With a little more than a week left before the Republican-dominated Indiana Legislature convenes for a special session, not much is known about what its abortion-related legislation will look like, or exactly how soon bills will be filed.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb sidestepped taking a stance Tuesday on how far the Republican-dominated Legislature should go in restricting abortions when state lawmakers begin a special session in less than two weeks.
Dozens of Republicans who back pro-life issues refused to comment on a possible Indiana abortion ban, leaving a key Right to Life attorney’s proposal as the primary discussion point in the Indiana General Assembly.
Indiana House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, joined lawmakers from Florida, South Dakota, Nebraska and Montana for a discussion with Vice President Kamala Harris about abortion, which she called “one of the most challenging and troubling issues of the day.”
A multiweek special legislative session to consider tax refunds and new abortion restrictions is expected to cost Indiana taxpayers at least $280,000 in additional compensation to the state’s 150 lawmakers.
Indiana’s abortion laws will likely be tightened even before the Legislature is expected to start debating additional abortion restrictions later this month.
The weeks between now and the start of the Indiana Legislature’s special session might be the calm before the storm. With the U.S. Supreme Court sending abortion decisions back to the states, Indiana Republican leadership expanded the agenda for the special session from tax relief to also include the crafting of a new abortion law.
The Indiana governor’s office racked up more than $500,000 in legal bills for its successful court fight against an attempt by state legislators to give themselves more power to intervene during public health emergencies.
Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday he is calling lawmakers back to the Indiana Statehouse on July 6 to consider his plan to send $1 billion in refunds to Indiana taxpayers.
Following is the complete list of legislation enacted during the 2022 legislative session. Bills take effect July 1 unless otherwise noted.
Within Senate Enrolled Act 388, the words “food” and “national security” do not appear. Yet the new law that prohibits foreign businesses from buying and owning Hoosier farmland places Indiana among the states that have enacted such statutes to ensure Americans have enough to eat.
The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol laid the blame firmly on Donald Trump Thursday night, saying the assault was hardly spontaneous but an “attempted coup” and a direct result of the defeated president’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Gov. Eric Holcomb announced a plan on Thursday to call a special legislative session at the end of June and propose that $1 billion in state reserves be returned to Indiana taxpayers.
Recent mass shootings have reignited debate over gun control laws across the country, including in Indiana, which is set to have a permitless handgun law go into effect July 1 despite public condemnation by law enforcement leaders and public safety groups.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita offers his support to legislators regarding the new law concerning transgender athletes.
In what is being called “the right decision,” the Indiana Supreme Court has overturned the law that allowed the Legislature to call itself into a special session. However, the debate over whether the governor should have the exclusive power to convene the General Assembly when the legislators are out of session might not be settled.
In its 31-page opinion on House Enrolled Act 1123, the Indiana Supreme Court devoted 10 pages to rejecting all of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s arguments that the governor should not have been permitted to even file his lawsuit.
A unanimous Indiana Supreme Court has found HEA 1123, the controversial law allowing the Legislature to call itself into special session, violates the state’s constitution, handing Gov. Eric Holcomb a victory in a fight with the legislators that was ignited by the restrictions implemented during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the Legislative Council rejected a request to study the topic of providing attorneys to children in the child welfare system, Indiana state Sen. Jon Ford plans to keep pushing the matter by convening an independent study group to examine the issue.
As Indiana Republican leaders say they continue to support a special session to consider further restricting abortion access in the Hoosier State should the U.S. Supreme Court overrun Roe v. Wade, one legislator said the women in the Indiana General Assembly could have a significant impact on any resulting laws.