News

On Monday Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and his Fiscal Policy Group outlined several choices the City could take in order to save community money.

Created in 2012, the Mayor’s Fiscal Policy Group was given the job of identifying options Fort Wayne could pursue in order to avoid fiscal pitfalls in 2014. According to the City, Fort Wayne is the first city in Indiana to form a team of local and state experts to help develop tactics to fight looming budget issues.

Tea Party group Americans for Prosperity is entering the debate in Indiana over Governor Mike Pence’s proposed ten percent income tax cut.  The organization announced it will air TV ads in support of the tax cut.

U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly said he wants greater focus on preventing suicide among active-duty military service-members and veterans which includes increasing outreach to vets.

Last year, more combat troops took their own lives than died in combat in Afghanistan.  And Sen. Donnelly said 43 % of service members who committed suicide never sought help.  He said trying to combat the problem of military and veteran suicide needs to involve erasing the stigma of seeking help.

The White House has said as many as 1,000 Indiana children will lose access to early education services because of automatic federal spending cuts. But Head Start won’t start cutting slots right away, and program directors have been told to look for money elsewhere.

State lawmakers say discussion over how best to implement the Affordable Care Act will continue in the second half of this year’s legislative session.  But Republican leaders say uncertainty about the financial burden placed on the state by Medicaid expansion likely eliminates that option.

Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly said it appears sequestration cuts will go into effect before a deal is reached in Congress, but negotiations won’t stop with the Friday deadline.  Governor Mike Pence said the state is planning for the cuts.

The automatic federal spending cuts known as sequestration could include $32 million in education cuts in Indiana, 11,000 furloughed civilian workers from the state’s defense sector and cuts to money for child immunizations and domestic violence prevention. 

House Speaker Brian Bosma said he has reservations about legislation headed to his chamber that he calls a significant expansion of gaming.

Legislation regulating how abortion clinics dispense abortion-inducing drugs no longer requires an ultrasound after the drug is taken. But Democrats say an amendment made to the bill Monday isn’t good enough.

House Democrats offered their own budget proposal Thursday, including increased K-12 education funding and a progressive tax cut.  But the House rejected the proposal with a vote along party lines.

House Minority Leader Scott Pelath said at the start of session one of the minority’s responsibilities was to provide alternatives to Republican initiatives. 

Governor Mike Pence’s proposed 10% income tax cut was denied an up-or-down vote on the House floor Thursday when House Republicans used parliamentary procedure to deny a Democratic amendment.