Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, has filed a bill that would extend whistleblower protections to state employees who speak up about government misdeeds or fiscal malfeasance. The legislation is in response to a split decision from the Indiana Supreme Court, which found the state whistleblower statute did not include workers in the public sector.
A bill pending before an Indiana Senate committee would place additional requirements on the Department of Child Services before removing a child from long-term foster care, though DCS representatives object to the bill on the basis of court caseloads and child safety.
The fight over CBD oil in Indiana has led lawmakers to introduce numerous bills that would legalize sale of the product derived from marijuana plants, but the only measure currently scheduled for a hearing at the Statehouse would limit CBD sales to people who put their names on a state registry. The bill will be heard next week.
For the first time in Indiana history, a Senate committee has approved a bill allowing Sunday alcohol sales, moving the measure to the full Senate.
A complete turnover in the Supreme Court bench, an expansion of judicial training options and a continued commitment to court technology has poised the Indiana judiciary in a state of hope for the future, Chief Justice Loretta Rush said today in her State of the Judiciary address.
The Indiana House Public Policy Committee received overwhelming support for proposed legislation that would allow for Sunday carryout alcohol sales during testimony on Wednesday, with retailers from both the liquor store and big-box retailers supporting the measure. A Senate panel also was to consider its Sunday sales bill.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb pledged in his State of the State address Tuesday night to conduct a “transparent” review of the Department of Child Services, but offered little more than platitudes about an agency that his critics say is enveloped in crisis. “I’ll state right now: There’s no one who cares more about Hoosier children than I do, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to ensure the success of our agency and its mission.”
After more than 25 years leading the Indiana State Bar Association, Tom Pyrz left the office for the last time Jan. 5.
A recent Indiana Court of Appeals decision that prosecutors say went against longstanding practices in the sentence modification process has sparked a conversation in the Indiana legislature about courts’ discretion to modify sentences stemming from fixed-sentence plea agreements.
A Republican Indiana state senator wants the votes of dead people to count.
The departure of Mary Beth Bonaventura as director of the Indiana Department of Child Services surprised several family law attorneys and social service providers. Uniformly, they agreed the former Lake County juvenile judge was a strong advocate for children and brought valuable experience to her tenure. Still, the department has struggled against internal and external challenges.
An Indiana lawmaker is urging her colleagues to reconsider her proposed attorney anti-indemnification bill after the Senate Civil Law Committee refused to call a vote on the measure.
Repealing Indiana’s Sunday retail alcohol sales ban is a top priority for state Senate Republicans.
An Indiana lawmaker is once again proposing a bill that would prohibit attorneys from indemnifying themselves against legal malpractice actions after a similar measure failed to pass last year’s General Assembly.
Statehouse Democrats say they are troubled by Republican “secrecy” as Gov. Eric Holcomb and the GOP-majority scramble to contain fallout from a burgeoning crisis in Indiana’s child welfare agency.
The two most powerful Republicans in the Indiana Legislature said they do not plan to take major action to address a growing crisis in the Department of Child Services during this year’s session, which kicked off Wednesday.
Another top-ranking Democrat in the Indiana Legislature has decided to not seek re-election after this year's session.
Legislators returned to the Indiana Statehouse on Wednesday to begin this year’s General Assembly session, which will be the first in recent memory in which the Republican supermajorities do not have an overarching objective they hope to achieve.
An Indiana legislator is proposing legislation that would permit expanded use of baby boxes in which a mother could anonymously give up her newborn.
A northwestern Indiana lawmaker wants an independent commission to draw political-district maps instead of politicians.