Like Gov. Eric Holcomb, Indiana Senate and House Republicans are focused on health care, education and spending one-time dollars on capital projects this year. But lawmakers have slightly different views on how those surplus dollars should be spent.
Republican Eric Holcomb has said he would wait for recommendations later this year from a teacher pay commission he appointed in February, but he told reporters Monday—on the first day of the legislative session—that might change with state tax revenues growing faster than expected.
Redistricting reform advocates are taking a slightly different approach at the Republican-controlled Indiana Legislature this year, as they make more transparency the priority ahead of lines being redrawn in 2021.
Members of the Republican-dominated General Assembly are set to return Monday to the Statehouse in Indianapolis for their 2020 session, during which they will face continued calls from teacher unions and Democrats for better teacher pay.
Reps David Wolkins of Warsaw and Rep. Ron Bacon of Chandler said they plan to retire after this year’s legislative session.
The proposal would prohibit private school voucher money from going to schools that discriminate over factors including sexual orientation, disability, race, gender or religion.
Indiana is positioning itself to be the epicenter for the latest generation of wireless technology, which experts say will be revolutionary.
Much of the 2020 legislative work will be directed to helping shape (and immunize against) election debate and making a head start on some of the tougher, long-term issues that will be ripe for resolution in 16 months.
Conservative religious groups are planning to appeal an Indiana judge’s ruling that canceled a trial challenging limits on the state’s religious objections law that were signed by then-Gov. Mike Pence.
As Illinois prepares to join Michigan in the recreational pot market on Wednesday, officials are renewing warnings to consumers against carrying such products over state lines.
The law, which passed with bipartisan support in April, created funding plans for most of a $360 million renovation of Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the construction of a $150 million soccer stadium for the Indy Eleven by diverting millions of dollars in annual state tax revenue to the Capital Improvement Board.
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, who awaits the outcome of a professional misconduct complaint involving his alleged drunken groping of four women, is facing scrutiny over a string of financial decisions he’s made since taking office.
Gov. Eric Holcomb is giving the green light for federal officials to continue placing refugees in Indiana, following in the footsteps of a growing group of governors.
The state is expecting an additional $531 million in revenue over the next biennium, according to a forecast released Friday. The additional dollars would bring reserves up to $2.4 billion in 2020 and $2.6 billion in 2021.
Indiana lawmakers have not seriously debated proposals such as allowing medical marijuana or removing the threat of jail time for possessing small amounts of the drug, even as recreational marijuana sales have won approval in Michigan and Illinois and medical use is allowed in Ohio.
Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly. But the leadership support doesn’t make the bill a slam dunk.
Democrat Jonathan Weinzapfel announced his campaign Tuesday, saying he would “restore honor and integrity to the attorney general’s office.”
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said Tuesday that he wants the state to impose a hands-free-driving law in 2020. The proposal, which would prohibit the use of mobile phones while operating a motor vehicle, is part of the Republican governor’s 2020 legislative agenda.
Indiana currently ranks highest in prices paid to hospitals by private health insurance plans, according to The Journal Gazette, but the problem is not the actual cost or charge of a procedure—it’s what individuals ultimately pay after insurance.
Republicans who control the Indiana Statehouse aren’t showing any signs that a rally by several thousand teachers on its doorsteps two weeks ago has swayed them to boost education funding anytime soon.
