Five questions: Indiana treasurer ponders course for yield rise
Richard Mourdock, a 62-year-old geologist and former coal-mining exec in his second term as Indiana treasurer, discusses his approach to managing $7 billion in state funds.
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Proposal would expand public-private partnerships
Under Senate Bill 225, authored by Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, private firms may be able to build, abolish, or repair state facilities – and also operate them.
GOP bill would spend $400M on highway projects
The bill would give the State Budget Committee the authority to transfer $400 million from the Major Moves Trust Fund to the state’s main highway fund.
Bosma ‘exploring options’ for marriage amendment
Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma said he’s considering ways to move a constitutional same-sex marriage amendment out of committee and onto the House floor. He said an internal poll found 80 percent of voters want to cast a ballot on the issue.
Bill would bolster Hoosier homegrown products
House Bill 1039 – approved unanimously Thursday by the Agriculture and Rural Development committee – is meant to bolster a program that brands Indiana-grown produce and meat.
Carmel upstart fights nursing home moratorium
Nursing home companies went on a building spree in Indiana, and now most of them want the Legislature’s help reining in high operating costs brought by over-capacity.
State revamps its revenue forecasting after big miss
Growing ranks of dropout workers have nagged the economy throughout its recovery, and now Indiana’s budget forecasters feel they can’t ignore the trend. They recently revised their outlook on state revenue downward, partly because so many Hoosiers stopped looking for jobs.
New state law might idle school bus fleets
A state law intended to make sure cash-strapped public school districts pay their debt could have an unintended consequence: permanently parking the yellow buses that deliver students to class.
Indiana House OKs early childhood education pilot program
Under the program, families earning less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level would get state aid to send their children to preschool.
Jilted dental patients get $543K in restitution from state
Nearly 300 former patients of Allcare Dental & Dentures have received refunds of upfront payments they made before the national dental chain abruptly closed multiple Indiana locations in 2011.
House panel approves proposed adoption tax credit
An effort to increase adoptions and make the process more affordable advanced in a House committee Wednesday, a day after Gov. Mike Pence called for making Indiana the nation’s “most pro-adoption state.”
Senate committee passes cursive writing requirement, again
For the third straight year, Sen. Jean Leising has convinced the Indiana Senate Education Committee to advance a bill that requires schools to teach cursive writing.
Bill would expand charters to more adults in Indiana
Senate Bill 159, authored by Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, would allow the creation of new adult high schools and create an appropriation for the charter schools so they don’t pull their funding from K-12 funds.
IPS among four districts receiving F grades from state
IPS received 0.96 points, on a 4-point scale, based on its students’ performance in the 2012-13 school year—just shy of the full point needed to earn a D grade. Still, IPS’s score was greatly improved from the previous year.
First salvo fired in possible TV ad war on gay marriage
Conservative-leaning Advance America has spent $20,600 for spots on WISH-TV and WTHR-TV, according to station records. Otherwise, supporters and opponents are keeping their powder dry for a possible November referendum.
Upstart developer battles nursing home establishment
Mainstreet Property Group CEO Zeke Turner, the son of Republican state Rep. Eric Turner, is fighting a bill that would halt construction of nursing homes in Indiana.
Proposal calls for alcohol sales during Indiana State Fair
The Indiana State Fair is only one of two state fairs that prohibit the sale of alcohol. Senate Bill 168, authored by Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, would change that.
Changes to farm-trespassing bill delay vote
The Indiana Senate Criminal Law Committee delayed a vote that had been scheduled for Tuesday amid a flurry of proposed amendments.
Governor backs alternative business tax cut
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence threw his support behind House Republicans’ watered-down business tax proposal Tuesday amid outcry from local leaders over the potential to damage their already cash-strapped budgets.
Pence emphasizes 2014 agenda in State of the State speech
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence held close to a carefully scripted message for 2014 during his second State of the State address, prodding lawmakers for a business tax cut and education items while asking them to take action on the same-sex marriage amendment.