At the state capital, bills concerning Sudafed purchases, RFRA, highway money and environmental issues are all being looked at this week.

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House Speaker Brian Bosma is taking a partial step back from his call for a prescription requirement for cold remedies containing pseudoephedrine:

Eric Berman reports.

 


 Indiana lawmakers will consider a proposal that would throw out the state’s contentious religious objections law and replace it with a statute its sponsor says aims to protect six fundamental rights.

It is unclear how much support the bill might garner as legislators face a debate over a push to extend LGBT civil rights protections following last spring’s national uproar over claims the religious-objections law would permit discrimination against gays.

The bill sponsored by Republican Senator Michael Young of Indianapolis would require state government and courts to give “the greatest deference” on six issues: the state constitutional rights to worship, religion, exercise of religion, speech, assembly and bear arms.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on January 20th.

 


 

Indiana House Republicans are set to unveil legislation aimed at finding more money for the state’s poorly rated roads — a plan that could propose a gasoline tax increase.

House GOP leaders are holding a Monday news conference where they will discuss their proposal, billed as a comprehensive and long-term approach to improving the state’s infrastructure.

It offers an alternative to the short-term solution proposed by Gov. Mike Pence, which would borrow money and draw down state reserves to boost state highway funding by about $480 million in 2017.

House Republicans have provided some broad details of their proposal, which will include a $1 per-pack cigarette tax hike and allow the state’s gasoline tax to increase with inflation.


Lawmakers will hear more about a canned hunting bill. It would legalize and expanding the practice of shooting captive deer, and other animals, within fenced enclosures. There’s also a bill that deals with brownfields and legacy waste. It improves the reimbursement process for those who intend to clean up brownfields. There’s are two anti-recycling bills which would de-fund and dissolve solid waste management districts which oversee recycling in most counties in the state.