DCS centralized hotline undergoes changes in advance of legislation
Prior to the Indiana General Assembly implementing recommendations from an interim study committee, the Indiana Department of Child Services is making changes.
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Synthetic drug ban, human trafficking bills move out of committee
Senate bills stiffening the state’s synthetic drug ban and strengthening Indiana’s human trafficking laws were approved unanimously by the House of Representatives Committee on Courts and Criminal Code Wednesday.
House Committee approves CHINS bill returning power to prosecuting attorneys
A bill giving prosecuting attorneys the ability to file a Child in Need of Services petition continues to garner strong support in the Indiana General Assembly.
Applications open for Allen Superior Civil Division judge
Applications are open for qualified Allen County attorneys interested in serving as a judge in Superior Court, Civil Division.
New FMLA rule expands provisions for military families
Attorneys see the 20-year-old Act growing beyond its original intent.
Refiguring workers’ comp in Indiana
A House bill looks to raise worker benefits, causing a tug-of-war over hospital reimbursement.
Indiana Senate president pro tem pushes for Constitutional Convention
Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long admits his effort to convene a state-driven Constitutional Convention will be a struggle.
Humane Society, ASPCA target confined-hunting bill
Two-legged and four-legged lobbyists will head to the Indiana Statehouse on Tuesday to oppose a bill that would lift a ban on hunting animals in fenced areas.
Indiana bar exam may change test topics
Hopeful attorneys who take the Indiana bar exam in 2016 may no longer have to write essays on commercial law, personal property, and taxation based on proposed changes from the Indiana Board of Law Examiners.
Lawsuit accuses BMV of overcharging for driver’s licenses
A lawsuit filed in Marion County claims that the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has overcharged residents for their driver’s licenses by as much as $7 per license.
Judge turns away challenge to smoking ordinance
A federal judge has denied a challenge to a smoking ordinance passed last year by the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council.
School corporation’s renovation of building violated public bidding laws
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation’s renovation of a building to be used to house all administrative offices violated the state’s Public Bidding Laws.
Senate panel to hear problem-solving courts, ‘sovereign citizen’ bills
Proposals to expand services offered by problem-solving courts and to attempt to curtail fraudulent liens and other tactics of so-called sovereign citizens will be heard Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
House committee to hear sex offender, immediate detention bills
The Senate Corrections & Criminal Law Committee meets Tuesday morning to hear four bills, including a bill altering registry requirements and procedures for sex offenses and sex offenders.
Medicaid expansion not dead but Legislature still divided
When talking about expanding Medicaid under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, both sides of the aisle in the Statehouse focus on the same point – costs.
Environmental groups lob new suit at I-69 work
An Indiana environmental group once again is attempting to stop construction of the Interstate 69 extension between Evansville and Indianapolis by filing suit in federal court.
Bill creating study of judicial retirement benefits moves to House
A Senate bill asking the Legislative Council to have the Pension Management Oversight Commission look at the retirement, disability and death benefits provided to judges and full-time magistrates passed out of the Senate Tuesday by a vote of 50-0.
Senate defeats DNA collection bill
Legislation that would require every person arrested after June 30 for certain crimes to submit a DNA sample failed to pass the Senate Tuesday.
Long expects Criminal Code revision will get Senate approval
Indiana’s first major rewrite of the state’s Criminal Code in more than 30 years is now in the hands of the Senate where the Senate leader believes it will ultimately be approved.
Company loses inverse condemnation claim
The 17-month period beginning when a Terre Haute Board of Zoning Appeals ordered a company seeking a special exception to provide public water to surrounding homes and ending when that condition was overturned by a judge did not constitute inverse condemnation, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday.