Biden executive order on cryptocurrency expected this week
President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on cryptocurrency this week that will mark the first step toward regulating how digital currency is traded.
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Governor’s veto of ethanol warning upheld by Indiana Senate
The Indiana Senate narrowly upheld a veto that Gov. Eric Holcomb issued last year on a bill that would have required additional labeling for fuel pumps distributing E15, a fuel blend that contains up to 15% ethanol in gasoline.
Indiana school ‘transparency’ legislation likely dead this session
Republican House Speaker Todd Huston said Thursday that even if language from House Bill 1134 is brought back in another proposal, it’s “highly unlikely” that House Republicans would be on board.
UPDATE: Holcomb signs bill to end health emergency, limit vaccine mandates
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a new order Thursday, effectively ending the health emergency. It had been renewed on a monthly basis for nearly two years.
IRS rushes to hire 10,000 workers but giant backlog expected to persist
A government official said the IRS does not expect to resolve the backlog until the end of 2022. But it hopes the hiring surge, the largest at the IRS in decades, will galvanize a strong response to the mountain of unprocessed paperwork at the agency.
Biden pledges to make inflation battle his ‘top priority’
The president acknowledged that millions of Americans still face financial hardships, particularly as the cost of groceries, gasoline, cars and rents have skyrocketed in what has become the fastest period of inflation in four decades.
Indiana GOP lawmaker apologizes for remark on Black students
House Education Committee Chairman Bob Behning of Indianapolis made the remark last week when answering a question from another lawmaker about a bill that would make changes to the state’s academic standards for all students.
Indiana’s ‘divisive concepts’ education bill dies in Senate
Speaking after the vote, Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray said some Republican lawmakers thought the bill created too much of a burden for educators, while others thought it didn’t go far enough.
UPDATE: Justices wrestle with EPA power to curb carbon emissions
The justices, in arguments Monday, are taking up an appeal from 19 mostly Republican-led states and coal companies over the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
Indiana legislators looking to decide about online lottery
Indiana’s governor is supporting the Hoosier Lottery’s consideration of starting online games or ticket sales while state legislators are looking to have their say on whether those will be allowed.
Nearly half of 500M free COVID tests for public still unclaimed
On the first day of the White House test giveaway in January, COVIDtests.gov received over 45 million orders. Now officials say fewer than 100,000 orders a day are coming in.
New City-County Council committee to strike a greener path
The panel plans to focus first on urban forests and parklands, then recycling and solid waste, then equitable health and infrastructure investments.
Indiana lawmakers pass ‘baby nukes’ bill, send it to governor
The Indiana General Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would allow electric utilities to build small modular reactors, a move that could pave the way for commercial nuclear power in the state for the first time.
Holcomb signals some support for contentious education bills
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb told reporters that he was waiting to see the final versions of bills that would ban transgender girls from participating in K-12 girls school sports and place restrictions on teaching about racism and political issues.
Indiana transgender athlete bill on fast track to governor
If the full Senate approves the bill, which could happen as soon as Thursday, it would head to the governor for consideration. The Indiana House already passed it.
Indiana lawmakers advance stripped-down college aid application bill
A bill that seeks to increase the number of Indiana students who complete the federal college financial aid application advanced to the Indiana House on Monday, but only after lawmakers removed an significant mandate from the measure.
As city boosts spending on anti-crime grants, some call for more accountability
Indianapolis has put more than $30 million into about 600 grants since 2009, when it launched what’s now called the Violent Crime Prevention Grants Program.
Restaurants seek more federal help after SBA fund runs out of cash
Restaurant owners want Congress to replenish the fund, and they want Indiana’s senators to sign on to a proposal that would provide cash to original applicants who were left high and dry.
U.S. Senate sends Biden bill averting federal shutdown
The Senate gave final approval Thursday to legislation averting a weekend government shutdown, sending President Joe Biden a measure designed to give bipartisan bargainers more time to reach an overdue deal financing federal agencies until fall.
Indiana lawmakers step back ‘curricula transparency’ bill
Indiana state senators on Wednesday also moved forward with a separate bill that would ban transgender women and girls from participating in K-12 school sports that match their gender identity.