The Indiana Department of Environmental Management identified a handful of regulations that could clash with a gubernatorial order to eliminate “unduly burdensome” or costly rules, though nearly all of them appear to be relatively minor tweaks.
The Governor’s Office confirmed that agencies under both the education and commerce verticals announced staff reductions on Tuesday. The Indiana State Museum also let go of several employees last week.
Gov. Mike Braun signed 243 bills into law during this year, including more than 60 on Tuesday. Here’s a rundown of some of the most significant pieces of legislation that made it through this year’s General Assembly.
The bipartisan bill requires the IEDC to be more transparent when it makes large land purchases for major projects like the massive LEAP business park in Boone County.
Commerce Secretary David Adams announced last week that the state had frozen funds earmarked for Elevate Ventures, but he did not outline specific concerns about the nonprofit or its operations.
The Indiana Legislature approved a pared-down $46.2 billion state budget bill early Friday morning that will triple the state’s cigarette tax and cut funding for a wide swath of entities and programs.
The actions stem from growing concerns over how the state conducts economic development activities, how much it spends on those activities and how transparent it is about its business.
To further close the gap, leaders also said they would reduce planned spending for public health, higher education and government agencies.
Susan Orr Gov. Mike Braun told IBJ on Tuesday that his office was finalizing the details of an independent audit of the state’s economic development agency: “Hoosier taxpayers deserve clear accountability for how their dollars are spent.”
Gov. Mike Braun’s new executive orders require the state to develop a statewide water inventory and management plan, and establish a body that will spearhead efforts to reclaim rare earth elements from legacy coal byproducts.
Gov. Mike Braun was joined by top Trump health officials Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz as he introduced nine executive orders signed under his “Make Indiana Healthy Again” initiative Tuesday.
The governor and legislative leaders have for weeks gone back and forth on the key components of Senate Bill 1.
The Governor’s Office singled out the Indiana Economic Development Foundation, which supports IEDC travel and business-attraction efforts, for failing to produce years of transparency reports.
Many of those in the crowd, whose chants could heard throughout the Statehouse, wore green to symbolize the money they say is lost through property taxes.
Indiana lawmakers have been feeling the heat to restore more significant cuts to the Legislature’s primary property-tax relief bill.
The new leave also extends to mothers who experience stillbirth or fetal loss after 20 weeks of gestation.
For eligible Hoosiers on unemployment, Gov. Mike Braun said he wants the state’s unemployment program to provide more job assistance support and become a “springboard” for opportunity.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said Tuesday that he will continue to fight for broader property-tax relief after a Senate fiscal committee scaled back his plan for ambitious tax cuts.
Senate Bill 1, which previously carried Gov. Mike Braun’s ambitious property tax relief plan, was pared down significantly in committee following outcry from local government leaders.
Republicans and Democrats testified the bill would decrease local governments’ revenues significantly and affect the quality of some public services.
