In a move that should alarm every Ohioan who cares about transparent government, state legislators have quietly given themselves permission to operate in the shadows.

Starting Monday, a new law goes into effect that shields lawmakers’ emails and texts from public records requests for up to two years – and the Today in Ohio podcast hosts are sounding the alarm.

Lisa Garvin explained the hollow justification offered for the change: “supporters of this say the rules mirror federal public records laws and they can discuss legislation freely without fear of public scrutiny,” She said. “Critics say, well, it shields the whole legislative process from the public, including potential criminal activity.”

No one is saying who proposed the law. It was anonymously tucked into a budget bill last su

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