iGaming legislation for Hoosier Lottery, casinos dead for session
A push to legalize online lottery and casino games won’t move forward this legislative session, Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston confirmed Thursday.
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Lawmakers move THC test threshold for impaired driving
Marijuana, and the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels that make someone feel high, is legal for recreational purposes in three of Indiana’s four neighboring states. But figuring out when someone is too high to drive has proven to be a difficult task.
Panel seeks to block charities from operating like true casinos
Less than three months after Hoosier regulators busted a northern Indiana charity casino, lawmakers added anti-fraud measures to legislation loosening spending rules for charity gambling revenue.
Indiana Senate approves education measures, narrowly OKs carbon storage measure
Indiana’s Senate on Tuesday approved a trio of education measures – on supplemental teacher pay, sexual education materials and chaplain-counselors – largely along party lines. Then, the chamber nearly split on bulked-up carbon storage regulations.
Condoms, IUDs removed from Indiana bill seeking to expand birth control access
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday removed condoms and long-acting contraceptives from a proposed Indiana program that seeks to increase access to birth control, instead replacing those options with “fertility awareness based methods” like menstrual cycle tracking — also known as the rhythm method.
Senate lawmakers scale back Braun’s ambitious property tax proposal in heavily amended bill
The Indiana Legislature’s fiscal policy leaders heavily cut down a bill carrying Gov. Mike Braun’s ambitious property tax plan Tuesday morning.
Federal judge blocks ‘catastrophic’ Trump administration cut to NIH grant funding
A federal judge on Monday prevented the National Institutes of Health from changing the percentage that universities and medical schools are paid in facilities and administrative costs in 22 states that filed a lawsuit, blocking a decision that was rebuked by academic institutions throughout the country and members of Congress.
Almost $30M spent lobbying Indiana General Assembly last year
Multi-national corporations, home-grown companies, industry groups, advocacy organizations, local government, lobbying firms and others collectively spent nearly $30 million attempting to influence Hoosier lawmakers, their family members and legislative employees last year.
Republican leaders cast doubt on new state tax relief
Despite being a top priority for new Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, Republican leaders in the General Assembly seem to be taking a more cautious approach to new state tax relief in budget discussions.
Indiana House approves cremation alternative
Indiana’s House of Representatives on Thursday approved a water-based cremation alternative despite religious pushback.
Hoosiers rally at Statehouse to protest Trump administration
President Trump’s flurry of executive orders on immigration, transgender athletes and soldiers and more spurred organized protests at state capitols across the country.
Indiana lawmakers ponder requiring cameras in special ed classrooms
District administrators aren’t opposed — but only if the state foots the bill. Educators have been less receptive.
Locals, lawmakers struggle to compromise on Indiana property tax relief
Gov. Mike Braun’s proposal would cap annual increases on property taxes for all property types at 3%.
Bill would criminalize DNA sampling denial during booking on felony charges
The measure was both applauded as a “fix” to an eight-year-old oversight and criticized as infringing on “genetic privacy.”
State settles with anti-abortion group; will release terminated pregnancy reports
The Indiana Department of Health will release the individual reports filed on every abortion but with redactions to protect patient identity.
Despite pushback, lawmakers advance bill to double inspections of Indiana’s confined animal farms
A bill to increase inspections of confined livestock farms advanced Monday despite pushback from multiple Indiana farming groups who argued that additional oversight requirements will come at a cost to producers.
Governor’s cabinet secretaries near top of state pay with $275K salaries
The eight cabinet secretaries serving under Gov. Mike Braun will be some of the highest-paid employees in the state — with each taking home $275,000 for their new positions. Five of the secretaries will also directly lead an agency, though all oversee several agencies under the newly crafted cabinet structure.
Legislative leaders talk post-moratorium gambling expansions, more bills reach halfway point
Just six months after a former Indiana lawmaker was sentenced to a year in federal prison for gambling-related corruption, industry expansion proposals are moving through the Legislature.
Indiana casino relocation nixed without a vote
After two hours of testimony from roughly three dozen people, a committee chair opted not to advance a proposal to move a casino license from a southeastern Indiana community to a city 160 miles north—an idea that pitted neighbor against neighbor in the casino’s potential new home.
A-F grades set to return for Indiana schools as lawmakers consider new accountability system
After a multi-year hiatus, A-F grades are likely to be used again to measure the quality of Indiana’s schools. The return to a statewide letter grade system is outlined in Republican Rep. Bob Behning’s House Bill 1498, which unanimously passed out of the House Education Committee on Wednesday.