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IN House committee changes whistleblower bill

A House committee Thursday made changes to a bill creating new criminal penalties for activists sharing photos or videos of potentially embarrassing or illegal activities at farms and factories.  The changes are intended to help ease concerns about free speech issues with the measure.

The original proposal made it a crime to disseminate photos or videos taken at agricultural and industrial operations intended to harm the business, such as animal rights activists posting defaming video of slaughterhouses.  After an amendment approved in committee, the bill would now make it a crime simply to take pictures or shoot video at all in an effort to hurt or defame the business, not mentioning distribution.  The legislation still contains whistleblower protection if a person gives the photos or videos to law enforcement within 48 hours. 

Senator Travis Holdman (R-Markle) says removing the dissemination language doesn’t make much difference.

“If you disseminate or distribute to somebody other than law enforcement, that is going to be prima facie evidence that you did something wrong.  So we don’t have to say for it to be understood that that’s illegal for you to have done what you did.”

Humane Society Indiana director Erin Huang says the changes certainly don’t make the bill better.

“I think even with the amendments, the point here is – and the point of this bill is – instead of cleaning up the abuses that have been uncovered in other undercover investigations, they want to prevent the American people from finding out about it.”

House Speaker Brian Bosma says he still has some concerns about the constitutionality of the measure and will continue to study it as it now heads to the House floor. 

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.
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