‘Innovation districts’ could attract high-tech projects
Senate Bill 361 would make it possible for the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to create districts across the state to capture sites for large-scale economic development projects.
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House, Senate remain at odds over tax, vaccine legislation at session’s halfway point
Lawmakers are also debating bills about teaching race and gender issues in schools, energy issues and economic development incentives.
Study: Indiana’s property tax burden is shifting to homeowners even without new business tax cut
Residential homeowners in Indiana already pay 45.6% of the property tax burden and that would rise to 51% by 2026 even without a legislative proposal to reduce the business personal property tax, according to a study commissioned by the Association of Indiana Counties.
Education legislation status report: Where all the bills stand in the Statehouse
Bills that would ban schools from teaching “divisive concepts” and open libraries to prosecution for distributing harmful material have passed the first hurdles of the Indiana Legislature.
Lawmakers consider offering remote workers $15K to move here
One piece of an extensive piece of legislation to restructure the incentive toolkit of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. would create a statewide remote-worker grant program.
Bid fund could strengthen Indiana’s hand in securing events
The Legislature is considering a bill that could give tourism groups statewide another tool in trying to lure dozens of additional events every year.
Key GOP senator proposes brief summer reprieve from sales tax
Senate Bill 325, authored by Republican Sen. Travis Holdman, chairman of the powerful Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, would make any retail item purchased July 15-31 exempt from Indiana’s 7% sales tax.
‘Whitewashing history’: Indiana teachers fear anti-CRT bill threatens lessons
Some teachers fear they would have to water down or eliminate lessons about important events in history if the state passes sweeping new regulations on how they may address race and racism.
Indiana Senate abandons contentious school curriculum bill
The Indiana Senate will not consider contentious Republican-backed legislation that supporters say would have increased parental control over what their kids learn but that teachers and other critics say would have amounted to censorship.
Indiana House backs dropping state’s handgun permit law
The proposal, which would loosen Indiana’s already lenient firearms restrictions, passed on a largely party-line 63-29 vote despite the opposition of several major law enforcement organizations.
Indiana teachers push back against school curriculum bills
A controversial Indiana bill that Republican lawmakers contend would increase transparency around school curricula has drawn opposition from dozens of teachers who testified Monday at the Statehouse that the legislation would censor classroom instruction.
Indiana ranks best for business in property tax, 9th overall for tax climate
But some Republican legislators still want to cut what they consider the last blemish on the state’s otherwise business-friendly tax structure: the business personal property tax.
Businesses want statewide standards for renewable-energy-farm siting
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce is again calling for legislation that it says would remove some of the local hurdles such projects now face.
GOP differences on Indiana tax cuts, vaccine mandate limits solidify
The Indiana Senate’s top Republican said tax cuts and limits on employer vaccine mandates didn’t land on his priority list because they are “controversial” and “more complicated to work through.” But that won’t stop House Republicans from pursuing them.
Bill seeks to limit some ‘discriminatory concepts’ from being taught in school
Indiana lawmakers on Wednesday began debate on a Republican-backed bill that would require all school curricula to be posted online for parental review and ban schools’ ability to implement concepts like critical race theory.
2021 Year in Review: GOP splinters over emergency powers law
A family feud broke out among Indiana Republicans this year when Gov. Eric Holcomb sued the Indiana General Assembly’s legislative leaders in his own party. He did so to challenge the constitutionality of a new law that weakens his emergency powers and was enacted by fellow Republicans over the governor’s veto.
House leader eyes income tax cut amid rosy fiscal forecast
Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston says the state’s burgeoning surplus, forecast to grow to $5.1 billion by the end of June, gives him even more reason to pursue tax cuts.
Indiana officials projecting big jump in budget surplus
The State Budget Committee on Thursday projected booming growth in Indiana’s budget surplus, setting up a debate during the upcoming legislative session over possible tax cuts.
State lawmakers eye business tax cuts
House Republican leaders want to reduce the personal property taxes businesses pay on equipment, claiming it is one of the last tax obstacles in recruiting new businesses and spurring growth for businesses already here.
Legislation pits religious freedoms against employer rights
For the past year, Indiana employers have faced the challenge of whether to enforce COVID-19 vaccination mandates on workers who say the vaccines violate their religious beliefs.