Indiana’s abortion laws may tighten before Legislature acts
Indiana’s abortion laws will likely be tightened even before the Legislature is expected to start debating additional abortion restrictions later this month.
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Civil legal filing fee extended to 2025
The extra $1 tacked on to the cost of filing civil cases in Indiana state courts will continue to be charged for at least another three years, helping bolster the funds appropriated to provide legal assistance to low-income Hoosiers.
Op-ed: Indiana should be regulating for-profit bail bond companies, not attacking The Bail Project
As an Indiana state senator and attorney, I pride myself on listening to my constituents and making decisions about policy based on evidence and sound reasoning — not political expediency and misleading sound bites. This is why I voted against House Bill 1300, which targeted charitable, not-for-profit organizations that help Hoosiers who cannot afford bail, and why I support The Bail Project and the ACLU of Indiana’s recently filed lawsuit against the Indiana Department of Insurance.
The Bail Project loses bid to stop ‘charitable bail’ bill from taking effect Friday
The Bail Project has failed to convince a federal judge to prevent a new law from going into effect tomorrow that will limit whom it can bail out of jail.
Biden signs landmark gun measure, says ‘lives will be saved’
President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades, a bipartisan compromise that seemed unimaginable until a recent series of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school.
In return to pre-COVID rules, Legislature tackles controversial topics
Following is the complete list of legislation enacted during the 2022 legislative session. Bills take effect July 1 unless otherwise noted.
Homegrown fare: Food security concerns prompt Indiana to ban foreign ownership of agricultural land
Within Senate Enrolled Act 388, the words “food” and “national security” do not appear. Yet the new law that prohibits foreign businesses from buying and owning Hoosier farmland places Indiana among the states that have enacted such statutes to ensure Americans have enough to eat.
Indiana AG defends ‘common sense’ trans athlete law in brief
Calling the American Civil Liberties Union “leftist” and the lawsuit challenging a ban on transgender girls in girls’ sports “nonsensical wokesim,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed a brief supporting the new measure restricting K-12 transgender athletes from participating in their gender-identifying sport.
In a boost, McConnell backs Senate bipartisan gun deal
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his support Tuesday for his chamber’s emerging bipartisan gun agreement, boosting momentum for modest but notable election-year action by Congress on an issue that’s deadlocked lawmakers for three decades.
Kavanaugh incident could lead to more security for judges
U.S. Supreme Court justices have not been immune to violent crime. But this past week’s late-night incident at Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s suburban Washington home, where authorities said a man armed with a gun and knife threatened to kill the justice, reflects a heightened level of potential danger not just for members of the nation’s highest court, but all judges.
House panel taking up gun bill in wake of mass shootings
The U.S. House is beginning to put its stamp on gun legislation in response to mass shootings in Texas and New York by 18-year-old assailants who used semi-automatic rifles to kill 31 people, including 19 children.
Senator bucks legislative leadership, announces study of direct representation for kids in CHINS, TPR cases
Although the Legislative Council rejected a request to study the topic of providing attorneys to children in the child welfare system, Indiana state Sen. Jon Ford plans to keep pushing the matter by convening an independent study group to examine the issue.
Senators talk expanded gun background checks, red flag laws
A bipartisan group of senators is considering how Congress should respond to the horrific shooting of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, restarting gun control talks that have broken down many times before.
Indiana Republicans still pushing for special session on abortion if Roe overturned
As Indiana Republican leaders say they continue to support a special session to consider further restricting abortion access in the Hoosier State should the U.S. Supreme Court overrun Roe v. Wade, one legislator said the women in the Indiana General Assembly could have a significant impact on any resulting laws.
Indiana governor eyes ‘inflationary relief,’ not gas tax cut
Indiana’s governor said Wednesday he was preparing a plan to potentially tap into the growing state budget surplus to help residents with the national inflation jump, while rejecting calls for suspending state gas taxes.
Abortion restrictions likely coming to Indiana if draft opinion is published
Since the leak earlier this month of a draft opinion indicating Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey will be overturned, U.S. Senate Democrats have failed to codify the right to an abortion. Meanwhile, Republican-led states including Indiana have indicated they are prepared to tighten restrictions once the opinion is published this summer.
ACLU files lawsuit over trans sports ban minutes after lawmakers override veto
Minutes after the Indiana Republican supermajority Legislature overrode Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of the bill restricting transgender girls from participating in girls’ youth sports, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging HEA 1041.
Laws criminalizing HIV to be reviewed by legislative interim study committee
Heeding a call from a bipartisan group of legislators, Indiana will undertake a review of its criminal code for laws concerning HIV, with the focus on modernizing state statutes and helping to end the HIV epidemic.
Indiana Republicans show no signs of moving for gas tax cut
Indiana Republicans aren’t showing signs of putting the brakes on rising state gasoline taxes even as the state government continues its streak of fast-growing tax collections.
New law expands victim compensation program
House Enrolled Act 1292, authored by Rep. Sharon Negele, R-Attica, and signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb on March 11, aims to provide better relief to victims of violent crime. Starting July 1, HEA 1292 will modify the laws concerning compensation to victims of violent crimes in Indiana, expanding the list of eligible expenses for compensation and the definition of a claimant.