Scioto County commissioners weighed in this week on a newly proposed Ohio law that would prohibit elected officials from signing nondisclosure agreements — a move that comes amid growing public frustration over secrecy surrounding large development projects, including the proposed Google data center in northern Scioto County.
State lawmakers recently introduced legislation that would prevent county commissioners, township trustees, village mayors, and council members from entering into NDAs tied to their official duties, arguing that confidentiality agreements conflict with Ohio’s public records and open meetings laws.
At Thursday’s meeting, Merit Smith said he’s already reviewed the proposal and wouldn’t object if NDAs were taken off the table.
“I’ve looked at the bill,” Smith said. “As we’ve said about NDAs all along, NDAs have been used for years and years and years. As long as they are legal, they’ll still come to us and ask us to sign NDAs.”
But Smith made it clear he’d welcome a change.
“If the law goes through saying those are no longer legal, more power to them,” he said. “It allows us to have more transparency in what we say and do.”
Smith acknowledged that NDAs often put elected officials in an uncomfortable position — caught between wanting to be open with residents and being legally restricted from sharing details.
“There’s always a question in anybody’s mind if you’ve ever had to sign one — is this good or not good?” Smith said. “But sometimes it’s what has to happen to move things also.”
Still, he emphasized that transparency has been his goal since taking office.
“I have said ever since I’ve been here, I’m all about letting people know what’s going on,” Smith said. “If NDAs go away, it’ll make it a whole lot easier on us.”
Commissioner Will Mault echoed that sentiment.
“I respect and appreciate transparency,” Mault said. “We’ll go with whatever the state decides.”
