Indiana House Dems return after right-to-work boycott
Indiana House Democrats have returned to work at the statehouse after a boycott over divisive right-to-work legislation by moving to strike down the measure.
Indiana House Democrats have returned to work at the statehouse after a boycott over divisive right-to-work legislation by moving to strike down the measure.
A measure being pushed in the Indiana House of Representatives would let parents vote to turn public schools over to charter school operators.
The Indiana House's Democratic leader said Friday his boycotting members are willing to return at "high noon" Monday to begin debating a contentious right-to-work bill, although the ongoing dispute over whether a statewide referendum on the issue is constitutional could prevent legislative action.
The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Indiana House had a tense 10-minute exchange on the House floor Friday morning over whether Democratic leaders will end their boycott over the right-to-work bill.
The bill makes attending animal fights a felony punishable by six months to three years in prison. Under current law, a first offense is a misdemeanor with a second offense considered a felony.
The state’s largest green group is seeking changes to measures it says could strip funding and oversight for environmental protection.
Republican State Sen. Brent Waltz has filed a bill that would require the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and businesses seeking awards from the 21st Century fund to match the state’s money with outside capital at a four-to-one ratio.
Indiana House Democrats kept up their legislative boycott over the right-to-work bill Thursday morning, a day after majority Republicans voted to start imposing $1,000-a-day fines.
An Indiana Senate committee is advancing a plan to put more money into state savings accounts before automatic tax refunds go out to taxpayers.
Indiana House Republicans have approved $1,000-a-day fines against Democratic legislators who are boycotting over a right-to-work bill.
All outdoor stages in Indiana would have to pass inspections before any performances under a bill approved by a state Senate committee.
An Indiana Senate committee has endorsed a proposal giving state residents limited rights to resist police officers trying to enter their homes.
The vote comes out of a truce Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma and Democratic House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer negotiated to end Democratic boycotts.
State lawmakers could provide an additional $4 million to victims of last summer's stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair.
A bill that would allow fines of up to $500 against government officials found to have blatantly violated the state's open meetings or open record laws has been endorsed 11-0 by an Indiana House committee.
Legislators stung last year by county prosecutors who opposed a sweeping plan to overhaul Indiana’s criminal sentencing scheme won’t push the issue this year. Sheriffs now are worried that an attempt to reduce crowding in state prisons could aggravate overpopulation in their jails.
House Democrats say they’ll continue stall tactics at the General Assembly unless they get a referendum to decide whether Indiana will become a right-to-work state.
Democratic lawmakers need to come to grips with this reality: The Republicans have the votes to pass right-to-work this session. It’s going to happen. Stop whining about it and staging walkouts, and get on with the work you’re paid to do.
Indiana's House of Representatives has scheduled its first vote on divisive right-to-work legislation that has prompted stall tactics by Democrats through the first week of the 2012 legislative session.
The House health committee voted 9-3 in favor of the bill Wednesday after adding an exemption for retail tobacco shops. The bill would prohibit smoking in most public places and workplaces, including bars.