Indiana Black Caucus Calls For Reprimand Of House Lawmakers, Implicit Bias Training wfyi.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wfyi.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Weekly Statehouse Update: School Choice Expansion, Defund The Police Ban Rejected
Lauren Chapman/IPB News
School voucher expansion clears the House. The Senate passes a bill to more harshly penalize rioters. And a measure banning “defund the police” is soundly rejected.
Here’s what you might have missed this week at the Statehouse.
Controversial legislation that would create Indiana s first educational savings account program and expand the eligibility of state-funded private school vouchers to families with double the state s median income passed out of the House Tuesday.
Under the expansion, families making double the state’s median income would now be eligible for those vouchers. And voucher expansion would take up about a third of House Republicans’ proposed increase in K-12 school funding in the next state budget.
Tensions Flare As Some Republicans Boo, Heckle Black Democrats On House Floor wfyi.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wfyi.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Weekly Statehouse Update: Cigarette Tax, Controversial School Choice Bills Testimony
Brandon Smith/IPB News
A House committee passed a cigarette tax increase. The Senate approved an expansion of telehealth services. And legislation advanced to require nursing homes to allow certain visitors, even during lockdowns.
Here’s what you might have missed this week at the Statehouse.
Legislation approved by the House Public Health Committee would double the state’s cigarette tax, from $1 to $2 per pack. It would be the first increase in that tax since 2007. The bill also creates a new tax on e-liquids, used in vaping.
A measure that unanimously cleared the Senate this week would permanently expand telehealth services that Gov. Eric Holcomb temporarily allowed during the pandemic. The bill’s author, Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso), called the measure “transformational.”