Indiana Supreme Court weighs case that could significantly weaken Indiana public records access law

The Indiana Supreme Court is weighing whether to take a case that could dramatically limit which public records are available to citizens under the state’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA).

An Indiana attorney wants the government to share a document a health care provider sent to the state over a Medicaid dispute.

APRA does allow the government to block some records from being shared publicly. At issue in this case is an APRA exception that covers “deliberative materials” within agencies that express opinions or speculation and are used for decision-making.

Benjamin Jones, representing the state, asked the Supreme Court for clarity over that provision.

“The purpose of this exemption is to facilitate good government decision-making,” Jones said.

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But attorney Robert Saint, representing himself, said if the court blocks disclosure of a document from a third party just because the state said it included that document in its decision-making, the entire APRA statute is pointless.

“The purpose is to protect the deliberations that take place in state government,” Saint said. “We didn’t ask for that.”

There is no timetable for the court’s decision.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.