Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher
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Page 4 March 15, 2012 Efforts bring victory for public access T he legislative process is a ride that can't be rep- licated by Disney World. In short order the mood can go from sky-high to basement- low. As someone who looks out for the interests of state news- papers and the public's right to know, I have points of time when I think HSPA made a difference in the direction of a particular bill and other times when I feel storm-tossed with no idea where a bill will end up. The 2012 General Assembly provided all of the above as a provision to add teeth to the state's public access laws wound its way from introduc- tion of bills to passage. If Gov. Mitch Daniels signs House Enrolled Act 1003, a judge can levy a civil fine against public officials who deliberately violate the Open Door Law or Access to Public Records Act. You wouldn't think strengthening the public's right to know would require five legislative sessions to pass. But history has shown that every attempt to improve public access laws has more twists and turns than any Kings Island or Holiday World coaster. That means a lot of people helped get H.E.A. 1003 passed and deserve HSPA's thanks. At the fulcrum were Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, and Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne. If they couldn't find a civil fines compromise they both could live with, the session would have ended without more teeth in state access laws. Each was aided by their chiefs of staff, Julie Halbig in the House and Jeff Papa in the Senate. Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield, deserves special recognition because she embraces the concept of open government and pushed for passage of civil fines legisla- tion for five years. She will retire after this session, and it's great to see her leave with this goal accomplished. Certain legislators were outstanding supporters in their respective caucuses, urg- ing support for this improve- ment to the Open Door Law and Access to Public Records Act. Rep. Kevin Mahan, R-Hart- ford City, and Rep. Suzanne Crouch, R-Evansville, were in the thick of it on the House side. Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, worked the Senate. Minority members Sen. Jim HSPA Hotline These questions came from the Daily Journal (Franklin), The CourierTimes (New Castle), The Evansville Courier & Press and The Herald Bulletin (Anderson): death or near fatality of chil- dren that appear to be the result of abuse, abandonment or neglect. The records involved can Q A belong to the Department of Child Services, a county office and a local or state child fatality review team. The copies first must be screened by the county court with juvenile jurisdiction to redact certain identifying information. The statute provides that the data and information disclosed under this section must include: • A summary of the report of abuse or neglect and a factual description of the con- tents of the report. • The date of birth and gender of the child. • The cause of the fatality or near fatality if the cause has been determined. • Whether the Depart- ment of Child Services had any contact with the child or the suspected perpetrator before the fatality or near fatality. If there was contact, the following information should be made available: • The frequency of the con- tact before the death or near What information is available when a child dies in ques tionable circum stances? IC 31-33-18-1.5 opens to public scrutiny records concerning the death and the date of last contact before the death or near death. • A summary of the sta- tus of the child's case at the time of the death or near fatality and whether the case had been closed by the Department of Child Services. paper shall submit proof of publication and claim for payment in duplicate on each public notice advertisement published. For each additional proof Q A Q A of purchase, a newspaper can charge $1. An officer has been accused of being involved in a hitandrun acci dent. He was tick eted, and the police depart ment's merit commission has suspended him without pay for 30 days. The department is saying they can't provide any infor mation because the officer can appeal the decision to a court. Are they correct? The merit com- mission's action is considered a final action, regardless of the potential court appeal. Records in the officer's Are there Indiana laws that specify how many proofs of publication we have to provide to our legal advertisers? Our sister paper in Mich igan provides one affidavit per public notice advertise ment, and the charge is $15. Indiana isn't as generous. I.C. 5-3-1-1(d) says each news- personnel file that go to the level of discipline and factual circumstances behind the disciplinary action must be made available for inspection and copying. An interpretation that the court appeal could keep the records confidential would result in the public being kept in the dark possibly for years as the judicial process wound through the trial and appellate levels. Surely that's not what the General Assembly intended. employer" must be spelled out rather than written as "EOE" to count as protection for the employer. Is this correct? spokesman said he has not been made aware of any changes in how "EOE" should be used in classified advertising. Mike Healy, an attorney Q A with the state Civil Rights Commission, said the law doesn't even require the use of "EOE" or its spelled-out equivalent in employment ads. The commission recom- mends an advertiser use the language to reassure candi- dates that they will be con- sidered fairly. Contact Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, with media law ques tions at skey@hspa.com or (317) 6244427. Fayetteville Observer's Platinum TV ad package exceeded revenue goal in less than a week! Not to my knowl- edge. An Indiana Civil Rights Commission A human resourc es representative told me that in employment ads "Equal opportunity Key Points By Steve Key Arnold, D-LaPorte, and Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, could have withheld signa- tures on the committee report or failed to convince their cau- cuses of the value in this leg- islation, but they didn't. Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond, also deserves special notice as a legislator who repeatedly filed legisla- tion similar to HSPA's sug- gested provision and who fre- quently spoke in favor of gov- ernment accountability on the Senate floor. A wide coalition of allies supported HSPA's pro-public access efforts this session. Chief among the supporters was Attorney General Greg Zoeller and his legal team of David Miller and Matt Light. As midnight approached on the final day of the session, I felt like the Alex Karras char- acter Mongo in "Blazing Saddles" who uttered the line, "Mongo just pawn in game of life." Miller and Light provided insight and additional support as the debate between Republican leaders in both chambers ran its course. Others who signed on and testified in favor of H.B. 1093 and S.B. 92, which also car- ried the fines provision but didn't make it through the legislative process, were Mark Lawrance of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Paul Chase of AARP, Glenna Russell of the Indiana Association of Broadcasters, and Julia Vaughn of Common Cause. In the past, the Indiana Coalition for Open Govern- ment has been supportive, and its survey of people who have utilized the state public access counselor provided insight for legislators. I also thank the publishers and editors who during the past five years have personal- ly contacted legislators to urge their support for access bills or published editorials and stories about the need for teeth in the laws. The HSPA Freedom of Information Committee, chaired by Bill Nangle of The Times (Munster), has support- ed the effort with advice, shared editorials, and calls or visits with legislators. The HSPA board of direc- tors, currently led by Tim Timmons of The Noblesville Access Continued from Page 1 Kossack had pointed out that it wasn't in the statute in one of his office's opinions. H.B. 1093 also contained a provision that would empower citizens to ask governing bod- ies of public agencies to give them email notice of meet- ings. At the request of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns a couple of ses- sions ago, HSPA had added an alternative of posting meeting announcements on agencies' websites. Crouch, Dobis and Arnold had agreed early Friday after- noon to add this language to H.B. 1003, but Holdman was not given permission to sign by his Senate Republican cau- cus. That same caucus had allowed both H.B. 1093 and its sister bill, S.B. 92 authored by Gard, to die. The concern centered on possible impact of the legislation on legislators' ability to protect records from being released. What ensued were hours of back-and-forth between House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, and his chief of staff, Julie Halbig, and Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis help me manage thousands of pages of documents, committee hear- ings and floor debates. I'm sure I've forgotten to mention others who were key figures in the past five years, people like former Rep. Russ Stilwell, D-Boonville, who car- ried HSPA-supported legisla- tion in the House when the Democrats were in the majori- ty. Hopefully everyone involved feels a sense of accomplish- ment this week for the part they played in strengthening the public's right to know. I don't expect a rash of pub- lic officials to receive fines under this new legislation, but it was vitally important for the General Assembly to take the stand that it expects public officials to abide by the Open Door Law and Access to Public Records Act. Now there are personal con- sequences for ignoring the pub- lic's rights under those laws. Steve Key is executive direc tor and general counsel for HSPA. Senate Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, and his chief of staff, Jeff Papa. The break came after 8:30 p.m. when two changes to the H.B. 1093 language was sug- gested. They were: • The fines would not apply if the subject matter in ques- tion was work product of the legislature or its Legislative Services Agency. • The email notification provision for meetings would be optional for government agencies. Holdman was then allowed to sign the revised conference committee report, and the bill moved to the House and Senate floors for a final vote. There was little discussion in the House before H.B. 1003 was approved 74-20. Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, spoke against the bill on the Senate floor and touted the fact that he had killed similar legislation in his committee the two pre- vious years. Holdman and Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond, followed with rebuttals before the Senate approved the bill 41-9. The next step before the leg- islation becomes law is a sig- nature by Gov. Mitch Daniels, which HSPA will request. Times and The Paper of Mont gomery County (Crawfords- ville), has continually provid- ed me with resources needed to get the job accomplished. Interns recruited from the Without publishing anything new, the Fayetteville Observer ad package created new, year-long revenue in just one week! Contact Advantage Newspaper Consultants today to learn more about creating NEW annual revenue with your existing core products. Ask us about our digital editions! 910-323-0349 | info@newspaperconsultants.com | www.newspaperconsultants.com