Cate Charron & Grace Randolph. 2026-07-24. Indianapolis Star

Indiana’s public access counselor is supposed to ensure transparency in government.

But under Gov. Mike Braun’s appointee, Jennifer Ruby, it has become far more difficult for Hoosiers to challenge government secrecy, an IndyStar investigation found.

[…]

Zachary Baiel, president of the Indiana Coalition for Open Government, said his organization has received many complaints about the public access counselor’s office not returning calls or emails in a timely fashion.

According to the office’s recent annual report, the office estimates it responded to 6,000 emails and 3,700 phone calls, but the report does not provide the turnaround time as it did in previous years. The office did not respond to IndyStar’s question asking for that data.

The backlog got so intense that Baiel’s group started a hotline last fall to assist citizens’ questions left unanswered by the public access counselor’s office. 

“We’re just seeing more and more people trying to learn about their government or engage in the civics process, in the political process, and they’re getting stonewalled,” he said. “We’re just seeing a concerted effort by the public agencies. Slow down, don’t release, roll the dice with the PAC.”

[…]

“The process is the punishment,” said Gerry Lanosga, an Indiana University professor and public records expert. “The need for public information is timely.”

That’s especially true for journalists who often seek information connected to current events.

[…]

“The investigatory records exception is a massive exception that agencies have always been able to drive a truck through,” Lanosga said.

Read the full story: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/investigations/2026/07/24/mike-braun-public-access-watchdog-lets-complaints-languish-secrecy-grow/90564681007/