The Indiana Publisher

Publisher The Indiana Volume 81, Issue 3 • March 17, 2016 Published on second Thursday monthly See Political, Page 2 T wo public notice advertising bills occupied HSPA's atten- tion during the 2016 General Assembly session – H.B. 1017 and S.B. 355. Public notice advertising in free publications H.B. 1017 will make certain mailed free-circulation publica- tions eligible to carry public notice advertising. Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, authored it to benefit the free Current publication, headquar- tered in Carmel. HSPA was unsuccessful in an attempt to amend Torr's bill to limit the eligibility to the location of the free publication office. Sen. Jim Smith, R-Charlestown, as acting chair of the Senate Local Government Committee, offered the amendment on behalf of Sen. Randy Head, R-Logansport, during H.B. 1017's hearing. Head was absent – presenting a bill in another committee hearing. Sen. Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis, was the bill's sponsor in the Senate. The amendment failed with a 4-4 vote. Voting for the amendment were Smith and Sens. Doug Eckerty, R-Yorktown; Jim Buck, R-Kokomo; and Jean Breaux, D-Indianapolis. Voting against it were Sens. Erin Houchin, R-Salem; Chip Perfect, R-Lawrenceburg; John Broden, D-South Bend; and Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis. After H.B. 1017 emerged from the Senate committee, it was passed by the Senate 46-4. Torr filed a concurrence on the Senate bill. The House approved it 88-6. Based on information pub- lishers provided to HSPA, The Current and The Bristol Bugle will become eligible to carry public W ith the May primary election approaching, it's a good time for advertising staffs to review political advertising requirements. Both federal and state law require that all newspaper political advertising include appropriate disclaimers that identify who paid for the ad and whether the ad was authorized by a particular candidate or candidate's campaign committee. A political advertisement is one that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, according to Indiana Code 3-9-3-2.5. Federal law requires disclaimers on all newspaper advertising by political committees. The wording of the disclaimer depends on whether the political ad was purchased by: • The candidate or his or her campaign committee. • A third party, but authorized by a candidate or candidate's committee. • A third party, but not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. If a candidate or candidate's committee purchases the political ad, the disclaimer should include wording like the following: Paid for by the Sam Jones for Sheriff Committee or Paid for by Sam Jones, candidate for Sheriff. If the political ad has been authorized by the candidate or his or her committee but paid for by a third party, the disclaimer should include the following: Paid for by the XYZ Committee and authorized by the Sam Political advertising rules of the road Advertising Advan- tage: Now's the time for updates if you haven't audited advertising rates recently. Page 3 Hey, can they do that? Steve Key answers your media law questions. Page 6 School performance reports: Indiana DOE says newspapers can download reports March 21. Page 3 INSIDE Mark your calendar! HSPA Conference Sept. 15-16, 2016 Indianapolis Your staff should understand state and federal laws governing political advertis- ing disclaimers. INDIANA GENERAL ASSEMBLY Camera shy R arely does legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly please every interest perfectly, and that was the case with the police body camera bill this session. While H.B. 1019 isn't a perfect bill from HSPA's viewpoint, it does improve current law, said Steve Key, executive director and general counsel for the association. "The bill still gives law enforcement the ability to deny all requests from the public or media, it but creates a mechanism where that denial may be challenged in court," Key said. "If that happens, the burden will be on the police agency to convince a judge that the video requested should be kept confidential." That burden of proof was a key change made while the bill was in the Senate under the control of sponsor Sen. Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville. The Senate version also requires that any police video lawsuit get an expedited hearing with a judicial decision on the access question within 30 days of court fil- ing. Key said those were the major improvements made in the bill from its introduced version as authored by Rep. Kevin Mahan, R-Hartford City. Bray and Mahan were both on the summer interim committee that examined the question of how police body and cruiser camera video should fit into the Access to Public Records Act and how long police departments should be required to maintain video footage. After two meetings with testimony, a sub- committee drafted what became the initial ver- sion of H.B. 1019. The draft was passed unanimously at the Bill improves current law, but lawsuit still only option if police won't release video Public notice advertising changes: Free pubs get win, tax sale listings updated See Public notice, Page 4 See Video, Page 8 HSPA opposes private university exemption from Access to Public Records Act If signed by Gov. Pence, H.B. 1022 will allow private college police to keep crime reports confidential. Other police agencies must provide data. See Key Points column on Page 8

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