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Indiana Public Media News
Indiana’s legislative session begins on Jan. 4. Between COVID-19, redrawing legislative districts and setting the state’s two-year budget, lawmakers will be tackling a lot in the next few months.
Hundreds of bills are filed every year, and it’s difficult for even journalists – who are literally paid to – to keep up with all of them. How can you keep up? Here’s our guide for how to navigate Indiana’s legislative session.
Hundreds of bills are filed every year, and it’s difficult for even journalists – who are literally paid to – to keep up with all of them. How can you keep up? Here’s our guide for how to navigate Indiana’s legislative session.
Indiana House lawmakers debated a ban on so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports Monday.
A bill that originally aimed to remove protections for Indiana’s wetlands has undergone some big and somewhat contradictory changes.
Indiana Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kevin Brinegar said there’s no reason for legislators to be hesitant in increasing taxes on smoking.
Governor Eric Holcomb vetoed legislation Friday that would allow lawmakers to call a special session during a public emergency.
Jessica Fraser of the Indiana Institute for Working Families says Indiana’s TANF laws are in dire need of an update. Eligibility rules haven’t changed since the 1980s.
House Bill 1191 would now allow universities to put policies in place to make their buildings greener, but cities still wouldn’t be able to do so.
Legislation that would eliminate Indiana’s licenses to carry a handgun in public has been shot down by Senate Republicans.
Local governments in Indiana must prioritize protecting monuments and statues or risk losing funding if the governor signs a bill approved by the Senate Thursday.
Indiana Senate Republicans unveiled their $36 billion two-year state budget proposal Thursday – making a number of changes to the House’s K-12 funding plan and focusing heavily on one-time spending.
A main focus of the bill, SB 353, was requiring voters to include either their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number on applications for an absentee ballot.
The legislation mandates that school districts have to get permission from teachers each year before deducting union dues from their paycheck.
The bill change also alters mitigation requirements, which Republican Rep. Harold Slager, of Schererville, said is meant to help property owners cut down costs associated with wetlands upkeep.
Republicans easily pushed the proposal through the Indiana House, but Senate leaders have decided against taking up the bill in the final weeks of this year's legislative session.
Indiana doctors would be forced to tell patients about so-called “abortion reversal” protocols under legislation approved by the Senate Tuesday.
SB 187, requires Indiana State Police to prioritize investigation of anyone who damages or just vandalizes a monument, memorial, statue or other “commemorative” property, both public and private.
Religious organizations would be shielded from many health orders in future public emergencies under legislation approved by the House Tuesday.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Indiana Republican lawmakers to change the way local health officials are allowed to do their jobs during a public emergency.
A bill telling pregnant workers they can ask for workplace accommodations without retaliation is one step away from becoming law after it passed a final vote in the General Assembly.
The bill’s Republican sponsors say the proposal is aimed at preventing voter fraud by having similar voter ID requirements for mail voting as the state requires of people casting ballots in-person at polling sites.
Teachers could be required to take extra steps to keep their union membership if legislation headed to the House floor advances.
Bills aimed at increasing police accountability and ensuring Indiana’s public schools receive full funding for all students during the coronavirus pandemic were among 19 measures signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb Thursday.
The state GOP says increasing diversity within the party is a grassroots effort, and won't happen overnight.
Gov. Eric Holcomb and the legislature appear headed for a court battle over a bill that would allow lawmakers to call themselves into special session.
Senate Republicans won’t include an increase in the state’s cigarette tax in their budget proposal.
A new amendment in House Bill 1381 allows counties that have restrictive wind farm ordinances to keep them, but also encourages them to allow wind farms in special districts.
Emily Weikert Bryant is the executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. She noted food banks haven’t received an increase in the state budget for more than a decade.
Sen. Chris Garten’s (R-Charlestown) legislation, SB 5, says the local legislative body – county commissioners or a city council – would have to approve any health action that goes further than the state’s orders.
Parents giving consent for their child for an abortion would have to get that consent notarized under legislation approved by a Senate panel Wednesday.
The hydrogen production facility in Terre Haute is part of a state pilot program to test out carbon capture and storage technology.
Holcomb – in an opinion supported by legal experts – said the Indiana Constitution only allows the governor to call a special session.
Environmental groups and some lawmakers worry proposed legislation could pressure regulators to approve pollution permits they would otherwise deny.
A bill that would create a pilot program to study a financing tool for retiring coal plants early passed the House Monday and is headed to Governor Holcomb’s desk.
Proponents of accommodations want to see legislation passed that goes beyond existing protections in federal discrimination and disability laws. Several bills this session that would’ve done that died without a hearing.
The Senate approved a bill Monday that allows the General Assembly to call itself into special session during a statewide public emergency – legislation that could be unconstitutional.
Senate lawmakers opt against major changes to the emergency powers bill. Unemployment fraud legislation is headed to the governor’s desk. And House Republicans block debate on redistricting reform.
As of 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency now allows states to make up their own coal ash permitting program as long as it’s approved by the agency and “as protective as” federal coal ash rules.
The proposed K-12 funding plan in Indiana’s next two-year state budget adds $378 million. That includes an increase in base per student funding -- 1.25% during the first year and 2.5% in the second year.
The amendment doesn’t address a concern raised by Democratic lawmakers who want to see a more equal number of Democrats and Republicans on the task force.
Democrats have long pushed for an independent commission to draw the state’s legislative district lines. House Republicans used to support that too, until the last few years.
Lawmakers' efforts to expand school choice options are facing pushback from more than a hundred school corporations in Indiana, but a top lawmaker says a key piece of legislation that’s part of that effort won't have another hearing.
If signed into law, people who knowingly underreport wages or falsify facts on unemployment benefits applications will be required to repay it and could face civil penalties.
A bill that would require Hoosier middle schoolers to take one semester of civics education is just steps away from final passage.
Indiana senators are considering a second COVID-19 liability bill aiming to further protect medical providers from lawsuits more than a month after passing through the House.
Indiana has a new secretary of state. Landmark police reform is headed to the governor’s desk. And legislation on the governor’s emergency powers was significantly scaled back.
Senate lawmakers dramatically scaled back a plan to restrict the governor’s emergency powers, used extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dicamba has been known to drift off of the farm fields where it’s applied and damage neighboring crops.
Indiana legislative leaders say they want to end the 2021 session more than a week early. And they plan to take the unusual step of moving up their deadlines to do so.
The bill, HB 1006, requires all police to undergo de-escalation training and makes it easier for the state to de-certify those who commit misconduct, even without a criminal conviction.
The Senate approved the final form of Senate Bill 2 Tuesday, after lawmakers in the House gave their final approval on the legislation last week.
The legislation aims to crack down on people who misuse things like dicamba — a weed killer that’s been known to drift off of farm fields and kill neighboring crops.
Tense exchanges between Holcomb administration officials and lawmakers. The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus touts progress. And solving jail overcrowding. Here’s what you might have missed this week at the Statehouse.
Indiana lawmakers are working on a bill to increase the number of Hoosier students who file the federal application for college financial aid.
Lawmakers had tense exchanges with members of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration Thursday over legislation that would curb the governor’s emergency powers.
The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus says its “call to action days” – bringing advocates to the Statehouse – are making an impact on the legislature.
A bipartisan bill aimed at increasing police accountability and enacting criminal justice reform advanced to the full Indiana Senate after a committee unanimously approved the measure Tuesday.
House Bill 1068, approved by a Senate committee Tuesday, creates local Justice Reinvestment Advisory Councils that could help solve Indiana’s jail overcrowding problem.
The second half of the General Assembly’s session got off to a slow start: Senate lawmakers debated the details of a program to help small businesses and a bill to guarantee schools their full funding is closer to passage.
House Bill 1005 would expand the state's school voucher program and create a new funding option for some families not enrolled in public schools.
The head of Indiana’s House Republicans says he will not tolerate unruly behavior from his GOP colleagues.
The legislation essentially puts into law a program created by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation last year, using federal COVID-19 relief dollars.
Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) has authored a bill to allow speed cameras in highway construction zones for two years now. He said its biggest obstacle has nothing to do with Indiana.
The Indiana General Assembly wraps up the first half of its session: the House passes the state budget, the Senate shackles the governor over emergency powers and elimination of Indiana’s handgun licenses is a step closer.
More than 100 businesses across downtown Indy, Fort Wayne and Lafayette were damaged after largely peaceful BLM protests escalated into clashes with police last summer. Senate Bill 198 is a response to those protests.
Indiana Senate Democrats say Republicans haven’t focused on helping working Hoosiers in the first half of the 2021 session.
Legislative leaders have sidelined a proposed ban on adopting local housing design standards in Indiana cities and counties.
The bill is a reaction to many lawmakers’ unhappiness with executive orders Gov. Eric Holcomb issued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the bill, a first stop-arm violation would be a Class B infraction accompanied by a fine of up to $1,000. Any subsequent violations would be Class A infractions with fines of up to $10,000 per incident.
The Indiana attorney general and special prosecutors would be empowered to take over cases that local prosecutors won’t charge under legislation narrowly approved by the Senate.
IBLC Chair Robin Shackleford (D-Indianapolis) said there should be reprimands for all involved – but that they don’t need to be punitive.
Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) said his chamber needs to take steps forward after the “step backward” last week that culminated with lawmakers having to be physically separated from each other.
House Republicans approved a new, two-year, $36 billion budget Monday they say boosts education and helps businesses recover from the pandemic. Democrats, however, say the GOP budget fails to adequately lift people up.
Bill author Rep. Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn) said the license is nothing more than an unnecessary hurdle for people who are constitutionally allowed to carry a handgun.
Ten years ago, Indiana House Democrats walked out of the Statehouse and headed to Illinois in the middle of session, halting all legislative business for more than a month.
In a workshare program, employers could plan with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development so their employees could get partial unemployment benefits for lost hours of pay while keeping their jobs.
School voucher expansion clears the House. The Senate passes a bill to more harshly penalize rioters. And a measure banning “defund the police” is soundly rejected.
Jennifer Smith-Margraf, Indiana State Teachers Association vice president, said her union is being targeted by lawmakers, and will continue to fight the legislation in the House.
The Senate has staggered its staff throughout session – half at home, half in the office – to avoid losing lots of people to quarantine if an outbreak occurred. Now, all staff will work in-person the whole week.
Two Black Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns on the House floor about what they viewed as discriminatory issues with a bill and a group of Republicans booed and heckled them.
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law today Thursday legislation giving businesses and institutions liability protections from most COVID-19 lawsuits.
Indiana cities will be largely blocked from regulating rental properties after state lawmakers voted Wednesday to override the governor’s veto of the prohibition.
Legislation to allow pregnant women to ask employers for accommodations at work was heard in the Indiana House on Tuesday, but critics say it’s too weak and doesn’t actually change anything.
High school courses in areas like culinary arts and cosmetology could lose state funding if a budget proposal from Republican lawmakers passes.
The governor’s authority to declare disaster emergencies would be severely restricted under legislation unanimously approved by a Senate committee Tuesday.
People involved in protests that turn violent would face new or harsher criminal penalties under legislation easily approved by the Indiana Senate Tuesday.
Controversial legislation that would create Indiana's first educational savings account program and expand the eligibility of state-funded private school vouchers to families with double the state's median income passed out of the House Tuesday.
Some Indiana Senate Republicans want the state to take over prosecution of crimes that a local prosecutor won’t charge.
The Indiana Senate thoroughly rejected legislation Monday that would have tied the hands of local governments when managing their public safety budgets.
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s signature is all that separates Hoosier businesses, health care systems and schools from COVID-19 liability protections.
A bipartisan group of former Indiana education chiefs are speaking out against Republican-led legislation to expand the state’s private school voucher program.
Indiana doctors would be forced to tell patients their medication-induced abortions can be reversed under legislation approved by a House committee Monday. The broader scientific community says that claim is unproven and unethical.
Indiana’s governor and Election Commission would be blocked from ever again changing how and when an election is conducted under a bill passed by a Senate committee.
Indiana’s license requirement to carry a handgun in public would now be eliminated in March 2022, instead of July 2021.
Indiana lawmakers want to make sure local governments don’t ban children from operating lemonade stands. And there's a bill unanimously approved by the House and on its way to the Senate that does just that.
Henry County Councilor Betsy Mills said she’s not against clean energy, but she is against the state infringing upon the rights of local governments to decide what’s best for their communities.
House Republicans unveil their budget proposal. Lawmakers debate eliminating Indiana’s license to carry a handgun. And the Senate approves a bill giving local city and county leaders more power to overturn health orders.
Senate Bill 1 would limit legal action from Hoosiers against companies, hospitals, schools and other organizations for damages related to COVID-19.
A state House bill would require preschools and day care centers to test for lead in drinking water and take action if lead levels are too high.
The House GOP budget prioritizes increases for school vouchers and virtual schools.
Under the bill, long-term care facilities would also be required to participate in the state health department’s Essential Family Caregivers Program during a declared emergency, a public health emergency, or similar crisis.
