logo
Indiana legislative session 2025 halfway point: A look at bills that advanced, died

Indiana legislative session 2025 halfway point: A look at bills that advanced, died

Yahoo24-02-2025

Bills about the Indiana-Illinois border, Gary paying back casino fees and immigration have advanced, while an early voting bill, abortion bills and a Crown Point food and beverage tax have died — at least for the moment — as the Indiana 2025 legislative session reached the halfway mark.
Both chambers of the legislature met Thursday to give final approval to dozens of bills. Bills that hadn't been heard in committee by Monday won't be able to advance on their own. When the session reconvenes March 3, bills will switch chambers for consideration. On occasion, language from failed bills gets amended to other bills late in the session.
The 2025 legislative session is a budget session. Lawmakers will determine how to spend $44 billion for schools, health care programs, and infrastructure among other state-funded departments and programs.
The House approved, along party lines, a biennial budget Thursday. Republicans praised the budget for being fiscally responsible, while Democrats opposed the budget for falling short of fully funding schools, Medicaid and other services.
'It's opportunity for parents to make the choice for the best place for their children to attend school. It's the opportunity for Hoosiers to live in a state with an extremely bright future. It's opportunity for Hoosiers to be in a state that has a structurally balanced budget with healthy reserves,' said Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, who authored the budget, which is in House Bill 1001.
Property tax cuts put pressure on municipal, school budgets
Senate Bill 1, authored by Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, is a massive property tax relief plan that is the Republican supermajority's main priority for this legislative session. The bill, though amended, still takes $1 billion away from local governments and school districts.
'We just think there's a fine line that we have to walk to make sure that we are careful to be responsible to the local units of government and at the same time provide some relief to tax payers,' Holdman said.
Senate Bill 1 changes the percentage cap used to determine the maximum levy growth quotient to 0% in 2026, 1% in 2027 and 2% in 2028; and allows a county fiscal body to establish a property tax payment deferral program, where up to $10,000 can be deferred and the deferment becomes a lien on the property.
Senate Bill 1 offers tax deductions to those 65 years old and older and those who are disabled, establishes a firsttime home buyer tax credit, and allows for local governments to utilize a levy referendum during even-year general elections.
The bill was amended to remove Gov. Mike Braun's property tax relief plan he campaigned on. The bill initially stated a homestead standard deduction amount of 60% of the homestead's assessed value if the value is more than $125,000 or $48,000 plus 60% of the remaining assessed value if the homestead has an assessed value of $125,000 or less.
The fiscal impact of the amended bill would cut $1.4 billion across the state between 2026 and 2028, including $370.9 million from schools, $67 million from libraries, $304.3 million from cities and towns, and $346.6 million from counties.
It is less than the original plan, which would have cut $1.9 billion from schools, $254 million from libraries, $890 million from cities and towns, and $765 million from counties.
Michael Hicks, Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, said Senate Bill 1 would cut about $1 billion for local governments at a time when local government is operating 'leaner now than it has been anytime that we've been keeping data, at least since the late 1960s.'
Local governments use property tax funds to pave roads, provide police and fire service, and maintain park and recreation facilities, Hicks said.
Democrats have stated they are pleased Senate Bill 1 was amended, but that it still negatively impacts local governments. Under Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 518, authored by Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, funds from a school corporation referendum have to be shared with area charter schools as of May 2025, which would cause public schools to cut their budgets further, Democrats said.
'SB 518 was sold as a way to 'fairly' fund education, but the reality is far different. This bill does not increase funding for schools. It does not improve outcomes for students. It does not invest in the future of Indiana's education system. Instead, it shifts the financial burden of charter school funding away from the state and onto local homeowners — while 90% of Hoosier students continue to attend traditional public schools,' the Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus said in a statement.
Senate Bill 2, authored by Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, passed and would place restrictions on Medicaid, such as work requirements for moderate-income Hoosiers who are in the Healthy Indiana Plan and are between the ages of 19 to 64. Any changes to the state's Medicaid program would have to be approved by federal officials.
The bill also creates a program cap, which threatens access for hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers. The bill includes 11 exemptions for the work requirement, including volunteering, receiving unemployment, or participating in a substance abuse program.
Mishler called Senate Bill 2 his attempt to 'right-size' Medicaid, which has grown exponentially in the wake of the pandemic. In the last four years, Medicaid costs have grown by $5 billion and participants have nearly doubled — from 390,000 to 750,000.
Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said the legislators have to reckon with maintaining Medicaid services amid the inaccurate projection by $984 million for its Medicaid expenditure forecast in April 2023. The missed projection was the result of state reversions and unanticipated growth of services for aging and disabled residents.
The bill would end the expansion of Medicaid in Indiana. The bill would take the state back to the initial version of the Healthy Indiana Plan, where through a waiver the state controls who is added to the plan, Qaddoura said.
'We're effectively killing Medicaid expansion in the state of Indiana under the federal law,' Qaddoura said.
Senate Bill 287, authored by Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, and Sen. Blake Doriot, R-Goshen, advanced. It would change the school board election process to that of other elections, requiring candidates to declare a party and a primary and general election.
'I want a person that may have the same ideologies as I do sitting on that board. Currently, there are many citizens that don't know that when they are voting,' Byrne said when the bill was in committee. 'People go down the ballot, and they get to school board, and they don't know who or the ideologies or the beliefs that they have … and they just don't vote. I believe this would increase voter participation.'
Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, said making school board elections partisan would discourage people from running for school boards. The bill would also go against the Hatch Act, which prohibits state and local government employees from running for partisan political office, she said.
Indiana House Bill 1008, authored by Speaker Todd Huston, is headed to the Senate. It would establish an Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission to research the possibility of adjusting the boundaries between the two states. Though it's unlikely Illinois would ever pass a companion bill, a commission would include five members appointed by the Indiana governor and five members appointed by Illinois.
Huston drafted the bill after he learned that nearly three dozen Illinois counties have voted in recent years to leave the state, he said.
In November, seven Illinois counties — Iroquois, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Madison and Perry counties — voted to secede from the state. Iroquois County is along the Indiana border, the remaining six counties are closer to Missouri.
To change a state line, the U.S. Constitution dictates that the Indiana legislature, the Illinois legislature and then Congress would have to approve the measure, said Indiana University Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Paul Helmke.
House Bill 1008 begins the conversation of moving the state line, Huston said. Illinois State Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, has filed a companion bill in Illinois, Huston said.
Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, voted in favor of the bill when it was in committee but ultimately voted against it when it was considered by the House. Ahead of her vote, Hatcher addressed the House and asked for the Republican supermajority to be as considerate of Democrats in Indiana as they are to Illinois residents.
'I understand what it means to be overlooked. Time and time again, legislation directly affecting Gary has been introduced and advanced by lawmakers from other areas without input from those of us who actually represent the community,' Hatcher said.
Two immigration bills – House Bill 1531 and House Bill 1393 – advanced to the Senate. House Bill 1531, authored by Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, ties state funding to the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local governments, police and businesses.
House Bill 1531 was amended to remove language requiring schools to report undocumented students.
House Bill 1393, authored by State Rep. Garrett Bascom, R-Lawrenceburg, allows police officers who arrest someone for a felony or misdemeanor and has probable cause to believe the person isn't a legal resident should notify the county sheriff. The sheriff will then report the person to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Sophia Arshad, a Merrillville immigration attorney, said House Bill 1393 allows for racial profiling.
A bill that would require the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission to submit an annual budget to the Lake County Council before Sept. 1 of each year for a nonbinding review advanced to the House.
Senate Bill 40 co-author Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, said the commission oversees a $6 million budget. While the current commissioners have done a good job allocating the funds, Niemeyer said a future makeup of the commission may not be as fiscally responsible.
Dan Repay, the executive director of the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission, previously said the commission understands 'that people want to see what's going on and we don't have an issue with doing that.'
Senate Bill 187, authored by Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, wants the term of anyone serving on a county property tax assessment board of appeals who isn't an Indiana resident to expire July 1. The fiscal body, which is the council in Lake County, would then be required to appoint a new member to finish out the member's term.
Dernulc said he drafted the bill, which passed the Senate unanimously, after learning about Lake County PTABOA member Samantha Steele, who is also a Cook County Board of Review commissioner and was arrested for driving under the influence in Chicago late last year.
House Bill 1448 — which passed the House — requires the city of Gary to pay more than $12 million to East Chicago and Michigan City.
Ahead of Thursday's vote, author Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville, said the bill works to fix 'a misalignment of gaming revenue that was altered for four years through the movement of a gaming license and a hold harmless agreement.'
'We've got to get this straightened out and give the comptroller the authority to get that taken care of. This is a compromise solution,' Slager said.
Northwest Indiana is throwing its hat into the ring – again – to court the Chicago Bears to build a stadium in the region. The courtship, though, is an open one as a new bill — approved by the House and headed to the Senate — aims to attract any sports franchise to Northwest Indiana.
House Bill 1292, authored by Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, would establish a Northwest Indiana professional sports development commission, which would study plans to attract one or more professional sports franchises.
Harris said the commission would explore attracting professional football, baseball, basketball, hockey or soccer teams.
'The Bears are the big boy, so that has received the most attention. Honestly, I would love it if The Bears moved their location over to Northwest Indiana, but we are open to any sport,' Harris said.
Early in the session. Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point, pulled a bill that would create a food and beverage tax for Crown Point after further discussion with the city's chamber of commerce.
Olthoff said chamber of commerce officials raised questions about how much money the tax would generate and a specific plan for spending the funds. As setting the tax and what it can be spent on is negotiable, Olthoff said there wasn't 'a full answer on that.'
The money collected from the tax, an estimated $1.182 million in 2026, would've been used for expansion and improvement of the Crown Point Sportsplex, Bulldog Park and Sauerman Woods Park; repairs and future development of the historic Lake County Courthouse and Lake County Jail; development and expansion of downtown parking capacity and amenities near the square and courthouse; and development and expansion of a multi-use trails.
Senate Bill 284, authored by Byrne, would shorten in-person absentee voting to 7 days. The bill was amended in committee to 14 days from the current 28 days.
Lake County Election and Voter Registration Board director Michelle Fajman testified against the bill because Lake County voters have really started utilizing early in-person voting in recent years.
Fajman said she disagreed with a point the committee discussed that fewer people vote in the first 14 days of early in-person voting. County election officials should have a voice in their early in-person voting setup, she said, because they know the trends of their voters best.
In Lake County, 90,049 voters voted early in-person in the 2024 presidential election, Fajman said. For that many people to vote in two weeks or one week would become hectic, she said.
'We like having the full amount of time. We'd like to do more,' Fajman said. 'Early voting serves a purpose. We're one of the worst in the nation with voter turnout, and here we're trying to limit it.'
The Senate Elections Committee passed the bill 6-3. But, Byrne never called the bill for a vote from the whole Senate.
Senate Bill 201, authored by Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Indianapolis, would have required voters to choose their political parties in a primary election. It was never heard in committee.
Slager authored House Bill 1110, which would make it a Class A misdemeanor for a person to offer a payment to a public official as a reward for action taken or for a public servant to solicit or accept a payment as a reward for an act taken. The bill was never heard in committee.
Two abortion pill bills — Senate Bill 245 and Senate Bill 171 — were never heard in committee.
Sen. Michael Young, R-Indianapolis, authored Senate Bill 171 which would prohibit someone from knowingly or intentionally prescribing or possessing an abortion-inducing drug or sending an abortion-inducing drug to a person who lives in Indiana.
Senators Tyler Johnson, R-Leo, and Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, authored Senate Bill 245, which would make it a Level 5 felony if someone intentionally gives a pregnant woman Mifepristone or Misoprostol without her consent.
Jennifer Drobac, a professor of law emerita at Indiana University, said the bills prove the legislators don't understand the uses of Mifepristone or Misoprostol, which can be used to terminate a pregnancy but also regulate other conditions. The bills also would've caused harm to the low-income, marginalized women who can't afford to travel out of state to get an abortion, she said.
akukulka@post-trib.com

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' cracks down on Biden's student loan 'scheme,' top Republican says
Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' cracks down on Biden's student loan 'scheme,' top Republican says

Fox News

time7 minutes ago

  • Fox News

Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' cracks down on Biden's student loan 'scheme,' top Republican says

The chairman of a key Senate panel is claiming victory against former President Joe Biden's student loan plans as part of President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill." "The Biden administration was attempting to forgive student loans for people who willingly took on the loan and required the taxpayer, including people who never went to college and would never make what the person who took the loan would ever have the hope to make," Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., told Fox News Digital. "So we end that transfer of that student loan on the taxpayers, and that's probably our biggest savings." Cassidy's committee released its portion of the Trump agenda bill late on Tuesday. A press release for the legislation said it "ends Biden's student loan schemes that transfer debt onto the 87 percent of Americans who chose to not go to college or already paid off their loans" and "also prevents future Democrat administrations from implementing schemes." The bill specifically takes aim at Biden's expansion of Borrower Defense to Repayment regulations and Closed School Discharge regulations, which Republicans have held up as costly policies that shift federal student loan borrowers' burdens onto other taxpayers. Various versions of Biden's plans had previously been struck down in court. The bill would also eliminate federal Grad PLUS loans, a program used by graduate-level and professional students to pay for their studies, which can be used for graduate students' entire cost of attendance. It would instead keep in place a $20,500 annual limit for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans on graduate degrees, capped at $100,000 total, excluding undergraduate loans. For professional degrees, it keeps a $50,000 annual unsubsidized loan limit and a $200,000 total cap. The legislation is also aimed at cracking down on taxpayer funding subsidizing degrees from lower-performing universities. Colleges that see people with undergraduate degrees earn less than the typical high school graduate in their state, or graduate programs where attendees then earn less than the normal bachelor's recipient, would be blocked from federal student loan programs. "What we've got was a situation where people can borrow more money than they can effectively pay back, and that destroys their life, leaving them with a debt burden which keeps them unable to do other things in life. And there's at least some sense that universities offering these programs know that's the case. And so we attempt to fix that," Cassidy said. "So we have provisions that would say that if the degree being acquired does not end up paying more, the person receiving that degree doesn't get more on average than a person who did not get that degree, then the federal government is not going to lend them money." To encourage more people to pursue non-collegiate degrees, the bill would also establish a Workforce Pell Grant. Pell Grants are currently aimed at low-income students pursuing bachelor's degrees and are generally not repaid. "For example, a student gets a commercial driver's license. They're going to go out and make $100,000 a year after a couple of years of driving, I am told. And so we want to enable those people to accomplish that," Cassidy said. Foreign income would be taken into account when evaluating Pell Grants, while farm and small business assets would not, under the GOP bill. Those and several other measures in the legislation would add up to roughly $300 billion in taxpayer savings, Cassidy said. Senate Republicans are currently working through their version of Trump's massive agenda bill, which passed the House late last month. Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process to pass a sweeping bill advancing Trump's agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. They are also working to use it to bring down the national debt – nearing $37 trillion – with the aim of cutting $1.5 trillion in federal spending. Reconciliation allows the party in power to completely skirt the minority, in this case Democrats, by lowering the Senate's threshold to advance from 60 votes to 51. The legislation must adhere to a specific set of rules, however, including measures that deal with the budget, taxation, or the national debt. Both the House and Senate must agree to identical versions of the bill before it gets to Trump's desk for a signature. The House's version passed 215 to 214, and leaders there have implored the upper chamber to change as little as possible. Cassidy acknowledged there were some changes made but was optimistic about how they'll be met in the House. "There's several things, but one thing I think that they're going to like is that we do fully fund the Pell Grant program. You know, we address the shortfall there. And so I think they're going to like it," he said. "It's going to give low-income students access to career education. We need those kind of career type jobs to make sure that all this manufacturing and construction has a workforce to address it. And so we think it helps the needs of society. We think it helps the needs of the student." House and Senate GOP leaders had previously set a goal of having a bill on Trump's desk by the Fourth of July. Cassidy declined to comment on whether that was a feasible benchmark but argued that lawmakers should be ready to extend that timeline – and possibly shrink their summer recess – to get the final product. "As far as I'm concerned, the most important thing is to get it right. So if there is a delay, the president said it today – if there is a delay, that's not that big of a deal. The most important thing is we get it right," he said.

Speaker Mike Johnson to address Israeli parliament June 22
Speaker Mike Johnson to address Israeli parliament June 22

CBS News

time24 minutes ago

  • CBS News

Speaker Mike Johnson to address Israeli parliament June 22

Washington — House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Wednesday he will travel to Israel later this month to address the Israel's parliament, known as the Knesset, in Jerusalem. "It will be one of the highest honors of my life to address the Israeli Knesset at this fateful moment," Johnson said in a statement announcing the June 22 address. "Our ties run deeper than military partnerships and trade agreements. We're bound by the same beliefs, the same psalms, and the same sacred pursuit of liberty." Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has led House Republicans in their staunch support of Israel in the war in Gaza that began following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Johnson's speakership began weeks later, after the ouster of his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy also addressed the Knesset during his speakership in May 2023. And for Johnson, the overseas trip marks one of a small number he's taken since becoming speaker. His first trip abroad since taking the gavel came in September when he attended the G7 summit in Italy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson address the media after a meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Friday, February 7, 2025. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images The visit comes 20 months after the conflict between Israel and Hamas began. The U.S. has long been engaged in ongoing negotiations to broker a ceasefire between the two, and President Trump has expressed optimism in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Israel has faced intense criticism in recent months for a blockade on aid deliveries into Gaza. Johnson met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington in February. The speaker reiterated Wednesday that "it is our moral imperative to stand by our sister democracy" amid "grave threats" to Israel and Jewish people. "As terror and vile antisemitic ideology threaten Western Civilization, Israel must know that when America said, 'Never Again,' we meant it," Johnson added.

Newsom finds his resistance voice
Newsom finds his resistance voice

Politico

time27 minutes ago

  • Politico

Newsom finds his resistance voice

Presented by Californians for Energy Independence DRIVING THE DAY — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass imposed a curfew in her city's downtown last night in an attempt to prevent looting and vandalism as immigration protests stretched into their fifth day. Later, Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed the state, accusing President Donald Trump of intentionally inflaming the situation in Southern California and issuing an ominous warning. 'Democracy is under assault right before our eyes,' Newsom said. 'The moment we've feared has arrived.' IN HIS ELEMENT — Newsom wobbled finding his political footing in the initial months of Donald Trump's second term, but leading the Democratic resistance to the president's use of executive powers has put him squarely back in his element. Newsom has emerged as the national face of Democratic opposition to the president in recent days — as California fights Trump's unilateral deployment of the military and National Guard to quell civil unrest in Los Angeles following immigration raids. As our colleagues Jeremy B. White and Melanie Mason report, the California governor had faded from the forefront of national politics as attention shifted to Washington and politics in his home state was embroiled in questions over Kamala Harris' political future. The governor also faced chilling relations with Democratic lawmakers in Sacramento over his pivot to the center on issues like transgender girls in sports and scaling back health insurance for undocumented immigrants. Trump and Republicans have made Newsom the target of their ire as they accuse Democrats of being unable to stop turmoil that has led to burning cars and violence in a handful of areas in downtown Los Angeles — a focus that has, in turn, elevated Newsom's status on the left as he eyes a potential presidential run in 2028. 'I think this is helping Trump broadly,' said Mike Madrid, a California-based Republican consultant who opposes Trump. 'I also think it'll help Gavin — especially if he gets arrested.' Newsom has embraced the role of chief antagonist in his standoff with the Trump administration, which he's framed as an existential battle over the balance of power in America. Newsom accuses Trump of marching toward authoritarianism as he threatens to arrest Newsom and inciting conflict by deploying troops. Even California Democrats who've been critical of Newsom in recent months have cheered his feisty rhetoric and his willingness to push back on the White House. 'We've been waiting to feel like the governor is standing up and fighting for California and every Californian, and he seems to be doing that,' Lorena Gonzalez, head of the state Labor Federation, told Jeremy. Newsom has personalized the conflict by daring the administration to follow through on a threat by Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan, to arrest him — a sitting governor from the opposite political party. The Democratic Party's official social media account posted a glam shot of a stoic-looking Newsom emblazoned with his 'come and get me' quote. He's also suing to try to end the deployment of Marines and Trump's commandeering of thousands of the state's National Guard troops. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, the younger brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, denied the state's request for an immediate injunction, though a hearing is set for Thursday. Newsom has a history of seizing on moments that he sees as moral inflection points. During the first Trump administration, he relished leading California's resistance to his administration on climate policy. And as the former mayor of San Francisco, Newsom defied state and federal law when he began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004. 'Resistance for the sake of performative politics is not something he cares to participate in,' said Brian Brokaw, a veteran Democratic consultant and Newsom adviser. 'But this is a very real moment. He has to draw a line somewhere.' Read more about how Newsom is navigating the crisis in Jeremy and Melanie's piece. GOOD MORNING. It's Wednesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at ‪916-562-0685‬‪ — save it as 'CA Playbook' in your contacts. Or drop us a line at dgardiner@ and bjones@ or on X — @DustinGardiner and @jonesblakej. WHERE'S GAVIN? In Los Angeles, coordinating the state's response to the maelstrom. TRANSPORTATION FIRST IN POLITICO: SMOG ALERT — Trump plans to sign a trio of resolutions Thursday to revoke California's nation-leading vehicle emissions standards, our colleague Alex Nieves scooped. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ( author of a resolution to nix the state's electric vehicle sales mandate via the Congressional Review Act, and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) confirmed that the White House has scheduled the signings at 11 a.m. Thursday. The move will cap a monthslong effort to eliminate California's authority to set stricter-than-national electrification rules for passenger vehicles and commercial trucks. ON THE HILL SENATE QUERY — California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla pressed the Trump administration in a letter Tuesday to explain the legal basis for its deployment of Marines to Los Angeles and argued the decision was unnecessary. They asked for a response within 48 hours. 'A decision to deploy active-duty military personnel within the United States should only be undertaken during the most extreme circumstances, and these are not them,' the senators wrote. OUT ON A LIMB — Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke of New York went further, saying the military deployment is an impeachable offense, our Nicholas Wu reported. 'I definitely believe it is. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it,' Clarke said at a news conference Tuesday. NOT FOLLOWING — California Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu was asked by CNN whether he agreed. He didn't say but warned of broader implications. 'You don't want all 50 states subject to Marines showing up in their local jurisdictions. That's authoritarian. It's un-American, and it would be illegal,' Lieu said. CHANGE OF GUARD — Some Hill Republicans who supported the National Guard's deployment drew the line at sending out active-duty Marines, marking a subtle split with Trump. 'I would draw a distinction between the use of the National Guard and the use of the Marines,' Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters at the Capitol. 'Active duty forces are generally not to be involved in domestic law enforcement operations.' FRONT-LINER APPROACH — Republican Rep. Young Kim of California led a resolution pushing California leaders to work with the federal government to end what it called 'riots.' But she also told CNN she didn't think the Marine Corps deployment was necessary. 'We don't need any more chaos,' she said. 'I do not think that we need to get to the Marines.' THE THING ABOUT TRUMP AND THE MILITARY — Trump loves displays of military force and is parading two very different kinds this week, our colleagues Megan Messerly, Jack Detsch and Paul McLeary write. On one coast, military forces are arriving by the thousands to defend federal buildings and agents, facing off with civilians protesting the president's immigration agenda. On the other, they're readying a celebration of American military might in a parade held on the Army's — and Trump's — birthday. The scenes in Los Angeles and Washington underscore how Trump is leveraging his role as commander-in-chief in a much clearer and more urgent way than he did during his first term — embodying the image of a strong military commander that he has long admired in other foreign leaders, allies and adversaries alike. Read the full story here. INSIDE TRUMP'S THINKING — Trump's response to the protests isn't just an opportunity to battle with a Democratic governor over his signature issue. The president sees it as a chance to redo his first-term response to a wave of civil unrest, our Myah Ward writes. As protests broke out after the killing of George Floyd in 2020, Trump's instincts were to deploy thousands of active-duty troops across U.S. cities. But some administration officials resisted the idea and reportedly urged the president against invoking the Insurrection Act to do so. Five years later, Trump sees something familiar as protests rage across Los Angeles in response to the administration's immigration raids. He responded with the deployments and repeatedly signaled his willingness to invoke the Insurrection Act if protests continue to escalate. There's a chief motivating factor driving his aggressive response: The president is eager to avoid a repeat of the summer of protest that followed a Minneapolis police officer's killing of Floyd. Read the full story here. STATE CAPITOL NOT TOO SPECIAL — California is not the only state bracing for a special session to address budget problems depending on the fate of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' Connecticut, New York, New Mexico and Minnesota are among the other Democratic states weighing the need to call lawmakers back, as our colleague Jordan Wolman writes for The Fifty. While Democratic governors may not be able to stop Trump's agenda, they may use the special session threat as a way to mollify constituents upset over cuts to safety net programs. In California, legislative leaders have acknowledged the possibility of having to deal with new budget realities brought by federal cuts, and Democratic lawmakers such as Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens are willing to 'come back any day … if it means protecting some of these programs.' But Republicans could also put the blame on the majority party for overspending to begin with. 'I would say that our priorities have been on the goofy side,' said Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey. 'We're trying to offer too much to too many people when we can't even offer basic services.' — Eric He CLIMATE AND ENERGY MAKING LIMÓNADE — Senate Democrats elevated one of their biggest environmental champions when they picked Sen. Monique Limón as their next chamber leader. On Tuesday, she signaled a willingness to follow a consensus even if it strays from her progressive leanings. Read last night's California Climate for more on her EJ roots as well as the upcoming tests of her newfound influence. TOP TALKERS MAHAN'S MASTER PLAN — The San Jose City Council approved Mayor Matt Mahan's Responsibility to Shelter proposal Tuesday, The Mercury News reports. The ordinance allows police to arrest homeless people who repeatedly refuse shelter and comes as the city plans to increase its shelter capacity by more than 1,400 beds this year. 'San Jose residents have shown tremendous compassion, but they've also entrusted us with millions of their hard-earned tax dollars. They deserve to see the results,' said Vice Mayor Pam Foley. GUARD ASSIGNMENT — National Guard troops are now protecting ICE agents as they make arrests in Los Angeles, the Associated Press reports. ICE says the troops were 'providing perimeter and personnel protection for our facilities and officers who are out on daily enforcement operations.' AROUND THE STATE — Manny's, a popular cafe and political watering hole in San Francisco, was vandalized with antisemitic slurs during a protest in the Mission District. (San Francisco Chronicle) — A brush fire reported Tuesday afternoon prompted evacuations in Burbank. The Bethany fire primarily affected neighborhoods at the base of the foothills. (Los Angeles Times) — Fresno County provided $2.7 million to Community Health System at the same time the embattled provider is accused of participating in a kickback scheme to reward doctors for referrals. (GV Wire) Compiled by Nicole Norman PLAYBOOKERS BIRTHDAYS — actor Shia LaBeouf … Peter Dinklage … WNBA star Diana Taurasi WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO's California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store