Indiana taxpayers footing bill for public records lawsuit

Hoosier taxpayers have paid $160,000 in legal fees to shield Indiana House and Senate communications from public view in just eight months.

The final tab will be higher because the most recent tally from the Indiana Auditor’s Office doesn’t include a bill covering the March 17 oral argument before the Indiana Supreme Court.

“That’s a lot of money,” said Kerwin Olson, executive director of the Citizens Action Coalition. “It would have been a lot cheaper just to honor the public records law.”

Citizens Action Coalition sued in April 2015 alongside Common Cause Indiana and the Energy and Policy Institute in D.C. over an open records request for email and other correspondence between Rep. Eric Koch and various utilities regarding a bill about solar power. Continue… 

———————