HB 1311

                                              *HB1311.1*
                                                              January 13, 2026
          HOUSE BILL No. 1311
                _____
  DIGEST OF HB 1311 (Updated January 13, 2026 9:53 am - DI 140)
Citations Affected: IC 5-14.
Synopsis: Obtaining copies of recorded documents. Prohibits a person
from using the person's own equipment to copy a recorded document.
Specifies that a county recorder is required to charge the fees in the
county recorder's statutes for copying documents.
Effective: July 1, 2026.
             Meltzer, Zimmerman
   January 6, 2026, read first time and referred to Committee on Local Government.
   January 13, 2026, reported — Do Pass.
HB 1311—LS 6934/DI 87
                                                                             January 13, 2026
            Second Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2026)
 PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
 Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
 additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
   Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
 provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
 word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
 a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
  Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
 between statutes enacted by the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
                   HOUSE BILL No. 1311
    A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning state
 and local administration.
     Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1    SECTION 1. IC 5-14-3-3, AS AMENDED BY P.L.64-2023,
2 SECTION 2, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
3 JULY 1, 2026]: Sec. 3. (a) Any person may inspect and copy the public
4 records of any public agency during the regular business hours of the
5 agency, except as provided in section 4 of this chapter. A request for
6 inspection or copying must:
7(1) identify with reasonable particularity the record being
8requested; and
9(2) be, at the discretion of the agency, in writing on or in a form
10provided by the agency.
11 No request may be denied because the person making the request
12 refuses to state the purpose of the request, unless such condition is
13 required by other applicable statute. If a request is for inspection or
14 copying of a law enforcement recording, the request must provide the
15 information required under subsection (i).
16    (b) A public agency may not deny or interfere with the exercise of
17 the right stated in subsection (a). If the public agency does not deny the
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1 request, within a reasonable time after the request is received by the
2 agency the public agency shall either: do one (1) of the following:
3(1) Provide the requested copies to the person making the request.
4or
5(2) Allow the person to make copies (A) on the agency's
6equipment. or
7(B) (3) Allow the person to make copies on the person's own
8equipment. However, a person may not make copies of a
9document recorded in the office of the county recorder using
10the person's own equipment.
11     (c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), a public agency may or
12 may not do the following:
13(1) In accordance with a contract described in section 3.5 of this
14chapter, permit a person to inspect and copy through the use of
15enhanced access public records containing information owned by
16or entrusted to the public agency.
17(2) Permit a governmental entity to use an electronic device to
18inspect and copy public records containing information owned by
19or entrusted to the public agency.
20     (d) Except as provided in subsection (e) and subject to subsection
21 (j), a public agency that maintains or contracts for the maintenance of
22 public records in an electronic data storage system shall make
23 reasonable efforts to provide to a person making a request a copy of all
24 disclosable data contained in the records on paper, disk, tape, drum, or
25 any other method of electronic retrieval if the medium requested is
26 compatible with the agency's data storage system. This subsection does
27 not apply to an electronic map.
28     (e) A state agency may adopt a rule under IC 4-22-2, and a political
29 subdivision may enact an ordinance, prescribing the conditions under
30 which a person who receives information on disk or tape under
31 subsection (d) may or may not use the information for commercial
32 purposes, including to sell, advertise, or solicit the purchase of
33 merchandise, goods, or services, or sell, loan, give away, or otherwise
34 deliver the information obtained by the request to any other person for
35 these purposes. Use of information received under subsection (d) in
36 connection with the preparation or publication of news, for nonprofit
37 activities, or for academic research is not prohibited. A person who
38 uses information in a manner contrary to a rule or ordinance adopted
39 under this subsection may be prohibited by the state agency or political
40 subdivision from obtaining a copy or any further data under subsection
41 (d).
42     (f) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, a public
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1 agency is not required to create or provide copies of lists of names and
2 addresses (including electronic mail account addresses) unless the
3 public agency is required to publish such lists and disseminate them to
4 the public under a statute. However, if a public agency has created a
5 list of names and addresses (excluding electronic mail account
6 addresses), it must permit a person to inspect and make memoranda
7 abstracts from the list unless access to the list is prohibited by law. The
8 lists of names and addresses (including electronic mail account
9 addresses) described in subdivisions (1) through (3) may not be
10 disclosed by public agencies to any individual or entity for political
11 purposes and may not be used by any individual or entity for political
12 purposes. In addition, the lists of names and addresses (including
13 electronic mail account addresses) described in subdivisions (1)
14 through (3) may not be disclosed by public agencies to commercial
15 entities for commercial purposes and may not be used by commercial
16 entities for commercial purposes. The prohibition in this subsection
17 against the disclosure of lists for political or commercial purposes
18 applies to the following lists of names and addresses (including
19 electronic mail account addresses):
20(1) A list of employees of a public agency.
21(2) A list of persons attending conferences or meetings at a state
22educational institution or of persons involved in programs or
23activities conducted or supervised by the state educational
24institution.
25(3) A list of students who are enrolled in a public school
26corporation if the governing body of the public school corporation
27adopts a policy:
28(A) with respect to disclosure related to a commercial purpose,
29prohibiting the disclosure of the list to commercial entities for
30commercial purposes;
31(B) with respect to disclosure related to a commercial purpose,
32specifying the classes or categories of commercial entities to
33which the list may not be disclosed or by which the list may
34not be used for commercial purposes; or
35(C) with respect to disclosure related to a political purpose,
36prohibiting the disclosure of the list to individuals and entities
37for political purposes.
38 A policy adopted under subdivision (3)(A) or (3)(B) must be uniform
39 and may not discriminate among similarly situated commercial entities.
40 For purposes of this subsection, "political purposes" means influencing
41 the election of a candidate for federal, state, legislative, local, or school
42 board office or the outcome of a public question or attempting to solicit
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1 a contribution to influence the election of a candidate for federal, state,
2 legislative, local, or school board office or the outcome of a public
3 question.
4     (g) A public agency may not enter into or renew a contract or an
5 obligation:
6(1) for the storage or copying of public records; or
7(2) that requires the public to obtain a license or pay copyright
8royalties for obtaining the right to inspect and copy the records
9unless otherwise provided by applicable statute;
10 if the contract, obligation, license, or copyright unreasonably impairs
11 the right of the public to inspect and copy the agency's public records.
12     (h) If this section conflicts with IC 3-7, the provisions of IC 3-7
13 apply.
14     (i) A request to inspect or copy a law enforcement recording must
15 be in writing. A request identifies a law enforcement recording with
16 reasonable particularity as required by this section only if the request
17 provides the following information regarding the law enforcement
18 activity depicted in the recording:
19(1) The date and approximate time of the law enforcement
20activity.
21(2) The specific location where the law enforcement activity
22occurred.
23(3) The name of at least one (1) individual, other than a law
24enforcement officer, who was directly involved in the law
25enforcement activity.
26     (j) This subsection applies to a public record that is in an electronic
27 format. This subsection does not apply to a public record recorded in
28 the office of the county recorder. A public agency shall provide an
29 electronic copy or a paper copy of a public record, at the option of the
30 person making the request for the public record. This subsection does
31 not require a public agency to change the format of a public record.
32     SECTION 2. IC 5-14-3-8, AS AMENDED BY P.L.287-2019,
33 SECTION 1, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
34 JULY 1, 2026]: Sec. 8. (a) For the purposes of this section, "state
35 agency" has the meaning set forth in IC 4-13-1-1.
36     (b) Except as provided in this section, a public agency may not
37 charge any fee under this chapter for the following:
38(1) To inspect a public record.
39(2) This subdivision applies only to a school corporation and a
40charter school. This subdivision does not apply to a request for a
41search by an exclusive representative (as defined in
42IC 20-29-2-9). To search for a record that is in an electronic
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1format, if the search does not exceed five (5) hours.
2(3) Subject to subdivision (2), to search for, examine, or review
3a record to determine whether the record may be disclosed.
4(4) To provide an electronic copy of a public record by electronic
5mail. However, a public agency may charge a fee for a public
6record transmitted by electronic mail if the fee for the public
7record is authorized under:
8(A) subsection (f) or (j);
9(B) section 6(c) of this chapter; or
10(C) IC 36-2-7-10 or IC 36-2-7-10.1 concerning records of the
11county recorder.
12     (c) The Indiana department of administration shall establish a
13 uniform copying fee for the copying of one (1) page of a standard-sized
14 document by state agencies. The fee may not exceed the average cost
15 of copying records by state agencies or ten cents ($0.10) per page,
16 whichever is greater. A state agency may not collect more than the
17 uniform copying fee for providing a copy of a public record. However,
18 a state agency shall establish and collect a reasonable fee for copying
19 nonstandard-sized documents.
20     (d) This subsection applies to a public agency that is not a state
21 agency. The fiscal body (as defined in IC 36-1-2-6) of the public
22 agency, or the governing body, if there is no fiscal body, shall establish
23 a fee schedule for the certification or copying of documents. The fee for
24 certification of documents may not exceed five dollars ($5) per
25 document. The fee for copying documents may not exceed the greater
26 of:
27(1) ten cents ($0.10) per page for copies that are not color copies
28or twenty-five cents ($0.25) per page for color copies; or
29(2) the actual cost to the agency of copying the document.
30 As used in this subsection, "actual cost" means the cost of paper and
31 the per-page cost for use of copying or facsimile equipment and does
32 not include labor costs or overhead costs. A fee established under this
33 subsection must be uniform throughout the public agency and uniform
34 to all purchasers.
35     (e) If:
36(1) a person is entitled to a copy of a public record under this
37chapter; and
38(2) the public agency which is in possession of the record has
39reasonable access to a machine capable of reproducing the public
40record;
41 the public agency must provide at least one (1) copy of the public
42 record to the person. However, if a public agency does not have
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1 reasonable access to a machine capable of reproducing the record or if
2 the person cannot reproduce the record by use of enhanced access
3 under section 3.5 of this chapter, the person is only entitled to inspect
4 and manually transcribe the record. A public agency may require that
5 the payment for search and copying costs be made in advance.
6     (f) Notwithstanding subsection (b), (c), (d), (g), (h), or (i), a public
7 agency shall collect any certification, copying, facsimile machine
8 transmission, or search fee that is specified by statute or is ordered by
9 a court.
10     (g) Except as provided by subsection (h), for providing a duplicate
11 of a computer tape, computer disc, microfilm, law enforcement
12 recording, or similar or analogous record system containing
13 information owned by the public agency or entrusted to it, a public
14 agency may charge a fee, uniform to all purchasers, that does not
15 exceed the sum of the following:
16(1) The agency's direct cost of supplying the information in that
17form. However, the fee for a copy of a law enforcement recording
18may not exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150).
19(2) The standard cost for selling the same information to the
20public in the form of a publication if the agency has published the
21information and made the publication available for sale.
22(3) In the case of the legislative services agency, a reasonable
23percentage of the agency's direct cost of maintaining the system
24in which the information is stored. However, the amount charged
25by the legislative services agency under this subdivision may not
26exceed the sum of the amounts it may charge under subdivisions
27(1) and (2).
28     (h) This subsection applies to the fee charged by a public agency for
29 providing enhanced access to a public record. A public agency may
30 charge any reasonable fee agreed on in the contract under section 3.5
31 of this chapter for providing enhanced access to public records.
32     (i) This subsection applies to the fee charged by a public agency for
33 permitting a governmental entity to inspect public records by means of
34 an electronic device. A public agency may charge any reasonable fee
35 for the inspection of public records under this subsection, or the public
36 agency may waive any fee for the inspection.
37     (j) Except as provided in subsection (k), a public agency may charge
38 a fee, uniform to all purchasers, for providing an electronic map that is
39 based upon a reasonable percentage of the agency's direct cost of
40 maintaining, upgrading, and enhancing the electronic map and for the
41 direct cost of supplying the electronic map in the form requested by the
42 purchaser. If the public agency is within a political subdivision having
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1 a fiscal body, the fee is subject to the approval of the fiscal body of the
2 political subdivision.
3     (k) The fee charged by a public agency under subsection (j) to cover
4 costs for maintaining, upgrading, and enhancing an electronic map may
5 be waived by the public agency if the electronic map for which the fee
6 is charged will be used for a noncommercial purpose, including the
7 following:
8(1) Public agency program support.
9(2) Nonprofit activities.
10(3) Journalism.
11(4) Academic research.
12     (l) This subsection does not apply to a state agency. A fee collected
13 under subsection (g) for the copying of a law enforcement recording
14 may be:
15(1) retained by the public agency; and
16(2) used without appropriation for one (1) or more of the
17following purposes:
18(A) To purchase cameras and other equipment for use in
19connection with the agency's law enforcement recording
20program.
21(B) For training concerning law enforcement recording.
22(C) To defray the expenses of storing, producing, and copying
23law enforcement recordings.
24 Money from a fee described in this subsection does not revert to the
25 local general fund at the end of a fiscal year.
26     (m) This subsection applies to a school corporation and a charter
27 school. For purposes of this subsection, "computer processing time"
28 means the amount of time a computer takes to process a command or
29 script to extract or copy electronically stored data that is the subject of
30 a public records request. A school corporation or charter school may
31 not charge a fee for the first five (5) hours required to search for
32 records that are in an electronic format. A school corporation or charter
33 school may charge a search fee for any time spent searching for records
34 that are in an electronic format that exceeds five (5) hours. If the school
35 corporation or charter school charges a search fee, the school
36 corporation or charter school shall charge an hourly fee that does not
37 exceed the lesser of:
38(1) the hourly rate of the person making the search; or
39(2) twenty dollars ($20) per hour.
40 A school corporation or charter school charging an hourly fee under
41 this subsection for searching for records that are in an electronic format
42 may charge only for time that the person making the search actually
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1 spends in searching for the records that are in an electronic format. A
2 school corporation or charter school may not charge for computer
3 processing time and may not establish a minimum fee for searching for
4 records that are in an electronic format. A school corporation or charter
5 school shall make a good faith effort to complete a search for records
6 that are in an electronic format that is within a reasonable time in order
7 to minimize the amount of a search fee. The fee must be prorated to
8 reflect any search time of less than one (1) hour.
9     (n) The county recorder shall charge the fees set forth in
10 IC 36-2-7-10 for copying documents.
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                 COMMITTEE REPORT
   Mr. Speaker: Your Committee on Local Government, to which was
referred House Bill 1311, has had the same under consideration and
begs leave to report the same back to the House with the
recommendation that said bill do pass.
   (Reference is to HB 1311 as introduced.)
                                                        MAY
Committee Vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0
HB 1311—LS 6934/DI 87