Sec. 8. (a) All state agencies subject to the provisions of this chapter shall adhere to the policy that all persons are entitled to access to information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public servants, such access being required to enable the people to freely and fully discuss all matters necessary for the making of political judgments. To that end, the provisions of this chapter shall be construed to provide access to public records to the extent consistent with the due protection of individual privacy.

     (b) Where such assurance is needed to obtain valuable considerations or gifts (which may include information) for the state, any agency, with the prior written approval of the oversight committee on public records, may allow restrictions upon public access to be imposed upon it as a specific condition of a contract, with a time limit not to exceed fifty (50) years or the lifetime of the individual, whichever is less. In order to promote the preservation of historical, cultural, natural, and other irreplaceable resources, the department of natural resources or the Indiana state library may extend, beyond the lifetime of the individual, restrictions upon disclosure of information received, providing that such restrictions do not exceed fifty (50) years from the date of the donation in the case of the Indiana state library.

As added by Acts 1977, P.L.21, SEC.1. Amended by Acts 1978, P.L.10, SEC.4; Acts 1979, P.L.40, SEC.4; P.L.19-1983, SEC.3.