Anti-DEI bills take heat but pass committee
For four hours on Wednesday, and with tempers flaring throughout, Indiana lawmakers and plenty of constituents debated whether diversity, equity and inclusion efforts combat or constitute discrimination.
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Braun signs executive orders on abortion records, health care costs
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Wednesday waded into a legal fight over the release of abortion records while signing a health-focused tranche of executive orders.
Black Indiana lawmakers denounce governor’s anti-DEI order, budget proposal
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun last week signed an executive order replacing “diversity, equity and inclusion,” or DEI, throughout state government policies and programming with “merit, excellence and innovation,” or MEI.
Libraries fire back on bill to remove taxing authority
A proposal from Republican Sen. Gary Byrne of Byrnesville would remove taxing authority from library boards and give it to the county.
Indiana Legal Services raises concerns about ‘squatter’ legislation
Some advocates warn Senate Bill 157—which would require police to remove “squatters” within 48 hours—would allow landlords to skip the court, chipping away at tenants’ rights.
Indiana lawmaker targets ‘destructive’ minnow fishing
An Indiana bill up for debate intends to crack down on what some Hoosiers called “destructive” fishing practices that wreak havoc on minnow populations in the state’s rivers and streams.
Proposal would ease primary election candidates’ path to landing poll watchers
Lawmakers want to make it easier for candidates in primary elections to name election observers, also known as poll watchers.
Braun names more agency heads on eve of inauguration
Gov.-elect Mike Braun late Friday appointed eight individuals to lead various state agencies and departments in the new administration. Braun is scheduled to be sworn into office today.
Indiana Ethics Commission approves waivers for 4 outgoing agency heads
Indiana’s Ethics Commission on Thursday unanimously approved post-employment waivers for four agency heads moving on from state government as Gov.-elect Mike Braun takes over. That includes David Rosenberg, president and CEO of the controversial Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
Indiana bill would ban social media accounts for Hoosiers under age 16 without parental consent
One year after Indiana policymakers enacted a law requiring pornography websites to verify users’ ages, a new bill seeks to further restrict Hoosiers under age 16 from creating social media accounts without “verified” parental permission.
Former Indiana congressional candidate agrees to plead guilty in campaign finance fraud case
Former Indiana congressional candidate Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Whitley is admitting that he falsified campaign finance records, saying he lied about raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions ahead of the May 2024 primary.
State lawmakers expected to debate a slew of education-related proposals
State legislators are expected to spend the next four months hashing out how much money to make available for K-12 base funding, as well as allocations that could affect teacher pay, summer school and math and literacy tutoring.
Breaking down the fiscal issues that will dominate 2025 legislative session
Lawmakers will convene Wednesday to begin drafting the state’s next two-year budget, determining how to spend approximately $44 billion dollars to fund government services such as schools, health insurance programs and infrastructure as well as tackling other fiscal issues.
Outgoing Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb looks back on eight years in office — and at what’s next
Looking back on two terms in office, outgoing Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb doesn’t have regrets — or at least not many.
Lawmakers seek road-funding changes, hope to avoid fiscal cliff
While education dominates half of Indiana’s budget and Medicaid costs worry lawmakers, a projected transportation infrastructure funding shortfall creeps closer.
Medicaid, prior authorization to be major topics for Legislature in 2025
What little new revenue is expected over the next two years likely will be swallowed up by Medicaid costs as lawmakers work to craft the state’s next budget.
Schoolhouse Rock, Indiana edition: How a bill becomes a law
A biennial budget of more than $40 billion is on the line come January, alongside hundreds of other proposals from Indiana lawmakers. Just a fraction become law. How do we get there?
Ohio River protection would be new federal office’s job under bipartisan bill in Congress
A bipartisan bill introduced in Congress would create a new office within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to address environmental needs of the Ohio River basin spanning 204,000 square miles.
Pre-design funds approved for proposed Indiana judicial building
Proposals to construct a new building to house the state’s courts have been tossed around for decades – and was even a topic of controversy in the 1980s — but project plans have never developed enough to gain traction.
Lawmakers hint at road funding changes
It appears all funding options are on the table as budget heads and other lawmakers on Wednesday called on the Indiana General Assembly to boost transportation infrastructure investment at the state and local levels.