INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) -- Indiana's new secretary of commerce on Tuesday said he is putting procedures in place to prevent conflicts of interest with the company he runs.Chuck Goodrich, who succeeded David Adams as Indiana Secretar y of Commerce on Monday, has been president and CEO of Fishers-based Gaylor Electric since 2014. He said on Tuesday he will continue to serve in that role.Records from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation show Gaylor Electric has two active state incentives: a $1.3 million Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credit and a $200,000 Hoosier Business Investment tax credit, both of which commit the company to adding 140 jobs. The company also has several state contracts, including providing some services at the Statehouse. Rep. Ed DeLaney and Sen. Fady Qaddoura, both Indianapolis Democrats who have questioned the IEDC heavily in their capacity as members of the State Budget Committee, said Goodrich's decision to continue serving as the CEO of Gaylor Electric creates a very serious potential conflict of interest."Being a CEO of a private company that received incentives from the IEDC, and being appointed as the CEO of the same agency that granted incentives to the company of the new director raises serious concerns about blurring the lines and conflicts of interest," Qaddoura said. "I am not comfortable with the lack of transparency in an agency that is claiming self-policing."Goodrich said he spent the last six weeks before the announcement of his appointment separating out his CEO and secretary of commerce duties."Now, how we do that is we have screenings at Gaylor Electric and we have screenings at the state," he said. "And we have people in charge of making sure that there's no issue between the business of the state and the business of Gaylor."As for tax incentives, Goodrich said his company will be subjected to the same application and review process as everyone else.The IEDC has faced very heavy scrutiny from lawmakers in recent years. A forensic audit released last fall uncovered extensive conflicts of interest within the agency. Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, has said policy changes and reporting requirements under his administration have addressed those concerns.DeLaney said he questions how Goodrich will be able to carry out both roles. The secretary of commerce oversees the IEDC, the Department of Workforce Development and the Indiana Destination Development Corporation, among others. He and Qaddoura said Goodrich should either resign or take a leave of absence from his company, as previous IEDC heads have done, or else Braun should have appointed someone else. DeLaney noted Gov. Bob Orr put his lieutenant governor in charge of the IEDC when he was in office during the 1980s.DeLaney and Qaddoura also said they have concerns how Goodrich will approach the data center issue. Gaylor Electric's website states the company "has designed and built some of the largest, most robust data centers in the country." Goodrich did not outright endorse or reject recent moratoriums on data centers, such as one under consideration by the Indianapolis City-County Council."We're going to work with our regional partners. We believe that the secretary of commerce or the department has to reach out to the local regions and work with them on, what's the benefit for the location and what are the consequences?" he said. "We're going to focus on growing talent, growing businesses, and growing Indiana."Goodrich served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 2018 to 2024, representing Noblesville and the surrounding area. DeLaney and Qaddoura both said they don't have any concerns about Goodrich personally, based on their experiences working with him, but Braun's appointment of him shows serious ongoing structural flaws within the IEDC."He's not an unethical person. He's just being put in a very difficult position to comply with the public's interest and his obligations," DeLaney said. "And on a part-time basis, I find that, I don't see why that's worth doing for anybody, frankly." ...read more read less