Greenwood businesses to get digital boost with state’s online service
INBiz is designed to save companies time and legwork when they have business with the state—and soon services through the city of Greenwood will be available as well.
Hayleigh Colombo
Articles
House advances ‘hillbilly venture capital’ bill pushed by payday loan industry
House Bill 1319, which would allow the short-term loan industry to offer high-interest consumer loans, is opposed by veteran groups, religious institutions and consumer advocates.
Amazon’s incentives sure to be whopping
Any tax-incentive package to lure Amazon’s HQ2 to Indiana could easily top half-a-billion dollars and climb to more than $1 billion.
Turmoil among Indy Dems continues as Clay fires council staff; critics cry ‘retaliation’
Vice President Zach Adamson said he believed the firing of City-County Council lawyer Fred Biesecker by new president Stephen Clay was in retaliation for Biesecker’s procedural moves against him that could put Clay’s new presidency in jeopardy.
Council OKs $55M for initial justice center construction
The unanimous vote also gave approval for the city to spend $4.2 million to acquire 140 acres of land from Citizens Energy Group as the site for the new jail, courthouses and mental health center.
Indy Democrats take first steps to oust Clay as council president
Democrats acted to put the question of Stephen Clay’s removal as president to a vote at the next council meeting, in mid-February.
House panel approves bill to raise state smoking age from 18 to 21
Lawmakers stripped a provision from the bill that would have boosted the cigarette tax from 99 cents a pack to $2.99.
Governor, key lawmaker differ on tech taxation exemptions
A House committee voted Thursday to fulfill half of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s request: It would exempt “software as a service” from sales tax for businesses, but individuals would have to pay a fare.
House panel advances ‘hillbilly venture capital’ legislation
An Indiana House committee on Wednesday advanced a bill that the payday loan industry says would create a longer-term, higher-value loan for people who have such bad credit scores that they can’t be helped by regular banks.
What could Amazon HQ2 bring to Indy? We asked experts to do the math.
A project of this size could actually change Indiana’s per-capita income. It could generate 30,000 spin-off jobs and produce hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local tax revenue.
Marion County to expand early voting, switch to vote centers in 2019
Marion County Clerk Myla Eldridge called the resolution “one of the most monumental bipartisan agreements achieved in the history of Marion County” and said it will “revolutionize how we vote.”
House panel votes to reverse Indianapolis-area ban on light rail
A proposal to reverse the ban that has precluded Marion County and surrounding suburbs from building or acquiring a light-rail mass-transit project passed an Indiana House committee Wednesday.
Senate panel backs legalization of CBD oil with small amount of THC
A bill that would legalize the sale and use of cannabidiol oil passed the Indiana Senate’s Corrections and Criminal Law Committee 7-2.
Hogsett says Amazon bid focuses more on quality of life than sites, incentives
The mayor also told IBJ that the city is “prepared to look at anything and everything” that would help it secure Amazon’s planned second U.S. headquarters—as long as any action is fiscally prudent.
Bosma says Legislature might move on Amazon incentives this session
Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma said lawmakers could move an incentives bill “expeditiously” to attract Amazon’s proposed second headquarters, if necessary, but he wouldn’t be in favor of doing what Wisconsin did to lure Foxconn.
Indy Dems remain in disarray following council coup
Is the Marion County Democratic Party broken?
Bill to regulate autonomous vehicle use moves forward
House Bill 1341 allows people to operate automated vehicles on public highways but only under certain conditions. Critics, including auto manufacturers, said the bill would stifle innovation.
Legislature debates expanding computer science in high schools
Those in the trenches say structural barriers—the most significant seems to be teacher training and quality—must be solved before basic classes that explain how computers work and more advanced coding and web-development courses can flourish throughout Indiana’s secondary schools.
Council panel OKs spending $55M for some justice center construction costs
The same proposal also authorizes the city to spend $4.2 million for the acquisition of 140 acres of land from Citizens Energy Group as the site for the new jail, courthouses and mental health center.
Indiana to launch coding program for women’s prison inmates
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office says Indiana will be the second state to adopt The Last Mile coding program, which seeks to give inmates in-demand job skills and keep them out of the corrections system.