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.
Legislature
Articles
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.
Lawmakers kill employee training tax credit proposal
The bill is part of a larger discussion lawmakers are having about the $1 billion in state and federal funding that nine Indiana agencies spend on some 30 workforce development programs.
State lawmakers send abortion bill goes back to committee
Indiana House Republicans are taking the unusual step of reassigning an abortion bill to the same panel that narrowly approved it last week.
Indiana House OKs road-funding plan with tax increases
The Indiana House has approved a road-funding plan that would raise the gasoline tax by 10 cents and increase vehicle registration fees to fund improvements to the state's infrastructure.
Senate panel fails to advance Terre Haute casino bill
State Sen. Jon Ford’s bill would have moved gambling slots from the Rising Star casino near Cincinnati to Terre Haute, his district, and allowed for the construction of a new gaming facility.
UPDATE: House GOP budget raises cigarette tax while funding some of Holcomb’s wish list
Raising the cigarette tax by $1 per pack would help pay for Medicaid spending and tobacco-cessation programs—and would help patch the $300 million annual hole in the budget created by the House’s road-funding plan.
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.
Lawmakers vote to restrict local Airbnb bans
The bill comes on the heels of Carmel’s recent decision to send letters to 28 residents who rent out their homes on Airbnb, stating that they are in violation of city zoning laws.
Gun licensing legislation sent to summer study committee
An Indiana House committee voted Tuesday to create a special summer committee to study the possibility of repealing an Indiana law requiring people to get a license before carrying a handgun.
Lawmakers weigh requiring helmets for minors on ATVs
An 11-year-old Indiana girl died in an all-terrain vehicle crash in 2015, and her mother has been pushing to change laws on helmets and safety education.
Lawmakers advance plan for ‘competency-based’ CPA license renewal
Currently, the 10,000 CPAs in Indiana do 120 hours of continuing professional education every three years to renew their CPA licenses. The proposal could reduce learning time and boost comprehension.
Widely supported work-sharing bill dumped—again
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce, organized labor groups and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have for years pushed the Legislature to implement a work-sharing program.
House passes pre-K bill that expands access to vouchers
Supporters of expanding state-funded preschool said they are frustrated the bill includes what they view as an expansion of the private school voucher program.
House Dems offer road funding plan as alternative to GOP’s
They’re calling the plan “No New Taxes” and arguing Indiana can pay for major road-funding improvements without raising the gas tax.
State health advocates hope proposed cigarette tax reduces smoking
Public health officials say the increase is a proactive approach toward reducing the smoking rate and would serve as a deterrent for young people to even begin.