Indiana House Considers Restricting Access to Gun Owner Information

The Indiana House of Representative will consider a bill to restrict access to information about handgun permit holders, including a prohibition against the release of names, addresses, and other information about the gun owners.

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EPA Database Reveals Tainted Water in Schools

The Charleston Daily Mail reports that an Associated Press investigation of water in schools revealed thousands of schools across the nation with unsafe levels of  lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.

"The AP analyzed an EPA database showing federal drinking water violations from 1998 to 2008 in schools with their own water supplies. The findings:

Water in about 100 school districts and 2,250 schools breached federal safety standards.

Those schools and districts racked up more than 5,550 separate violations. In 2008, the EPA recorded 577 violations, up from 59 in 1998 - an increase that officials attribute mainly to tougher rules.

California, which has the most schools of any state, also recorded the most violations with 612, followed by Ohio (451), Maine (417), Connecticut (318) and Indiana (289).

Nearly half the violators in California were repeat offenders. One elementary school in Tulare County, in the farm country of the Central Valley, broke safe-water laws 20 times.

The most frequently cited contaminant was coliform bacteria, followed by lead and copper, arsenic and nitrates."

Get the complete report here.

Ind. government not yet living in digital age

The Indianapolis Star encouraged state leaders to begin investing in online access to records after the state ranked poorly in the Sunshine Week survey.

State leaders in recent years have invested considerable time and money (and rightly so) in trying to grow the high-tech and life sciences industries in Indiana. They have not, however, as a new survey shows, placed a similar emphasis on moving state government into the digital age, even though ready access to information is vital in both industries targeted for growth.

The survey, conducted by journalism organizations that explored government Web sites in every state, found that Indiana ranks near the bottom in online access to public information. Only Mississippi ranked worse than Indiana in supplying records on such topics as school bus safety, hospital inspections and disciplinary actions against doctors and lawyers. Three other states -- Montana, Oregon and Wyoming -- tied with Indiana in the bottom five of the ratings.

Such neglect of open government is unacceptable at any time. And it's especially discouraging for a state that is trying to attract and retain emerging industries and the educated professionals they employ.

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Unanimous vote for tougher Ind. public records bill

After passing the Senate, a bill that would allow Indiana judges to fine those who blatantly violate public records laws moves to the House, The Indianapolis Star reported.

The Indiana Senate voted 49-0 today for a bill that seeks to put more teeth into Indiana’s public records laws.

Senate Bill 232, sponsored by Sen. Bev Gard, R-Greenfield, now goes to the House for consideration. The bill would allow for people who blatantly violate open records laws to be fined.

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Congrats to Indiana Coalition for Open Government

The Indiana Coalition for Open Government received the Frank O'Bannon Sunshine Award for its efforts, which have included publishing guidebooks, sponsoring conferences and studying the effectiveness of the state's public access counselor's office.

A citizen group that advocates for open government was honored Thursday for its efforts by Indiana's largest newspaper industry group.

The Indiana Coalition for Open Government received the Frank O'Bannon Sunshine Award during the Hoosier State Press Association's annual meeting and government conference.

Bill Nangle, executive editor of The Times of Munster, lauded ICOG's efforts for the public's right to know when nominating the nonprofit organization for the honor.

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Beware Indiana government employees: Violating FOI may cost you

Indiana government agencies and employees may soon face fines for violating the state's open meeting rules or public records laws. Currently, individuals may sue to obtain a document that hasn't been provided in response to a request but agencies and employees aren't punished.

A Statehouse proposal could impose fines of up to $1,000 on government agencies -- or their individual employees -- that blatantly violate Indiana's public access laws.

A Senate committee could vote next week on the legislation, which supporters say would put much-needed teeth into Indiana's open door law and public records rules.

The bill would allow judges to fine public agencies or agency workers who intentionally violate open meeting rules or public records laws, which are used by citizens and the media to obtain many government documents. An agency could pay for the fines from its budget, while a fine on an employee would come from the worker's wallet.

More here.

Complaint filed after newspaper reveals governor may have used state aircraft for political advantage

Election season is prime time for data mining and political investigations.

After the Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Ind., reported that Gov. Mitch Daniels' 113 trips in the past 19 months included appearances that seem political, his opponent's campaign asked the state Inspector General to investigate:

Democrat Jill Long Thompson's campaign filed a complaint with the state Inspector General's office Wednesday seeking a formal investigation of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels' election-year use of state aircraft.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate's campaign also filed a public records request seeking Daniels' travel logs and the e-mails, phone records and time sheets of all state workers who may have helped plan his trips or traveled with him.

The request comes about a week after The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne reported that Daniels logged about 85 percent as many flights in state aircraft in the first seven months of this election year as he did all of last year.

More here.

More coverage on this issue:

• Daniels' rival asks record probe; The Journal Gazette (Ind.)
• Rival hits Daniels on travel; The Journal Gazette (Ind.)
• Daniels treads fine line in state travel; The Journal Gazette (Ind.)
  

Hoosier Ombuds to Rule on Phone Records

Indiana's public access counselor is investigating whether environmental officials violated public records laws by failing to release complete records of phone calls made about the time of a public hearing on the BP Whiting oil refinery's air permit.

Public Access Counselor Heather Neal is expected to issue an official opinion on the Post-Tribune's public records complaint by June 26.

The northwest Indiana newspaper filed the complaint last month after the Indiana Department of Environmental Management said it did not have all the itemized cell phone records requested.

The newspaper had asked for records of cell phone calls made Feb. 1 through March 20 by Dan Murray, assistant commissioner of the agency's Office of Air Quality. That included March 14, the date of a public hearing on BP's air permit.

More here.