New laws for 2017
Indiana’s legislators passed more than250 new laws on topics including e-liquid reform, inheritance tax repeals, and overhaul of uniform business organization laws.
Government
Articles
New data reporting law aims to aid anti-recidivism efforts
As Indiana continues its efforts to curb offender recidivism, a new bill set to take effect next month will put more requirements on offender treatment and rehabilitation programs to offer insights into the anti-recidivism methods that work.
Scopelitis: HB 1002 balances higher trucking fees, infrastructure help
The trucking industry, a vital part of the state’s economy, had a special interest in House Bill 1002, both because the state looked to the industry to bear a significant share of the funding and because the industry relies on well maintained, free-flowing roads.
Rewrite of business organization laws provides uniformity, clarity
All it took to simplify Indiana’s business organization laws was a 149-page bill.
Treatment seen as antidote for opioid crisis
The Indiana Legislature approved several measures to expand recovery programs and prevent spread of opioid epidemic.
Children’s commission’s annual report sets 3-year plan
The Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana has set a three-year plan emphasizing child safety and services, juvenile justice, mental health, substance abuse and educational outcomes as key priorities.
Pharmakon owner, compliance director face criminal charges
The owner and the director of compliance for Noblesville-based Pharmakon Pharmaceuticals Inc. have been charged with multiple criminal counts related to the sale of compounded painkillers that were as much as 25 times more potent than they should have been, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Records show congressman’s wife works part time in $240K job
The wife of a likely Senate candidate averages a 26.5-hour work week in her $240,000-a-year job doing legal consulting for an Indianapolis suburb, according to timesheets reviewed by The Associated Press.
Indianapolis to receive Justice Department aid to fight crime
The Justice Department says it will offer its resources to help 12 U.S. cities, including Indianapolis, fight violent crime.
Indiana to pay firm $100k to handle Pence email requests
Indiana is paying a law firm $100,000 to help deal with a backlog of public records requests, most of which seek emails from Vice President Mike Pence's tenure as governor, including correspondence routed through a private AOL.com account he used to conduct state business.
Indianapolis seeks submissions for criminal justice center services
The Indianapolis Bond Bank is looking for firms interested in working on the city’s new criminal justice center — from providing civil engineering services to mechanical, electrical and plumbing work.
Pence hires veteran Washington lawyer to handle Russia probe
Vice President Mike Pence has hired an outside legal counsel with deep experience in Washington, D.C., to assist with investigations into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Drug makers being probed by states over opioid marketing
State attorneys general from across the U.S., including Indiana, have started a joint investigation into whether drug manufacturers are illegally marketing and selling opioids, a critical question as the country faces an epidemic leading to tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year.
Indianapolis hires first director of re-entry
An administrator with the Marion County Public Defender Agency has been named the first director of re-entry for the city of Indianapolis’ Office of Health and Public Safety.
Health chief, 4 others charged with manslaughter in Flint
Five people, including the head of Michigan's health department, were charged Wednesday with involuntary manslaughter in an investigation of Flint's lead-contaminated water, all blamed in the death of an 85-year-old man who had Legionnaires' disease.
Minimum-security prison in Indianapolis to close this summer
State officials say a minimum-security prison that's operated in Indianapolis for nearly 150 years will close its doors this summer.
Trump administration calls for overhaul of Wall Street rules
The Trump administration laid out its highly anticipated plan for overhauling bank rules, calling on the government to ease, though not eliminate, many of the strictures that were imposed on Wall Street after the financial crisis.
McKinney grad named to rural affairs USDA post
An Indiana native and graduate of Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law has been named to a U.S. Department of Agriculture post overseeing rural issues. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced Monday that Anne Hazlett will lead the USDA's rural development agencies.
State’s $25 million payout in DCS abuses case is the largest ever of its kind
The Indiana attorney general and Department of Child Services’ decision to settle a lawsuit brought by a wrongly prosecuted family yielded the largest payment of its type in state history.
9th Circuit upholds block on Trump’s travel ban
Another U.S. appeals court upheld a decision blocking President Donald Trump's revised travel ban Monday, dealing the administration another legal defeat as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a separate case on the issue.