House passes constitutional carry; bill awaits Senate review
Update: A bill that would repeal Indiana’s requirement for a license to carry a handgun passed the Indiana House Feb. 22. Authored by Rep. Ben Smaltz (above), R-Auburn, HB 1369 was advanced to the Senate in a 65-31 vote. Before the vote, legislators spoke in support of and in o “...”
Budget bill passes House amid debate over education priorities
A Republican-authored proposal for a two-year, $36 million state budget is on its way to the Indiana Senate. House Bill 1001, authored by House Ways and Means Chairman Timothy Brown (above), R-Crawfordsville, passed the House Monday evening in a 65-30 vote. “Let us have a vis “...”
Senate passes bill giving legislature sole authority to reschedule elections, expand absentee voting
UPDATE: A bill to prohibit the Indiana Election Commission and the governor from altering the times and dates of elections passed the Senate Monday. Senate Bill 353, authored by Senator Erin Houchin (above), R-Salem, advanced to the House in a 34-15 vote. It would give only the “...”
John Krull commentary: Lawmakers behaving badly, again
Something about Black people speaking their minds scares the heck out of conservatives who like to present themselves as staunch defenders of liberty. These rightwing tough guys are so freaked out by free speech that they melt down even when the people who are calling them out do “...”
IndyGo transit system sees future threatened in Senate
A bill that would limit funding for Indianapolis’ IndyGo transit system passed a Senate committee Thursday and will now go to the full Senate for further consideration. Senate Bill 141 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee in a 7-5 vote. The vote was originally tied, 6-6, “...”
Booing, jeering, hallway altercations mar House debate on school district boundaries bill
A bill concerning school district boundaries that some are calling racist sparked an emotional and angry debate in the Indiana House Thursday. GOP legislators jeered from their seats, several walked out of the chamber and a few even clashed in the halls after Black legislators sp “...”
House overwhelmingly passes civics education bill
UPDATE: The Indiana House on Thursday passed a bill requiring that civics education become a required class in middle schools, a change that supporters encouraged as an early step toward improving Indiana’s lagging civic health. The vote on House Bill 1384 was nearly unanim “...”
House passes expanded voucher program; bill goes to Senate
The Indiana Senate will now review legislation expanding the state’s school voucher program, already one of the largest in the nation. House Bill 1005, which expands funding for Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program passed the House in a vote of 61-36 Tuesday. This program “...”
House overrides Holcomb veto; bill barring local regulation of landlord-tenant dealings to become law
The Indiana House voted to override Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of a bill barring local governments from regulating dealings between landlords and their tenants Wednesday afternoon. The override of Senate Enrolled Act 148 passed by a 67-32 vote and clears the way for the motion to “...”
Bill amended to give legislature sole authority to reschedule elections, expand vote-by-mail
An Indiana Senate bill that would have set new requirements for voting has been amended instead to give the Indiana General Assembly sole authority to reschedule elections and expand absentee voting as Gov. Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Election Commission did with the Indiana pri “...”