The $44.5 billion spending plan restores measures coveted by Republican leaders in both chambers, a reflection of the April state revenue forecast that showed Indiana is expected to receive an additional $1.5 billion in revenue over the next two fiscal years.
Debate over the bill has served as a flashpoint in the ongoing fight between city and state leaders over Indiana’s road-funding formula, which allocates gas-tax funds and other revenue by center-line miles rather than by vehicle miles traveled.
Indiana Republican state Senators signaled their final approval Tuesday of a bill that would remove the requirement for administrators to discuss some topics with a teachers union representative.
Lawmakers sent several bills to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk on Monday following chamber actions on concurrence votes and conference committees.
House Bill 1008 has been significantly watered down since it was first introduced, but Republicans say the anti-ESG legislation still accomplishes its intent.
The proposal would require school officials to provide written notification to a child’s parent or guardian within five business days of the child asking to be called a different “pronoun, title, or word,” according to the bill.
Republican legislators are poised to direct only about two-thirds of the money that Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb sought toward tackling the state’s poor national rankings in areas such as obesity, smoking and life expectancy and improving local emergency services.
Indiana’s lawmakers are nearing the end of a grueling nearly four-month legislative session, but three of their biggest priorities—aside from the budget—remain unresolved.
Employers, lawmakers and business leaders together have crafted legislation that encourages people to stay in high school and pursue postsecondary education or to revisit educational opportunities later in life.
A projected $1.5 billion in new revenue will add new drama to the final week of this year’s legislative session as the Indiana General Assembly grapples with how much to raise funding for public health, education and debt obligations.
The governor signed a flurry of bills into law on Thursday, bringing the total number of bills to reach his desk to 93. Even as he finished, lawmakers finalized another handful of bills as they near the legislative deadline.
Indiana lawmakers removed controversial language from a bill that would have effectively stripped protections for certain wetlands, but Republican leadership in both the House and Senate expressed support for reviving the language.
Lawmakers are still hashing out other proposals to require financial literacy education and decrease health care costs
State lawmakers have $1.5 billion more to work with than expected in the next two-year budget, according to revenue figures released by the Indiana State Budget Agency on Wednesday. But it’s unclear where that money will be directed.
The proposed version of the budget doesn’t include any expansion of school vouchers, which House Speaker Todd Huston has personally pushed for, nor does it finalize funding for mental health and public health commitments.
Supporters have said the 40 hours of optional training would help teachers learn how to defend themselves and students if needed, especially in situations with an active shooter.
House Public Health Committee Chairman Brad Barrett urged support for the proposal, saying that county health programs are “strapped” for resources and those troubles were magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indiana’s state and local governments wouldn’t be able to require the public disclosure of not-for-profit donor data in many cases under a proposal that is nearing law.
The Indiana Secretary of State is investigating multiple complaints it has received against Roger Dobrovodsky and/or his business entities, which include EDU Financial Strategies, EDU Holding Trust, EDU Trust Services LLC and EDU Wealth Advisors LLC.
A Republican state lawmaker is trying to prevent Indianapolis from adopting no-turn-on-red regulations, just as the Democrat-controlled City-County Council is considering a measure that would prohibit such turns throughout downtown.
