UELMA Enacted in Ohio

 On June 29, 2018, Ohio joined the growing number of states enacting the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act (UELMA) when Governor Kasich signed SB139 into law. According to the Uniform Law Commission, UELMA “requires that official electronic legal material be: (1) authenticated, by providing a method to determine that it is unaltered; (2) preserved, either in electronic or print form; and (3) accessible, for use by the public on a permanent basis.” The goal is to provide online legal material with a high degree of trustworthiness and permanence. As stated in a supporting resolution submitted by the Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries, “permanent public access to official, authentic legal information is critical to the legal system of the United States.”