Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Indiana Blogs -> Indiana Civil & Business Lawyer

Indiana

: Indiana Civil & Business Lawyer

Online Resources: Indiana's Open Door Law

I say the first and foremost resource for Indiana Open Door Law issues is Indiana's Public Access Counselor. The site has access to opinions, statutes, administrative rules, presentations and resources. The following are some of the resources:

• Public Access Handbook
• Public Records Request Guide for Offenders
• Guide to Filing a Formal Complaint
• Public Acces to Election Records
• Sample Records Request Letter
• Sample Public Agency Records Request Response Letter

For those who do not know why I am making such a to do about this agency, this is from the agency's "About Us" page:

The powers and duties of the public access counselor are the following:

1. To establish and administer a program to train public officials and educate the public on the rights of the public and the responsibilities of public agencies under the public access laws.
2. To conduct research.
3. To prepare interpretive and educational materials and programs in cooperation with the office of the attorney general.
4. To distribute to newly elected or appointed public officials the public access laws and educational materials concerning public access laws.
5. To respond to informal inquiries made by the public and public agencies concerning the public access laws.
6. To issue advisory opinions to interpret the public access laws upon the request of a person or public agency. However, the counselor may not issue an advisory opinion concerning a specific matter with respect to which a lawsuit has been filed.
7. To make recommendations to the general assembly concerning ways to improve public access.

I also recommend checking out the Indiana Coalition for Open Government. The coalition takes on more than just Indiana's Open Door law, tracks Indiana legislation, and much more. A worthy organization for those who prefer an open government and not so much for those who do not.

Full post as published by Indiana Civil & Business Lawyer on July 18, 2008 (boomark / email).