Indiana – Page 2 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

Indiana governor concerned about Notre Dame police bill

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Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said Monday that his "strong bias for the public's right to know" will weigh heavily as he decides whether to veto a measure that would shelter police departments at Notre Dame and 10 other Indiana private colleges from following the same crime reporting requirements as all other law enforcement agencies.

The bill by Democratic Rep. Pat Bauer, whose district includes Notre Dame, was approved recently by the Legislature amid a high-profile court fight between the Catholic university and ESPN over police records.

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Private university police bill headed to Indiana governor

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A bill that would exempt police departments at the University of Notre Dame and other private colleges from following the same crime reporting requirements as public colleges is headed to Gov. Mike Pence for his signature.

HB 1022, sponsored by state Rep. B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, was approved 49-1 Tuesday by the Indiana Senate. It passed the House unanimously in January. Bauer this week filed a concurrence, which signals agreement with a Senate amendment.

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Indiana Senate committee approves private college crime records bill

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Police departments operated by Indiana private colleges would remain exempt from following the same crime reporting requirements as other law enforcement agencies, including those serving public colleges, under a measure approved Monday by a Senate committee.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, was approved by the Civil Law committee on a 7-0 vote. It would require the University of Notre Dame and the 10 other private colleges in Indiana with police departments to comply with a limited number of provisions of the state's Public Records Act.

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Indiana Senate to hear bill to let police withhold body camera video

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An Indiana Senate panel will hear arguments on a bill to give law enforcement agencies the authority to withhold body camera video from the public.

Members of the judiciary committee will start the debate of the bill at 9:30 Wednesday morning. The measure being heard Wednesday passed the House last month in a 65-30 vote.

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A handcuffed bill on college police records in Indiana

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The sponsors of House Bill 1022 insist they want private universities in Indiana to be more open with police records. The bill, they say, will create a new and stronger level of transparency. And the universities themselves, who helped craft the bill, have said they want to be more open when it comes to public safety.

The bill comes in the wake of controversies about sexual assault investigations on university campuses, as well as a lawsuit by media giant ESPN on whether police records by the University of Notre Dame should be public.

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Indiana bill to allow the withholding of body camera footage advances

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A legislative proposal allowing Indiana law enforcement agencies to withhold video from police body cameras is advancing unchanged.

The Indiana House rejected on a voice vote Monday a proposed amendment that would have judges release the video unless doing so would increase the risk of harm to someone or prejudice a court case.

Bill sponsor Republican Rep. Kevin Mahan of Hartford City argued against the change, saying he wanted a process that encourages police agencies to start using body cameras.

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Candidate for Indiana Governor proposes transparency initiative

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John Gregg, the Democratic candidate for governor, is calling for greater government transparency in a policy proposal announced Monday.

“While this governor would have created a taxpayer funded propaganda machine to control what information reporters and the public have access to, I want to throw open the doors of state government,” Gregg said in a release.

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Indiana: Student reporting project finds faults in public records access

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Three graduate students found nearly half of the Indiana county agencies surveyed failed to obey the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.

Graduate students Craig Lyons, Samim Arif and DeJuan Foster conducted a reporting project to review the status of digital access within Indiana government  agencies. Continue>>>

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Public record search fee removed from Ind. bill

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Lawmakers stripped an education bill of major proposed changes to Indiana's open records laws on Thursday after concerns were raised about how the measure would impact all government agencies and not just schools.

The legislation aims to simplify school management by eliminating duplicate and obsolete reporting requirements that school administrators say are taking resources away from the classroom. But the legislation also included a provision that would allow government agencies to charge a fee for information that takes longer than two hours to gather.

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Ken de la Bastide : Political cash reports lack transparency

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While politicians at the state and local levels pledge to bring transparency to government, a lack of campaign finance transparency emanates from the Indiana Secretary of State's office. Twice a year during every election cycle, I check with the Madison County Clerk's office and the Election Division of the Secretary of State's office to review campaign finance reports.

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