News

The Indiana Civil Rights Commission is stepping up its efforts to educate Hoosiers and help prevent racial profiling after a recent spike in reported incidents.

Top state lawmakers will meet at the Statehouse this week to establish the General Assembly’s top priorities for this summer’s study committees, but some are worried about the high number of issues they’ll have to consider this year.

Advocates for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia say new legislation will help ensure law enforcement know how to deal with that growing segment of the population.

Legislation unanimously approved by the General Assembly was developed largely in response to an incident in Peru, Ind., in which police used a stun gun several times on an elderly Alzheimer’s patient after he became aggressive. 

Three Indiana groups whose specialty license plates were suspended last year have been told negotiations to recover them are off.

Governor Mike Pence and Speaker Brian Bosma are making nice after a legislative session where their disagreements over Pence’s tax cut proposal were often public.  

This year’s session of the Indiana General Assembly was largely framed by two debates – Governor Mike Pence’s proposed ten percent income tax cut and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. 

House Speaker Brian Bosma says the legislature is largely finished dealing with implementation of the Affordable Care Act this session.

A new revenue forecast predicts even stronger tax revenue growth for Indiana over the next two years, but House and Senate fiscal leaders say it will not dramatically alter budget negotiations.

The April revenue forecast unveiled Tuesday shows a $290 million increase from December projections, with the biggest predicted gains coming from individual income taxes.  Senate Appropriations Chair Luke Kenley said the new forecast is good news but cautioned against reading too much into it as budget negotiations progress over the next two weeks.

The Indiana House Monday passed a school safety bill minus a controversial provision that could have required schools to arm teachers and principals.

The school safety bill creates a $10 million grant fund Indiana schools can use to evaluate existing school safety measures, purchase safety equipment or hire school resource officers –law enforcement with extra training for work in the school environment. 

Legislation regulating the abortion-inducing drug known as RU-486 is headed to the governor’s desk after the Senate approved changes made in the House.

The original legislation required women receiving RU-486 to undergo an ultrasound prior to receiving the drug.  Changes made in the House allow women to opt-out of viewing the ultrasound or listening to the fetal heartbeat.