During the occasionally tense hearing on House Bill 1123, a slew of officials from Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration tried to convince lawmakers that the governor’s ability to make quick decisions has been key to the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since most state budgets are not in the tailspins that many feared last spring, states can use their share of the money to go way beyond balancing the books and dealing with the direct costs of the coronavirus pandemic.
Attorney General Todd Rokita is being paid by private businesses for consulting work, including $25,000 a year for advising a Connecticut-based pharmaceutical company, according to a newspaper report.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said the dealer sold cars online in a way that led consumers to believe the seller was a private owner. For its part, the dealer said it was a one-time occurrence.
The funding is part of an overall $1.9 trillion bill that could send as much as $5.87 billion to the state, including roughly $237 million to Indianapolis and another $187 million to Marion County.
At least 65 public school boards have passed formal resolutions against the proposed legislation through a campaign organized by the Indiana School Boards Association.
The funding would instead go to courses in areas that are typically higher paying, such as nursing, biomedical science and welding. But critics say eliminating popular programs would narrow students’ options.
Indiana would join 32 other states, including bordering states like Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky, in having a music production incentive program if the bill passes.
House Bill 1006 includes provisions for mandatory de-escalation training, misdemeanor penalties for officers who turn off body cameras with intent to conceal, and bans on chokeholds in certain circumstances.
Indiana lawmakers are considering legislation that would freeze property tax assessments for four years when a property owner wins an appeal.
To take advantage the national attention on Indiana as it hosts the entire NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the state has enlisted some famous Hoosiers and some up-and-coming residents for a campaign to show why Indiana is a great place to live, work, study and play.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb sat wearing a face mask in the front passenger seat of an SUV while getting the shot in his right arm of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine being given during the drive-through clinic.
The governors issued a statement criticizing President Joe Biden’s plan to allocate most of the aid to states based on the unemployment rate, rather than total population. Indiana would receive $881 million more if previous allocation methods were used.
Three bills advancing through the Indiana General Assembly would provide tighter regulation of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs).
General Assembly has avoided COVID outbreak, but debated the budget and gubernatorial powers as tempers flared over racial issues.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s executive order outlining pandemic-related capacity restrictions based on a county-by-county system will continue through March, as will the public health emergency.
Indiana senators advanced measures Tuesday that would allow police to determine what use of force is reasonable in some cases and would allow the state’s attorney general to appoint special prosecutors to handle criminal cases local authorities decide not to pursue.
Republican legislative leaders have generally praised Gov. Erric Holcomb’s handling of the pandemic, but they also say lawmakers should be able to provide input in the decisions when an emergency continues for an extended period of time.
The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus called Tuesday for lawmakers who sparked confrontations with Black legislators last week to face reprimands and for all lawmakers to undergo mandatory anti-bias training.
Senate Bill 141 would withhold 10% of local income tax revenue from IndyGo until it meets a private fundraising threshold established in a 2014 law. It also would prevent IndyGo from moving forward with expansion projects, like the Blue and Purple lines, until it secures private funding.
