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HB1360 • 2026
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning state and local administration.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning state and local administration.
Enacted
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
- Sponsor
- Representative Matt Lehman
- Last action
- 2026-03-04
- Official status
- Enrolled House Bill (H)
- Effective date
- Not listed
Plain English Breakdown
The exact procedural safeguards and actions by the Public Access Counselor are not fully detailed.
Indiana Public Records Request Act
This act allows Indiana public agencies to create electronic portals for handling public record requests, sets rules on how these requests are processed, and requires reporting of suspicious or automated requests.
What This Bill Does
- Allows public agencies to set up online systems where people can ask for public records.
- Requires requesters to prove they are real people using CAPTCHA or similar methods.
- Verifies the physical address of the requester.
- Indicates whether the requester is a resident of Indiana.
- Tracks and reports suspicious requests automatically.
- Gives agencies the right to deny requests if they suspect data scraping, phishing, or security risks.
- Allows agencies to charge extra fees for non-Indiana residents' requests.
- Prioritizes requests from Indiana residents or those with civic, journalistic, academic, or personal purposes.
- Requires agencies to report suspicious requests to a public access counselor.
Who It Names or Affects
- Indiana public agencies
- People who request public records
Terms To Know
- CAPTCHA
- A test used by websites to tell if someone is human or a computer program.
- Public Access Counselor
- An official who oversees and enforces rules about public records requests in Indiana.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill does not specify the exact actions the Public Access Counselor must take regarding excessive or suspicious requests.
- It is unclear how much extra fees can be charged for non-Indiana residents.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment changes how public records are handled in Indiana.
- Modifies the process for handling public records requests under Indiana law.
- The specific details of how public records requests will be changed are not provided in the given text.
Plain English: This amendment adds new rules about what can be considered a suspicious request for public records in Indiana.
- Adds definitions and criteria to identify when a public records request might be suspicious.
- The exact details of how these new rules will work are not fully explained, making it hard to know all the specifics about what requests could be flagged as suspicious.
Plain English: This amendment does not provide specific changes to the bill and is marked as 'second', indicating it might be a procedural or placeholder amendment.
- The official text of the amendment does not specify any concrete changes, making it unclear what effect this amendment would have.
Plain English: This amendment proposes to change the Indiana Code regarding state and local administration, but does not provide specific details about what changes it would make.
- The amendment aims to modify the Indiana Code concerning state and local administration, but the exact nature of these modifications is not specified in the provided text.
- The official amendment text does not include detailed information on the specific changes proposed, making it impossible to explain concrete alterations.
Bill History
-
2026-03-04
House
Signed by the Governor
-
2026-03-04
House
Public Law 97
-
2026-02-27
Senate
Signed by the President Pro Tempore
-
2026-02-27
Senate
Signed by the President of the Senate
-
2026-02-26
House
Signed by the Speaker
-
2026-02-25
Senate
Returned to the House with amendments
-
2026-02-25
House
House concurred with Senate amendments; Roll Call 381: yeas 95, nays 0
-
2026-02-25
House
Motion to concur filed
-
2026-02-24
Senate
Third reading: passed; Roll Call 257: yeas 48, nays 0
-
2026-02-23
Senate
Second reading: ordered engrossed
-
2026-02-19
Senate
Committee report: amend do pass, adopted
-
2026-02-02
Senate
First reading: referred to Committee on Commerce and Technology
-
2026-01-29
House
Referred to the Senate
-
2026-01-28
House
Third reading: passed; Roll Call 115: yeas 94, nays 0
-
2026-01-28
House
Senate sponsor: Senator Brown L
-
2026-01-27
House
Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed
-
2026-01-27
House
Amendment #1 (Lehman) prevailed; voice vote
-
2026-01-22
House
Committee report: amend do pass, adopted
-
2026-01-22
House
Representative Miller D added as coauthor
-
2026-01-15
House
Representative Porter added as coauthor
-
2026-01-08
House
Authored by Representative Lehman
-
2026-01-08
House
Coauthored by Representative Carbaugh
-
2026-01-08
House
First reading: referred to Committee on Government and Regulatory Reform
Official Summary Text
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning state and local administration.
Access to public records.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning state and local administration.
Access to public records.
Allows a public agency to establish and maintain an electronic portal for submission of public records requests that: (1) incorporates CAPTCHA or an equivalent mechanism for ensuring that a requestor is a human; (2) requires verification of a requestor's physical address; (3) indicates to the public agency whether the requestor is a resident of Indiana; and (4) automatically tracks and reports submissions suspected to be automated or to have originated from known sources of phishing or data scraping. Provides that a public agency may deny a public record request if the request: (1) is made by a person that is a party to pending or ongoing litigation; and (2) is duplicative of a discovery request made by the person in the pending or ongoing litigation. Provides that: (1) a public agency may decline to respond to a public records request if the public agency suspects: (A) the request to be data scraping or phishing activity; or (B) that responding to the request electronically may: (i) expose the public agency's electronic systems or data to unauthorized access or alteration; or (ii) otherwise jeopardize the security of the public agency's electronic systems or data; and (2) if the public agency declines to respond to the request, the public agency must report: (A) the request; and (B) the public agency's reason for declining to respond to the request; to the public access counselor. Allows a public agency to collect a supplemental fee for processing public records requests submitted by non-Indiana residents or out-of-state entities. Allows a public agency to give priority in fulfilling public records requests to: (1) Indiana residents; and (2) requests submitted for civic, journalistic, academic, or personal use. Requires public agencies to report to the public access counselor regarding public records requests suspected of being automated, data scraping activity, or phishing activity (suspect public records requests). Provides that the general assembly may establish reasonable and narrowly tailored procedural safeguards to preserve the integrity and availability of public agency resources. Requires the public access counselor to: (1) take specified actions with regard to identifying excessive and suspect public records requests; and (2) include in the public access counselor's annual report: (A) information regarding the volume and nature of public records requests received by public agencies, including information regarding suspect public records requests reported by public agencies; and (B) recommendations to the general assembly regarding statutory or administrative remedies to excessive and suspect public records requests.