Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, formed in 2001 and funded by money from a settlement with the tobacco industry, may be consolidated into the state Department of Health as a budget-cutting measure.
The Indiana Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would cut off funding to Planned Parenthood and give the state some of the country's tightest abortion restrictions.
The Indiana Senate voted Monday to prohibit any state contracts or grants with Planned Parenthood or other organizations that provide abortions.
Indiana employers won't be allowed to ask workers about guns and ammunition that they might have in their vehicles under a bill that Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed into law.
Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation officials acknowledge they still have work to do in a state that in 2008 had the nation's highest smoking rate and still has more than 1 million smokers.
An Indiana House committee has approved a watered-down immigration proposal a day after removing a contentious provision that would have given police officers more latitude to ask people for proof that they are in the country legally.
The House Public Policy Committee made several changes Thursday to the bill proposed by Republican Sen. Mike Delph of Carmel and could vote on it Friday. The legislation includes tax penalties for businesses that hire illegal immigrants.
Daniels had made revamping of the criminal sentencing laws one of his top priorities for this year's legislative session, but lawmakers handling the bill said Tuesday they hadn't been able to reach a compromise and didn't expect more action before the General Assembly's April 29 adjournment deadline.
The Capital Improvement Board, which runs the Indiana Convention Center and the city’s professional sports venues, had hoped to get an exemption to Senate Bill 292, which pre-empts local governments from creating their own rules about where people can carry guns.
The Senate Public Policy Committee voted 8-1 Wednesday against the bill that had exemptions for casinos, bars, fraternal clubs, smoke shops and nursing homes.
An Indiana legislator trying to find a compromise on a plan that Gov. Mitch Daniels originally pushed to help stem the state's prison costs seems to still have work ahead.
The fate of a proposed statewide smoking ban in the state Legislature is uncertain, with anti-smoking advocates keeping up their push for restrictions that are tougher than some lawmakers think can win approval.
The Senate Public Policy Committee is expected to vote on the bill Wednesday. Amendments won't be allowed to the bill that currently includes exemptions for casinos, bars, fraternal clubs, smoke shops and nursing homes.
Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, the chairman of an Indiana Senate committee, said he might call for a vote on the proposal at the Senate Public Policy Committee's April 6 meeting, but that he likely wouldn't allow any amendments.
Tom Swoik, executive director of Illinois Casino Gaming Association, said gambling revenue has dropped 32 percent since the state’s smoking ban was approved. He said the ban has cost state government about $800 million in taxes.
Angry prosecutors have derailed a legislative plan to reduce Indiana's corrections costs by shortening some criminal sentences, and now the state seen as a national model for fiscal austerity could be forced to find millions of dollars for new prisons.
Health advocates will have to live with wide exemptions in a proposed statewide smoking ban because a stricter, more comprehensive ban wouldn't be able to pass the conservative Senate, the head of a Senate committee said.
The city of Indianapolis plans to launch a free application for Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches that will allow residents to report potholes, high weeds or stray dogs as they spot them.
The Indianapolis Parks Foundation will administer the city's tax-supported crime grants program, under a proposal approved Monday night 26-0 by the City-County Council.
The Republican-ruled Senate voted 31-18 Tuesday for the bill, which contains penalties for businesses that hire illegal immigrants and allows police officers to ask someone for proof of immigration status if they have a reasonable suspicion the person is in the country illegally.
