Bill making school board elections partisan has died in committee
UPDATE: A bill that would have put an end to Indiana’s nonpartisan school board elections has died in a House committee. After drawing sharp criticism and no public support in testimony during a hearing earlier this month, House Bill 1182 was not return to the House Electio “...”
In township hearings, city-county redistricting process is under way with familiar complaints
The following report from Indianapolis Recorder writer Tyler Fenwick was first published in the Recorder, and is shared through The Indiana Citizen redistricting reporting project. *** No, you’re not stuck in a time loop. Redistricting is happening again, this time locally with “...”
Amended elections bill would add more restrictions on absentee voting
A bill dealing with electronic voting machines was amended in an Indiana House committee Tuesday to add provisions that would further tighten the state’s absentee voting laws, already among the nation’s most restrictive. House Bill 1116, as introduced on Jan. 11, incl “...”
CIVIC HEALTH INDEX: With some of the nation’s most restrictive voting laws, Indiana’s turnout dips even lower in national ranks
The 2021 Indiana Civic Health Index unveiled Tuesday showed that although the state has taken its first steps toward improving civic education in its schools, Hoosiers still rank low nationally for participation in the voting process. Civic health can be evaluated statistically “...”
Transgender student-athlete bill draws testimony, advances to House floor
Ask both sides what the debate over transgender student-athletes’ inclusion in sports comes down to and they will likely give the same answer: fairness. Rep. Michelle Davis (above), R-Whiteland, has authored House Bill 1041 in an attempt to require non-postsecondary schools to “...”
House passes vaccine mandate bill
UPDATE: A House bill that would give employees exemptions to workplace vaccine mandates and end Indiana’s state of emergency passed on to the Senate with a vote of 57-35 Tuesday. All Democrats and seven Republicans voted no on House Bill 1001, which would require businesses imp “...”
‘DO THE RIGHT THING:’ Reformers urge City-County Council to adopt independent redistricting
Common Cause Indiana and its allies are calling on the Democratic-controlled Indianapolis City-County Council to “do the right thing” and turn the redrawing of council districts into a nonpartisan affair. “That would really send a message that would resonate the five or six “...”
City-County Council announces public hearings on redistricting
The Indianapolis City-County Council has announced a series of nine public hearings, one in each of Marion County’s nine townships, on the redistricting process that will take place in 2022. “The effort marks the first time in Indianapolis history that the Council is “...”
Education bill that drew ridicule for author’s remarks on Nazism is killed, Senate president says
UPDATE: Indiana Senate President Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, announced Friday that Senate Bill 167, which would have prohibited the teaching of certain topics in Indiana classrooms among other provisions, will not be considered further. In a statement released by the Senate Repu “...”
‘The government emergency room:’ Chief Justice delivers State of the Judiciary address
Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush (above) provided an update Wednesday on the Indiana court system in her State of the Judiciary address, her eighth to date. Rush said she is proud Indiana’s court system has persevered through the last few years of the coronavirus pandemic. Sh “...”