![Indiana Statehouse](https://www.ibj.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/PC030328-300x225.jpg)
Businesses applaud Legislature’s ‘wow’ initiatives
State lawmakers came through in big ways for business and manufacturing interests this year.
State lawmakers came through in big ways for business and manufacturing interests this year.
Funding the initiative would be a tax increase on the rich, most notably a near doubling of the capital gains tax rate on incomes above $1 million, to 39.6%.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said he found the “additional layer of government unnecessary and confusing.”
The Indiana General Assembly concluded the year’s regular session late last week in Indianapolis. Here’s a look at some major issues debated during the nearly four-month session.
All Democratic members of the General Assembly, as well as a member of the Senate Republican Caucus, urged the Republican governor to veto the bill in a letter sent last week.
The leader of the Indianapolis police union said Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears “failed to do his part” when he chose not to bring Brandon Scott Hole before a judge for a hearing under Indiana’s “red flag” law.
Several Democratic legislators called it the best state spending plan in years. Republicans described the plan as focused on helping the state’s economy grow in the coming years and helping to give long-deserved raises to teachers.
The 20-year agreement prevents state officials from allowing new casino competition across most of northern and northwestern Indiana, including no future moves by the existing casinos in Hammond, East Chicago, Gary and Michigan City.
The agreement released Tuesday requires that any local public health order that is more stringent than one issued by the governor must be approved by an elected county or city board.
Businesses are looking for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, which had its launch derailed last week because of technical problems with the application portal, to reopen soon.
Recent council actions are raising questions about whether members are becoming more skeptical of Mayor Jim Brainard’s vision for the city and subsequent spending.
Indiana educators on Thursday called for a bigger school funding boost to help improve the state’s lagging teacher pay, as new projections showed state tax collections are expected to bounce back stronger than expected from the pandemic recession.
Indiana lawmakers are almost certain to approve a significant expansion of what is already a broad private school voucher program, setting one of the highest family income ceilings in the nation.
The 61-year-old former Indiana governor had previously been diagnosed with a heart condition called asymptomatic left bundle branch block.
A new state tax revenue forecast given Thursday to state legislators projects state tax collections going up by more than 4% in in each of the next two years.
Lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a disputed bill seeking to remove protections from Indiana’s already diminished wetlands amid mounting criticism that the legislation could cause damage to the state’s waterways, wildlife and vegetation.
Lawmakers approved two environmental bills Tuesday that critics say could damage the state’s ecosystems by scaling back current policy affecting water, energy and other resources.
The deficit has been driven higher by trillions of dollars in support Congress has passed in successive economic rescue packages since the pandemic struck in early March 2020.
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.
The president of the state’s largest business organization says the Senate’s proposed tax amounts to “a measly one-tenth” of the state’s cigarette tax and is “arguably worse than no increase at all.”