Indiana Governor signs three executive orders aimed at transparency and economic growth

Enhance transparency and reshape Indiana’s economic development

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed three executive orders which aim to enhance transparency and reshape Indiana’s economic development strategy.

The executive orders make state-affiliated non-profits more transparent, prioritize wage growth and job creation, and reassess the state’s economic development regions.

“If organizations like the Indiana Economic Development Foundation were created to assist state agencies with public business, then Hoosiers need full transparency into how these non-profits operate, who funds them, and what they do with the money…” Braun said in the announcement.

He ordered all state-affiliated non-profits file financial disclosures, including those missed over the past 10 years, by Dec. 31. This includes filing an annual IRS Form 990, even if they have previously been exempted.

Braun’s second executive order sets wage growth and job creation as the primary metrics for evaluating Indiana’s economic development initiatives, saying they should be the “North Star” for the state rather than capital expenditure.

The last executive order Braun signed empowers the Commerce Secretary to recommend new regional economic development maps “based on the unique strengths, assets, and industries of the different areas of Indiana.