Similarly, the state’s Open Meetings Act requires government bodies to make many of their meetings public, and the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio make court records public.
These sunshine laws are crucial tools for journalists, advocates, and activists alike to hold government agencies and elected officials accountable. However, they are just words on the page unless Ohioans make use of them.
These laws take on even greater importance in times when the state legislature or other governmental bodies rush through significant policy changes, with little to no opportunity for public input. This legislative whiplash is on display right now, as lawmakers deliberate over the state operating budget.
The budget bill, which typically spans thousands of pages, undergoes countless changes from start to finish of the process — from introduction by the Governor, to changes made in the Ohio House, to yet more changes from the Ohio Senate, culminating with a finalized version produced by a “conference committee” comprised of lawmakers in both chambers.
Given how large the budget is and how quickly the process moves, it is incredibly difficult for everyday Ohioans to keep up. On top of that, state lawmakers often sneak in provisions with significant impact during or toward the end of the budget process, in some cases after the opportunity for public input has passed.
We saw a prime example of that in House Bill (HB) 110 of the 134th General Assembly, which created the state budget for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. That year, at the last minute, a lawmaker snuck into the bill a provision allowing medical providers, hospitals, and insurers to deny care coverage to patients if doing so would violate their religious or ethical beliefs. Because of how late the amendment was adopted, Ohioans had no opportunity to weigh in on the “Healthcare Discrimination Act.” The provision became law as part of the massive bill when Gov. Mike DeWine signed it into law on June 30, 2021.
Similarly, the “lame duck” period, which takes place at the end of the two-year General Assembly, is a time of frantic legislative activity. Last year’s lame duck period produced one of the most egregious examples of 11th-hour legislating in recent memory, in the form of HB 315. That piece of legislation originally pertained to various revisions of township law but quickly became a “Christmas tree bill,” loaded up with all sorts of amendments unrelated to Ohio townships.
Oftentimes when lawmakers amend provisions into separate bills, those provisions at least come from an existing bill that has received some degree of public scrutiny. That decidedly was not the case with one provision of HB 315 that allows (but does not require) police departments to charge individuals seeking their video records up to $75 per hour, capped at $750 total. This provision was not introduced as standalone legislation previously in the General Assembly, so it effectively came out of nowhere. What’s more, the public had zero opportunity to testify on the amended version of HB 315 before both chambers passed the bill and Gov. DeWine signed it into law.
It goes without saying that this is not how the legislative process should work, particularly where changes to our sunshine laws are concerned.
Blatant examples like these remind us how important it is for government actors and bodies to be as transparent and accountable as possible. It’s up to us, as citizens, to be vigilant watchdogs. As the Washington Post puts it: democracy dies in darkness.
We at the ACLU of Ohio are here to help by providing resources like our activist’s guide on public records and open meetings law. Together, we can make sure the sun shines brightly on the workings of government in our state!
Sean McCann is a policy strategist for ACLU of Ohio.