Indiana House backs bill allowing younger sports referees
The Indiana House voted 92-4 on Monday in favor of the bill adding youth sports officials to the list of jobs for which children younger than 14 can be hired.
Government & Economic Development
Articles
Land bank bill likely heading for study committee
Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, said his bill on land banks may have tried to tackle too many issues involving abandoned housing, including Indiana’s tax-sale process.
Overseas tax savings for U.S. drugmakers under threat
Eli Lilly and Co. and five other big drugmakers avoided paying $7 billion in U.S. taxes last year by shifting their profits overseas. The strategy has drawn the ire of some legislators.
Rally backs Indiana charter school, voucher programs
Supporters of Indiana's charter schools and private school vouchers packed a Statehouse corridor with hundreds of children from those schools for a rally Monday as they backed expansion of those programs.
Annexation request crimps Anderson land plan
Efforts by Anderson officials to annex land to create an economic development corridor could be thwarted by a request from property owners who want to become part of the town of Lapel instead.
North-central Indiana counties form development group
The organization will focus on combining the counties’ local matching funds to attract federal money.
Love-hate relationship with D.C. money grows
On the same day last week that state budget director Chris Atkins announced Indiana would be able to tough out a series of automatic federal budget cuts, Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann announced the creation of a new office that will lobby for more federal defense spending.
Ballard plans to strengthen panhandling ordinance
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard wants to ban all forms of panhandling in the city's busiest downtown area following long-running complaints from convention officials and city boosters about people begging for money along downtown streets.
Unemployment falls to 7.7 percent, as U.S. adds 236,000 jobs
Stronger hiring shows businesses are confident about the economy, despite higher taxes and government spending cuts. However, more than 130,000 people left the work force in February.
Attorney general shows support for school resource officers
Attorney General Greg Zoeller said Thursday he supports a bill in the General Assembly that would provide matching state grants to help schools create or expand school resource officer programs.
Indiana House plans $750,000 Statehouse renovation
Indiana's House Republicans are looking to spend $750,000 on renovations to desks, leather chairs and a ceiling in their Statehouse chamber, after spending $74,000 to replace worn carpeting in the Statehouse last summer.
Cops to valets: Park cars, not traffic
Indianapolis police are keeping an eye on downtown valets, whose habit of blocking traffic lanes has prompted complaints. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department issued a stern reminder to all valet operators on Jan. 31, the week after the opening of The Alexander Hotel in CityWay at Delaware and South streets.
New economic development chiefs plan branding blitz
The state of Indiana will have a new brand, under a campaign the Indiana Economic Development Corp. plans to launch this summer. The campaign is one of a few tweaks that Commerce Secretary Victor Smith and IEDC President Eric Doden are making to Indiana’s job-growth strategy.
Site swaps could clear the way for $43M Mass Ave project
City officials are working on a deal that could result in a new headquarters and downtown station for the Indianapolis Fire Department, a fresh user for a vacant former car dealership, and long-awaited groundbreaking on a $43 million apartment and retail redevelopment on Mass Ave.
Congressman invites Italian gun maker to Indiana
U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman is encouraging Beretta to move its U.S. operations from Maryland, which is considering an assault weapons ban.
Ballard plans new redevelopment effort for Market Square site
Mayor Greg Ballard, in his annual State of the City speech scheduled for Friday, plans to call for new proposals for the downtown site that previously was home to Market Square Arena. The city expects the proposals to include a high-rise building with a major retail component.
Lawsuit claims BMV overcharged Indiana residents by millions
A newly-filed lawsuit seeking class-action status accuses Indiana's Bureau of Motor Vehicles of "systematically" overcharging state residents by tens of millions of dollars for driver's licenses.
Lawmakers struggle with bill to stop synthetic drug sales
Lawmakers are finding it difficult to write a law that effectively cracks down on the sale of synthetic drugs while remaining fair to businesses that might not know they’re on their shelves.
Senate budget leader: Schools, roads need boost
Indiana lawmakers have been aggressive in cutting taxes in recent years, the state Senate's top budget writer said Thursday as his committee started reviewing a spending plan that leaves out Republican Gov. Mike Pence's proposed 10-percent income tax cut.
Donnelly gets his pick for Indiana Democratic chairman
Democratic Party officials announced that veteran Capitol Hill staffer John Zody was the only person to meet Wednesday's deadline to be considered for the chairmanship when the state central committee votes on its leadership Saturday.