Indiana Freedom Caucus   

PETITION FOR COMPREHENSIVE AUDIT AND OVERSIGHT REFORM
Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC)

We, the undersigned taxpaying citizens of the State of Indiana, in accordance with our United States Constitutional First Amendment rights and our Indiana State Constitution Article 1, Section 31 rights, do hereby exercise our rights to petition for redress of grievances.

STATEMENT OF CONCERNS

1)    Governor Braun stated: "When questions are raised about how taxpayer dollars are being used, we take that seriously. That's why we ordered a full forensic audit no shortcuts, no politics," and claimed "The results are clear and this matter is resolved”.

2)    The FTI Consulting report documents multiple failures of oversight, inadequate documentation, excessive expenditures, and numerous unexamined leads regarding the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC).

3)    Credible allegations persist concerning potential fraud, waste, and misuse of taxpayer funds through intermediary organizations.

4)    The IEDC has allocated substantial taxpayer resources toward the Lilly Economic Advancement Partnership (LEAP) and related data center developments without adequate public transparency regarding:

a)    Long-term costs to Indiana taxpayers for infrastructure, water, and energy demands.

b)    Energy consumption impacts and strain on Indiana's electrical grid.

c)    Environmental and community impacts of large-scale data center operations.

5)    IEDC-supported projects increasingly involve surveillance infrastructure, including smart corridor technology, drone surveillance networks, automated camera systems, facial recognition technology, and data collection systems whose information could be accessed, shared, or used without proper constitutional protections or oversight.

6)   No comprehensive public audit has disclosed which private entities have access to surveillance data collected through IEDC-funded infrastructure, what data retention and privacy policies govern these systems, whether data collected from Indiana residents is being sold or shared with federal agencies, or the full scope of taxpayer liability for ongoing energy and operational costs.

7)   The citizens of Indiana have not consented to mass surveillance infrastructure or to subsidizing private data center operations that may compromise their privacy, increase their energy costs, and obligate them to decades of infrastructure debt.

8)   These matters remain unresolved to the satisfaction of Indiana taxpayers, who demand full accountability and transparency.

PETITIONED ACTIONS

We, the undersigned, respectfully petition the Governor, the Indiana General Assembly, and all relevant state authorities for the following actions:

1)   Immediate Suspension of New IEDC Contracts

2)   Suspend all new IEDC contracts, agreements, and expenditures pending completion of a comprehensive independent audit.

3)   Comprehensive Independent Forensic Audit

Conduct a forensic audit by an independent auditor (not previously engaged by IEDC) covering: All IEDC transactions, contracts, and agreements from January 2020 to present; ○ All payments to and relationships with non-profit intermediaries; ○ All LEAP-related expenditures and commitments; ○ Complete accounting of taxpayer costs for data center infrastructure, energy subsidies, and water rights; ○ Full inventory of all surveillance systems (cameras, drones, connected corridors, sensors, data collection devices) funded in whole or in part by IEDC resources.

4)   Investigation into Potential Fraud and Waste

5)   Initiate appropriate criminal and civil investigations into any fraudulent activity, waste, or misappropriation of funds identified during the audit, with full prosecution warranted and recovery of misspent taxpayer dollars.

6)   Surveillance Transparency Mandate

Require public disclosure of all surveillance technologies deployed with IEDC funding; ○ All entities with access to surveillance data; ○ Data retention, sharing, and privacy policies; ○ Constitutional protections safeguarding residents' Fourth Amendment rights.

7)   Energy and Infrastructure Impact Assessment

Publish a comprehensive impact statement detailing total projected energy consumption of IEDC-supported data centers; ○ Impact on residential and business energy costs; ○ Long-term taxpayer obligations for infrastructure maintenance; ○ Environmental impact assessments.

 8) Moratorium on New Data Center Subsidies

Impose a moratorium on all new data center subsidies and connected corridor projects until full transparency and constitutional safeguards are enacted.

9)   Permanent Oversight Reform

Establish the following oversight mechanisms:

i)      Independent citizen oversight board with investigative authority.

ii)     Mandatory public disclosure of all IEDC contracts exceeding $100,000

iii)   Quarterly public reports on IEDC activities.

iv)   Legislative approval requirement for any project exceeding $50 million in taxpayer exposure.

v)    Prohibition on surveillance data collection without explicit legislative authorization and constitutional privacy protections.

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We respectfully request action within 60 days of submission and regular public updates on investigation and reform progress.

Submitted on behalf of concerned Indiana taxpayers demanding transparency, accountability, and the protection of constitutional rights.

 

Please sign this petition and join us at https://www.indianafreedomcaucus.org