Ohio Court Says Government Funding Doesn’t Make Records Public

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A sharply divided Ohio Supreme Court held that private organizations taking substantial amounts of public money are not subject to the state’s public records law unless it can be shown they are performing a clear government function. The 4-3 ruling came in a case in which the state auditor sought records of a halfway house that got close to 90 percent of its operating income from the state. “A private business does not open its records to public scrutiny merely by performing services on behalf of the state or a municipal government,” the majority said. (10/5/06)