Governor Mike Pence went straight to work after being sworn in Monday, signing 15 executive orders, including a measure stripping some authority away from the incoming state superintendent of public instruction.
One of Pence’s first acts in office was to rescind an executive order signed by former Governor Mitch Daniels. The new order shifts oversight of the Education Employment Relations Board from the state superintendent to the governor, where it had historically been before Daniels changed it. The board settles teacher contract disputes.
If job creation is priority No. 1 for lawmakers this session, job placement for veterans seems to be priority 1-A, with new legislation aimed at getting servicemembers back to work.
The unemployment rate for younger veterans – those of the post 9/11 era – is considerably higher than the rate for average Hoosiers.
Ball State President Jo Ann Gora says the state’s funding formula for higher education unfairly favors some schools over others.
Gora says the state’s performance funding system is a one-size-fits-all structure that favors large and growing campuses. She says schools like Ball State – which Gora believes has focused on quality, rather than quantity – are penalized.
The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus says it will focus on improving child safety and fostering economic development in the current session. Its members say the impact of their initiatives goes beyond the state’s minority communities.
Some municipal leaders watched Monday’s opening of the 2013 Indiana General Assembly session with a wary eye – wondering how taxation rules will affect local government and individual Hoosiers alike.
The new leader of the House Ways and Means Committee Monday didn’t wholly endorse Governor Mike Pence’s plan to lower income taxes Monday.
When asked about the biggest plank in the platform which led Mike Pence to be elected governor – an across-the-board 10% income tax cut – Crawfordsville Representative Tim Brown wavered.
House and Senate leaders say they’re looking forward to a less contentious legislative session than the past two years as the General Assembly convenes Monday.
The last two sessions saw sweeping education reforms, Right to Work, abortion bills and immigration measures that created significant conflict between Republicans and Democrats in the legislature.
Now, the GOP holds a supermajority in both houses.
