Attorney General Todd Rokita and State Comptroller Elise Nieshallaare calling onIndiana University (IU) to show proof of compliancewith a clear and unambiguous statelaw,whichprohibits the Kinsey Institute fromusing taxpayer funds.
“My office works tirelessly to protectHoosiers’ hard-earnedtax dollars and Indianalaw is clear – no state funds may be used to fund theKinsey Institute,” Attorney General Rokita said.“More than a year has passed since IU assured the public and state officials that it would follow the law, yet we have seen no indication that any serious actions have been taken. IU is not above the law, and Hoosiers deserve answers.”
An Indiana lawpassed by the General Assembly prohibits state funding of the Kinsey Institute in any way. The 2023 law cites more than a dozen potential funding loopholes which must now operate using zero taxpayer dollars. A joint letter sent this weekby Attorney General Rokita and Comptroller Nieshallademands IU’s President and Trustees confirm compliance with thestate law that went into effect on July 1 – of last year – more than ample time to provide such proof.
“As the state elected leader responsible for the accounting and reporting of state funds, I take seriously my responsibility to document and provide complete transparency for tax dollars spent within state government,” stated Comptroller Elise Nieshalla. “With the absence of evidence per state law that tax dollars are no longer supporting the Kinsey Institute, we are calling for necessary financial information to prove adherence to state statute.”
Indiana University issued a press release in April of 2023promising a “thorough legal review to ensure the University follows state law.”But rather than show simple proof of compliance, the administrators of Indiana’s largest public university school systemvoted to tableandultimately declinedto separate the controversial sex research center from the University itself. Instead, IU proposed a plan to use accounting methods to ensure compliance, yet two quarterly meetings have passed since this proposal with no public update as to the implementation of an appropriateaccounting plan. Now, another semester is set to begin and Indiana taxpayers deserve answers.
The law passed by our General Assembly uses succinct language forbidding state funds frombeing used in the administration, operation, or any programs of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction.