After more than three hours of testimony and discussion on Monday morning, the Senate Public Policy Committee voted to send a bias crimes bill to the full Senate for consideration. Senate Bill 12 would give judges the ability to consider whether a crime was committed out of hate or bias toward specific groups of individuals as an aggravating circumstance at sentencing.
An Indiana legislator wants an investigation into the possible impeachment of state Attorney General Curtis Hill over allegations he drunkenly groped a female lawmaker and three female legislative staffers at a bar. Democratic Rep. Ed DeLaney of Indianapolis said he submitted the request Thursday asking that the House Judiciary Committee investigate Hill’s conduct and whether he should remain in office.
State lawmakers on Wednesday made changes to two major bills addressing alcohol issues before moving both pieces of legislation to the full House for consideration.
A bill that would end the prohibition on light-rail construction in Marion and six other central Indiana counties passed the Indiana House on Tuesday.
A state election panel won’t investigate Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma’s use of campaign funds to collect information on a woman who says she performed oral sex on the married Republican lawmaker when she was a legislative intern in 1992.
Indiana Republicans eager for a rare legal victory in their efforts to restrict abortion rights are seeking to outlaw a second-trimester procedure, hopeful an increasingly conservative U.S. Supreme Court will back a ban that courts have blocked in seven other states.
Guided by a task force report that calls for major reforms to Indiana’s indigent defense system, the Indiana Public Defender Commission is seeking additional funds in the state’s next biennial budget to improve defense services for indigent clients.
On the 46th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, supporters and opponents scheduled rallies at the Indiana Statehouse, underscoring the deep divide over the ruling that remains more than four decades later. Advocates of reproductive rights gathered on the fourth floor of the Statehouse Tuesday to begin their push for Senate Bill 589, while Indiana Right to Life had a rally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
In 1943, an Indiana farmer grew hemp on Hoosier soil to produce manufactured fibers, contributing to the efforts of World War II. More than 70 years later, his son is now poised to grow that same hemp legally in the state for the first time since.
After the Indiana Supreme Court struck down a state law allowing railroads to be fined for lengthy blockages of train crossings, legislation filed in the 2019 General Assembly seeks another avenue of relief for Hoosier motorists held up by trains, especially motorists driving emergency responders.
After sexual misconduct and harassment allegations were leveled at Attorney General Curtis Hill and House Speaker Brian Bosma, harassment-related legislation is again being considered by the General Assembly, this year taking specific aim at accused elected officials.
Indiana lawmakers will meet tomorrow to vote on proposed language that would make it an ethical violation for state representatives to commit sexual harassment, a move that comes as high-ranking elected officials are facing harassment allegations of their own. The House Statutory Committee on Ethics will vote on amended language of the House Code of Ethics upon adjournment of the House session on Tuesday.
Indiana voters wouldn’t decide anymore who serves as the state schools superintendent under a proposal being pushed by legislative Republicans.
An Indiana lawmaker is seeking to tighten up management of a grant program meant to help struggling veterans after revelations that the state agency that oversees it awarded some of the grants to its own employees.
The Indiana lawmaker who publicly accused Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill of drunkenly groping her in early 2018 has filed a series of bills allowing for the removal of elected officials who commit sexual misconduct and enhancing the penalties for such conduct.
Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush announced she will present the 2019 State of the Judiciary next week to Gov. Eric Holcomb and a joint session of the Indiana General Assembly.
The Indiana General Assembly is expected to consider a proposal that would allow Gary’s two casino licenses to relocate this year — one would stay in Gary, while the other could move to another city.
Two counties seeking funding for additional magistrate judges from the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee got their wish Wednesday when the panel advanced the legislation to the House floor.
As they did in January 2018, supporters of hate crimes legislation rallied Tuesday in the Indiana Statehouse to again push lawmakers to add a bias-motivated crime statute to the Indiana law books. Advocates from a broad array of groups, including business, education, nonprofits and faith-based organizations, were on-hand to applaud and cheer as legislators and community leaders called for Indiana to join the 45 other states with hate crimes law.
The Senate Ethics Committee unanimously passed an amendment to its internal ethics rules Monday, defining sexual harassment for the first time. The Senate and House will each draft their own ethics rules and conduct training for their respective lawmakers.