Lawmakers seek road-funding changes, hope to avoid fiscal cliff
While education dominates half of Indiana’s budget and Medicaid costs worry lawmakers, a projected transportation infrastructure funding shortfall creeps closer.
Transportation
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Motorists crossing Louisville bridges claim they were fraudulently billed
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, a group of drivers allege the vendors hired to operate the RiverLink toll system for the three bridges between Louisville, Kentucky, and southern Indiana fraudulently tacked on administrative fees and penalties.
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Bill would give undocumented Hoosiers ‘driving cards’
Under legislation introduced in the Indiana House, “driving cards” and driving card learner’s permits would be available to undocumented immigrants living in Indiana. The cards would be limited only to showing proof of driving qualifications and allowing a holder to obtain insurance.
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Articles
U.S. to require passenger vehicles to have alarms for rear seat belts
Starting in September 2027, all new passenger vehicles in the U.S. will have to sound a warning if rear-seat passengers don’t buckle up.
Airline CEOs, Buttigieg fight over regulations even after election
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg snapped back Thursday at criticism from airline executives who say the Biden administration over-regulated them, pointing out that some of those airlines are making large profits despite new passenger-protection rules.
Freight railroads must keep 2-person crews, according to new federal rule 2 years in the making
There has been intense focus on railroad safety since a fiery February 2023 derailment in Ohio, but few significant changes have been made apart from steps the railroads pledged to take themselves and the agreements they made to provide paid sick time to nearly all workers.
IN Tax Court rules in favor of state revenue department in toll road tax dispute
The Indiana Toll Road’s lease established it as a publicly maintained road for the 2016 and 2017 tax years, the Indiana Tax Court ruled Wednesday in denying three motor carriers’ claims that they should be awarded motor fuel tax refunds for those years.
Southwest Airlines reaches $140M settlement over holiday meltdown last year
Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement to resolve a federal investigation into a debacle in December 2022 when the airline canceled thousands of flights and stranded more than 2 million travelers over the holidays.
Ousted founders of transportation company get TRO against former general counsel, state lawmaker, others
A northern Indiana transportation company has obtained a temporary restraining order against its former general counsel, a state lawmaker and other defendants in a dispute over the sale of more than $28 million of the company’s stock.
Addressing the transportation barrier: Warren Co. receives grant for transportation, substance abuse education
As a rural area, Warren County and its residents face transportation barriers when it comes to getting around their community. Thanks to new funding, residents linked to the county’s judicial system will get some needed transportation assistance.
Some truckers want higher speed limits; key lawmakers reluctant
Two Hoosier lawmakers are seeking to eliminate the lower speed limit for heavy trucks on rural interstates and highways, but their proposals appear to be another chapter in more than 30 years of fruitless efforts on behalf of independent truckers.
Indiana bill to increase semi truck speed limits faces tough road ahead
A pair of bills filed in the Indiana Legislature seek to raise the speed limit for large trucks on certain state highways and interstates, but continued pushback from a Hoosier truck drivers group is likely to keep the measures from becoming law.
Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic finds new leader at INDOT
The Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic has hired Erin Hall, an Indianapolis attorney who has spent the bulk of her career in state government, as the nonprofit’s new executive director. She will join the clinic June 1.
Feds will appeal mask ruling only if mandate still needed
The Justice Department said Tuesday it will not appeal a federal district judge’s ruling that ended the nation’s federal mask mandate on public transit unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary.
Indiana Supreme Court: Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District is a political subdivision, employee’s injury lawsuit untimely
Indiana Supreme Court justices have affirmed judgment for a commuter transportation district that operates a government-owned railroad against a man who was allegedly injured while working on the tracks, concluding that the district is a “political subdivision” under the Indiana Tort Claims Act.
Supreme Court affirms ruling for INDOT in injured motorist’s negligence case
An injured motorist who crashed his car into a tree after hydroplaning on Interstate 74 during a downpour did not convince the Indiana Supreme Court that his negligence suit against the Indiana Department of Transportation should proceed.
Split Supreme Court reverses summary judgment, immunity for INDOT in hydroplane lawsuit
Immunity for the Indiana Department of Transportation against a motorist’s personal injury lawsuit wasn’t appropriate because the agency knew of flooding issues on a northern Indiana highway for years and failed to remedy the problem before a woman was injured after her vehicle hydroplaned, a split Indiana Supreme Court has ruled.
Indiana to land $8.8 billion from U.S. infrastructure bill
Roughly $8.8 billion from the federal $1.2 trillion infrastructure package should head to Indiana over the next five years to improve crumbling highways, roads, bridges and more.
Insurance covers in wrongful death truck crash, COA rules
An endorsement to an insurance policy providing coverage for vehicles not specifically listed in the policy applied to a wrongful death dispute involving a trucker, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Justice Barrett selling South Bend home
The South Bend home where Justice Amy Coney Barrett, her husband, Jesse, and their seven children have lived for 19 years is being sold as the family prepares to relocate to Washington, D.C., to be closer to her work at the U.S. Supreme Court. She isn’t the only Hoosier pulling up stakes in South Bend to go serve in the nation’s capital.
White House issuing reports on states’ infrastructure needs
The Biden White House is amplifying the push for its $2.3 trillion infrastructure package with the release of state-by-state breakdowns that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability. Among them, the administration says there is a roughly 4-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in Indiana might be ready for the scrap yard.
Senate gives Biden a big tool to work around GOP filibuster
With a powerful new tool, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has fresh options for potentially advancing President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package and other priorities past Republican obstruction in the 50-50 split Senate.