Brandon Smith

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.