Indiana lawmakers require civics class for middle schoolers
A bill incorporating civics education into Hoosier students’ middle school curriculum is headed to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk after House lawmakers voted Thursday to pass the measure.
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Tribal court recognition bill returns to House with minor amendment
A bill extending full faith and credit to certain tribal court orders in Indiana is one step closer to the governor’s desk after the Senate this week gave its unanimous endorsement to the legislation. The bill now heads back to the House to consider an amendment that the bill’s author has already said he supports.
Senate panel narrowly advances Lake, St. Joe judicial nominating bill
A bill that would change how superior court judges are nominated in Lake and St. Joseph counties was uniformly opposed by lawyers and judges from those counties in a Senate hearing Wednesday but narrowly advanced on a 5-4 vote.
ALJ attorney fees bill heading into opposition at Senate hearing
After sailing through the House without a single vote in opposition, a bill that would enable individuals to recoup attorney fees from state agencies could hit a stiff wind Wednesday as public interest organizations are aligning to try to block the legislation from moving any further through the Statehouse.
Lake, St. Joseph judicial selection bill set for hearing Wednesday
Legislation that has drawn fire from bar associations and members of the legal community who say proposed changes to judicial appointments would politicize the trial court benches in Lake and St. Joseph counties will be heard Wednesday by a Senate committee.
Post-release mental health treatment bill clears Legislature
A “simple bill” brought before the General Assembly that would patch a hole preventing some inmates from quickly receiving mental health treatment upon release is on the way to Gov. Eric Holcomb after passing both chambers without amendment or a vote in opposition.
House passes immigration bills for farmworkers, ‘Dreamers’
The House has voted to unlatch a gateway to citizenship for young “Dreamers,” migrant farm workers and immigrants who have fled war or natural disasters, giving Democrats wins in the year’s first votes on an issue that faces an uphill climb in the Senate.
Rokita’s AG office defends governor’s mask order power in restaurant suit
Indiana’s attorney general’s office vigorously defended Gov. Eric Holcomb’s emergency powers in response to a restaurant’s lawsuit challenging his order that masks must be worn inside restaurants to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Bill extending full faith and credit to tribal orders heads to full Senate
A bill to extend full faith and credit to tribal court orders from the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians is headed to the Indiana Senate after a committee gave unanimous support to the legislation.
Bill giving guardians authority over final dispositions gets House support after Senate debate
A bill to extend the duties of guardians when an incapacitated adult dies was much better received in an Indiana House committee Tuesday than when the bill was introduced in the Senate.
Rokita joins Republican AGs questioning stimulus barring tax cuts
Republican attorneys general from 21 states, including Indiana, are questioning a provision in the $1.9 trillion pandemic rescue plan that bars states from using its funds to offset tax cuts.
Police reform bill heads to governor’s desk after 49-0 Senate vote
A significant law enforcement reform bill is headed to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb for his signature. The bill largely bans chokeholds and adds several measures addressing police accountability.
Letter to the editor: Proposed changes to merit selection may prove judicious
Your publication recently printed an article discussing the Indiana State Bar Association’s objections to Indiana Senate Joint Resolution 16. The bar association’s complaint about SJR 16, and the slant of the article, is that the resolution proposes to “strip” Hoosier voters of the power to retain Indiana appellate court judges and Supreme Court justices. I do not believe that complaint is well-founded.
DOC secrets remain after justices rule for disclosure
Despite a ruling in her favor from the Indiana Supreme Court capping her years-long quest to find out how the state of Indiana might carry out an execution, Washington, D.C., attorney Katherine Toomey was still waiting for answers two weeks later.
Election bills tweaking Indiana voting laws
Compared to the battles surrounding voting bills in states such as Iowa and Georgia, the six bills that are moving through the Indiana General Assembly appear to be making rather mild tweaks to Hoosier election laws rather than attempting a controversial overhaul.
Pro bono filing fee bill needs buzzer-beating play to pass Legislature
Although the Indiana General Assembly has unanimously supported a $1 pro bono surcharge tacked onto the state’s filing fee for civil cases since 2012, a bill that would have increased the amount to $3 did not get a committee hearing this session, raising alarm that the key funding stream for legal aid could run dry just as the need is growing.
Indiana could see $5.8 billion in new COVID relief money
Indiana officials have yet to describe any big plans for the influx of federal money expected from the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that Congress approved this week.
Holcomb administration disagrees with lawmakers on how to handle emergency powers
Indiana lawmakers on Thursday listened to four hours of testimony on how the governor’s powers should — or should not — be restricted during public emergencies and whether or not the approach they are taking is constitutional.
Indiana police reform bill sails through Senate committee
A bipartisan bill aimed at increasing police accountability and enacting criminal justice reform advanced with unanimous support from a key Indiana Senate committee Tuesday.
Work to keep voters informed continuing even in non-election year
In a year without an election, The Indiana Citizen, a nonprofit focused on increasing voter turnout, is transforming its website into a source of news and information about Hoosier politics, elected officials and civic issues that attorney co-founder Bill Moreau described as “our new venture into accountability journalism.”