Sandusky Register | Tom Jackson
Ohio’s attorney general, Dave Yost, is celebrating Sunshine Week by releasing the 2019 edition of the “Yellow Book,” a sunshine law manual that offers an up-to-date guide to Ohio’s public records and open meetings laws.
The manual is updated every year to reflect changes in and law and court rulings. For a downloadable copy and other information, go to ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Sunshine.
By law, Ohio governments must make public records available to anyone who asks for them. And all meetings by governing bodies such as city councils must be in public, except for certain limited exceptions, such as personnel matters.
Sunshine Week, a celebration hosted every year to mark access to public information, is observed across the U.S. this week by a variety of organizations, including public interest groups and journalism bodies such as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
“Most days, what happens at city hall or the county courthouse has much more impact on your life than the latest installment of outrage from Washington, D.C.,” Yost said. “Our ability as a people to stay informed and hold local politicians accountable hinges on the freedom to access government information through public records and open meetings.”