Beauty industry decries bill to eliminate licenses
Indiana Senate Bill 520 would create a committee to review state-issued professional licenses and possibly eliminate them.
Government & Economic Development
Articles
New Indiana Dem chairman seeks rebuilding this year
The Indiana Democratic Party's new chairman says his party needs to spend the coming year rebuilding and reorganizing after mixed success in 2012.
Schools chief, mayors seek more funds from Senate
The two groups most likely to benefit from changes made by Indiana House Republicans to the state budget asked Thursday that the Senate Appropriations Committee maintain new funding for roads and schools, and maybe find a little more.
State ties higher ed funding to results
With fewer state dollars coming with more strings, Indiana’s public universities are altering their strategies in big and small ways to receive as much money as possible from the state.
Postal service can’t cut Saturday delivery, U.S. GAO says
The U.S. Postal Service doesn’t have the legal authority to cut Saturday mail delivery as Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has said it will do, the Government Accountability Office said Thursday.
Bosma faults tea party group, Pence for tax-cut woes
House Speaker Brian Bosma says a national tea party group’s “erroneous” campaign ads have made it harder for lawmakers to support Gov. Mike Pence’s proposal to cut Indiana’s income tax by 10 percent.
Mass-transit bill leaps one hurdle, heads for another
A Senate committee Wednesday passed a measure that would give area residents a chance to vote on whether to pay higher taxes to expand the mass-transit system. Lawmakers sent the bill to the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee.
Healthy Indiana Plan gets mixed reviews at hearing
Hospital officials praised Indiana's medical savings accounts but some consumer advocates panned them Wednesday during a public hearing as Gov. Mike Pence seeks federal approval to use the Healthy Indiana Plan to expand Medicaid in this state.
Senators ask for time to study school vouchers
Any expansion of Indiana's already ambitious school voucher program may have to wait after senators pushed for more information Wednesday to determine the effects of the fledgling program.
House panel rejects live table games at racinos
An Indiana House committee has rewritten a gambling bill to keep table games out of Indiana's racetracks and restore money for counties that host casinos.
Worker training bill gathers steam in Statehouse
A Senate committee unanimously passed legislation that’s meant to bolster the state’s economy with a new council charged with aligning work-force training efforts. House Bill 1002 – which already passed the House – now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
Rally denounces proposed Indiana voucher expansion
A proposal to expand Indiana's private school voucher program was denounced during a Statehouse rally on Tuesday as a step that would take millions of dollars away from the state's public schools.
Scrap industry backs regulation of oft-stolen items
An Indiana Senate committee on Tuesday approved House Bill 1441, which would make it illegal to sell air-conditioner coils or catalytic converters without proof of ownership.
Kenley drops out as sponsor of mass-transit bill
Already skeptical of a mass-transit plan for the Indianapolis metro area, influential Sen. Luke Kenley said he decided it was inappropriate to be listed as a sponsor without giving the bill his unqualified support.
Local leaders give chilly reaction to Pence’s proposed tax cut
Members of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns say they would rather see money poured into road repairs.
Casinos bet $19M at Statehouse with mixed results
The gambling industry spent more than $19 million lobbying at the Indiana Statehouse from 2000-2012, according to reports filed online by the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission.
Looser Indiana school voucher rules face questions
The fate of a proposal to expand Indiana's private school voucher program by making kindergartners and some other students immediately eligible could come down to something that no one seems to know — how much it will cost.
Head of Indiana business agency gets ethics advice
The State Ethics Commission has advised Indiana's top business-recruitment official to separate himself from any decisions related to tax credits that could benefit a company he co-owns.
IU president encouraged by state budget plan
A proposed boost in the state's higher education funding is an encouraging step after more than $150 million was cut during the recession, Indiana University's president said Thursday.
Debate erupts on Indiana’s incomplete Medicaid waiver
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence defended his administration Thursday over criticism from Democratic lawmakers that they have imperiled Hoosiers' health care by failing to follow proper procedures on Medicaid.