Proposed Legislation Would Require Livestreaming, Archiving of Public Meetings

Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 1:30 PM

"All levels of government should want to demonstrate and be accountable to what they're doing for their communities," said the bill's author.

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INDIANAPOLIS – A proposed bill would require livestreaming and archiving of public meetings.

The Indiana House of Representatives recently passed State Rep. Ben Smaltz’s legislation that would provide more government transparency to Hoosiers.

House Bill 1167 would require executive and fiscal bodies of state and local agencies, and school boards, to livestream their meetings on publicly accessible platforms, and archive the recordings with links to agendas and minutes.

"Hoosiers deserve to know what their government is doing with their tax dollars," Smaltz said. "Not everyone has the ability to attend public meetings in person, so having the ability to watch online anytime provides a higher level of transparency and that also boosts accountability."

Recordings would be required to be available to the public for at least 90 days after the meeting date.

If passed into law, smaller government entities would have until July 2024 to comply.

House Bill 1167 now heads to the Senate for consideration.