A bill that defines the shore of Lake Michigan as belonging to the public and spells out public recreational uses of the shoreline has moved to the full Indiana Senate. Meanwhile, a petition seeking to privatize Indiana’s Great Lakes beaches will be before justices of the Supreme Court of the United States this week.
The House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code on Wednesday unanimously stripped a proposed bill of language that would have required Indiana public officials to serve prison time for theft of taxpayer dollars. In its place, the committee added a provision to recoup any monetary losses from the pension funds of officials convicted of theft.
Indiana Republicans eager for a rare legal victory in their efforts to restrict abortion rights are seeking to outlaw a second-trimester procedure, hopeful an increasingly conservative U.S. Supreme Court will back a ban that courts have blocked in seven other states.
Smaller political parties would face lower requirements to get their candidates on Indiana's ballot under a bill backed by a legislative panel.
Indiana is again appealing to the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn a preliminary injunction blocking a state abortion law, this one requiring women to get an ultrasound at least 18 hours before the procedure. The provision was included in House Enrolled Act 1337, which was signed into law by then-Gov. Mike Pence in 2016.
A bill that would require counties using electronic voting systems to also maintain a paper trail is moving forward at the Indiana General Assembly.
Planned Parenthood’s affiliate overseeing Hawaii and three western states announced Friday that it was adding Indiana and Kentucky, a first-of-its-kind consolidation based not on geography but on reallocating resources to fight new abortion restrictions in the Midwest and South. The arrangement places Indiana and Kentucky under a Seattle-based affiliate that currently oversees clinics in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho and Washington.
A state senator accused of having a conflict of interest over a bill he filed that seeks to eliminate the state’s child labor laws has essentially withdrawn the proposal from consideration this year.
The parents of a 13-year-old boy who opened fire in a Noblesville West Middle School classroom last year say they could not foresee his actions and deny any responsibility for them.
Indiana legislators are considering creating an amnesty period for homeowners and businesses to pay overdue property taxes without the penalty fees and interest.
An Indiana lawmaker’s efforts to eliminate the state’s child labor laws have raised conflict of interest concerns because he employs hundreds of minors at a ski resort.
Guided by a task force report that calls for major reforms to Indiana’s indigent defense system, the Indiana Public Defender Commission is seeking additional funds in the state’s next biennial budget to improve defense services for indigent clients.
Some men and women whose mothers were unkowningly impregnated by their fertility doctor’s own sperm are upset that an Indiana legislative panel isn’t endorsing a proposed state law specifically against such actions.
On the 46th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, supporters and opponents scheduled rallies at the Indiana Statehouse, underscoring the deep divide over the ruling that remains more than four decades later. Advocates of reproductive rights gathered on the fourth floor of the Statehouse Tuesday to begin their push for Senate Bill 589, while Indiana Right to Life had a rally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
The Indiana General Assembly has taken the first step toward allowing Indiana counties to create regional public defenders’ offices, a change that has been championed as a means of reducing public defender caseloads and eliminating the appearance of judicial impropriety when appointing indigent defense.
In 1943, an Indiana farmer grew hemp on Hoosier soil to produce manufactured fibers, contributing to the efforts of World War II. More than 70 years later, his son is now poised to grow that same hemp legally in the state for the first time since.
Legislators in 2018 introduced a slew of bills trying to bring more collaboration and modest adjustments to the Department of Child Services. Lawmakers this year have introduced at least 25 bills impacting CHINS, foster parents and DCS caseloads, among other things.
After the Indiana Supreme Court struck down a state law allowing railroads to be fined for lengthy blockages of train crossings, legislation filed in the 2019 General Assembly seeks another avenue of relief for Hoosier motorists held up by trains, especially motorists driving emergency responders.
After sexual misconduct and harassment allegations were leveled at Attorney General Curtis Hill and House Speaker Brian Bosma, harassment-related legislation is again being considered by the General Assembly, this year taking specific aim at accused elected officials.
A Senate bill that would allow the Indiana Public Defender Commission to create guidelines for a multi-county public defender’s office will be heard by a committee Tuesday.