The Indiana Publisher

Publisher The Indiana Volume 80, Issue 3 • March 12, 2015 Published on second Thursday monthly This just in: Deadline for publication of school reports Look for positive postage change Newspapers can look for data starting March 18 Newspapers can expect relief from recent increase T he Department of Education reports that the data for the annual school performance reports will be posted on its website March 18. The publication deadline is March 31. Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, suggests newspapers contact local school districts now to see if the district plans to add any content to the required publication. "Don't wait until the final minute and then discover that there's nobody in the corporation offices to answer questions because it's spring break," Key said. This is the first year for the new March 15-31 window for publication. Previously, publication was supposed to be in January, but the Department of Education repeatedly was unable to collect and post the data in time for the statutory window. HSPA worked with the Department of Education to have the publication time frame moved by the Indiana General Assembly during the 2014 legislative session. State Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, and State Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, were key figures in getting it done. T he implementation of 2015 postage rates on April 26 should ease the pain for newspapers surprised by a postage increase in January. The price jump hit publishers who had been entering Periodicals mail at the new Postal Service transportation hubs, where direct con- tainers destined for local post offices within the territory of a recently closed mail processing plant can be dropped for speedier delivery. The unannounced postage increase came about because a grace period to use the previous Sectional Center Facility, or SCF, plant discounts expired and the new rate had not kicked in yet. National Newspaper Association Postal Com- mittee Chairman Max Heath appealed to the Postal Service that Periodicals copies dropped at the hubs should still earn a Sec tional Center Facility discount because they avoid using Parke County staffer gets extra $46: Does your ad sales staff know about spiff from HSPA advertising sales? Page 5 Special section sales tool kits: Check out additional special section materials at hspa.com. Page 4 Key Points: HSPA's role at the Statehouse involves much more than access issues. Page 8 Hey, can they do that? Steve Key answers your legal questions. Page 8 INSIDE 2015 INDIANA GENERAL ASSEMBLY E fforts to preserve the publication requirement for budget hear- ing notices move to the House, where State Rep. Bruce Borders, R-Jasonville, will shepherd the bill as its sponsor. S.B. 288 has been assigned to the House Local Govern ment Committee, chaired by State Rep. John Price, R-Greenwood. HSPA asked him to give the bill a hearing. Borders hopes to restore S.B. 288 lan- guage that would make publication manda- tory for local government units. State Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, amended the bill during its hearing in his Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee to make the publication optional. "Making the requirement optional would make publication non-existent unless news- papers brought public pressure to bear," said Steve Key, executive director and general counsel for HSPA. "That would put newspapers in an awkward position – advocating the publication to make citizens aware of the opportunity to speak on local budgets while financially benefitting from such publications." According to the Legislative Services Agency, the average cost of the publication in 2013 was $167 for government units. According to a 2014 survey, public notice Still in limbo: Publication of notice of budget hearings State Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek State Rep. John Price, R-Greenwood House amended bill to make notices optional Language in bill would allow requestors to receive public records electronically See Records, Page 8 See Hearing, Page 7 Postal, Page 5 P ublic access legislation that got de railed with an Indiana Senate amendment during the past two legislative sessions has cleared the Senate this year as part of a school deregulation bill. S.B. 500, authored by State Sen. Pete Miller, R-Brownsburg, originally was a 300-plus-item wish list for more than 20 school officials. The bill included a provision that would allow government agencies to charge a search fee for voluminous records requests. The language was taken from 2014's H.B. 1306, a bill put together by the staff of Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, and the Hoosier State Press Association. In addition to the search-fee language, H.B. 1306 included a provision that would allow a citizen to request an electronic record in that form. One could receive an Excel spreadsheet via email, for example, rather than be required to drive to a courthouse and pay for a paper copy of the spreadsheet. School officials originally left that provi- sion out of its wish-list bill. After HSPA spoke with Miller, he

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