A legislative stalemate in Indiana reached a political milestone on Tuesday as House Democrats stayed away from their jobs for a 30th consecutive day in what now ranks among the longest Statehouse boycotts in recent U.S. history.
House Speaker Brian Bosma directed Republican committee chairmen to hold meetings starting this week to discuss Senate bills, even though no official action or votes can be taken until Democrats return and provide the quorum required by the state constitution.
An Indiana Senate committee is set to start public hearings on a new state budget, reviving a process that has been stalled by the month-long boycott by House Democrats that shows no signs of ending.
Both Democrats and Republicans claim the walkout by Indiana House Democrats is rallying support for their side, spurring new donations and rousing the party faithful.
Indiana House Democrats, whose walkout nearly a month ago halted the legislative process, remain in no hurry to return considering they face the prospect of losing on almost every vote.
Republican Brian Bosma says the House will consider a formal censure motion Monday for absent Democrats who have boycotted the chamber for four weeks.
An Indiana Senate panel eliminated part of a proposal on Wednesday that would have required traditional public schools to help provide transportation to students attending charter schools.
The Republican speaker of the Indiana House said Wednesday that the ongoing walkout by Democratic legislators has stirred up interest in one day making such actions illegal or allowing voters to remove boycotters from office.
The Indiana Senate has approved a bill making it illegal for drivers to send or read text messages, but also banning talking on the phone.
The Republican leader of the Indiana House said his patience was wearing thin with Democratic lawmakers who have shut down the legislative process in Indiana for three weeks by walking out on their jobs.
An Indiana Senate committee plans to vote Wednesday on a proposal aimed at expanding charter schools after hearing from the public on the bill last week.
More talks between the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Indiana House might be inching the two sides closer to resolving the now three-week-long boycott by Democratic legislators.
Thousands of Indiana union members held signs, chanted slogans and cheered speakers outside the Statehouse on Thursday at a rally to protest Republican-backed bills they consider an attack on public education and labor unions.
More than two weeks after Democratic lawmakers fled Indiana to block GOP-backed legislation, both sides gave optimistic signals Wednesday about resolving the stalemate.
Industry feared original bill would have put mortgage lenders at added risk.
Charter-school advocates are touting a Stanford University study released Wednesday as support for their case to expand charters throughout the state.
Frustrated Republicans say they won't be bullied into changing their agenda, and Democrats showed no signs of backing down — with one lawmaker vowing to stay in Urbana, Ill., "until hell freezes over.”
Leaders say the Indiana House will not try to convene this Thursday and Friday because the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament starting Thursday in Indianapolis means there's no hotel rooms for out-of-town lawmakers.
An Indiana House Democrat threatened Monday to continue the caucus's ongoing boycott "as long as it takes" to get changes made to Republican-backed proposals, even if their absence shuts down state government.
As pressure mounts for Indiana Democrats to end their Statehouse boycott and get back to work, some members of the exiled caucus are holding town hall meetings to explain to their constituents why they are holed up in an Illinois hotel.
