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'Putting mud in the clear water of transparency' | Ohio police can now charge up to $750 for body cam video

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'Putting mud in the clear water of transparency' | Ohio police can now charge up to 0 for body cam video


CINCINNATI — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an omnibus bill Thursday that includes a provision that allows Ohio law enforcement agencies to charge up to $75 per hour of video requested under the state’s public record laws. The law caps the total at $750.

“We’re thankful to the governor for signing the bill,” Michael Weinman, Ohio FOP’s director of government affairs, told WCPO.

The law is intended to help departments recoup labor costs for the time spent to redact and prepare videos for release once a request is made. Officials said they are also hopeful the law will help prevent bad actors online from monetizing “sensational” videos.

“We get flooded with these requests,” Weinman said. “And what they’re looking for is bar fights and different things — something sensational that they can get likes on and get clicks and things like that. And so, what we hope this does is when you increase that charge; it filters those people out.”

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Criminal attorney Joshua Evans believes the legislation could backfire.

“It’s like putting mud in the clear water of transparency,” Evans said. “A lot of people have a lot of distrust in police officers already and this could be looked at as another roadblock for poor people not to be able to get what they need, you know, to make a claim.”

RELATED | Concerns arise over possibility of police charging for video in Ohio

Evans said he believes this law, if not challenged, could further erode trust and hinder accountability for law enforcement.

“It’s a public records request,” Evans said. “I think public records should be free. I think there’s a better way of parsing those people out. It kind of sends a message you can only get justice if you got money and that’s never a good message you want to send.”

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In his press release about the bill signings, DeWine addressed the concerns around this legislation. In a statement, he said in part:

“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 oftentimes 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.”

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Ohio auditor describes how widespread Medicaid fraud affects taxpayers | Fox News Video

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Ohio auditor describes how widespread Medicaid fraud affects taxpayers | Fox News Video


Lawrence Jones questions Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber about the widespread Medicaid fraud affecting taxpayers. Faber explains that big government programs like Medicaid, operating on a trust-based system, are easily exploited. He highlights disproportionate home healthcare utilization by the Somali community in Columbus, emphasizing that inadequate controls allow people to lie, steal, and cheat the system.



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Ohio State reaches $100 million settlement with nearly 300 sex abuse survivors | CNN

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Ohio State reaches 0 million settlement with nearly 300 sex abuse survivors | CNN


Ohio State University has reached a $100 million settlement with nearly 300 former students who had accused the school’s campus doctor of sexually assaulting them decades ago, the school and a lawyer for the victims said on Wednesday.

The settlement with 279 of the 280 former students was ratified by the university’s board on Wednesday. It followed years of litigation overaccusations of decades of abuse by Richard Strauss.

The abuse occurred from 1978 to 1998, the year he retired from the faculty.

“The mediation and its confidentiality are continuing as the parties work to finalize the details of the settlements, and additional information will be shared as appropriate,” the school and a lawyer for the victims said in a joint statement.

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In February, the university reached eight additional settlements, bringing the total to 304 survivors and more than $60 million.

Strauss, who killed himself in 2005, was employed by Ohio State’s athletic department and medical staff for nearly two decades.

A 2019 report detailing the investigative findings said that Strauss had sexually abused at least 177 men, nearly all of whom were students, and that university staff who knew of the abuse failed to act. The abuse included groping and fondling of the students’ genitals and other acts under the guise of a medical examination.

News of the investigation and its findings prompted more than 500 plaintiffs to sue Ohio State, alleging they had been sexually abused by Strauss and that the school had shown deliberate indifference.

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The purge? Ohio moves to downgrade non-domiciled CDLs

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The purge? Ohio moves to downgrade non-domiciled CDLs


Another state is jumping into the fray to put the brakes on non-domiciled CDLs, with roughly 5,000 commercial drivers in Ohio facing the potential of having their licenses downgraded.

On Friday, May 29, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles announced it would be contacting approximately 5,000 non-domiciled CDL holders to verify the status of their credentials under updated rules from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

According to the Bureau, non-domiciled license holders in the state will receive one of two notices, depending on the type of documentation they initially used to obtain their CDL.

For drivers whose documentation meets current FMCSA standards, their licenses will remain valid until their expiration date. For those who do not meet current standards, the process is a bit more complicated.

As for CDL holders whose original documents do not meet current FMCSA guidelines, they will receive a notice of downgrade, and their CDLs will be downgraded to a Class D license 30 days after receiving the notice.

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Drivers who receive a downgrade notice can request a hearing with the BMV to dispute the downgrade, and can provide additional documentation to prove their eligibility. According to the Bureau, those documents include:

  • An unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by USCIS, valid on the most recent CDL/CLP issuance date
  • An unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired USCIS I‑94 form, both of which must be valid on your most recent CDL/CLP issuance date

Officials said the Ohio BMV has not issued or renewed any non-domiciled CDLs since FMCSA put new standards in place in 2025, and that it does not intend to resume issuing non-domiciled CDLs in the future. Additionally, the BMV will not renew revalidated non-domiciled CDLs after they expire.

All notices will be sent by mail to the address listed on file with the Ohio BMV. The Bureau emphasized that the reverification process does not apply to full CDL holders or CDL holders with legally established permanent residence. LL



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