Pence Vetoes Bills
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowGovernor Mike Pence has vetoed two bills passed by the Indiana General Assembly. The bills involve Indiana Department of Environmental Management rules and limiting transparency at private universities.
House Enrolled Act 1082, which was known as the "no more stringent" bill, would have required the IDEM to report any environmental standards or rules that impose a restriction or requirement more stringent than federal law to the Indiana General Assembly. Those standards or rules would not go into effect until after adjournment sine die of the General Assembly.
Pence said the bill may lessen the ability to maintain clean and safe drinking water.
"In recent months, public concern over clean and safe drinking water has grown as a result of the situation in Flint, Michigan," said Pence. "Our Indiana Department of Environmental Management is vigilant about requiring regular testing of water systems across the state for lead and working with any systems that are out of compliance to implement plans that will return the water to safe levels. IDEM must have the necessary flexibility to take action to protect Hoosiers. House Enrolled Act 1082 restricts IDEM’s ability to act and imposes unnecessary delay in its rulemaking process. At a time when we must do all that we can to enhance public trust in the agencies charged with protecting our environment, this bill moves in the wrong direction and will therefore receive my veto."
Pence also vetoed House Enrolled Act 1022, which he says would have allowed the police departments of private universities to have different standards for public records than public police departments. Pence’s office cited an Indiana Court of Appeals ruling last week in the case of ESPN v. University of Notre Dame, which stated that Notre Dame’s police department is a “public agency” not a private entity under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.
"Limiting access to police records in a situation where private university police departments perform a government function is a disservice to the public and an unnecessary barrier to transparency. While House Enrolled Act 1022 provides for limited disclosure of records from private university police departments, it would limit the application of the Access to Public Records Act following the Court of Appeals decision and result in less disclosure, therefore I have decided to veto the bill.”
Thursday was the final day for Pence to sign or veto bills. The bills would have automatically become law if Pence had taken no action.