Indiana Legislature

Republican leaders said before the start of session they wanted it to be a quiet one, focused on small tweaks to existing policies. Yet some of their priorities were anything but — including a measure that will hold back thousands of third grade students and legislation involving one of the most controversial geopolitical conflicts in memory.

It’s now up to Gov. Eric Holcomb whether to sign a bill into law that will restrict his power — and that of his successors — from extending statewide disaster emergency declarations.

Indiana Republicans are interfering in a lawsuit by the city of Gary against gun manufacturers and sellers.

Policymakers and families of medically complex children have been asking for a pause on the attendant care program cut since it was announced in January, following the $1 billion Medicaid shortfall. A House committee voted Tuesday against an amendment that would have postponed the controversial cut.

A controversial bill that would hold back some students who fail the state’s reading proficiency exam is nearing the governor’s desk.

Indiana manufacturers want to exempt certain PFAS chemicals from the definition of PFAS — so they can continue using them to make things like medical devices, drugs and cars. But the bill’s opponents say it would also allow them to make other, non-essential products that make people sick.

The Family and Social Services Administration proposed cuts to a program that supports care for children with disabilities in response to a $1 billion shortfall. Indiana’s lieutenant governor and families of medically complex children are calling for FSSA to pause the implementation of the cuts.

A Republican lawmaker introduced legislation that would reshape Indiana’s school choice system. Senate Bill 255 would consolidate Indiana’s popular private school voucher system and other options that provided families with state funds for their students’ educational needs into a single program, the Indiana Funding Students First Grant Program.

Indiana manufacturers want to continue to be able to use certain types of toxic PFAS. A state House bill, HB 1399, aims to change the definition of PFAS under Indiana law to exclude the specific chemicals they want to use.

A Senate committee Wednesday unanimously passed a bill that aims to increase accessible and affordable child care options for Hoosiers families.