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 “...”
John Krull commentary: Holcomb turns the heat down
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb had a peculiar political problem as he prepared to deliver his sixth State of the State Address.The Indiana General Assembly was only a week into the 2022 session when he stepped before the lectern in the House chamber. That week, though, has been time e “...”
Governor’s State of the State address strikes upbeat tone amid ongoing pandemic
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s sixth State of the State address Tuesday evening—in person after being virtual last year—reflected his legislative agenda in upbeat terms, highlighting successes in the economy, workforce and law enforcement before acknowledging the looming ongoing prese “...”
Indiana Black Legislative Caucus tackling racial disparities during 2022 session
Members of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus said they are working as a group during the 2022 legislative session to help dismantle systems that have harmed Black communities in Indiana. The IBLC, a joint House and Senate caucus of Black legislators, announced its legislative “...”
House bill limiting classroom topics, materials amended and passed in committee
A controversial Indiana House bill limiting topics discussed in the classroom, requiring teachers to post curriculum materials and adding parental input, was amended and passed in committee, mostly along party lines. House Bill 1134, authored by Rep. Anthony Cook, R-Cicero, is a “...”
After falling short in 2021, bill to limit absentee voting, tighten application process is revived for ’22
After dying in a conference committee in the final days of the 2021 session, an Indiana Senate bill that would limit the state’s authority to reschedule elections and tighten the application process for absentee ballots has been revived in 2022. Senate Bill 329, again authored “...”
Reform groups’ legislative agenda targets voting rights, redistricting
The League of Women Voters of Indiana met Thursday at the Indiana State Library to discuss its legislative agenda—what bills to advocate for and against this legislative session—with a gloomy theme: “Democracy hanging by a thread.” “We’re looking at another decade of “...”
Indiana Senate committee approves resolution calling for rare constitutional convention
An Indiana Senate committee Wednesday approved a proposal calling for a rare constitutional convention to keep the number of Supreme Court justices at nine. The proposal, Senate Joint Resolution 3, authored by Sen. Jim Buck (above), R-Kokomo, drew skepticism from members of bot “...”
With primary candidate filing less than a week away, St. Joseph County’s district lines are unresolved
UPDATE: The infighting over St. Joseph County’s redistricting process continued this week as the Republican-controlled Board of County Commissioners vetoed “contingency” maps redrawn by the County Council, only to have the veto overridden by the Democrat-led council. The “...”