Governor diverts staff to address public access counselor office backlog

Gov. Mike Braun late Wednesday responded to a letter from media organizations around the state threatening litigation if Indiana’s Office of the Public Access Counselor doesn’t improve its handling of complaints about open government matters.

A coalition of journalists, including Indiana Capital Chronicle, sent a letter Wednesday noting that Public Access Counselor Jennifer Ruby isn’t meeting statutory requirements in terms of issuing opinions and responding to complaints. Others who joined on the letter are Tegna/WTHR, the Indianapolis Star, Evansville Courier & Press, the Hoosier State Press Association, Indiana Broadcasters Association and the Indiana Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

“In sum, the OPAC’s current course of action is untenable, contrary to law, and significantly undermines the ability of the public and the media to avail themselves of the services the law mandates that OPAC provide,” the letter said. “Indeed, the end result is that instead of helping facilitate agencies’ compliance with public records laws, the OPAC has become a black hole into which complaints disappear indefinitely.”

The coalition sought a meeting with Ruby to discuss the issue within 30 days.

“We believe it would be productive to relay these concerns to you before resorting to litigation,” the letter written by Kris Cundiff said. He is Indiana’s l0cal legal initiative attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Braun appointed Ruby as public access counselor in 2025. There was a backlog of cases when she arrived and this year she has only posted one opinion online. The Indianapolis Star found she is taking more than 200 days to issue opinions when the law requires a 30-day turnaround.

Braun responded swiftly on Wednesday.

“Gov. Braun has long been an advocate for transparency. That is why this week he has directed one full-time legal staff member and one full-time administrative staff member moved from the Governor’s office to work on the PAC staff until the backlog is resolved,” spokesman Griffin Reid said. “Additionally, to ensure the greatest transparency, the PAC will post metrics weekly on the office website to indicate the number of outstanding and resolved requests.”

Ruby is one of just three employees for the office, to which lawmakers gave $339,000 annually in the last two-year budget. Governor’s office Deputy General Counsel Trent Bennett earns nearly a third of the $317,000 spent on salaries but doesn’t handle public access work.