Bill could help control public domain

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A measure moving through Indiana's senate would allow public workers to keep their personal information out of the public's eye.

Supporter say Senate bill 243 will help cut down on threats against jailers, prison staffers and even police.

Vigo County commissioners may beat lawmakers to the punch.

This, after one public employee says they got a threat.

"I myself have had numerous threats. No one is immune to it. And a lot of times they are just that, they are threats. But you never know when that one person is going to follow through on that," Vigo County Drug Task Force Detective Denzil Lewis said.

If passed, the bill would allow emergency management workers, officers, medical responders and technicians to withhold their home address and contact information from the public's eye.

In Vigo County, commissioners could give correctional officers, Drug Task Force and police that option after some approached the council.

"There's nothing in concrete and it's just basically our exploratory study to see how feasible this would be," Vigo County Auditor Tim Seprodi said.

The problem is it would be limited to Beacon website.

"I believe you can find anything you want on the internet, regardless of how private you make it. So it's just one more area," Seprodi said.

"We're talking about taking a step forward and this isn't going to be overnight, this is something that's going to be a long-term process," Lewis said.

It's a safety guard that's not tightly sealed.

However, it could be enough to give some piece of mind.

Lawmakers last reviewed the bill February 11th.

A senate committee voted 9-0 to move the bill forward.