It’s March 1st, and for Hoosier hoops fans that means we’re within shouting distance of the NCAA tournament…and it provides a useful metaphor for our strategy at the Statehouse (no, not ‘March Madness’ – yet). The coaches’ mantra for tournament play is “survive and advance” – get the win, even if…
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So…not much to report this week from the Statehouse. See you next Friday. Sometimes humor can take some of the sting out of a bitter disappointment, but there’s only one way to fix the bias crimes debacle on the Senate floor: Hope rests with the House, where Speaker Bosma (R-Indianapolis)…
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(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., February 19, 2019) The Indy Chamber issued the following statement after the Indiana Senate acted today to remove enumerated, personal characteristics and law enforcement training from SB12, which had been a comprehensive and effective proposal to protect Hoosiers from bias-motivated crimes that passed the Senate Public Policy Committee…
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We can start this update with good news – a strong bias crimes bill will finally get a fair shake in the Indiana Senate. The Senate Public Policy Committee will hear SB12 (by Senators Bohnacek & Alting) next Monday at 8am, just before February 21st deadline for committee action. Governor Holcomb’s strong stand helped…
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(BIGGIE) SMALL(S) STARTS This week’s title is a shout-out to all you transit nerds out there – it’s a big week for us. Indy’s first bus rapid transit route, the Red Line (which received critical early funding from the competitive federal Small Starts grant program) is moving forward faster…
View MoreBloomington, IN – January 29, 2019 – The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, along with Mayor John Hamilton, the Bloomington City Council, and the Monroe County Commissioners are signatories on a letter to Senator Rodrick Bray in favor of the passage of an inclusive hate crime bill this legislative…
View MoreINDIANAPOLIS – A new statewide poll shows Hoosiers overwhelmingly support a hate crime law, the Indiana Chamber says. The Indiana Chamber released Tuesday the results of a poll that shows support for a hate crime law in the State of Indiana. The poll showed 84 percent of Democrats, 75 percent…
View MoreA new statewide poll shows most Hoosiers support an increase in cigarette taxes and a meaningful bias crimes law. Smoking proposals The two policy proposals are the leading priorities for the Indiana Chamber in 2019. The Chamber advocates increasing the cigarette tax by $2 a pack and raising the legal…
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Starting off with a weather reference may be really predictable, but it’s pretty amazing that Indianapolis is in the midst of a ninety-degree swing from subzero temperatures to spring-like conditions. We need the same kind of thaw in legislative attitudes on public health and protecting Hoosiers from hate – because at…
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This week let’s use a West Coast throwback (N.W.A.’s 1990 follow-up to Straight Outta Compton) to sum up the action on West Washington Street. The long session can feel like a hundred-mile trek to pass a budget (and deal with hundreds of other bills) before late April. The legislative schedule turns frenetic…
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