In the last days of the legislative session, lawmakers addressed funding proposals in HB 1154 on converting Marion County commissioners into magistrates and using a $35 fee on traffic infractions to pay for this; SB 307 that would allow a $50 fee on Bartholomew County traffic infractions to pay for a new Superior Court there; and SB 399 on capping traffic violation fines statewide.
Energy is one of the major issues environmentalists and lawyers who work with companies concerned about green technology are keeping an eye on during the 2010 Indiana legislative session.
In his 35 years as a lawyer-legislator, Sen. Richard Bray has thought about whether he should get involved in litigation because
of his role as an elected state official. While he doesn't recall this ever affecting his involvement on a case or legislation
before him, the veteran attorney from Martinsville, who practices with his son at The Bray Law Office, sees how it could present
problems.
An amended version of House Bill 1193, which came about as a result of a juvenile justice conference in August, passed out of the Senate's Judiciary Committee 6-1 Feb. 10. One major change in the bill approved by the committee was the deletion of the section about training for police officers who deal with juveniles on a regular basis.
For a little more than a year, Grant Superior Judge Mark Spitzer has presided over his local drug court and
has witnessed what he describes as remarkable results from the problem-solving court model.
State lawmakers want to crack down on child support collections and make it tougher for deadbeat parents to not pay what's owed.
Lawmakers are considering legislation that would repeal a last-minute 2009 special session provision that gave the Indiana Department of Child Services key control in deciding whether juveniles should be placed outside the state.
A juvenile justice summit by the Indiana State Bar Association in August has led to the introduction of a bill that would change how students are treated in schools and hopefully decrease the number of school suspensions while increasing statewide graduation rates.
In the first week after the Indiana General Assembly returned, lawmakers addressed several bills during two key committee meetings particularly relevant to the state's legal community.
A legislative committee this week unanimously approved a bill that would cap the fines a court could assess for traffic violations.
Lawmakers rejected a southern Indiana county's request this week for a new judge to run a family court, even though it proposes paying for it locally rather than with state money.
The Indiana General Assembly tried to end the session more than a week before the constitutional March 14 deadline, but impasses on school funding and unemployment insurance caused the legislators to miss their March 4 self-imposed deadline.
Although the deadline has passed to introduce new legislation, St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak has called on legislators to find current bills that will allow amendments to statute in response to two separate car accidents involving police officers.
The 2010 session of the Indiana General Assembly wrapped up Thursday with Gov. Mitch Daniels signing the remaining legislation pending before him.
During the final week of committee hearings before the Indiana General Assembly reaches its midpoint, the legal community watched as many bills died in their current form for lack of a hearing while others remained in play and moved to the full House or Senate for a potential vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee spent most of its time this week discussing the definition of marriage in Indiana and whether
a constitutional amendment should be sent to voters to make it tougher for courts and legislators to rewrite how they
handle both gay marriage and civil unions.
At the midway point in this Indiana General Assembly session, dozens of bills died this week when one house didn't vote on them while others moved on for further consideration.
With legislative deadlines fast approaching for the Indiana General Assembly, lawmakers have reached crunch time in moving legislation through for consideration before the short session comes to a close.
The full Senate will now decide whether casinos should be forced to check if certain gamblers winning larger jackpots are on a delinquent child support list, and if those gaming winnings should be automatically frozen and put toward the amount owed.
As this year's legislative session winds down, several bills of interest to the legal community have made it through both
houses, but many remained stuck in conference committee Thursday.