Ohio government officials must comply with public records laws or face fine.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: News, Trends & Analysis - Brief Article

Government officials in Ohio soon may be required to take classes on the state's public records laws and face a $250-a-day penalty for noncompliance under a proposed bill.

The bill requires that government offices have written public records policies and bans officials from limiting the availability of records by asking the name of the person requesting information or for what the information will be used.

A survey by the Newspaper Association and The Associated Press released in June found public employees followed the law only...