Public Access To Proposed Opioid Overdose Committees Would Be Limited By The State

Ohio Governor John Kasich has proposed allowing counties to create committees to review opioid overdose fatalities, and the public would have limited access to the findings. The committees would probe each overdose death and maintain a database that would include victims' demographic information, where the deaths occurred and contributing factors. The committees would submit an annual report to the Ohio Department of Health that summarizes the data, which would be accessible. The committee meetings would be closed to the public. Any records they would review would be shielded from public disclosure. Advocates for access to public records worry the plan cuts off access to important information about the state's opioid epidemic.