The Indiana Publisher

& Publisher The Indiana Volume 81, Issue 2 • February 11, 2016 Published on second Thursday monthly HSPA Foundation's bicentennial series will test readers' knowledge about their state in a free 15-part series. Topics include famous Hoosiers, the Civil War, land- marks, food, muse- ums and much more. Use ready-made half- and quarter- page layouts, or design your own to mark Indiana's bicentennial. Download at www.HSPA foundation.org Mark Indiana's 200th birthday Advertising Advantage: Think of your sales staff as a pack of top dogs in need of a well-groomed alpha leader. Page 3 Hey, can they do that? Steve Key answers your media law questions. Page 8 Key Points: Court takes issue with a public meeting con- ducted in the middle of the night. Page 8 INSIDE Mark your calendar! HSPA Conference Sept. 15-16, 2016 Indianapolis Police video, remote meetings 5 things amiss in body cam bill A s the Indiana House and Senate exchange bills, the Hoosier State Press Association focuses on four public access- related proposals moving through the 2016 General Assembly. Police video H.B. 1019 – concerning the public's ability to obtain copies of video from police body and cruiser cameras – has been assigned to a Senate subcom- mittee tasked with amending it. HSPA believes the amendment will greatly improve the public's ability to access police video. The legislation had passed the House 65-30 with language tilted toward the interests of law enforce- ment, to the detriment to the public's ability to hold police accountable, said Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel. Bill author and former sheriff Rep. Kevin Mahan, R-Hartford City, rejected an amendment designed to bring the bill into better balance dur- ing its second reading on the House floor. H.B. 1019 then went to the Senate in the same form as it was introduced. After the Senate Judiciary Committee took testimony on the bill, committee chairman Brent Steele, R-Bedford, assigned it to a subcommittee. Bill sponsor Sen. Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville; Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange; Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis; and Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago; will tweak a proposed amendment to the bill. Even before any changes, the amendment addresses two of three major concerns with H.B. 1019, Key said. T he original language of the "body cam bill" – now up for amendment in the Senate – gives law enforcement all the incentives to keep video secret and disincentives for the public to pursue access to videos. Discretionary provision As written, House Bill 1019 would create a new provision for police to use discretion to keep videos confidential. Under the Access to Public Records Act, the Indiana legisla- ture has always identified excep- tions to the presumption that the public can inspect or copy public records by subject matter. For example, "investigatory records" currently cover police body camera and cruiser camera video. They fall under the excep- tion because the cameras are activated generally when police are investigating a complaint. This allows the public to ques- tion the need for discretion when video access is denied. For example, Evansville police refused a request for video show- ing an interaction between an officer and a citizen that led to the officer citing the citizen for littering. This refusal makes it harder for police to pass the "investiga- tory records" smell test. Does the INDIANA GENERAL ASSEMBLY March 13-19 See Page 4 for details juvenile cases oh my! See Amiss, Page 6 See Oh my, Page 6 Public notice HSPA is monitoring bills that would undermine public notice advertising as the fourth pillar of government transparency. Page 7 Under current language in House Bill 1019, law enforcement have no obligation or incen- tive to release cruiser or body camera footage. The bill is up for amendment in the Senate.

• Cover