Governor signs dozens of bills
NIKI KELLY | The Journal Gazette
INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Eric Holcomb signed 84 bills late Thursday – leaving only one left from hundreds passed by the General Assembly.
Among the newly-enacted measures that gained Holcomb’s signature are controversial bills on abortion and wetlands as well as a massive new two-year state budget.
But not Senate Bill 5.
That is the only bill left. He has until Wednesday to sign or veto it. If not, it becomes law without his signature.
The legislation makes it harder for local health officials to implement restrictions during a disaster emergency that are more stringent than the state has applied. That’s because elected officials will have to sign off first. In most cases this is the county commissioners but in a few cities it would be the city council.
INDIANAPOLIS â More than 100 organizations, including dozens of environmental and conservation groups, signed a letter earlier this week urging Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb to veto SEA 389, a controversial bill rolling back wetlands protections across the state.
However, on Thursday, Holcomb signed the bill into law, despite some departments in his administration openly opposing it throughout the legislative session.
Now, some of those groups are voicing their disappointment in his reversal, but also pledging to continue the fight to preserve Indianaâs vulnerable wetlands.
Seven of the major environmental groups who signed the letter â including the Hoosier Environmental Council, Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Indiana Wildlife Federation, Conservation Law Center, Save the Dunes, St. Joseph River Basin Commission and the White River Alliance â issued a joint news release Friday morning detailing their response.
Indiana governor signs wetland repeal bill, despite pushback
A bill removing some protections from Indiana’s already diminished wetlands was signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb Thursday despite widespread criticism that it could damage waterways, wildlife and vegetation.
Posted: Apr 30, 2021 11:30 AM
Posted By: By CASEY SMITH
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) A bill removing some protections from Indiana’s already diminished wetlands was signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb Thursday despite widespread criticism that it could damage waterways, wildlife and vegetation.
The
wetlands measure passed out of the Legislature April 14 and has sparked bipartisan opposition within the Republican-dominated Legislature. Retroactive as of Jan. 1, it eliminates a 2003 law that requires the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to issue permits for construction and development in state-regulated wetlands and end enforcement proceedings against landowners accused of violating current law.
âIâll see you in heaven.â
It was the last thing Al Braccolino, 90, of Crown Point, told one of his daughters as paramedics loaded him into an ambulance Nov. 16. COVID-19 forced him into the final fight of his life.
Ten days later, the chair Al usually occupied at the Thanksgiving table would sit empty. The husband to his wife of 70 years, father of three and grandfather of six died on the holiday.
Alâs daughter, Sandra Noe, was herself suffering from COVID-19, which she contracted while caring for her sick parents, when the virus forced Alâs hospitalization.
Noe, 66, is no stranger to helping elderly shut-ins weather isolation.
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