§ 4-1-6-8 — Policy of access; restricted access as condition for receipt of donated materials

(a) All state agencies subject to the provisions of
this chapter shall adhere to the policy that all persons are entitled to
access to information regarding the affairs of government and the
official acts of those who represent them as public servants, such
access being required to enable the people to freely and fully discuss
all matters necessary for the making of political judgments. To that
end, the provisions of this chapter shall be construed to provide access
to public records to the extent consistent with the due protection of
individual privacy.
(b) Where such assurance is needed to obtain valuable
considerations or gifts (which may include information) for the state,
any agency, with the prior written approval of the oversight committee
on public records, may allow restrictions upon public access to be
imposed upon it as a specific condition of a contract, with a time limit
not to exceed fifty (50) years or the lifetime of the individual,
whichever is less. In order to promote the preservation of historical,
cultural, natural, and other irreplaceable resources, the department of
natural resources or the Indiana state library may extend, beyond the
lifetime of the individual, restrictions upon disclosure of information
received, providing that such restrictions do not exceed fifty (50) years
from the date of the donation in the case of the Indiana state library.
As added by Acts 1977, P.L.21, SEC.1. Amended by Acts 1978,
P.L.10, SEC.4; Acts 1979, P.L.40, SEC.4; P.L.19-1983,
SEC.3.