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Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio requires electronic recordings of parole board hearings and makes full board recordings public records
Last action · September 7, 2026: EffectiveSponsors: Latyna Humphrey and 66 others
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What This Bill Does
The General Assembly enacted Substitute House Bill Number 31, requiring electronic recordings of certain parole board hearings, revocation hearings, and post-release control violation hearings. Full parole board hearing recordings are classified as s while redacting victim identifying information. The law also grants prosecuting attorneys access to Department of Rehabilitation and Correction health care records for specific parole and cases.
Changes transparency rules for state correctional proceedings by making audio records of full parole hearings accessible as s while safeguarding victims' personal details and granting prosecutors direct access to inmate health files.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
The department must ensure electronic recordings of parole board hearings are made, handle record requests, and provide health care records to prosecuting attorneys under specific conditions.
prosecuting attorneys
Prosecutors gain access to Department of Rehabilitation and Correction health care records for certain parole and judicial release cases.
crime victims
Victims' statements and personal identifying information are excluded from public electronic recordings of full parole board hearings.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are all recordings of parole board hearings available to the general public?
Who is allowed to access an inmate's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction health care records under this law?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
12 actions- Sep 7, 2026EnrolledEffective
- Jun 8, 2026EnrolledSigned By The Governor
- Jun 2, 2026EnrolledSent To The Governor
- May 20, 2026HouseFloorConcurred in Senate amendments
- May 13, 2026SenateFloorPassed
- Mar 11, 2026SenateCommitteeReported - Substitute (Judiciary)
Show 6 earlier actions
- Jun 18, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Judiciary
- Jun 12, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced
- Jun 11, 2025HouseFloorPassed
- Jun 4, 2025HouseCommitteeReported (Government Oversight)
- Feb 5, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Government Oversight
- Feb 3, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Voting Record
Favorable Passage
Total
13
- Yes
- 9
- No
- 4
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (13)
Show 4 earlier roll calls
Favorable Passage
Total
31
- Yes
- 31
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
Favorable Passage
Total
6
- Yes
- 6
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
Passed
Total
92
- Yes
- 92
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (92)
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68 more members
Favorable Passage
Total
12
- Yes
- 12
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (12)
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 62 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Public Record Accessibility for Parole Hearings
The legislation shifts full parole board hearing recordings from exempt status to public record status, while instituting stringent privacy protections for victim information.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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