The Indiana Publisher

Publisher The Indiana Volume 87, Issue 1 • February 2022 Published monthly HSPA targeting bills focused on Open Door Law, access Legislative update HSPA has less than a dozen bills it's targeting after legisla- tion has passed the winnowing process of being passed in the chamber where it originated. Following are the bills under our scrutiny: H.B. 1103 – This is the yearly Department of Natural Resources bill. It includes a provision that would allow DNR to forego the publication in newspapers of notices when it is considering the adoption of rules – replacing that publication with an electronic notification. This pro- posal was in last session's DNR bill, which failed to pass. The author is Rep. Sean Eberhart, R-Shelbyville. The House passed the bill, 90-0. The sponsor is Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange. HSPA will seek to have the provision stricken from the bill. H.B. 1130 – This bill will require public school boards to provide the public with an opportunity to speak at meet- ings. The Open Door Law cur- rently only gives citizens the right to observe and record, not participate in meetings of gov- ernment units. HSPA did testify in favor of the bill, authored by Rep. Tim O'Brien, R-Evansville, before the Senate Education and Career Development Committee. The House passed the bill, 92-1. The bill's sponsor is Sen. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo. Rep. O'Brien said there would be an amendment to the bill before the Senate Committee takes a vote on H.B. 1130. H.B. 1134 – This education matters bill has gotten a lot of attention because it addresses curriculum issues, such as criti- cal race theory. While the bill has a government transparency component – requiring school districts to post on the Internet a host of information about what is being taught in the classrooms, it also diminishes the ability of citizens to ask for copies of that information from school officials. A provision changes the Access to Public Records Act to allow school officials to deny a request to inspect or copy See Bills, page 2 Barring something unusual, the legislative debate over whether public notices should remain in local newspapers or move to government websites will be deferred to an interim legislative committee this sum- mer Sen. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo, amended his S.B. 283, to request such a debate. The original language would have allowed government units to forego the publication of public notices in local newspapers, replacing the publication with a posting on a government unit's website. The change came as it became clear that the votes to pass the original language were not there. The Hoosier State Press Association worked hard to lock up five votes who would have blocked S.B. 283 in its original form. The amended bill See Public Notice, page 14 Debate over future of public notices in newspapers deferred to summer Glick HSPA Executive Director and General Counsel Steve Key testifies against S.B. 283 Jan. 24 at the Indiana Statehouse. The bill would have allowed government units to forego publication of public notices in newspapers. The bill was amended to request debate on the issue this summer. Amended S.B, 283 passes Senate 41-1 $1,000 HSPA Foundation Legacy Scholarship application deadline April 8 Any child or grandchild of an HSPA member newspaper employee or independent contractor is invited to apply for an annual Legacy Scholarship offered by the HSPA Foundation. There are two $1,000 awards available. "Several years ago the HSPA Foundation Board felt that we might better use our scholarship budget by helping our members' employees Children, grandchildren of HSPA-member newspaper employees, contractors eligible See Scholarship, page 5 See application pages 15-17.

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