The ACLU issued a statement damning the bill, and DeWine vetoes some of it in a line item, but the fee remains.
He explains it like this:
"I strongly support the public’s–and the news media’s- right to access public records. The language in House Bill 315 doesn’t change that right.
"Law enforcement-worn body cameras and dashboard cameras have been a major improvement for both law enforcement investigations and for accountability. However, I am sensitive to the fact that this changing technology has affected law enforcement by often times creating unfunded burdens on these agencies, especially when it comes to the often time consuming and labor-intensive work it takes to provide them as public records.
"No law enforcement agency should ever have to choose between diverting resources for officers on the street to move them to administrative tasks like lengthy video redaction reviews for which agencies receive no compensation–and this is especially so for when the requestor of the video is a private company seeking to make money off of these videos. The language in House Bill 315 is a workable compromise to balance the modern realities of preparing these public records and the cost it takes to prepare them. Ohio law has long authorized optional user fees associated with the cost of duplicating public records, and the language in House Bill 315 applies that concept in a modern way to law enforcement-provided video records
"It is good that the language in House Bill 315 does not include a mandatory fee, but instead it is optional at the discretion of the agency. It is also good the user fees are capped and directly related to the cost of production.
"If the language in House Bill 315 related to public records turns out to have unforeseen consequences, I will work with the General Assembly to amend the language to address such legitimate concerns."
https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/governor-dewine-signs-bills-into-law-issues-line-item-vetoes
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