Foundation overseeing Ohio opioid funds must make records public

By Brendan Pierson, Reuters, May 11, 2023

Reuters reports that in a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court of Ohio rejected OneOhio Recovery Foundation's argument that, as a private foundation, it was not subject to the state's public records law. The court found that the foundation was the "functional equivalent of a public office."

The ruling stems from a petition by Harm Reduction Ohio, a non-profit that provides clean syringes, the anti-overdose drug naloxone and other services and had sought records from the foundation last year.

OneOhio claimed it was not subject to the public records law because it was deliberately formed as a private entity. It said the decision to make it private "insulates the funds from the whims of political interests and the quirks of the economy."

The state Supreme Court, however, found that the foundation is subject to the public records law because it "is performing a historically governmental function - the disbursement of public money."