Senate passes $32.1B budget that avoids cigarette tax hike
Now the House and Senate will take the next two weeks to hash out their differences on the state spending plan.
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Indiana House approves abortion parental notification bill
The House approved the parental notification measure in a 75-23 vote, despite confusion over its effect. Seven Democrats voted in favor, while one Republican voted against it.
Ricker’s would get reprieve—for now—under measure approved by House panel
The convenience store chain would be able to keep the permits that two locations use to sell cold carryout beer—a hot-button issue for Indiana liquor stores. Renewing the permits might be trickier.
Governor says ATC followed the law letting Ricker’s sell cold beer
Holcomb said it’s up to the General Assembly to decide whether the law should be tweaked but he provided legislators no direction.
As debate rages over pre-K funding, families already in program see gains
Fifty-one percent of respondents in an early state evaluation of the pre-K program said their families had been able to increase their work or school hours while their children participated in the program.
Senate’s $32.1B budget eschews cigarette tax hike
An Indiana Senate panel on Thursday advanced a two-year state budget plan with significant differences in funding for roads, entrepreneurship and education from the House’s plan.
Indiana House panel amends overhaul of troubled vaping law
The House panel’s changes address e-liquid labeling, including requiring an identifiable, trackable code and a nicotine warning.
Wise investment? Voucher system’s effectiveness tough to judge
Over six years, the state has spent more than a half billion dollars on vouchers. During that time, Indiana’s program has expanded, giving more students access to vouchers than in any other state—despite mixed evidence from researchers that vouchers help students achieve.
Reeling casinos seek breaks from Statehouse
Indiana lawmakers are working to keep afloat the state’s crippled casino industry in an effort to shore up declining tax revenue and spur investment.
Senate bill prohibiting ‘Ban the Box’ moves forward
Indiana lawmakers are trying to ensure one particular question stays on job applications: “Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime?”
House panel OKs letting staffers carry guns in Statehouse
The House panel approved Sen. Jim Tomes' proposal in a 9-3 vote, sending it to the full House. The Senate previously approved it 40-9.
Indiana Democrats raise alarm bells on Medicaid cuts
Indiana officials are sounding alarm bells about a plan by Republicans in Congress to cut Medicaid spending.
Senate panel guts House proposal on preschool education
A House bill that would increase state funding to send low-income children to preschool was gutted in an Indiana Senate committee, setting up a potential clash between the two chambers.
House advances bill for offering 401(k)-style retirement plan to new teachers
The plan would be offered to teachers as an alternative to the current pension-style plan. Some fear the state eventually could try to phase out the latter.
Senate nearly unanimously passes vaping reform bill
The bill pares controversial regulations put in place during the previous two sessions of the Indiana General Assembly, which many believe went too far.
House passes $31.4B budget with cigarette tax hike
House Ways and Means Chairman Tim Brown called the $31.4 billion budget an “honest appraisal of the money we have and the spending priorities we have going forward.”
Funding for state archives building may have to wait until 2019
Advocates of constructing a new archives building say the current location, on East 30th Street, is falling into disrepair and that the situation is getting dire.
Senate OKs legislative employees’ bringing guns to work
Senators voted 40-9 Thursday in favor of allowing staff members who have permits and can otherwise possess handguns to bring them to work.
Indiana Senate panel slashes pre-K funding proposal
The GOP-dominated Senate Appropriations Committee endorsed a move Thursday to sharply curtail the governor’s modest request for $10 million a year in additional funding.
Senate committee advances vaping law overhaul
The panel has sent a bill to the Indiana Senate a bill to drastically overhaul the vaping industry law that granted a monopoly to one company and sparked an FBI probe last summer.