Police agencies will be able to charge members of the public and the media $75 an hour for body camera footage, dashcam video or surveillance video inside jails, under a law signed late Thursday by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
Groups representing news media and citizens had urged DeWine to veto that provision which had been added to - what was known as the Christmas tree bill during lame duck. Opponents said it should have been stand-alone legislation considered by committees in the legislative process.
DeWine signed the bill just before midnight Thursday night. His office made the announcement via an emailed news release.
Gary Daniels, lobbyist for the ACLU of Ohio, said slipping the provision into the big Christmas tree bill without putting it through the legislative process and then signing it without talking about it to reporters was a sneaky and deliberate move by DeWine and the legislature.
鈥淭hey don't want people coming in before the legislature testifying before committees or having meetings with them or what have you to talk about what some possible solutions or compromises might be. No, it's their way or the highway,鈥� Daniels said. 鈥淭hey're going to do this in secret and then the rest of us who are concerned about public accountability and transparency and policing in Ohio, we're out of luck at this point.鈥�
But cities and local police departments were pleased. Kent Scarrett, executive director of the Ohio Municipal League, praised the legislature and DeWine for passing the provision, which helps cities deal with costs of making video available.
鈥淲e don't dictate how the process works. We're a part of the process and we just app