Lawmakers won't override veto of proposed public access bill

INDIANAPOLIS -- Legislative leaders Monday called off plans to consider overriding the governor's veto of a bill that would exempt lawmakers from the state's open-records laws.\nHouse Speaker John Gregg said he planned to postpone the vote indefinitely in the hopes that supporters and opponents could reach a compromise.\nHe said he did not want the Legislature to take any action that would hurt the government's credibility, particularly in light of the war on terrorism.\nIndiana newspapers fought the measure for months, urging legislators not to override Gov. Frank O'Bannon's veto of the bill, which would set lawmakers apart from Indiana's Access to Public Records Act. Newspapers intensified their campaign in the past week, publishing editorials on the issue leading into the weekend before the expected vote.\nAt the heart of the issue in H.B. 1083 is whether lawmakers should be able to decide for themselves which documents, including electronic mail, will be open to public view.\n"We can step back, spend some time in next couple moths trying to protect citizens rights," Gregg said. "We're just going to have some ongoing discussions and reach some happy ground."\nA committee of the newspaper industry group Hoosier State Press Association tried unsuccessfully over the summer to reach a compromise with legislative leaders on the bill.\nIn vetoing the bill, O'Bannon contended that it was "a step backward" in efforts to open up legislative matters to the public. He said lawmakers should have given the issue more thought and the public more opportunity to comment.