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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MAKE EM’ CLAP TO THIS Governor Holcomb delivered his third State of the State on Tuesday evening, touching on plenty of issues consistent with our Chamber legislative agenda – education and workforce (of course), physical and information infrastructure, non-stop flights and ex-offender re-entry, among others. But our anticipation was…
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Fighting opioid abuse in the workplace. Join us at an event near you. The opioid crisis has dominated headlines across the nation and in our state creating a deep and lasting impact on communities and businesses. A large percentage (58-70%) of individuals in Indiana with a substance use disorder (SUD) are employed,…
View MoreINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Business and community group leaders will be gathering at the Indiana Statehouse as part of their push for adoption of a state hate crimes law. The group Indiana Forward says Tuesday’s event will launch a lobbying campaign for the law that is being backed by hundreds of…
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