This is Professor Bert Chapman, Purdue's government information, history, and
political science librarian.
I'm presenting a recording today on how to use the Indiana Register for Indiana state
residential regulatory research.
The Indiana Register is the publication produced by the Indiana state that lists
regulations for enforcing state laws.
In 1943 the Indiana General Assembly passed a law establishing general agency rulemaking
procedures to enforce state laws.
In January of 1947, the Indiana Secretary of State
published the first official codification of such rules.
And on July 1, 1978, the Indiana Register began monthly print publication.
Beginning July 1, 2006, the Indiana Register is only published on the internet and it's updated
updated more frequently.
The Indiana Register contains the text of proposed rules,
final rules, and other documents including governor's executive orders
and Attorney General's opinions
in the order they are received by the Indiana Legislative Council
which is an Indiana General Asssembly support agency.
Rules are policy statements having the force of law.
An online archive of the Indiana Register
is available from October 2000 to the present.
Fiscal impact statements are included in proposed rules.
Agencies have three business days to file rules, emergency rules,
corrections, rule recalls,
and related items.
Agencies must hold public hearings on proposed regulations within
21 days after they're published in the Indiana Register.
Proposed regulations can include time in which the public can comment on
these proposals and contact information for individuals responsible
for enforcing proposed regulations
at the issuing agency.
Agencies respond to public comments made at meetings and in communications
to the agency responsible for the proposed regulation.
Agencies must submit proposed rules to the Indiana Attorney General
to determine if they are constitutional.
Rules approved by the Attorney General are sent to governor's lawyers for approval.
This is the link to the User's Guide to the Indiana
Register and Indiana Administrative Code database.
This is a sample of an interpretation in the Indiana Register
published on June 3, 2020,
by the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission,
which is also part of the Department of Homeland Security.
On March 23, 2020,
Governor Holcomb issued executive order 20-08, which listed essential businesses
to operate during the COVID pandemic and it includes critical trades such as building,
construction, and other trades,
including electricians and plumbers.
This is the executive order signed by the governor
and it includes the state seal, the governor's signature,
and the signature of the Indiana Secretary of State.
This is a sample Indiana Register search on plumbing from December 2019 to the present.
You'll notice there are breakdowns by how many results are available
for individual days.
And then you can link to those results through this website.
On November 27, 2019 the Indiana Plumbing Commission published an emergency rule
listing criminal convictions as a factor which may cause plumbers to lose
their state license.
The beginning of this tells what kinds of criminal convictions can cause a plumber
to lose their state license
and it lists the relevant
sections of the Indiana code, which is Indiana state laws,
which may result in them losing their license.
So, for instance,
section G, where it says "Rape (IC 35-42-4-1)"
that's the section of the Indiana code which covers rape convictions.
September 11, 2019,
the Register issued a noticed of a proposed Indiana Plumbing Commission rule.
And this contains information about the rule,
the section of the Indiana Code that gives the Plumbing Commission the authority to
issue those
regulations, and then it also gives you information
on whom you can contact
at the Indiana Plumbing Commission to find more information about this proposed rule.
The Indiana Register can also be searched by volume and page number.
For instance,
"28 IR 3305" means volume 28
of the Indiana Register, page 3305.
And then there will be additional things that will tell you
the citations for various Indiana state regulations.
Where it is "675 IAC 14-4.2-67 Figure R502.2" it means that a mayor dealing with
floor construction was repealed
and this repeal was announced in the Indiana Register's June 13, 2005 issue
in volume 28, page 3305.
Another important source for Indiana state administrative law or regulations are
Indiana Attorney General opinions.
These are published both in the Indiana Attorney General's website
and in the Indiana Register.
They are advisory opinions reflecting Indiana Attorney General interpretations
of federal and state law.
They comment on the constitutionality of proposed state legislation
and such opinions may be requested by Indiana representatives and senators,
Indiana attorneys, and state officials.
They are issued numerically by calendar year.
For instance, 2020-8 would be the eighth Attorney General opinion issued
during calendar year 2020.
I next want to show you opinion 2017-4
called Deep Tunnel Easement Between Indiana State Fairgrounds.
It was published on August 14, 2017 by the Attorney General and it's four pages long.
This is a text of the opinion.
It was written by the Attorney General and individuals on their staff
to Cynthia Hoye, the Executive Director of the Indiana State Fair Commission.
And she is wanting to know whether Citizens Energy Group
can begin building a deep tunnel under the state fairgrounds property
which is part of a project that is supposed to go on until 2025
and this contains information about the technical details of this proposed dig.
And this announces that the Commission may grant a deep sewer tunnel easement
under the fairgrounds to the organization requesting permission to dig without
Indiana state legislation.
And then they conclude by saying that the proposed easement is consistent with
and will not substantially interfere with public use of the state fairgrounds.
And the Attorney General concludes that the dig can occur.
Some concluding remarks I'd like to make,
The Indiana Register contains the text of proposed and adopted Indiana state
regulations, governor's executive orders,
Indiana Attorney General opinions,
and agency interpretations of regulations in the Indiana Administrative Code.
The Indiana Register also includes contact information for officials at Indiana state
agencies which are responsible for enforcing these regulations.
Individuals and organizations may attend public meetings to support or oppose these
proposed regulations
and submit comments supporting or opposing these regulations.
Individuals and organizations should also contact their Indiana state representatives or
senators to express support for or opposition to
proposed to existing regulations.
And the link below provides information on how you can contact your representatives.