Section 101.30. Maintenance of confidential relationship between legislative staff and general assembly members and staff

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Legislative document" includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(a) A working paper, work product, correspondence, preliminary draft, note, proposed bill or resolution, proposed amendment to a bill or resolution, analysis, opinion, memorandum, or other document in whatever form or format prepared by legislative staff for a member of the general assembly or for general assembly staff;

(b) Any document or material in whatever form or format provided by a member of the general assembly or general assembly staff to legislative staff that requests, or that provides information or materials to assist in, the preparation of any of the items described in division (A)(1)(a) of this section;

(c) Any summary of a bill or resolution or of an amendment to a bill or resolution in whatever form or format that is prepared by or in the possession of a member of the general assembly or general assembly staff, if the summary is prepared before the bill, resolution, or amendment is filed for introduction or presented at a committee hearing or floor session, as applicable.

(2) "Legislative staff" means the staff of the legislative service commission, legislative budget office of the legislative service commission, or any other legislative agency included in the legislative service commission budget group.

(3) "General assembly staff" means an officer or employee of either house of the general assembly who acts on behalf of a member of the general assembly or on behalf of a committee or either house of the general assembly.

(B) Legislative staff shall maintain a confidential relationship with each member of the general assembly, and with each member of the general assembly staff, with respect to communications between the member of the general assembly or general assembly staff and legislative staff. Except as otherwise provided in this division and division (C) of this section, a legislative document arising out of this confidential relationship is not a public record for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code. When it is in the public interest and with the consent of the commission, the director of the commission may release to the public any legislative document in the possession of the commission staff arising out of a confidential relationship with a former member of the general assembly or former member of the general assembly staff who is not available to make the legislative document a public record as provided in division (C) of this section because of death or disability, whom the director is unable to contact for that purpose, or who fails to respond to the director after the director has made a reasonable number of attempts to make such contact.

(C)

(1) A legislative document is a public record for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code if it is an analysis, synopsis, fiscal note, or local impact statement prepared by legislative staff that is required to be prepared by law, or by a rule of either house of the general assembly, for the benefit of the members of either or both of those houses or any legislative committee and if it has been presented to those members.

(2) A legislative document is a public record for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code if a member of the general assembly for whom legislative staff prepared the legislative document does any of the following:

(a) Files it for introduction with the clerk of the senate or the clerk of the house of representatives, if it is a bill or resolution;

(b) Presents it at a committee hearing or floor session, if it is an amendment to a bill or resolution or is a substitute bill or resolution;

(c) Releases it, or authorizes general assembly staff or legislative staff to release it, to the public.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999