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INDIANAPOLIS — Quoth the Legislature: "Nevermore."The General Assembly on Tuesday advanced to the governor's desk a measure cleaning up Indiana's laws by replacing archaic language with more accurate terms familiar to modern Hoosiers.Specifically, House Enrolled Act 1031 substitutes other words for "herein, hereafter, hereinafter, therein, theretofore, hereunder, hereinunder, heretofore, hereinabove, and thereunder" wherever they appear throughout the Indiana Code.It also replaces the remaining instances where "his" is used to describe the duties of a state officeholder, now that five of the seven statewide elected officials are women.State Rep. Thomas Washburne, R-Inglefield, the sponsor of the proposal, said deleting the outdated language will keep the Indiana Code "very, very pleasant to deal with compared to many other states," for lawyers and citizens alike.The 169-page measure passed the House, 91-0, and the Senate, 48-0.Check out our Crossing the Line series here Crossing … [Read more...] about Say farewell to archaic words, male-only references in Indiana’s laws

INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosier lawmakers have agreed to rein in a state commission that repeatedly has frustrated Northwest Indiana fire chiefs and elected officials by temporarily preventing local carbon monoxide detector ordinances from taking effect.House Enrolled Act 1004, which advanced Tuesday to the governor's desk following a 90-0 House vote, prohibits the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission from continuing to issue nonspecific local ordinance denials.It previously passed the Senate, 49-0.If approved, as expected, by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, the commission would be required to cite the particular provisions of the state fire safety or building laws that form the basis for the commission halting a local safety ordinance from going into force.Several Region communities last year saw their carbon monoxide detector ordinances thwarted by the commission, seemingly without justification, as the Indiana Fire Code is silent on carbon monoxide detectors.After The … [Read more...] about State commission likely losing ability to reject local safety ordinances without justification

INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosiers buying food from vending machines next year might pay a little less if state lawmakers in coming days approve a proposal to exempt those purchases from the 7 percent Indiana sales tax.The House on Monday voted 93-0 for Senate Bill 124. It now returns to the Senate, where it previously was approved 47-0, for a final decision on whether to send it to Gov. Eric Holcomb for enactment.Under the plan, food sold through vending machines would be exempt from sales tax, just as it is when purchased at a grocery store or other retailer.State Rep. Dave Ober, R-Albion, the sponsor of the measure, said it's a simple matter of fairness that identical food items should be taxed the same way no matter how they're sold.The sales tax exemption only would apply to food products. Candy, soft drinks and other vending machine staples not classified as "food" under Indiana law still would be subject to sales tax, just as they are in stores.However, the proposed statute does not … [Read more...] about Indiana may no longer charge sales tax on food sold through vending machines