Q&A: Out-of-state records requests

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From WSPA-TV (Spartanburg, S.C.):

Q: I’m not familiar with Indiana’s public access laws, and I’m wondering if agencies outside of your state can request information. I saw you have a seven-day response period. I requested information from the Evansville police department, and I’m still waiting to hear back after nearly two weeks.

That time frame is definitely not out of the ordinary in South Carolina, but I’m just wondering if my request would be accepted outside Indiana.

A: Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act isn’t restricted to just requests from Hoosiers. Anyone from anywhere can make a request to inspect or copy public records.

You should have gotten a response by now from the Evansville police.

Your next step would be to file a complaint with the state’s public access counselor over the failure to respond.

Contact Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, with media law questions at skey@hspa.com or (317) 624-4427.