Public officials often wrongly bury public records out of public view

From Tracy Warner, editorial page editor, The Journal Gazette:

INDIANA — While some other states such as Wisconsin and Florida have a culture of government openness, the opposite has long been true in Indiana, though there are some encouraging signs of change. When government officials attend seminars to learn about Indiana laws governing open meetings and open records, they too often come away focusing on the law’s exemptions — in other words, how to keep stuff secret.

Even the term “executive session” seeks to put a positive spin on hiding information from the public, implying executives — important people — need to talk about their plans in private. A more accurate term would be “closed meeting” or “secret session.”