Under Gov. Mike Braun, Indiana’s Public Access Counselor office has been falling behind on requests and formal complaints, leaving residents, reporters and watchdogs waiting months for advisory opinions that spell out whether records or meetings should be public. Critics say those long delays, combined with a 2024 law that narrowed the counselor’s authority, have made it tougher for Hoosiers to push back when city or state agencies keep information under wraps.
IndyStar Investigation Finds Months-Long Delays
An investigation by the Indianapolis Star found that under Public Access Counselor Jennifer Ruby, the office took an average of nearly 250 days to issue formal advisory opinions, and that in published rulings the counselor sided with government agencies about two thirds of the time. The paper highlighted several high-profile complaints that lingered for months, including an opinion issued July 14 that took 287 days and a separate complaint involving Maria Flora that waited 314 days for a formal opinion, according to The Indianapolis Star.
PAC Data Show Backlog And Staffing Strain
The Public Access Counselor’s own annual report to lawmakers lays out the strain plainly. For the July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 reporting year, the office logged 141 formal complaints, issued 17 advisory opinions and still had 93 opinions pending as of June 30, 2025. The report also notes the office operated understaffed for much of 2024 and is in the process of onboarding new employees to work down the backlog, according to the PAC’s annual report on IN.gov.
Lawmakers Narrowed The Counselor’s Role
All of this came on the heels of a 2024 change to state law that reshaped how the office is supposed to operate. The Indiana Legislature ordered the counselor to “consider only the plain text of the public access laws and valid Indiana court opinions” when handling complaints, and it shifted the job from a fixed term to a position that serves at the governor’s pleasure. Supporters, including the amendment’s sponsor, argued the changes were needed to curb perceived overreach. Critics warn the move stripped away an independent check on government secrecy, as reported by Indiana Public Radio.
Open-Government Groups Step In
With the PAC backlog growing, volunteer advocates have been trying to plug the gap. The Indiana Coalition for Open Government launched a public help line and created a hotline, 260-ASK-ICOG, to guide Hoosiers, journalists and local officials who are stuck waiting on answers while the counselor’s office rebuilds its staff, according to the Indiana Coalition for Open Government.
What Officials Say
When Gov. Mike Braun appointed Ruby in March 2025, he said “Transparency for Hoosiers is important for a healthy state government” and praised her legal background. Ruby’s first annual report likewise states that new staff are being added to improve response times and expand education and outreach, as noted by WFYI.
Legal Context
Advisory opinions from the PAC do not have the force of law, and Indiana courts have described them as “nonbinding statements.” That means when opinions are delayed or tightly limited, more disputes can end up in court. Judges may treat PAC opinions as persuasive when case law is thin, but with the 2024 statutory limits and the current lengthy timelines, more Hoosiers and newsrooms are likely to seek direct relief from the courts, according to an Indiana Court of Appeals opinion available via the Indiana Court of Appeals.
For now, the mix of staffing shortages, a narrowed legal mandate and months-long waits has pushed many public records fights away from a single state watchdog and back into courtrooms, newsrooms and volunteer hotlines. Watchdogs say the PAC’s updated annual reports, along with the pace of upcoming advisory opinions, will be the first real test of whether the office can cut the backlog and bring quicker oversight back into the process.
