Legislation aimed at reducing health care costs passes, but impact could be weak
Despite lengthy debates on reducing health care costs this year, Indiana lawmakers eliminated the provision business leaders said was likely to have the most impact.
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Legislature passes controversial bill to block new Indy landlord-tenant rules
Tenant protections that the city of Indianapolis put in place just weeks ago are set to be overruled by state legislation that passed both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly on Wednesday.
Justices order body exhumed for original gravesite buyer’s use
A divided Indiana Supreme Court is ordering a cemetery to exhume a man from his burial place after the gravesite was accidentally sold to two buyers. The 3-2 majority of justices reversed in the original owner’s favor on Wednesday, ordering for the grave to be restored for her future use.
AG Hill: State agencies can’t use nonbinary gender marker
Indiana agencies are not allowed to use an “X” gender designation on identification documents for residents who don’t identify as male or female, the state attorney general said.
Bill to effectively ban panhandling in Indianapolis passes both chambers
Indiana lawmakers have taken steps to significantly expand the definition of panhandling in a measure that effectively bans the activity throughout downtown Indianapolis.
Distracted driving legislation approved by both chambers, heads to Holcomb
Get ready to put your cell phones down in the car. Legislation that bans drivers from holding or using cellphones while operating a motor vehicle passed the Indiana House and Senate on Tuesday and heads to Gov. Eric Holcomb, who is expected to sign it into law.
Big liquor chain sues Indiana for denying permit for Nora superstore
Just days after getting turned down for a liquor permit, a huge Maryland-based liquor retailer is suing the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, saying the denial was unconstitutional and amounted to economic protectionism.
US attorney reviewing polling places for ADA compliance
U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said his office is reviewing all polling places in the Southern District of Indiana to see if they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Charlestown zoo says state must provide inspector identities before inspection
The Charlestown zoo at the center both state and federal litigation is asking an Indianapolis court to delay an inspection scheduled to begin Friday until the identities of the inspectors are revealed, arguing the state litigation is being used to bolster federal claims brought by the animal-rights group PETA.
Indiana lawmakers back dropping tests in teacher evaluations
Indiana legislators have voted to end the mandatory use of student standardized test results in teacher evaluations, dropping a requirement long opposed by teachers.
Indiana lawmakers agree on tougher tobacco sales penalties
Indiana lawmakers are poised to double the fines stores could face for selling smoking or vaping products to anyone younger than 21 years old.
Right to Farm case ends with denial from Indiana Supreme Court
In ultimately denying transfer, a divided Indiana Supreme Court ended a dispute that pitted neighbor against neighbor and raised questions about whether the state’s Right to Farm Act was meant to cover an 8,000-head hog operation in Hendricks County.
Indiana ordered to pay $182K in abortion case attorney fees
The state of Indiana is on the hook for more than $182,000 in attorney fees and costs related to a long-fought legal battle over a controversial abortion law that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Slaughter invites challenges to reviews of agency adjudications
A Fulton County man will not be permitted to build a concrete seawall on his lakefront property after the Indiana Supreme Court unanimously denied transfer to his case. But Justice Geoffrey Slaughter wrote separately to invite legal challenges to the system for adjudicating agency legal disputes like the instant case out of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Indiana teacher gun training plan failing amid opposition
A legislative proposal for requiring annual training for teachers who carry guns inside Indiana schools was scuttled amid a disagreement over whether it infringed on gun rights. The legislation also was opposed by groups advocating for gun control.
New Virginia sentencing law ends high court’s DC sniper case
Lee Boyd Malvo, the Washington, D.C., area sniper, and the state of Virginia agreed Monday to dismiss a pending Supreme Court case after the state changed criminal sentencing law for juveniles.
Indiana panel backs ban on drivers using handheld phones
A proposal to ban drivers from using handheld cellphones on Indiana roads is advancing in the state Legislature after testimony from people who have been injured or lost loved ones in traffic crashes caused by distracted drivers.
Lake Michigan shore fight continues in court, Legislature
The years-long struggle between public and private rights along Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline continues in the Indiana Statehouse and in federal court, even as the state marks the two-year anniversary of a landmark Indiana Supreme Court decision that ruled in the public’s favor.
Fort Wayne gets future fire tax revenues for annexed area, divided COA rules
The city of Fort Wayne is entitled to tax revenues for providing fire protection services to annexed land in Allen County, but past revenues will stay with the original fire protection district that served the area before the annexation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday. A dissenting judge, however, questioned whether the case should have proceeded in the Indiana Tax Court instead.
Teacher unions: Children terrified by active shooter drills
The nation’s two largest teachers unions want schools to revise or eliminate active shooter drills, asserting that they can harm students’ mental health and that there are better ways to prepare for the possibility of a school shooting.