MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- Companies will no longer be able to request public records for commercial use from the City of Mishawaka.

The Mishawaka Common Council voted unanimously Monday night to pass an ordinance Prohibiting Public Records Requests for Commercial Purposes. The ordinance was voted on for its second reading.

The measure was introduced after city officials saw an increase in public records requests from companies and other entities. Many of these requests are for records that go back several years, which take city officials two to three hours per request to fulfill.

Under state law, local municipalities are allowed to prohibit public records for commercial purposes. In previous requests, companies have said they are combining local records with data from cities across the country.

The City of Mishawaka believes these companies are requesting records for-profit.

With this change, the city will still fulfill public records requests from local businesses, schools, and other requests following the Access to Public Records Act.

Public comment was allowed at Monday's council meeting, though no residents spoke.