Bills heading to governor’s desk
As the legislative session heads toward its March 14 close, several bills have passed both houses and are on their way to Gov. Mike Pence for his signature.
As the legislative session heads toward its March 14 close, several bills have passed both houses and are on their way to Gov. Mike Pence for his signature.
The Indiana General Assembly has adjourned for the week after working quickly to move bills out of the House of Representatives and Senate by their respective deadlines. The legislators also kept an eye on a winter storm heading toward Indiana Tuesday.
Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long announced Thursday morning that House Joint Resolution 3 – which seeks to amend Indiana’s Constitution to ban gay marriage – will be heard by the Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee.
Representatives of businesses that provide pre-settlement funding to plaintiffs said they would be forced out of Indiana by a proposal to cap their returns at 25 percent, after which a House committee advanced a bill that would do just that.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Brian Bosma Tuesday moved House Joint Resolution 3, which would ban same-sex marriage through Indiana’s Constitution, and related House Bill 1153 from the House Judiciary Committee to the Elections and Apportionment Committee. The move led Democrats to accuse the speaker of “changing the rules in the middle of the game.”
Legislation updating Indiana’s expungement law – including language specifying where a petition for expungement must be filed – is now eligible for consideration by the full House. The expungement bill is one of several that moved out of committee Thursday.
After more than three hours of testimony, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee recessed Monday without taking a vote on the constitutional marriage amendment and accompanying bill.
Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero, filed House Joint Resolution 3 Thursday, which looks to ban same-sex marriage in Indiana through the state Constitution. He also introduced a bill describing the legislative intent of offering the amendment.
The Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee will hold two final meetings in December – Dec. 10 and 19 – to look at funding and sentencing.
Addressing the Indiana House of Representatives, Speaker Brian Bosma encouraged legislators to move forward with the new criminal code and to provide the funding for community corrections programs.
The Indiana General Assembly will mark the official start of the 2014 legislative session with Organization Day on Nov. 19.
Fort Wayne attorney Casey B. Cox is being sworn in Tuesday as state representative for House District 85.
Proposed upgrades to three of the state’s correctional facilities will be among the items considered during Wednesday’s meeting of the Indiana State Budget Committee.
The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled the dispute over fines imposed on lawmakers resulting from Democratic walkouts during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions is outside of the court’s authority to render a decision.
Indiana legislators gathered Wednesday on the first regular technical session of the 118th General Assembly to vote on whether to override Gov. Mike Pence’s veto of House Enrolled Act 1546, a bill concerning tax administration matters. Pence vetoed the bill over concerns about retroactive approval of taxes collected in Jackson and Pulaski counties.
While Indiana’s Legislative Council passed by consent Thursday the resolution creating 18 commissions and interim study committees, leaders in the Indiana House of Representatives voiced concerns over the growing number of summer study committees and unwieldy list of topics to review.
The Indiana General Assembly completed its 2013 legislative session late Friday, passing a two-year budget that retroactively eliminates the state inheritance tax and increases funding for the Department of Child Services.
The Indiana Senate Friday passed the legislation that is the first comprehensive reform of the state’s criminal code in more than 35 years. It now goes to Gov. Mike Pence for his signature.
Gov. Mike Pence signed Senate Enrolled Act 486 Wednesday, which will allow three counties to appoint additional magistrates or judges.
The Indiana House of Representatives passed on concurrence several bills Wednesday, including legislation dealing with judicial technology and automation.