The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many disruptions for public education in Indiana, and while that may seem like a good reason to forgo the ILEARN test, Republican leaders believe that’s
Weekly Statehouse Update: Special Session For Redistricting, Libertarian Ballot Rule
Lauren Chapman/IPB News
Lawmakers debated a bill to prevent future government restrictions used during the pandemic. A committee made it harder for Libertarians to make it on the ballot. And the Senate is close to eliminating all protections for wetlands.
Here’s what you might have missed this week at the Statehouse.
Rep. Bob Morris’s (R-Fort Wayne) legislation would ban state and local governments from limiting a business’s hours of operation or occupancy; regulating what procedures hospitals can do; and requiring mask-wearing or social distancing in a church, unless those things are already in state or federal law.
Bill Takes Aim At Teacher Unions, Adding Extra Steps To Collect Dues
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Jeanie Lindsay
Teachers may be required to take extra steps to pay union dues if a bill discussed Wednesday becomes law. It’s the only paycheck deduction that would have new requirements, and the Indiana State Teachers Association says it singles out and attacks them.
If the bill becomes law, this summer teachers would have to start signing a form to allow union dues to be taken from their paychecks. The school would then have to confirm each decision via email. Employees would then have to repeat the process each year, while simultaneously being informed of their right to not be in a union on the form in large, bold font.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development planned to reopen a federal program on Jan. 22 that extends unemployment benefits. Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) is for workers who have used up the state’s 26 weeks of unemployment insurance. The program expired at the end of last year, but was revived by Congress.
With changes from the latest COVID-19 relief bill, those receiving benefits will get additional weeks of eligibility and an extra $300 each week until mid-March.
Other workers, benefiting from regular unemployment insurance, are already getting additional benefits.
The Trump administration’s failure to produce a national stockpile of the COVID-19 vaccine is preventing Indiana from moving its vaccine distribution plan further forward.