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State Agencies Mostly Keeping Existing Ethics Rules To Comply With New Law

Indiana Department of Administration

Changes to Indiana’s ethics statutes passed by the legislature this year are prompting state agencies to officially adopt policies about employees using state property for personal use.  But very little will actually change.

The legislation approved by the General Assembly requires the State Ethics Commission to approve all state agencies’ policies barring employees from using state property for personal use.  But as Ethics Director Jen Cooper told the commission at its meeting Thursday, agencies already had those rules in place.

“So they all had something basically on file but as of July 1, because those weren’t approved by you, they’re not going to be effective anymore,” Cooper says.

In order to help agencies comply with the new law, the Ethics Commission developed a model policy, language that puts in place rules that exist under the new state law.  The vast majority – more than 70 agencies – opted to simply adopt that model. 

Only a few wanted to add on to the model policy – for example, the Department of Administration created a small exception saying that employees can keep state vehicles home overnight if their official business lasted too long to return the vehicle that same day.  But those additions – approved by the Ethics Commission – codify existing practices. 

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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