The revival of a bill that would allow banks to change contract terms without explicit consent from their users rang alarm bells for consumer advocates but faced little opposition in the Indiana House. Additionally, the proposal would override two recent opinions from the Indiana Supreme Court.
The Senate approved the measure 32-17 on Tuesday — with eight Republicans joining the opposition. It’s not clear where Gov. Eric Holcomb stands on the bill, however.
An agency bill that passed unanimously out of committee died Thursday in an unusual move following the addition of several bipartisan amendments seeking transparency and accountability on a $1 billion Medicaid funding shortfall.
A bill in the Indiana House would ban local regulations on lemonade stands, making it easier for children to operate such small enterprises without fear of running afoul of the law.
The bill would require schools to administer the statewide literacy test—IREAD—in second grade, a year earlier than current requirements. It also would give students three chances to pass the exam during third grade before being denied promotion to fourth grade, with some exceptions.
Indiana’s Senate on Thursday approved a bill forcing the state’s economic development entity to disclose large land buys. Legislation on chaplains in schools, mobile integrated health programs, farmland ownership and school referenda also passed the Legislature’s chambers.
Senate Bill 270 clarifies language added in the last legislative session that led to two different interpretations of the law by Indianapolis Public Schools and the state.
Members of the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development advanced a heavily amended bill on Wednesday that in its original form would have referred more students to juvenile court.
Young gun safety advocates clashed with an avowed gun-rights lawmaker on Tuesday in a 10-minute exchange at the Indiana Statehouse that featured a brief flash of a holstered handgun.
But while the Senate passed its bill—a priority for the Republican caucus—with almost the full support of the chamber, the House version faced adversity from Democrats.
As an alternative, the House approved a separate measure that would allow the City-County Council to increase the countywide local income tax by .02% to help pay for the operating costs of a homeless shelter and various improvements in the city’s Mile Square.
The proposal builds on a previous measure passed in the 2022 Indiana legislative session, which limited foreign entities from buying more than 320 acres in Indiana for crop farming or timber production, among other restrictions.
Bills inspired to regulate potential plans to withdraw as much as 100 million gallons of water a day from Wabash River aquifers won’t get a hearing in the Indiana House or Senate, but Republican leadership appears open to adding some protections for farmers’ water wells.
Voting advocates say the proposal approved by the House could make it even tougher for some people to vote.
As the Republican-led agency faces calls from critics for more transparency, legislators from both political parties have filed legislation aimed at requiring the job-creation agency to disclose more about its activities.
Aaron Freeman, a Senate Republican and former Indianapolis city-county councilor, has become known for frequent legislation that seeks to derail policies and plans implemented by Democrat-controlled city-county government in Indianapolis.
Bill author Sen. Brian Buchanan, a Republican from Lebanon, said the legislation is intended to “streamline the process of economic development in Indiana by making sure all stakeholders are involved.”
Author Sen. Scott Baldin, R-Noblesville, said he saw Senate Bill 10 as a way to reduce public safety expenses by creating programs for non-emergency calls often routed to first responders.
The Republican-controlled Indiana House Ways and Means Committee voted to advance a bill that would repeal the economic enhancement district that Democrat-controlled Indianapolis city government approved last month. The committee chairman offered a new Marion County income tax as an alternative.
A House roads committee on Tuesday did move long-sought legislation allowing jurors to know when someone in a car crash wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
