Tagged: Indiana General Assembly

Intoxicated minors will be free to seek medical attention for others who have drunk too much without fear of being charged for underage drinking under a new law signed by Governor Mitch Daniels Friday. 

The Indiana Lifeline Law provides immunity from charges of public intoxication and possession, consumption and transportation of alcohol by minors if those people are discovered to have been drinking only after medical attention is sought for someone who’s had too much to drink.

Governor Daniels says the bill isn’t so much about preventing prosecution,  which doesn’t happen often anyway, as it is about addressing young people’s uncertainty.

Redistricting last year changed many political boundaries within the state. Some were altered slightly, while others were drawn from scratch. One of those is Indiana House District 13.

WBAA’s Mike Loizzo profiles the two candidates running for the Republican nomination in that new district.

Purdue’s vice president for public affairs thinks the university fared well during this year’s session of the General Assembly.

Julie Griffith says her office tracked a lot of legislation that affected the university. Those range from a public access bill dealing with open meetings and inspection of public records to the so-called “credit creep” measure capping most bachelor’s degrees at 120 credit hours.

Griffith says Purdue and other universities will continue to work on those bills signed into law and those likely to come back next year.

The public will get to weigh in whether to restore Indiana high school basketball to a single-class system.

The Indiana High School Athletics Association (IHSAA) announced a series of town meetings Thursday.

This past legislative session, State Senator Mike Delph (R-Carmel) introduced a bill that would have restored high school basketball to a single class format.  Concerned about a lack of input, the IHSAA struck a deal with Delph. In exchange for pulling back the bill, the organization would seek public input and seriously discuss making a change. Delph and IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox announced a series of 11 public meetings around the state in April and May.

Indiana’s new secretary of state is Connie Lawson. The Republican will leave her position as state senator to take on the new role.

Lawson has served as chair of the senate Local Government and Elections Committee, and as a majority floor leader. Prior to her election to the senate in 1996, Lawson served as Hendricks County Clerk.

She takes over for Charlie White, who was removed from office after being convicted of six felonies related to a fraudulent voter registration.

The following information about Connie Lawson comes from her state senate webpage:

It will be more difficult to trigger an automatic taxpayer refund under a bill passed by the General Assembly on its final day of session. 

With a strong fiscal year to date and revenue forecasts predicting a steady finish, Indiana appears likely headed for a taxpayer refund this year.  As a result, lawmakers made few changes affecting this year’s refund.

Instead of distributing the money based on income level, Hoosier taxpayers will each receive an equal amount.  Estimates say this year’s refund will be about $200 million towards taxpayers, which bill author Jeff Espich (R-Uniondale) says equates to about $50 per person.