Indiana Code 4-1-6-8.6. Requests for access to confidential records; improper disclosure; actions
(1) the researcher states in writing to the agency the purpose, including any intent to publish findings, the nature of the data sought, what personal information will be required, and what safeguards, including reasonable de-identification methods, will be taken to protect the identity of the data subjects;
Terms Used In Indiana Code 4-1-6-8.6
- Confidential: means information which has been so designated by statute or by promulgated rule or regulation based on statutory authority. See Indiana Code 4-1-6-1
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Data subject: means an individual about whom personal information is indexed or may be located under the individual's name, personal number, or other identifiable particulars, in a personal information system. See Indiana Code 4-1-6-1
- in writing: include printing, lithographing, or other mode of representing words and letters. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Personal information: means any information that describes, locates, or indexes anything about an individual or that affords a basis for inferring personal characteristics about an individual including, but not limited to, the individual's education, financial transactions, medical history, criminal or employment records, finger and voice prints, photographs, or the individual's presence, registration, or membership in an organization or activity or admission to an institution. See Indiana Code 4-1-6-1
(3) the researcher executes a data sharing agreement or similar agreement with the agency that is approved by the management performance hub established by IC 4-3-26-8, which incorporates such safeguards for protection of individual data subjects, defines the scope of the research project, and informs the researcher that failure to abide by conditions of the approved agreement constitutes a breach of contract, could result in the researcher not obtaining further records from the agency, and could result in civil litigation by the data subject or subjects;
(4) the researcher agrees to pay all direct or indirect costs of the research; and
(5) the agency maintains a copy of the agreement or contract for a period equivalent to the life of the record.
(b) Improper disclosure of confidential information by a state employee is cause for action to dismiss the employee.
As added by Acts 1978, P.L.10, SEC.6. Amended by Acts 1979, P.L.40, SEC.5; P.L.19-1983, SEC.5; P.L.201-2023, SEC.51.