From WIBC Indianapolis: The current open records law, the Access to Public Records Act (APRA), has been in place for "at least the last couple decades" according to Julia Vaughn, policy director for the open government advocacy group Common Cause Indiana. "Those of us who have always participated with it in place tend to forget that there was a time when people were not allowed into hearings, and when people were not allowed access to government documents," said Vaughn.
Anyone can make an open records request, but Vaughn says you have to be careful, "so that agencies aren't able to deny because the request is too vague." She says some agencies in the past have been known to ask for specifics as a way of stalling the open records process, and adds the website of the Indiana Coalition for Open Government has many helpful tips. "On the site, they have a form you can fill out that guides you though how you need to pose your request and the questions you need to ask." The coalition's website is indianacog.org.
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Indiana Coalition for Open Government is a member of NFOIC. –eds.