinary
action taken against the subject offender. The report shall be made
part of the record of the hearing. A presentence investigation report
is not required for judicial release.

(H)
If the court grants a hearing on a motion for judicial release made
by an eligible offender, by a state of emergency-qualifying offender,
or by a court on its own under this section, the subject offender
shall attend the hearing if ordered to do so by the court. Upon
receipt of a copy of the journal entry containing the order, the head
of the state correctional institution in which the subject offender
is incarcerated shall deliver the subject offender to the sheriff of
the county in which the hearing is to be held. The sheriff shall
convey the subject offender to and from the hearing.

(I)
At the hearing on a motion for judicial release under this section
made by an eligible offender, by a state of emergency-qualifying
offender, or by a court on its own, the court shall afford the
subject offender and the offender's attorney an opportunity to
present written and, if present, oral information relevant to the
motion. The court shall afford a similar opportunity to the
prosecuting attorney, the victim, the victim's representative, the
victim's attorney, if applicable, and any other person the court
determines is likely to present additional relevant information. The
court shall consider any oral or written statement of a victim,
victim's representative, and victim's attorney, if applicable, made
pursuant to section 2930.14 or 2930.17 of the Revised Code, any
victim impact statement prepared pursuant to section 2947.051 of the
Revised Code, and any report made under division (G) of this section.
The court may consider any written statement of any person submitted
to the court pursuant to division (L) of this section.

If
the motion alleges that the offender who is the subject of the motion
is an eligible offender and the court makes an initial determination
that the offender satisfies the criteria for being an eligible
offender, or if the motion alleges that the offender who is the
subject of the motion is a state of emergency-qualifying offender and
the court makes an initial determination that the offender satisfies
the criteria for being a state of emergency-qualifying offender, the
court shall determine whether to grant the motion. After ruling on
the motion, the court shall notify the prosecuting attorney of the
county in which the eligible offender or state of
emergency-qualifying offender was indicted of the ruling, and the
prosecuting attorney shall notify the victim and the victim's
representative of the ruling in accordance with sections 2930.03 and
2930.16 of the Revised Code or, if the court granted the motion, in
accordance with division (K) of this section.

(J)(1)
A court shall not grant a judicial release under this section to an
offender who is imprisoned for a felony of the first or second degree
and who is under consideration as an eligible offender, or to an
offender who committed an offense under Chapter 2925. or 3719. of the
Revised Code, who is under consideration as an eligible offender, and
for whom there was a presumption under section 2929.13 of the Revised
Code in favor of a prison term, unless the court, with reference to
factors under section 2929.12 of the Revised Code, finds both of the
following:

(a)
That a sanction other than a prison term would adequately punish the
offender and protect the public from future criminal violations by
the offender because the applicable factors indicating a lesser
likelihood of recidivism outweigh the applicable factors indicating a
greater likelihood of recidivism;

(b)
That a sanction other than a prison term would not demean the
seriousness of the offense because factors indicating that the
offender's conduct in committing the offense was less serious than
conduct normally constituting the offense outweigh factors indicating
that the eligible offender's conduct was more serious than conduct
normally constituting the offense.

(2)
A court that grants a judicial release under division (J)(1) of this
section to an offender who is under consideration as an eligible
offender shall specify on the record both findings required in that
division and also shall list all the factors described in that
division that were presented at the hearing.

(3)(a)
Subject to division (J)(3)(b) of this section, a court shall grant a
judicial release under this section to an offender who is under
consideration as a state of emergency-qualifying offender if the
court determines that the risks posed by incarceration to the health
and safety of the offender, because of the nature of the declared
state of emergency, outweigh the risk to public safety if the
offender were to be released from incarceration.

(b)
A court shall not grant a judicial release under this section to an
offender who is imprisoned for a felony of the first or second degree
and is under consideration for judicial release as a state of
emergency-qualifying offender unless the court, with reference to the
factors specified under section 2929.12 of the Revised Code, finds
both of the criteria set forth in divisions (J)(1)(a) and (b) of this
section.

(K)
If the court grants a motion for judicial release under this section,
the court shall order the release of the eligible offender or state
of emergency-qualifying offender, shall place the offender under an
appropriate community control sanction, under appropriate conditions,
and under the supervision of the department of probation serving the
court and shall reserve the right to reimpose the sentence that it
reduced if the offender violates the sanction. If the court reimposes
the reduced sentence, it may do so either concurrently with, or
consecutive to, any new sentence imposed on the eligible offender or
state of emergency-qualifying offender as a result of the violation
that is a new offense. Except as provided in division (N)(5)(b) of
this section, the period of community control shall be no longer than
five years. The court, in its discretion, may reduce the period of
community control by the amount of time the offender spent in jail or
prison for the offense and in prison. If the court made any findings
pursuant to division (J)(1) of this section, the court shall serve a
copy of the findings upon counsel for the parties within fifteen days
after the date on which the court grants the motion for judicial
release.

If
the court grants a motion for judicial release, the court shall
notify the appropriate person at the department of rehabilitation and
correction, and the department shall post notice of the release on
the database it maintains pursuant to section 5120.66 of the Revised
Code. The court also shall notify the prosecuting attorney of the
county in which the eligible offender or state of
emergency-qualifying offender was indicted that the motion has been
granted. When notice to the victim is required under the Ohio
Constitution, the prosecuting attorney shall notify the victim and
the victim's representative, if applicable, of the judicial release.
In all other cases, unless the victim or the victim's representative
has requested pursuant to division (B)(2) of section 2930.03 of the
Revised Code that the victim or victim's representative not be
provided the notice, the prosecuting attorney shall notify the victim
and the victim's representative, if applicable, of the judicial
release in any manner, and in accordance with the same procedures,
pursuant to which the prosecuting attorney is authorized to provide
notice of the hearing pursuant to division (E)(2) of this section. If
the notice is based on an offense committed prior to March 22, 2013,
the notice to the victim or victim's representative also shall
include the opt-out information described in division (D)(1) of
section 2930.16 of the Revised Code.

(L)
In addition to and independent of the right of a victim to make a
statement pursuant to section 2930.14, 2930.17, or 2946.051 of the
Revised Code and any right of a person to present written information
or make a statement pursuant to division (I) of this section, any
person may submit to the court, at any time prior to the hearing on
the motion for judicial release of the eligible offender or state of
emergency-qualifying offender, a written statement concerning the
effects of the offender's criminal offense, the circumstances
surrounding the criminal offense, the manner in which the criminal
offense was perpetrated, and the person's opinion as to whether the
offender should be released.

(M)(1)
The changes to this section that are made on September 30, 2011,
apply to any judicial release decision made on or after September 30,
2011, for any eligible offender, subject to division (M)(2) of this
section.

(2)
The changes to this section that are made on April 4, 2023, apply to
any judicial release application, and any judicial release decision,
made on or after April 4, 2023, for any eligible offender or state of
emergency-qualifying offender.

(N)(1)
Notwithstanding the eligibility requirements specified in divisions
(A)(1) and (2) of this section and the filing time frames specified
in division (C) of this section and notwithstanding the findings
required under division (J)(1) and the eligibility criteria specified
in division (J)(3) of this section, the sentencing court, upon the
court's own motion and after considering whether the release of the
offender into society would create undue risk to public safety, may
grant a judicial release to an offender who is not serving a life
sentence at any time during the offender's imposed sentence when the
director of rehabilitation and correction certifies to the sentencing
court through the chief medical officer for the department of
rehabilitation and correction that the offender is in imminent danger
of death, is medically incapacitated, or has a terminal illness.

(2)
The director of rehabilitation and correction shall not certify any
offender under division (N)(1) of this section who is serving a death
sentence.

(3)
A motion made by the court under division (N)(1) of this section is
subject to the notice, hearing, and other procedural requirements
specified in divisions (D), (E), (G), (H), (I), (K), and (L) of this
section with respect to motions for a grant of judicial release to
eligible offenders, including notice to the victim, except for the
following:

(a)
The court may waive the offender's appearance at any hearing
scheduled by the court if the offender's condition makes it
impossible for the offender to participate meaningfully in the
proceeding.

(b)
The court may grant the motion without a hearing, provided that the
prosecuting attorney, victim, and victim's representative, if
applicable, to whom notice of the hearing was provided under division
(E) of this section indicate that they do not wish to participate in
the hearing or present information relevant to the motion.

(4)
(4)(a)

The court may request health care records from the department of
rehabilitation and correction to verify the certification made under
division (N)(1) of this section.

(b)
The prosecuting attorney may request health care records from the
department of rehabilitation and correction for the purpose of
presenting information relevant to a motion made under division
(N)(1) of this section. Upon request, the department shall provide
the requested records.

(5)(a)
If the court grants judicial release under division (N)(1) of this
section, the court shall do all of the following:

(i)
Order the release of the offender;

(ii)
Place the offender under an appropriate community control sanction,
under appropriate conditions;

(iii)
Place the offender under the supervision of the department of
probation serving the court or under the supervision of the adult
parole authority.

(b)
The court, in its discretion, may revoke the judicial release if the
offender violates the community control sanction described in
division (N)(5)(a) of this section. The period of that community
control is not subject to the five-year limitation described in
division (K) of this section and shall not expire earlier than the
date on which all of the offender's mandatory prison terms expire.

(6)
If the health of an offender who is released under division (N)(1) of
this section improves so that the offender is no longer terminally
ill, medically incapacitated, or in imminent danger of death, the
court shall, upon the court's own motion, revoke the judicial
release. The court shall not grant the motion without a hearing
unless the offender waives a hearing. If a hearing is held, the court
shall afford the offender and the offender's attorney an opportunity
to present written and, if the offender or the offender's attorney is
present, oral information relevant to the motion. The court shall
afford a similar opportunity to the prosecuting attorney, the victim,
the victim's representative, the victim's attorney, if applicable,
and any other person the court determines is likely to present
additional relevant information. If a hearing is held, the
prosecuting attorney shall notify the victim and the victim's
representative, if applicable, pursuant to the Ohio Constitution. A
court that grants a motion under this division shall specify its
findings on the record.

(O)(1)
Separate from and independent of the provisions of divisions (A) to
(N) of this section, the director of the department of rehabilitation
and correction may recommend in writing to the sentencing court that
the court consider releasing from prison, through a judicial release,
any offender who is confined in a state correctional institution and
who is an eighty per cent-qualifying offender. The director may file
such a recommendation for judicial release by submitting to the
sentencing court a notice, in writing, of the recommendation within
the applicable period specified in division (A)(3) of this section
for qualifying as an eighty per cent-qualifying offender.

The
director shall include with any notice submitted to the sentencing
court under this division an institutional summary report that covers
the offender's participation while confined in a state correctional
institution in school, training, work, treatment, and other
rehabilitative activities and any disciplinary action taken against
the offender while so confined. The director shall include with the
notice any other documentation requested by the court, if available.

If
the director submits a notice under this division recommending
judicial release, the department promptly shall provide to the
prosecuting attorney of the county in which the offender was indicted
a copy of the written notice and recommendation, a copy of the
institutional summary report, and any other information provided to
the court, and shall provide a copy of the institutional summary
report to any law enforcement agency that requests the report. The
department also shall provide written notice of the submission of the
director's notice to any victim of the offender or victim's
representative, if applicable, in the same manner as is specified in
divisions (E)(1) and (2) of this section with respect to notices of
hearings.

(2)
A recommendation for judicial release in a notice submitted by the
director under division (O)(1) of this section is subject to the
notice, hearing, and other procedural requirements specified in
divisions (E), (H), (I), and (L) of this section, including notice to
the victim pursuant to the Ohio Constitution, except as otherwise
specified in divisions (O)(3) to (5) of this section, provided that
references in divisions (E), (H), (I), (K), and (L) of this section
to "the motion" shall be construed for purposes of division
(O) of this section as being references to the notice and
recommendation specified in division (O)(1) of this section.

(3)
The director's submission of a notice under division (O)(1) of this
section constitutes a recommendation by the director that the court
strongly consider a judicial release of the offender consistent with
the purposes and principles of sentencing set forth in sections
2929.11 and 2929.13 of the Revised Code and establishes a rebuttable
presumption that the offender shall be released through a judicial
release in accordance with the recommendation. The presumption of
release may be rebutted only as described in division (O)(6) of this
section. Only an offender recommended by the director under division
(O)(1) of this section may be considered for a judicial release under
division (O) of this section.

(4)
Upon receipt of a notice recommending judicial release submitted by
the director under division (O)(1) of this section, the court shall
schedule a hearing to consider the recommendation for the judicial
release of the offender who is the subject of the notice. The hearing
shall be conducted in open court not less than thirty or more than
sixty days after the notice is submitted. The court shall inform the
department and the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the
offender who is the subject of the notice was indicted of the date,
time, and location of the hearing. Upon receipt of the notice from
the court, the prosecuting attorney shall comply with division (E) of
this section, including providing notice to the victim and the
victim's representative, if applicable, pursuant to the Ohio
Constitution, and the department shall post the information specified
in that division.

(5)
When a court schedules a hearing under division (O)(4) of this
section, at the hearing, the court shall consider all of the
following in determining whether to grant the offender judicial
release under division (O) of this section:

(a)
The institutional summary report submitted under division (O)(1) of
this section;

(b)
The inmate's academic, vocational education programs, or alcohol or
drug treatment programs; or involvement in meaningful activity;

(c)
The inmate's assignments and whether the inmate consistently
performed each work assignment to the satisfaction of the department
staff responsible for supervising the inmate's work;

(d)
The inmate transferred to and actively participated in core
curriculum programming at a reintegration center prison;

(e)
The inmate's disciplinary history;

(f)
The inmate's security level;

(g)
All other information, statements, reports, and documentation
described in division (I) of this section.

(6)
If the court that receives a notice recommending judicial release
submitted by the director under division (O)(1) of this section makes
an initial determination that the offender satisfies the criteria for
being an eighty per cent-qualifying offender, the court then shall
determine whether to grant the offender judicial release. In making
the second determination, the court shall grant the offender judicial
release unless the prosecuting attorney proves to the court, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the legitimate interests of the
government in maintaining the offender's confinement outweigh the
interests of the offender in being released from that confinement. If
the court grants a judicial release under this division, division (K)
of this section applies regarding the judicial release, including
notice to the victim and the victim's representative, if applicable,
pursuant to the Ohio Constitution, provided that references in
division (K) of this section to "the motion" shall be
construed for purposes of the judicial release granted under this
division as being references to the notice and recommendation
specified in division (O)(1) of this section.

The
court shall enter its ruling on the notice recommending judicial
release submitted by the director under division (O)(1) of this
section within ten days after the hearing is conducted. After ruling
on whether to grant the offender judicial release under division (O)
of this section, the court shall notify the offender, the prosecuting
attorney, and the department of rehabilitation and correction of its
decision, and shall notify the victim of its decision in accordance
with the Ohio Constitution and sections 2930.03 and 2930.16 of the
Revised Code. If the court does not enter a ruling on the notice
within ten days after the hearing is conducted as required under this
division, the division of parole and community services of the
department of rehabilitation and correction may release the offender.

(P)
All notices to a victim of an offense provided under division (D),
(E), (K), (N), or (O) of this section shall be provided in accordance
with the Ohio Constitution.

Sec.
5120.115.
(A)
Each authorized user of the single validated risk assessment tool
described in section 5120.114 of the Revised Code shall have access
to all reports generated by the risk assessment tool and all data
stored in the risk assessment tool.

Reports generated by the risk assessment tool shall be disclosed in a
manner that ensures the security and confidentiality of information
in the reports.

An authorized user may disclose any report generated by the risk
assessment tool to
law

any
of the following:

(1)
Law
enforcement
agencies, halfway houses, and medical, mental health, and substance
abuse treatment providers for penological and rehabilitative
purposes
.
An authorized user may also disclose any report generated by the risk
assessment tool to qualified
;

(2)
Attorneys of prisoners and prosecutors for purposes related to parole
proceedings;

(3)
Qualified
persons
and research organizations for research, evaluative, and statistical
purposes under the terms of written agreements between the authorized
user and the recipients of the report.
Reports
generated by the risk assessment tool shall be disclosed in a manner
that ensures the security and confidentiality of information in the
reports.

(B)
All reports generated by or data collected in the risk assessment
tool are confidential information and are not a public record. No
person shall disclose any report generated by or data collected in
the risk assessment tool except as provided in division (A) of this
section.

(C)
As used in this section, "public record" has the same
meaning as in section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
5120.21.
(A)
The department of rehabilitation and correction shall keep in its
office, accessible only to its employees, except by the consent of
the department or the order of the judge of a court of record, and
except as provided in division (C) of this section, a record showing
the name, residence, sex, age, nativity, occupation, condition, and
date of entrance or commitment of every inmate in the several
institutions governed by it. The record also shall include the date,
cause, and terms of discharge and the condition of such person at the
time of leaving, a record of all transfers from one institution to
another, and, if such inmate is dead, the date and cause of death.
These and other facts that the department requires shall be furnished
by the managing officer of each institution within ten days after the
commitment, entrance, death, or discharge of an inmate.

(B)
In case of an accident or injury or peculiar death of an inmate, the
managing officer shall make a special report to the department within
twenty-four hours thereafter, giving the circumstances as fully as
possible.

(C)(1)
As used in this division, "medical record" means any
document or combination of documents that pertains to the medical
history, diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and
that is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment.

(2)
A separate medical record of every inmate in an institution governed
by the department shall be compiled, maintained, and kept apart from
and independently of any other record pertaining to the inmate. Upon
the signed written request of the inmate to whom the record pertains
together with the written request of a person the inmate designates
who is either a licensed attorney at law or a licensed physician,
certified nurse-midwife, clinical nurse specialist, or certified
nurse practitioner, the department shall make the inmate's medical
record available to the designated attorney, physician, or nurse. The
record may be inspected or copied by the inmate's designated
attorney, physician, or nurse. The department may establish a
reasonable fee for the copying of any medical record. If a physician,
certified nurse-midwife, clinical nurse specialist, or certified
nurse practitioner concludes that presentation of all or any part of
the medical record directly to the inmate will result in serious
medical harm to the inmate, the physician or nurse shall so indicate
on the medical record. An inmate's medical record shall be made
available to a physician, certified nurse-midwife, clinical nurse
specialist, certified nurse practitioner, or attorney designated in
writing by the inmate not more than once every twelve months.

(D)
Notwithstanding any other law of this state or the United States to
the contrary, the department and the officers of its institutions
shall keep confidential and accessible only to its employees, except
by the consent of the department or the order of a judge of a court
of record, all of the following:

(1)
Architectural, engineering, or construction diagrams, drawings, or
plans of a correctional institution;

(2)
Plans for hostage negotiation, for disturbance control, for the
control and location of keys, and for dealing with escapes;

(3)
Statements made by inmate informants;

(4)
Records that are maintained by the department of youth services, that
pertain to children in its custody, and that are released to the
department of rehabilitation and correction by the department of
youth services pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code;

(5)
Victim impact statements and information provided by victims of
crimes that the department considers when determining the security
level assignment, program participation, and release eligibility of
inmates;

(6)
Information and data of any kind or medium pertaining to groups that
pose a security threat;

(7)
Conversations recorded from the monitored inmate telephones that
involve nonprivileged communications.

(E)(1)
Records regarding inmates committed to the department of
rehabilitation and correction or records of persons under the
supervision of the adult parole authority are not public records
under section 149.43 of the Revised Code. Nothing in this division
prohibits the disclosure of the following information related to
inmates committed to the department of rehabilitation and correction:

(a)
Name;

(b)
Criminal convictions;

(c)
Photograph;

(d)
Supervision status, including current and past place of
incarceration;

(e)
Disciplinary history
;

(f)
Any information in the institutional summary report
.

(2)
Except as otherwise provided by a law of this state or the United
States, the department of rehabilitation and correction may release
inmate records to the department of youth services or a court of
record, and the department of youth services or the court of record
may use those records for the limited purpose of carrying out the
duties of the department of youth services or the court of record.
Inmate records released by the department of rehabilitation and
correction to the department of youth services or a court of record
shall remain confidential and shall not be considered public records
as defined in section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
5149.10.
(A)(1)
The parole board shall consist of up to twelve members, one of whom
shall be designated as chairperson by the director of the department
of rehabilitation and correction and who shall continue as
chairperson until a successor is designated, and any other personnel
that are necessary for the orderly performance of the duties of the
board. In addition to the rules authorized by section 5149.02 of the
Revised Code, the chief of the adult parole authority, subject to the
approval of the chief of the division of parole and community
services and subject to this section, shall adopt rules governing the
proceedings of the parole board. The rules shall provide for all of
the following:

(a)
The convening of full board hearings;

(b)
The procedures to be followed in full board hearings;

(c)
General procedures to be followed in other hearings of the board and
by the board's hearing officers;

(d)
A requirement that a majority of all the board members must agree to
any recommendation of clemency transmitted to the governor;

(e)
For parole hearings, procedures for considering the report of the
warden of the institution in which the eligible prisoner is
incarcerated, submitted under section 5120.68 of the Revised Code
;

(f)
A requirement that electronic recordings be made of full parole board
hearings, revocation hearings under section 2967.15 of the Revised
Code, and post-release control violation hearings under section
2967.28 of the Revised Code
.

(2)
When the board members sit as a full board, the chairperson shall
preside. The chairperson shall also allocate the work of the parole
board among the board members. The full board shall meet at least
once each month. In the case of a tie vote on the full board, the
chief of the adult parole authority shall cast the deciding vote. The
chairperson may designate a person to serve in the chairperson's
place.

(3)
Except for the chairperson and the member appointed under division
(B) of this section, a member appointed to the parole board on or
after September 30, 2011, shall be appointed to a six-year term. A
member appointed as described in this division shall hold office from
the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the
member was appointed. A member appointed as described in this
division is eligible for reappointment for another six-year term that
may or may not be consecutive to the first six-year term. A member
appointed as described in this division is not eligible for
reappointment after serving two six-year terms whether or not served
consecutively. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner provided
for original appointments. Any member appointed as described in this
division to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration date of
the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall begin
that member's first six-year term upon appointment, regardless of the
time remaining in the term of the member's predecessor. A member
appointed as described in this division shall continue in office
subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the
member's successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has
elapsed, whichever occurs first.

(4)
Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, no
person shall be appointed a member of the board who is not qualified
by education or experience in correctional work, including law
enforcement, prosecution of offenses, advocating for the rights of
victims of crime, probation, or parole, in law, in social work, or in
a combination of the three categories.

(B)
The director of rehabilitation and correction, in consultation with
the governor, shall appoint one member of the board, who shall be a
person who has been a victim of crime or who is a member of a
victim's family or who represents an organization that advocates for
the rights of victims of crime. After appointment, this member shall
be an unclassified employee of the department of rehabilitation and
correction.

The
initial appointment shall be for a term ending four years after July
1, 1996. Thereafter, the term of office of the member appointed under
this division shall be for four years, with each term ending on the
same day of the same month as did the term that it succeeds. The
member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end
of the term for which the member was appointed and may be
reappointed. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for
original appointments. Any member appointed under this division to
fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration date of the term for
which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a
member for the remainder of that term. The member appointed under
this division shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration
date of the member's term until the member's successor takes office
or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

The
member appointed under this division shall be compensated in the same
manner as other board members and shall be reimbursed for actual and
necessary expenses incurred in the performance of the member's
duties. The member may vote on all cases heard by the full board
under section 5149.101 of the Revised Code, has such duties as are
assigned by the chairperson of the board, and shall coordinate the
member's activities with the office of victims' services created
under section 5120.60 of the Revised Code.

As
used in this division, "crime," "member of the
victim's family," and "victim" have the meanings given
in section 2930.01 of the Revised Code.

(C)
The chairperson shall submit all recommendations for or against
clemency directly to the governor.

(D)
The chairperson shall transmit to the chief of the adult parole
authority all determinations for or against parole made by the board.
Parole determinations are final and are not subject to review or
change by the chief.

(E)
In addition to its duties pertaining to parole and clemency, if an
offender is sentenced to a prison term pursuant to division (A)(3),
(B)(1)(a), (b), or (c), (B)(2)(a), (b), or (c), or (B)(3)(a), (b),
(c), or (d) of section 2971.03 of the Revised Code, the parole board
shall have control over the offender's service of the prison term
during the entire term unless the board terminates its control in
accordance with section 2971.04 of the Revised Code. The parole board
may terminate its control over the offender's service of the prison
term only in accordance with section 2971.04 of the Revised Code.

(F)
All written and oral statements provided by a victim or victim's
representative to the department of rehabilitation and correction in
connection with the pendency of any pardon, commutation, or parole,
and any personally identifying information or information likely to
identify a victim or member of the victim's family contained in an
electronic recording of a full parole board hearing, are
confidential, not subject to subpoena or discovery, and not
admissible in evidence in any action.

Sec.
5149.101.
(A)(1)(a)
A victim of a violation of section 2903.01 or 2903.02 of the Revised
Code, an offense of violence that is a felony of the first, second,
or third degree, or an offense punished by a sentence of life
imprisonment, the victim's representative, or any person described in
division (B)(5) of this section may request, through the office of
victims' services, for the board to hold a full board hearing that
relates to the proposed parole or re-parole of the person that
committed the violation. If a victim, victim's representative, or any
person described in division (B)(5) of this section requests a full
board hearing pursuant to this division, the board shall hold a full
board hearing.

(b)
A family member of a victim who is not described in division (B)(5)
of this section may request, through the office of victims' services,
for the board to hold a full board hearing that relates to the
proposed parole or re-parole of a person who committed a violation of
section 2903.01 or 2903.02 of the Revised Code, an offense of
violence that is a felony of the first, second, or third degree, or
an offense punished by a sentence of life imprisonment. At a meeting
of the board at which a majority of board members are present, the
majority of those present shall determine whether a full board
hearing shall be held, if a family member of the victim makes a
request pursuant to this division.

(c)
If a person is convicted of a violation of section 2903.01 or 2903.02
of the Revised Code, an offense of violence that is a felony of the
first, second, or third degree, or an offense punished by a sentence
of life imprisonment, the prosecuting attorney may submit a request
directly to the board to hold a full board hearing that relates to
the proposed parole or re-parole of the person who committed the
violation. If the prosecutor requests a full board hearing pursuant
to this division, the board shall hold a full board hearing.

(2)
At least thirty days before the full hearing, except as otherwise
provided in this division, the board shall give notice of the date,
time, and place of the hearing to the victim regardless of whether
the victim has requested the notification. The notice of the date,
time, and place of the hearing shall not be given under this division
to a victim if the victim has requested pursuant to division (B)(2)
of section 2930.03 of the Revised Code that the notice not be
provided to the victim. At least thirty days before the full board
hearing and regardless of whether the victim has requested that the
notice be provided or not be provided under this division to the
victim, the board shall give similar notice to the prosecuting
attorney in the case, the law enforcement agency that arrested the
prisoner if any officer of that agency was a victim of the offense,
and, if different than the victim, the person who requested the full
hearing. If the prosecuting attorney has not previously been sent an
institutional summary report with respect to the prisoner, upon the
request of the prosecuting attorney, the board shall include with the
notice sent to the prosecuting attorney an institutional summary
report that covers the offender's participation while confined in a
state correctional institution in training, work, and other
rehabilitative activities and any disciplinary action taken against
the offender while so confined.

If the offender asserts the existence of any medical condition or
diagnoses in seeking parole, the board also shall include with the
notice sent to the prosecuting attorney any medical records or other
health care records related to that medical condition or those
diagnoses.

Upon the request of a law enforcement agency that has not previously
been sent an institutional summary report with respect to the
prisoner, the board also shall send a copy of the institutional
summary report to the law enforcement agency. If notice is to be
provided as described in this division, the board may give the notice
by any reasonable means, including regular mail, telephone, and
electronic mail, in accordance with division (D)(1) of section
2930.16 of the Revised Code. If the notice is based on an offense
committed prior to March 22, 2013, the notice also shall include the
opt-out information described in division (D)(1) of section 2930.16
of the Revised Code. The board, in accordance with division (D)(2) of
section 2930.16 of the Revised Code, shall keep a record of all
attempts to provide the notice, and of all notices provided, under
this division.

The
preceding paragraph, and the notice-related provisions of divisions
(E)(2) and (K) of section 2929.20, division (D)(1) of section
2930.16, division (H) of section 2967.12, division (E)(1)(b) of
section 2967.19 as it existed prior to April 4, 2023, division
(A)(3)(b) of section 2967.26, and division (D)(1) of section 2967.28
of the Revised Code enacted in the act in which this paragraph was
enacted, shall be known as "Roberta's Law."

(B)
At a full board hearing that relates to the proposed parole or
re-parole of a prisoner and that has been petitioned for or requested
in accordance with division (A) of this section, the parole board
shall permit the following persons to appear and to give testimony or
to submit written statements:

(1)
The prosecuting attorney of the county in which the original
indictment against the prisoner was found and members of any law
enforcement agency that assisted in the prosecution of the original
offense;

(2)
The judge of the court of common pleas who imposed the original
sentence of incarceration upon the prisoner, or the judge's
successor;

(3)
The victim of the original offense for which the prisoner is serving
the sentence or the victim's representative designated pursuant to
section 2930.02 of the Revised Code;

(4)
The victim of any behavior that resulted in parole being revoked;

(5)
With respect to a full board hearing held pursuant to division
(A)(1)(a) or (c) of this section, all of the following:

(a)
The spouse of the victim of the original offense;

(b)
The parent or parents of the victim of the original offense;

(c)
The sibling of the victim of the original offense;

(d)
The child or children of the victim of the original offense.

(6)
A state public defender when designated by the director of the
department of rehabilitation and correction pursuant to division
(A)(5) of section 120.06 of the Revised Code, private counsel, or
some other person designated by the prisoner as a representative, as
permitted by the board.

(C)
Except as otherwise provided in this division, a full board hearing
of the parole board is not subject to section 121.22 of the Revised
Code. The persons who may attend a full board hearing are the persons
described in divisions (B)(1) to (6) of this section, and
representatives of the press, radio and television stations, and
broadcasting networks who are members of a generally recognized
professional media organization.

At
the request of a person described in division (B)(3) of this section,
representatives of the news media described in this division shall be
excluded from the hearing while that person is giving testimony at
the hearing. The prisoner being considered for parole has no right to
be present at the hearing, but may be represented as described in
division (B)(6) of this section.

If
there is an objection at a full board hearing to a recommendation for
the parole of a prisoner, the board may approve or disapprove the
recommendation or defer its decision until a subsequent full board
hearing. The board may permit interested persons other than those
listed in this division and division (B) of this section to attend
full board hearings pursuant to rules adopted by the adult parole
authority.

(D)
If the victim of the original offense died as a result of the offense
and the offense was aggravated murder, murder, an offense of violence
that is a felony of the first, second, or third degree, or an offense
punished by a sentence of life imprisonment, the family of the victim
may show at a full board hearing a video recording not exceeding five
minutes in length memorializing the victim.

(E)
The adult parole authority shall adopt rules for the implementation
of this section. The rules shall specify reasonable restrictions on
the number of media representatives that may attend a hearing, based
on considerations of space, and other procedures designed to
accomplish an effective, orderly process for full board hearings.

Sec.
5149.102.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Member of the victim's family" has the same meaning as in
section 2930.01 of the Revised Code.

(2)
"Person entitled to receive the electronic recording of a
specified parole board hearing" means any of the following
persons who are entitled to receive the electronic recording of a
revocation hearing under section 2967.15 of the Revised Code or a
post-release control revocation hearing under section 2967.28 of the
Revised Code:

(a)
The person who is the subject of the hearing;

(b)
The attorney of the person who is the subject of the hearing;

(c)
The prosecuting attorney;

(d)
The victim.

(3)
"Protected health information" means a medical, mental
health, substance abuse, recovery services, or behavioral health
record.

(4)
"Specified parole board hearing" means a revocation hearing
under section 2967.15 of the Revised Code or post-release control
violation hearing under section 2967.28 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1)
Subject to division (C) of this section, only upon request of a
person entitled to receive the electronic recording of a specified
parole board hearing, the department of rehabilitation and correction
shall provide the electronic recording of the specified parole board
hearing to the person entitled to receive the electronic recording.
If the person entitled to receive the electronic recording of a
specified parole board hearing wishes to have a recording
transcribed, the person entitled to receive the electronic recording
of the specified parole board hearing shall do so at the expense of
the person entitled to receive the electronic recording of the
specified parole board hearing.

(2)
A person entitled to receive the electronic recording of specified
parole board hearings who receives the electronic recording of a
specified parole board hearing shall not make copies of the
electronic recording of the specified parole board hearing, shall
keep the electronic recording of the specified parole board hearing
confidential, and shall not post the electronic recording of the
specified parole board hearing on the internet.

(C)
The electronic recordings of full parole board hearings provided as
public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code shall exclude
victim and victim representative statements and shall not include the
following personal identifying information of any victim of a crime
or a member of the victim's family:

(1)
Name;

(2)
Date of birth;

(3)
Home or work address;

(4)
Social security number;

(5)
Age;

(6)
Telephone number;

(7)
Electronic mail address;

(8)
Any other information that is likely to identify the victim or a
member of the victim's family.

(D)(1)
An incarcerated person whose protected health information is
disclosed in a recording, summary, or other communication related to
a parole board hearing in violation of this section has a civil cause
of action for damages against the person who disclosed that
information.

(2)
A victim whose personal identifying information is disclosed in a
recording, summary, or other communication related to a parole board
hearing in violation of this section has a civil cause of action for
damages against the person who disclosed that information.

Section
2.
That
existing sections 149.43,
2929.20,
5120.115, 5120.21,

5149.10
,
and 5149.101

of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Speaker
___________________ of the House of Representatives.

President
___________________ of the Senate.

Passed
________________________, 20____

Approved
________________________, 20____

Governor.

The section numbering of law
of a general and permanent nature is complete and in conformity with
the Revised Code.

Director, Legislative
Service Commission.

Filed
in the office of the Secretary of State at Columbus, Ohio, on the
____ day of ___________, A. D. 20____.

Secretary of State.

File
No. _________ Effective Date ___________________