Brandon Smith

Common Cause Indiana and the Indiana NAACP are suing Indiana in federal court over what they say is its “unjustifiably early” deadline to return absentee vote-by-mail ballots.

Indiana’s syringe exchange programs will get “another year of certainty” after a bill extending them was sent to the governor Thursday. 

State law would eliminate Indiana’s nine syringe exchange programs after July of 2021. And after the Senate killed a bill earlier this session to permanently extend them, many worried the programs were running out of time.

Indiana lawmakers are trying to ensure low-income families whose children get a paid internship aren’t penalized when it comes to government benefits. 

Jasmine Burditt works for RISE Indy, an education advocacy group. She says Indiana has been emphasizing work-based learning for a few years – things like internships and apprenticeships. But she says government benefit programs haven’t adapted to that model.

A bill to ban drivers from holding cell phones while driving unanimously passed a House committee Wednesday.

The legislation, a priority of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s, now heads to the House floor.

Gov. Eric Holcomb proposed a new plan to free up state dollars for teacher pay in his State of the State address Tuesday. That plan could be implemented this year – but Holcomb wants to wait for 2021.

Republicans insist that further efforts to boost educator salaries must wait until the 2021 budget session. Holcomb’s new plan (targeted for next year) would use one-time dollars to pay down part of a teacher pension fund.

“In turn, $50 million a year will be generated to redirect to teacher pay,” Holcomb says.

Indiana’s unemployment rate remained at a nearly two decade low in October.

Indiana hit 3.2 percent unemployment in September, then remained there in October. That’s the lowest rate since December 2000. And it’s now been seven months since the unemployment rate got worse.

But the Hoosier State has lost about 5,200 total jobs this year. If that trend continues through the end of 2019, it would be the first time in seven years Indiana lost jobs overall in a calendar year.

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is creating a new procedure for people to change the gender on their driver’s license.

The agency will hold a public meeting Monday where people can comment on the proposed rule change.

The BMV has allowed people to change the gender listed on their driver’s license since 2009. All someone had to do is get a form signed by their physician.

A state representative wants to lower the age limit to serve in the Indiana House and Senate to 18 years old.

The state constitution sets the age limit to serve in the Indiana Senate at 25 years old, 21 years old for the House. A constitutional amendment proposed by Rep. Chris Chyung (D-Dyer) would change the limits to 18.

Megan Stoner is a Republican activist who’s been working on this issue for a few years.

“When we have more young Hoosiers as elected officials, we will have fresh ideas, a young Hoosier spirit embodied within the Statehouse,” Stoner says.

Does removing a GPS tracker from your car – even if police put it there – mean you stole it?

That’s what the state argued in a case heard Thursday by the Indiana Supreme Court.

Warrick County Sheriff’s officers got a warrant last year to put a GPS tracker on Derek Heuring’s car because they thought he was a drug dealer. After a while, the tracker stopped transmitting. And when police went to replace it, they couldn’t find it on the car.

Both Republicans and Democrats had something to tout after Indiana’s 2019 municipal elections.

Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics director Andrew Downs says both political parties could “spin” results in their favor. Republicans, he says, can point to victories in mayor’s races across the state – the GOP captured 70 such seats, the most ever.

“And that’s good because theoretically volunteers and money follow those victories,” Downs says.

Sen. Karen Tallian (D-Ogden Dunes) became the first Democrat to announce a 2020 bid for Attorney General Wednesday.

Democrats are hoping to win a race for the office for the first time in more than two decades.

Tallian, an attorney, has served in the Indiana Senate since 2005. She’s been a leader in her caucus on foreclosure and pension issues. And she’s perhaps best known by many as the General Assembly’s fiercest advocate for marijuana legalization.

Family members of older Hoosiers who they say have been taken advantage of urged lawmakers to better protect seniors.

Lawmakers took testimony on the issue Monday in a legislative study commission. They heard stories of adult children who’d stolen from their older parents and used the power of attorney they’d been given to restrict other family members’ access to those parents.

Rebecca Pryor works with a state task force on adult guardianships. She recommends court monitoring of adult guardians.

Indiana House and Senate Republican leadership want to insert themselves into a federal lawsuit against Attorney General Curtis Hill and the state.

The lawsuit involves Hill’s alleged groping last year of a state lawmaker and three legislative staffers.

The four women filed the suit earlier this year. They accuse Curtis Hill of sexual harassment and battery – and they accuse the state of employment discrimination. That includes sexist or inappropriate comments allegedly made by lawmakers of both parties.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg issued a generational call to arms Thursday as he addressed the Young Democrats of America’s national convention.

It was Buttigieg’s first Indianapolis campaign stop since he officially launched his presidential bid.

Young Democrats say faith in politics is a critical tool in the path forward for their party and the country. That's part of the discussion at the Young Democrats of America national convention in Indianapolis.

Most of the nearly 300 new laws crafted by the General Assembly this year take effect Monday.

That includes a new state spending plan, child welfare measures, scooter regulations and criminal justice matters.

State Budget

The new two-year, $34 billion state budget largely goes into effect July 1. The majority of that is K-12 education, which received a more than $500 million increase. And the Department of Child Services will get a little less money than it’s been working with.