Chronic absenteeism and Cumberland carve out on legislative agenda
The big picture: Priority bills dealing with property taxes, health care costs and the state's two-year budget aren't on any agendas yet, but plenty of other issues are getting hearings.
Here are the bills we're watching this week:
🧩 Carving out Cumberland
House Bill 1131 would exclude the town of Cumberland from Marion County's "unigov" system.
Driving the bill: Cumberland straddles Marion and Hancock counties, so the quarter of residents living in Marion County are subject to different rules and services.
It will be heard in the House Local Government Committee at 8:30am Tuesday.
🏠 First-time homebuyers
House Bill 1519 would create a new fund to provide downpayment assistance and other financial help for qualified first-time homebuyers.
It's on the docket for the House Financial Institutions Committee at 10:30am Tuesday.
Why it matters: Indy's hot housing market is still challenging for young people, low- and middle-income families and first-time buyers.
🟢 Chronic absenteeism bills keep moving
House Bill 1201, which seeks to identify common reasons behind absenteeism and provide support for students and schools, passed the House Education Committee unanimously last week.
Senate Bill 482 includes some of the same language and was heard in the Senate Education Committee last week. It should get a vote on Wednesday and is expected to pass.
Between the lines: Lawmakers have been discussing chronic absenteeism for the last several years after a report showed that nearly one-quarter of Hoosiers kids were chronically absent from school.
⏳ Shutting down "spinning" on hold
For the second year in a row, lawmakers are trying to crack down on "spinning," but the bill is hung up in the Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee.
How it works: Senate Bill 13 would outlaw spinning your car in a circle, also known as doing doughnuts, a practice that's become part of the illegal street takeovers plaguing IMPD.
A similar bill passed the Senate last year but wasn't taken up by the House.
It's on the committee's agenda again, scheduled for 9:30am Tuesday.
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Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
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Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
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Indianapolis Star
4 days ago
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"We have invested $1.6 billion in our electric grid, power plants and overall system on behalf of our customers, and that is reflected in a base rate increase that went into effect in February 2025," Protogere wrote. AES Indiana residential customers paid about $17 more each month, and the utility recently filed for another rate increase. AES did not comment but instead referred IndyStar to the IEA statement. I&M customers saw bills rise $6 a month. I&M did not immediately respond to IndyStar. Gov. Mike Braun ran his gubernatorial campaign, in part, by promising lower energy costs for Hoosiers, and state lawmakers referenced affordability during legislative session this year. These promises have yet to come to fruition, and Olson said lawmakers continue to compound the issue of energy bills running rampant with laws such as Senate bills 424 and 423 which shifted even more costs onto Hoosiers. He also pointed out Braun's new Strategic Energy Growth Task Force, meant to address affordability, lacks any consumer advocates. 'It's hard to believe we're serious about affordability when a task force like that lacks a consumer voice,' Olson said. 'And then we see numbers like these: rate increase after rate increase after rate increase with no end in sight and with no apparent desire from the state to seriously take a look at why and try to fix the problem.' Olson and CAC are not opposed to economic development and growth, but he said the risks need to appropriately be shared and something needs to change. 'All we want to do in Indiana is build, build, build in the name of energy dominance, and rate payers be damned,' he said. IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. IndyStar environment and natural resources reporter Sophie Hartley contributed to this report.
