Indiana lawmakers agree on tougher tobacco sales penalties
Indiana lawmakers are poised to double the fines stores could face for selling smoking or vaping products to anyone younger than 21 years old.
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City moves ahead with tenant rights ordinances while Legislature debates regulation
The city of Indianapolis is charging ahead with a plan to protect tenants from bad landlords despite a bill moving through the Indiana General Assembly that would limit the city’s authority on the issue.
Indiana Senate passes ban on holding cell phones while driving
House Bill 1070, authored by Rep. Holli Sullivan, R-Evansville, would prohibit individuals from using a mobile device while driving unless using hands-free or voice-operated technology.
Some doctors worried by Indiana ‘surprise’ billing proposal
Indiana doctors are raising fears about possible loss of emergency services under a plan to limit “surprise” bills for patients unknowingly treated by providers from outside their insurance networks.
Lawmakers move bill that updates rules for employing minors
Senate Bill 409, authored by Sen. Mark Messmer, R-Jasper, eliminates the work permit requirement for minors and tweaks some of the hours they can work.
Lawmakers scrap plan to let schools count high school equivalency as diploma
The pilot would have allowed seniors behind on credits to be counted as graduates in Indiana if they pass a high school equivalency exam and take steps toward career training.
Indiana teacher gun training plan failing amid opposition
A legislative proposal for requiring annual training for teachers who carry guns inside Indiana schools has been scuttled amid a disagreement over whether it infringed on gun rights.
Indiana Republicans say law adequate despite school fraud
Republicans who dominate the state Legislature have rejected complaints from Democrats that responsibility for the fraud by virtual schools rests with lax regulations dating from the 2011 GOP-driven state education overhaul.
State rallying troops to increase Department of Defense spending in Indiana
Reaching Gov. Eric Holcomb’s goal would entail boosting the amount of federal defense dollars spent in Indiana to at least $10.2 billion in the next five years.
Bill that creates Indiana’s own voter crosscheck system heads to the full House
An Indiana House committee advanced legislation Thursday that would create a voter registration crosscheck system for the state similar to a widely discredited one in Kansas.
Senate Democrats pushing for more oversight for virtual schools
State lawmakers say it’s not too late to enact legislative “guardrails” that could help prevent virtual schools from spending tax dollars in the future without accountability.
Lawmakers considering central Indiana regionalism legislation
Senate Bill 350 would create a regional development authority framework for central Indiana to allow local officials to work together on significant economic development initiatives. The pilot program would be in place for five years.
Senate passes bill to prevent companies from requiring employees to be microchipped
A bill that would prohibit businesses from using the implantation of some type of tracking or identification device as a condition of employment is headed to the governor.
Indiana panel backs ban on drivers using handheld phones
A state Senate committee voted 8-1 Tuesday to endorse the bill that only permits cellphone use with hands-free or voice-operated technology, except in emergencies.
Indiana pregnancy accommodation proposal unlikely to advance
The proposal would have required Indiana businesses with more than 15 employees to allow pregnant women to take longer breaks, transfer to less physical work and take unpaid time off after childbirth.
Holcomb says he’ll continue to push for workplace accommodations for pregnant women
Republican senators stripped from a bill the requirement that businesses modify jobs for pregnant women who need longer breaks, transfers to less physical work and unpaid time off after childbirth.
Indiana’s school choice voucher program growing statewide
The program has been growing since its inception in 2011, when it was limited to 7,500 students. Last year, 36,290 students around the state utilized vouchers to attend private schools.
Merritt shifts focus to poverty after mayoral run
Sen. Jim Merritt says his run last year for Indianapolis mayor has made him a better senator—one who’s more in touch with his constituents and who has seen the city’s poverty and crime problems firsthand.
Ed Feigenbaum: Two issues threaten to disrupt more mundane work
Each year, one item seems to arise unexpectedly—innocently or intentionally—that seems to consume, as Statehouse denizens observe, all the time and calories.
Medicaid changes could have big state impact
The Trump administration has announced it would allow states to add eligibility requirements, benefit changes and drug-coverage limits, which could limit what the government will spend for certain enrollees.