Holcomb bars criminal history question for most state job applicants
Applicants for state jobs in the executive branch will no longer be asked if they have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime.
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Children’s commission’s annual report sets 3-year plan
The Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana has set a three-year plan emphasizing child safety and services, juvenile justice, mental health, substance abuse and educational outcomes as key priorities.
COA: Indiana death penalty protocol ‘void’
Indiana’s means of carrying out the death penalty through lethal injection “is void and without effect,” the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, reversing a death row inmate’s challenge to the Indiana Department of Correction’s execution protocol.
ACLU, solicitor general argue to justices over DCS caseloads
Opposing counsel and the justices of the Indiana Supreme Court were agreed on one issue during oral arguments Thursday in a case involving the Department of Child Services – family case managers are the “backbone” of the work DCS does for Hoosier children.
COA affirms denial of educational credit time for inmate
The Indiana Department of Correction correctly denied an inmate’s request for educational credit time after he was reincarcerated for a parole violation, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday, finding established caselaw does not allow inmates to “bank” credit time for future incarceration.
Duke Energy plans to close coal ash ponds in Indiana
Duke Energy is planning to close coal ash ponds in Indiana because of new federal environmental regulations.
Supreme Court hears INDOT case during Rucker’s final oral arguments
In his last oral arguments on the bench of the Indiana Supreme Court, Justice Robert Rucker and three other justices considered the public standing doctrine and the concept of parens patriae as they weighed granting transfer to a case involving a dispute between a state agency and a local municipality.
COA upholds electric utility’s rate hike
Finding substantial evidence supporting a regulatory body’s ruling, the Indiana Court of Appeals denied an attempt by Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana to overturn approval for a utility rate hike.
Vaping law loses again as rejected firm gets license
A company that sued over Indiana’s unconstitutional vaping and e-cigarette licensing law will get an Indiana permit to manufacture e-liquids, and taxpayers will pick up the company’s legal fees for its trouble, a judge ordered Monday.
Indiana agency OKs $2M to secure, demolish East Chicago site
An Indiana agency has approved $2 million to secure and demolish a public housing complex in East Chicago that residents must vacate because of soil contaminated with lead and arsenic.
Corrections health firm to lay off nearly 700 Indiana employees
The health care provider for the Indiana Department of Corrections has lost its contract with the state and plans to lay off nearly 700 employees by the end of the month.
Indiana agency rejects resident’s ‘atheist’ license plate
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has denied a Goshen man's request to have a personalized plate that read "atheist."
Acupuncture clinic fails to prove point before COA
An employee at an Indiana acupuncture and yoga facility who was repeated screamed at by the owner had good cause for quitting and is thus entitled to unemployment benefits, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Friday.
Supreme Court hears Spirited Sales liquor wholesaling case
The fate of Spirited Sales LLC’s liquor wholesaling license is in the hands of the Indiana Supreme Court as the justices consider whether allowing the company to keep its permit would enable its parent company, Monarch Beverage Co., to gain an unlawful monopoly in the alcohol wholesaling business.
Tax Court grants partial reimbursement on discovery enforcement motions
The Indiana Tax Court has awarded reimbursement fees to both the University of Phoenix Inc. and the Indiana Department of State Revenue after finding that the two entities were entitled to reimbursement on some, though not all, of the discovery enforcement motions filed in their litigation.
Lawyers who sought to destroy stored newborn samples vow to keep up fight
The Indiana State Department of Health says it holds 2.2 million records on paper and in database regarding the newborn blood samples.
Tax court judge rejects request to compel further discovery
After previously allowing the deposition of the former commissioner of the Indiana Department of State Revenue, the Indiana Tax Court rejected the University of Phoenix’s requests to compel further discovery, writing that the additional discovery likely would not reveal admissible evidence.
COA: Trial court lacked jurisdiction to order BMV to act
The Indiana Court of Appeals found in favor of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles Monday after finding that a litigant’s failure to comply with the Administrative Order and Procedures Act left a trial court without jurisdiction to order the BMV to act on the litigant’s petition.
Divided COA: Man can’t use RFRA to avoid taxes
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday that a Marion County man cannot avoid paying income taxes using a religious freedom defense, with the majority writing that the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows for the collection of taxes in the furtherance of a compelling government interest.
Indiana health commissioner: Needle exchanges a success
Indiana's health commissioner told lawmakers needle exchanges were effective in combating the state's worst-ever HIV outbreak.