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Lawmakers: Search fee for records to be removed from bill

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Lawmakers say a provision that would allow government entities to charge a searching fee for records requests that take longer than two hours to fulfill will be removed from a proposal.

House Education Committee members heard testimony Tuesday about a bill that aims to aims to simplify school management by cutting obsolete and duplicate rules in education.

The current version would also change how public records are handled by all types of Indiana agencies, not just schools, sparking mixed reviews from open-records advocates.

Bill sponsor Rep. Tony Cook, a Cicero Republican, says he plans to remove the $20 search fee and all other changes to the Public Record Act in a future amendment.

Cook says the proposed change will also consider testimony given at Tuesday’s hearing.