HOMELESS BILL ADVANCES: HB 1662, which bans street camping, passes House committee despite opposition
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen February 18, 2025 Despite continued opposition from organizations that serve the homeless and concerns from two Republican legislators about some of the requirements being imposed, the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee on Mon “...”
‘CRIMINALIZATION’ OF HOMELESS: Indiana bill banning street camping is inhumane and ignores lack of housing, critics say
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen February 14, 2025 Doris Jones, a resident of Indianapolis, knows about homelessness from firsthand experience. The single mother of two works two jobs and is attending school with the hopes of becoming an early childhood educator. However, “...”
FAILING GRADE: Advocacy groups use Democracy Day to rate legislature, press lawmakers on ‘anti-voter legislation’
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen February 14, 2025 With the midpoint of the 2025 legislative session coming in one week, voter advocacy groups from across the state are giving the Indiana General Assembly a failing grade for advancing election and voting bills that they sa “...”
TSF story: Indiana’s eviction epidemic as seen from the small courts that are trying to help
This story was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com By Schyler Altherr TheStatehouseFile.com February 13, 2025 TheStatehouseFile.com traveled to the Wayne Township Small Claims Court on the west side of Indianapolis last week, where court workers say they see an excess “...”
TSF Story: Indiana high-schoolers tell lawmakers how gun violence has affected them
This story was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com By Schyler Altherr TheStatehouseFile.com February 10, 2025 Hoosier high-school students arrived at the Indiana Statehouse Monday morning to protest gun violence. These students have grown up in a time when the leading c “...”
TPR CASE NOT OVER: Doctors Bernard, Rouse renew fight to keep terminated pregnancy reports private
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen February 11, 2025 Less than a week after Voices for Life and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office announced a settlement to release terminated pregnancy reports, two Indianapolis OB/GYNs are asking Marion County Superior Court to “...”
TSF story: More than 10 Indiana bills look to crack down on illegal immigration or help ICE
This story was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com. By Anna Cecil TheStatehouseFile.com February 10, 2024 Indiana’s supermajority Republican General Assembly is scrutinizing more than 10 immigration bills, most of which are still sitting in committee. The bills would “...”
HARD-WON SECOND CHANCE: Veteran’s recognition at Statehouse shows power of problem-solving courts
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen February 10, 2025 Mark McDaniel recently found himself in a place he never thought he would be – the Indiana Statehouse getting a standing ovation from lawmakers and members of the judiciary. A former heavy equipment operator in the India “...”
TSF story: Another Indiana civics bill asks when and how to teach America’s flaws
This story was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com By Anna Cecil TheStatehouseFile.com February 7, 2025 In 2022, the Indiana Board of Education approved new civics standards for sixth graders. These standards came after the establishment of the Indiana Civic Education “...”
ELECTION SECURITY OR DISENFRANCHISEMENT? GOP lawmakers greenlighting contentious Indiana bills
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen February 7, 2025 Of the numerous election and voting bills filed in the 2025 Indiana General Assembly session, the two bills described by Common Cause Indiana as the worst – Senate Bill 10 and House Bill 1680 – are moving through the St “...”