Republicans who now control the Indiana House are poised to push reforms next year that would strengthen local governments’ ability to offer businesses tax abatements. But the changes might be met with caution in Marion County.
Democrats lost 12 House seats, two congressmen and a U.S. senator, and the party failed to win any of three state offices.
Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels’ 2011 legislative agenda includes expanding charter schools, establishing merit pay for teachers, cutting unemployment benefits and raising unemployment insurance taxes on businesses.
Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels will outline his 2011 legislative priorities Thursday, and his agenda could be a bit bigger now that the GOP has a firm grip on the Indiana House and Senate.
With new control of the Indiana House, Republican lawmakers plan to pursue an agenda focused on encouraging the private sector to create jobs and passing a budget without tax increases.
Cuts in services, higher fees and consolidation of government units are possibilities, but advocates for the constitutional amendment say long-term certainty about property tax rates could benefit the economy.
Indiana Senate Democrats, long considered the last bastion of liberal thought in state government, are in danger of becoming politically irrelevant after the Nov. 2 election—something they say would disenfranchise nearly 2 million Hoosiers who live in their districts.
Gov. Mitch Daniels and public schools chief Tony Bennett have major legislative changes they want to make to implement their education reform ideas—but to do it they need their Republican Party to regain control of the Indiana House of Representatives.
With a Republican tide predicted to wash over the country in next month’s election, there is a very real chance that the Indiana House will be dominated by the GOP for the first time since 2005-06, putting virtually all policy-setting responsibilities in Indiana in one party’s hands.
Legislators and liquor store workers say they've received many complaints from people about a state law that took effect this summer requiring anyone buying carryout alcohol in Indiana to show a photo ID.
A bipartisan duo of state lawmakers wants Congress to allow states to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases, a move they say could bring hundreds of millions of dollars to cash-strapped Indiana.
One hundred Indiana House seats are on the ballot—though many fewer are competitive—but their outcomes may affect the state well beyond the two-year terms that the candidates seek.
A mid-August heat wave that has left some students sweltering in classrooms without air conditioning could renew the push
for an Indiana law preventing schools from starting classes before Labor Day.
As Indiana’s reserves dwindle toward zero and federal stimulus money disappears, trying to keep political debate friendly
and the budget in the black will be quite a challenge. Half a year before they must craft the next state budget, Democrats
and Republicans already are squabbling.
Rep. Randy Borror of Fort Wayne is ending his re-election campaign to become a senior vice president for Indianapolis-based
Bose Public Affairs Group.
Indiana Secretary of Commerce Mitch Roob’s letter Tuesday to Democrat Pat Bauer details IEDC’s approach to job-creation incentives
and its clawback efforts in the recession.
Minority Leader Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington, said the Republican governor’s budget director told her that a comprehensive list
of executive branch budget reductions wasn’t available. She said that’s unacceptable.
A new state program is encouraging lenders to promote the stability of their conventional mortgages to help Indiana's
housing market rebound from a foreclosure crisis instigated by risky loans.
New state rules designed to protect government cash from bank failures might have an unintended consequence: helping the biggest
banks and hurting the smallest.
Speaker Pat Bauer get the lowest ranking in the state chamber’s analysis.
