Gov. Eric Holcomb on Tuesday announced long-awaited site plans involving the Indiana School for the Deaf, the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and a new state archives building.
Eligible productions could include film, television, music or digital media. State Rep. Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne) said the legislation could make Indiana a leading state for film and media production.
However, the state’s labor force participation remains at 61.9%—a record low for at least the last 45 years if one doesn’t count its sudden fall to 60.8% and quick recovery in the first three months of the pandemic.
Local and state officials learned in January that several projects included in plans awarded grants just a month before might now be ineligible because of rules attached to the funding.
A congressional panel on Wednesday debated whether to end the nation’s “spring forward” and “fall back” daylight saving policy, citing the health effects of shifting the clock twice per year. Most agreed it was about time.
The vast majority of Indiana’s Republican state legislators have signed a letter asking the governor to call them back into special session later this year if the U.S. Supreme Court rolls back the limits states can place on abortion.
The plan would cut the income tax rate to 3.15% from 3.23% for 2023, which would amount to a $40 savings for those with $50,000 in taxable income. The tax rate would be cut further in 2025, 2027 and 2029, but only if state tax revenue grows by at least 2% in the previous budget year.
The bill’s provisions would allow anyone age 18 or older to carry a handgun in public except for reasons such as having a felony conviction, facing a restraining order from a court or having a dangerous mental illness.
The tax cut package was a major remaining issue as the Republican-dominated Legislature looked to possibly finish this year’s session on Tuesday.
The leader of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee said Monday that talks with senators included possibly linking tax rate cuts to whether state tax collections remain strong.
The Indiana Senate narrowly upheld a veto that Gov. Eric Holcomb issued last year on a bill that would have required additional labeling for fuel pumps distributing E15, a fuel blend that contains up to 15% ethanol in gasoline.
The Indiana House and Senate have both approved a measure that would reduce the tax on disposable e-cigarettes from 25% of the wholesale price to 15%.
Legislation setting voluntary statewide standards for large wind and solar projects is on its way to the governor, but without a key provision to entice local governments to adopt the standards.
Republican House Speaker Todd Huston said Thursday that even if language from House Bill 1134 is brought back in another proposal, it’s “highly unlikely” that House Republicans would be on board.
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a new order Thursday, effectively ending the health emergency. It had been renewed on a monthly basis for nearly two years.
The proposal, authored by Republican Rep. Jack Jordan of Bremen, aims to codify the First Amendment and U.S. Supreme Court precedents into Indiana law, which Jordan said should guide college campus policies and ensure that free speech applies equally for all students.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, in an opinion piece distributed to media outlets on Thursday, solidified his support for legislation that would provide state tax cuts—and went a step further by asking for an even deeper reduction in income taxes than proposed by House Republicans.
Indiana lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to a Republican-backed bill that would ban transgender women and girls from participating in school sports that match their gender identity.
The Indiana Senate passed a watered-down version of the House Republicans’ bill to limit employer vaccine mandates, sending it back to the House where its future is cloudy.
House Education Committee Chairman Bob Behning of Indianapolis made the remark last week when answering a question from another lawmaker about a bill that would make changes to the state’s academic standards for all students.
