Tag Archives: Legislature

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb announced his proposed state budget, today. The embattled Department of Child Services would get, in the Governor’s proposed budget, $286 million each year. This is the full amount DCS had requested. DCS has been struggling with increasing case loads and limited resources for some time. The agency’s problems came into public view last year when its …

It’s a felony to have a syringe in Indiana. Prosecuting attorneys can level a felony charge against a defendant, if they’re arrested in possession of a needle. In Monroe County, the number of arrests for needle possession doubled over the last year, despite the Monroe County Prosecutor’s office agreeing to throw out many syringe charges. Needle exchanges were allowed to …

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill wants lawmakers to increase his budget by about $5 million. The republican Attorney General sent two of his deputies to request the increase from the State Budget Committee meeting on Monday. Hill did not make the request in person, although other top office holders asking for budget increases did, according to an Associated Press report. The …

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Indiana have signaled they’re willing to push legislation in January, seeking to legalize medical marijuana. Voices in The Street’s Isaak Gonzalez asks area listeners how the feel about the legalization of medical marijuana in Indiana. 

In this week’s episode, Betty Greenwell and Jim Allison talk about voting districts, representative districting, early voting. Prospective voters can visit indianavoters.in.gov to request an early voting application, or you can call or visit Election Central, in Bloomington. A Minute of Civics is produced by WFHB in support of the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County, a non-partisan organization. …

Jails across Indiana are overcrowded. That’s due, in part, to a 2016 state law, requiring non-violent felons to serve their sentences in county jails, rather than in state prisons. This influx of non-violent felons swelled the number of prisoners housed at county jails, which also hold those awaiting trial. Monroe County Jail Commander Sam Crowe says overcrowding strains local resources. …

James Parks was among the earliest homesteaders in Monroe County. A member of the first board of county commissioners in 1818., Parks later served on the Board of School Commissioners, and was elected to the Indiana legislature. Support for The Bicentennial Journal and WFHB comes from Monroe County and Visit Bloomington. More information about Monroe County’s Bicentennial is available on their …

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is being accused of groping a lawmaker and three legislative staffers at a party, earlier this year. According to the Indianapolis Star, a confidential memo made for legislative leaders was released to the public last night, containing details of the allegations. The incidents allegedly took place during an end-of-the-legislative-session party at a bar on March …

A federal judge is blocking a new program that would allow state officials to purge voter data from Indiana’s election rolls. The ruling, issued Friday by U.S. District Court Hon. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, temporarily bars the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program from going into effect. The Crosscheck Program is meant to prevent elections fraud and double voting- where voters …

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed a bill this afternoon, putting in place sexual harassment policies for state legislators. House Bill 1309, requires all members of the Indiana General Assembly to undergo no less than an hour of annual sexual harassment prevention training, and no less than an hour of ethics training. The bill passed unanimously in both the House and …