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Three utility-related bills pass the House
Three bills sponsored by Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, could soon move to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk for a final signature after passing the Indiana House on Monday. Two of the bills – one establishing utility receiverships and another increasing the cap on pay that trustees on utility boards can earn – received no opposition, passing […]
Lawmaker proposes removing stigmatizing HIV language from criminal code
A bill removing stigmatizing language referencing HIV, drafted in a time of anti-gay hysteria, from the Indiana code needs more work and will be amended before a vote next week. In contrast to other highly communicable diseases, HIV is one of the only medical conditions singled out in law with punitive enhancements – which advocates […]
U.S. House votes to avert calamitous rail strike, but Senate prospects murky
The U.S. House moved Wednesday to avoid an economically disastrous nationwide rail strike, voting to codify an agreement that members of some unions had already rejected and separately add paid sick leave that workers had demanded. The two-track approach allows Democrats to avert a strike that could cost the U.S. economy up to $2 billion […]
Chamber names Eller new health care VP
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce announced that Ashton Eller will be the new vice president of health care policy and employment law following the retirement of Mike Ripley. Eller has spent 14 years with the chamber, most recently as its manager of political affairs. “After casting a wide net and interviewing several great candidates, it […]
DACA recipients seek Congressional action to protect them
After 20 years of living in the United States, Pamela Chomba and her sister — both DACA recipients — decided it was time to buy a house where they lived in Washington D.C. But that same year, 2021, a lower court judge in Texas made a decision that threatened to upend their whole lives when […]
Paul Pelosi, U.S. House speaker’s husband, attacked inside their San Francisco home
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was recovering in the hospital Friday morning after an unidentified individual broke into their San Francisco home in the early morning and “violently assaulted” the 82-year-old, according to a statement from spokesman Drew Hammill. Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who has a U.S. Capitol Police […]
As electric vehicles shrink gas tax revenue, more states may tax mileage
The increasing popularity of hybrid and electric vehicles is shrinking revenue from gas taxes, prompting more states to consider charging fees based on miles driven to help pay for roads and bridges. This year at least eight states — Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington — considered bills that would modify existing […]
Republicans in Congress say they’d keep federal abortion funding in cases of rape, incest
WASHINGTON — A nearly 50-year-old federal law backed by Republicans allows the use of federal dollars for abortions in cases of rape, incest or the life of the pregnant person. That so-called Hyde Amendment, which is folded into spending bills, is less stringent than new or planned abortion bans in some GOP-led states, where governors […]
$100 million in housing awards announced
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority on Monday announced five developments have received awards from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, in conjunction with Multifamily Tax Exempt Bonds. This funding is used to incentivize private developers to fund the acquisition, rehabilitation and construction of affordable housing communities throughout Indiana. […]
U.S. government failed to properly count deaths of people in prisons and jails, Senate report says
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice did not properly count nearly 1,000 deaths of incarcerated people in jails and prisons, according to a bipartisan report released Tuesday by a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee. The 10-month investigation by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, found that DOJ failed […]
Advocates say overmedication of children in foster care still a problem
Nearly a decade ago, the Indiana Department of Child Services and Family and Social Services Administration acknowledged a problem: too many children in foster care were getting psychotropic medication instead of mental healthcare. The agencies launched the Indiana Psychotropic Medication Advisory Committee in 2013, vowing to increase oversight and make policy recommendations. Just one year […]
State launches milk drives for Hoosier babies
The Indiana Department of Health has partnered with the Milk Bank to host milk drives to provide donor milk to Hoosier babies. The infant formula shortage continues to impact families and infant health across Indiana and the rest of the United States. Indiana has been particularly affected by not only shortages in stores and safety […]