ICOG News - Indiana Coalition for Open Government

Governor Braun appoints Brittney Long as the new Public Access Counselor

In a press release from October 2nd, Governor Mike Braun announced that Brittney Long will be the new Public Access Counselor. “Brittney has the legal credentials and passion for public service that makes her an excellent fit for the job,” said Gov. Braun. “As our next PAC, Brittney will bring...

IndyStar: Media orgs threaten legal action over delays in Indiana’s public access office

Grace Randolph. 2026-08-05. Indianapolis Star. You can read the letter from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press here. Update: Gov. Mike Braun released the following statement after the initial publication of the story: "Gov. Braun has long been an advocate for transparency. That is...

IndyStar: Under Braun’s watchdog, government secrecy grows harder to challenge

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...

Indiana Public Access Counselor, Jennifer Ruby, Publishes First Two Opinions

You can read the first two (and more in the future) 2025 Advisory Opinions from Indiana's new Public Access Counselor, Jennifer Ruby: 25-FC-00B: Alleged Violation of the Access to Public Records Act by the New Carlisle Town Council 25-FC-003: Alleged Violation of the Open Door Law by the Green...

Who you gonna call? 260-ASK-ICOG!

We are excited to launch our public access (ODL, APRA, and civics phone help line), 260-ASK-ICOG. Staffed by ICOG volunteers, we'll do our best to assist you with your questions related to open government in the Hoosier state. Currently being explored as a pilot project, we will re-evaluate the...

News from Indiana

IGA 2021 Session: House Bill 1365

Feb 12, 2021

HB 1365: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1365 An incredibly large bill (115 pages), with various reforms to election law in Indiana. One change we saw of concern is making any Anomaly Report confidential except at the discretion of the Secretary of...

IGA 2021 Session: House bill 1418

Feb 12, 2021

HB 1418: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1418 When some areas expand, others contract. One area to note is that the bill expands the mandatory exemptions (10) from Application information declared confidential by the Indiana Economic Development...

Indianapolis Star: Indiana Senate overrides veto on Indianapolis landlord-tenant bill

Feb 11, 2021

Lange, Kaitlin, and Amelia Pak-Harvey. 2021. Indiana senate overrides veto on indy landlord bill. Indianapolis Star, Feb 09, 2021. (accessed February 11, 2021). In a statement Monday, Holcomb said he "remained confident in his decision to veto the bill.""To be sure,...

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CDC Tracked Millions of Phones to See If Americans Followed COVID Lockdown Orders

May 4, 2022

Cox, Joseph. 2022. CDC Tracked Millions of Phones to See If Americans Followed COVID Lockdown Orders. May 3rd, 2022 (Accessed May 4th, 2022) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bought access to location data harvested from tens of millions of phones...

Companies line up to bid on Grand Park: 18, some in central Indiana, want to own or operate sports campus

May 1, 2022

Carloni, Brittany. 2022. Companies line up to bid on grand park: 18, some in Central Indiana, want to own or operate sports campus. Indianapolis Star, Apr 27, 2022. (accessed May 1, 2022). Eighteen companies have informed Westfield they are interested in either...

Court rules that Fairfield Township must hand over documents to J&C, effective immediately

Apr 30, 2022

Padilla, Noe. 2022. Court rules that Fairfield Township must hand over documents to J&C, effective immediately. Journal and Courier, Apr 30, 2022. (accessed April 30, 2022). LAFAYETTE, Ind. — After eight months of the Journal & Courier requesting documents...