Budget Committee Tables Vote On Statehouse Security Measures

Amid concerns about cost and effectiveness, the State Budget Committee tabled a vote Friday on adding new security measures to Indiana Statehouse entrances. 

Some of the concern from Noblesville Sen. Luke Kenley comes from the definition of the “turnstiles” the state proposes adding at a cost of nearly $900,000. Kenley wondered how such equipment would stop people from entering the statehouse unmonitored, as happens with the current keycard system.

“And so, if you put a turnstile up there then you decide you don’t have to man that station, then the guy you’re talking about is just going to jump the turnstile and keep going,” Kenley said.

But State Architect Jason Larrison says it’s a misleading term – and one his team was instructed before the meeting not to use.

“A lot of people think of the same things that you use at stadiums. That they’re mostly there for doing head counts," Larrison said. "But actually, there are a number of security products out there that look like glass revolving doors that provide that same sort of security without the ability to jump over.”