Section 121.44. Reports of investigations

(A) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the report of any investigation conducted by the inspector general or any deputy inspector general is a public record, open to public inspection. The inspector general, or a deputy inspector general, with the written approval of the inspector general, may designate all or part of a report as confidential if doing so preserves the confidentiality of matters made confidential by law or appears reasonably necessary to protect the safety of a witness or to avoid disclosure of investigative techniques that, if disclosed, would enable persons who have been or are committing wrongful acts or omissions to avoid detection. Confidential material shall be marked clearly as being confidential.

(B) The inspector general, free of charge, shall provide a copy of each report of an investigation, including wholly and partially confidential reports, to the governor. In addition, the inspector general, free of charge, shall provide a copy of the report of any investigation, including wholly and partially confidential reports, to a prosecuting authority who may undertake criminal prosecution of a wrongful act or omission described in the report, an ethics commission to which a wrongful act or omission described in the report was reported in accordance with section 102.06 of the Revised Code, and a licensing agency, appointing authority, or public or private employer that may take disciplinary action with regard to a wrongful act or omission described in the report. The inspector general shall not provide a copy of any confidential part of the report of an investigation to a person as required by this division if that person allegedly committed the wrongful act or omission described in the report. The governor, a prosecuting authority, ethics commission, licensing agency, appointing authority, or public or private employer that receives a report, all or part of which is designated as confidential, shall take all appropriate measures necessary to preserve the confidentiality of the report.

(C) The inspector general shall provide a copy of any nonconfidential report, or the nonconfidential parts of any report, to any other person who requests the copy and pays a fee prescribed by the inspector general. The fee shall not exceed the cost of reproducing and delivering the report.

Effective Date: 10-31-1990