STATEHOUSE (Feb. 15, 2010) - Members of the House Education Committee voted 11-0 today to approve Sen. Mike Delph’s (R-Carmel) legislation providing legislative branch access to state-funded research resources at state colleges and universities.

“This piece of legislation is sometimes called the baby brother of the larger ethics package being discussed this session in an effort to make our government more open and accountable to Hoosiers,” Delph said. “I believe one way we can accomplish this goal is by allowing the legislative branch to have access to the tools needed to research topics and legislation without having to rely so much on the lobbying community.”
 
Senate Bill 84 would allow legislators and the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) access to research tools like Lexis-Nexis, J-Stor and Project MUSE through state universities. The bill exempts access requirements for legislators and staff if expanding access violate the terms of a subscription agreement to provide the research tools.

Delph’s legislation would also urge the Legislative Council to provide information and training on Indiana’s virtual library, INSPIRE, to legislators and staff. INSPIRE is a collection of academic databases and other information resources that can be accessed by all Indiana residents at www.INSPIRE.in.gov.

“We are pleased to play a role in providing legislators and staff with access to our collection of resources not only at the state library but also through INSPIRE,” said Jim Corridan, Deputy State Librarian. “INSPIRE gives Hoosiers access to over 10,000 journals and 3,000 e-books and we look forward to working with the legislature in providing the most current resources in the future.”

Delph’s bill also requests that LSA conduct a survey of legislators and staff regarding research tools and the feasibility of establishing a division of research and policy development within the agency.

SB 84 now moves to the full House of Representatives for further consideration.

Sen. Delph represents Senate District 29, which includes portions of Hamilton and Marion counties.