FEIGENBAUM: Legislative deadline spawns flurry of activity
In one 48-hour stretch early in the first week of April, lawmakers provided a truer lay of the session land than in all the days leading up to it.
State Government
Articles
Mayor Ballard accepts fate of mass-transit bill
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard sat out an April 2 hearing on mass transit because he knew the issue would be shifted to the Legislature’s back burner.
Indiana governor against school guns mandate
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence says he believes local school officials should make decisions about security rather than being required to have an employee armed with a loaded gun during school hours.
Senate budget pushes highway expansion, small tax cuts
Indiana lawmakers and Gov. Mike Pence drew closer to a budget compromise Thursday with the unveiling of a $30 billion Senate plan that cuts the state income tax by $150 million and establishes a new roads fund.
Developers say bill would kill Indiana coal-gas plant
The House Utility Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would send the $2.8 billion project back to regulators for another round of reviews unless the Indiana Supreme Court sides with the project’s developers
Senate panel advances looser superintendent rules
A proposal to no longer require Indiana's local school superintendents to hold a state superintendent's or teacher's license is advancing in the Legislature.
Lawmakers hope to woo gun manufacturers to Indiana
Two resolutions, including one that passed the House on Tuesday, aim to attract gun manufacturers to Indiana by touting the state’s tax climate and gun-rights laws.
Senate budget expected to boost road funding
Local governments and road builders are optimistic that the Indiana Senate’s version of the state budget, set to debut Thursday, will mirror the House’s $500 million increase for road building.
Indiana House speaker Bosma out with knee infection
A House Republican spokeswoman said Bosma learned from tests Monday that an infection had developed in a knee and he needed immediate surgery.
Bill calls for armed staffers at all Indiana schools
An Indiana House committee has approved a proposal that would require all public and charter schools in the state to have an employee with a loaded gun present during school hours.
Mass-transit bill hits detour in Senate committee
Members of the state’s Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee voted 12-0 on Tuesday morning to stall legislation that would give central Indiana voters the ability to choose if they want to pay higher taxes for expanded mass transit.
House panel OKs Medicaid expansion through HIP plan
An Indiana House panel has altered a plan that would use the state's Healthy Indiana Plan to expand Medicaid coverage in the state.
Lawmakers debate what counts as gambling expansion
The differences between the electronic and standard table games are being portrayed to state lawmakers as one of life and death, with proponents of a bill that would allow racetrack table games saying they would add jobs while not substantially changing what the racetracks already offer.
Indiana lawmakers OK bill creating child commission
The Indiana Legislature has backed a measure that would create a new state commission to focus on children's issues and provide oversight to a troubled state agency.
Senators stalling Indiana online sales-tax proposal
Some key state senators are sidelining a bill that would make Amazon.com and other online-only retailers start collecting Indiana's 7-percent sales tax this summer.
State adds jobs in February at healthy clip
Hiring surged in several sectors of the economy, but the unemployment rate inched higher as more residents started looking for work.
Bill would expand state’s historic preservation tax credit
Legislation that was killed last year after passing the Indiana House has been revived this session in hopes of spurring more historic renovation across the state.
State legislators approve tougher ‘bath salts’ law
Bill supporters added a "lookalike" provision they say was needed because drug makers have simply made changes to the drug compounds to get around current laws that are based on specific chemical makeups.
Indiana wraps up deal for Ohio River toll bridge
Toll revenue appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly is scheduled to pay off $1.48 billion in bonds by 2051.
Business videotaping ban clears Indiana House panel
Taking videos and photos at Indiana farms and factories without permission would be a crime under a proposal endorsed 9-3 Thursday by the House agriculture committee.