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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

The Indiana Citizen: LIMITED ROLE: Amendments restricting public access counselor passed as bill advances in Indiana Senate

Mar 4, 2024

Marilyn Odendahl. 2024-03-04. The Indiana Citizen. A bill allowing local government officials to remove disruptive individuals from public meetings has been expanded to include new limits on the Indiana public access counselor’s ability to offer guidance about the...

Tribune-Star: Bill amendment would ‘gut’ public access counselor’s ability to issue advisory opinions

Mar 2, 2024

Sue Loughlin, March 1st 2024 An amendment made to a bill in the waning days of the Indiana General Assembly session would severely restrict the public access counselor’s role in issuing opinions, and it would eliminate the counselor’s four-year term. The amendment was...

Indy Star: Lawmaker said HEPL open door opinion shows overreach of public records official

Mar 1, 2024

Brittany Carloni and Kayla Dwyer, Indianapolis Star, 2024-03-01 🚨 This article is about an active amendment on HB 1338, which has grave consequences for how the office of the Public Access Counselor can function. Please contact your legislator in both the House and...

News from ICOG

Governor Holcomb Vetoes HEA1523

Apr 24, 2017

We just called Governor Eric Holcomb's office to urge him to #VetoHEA1523 and were told he already had! Thank you for everyone's support. Congratulations to all Hoosiers! More to come! UPDATE 2017-04-24 Here is Governor Holcomb's statement regarding his veto of HEA...

ICOG’s Opposition to HB1523, Gov. Holcomb Must Veto

Apr 11, 2017

TL;DR: As a supporter of open government in the State of Indiana, we strongly encourage you to sign our petition urging Governor Eric Holcomb to veto HB1523. HB1523 has passed through both the House and the Senate. The Indiana General Assembly has taken steps to make...

Opening Indiana’s Government: 2016 Governor’s Candidate Survey

Oct 17, 2016

In keeping with a tradition started in 2004, the Indiana Coalition for Open Government asked the three gubernatorial candidates this year to share their visions of government transparency via a brief survey about public access issues. The candidates, Libertarian Rex...

All the News

Cincinnati Enquirer: Investigation – How campaign cash flowed to Cranley from Liberty and Elm project team

Mar 24, 2021

Horn, Dan, and Sharon Coolidge. 2021. Project opens window on role of campaign contributions: Mayor got most donations on liberty & elm development. Cincinnati Enquirer, Mar 24, 2021. (accessed March 24, 2021). While working on the Freeport Row project in...

Supporting: Letter to Biden White House on open government

Feb 17, 2021

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...

Dakota Free Press: Noem Attacks Fellow Republican for Sponsoring Open Records Legislation

Jan 30, 2021

Cory, Allen Heidelberger. 2021. Noem attacks fellow republican for sponsoring open records legislation. Dakota Free Press [BLOG] (Jan 29), (accessed January 30, 2021). But knowing they will lose any policy debate over the Governor’s activities, Team Noem turns...