Groundbreaking official for big improvements to Indiana Law Enforcement Academy
Tuesday marked another major groundbreaking in Indiana — this time for an overhaul of the state’s law enforcement training academy.
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Mass shootings spur divergent laws as states split between gun rights and control
Tennessee’s Legislature is meeting this week to consider public safety proposals stemming from a deadly shooting at a Nashville elementary school earlier this year. It highlights the widely divergent response among states to a spate of mass shootings.
DOC plans to close Indiana State Prison as part of new Westville project — which now tops $1.2B
The Indiana Department of Correction plans to close the state prison in Michigan City after a new, $1.2 billion prison facility was approved last week by budget regulators. That’s a change from the DOC’s previous plan to keep both prison sites open.
Curtis Hill says he’ll eliminate state’s equity and inclusion office if elected governor
Curtis Hill said he would eliminate all state-funded programs that “exist only to pander to identity politics” — including the Indiana Office of Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity — if elected to the state’s highest office in 2024.
Kansas must stop changing trans people’s sex listing on driver’s licenses, judge says
Kansas must stop allowing transgender people to change the sex listed on their driver’s licenses, a state-court judge ordered Monday as part of a lawsuit filed by the state’s Republican attorney general.
Supreme Court rejects novel legislative theory but leaves door open for 2024 election challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court shot down a controversial legal theory that could have changed the way elections are run across the country but left the door open to more limited challenges that could increase its role in deciding voting disputes in 2024.
GOP-controlled Texas House impeaches Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, triggering suspension
Texas’ Republican-led House of Representatives impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday on articles including bribery and abuse of public trust.
State health commissioner Box, who led Indiana’s response to COVID-19, to retire
State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box, who oversaw Indiana’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, will retire at month’s end after more than five years in the post, officials said Friday.
School funding worries lead to late Indiana budget boost
Republican legislators pushed through a new state budget plan early Friday that greatly expands eligibility for Indiana’s private school voucher program after they added money for traditional schools.
Governor, other top elected officials see large pay raises in budget
The state’s top elected officials would see a big pay raise under new salary language included in the latest budget proposal.
Supreme Court: New Jersey can quit mob-busting port agency
The U.S. Supreme Court says New Jersey can withdraw from a commission created decades ago with New York to combat the mob’s influence at their joint port.
Lawmakers rewrite, advance anti-ESG pension investment bill
Lawmakers on Wednesday stripped long sections out of a controversial bill cracking down on the state’s pension investment managers, inserting a simplified structure that would reduce the fiscal impact to zero, according to the proposal’s author.
State obtains more than $250K from deceptive loans settlement
Attorney General Todd Rokita and the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions have obtained a settlement of more than $250,000 from a group of Indiana companies that originated deceptive and unlicensed personal loans to Hoosiers purchasing vehicles.
With overdoses up, states look at harsher fentanyl penalties
State lawmakers nationwide are responding to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history by pushing harsher penalties for possessing fentanyl and other powerful lab-made opioids that are connected to about 70,000 deaths a year.
Misdemeanor funding coming back to defenders? Public defender offices hoping for restoration of misdemeanor reimbursement funding
As staff shortages collide with overflowing caseloads, chief public defenders around the state are keeping a close eye on new funding proposed by Gov. Eric Holcomb that would reimburse public defender offices for handling misdemeanor cases.
GOP plan would speed up Indiana tax cuts, boost vouchers
Speeding up planned cuts to the state’s personal income tax rates and a further expansion of the private school voucher program are keys parts of a state spending plan released Friday by Indiana House Republicans.
Indiana secretary of state hires brother-in-law for top post
New Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales has hired his brother-in-law for a top position paying a six-figure salary — a move that has drawn criticism as crossing an ethical line.
2023 session: First day wrap-up
The unofficial first day of the 2023 legislative session kicked off with a flurry of activity, including caucus press conferences, a rally to reform marijuana laws and the ceremonial swearing in of newly elected statewide officials.
Budget has big ongoing, one-time obligations
When drafting the state’s next budget, lawmakers will need to consider the state’s ongoing commitments and one-time obligations under the cloud of a potential recession.
Court orders AG Rokita to release report on former job in private sector
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita will have to make public the government’s advisory opinion on his former employment with Apex Benefits after a trial court rejected his argument that the document is confidential.