Ohio Governor Signs Bill Allowing Departments to Charge for Body Cam Footage

Governments could charge up to $75 an hour for work.

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COLUMBUS - Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law that will allow law enforcement to charge the public for body-cam footage. 

House Bill 315 allows law enforcement to charge Ohioans for the estimated cost of processing the video. Governments could charge up to $75 an hour for work with a fee cap of $750 for each request. 

Governor DeWine says because the $75 charge is a permissive fee, hand not a mandatory one, he felt comfortable allowing the provision to become state law. 

Under existing law, police departments charge little to no cost for the service. Currently, police can charge for physical costs, such as a flash drive. 

In a statement, DeWine said he supports the public and news media's rights to access public records. He added that this law is intended to help departments recoup labor costs, as the process of redacting and processing body camera video is often a long and time-consuming task that departments don't get compensated for.