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.
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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.
GOP pushes to repeal public project wages law
The move could set off a new battle with labor unions three years after Republicans pushed through the state’s right-to-work law, which drew thousands of union protesters.
Big-ticket item cut from Pence’s tax-simplification plan
The proposal to extend a sales-tax exemption to equipment purchases by manufacturers was expected to cost Indiana as much as $240 million per year in tax revenue.
Indy Eleven officials reveal new details on stadium financing
A bill that would provide state and local tax revenue for a new soccer stadium in downtown Indianapolis sailed through the House Ways and Means Committee Monday morning.
Ritz supporters plan Statehouse rally Monday afternoon
Organizers of the rally are targeting bills moving through the Statehouse that would shift some authority from state schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz.
Budget proposal to push school funding past Pence’s pitch
The leader of the Indiana House says a state budget proposal set for release Monday will include a larger funding increase for public schools than Gov. Mike Pence sought in his spending plan.
Lawmakers aim to restrict access to meth ingredients
The leaders of Indiana communities hit hard by methamphetamine are arguing for a state law requiring prescriptions to buy cold and allergy pills.
Fiscal analysis: Soccer venue ticket tax would generate meager revenue
The Legislative Services Agency estimates a ticket tax at the proposed venue would generate no more than $519,000 a year for debt repayment.