Ohio governor signs bill to charge public for police video footage

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed a new measure into law earlier this week that permits police departments to charge the public to release camera footage from its officers — including dash, body or surveillance video.

“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,” DeWine said in a statement shared with The Hill.

“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," he added.

The Republican governor compared the new legislation to the payments associated with duplicating public records while highlighting that the fee is not mandatory but up to the discretion of the agency.

Governments will be allowed to charge as much as $75 an hour or a maximum total of $750 per request according to reports from local outlet News5 in Cleveland.

"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,” DeWine said.

Despite the move, the governor said he supports the public's right to access public records.