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.
The city of Indianapolis is moving forward with plans to implement an ordinance banning the retail sale of pets that come from sources other than shelters or not-for-profit animal rescue organizations.
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.
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.
Republican lawmakers have removed a controversial portion of their state budget legislation that would have replaced Indiana Department of Child Services attorneys with contractors in two regions.
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 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.
A state senator embroiled in a medical malpractice case wants an Allen County judge to block public access to court records and pause proceedings while he finishes the legislative session.
Indiana Republican state senators signaled their final approval Tuesday of a bill that would remove the requirement for administrators to discuss some topics with a teachers union representative
Indiana Republicans pushed through a proposal Monday taking a stand against socially and environmentally conscious investing although disagreements within their legislative majorities narrowed it from what conservatives first sought.
Lawmakers sent several bills to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk on Monday following chamber actions on concurrence votes and conference committees.
Indiana’s lawmakers are nearing the end of a grueling nearly four-month legislative session, but three of their biggest priorities — aside from the budget — remain unresolved.
Indiana lawmakers have an extra $1.5 billion in cash to work with as they finalize a two-year state budget, but with more money comes the added responsibility of deciding who gets a share of the windfall.
A Senate Republican plan to switch from in-house attorneys to contractors in two Indiana Department of Child Services regions caught the agency off guard and followed a meeting in which agency executives were “ambushed” by a group of senators.
Indiana state Senators advanced a bill Tuesday that would make state funding available for teachers seeking firearms training, a move critics have said could increase the number of guns in school to the detriment of students.
The Indiana Senate has passed a resolution that would amend the Indiana Constitution to allow denial of bail in certain circumstances.
Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled their two-year spending plan for the state, calling for record increases in education funding but declining to increase eligibility for Indiana’s school voucher program—a priority of House Republicans.
Indiana’s House and Senate both face committee deadlines this week, so any bill that doesn’t advance to the respective chamber is dead for the year.
Indiana senators on Monday approved a controversial bill mandating that schools notify parents when a student asks for name or pronoun changes, as well as banning human sexuality instruction to the youngest students.
Nearly every stakeholder agrees that Indiana needs to improve its mental health supports — as demonstrated by the emotional testimony last week for Senate Bill 1, which seeks to shore up ongoing initiatives and formalize the 988 crisis response system.