Johnson was strongly criticized for his 2001 attempt to repeal the reach of Ohio's sunshine law that made state records available to the public, a proposal contained in the massive state budget bill. Darrell Rowland of "The Columbus Dispatch" described Johnson's idea: "The obscure proposal–two dozen lines in a 58,936-line bill–would prevent subpoenas of legislative staff members and their communications with legislators. The bill also would keep secret any legislative documents not deemed public records–a broad category because the General Assembly already concealed much of that material from public view two years ago."