About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline



2014-2015 Annual Report Op. Ind. Att'y Gen. [i] (2014-2015)

handle is hein.sag/sagin0132 and id is 1 raw text is: 



       ANNUAL REPORT OF THE INDIANA PUBLIC ACCESS COUNSELOR
                          To the Indiana General Assembly

                          July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015

      Pursuant to Ind. Code § 5-14-4-12, the Indiana Public Access Counselor (PAC) hereby
submits this annual report of activities for the time period covering July 1, 2014 through June
30, 2015.1 This report is presented in three parts: in Part I a narrative summary of the
activities of the PAC; in Part II the information required to be submitted pursuant to Ind. Code
§ 5-14-4-12; and in Part III appendices listing presentations given and advisory opinions issued
in the past year.

                                        PART I
                              Annual Report Narrative

                                       Mission

      The Public Access Counselor provides advice and assistance concerning Indiana's public access
laws to members of the public and government officials and their employees.

                                        Vision

      The Office of the Public Access Counselor is dedicated to carrying out its mission by
employing the following philosophy:

      A fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of representative
government is that government is the servant of the people and not their master. Accordingly,
it is the public policy of the state that all persons are entitled to full and complete information
regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public
officials and employees. Providing persons with the information is an essential function of a
representative government and an integral part of the routine duties of public officials and
employees, whose duty it is to provide the information. This chapter shall be liberally
construed to implement this policy and place the burden of proof for the nondisclosure of a
public record on the public agency that would deny access to the record and not on the person
seeking to inspect and copy the record. -Indiana Code § 5-14-3-1 through 5-14-3-10

      ...It is the intent of this chapter that the official action of public agencies be conducted
and taken openly, unless otherwise expressly provided by statute, in order that the people may
be fully informed... -Indiana Code 5-14-1.5-1.


1 All data were compiled as of 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, 2015.