Indiana Senate votes to override two Pence vetoes
The Indiana Senate has followed the House’s lead and voted to override two bills that former Gov. Mike Pence vetoed last year. The Senate’s votes Tuesday mean the bills become law.
The Indiana Senate has followed the House’s lead and voted to override two bills that former Gov. Mike Pence vetoed last year. The Senate’s votes Tuesday mean the bills become law.
The dilemma comes after Gov. Eric Holcomb said Thursday he would terminate a tentative deal to lease the state’s cellphone towers for potentially $260 million over 50 years.
The Pence administration in September said it had agreed to lease the state’s existing cell towers to help the state fund its bicentennial projects and expand broadband capacity.
An Indiana lawmaker has decided to withdraw his proposal that would’ve given a big pay increase to the governor and other top elected state officeholders.
The measure by Republican state Sen. Randy Head comes as legislators are considering a tax increase to fund infrastructure projects.
All but a handful of the nearly 50 agency heads, cabinet members and key staff members Holcomb has selected worked in either the Daniels or Pence administrations—or both.
In his first State of the State address, Gov. Eric Holcomb stressed the importance of growing the state’s economy through increasing the skills of existing workers.
Speaker Brian Bosma said it was "important" for the governor to vocalize his support and convince voters that it is important for the Legislature to raise revenue through increased gas taxes or vehicle fees.
Gov. Eric Holcomb is pushing a plan aimed at attracting new nonstop and direct flights to and from the Indianapolis International Airport.
The plan to skill up Indiana’s adult workforce could help prepare the state to fill an estimated 1 million jobs by 2025, most of which will be openings created by the impending retirements of baby boomers.
Democrats say it’s not enough, particularly in its failure to expand state-funded preschool to more counties.
Preschool advocates want the Indiana Legislature to spend $50 million a year to expand the state’s pilot program. So far, lawmakers seem cool to that idea.
Gov.-elect Eric Holcomb, who announced his legislative agenda Thursday, has roughly the same idea as Gov. Mike Pence when it comes to investing in early-stage Indiana companies, but wants to pay for the plan through a different fund.
The outgoing governor was set to let the rules expire on Jan. 1. A Department of Homeland Security spokesman says new outdoor stage rules are also in the works.
Tera Klutz will be the first certified public accountant to be Indiana auditor, the top state official in charge of paying the state’s bills and accounting for state money, according to Holcomb’s office.
Regulators had more than three years to approve permanent rules establishing stricter design and construction requirements for outdoor event equipment but did not do so before the emergency rules expired this year.
Donald Trump’s big victory in Indiana means his running mate Mike Pence will be vice president. It also swept Eric Holcomb into the governor’s office and Todd Young into the U.S. Senate.
Critics say the absence of standards could have negative results for Hoosiers’ energy bills and lead to a “slumlord’s dream” scenario.
The long-term forecast was sunnier, with revenue projected to increase 2.9 percent in 2018 and 3.9 percent in 2019.
Legislative leaders have sounded alarm bells over state revenue figures, saying lawmakers will need to take a cautious approach to investing in new programs such as expanding state-funded preschool and raising teacher pay.