Indiana lawmakers taking mid-session break
Members of the House and Senate wrapped up business on Wednesday and are scheduled to return Monday to the Statehouse in Indianapolis.
Legislature
Articles
Speaker kills bill criticized as detrimental to solar usage
House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, has killed a bill that critics say would have depressed the use of solar and other alternative energies.
Bill aimed at reducing meth problems advances
The Indiana Senate passed a bill 46-3 on Tuesday that would make it more difficult for criminals to purchase products used in the production of meth.
Locals get to keep casino revenue under House bill changes
The House has stripped language out of a controversial gambling bill that would have cut millions of dollars in funding that goes to communities where casinos are located.
Bosma sidelines gambling bill for more work
Speaker Brian Bosma pulled a controversial gambling bill off the Indiana House calendar on Monday in part as an attempt to reduce the financial hit communities with casinos would suffer under the proposal.
Sunday alcohol sales bill is dead, key legislator says
Bill author Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte, said Tuesday morning that he doesn’t have the votes to move the bill to the Senate, largely because it includes new restrictions on the way alcohol could be sold at drug stores, big-box stores and other retailers.
House backs repeal of state construction wage law
Indiana House members voted 55-41 Monday to support eliminating the boards that set construction wages for each state or local project. Thirteen Republicans joined 28 Democrats in opposing the bill.
UPDATE: Pence signs bill trimming ISTEP times
The changes are expected to shave at least three hours off the test for all grades plus an additional hour in 5th and 7th grades.
Free-market policy group to convene in Indy
The conservative-leaning American Legislative Exchange Council, which drafts model legislation for state legislatures, will host its annual meeting in Indianapolis in 2016.
UPDATE: Lawmakers put off vote on Sunday alcohol sales
The Indiana House will wait at least until Tuesday to vote on legalizing Sunday carry-out alcohol sales.
Pence keeping feet in both state, national political debates
Gov. Mike Pence has kept to his largely hands-off approach to dealing with the Indiana Legislature, even as he has stepped into the middle of some high-profile issues during his third year in office.
Conservative groups oppose Indiana net metering bill
Like Common Core to the education world, the utility issue of net metering is drawing opposition from conservative groups with a libertarian bent.
UPDATE: Local tax overhaul added to bill allowing casino changes
Local economic agreements between the state’s casinos and local communities would be scrapped and the admissions tax that provides revenue to local governments eliminated.
Indiana House committee passes bio-cremation measure
A measure that would legalize the chemical disposal of human bodies has passed an Indiana House committee, but a similar measure has died in an Indiana Senate committee.
Bill that trims funding to shrinking districts advances
The changes, combined with declining enrollments in a number of schools, mean that 91 of the state’s 289 traditional districts would receive less overall funding in 2016 than this year.
Vaping retailers face regulation under advancing bill
Indiana is one step closer to placing regulations on e-liquids used in electronic cigarettes and vapor pens after a House committee passed a bill on Wednesday, sending it to the full House for debate.
Bill that riles solar industry passes House committee
A controversial bill to change the guidelines governing Hoosiers using alternative energy sources – including solar and wind power – passed a House Committee on Wednesday.
UPDATE: House panel backs repeal of public projects wage law
The Republican-controlled House Labor Committee voted 8-4 Tuesday in favor of eliminating the boards that set construction wages for each state or local project costing more than $350,000.
House plan gives Evansville IU med school $36 million
A spending plan released Monday by Indiana House Republicans includes nearly twice as much money as Gov. Mike Pence proposed for a medical school campus in downtown Evansville.
State budget proposal shifts aid toward wealthy schools
IPS would see a 6-percent reduction in state tuition aid by 2017 despite being one of the state’s poorest districts, with more than 75 percent of children coming from families that are poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.