ICOG News

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...

The Indiana Capital Chronicle: Indiana public access office goes quiet amid turnover

Leslie Bonilla Muñiz. 2025-05-30. Indiana Capital Chronicle. Tippecanoe County resident Pamela Frazee just wants to know if her messages went through. Phone calls to Indiana’s Office of the Public Access Counselor (PAC) route directly to a voicemail box and aren’t returned. Emails — including...

Indiana Debate Commission: Governor candidates to participate in televised debate on October 24, 2024

Archived Debate The Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian candidates for Indiana governor have agreed to meet Oct. 24 in a televised debate organized by the Indiana Debate Commission. The debate among Mike Braun (R), Jennifer McCormick (D), and Donald Rainwater (L) will be broadcast live at 7-8...

News from Indiana

COVID-19 Data, References, Resources

COVID-19 Data, References, Resources

With all of the questions surrounding the current pandemic, Public Data is critical in helping shed light on the observations of the world. The Indiana Coalition for Open Government is asking the community to help share what their local governments are doing or not...

HSPA: Public notice publication could face challenge from judiciary

From Steve Key at the HSPA: For decades, the Hoosier State Press Association has fought a war on two fronts to preserve the concept of publication of public notices to inform citizens of actions taken or contemplated by state and local government units. One front...

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Supporting:  Letter to Biden White House on open government

Supporting: Letter to Biden White House on open government

What other questions would you like to see answered by the Biden administration and their positions regarding open government? Thanks to work of Governing.Digital, we have an initial set of 25 questions included in a Letter to the White House. The core questions from...

IGA 2021 Session: House Bill 1365

IGA 2021 Session: House Bill 1365

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 1365

IGA 2021 Session: House bill 1418

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...