COLUMBUS, Ohio — Individuals requesting police and jail footage in Ohio might soon face a significant fee of up to $75 for each hour of footage, should Governor Mike DeWine endorse a recently passed legislative measure.

This charge was incorporated into an amendment to the state’s open records laws, which was introduced and approved by the Republican-majority Legislature early Thursday. The proposed legislation is now waiting for the governor’s review, although it remains uncertain when or if he will take action. A coalition representing the news media has called for a veto.

Advocates for the First Amendment and government openness expressed surprise at the measure, which could allow local and state law enforcement agencies to impose fees for obtaining copies of footage that many departments currently provide at little or no cost.

Each local and state agency would have the discretion to establish their own fees, which could reach $75 per hour for the release of videos captured by body cams, dashboard cams, and surveillance cameras in jails. Agencies would still have the option to offer these records free of charge, although the maximum fee per request could go up to $750 for each agency involved.

Gary Daniels, the chief lobbyist for Ohio’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, criticized the bill as a substantial setback for governmental transparency and accountability. Both he and Monica Nieporte, director of the Ohio News Media Association, reported that they had no warning about the law’s progression until it already passed. Nieporte has urged Governor DeWine to veto the bill.

Ohio’s Attorney General, Dave Yost, a Republican, defended the legislation as a “solid way” to navigate what he described as an “expensive, labor-intensive process.” Yost emphasized that excessive demands from social media influencers and professional content creators have overwhelmed police departments with video requests, essentially causing taxpayers to subsidize these entrepreneurs’ ventures.

Critics warn that imposing such fees could deter criminal justice advocates and media organizations from seeking information about policing practices, particularly when multiple agencies or officers are involved in a single incident.

This new law would clash with a long-standing state court ruling that stipulated public agencies could only charge for the materials used to reproduce public records, such as paper or digital drives.