The Indiana Publisher

The HSPA office has relocated to the historic Stutz Building on the near northwest side of downtown Indianapolis. From 1911 through 1919, the building housed the Stutz Motorcar Company which produced the Bearcat sports car that raced in the city's first Indy 500. There is street parking available at the new address, 212 W. 10th Street, Suite B-340, Indianapolis, IN 46202. The entrance for building B is on Capitol Avenue. The building is bordered by Capitol and Senate Avenues and 10th and 11th Streets. A map of the new location is available at http://bit.ly/2TTCTeJ. A map of the building is available at http://bit.ly/2XRPz4R. Publisher The Indiana Volume 84, Issue 3 • March 2019 Published on second Thursday monthly HSPA office moves to historic Stutz Building in downtown Indy Legislative Update Compiled by the Hoosier State Press Association to note bills that impact the public's right to know (generally embodied in the Open Door Law, Access to Public Records Act and Public Notice Advertising law) and the Freedom of the Press. Open Door Law H.B. 1116 – Authored by Rep. Mike Karickhoff, R-Kokomo, who wants to give governing bodies the ability to discuss strategy when considering the sale or leasing of public property behind closed doors. (Current law allows an executive session when a government unit is considering the purchase or lease of private party.) HSPA's concern was whether this would allow for a consensus reached in an executive session that could be executed in a public meeting without the public having any advance warning of the sale or lease of that public land. HSPA worked with Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (AIM) on an amendment that answered that concern. This bill was passed by the House Committee on Government and Regulatory Affairs, chaired by Rep. Kevin Mahan, R-Hartford City, and by the House, 98-0. Rep. Mahan and Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, joined as co-authors. Sens. John Ruckelshaus, R-Indianapolis, and David Niezgodski, D-South Bend, will be the Senate sponsors. This bill is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Local Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo. HSPA supports H.B. 1116. Access to Public Records Act H.B. 1629 – This education- related bill originally contained a provision that would make emails between staff members of schools or charter schools exempt from the state's Access to Public Records Act. It would have been unprec- edented to make a record secret based on its form, rather than content. HSPA worked with the bill's author, Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, and Seamus Boyce, an attorney with Church, Church, Hittle &Antrim (a Noblesville law HSPA monitoring public notice, Open Door bills See Update, page 10 Public records help reporters investigate police abuse of power Denise-Marie Ordway The Journalist's Resource In the investigative series, "Criminal Justice in Elkhart, Indiana," two journalists uncovered serious abuses of power in the city's police depart- ment — showing, for example, how the police chief promoted 18 supervisors with disciplinary records and bringing to light the fact that two officers who repeatedly punched a hand- cuffed man in the face received only a written reprimand. The series demonstrates how the skillful use of public records — knowing which kinds of records exist, how to get them and what to do when govern- ment officials block or delay access — can help reporters spotlight problems and initiate change in a community. The yearlong investigation by Christian Sheckler, a public safety reporter at the South Bend Tribune, and Ken Armstrong, a senior reporter at ProPublica, The Stutz Building is the former home to a motor car company. It now houses offices and studios. See Records, page 12 A still frame from an Elkhart, Indiana police station video shows officers punching a man. (Obtained from the South Bend Tribune) Yearlong investigation by South Bend Tribune, ProPublica leads to police chief's resignation Track bills at iga. in.gov/.

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