Indiana Access to Public Records Act

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Contents

State sunshine
State laws
How to ask for records
Transparency headlines
Statutory changes
Notable FOIA requests
State sunshine lawsuits
State court cases
E-mail access
Private agency, public dollars
The WikiFOIA portal

The Indiana Access to Public Records Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Indiana.

The Indiana Open Door Law legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.

Indiana's transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Indiana #29 in the nation with an overall percentage of 51.10%. [1]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Indiana 59 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 14 out of the 50 states.[2]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Indiana's law as the 13th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "C".[3]

Public Records

"A fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of representative government is that government is the servant of the people and not their master. Accordingly, it is the public policy of the state that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and employees. Providing persons with the information is an essential function of a representative government and an integral part of the routine duties of public officials and employees, whose duty it is to provide the information."[4]

Open Meetings

"It is the intent of this chapter that the official action of public agencies be conducted and taken openly, unless otherwise expressly provided by statute, in order that the people may be fully informed"[5]

Who May Request Indiana Records?

Any person may request public records in Indiana. "[A]ll persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government". [6]

For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state.

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
  2. ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
  3. ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
  4. ↑ Indiana Code 5-14-3-1
  5. ↑ Indiana Code 5-14-1.5-1
  6. ↑ Indiana Code, 5-14-3-1
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