Rep. Bob Cherry won’t seek reelection, ending 25 years in seat
Rep. Bob Cherry announced Friday he won’t seek reelection in 2024, retiring after serving out his current term.
Indiana House of Representatives
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New performance report cards go live on each Indiana school’s website, replacing A-F grades
To increase transparency around Indiana students’ education performance, new report cards issued by the state education department are now required to be posted on nearly every Hoosier school’s website.
Replacing income tax with sales tax hike would cost poor Hoosiers more, experts say
Axing Indiana’s individual income tax and replacing just half the revenue with a sales tax hike would cost the state’s poorest residents an additional $62 and hand the top 1% of earners a $30,000 tax cut, a think tank told state lawmakers Friday.
State Rep. Schaibley of Carmel to retire after almost decade in office
Rep. Donna Schaibley, a Republican from Carmel, announced Thursday that she will retire after nearly 10 years in office.
Rep. Jerry Torr to retire from politics after 28 years in Indiana House
Rep. Jerry Torr, who has served in the Indiana House of Representatives since 1996, announced Tuesday that he will not run for reelection.
INPRS ‘ahead of schedule’ on China divestment, laying anti-ESG investment framework
Indiana’s Public Retirement System (INPRS) says it’s “ahead of schedule” in pulling out of its Chinese investments after lawmakers approved a ban in May.
From Hawaii to Taiwan, state picks up the tab when legislators hit the road
From 2019 to 2022, Indiana legislators were reimbursed for $335,226 for costs associated with legislative travel, including hotels, flights and conference registration fees.
GOP Rep. Jim Lucas kept off interim committees after DUI crash
Republican State Rep. Jim Lucas is effectively in timeout after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors in connection with his May arrest for driving under the influence.
In budget year, lawmakers tackle controversial topics
In a budget year that brought in new legislators following last November’s elections, Indiana lawmakers tackled more than one controversial topic in 2023.
Courts see boost in salaries, tech funding: Civil legal aid also sees boost in funds for coming fiscal year
The state’s multibillion-dollar biennial budget enacted during the 2023 legislative session includes increases all around for the sate’s judiciary, including additional funding for including civil legal aid, salaries and court technology.
Marijuana, taxes among interim study committee topics
Legislators will spend their interim break studying various topics of interest, including the impacts of cannabis legalization on the workforce and possible tax reform.
Rep. Lucas enters plea agreement for OWI, leaving scene of accident following May arrest
Indiana state Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, has entered into a plea agreement for Class C operating a vehicle while intoxicated and Class B leaving the scene of an accident charges following his early-morning crash and arrest in Jackson County in May.
Indiana has always had a weak veto power — so why are overrides increasingly common?
Indiana has one of the weakest governor systems in the nation, lacking both a pocket and line-item veto in addition to the low threshold for override.
Kinsey Institute experts study sex, gender as misconceptions block state dollars
Unfounded claims about Indiana University’s sex research institute, its founder and child sex abuse have been so persistent over the years that when the Legislature prohibited the institute from using state funds, a lawmaker hailed the move as “long overdue.”
Child care, early learning advocates highlight legislative successes
There was no comprehensive effort to address Indiana’s child care and early learning shortages this legislative session, but a series of smaller changes will have big impacts on Hoosier families.
Indiana gas tax hike set following GOP extending annual jump
An Indiana agency confirmed Tuesday that the state’s gasoline tax will go up by one cent this summer under an annual increase that Republican legislators voted recently to extend by three years.
Budget earmarks top $500 million
Spending on specific local projects climbed to $536 million in Indiana’s newest two-year budget, which Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law Thursday. Such earmarks, routed through the State Budget Agency, have risen steeply in recent budget cycles — up from just $18 million in 2015.
Holcomb signs 91 more bills, finishes session without veto
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed 91 bills on Thursday, finishing this year’s legislative session without vetoing any of the 252 bills sent to his desk by state lawmakers.
House, Senate strike compromise in final budget proposal
Republicans in both chambers appear to have reached a compromise on the state’s two-year budget, earmarking more than $1 billion for school vouchers while maintaining a commitment to pay down the state’s outstanding debt obligations.
Indiana sends state-funded teacher gun training to governor
Indiana state lawmakers have sent the state’s Republican governor a bill that would create a state-funded handgun training program available for teachers, something critics have said could wrongly increase the number of guns in schools.