Latest news with #WhitneyDownard
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Yahoo
Indiana Capital Chronicle takes home awards for top journalist, best website
Senior Reporters Whitney Downard, left, and Casey Smith hold the Indiana Capital Chronicle's seven awards following a Society of Professional Journalists banquet on May 2, 2025. (Submitted photo) The Indiana Capital Chronicle took home seven awards from the Society of Professional Journalists' annual Indiana chapter banquet Friday evening — including a top recognition for Senior Reporter Casey Smith, who was honored as the Journalist of the Year. SPJ board members cited Smith's accomplishments as an education writer while announcing the award, as well as her investigative work into Jamey Noel, a disgraced former sheriff now serving time in prison for misusing public funds for private gain. Judges also recognized Smith as likely being the first reporter to witness a state execution. Smith earned the trust of Joseph Cochran's defense team and was invited as part of Cochran's personal guest list. That work earned Smith — and ICC Editor-in-Chief Niki Kelly — a first-place nod in the criminal justice category. Kelly has covered Cochran's case since the beginning, when she was a courts reporter with the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Smith also won a second-place finish for her environmental reporting on a 2024 bill seeking to exempt certain products from being defined as toxic PFAs 'forever chemicals.' The ICC's four-person team won five other awards on Friday, including first place for best journalism website and third place for the publication's daily newsletter, Fast Break. Senior Reporter Whitney Downard nabbed a first-place win for her personality profile of Abbey Hall, a Hoosier who traveled to Illinois for an abortion after learning her daughter would be born with a detrimental birth defect. Downard also won second place in the Medical and Science Reporting category for her story about transportation troubles for adult day care recipients following a transition to managed care. To see a full list of nominees, visit SPJ's website. Winners were simultaneously announced on SPJ's X account. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Flying soon? Make sure you have a Real ID
Hoosiers planning to travel this summer should double check that they have a Real ID before boarding any flights. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) After years of delay, Hoosiers and other state residents will need a Real ID to pass through airport security and enter federal government buildings starting on May 7. In Indiana, a black star cutout in the upper right-hand corner signifies if a driver's license is Real ID compliant. The law establishing a Real ID passed in 2005, following a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission to establish a national standard for government-issued identification, such as driver's licenses. But implementation took longer than anticipated. Federal entities repeatedly extended the deadline for 14 years to give state motor vehicle departments time to comply, according to a 2022 NPR story. An Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles spokesperson told the Indiana Capital Chronicle that Indiana started offering Real ID on Jan. 1, 2010. A recent CBS News analysis found that 81% of Indiana driver's licenses are compliant — which the agency attributed to 'slow and steady growth' over the years. 'Since the introduction of Real ID, the BMV has adhered to all federal mandates regarding the documentation required to apply for a Real ID credential,' said Sarah Dickerson, a communications and engagement manager, in a statement. 'We encourage Hoosiers who are interested to reference the Real ID Checklist on our website, since many specific documents are needed.' Such documentation includes the following: proof of identity, proof of name or gender changes, proof of lawful status, proof of social security and proof of Indiana residency. As detailed in a BMV list, this can include multiple other forms of identity, such as an unexpired U.S. passport, original birth certificate, social security cards, certificate of naturalization and more. The requirements can be challenging for some to meet. For instance, a W-2 form can be proof of Indiana residency — but only if it includes the full, nine-digit social security number and not only the last four digits. Married women or those who changed their name for another reason face another hurdle, especially those who married decades ago and must produce their original marriage certificate to prove their name change. Dorothy Ballone, who changed her name seven decades ago, had her Real ID application rejected when she couldn't produce her original marriage certificate, she told a Rochester, New York TV station. Neither the church where she got married nor the town hall kept records that far back. CONTACT US The rule also impacts those who transitioned to another gender, adoptees or couples who choose to hyphenate their last names. The BMV documentation checklist includes a caveat at the bottom specifically for Hoosiers who fall into this category. 'If your current name does not match your identity document due to a name change … you may need to provide additional government-issued documents to support any or all name changes,' according to the footnote. 'For example, if you were born Jane Smith and then married Tom Cooper and your legal name is not Jane Cooper, you will need to bring your marriage license.' Having a valid passport with your changed name would also meet the requirement. Dickerson, with the BMV, urged Hoosiers in this category to work with their local branch to meet documentation requirements. 'Customers with complex situations face challenges similar to those they've had for years. This is seen more frequently with married women and those going through a divorce,' said Dickerson. 'Our branch staff are well-trained and skilled in completing Real ID transactions. Often, if a customer doesn't have all the proper documents, a staff member will explain what is needed to ensure they are able to complete the transaction next time.' To learn more about Real ID and answer specific questions, visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website or contact your local BMV branch. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hospital ‘price caps' passes out of House, Senate for the last time
Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne, listens to bills in the House Chamber on April 24, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Much of the compromise reached for House Enrolled Act 1004 mirrors what left the Senate earlier this month. Penalties for five nonprofit health systems exceeding 'price caps' have now been pushed off into 2029 — after the Office of Management and Budget identifies the 'average hospital rate' for certain inpatient and outpatient services. The final version retained a provision to strip nonprofit hospitals of their tax-exempt status under Indiana code as well as enhanced reporting metrics. 'Even with those changes, we are making meaningful, incremental changes to provide relief to our constituents,' said author Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne. Most House Democrats opposed the bill, citing concerns about what losing a nonprofit status could mean for a community. '(The) loss of nonprofit state versus a penalty will impact what benefits are provided to the community to keep Hoosiers healthier and prevent the unnecessary use of hospital services,' said Rep. Robin Shackleford, D-Indianapolis. A provision allowing the state to phase out the Healthy Indiana Plan, which covers low- and moderate-income Hoosiers, if federal funds are not allocated also gave her pause. 'There is nothing in this bill that ensures that patients will pay less for quality health care, but there is a lot of red tape,' she continued. 'And there is an increase in administration and labor fees, so we will be voting no.' Shackleford and 22 other lawmakers — including one Republican — voted against the bill in the House. For the first time, the state will also institute a Managed Care Assessment Fee, similar to the provider tax known as the Hospital Assessment Fee, which could reap a maximum $1.4 billion annually — though the rate would need to be negotiated with the federal government. Additionally, insurer negotiations with hospitals will be separated from Medicare Advantage deals — even if the insurer offers both. Combined with a reconfigured Hospital Assessment Fee that will leverage a larger federal reimbursement to health systems, Republicans said rural hospitals notched some wins. 'Two-thirds of Indiana nonprofit hospitals benefited more from the federal, state and local tax breaks than they invested back into their communities,' said Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown. '… this bill is going to put more dollars into our rural systems all across the state.' But reliable opposing Sens. Liz Brown and Tyler Johnson — Republicans from Fort Wayne and Leo, respectively — shared their discontent with setting pricing standards for any industry. Both have ties to Parkview Health, one of the five systems named in the bill, which recently announced a deal to purchase a struggling hospital in Cass County that would have otherwise closed. 'If they lose their not-for-profit status, they lose their license. Which means they can't operate at all … they have to close their doors,' Brown said. She worried that, under such a situation, a for-profit chain would only buy certain facilities, leaving out the rural hospitals that depend on their nonprofit status. A bipartisan group of 13 senators opposed the bill compared with 37 supporting votes.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Slew of bills dealing with state contracts, health care, casinos and more head to Indiana governor
Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, sits with his grandson on his lap before session April 23, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Among the bills sent to Gov. Mike Braun Wednesday was a Senate Republican priority measure to increase transparency — and scrutiny — around state government contracts. Sen. Scott Baldwin's Senate Enrolled Act 5 advanced for a final time from both the House and Senate with almost unanimous bipartisan support. Across both chambers, only Rep. Ryan Dvorak, D-South Bend, was opposed. Included in the final draft of the bill are new rules for contacts awarded by state agencies and offices — including a ban on non-public, no-bid deals — and steeper expectations for vendors paid with taxpayer dollars. It also mandates 'unfilled' government positions be eliminated, and requires state offices to more closely monitor and publicly report on spending, as well as in-flow and out-flow of federal funds. Last-minute conference committee negotiations carved out exemptions for agreements between the Indiana Department of Correction (DOC) and private employers. Baldwin noted that some 1,300 offenders are currently employed through 13 DOC 'joint ventures' with companies like Cummins, Goodwill, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indiana Pacers. 'These are very difficult to bid out. They're very specialized, and so we've excluded them for that sole purpose,' the senator said Wednesday morning. All other reporting requirements will still apply, though. Another exception was made for child support contracting between Indiana's Department of Child Services and local prosecutors. Certain health care entities will additionally be required to report ownership information to the state as part of a transparency effort to detangle potential conflicts of interest under House Enrolled Act 1666. It passed the House on a 78-13 vote, with opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. The proposal had an easier journey in the Senate, where it had unanimous support. Providers like hospitals, insurers, third party administrators and pharmacy benefit managers will need to detail ownership stakes to either the Indiana Department of Health or the Indiana Department of Insurance, depending on their services. The Secretary of State's Office will also be involved in collecting and reporting data. Senators urged their House counterparts to exclude owners with less than a 5% interest in the entity at the behest of small-time providers seeking anonymity — particularly dentists, who are no longer impacted by the bill. That language survived conference committee edits. But House authors disagreed with the Senate's additional confidentiality provisions, though bill does give overseeing agencies some discretion when it comes to public reporting. 'The Senate added so much confidentiality that it was no longer a transparency bill,' author Rep. Julie McGuire, R-Indianapolis, concluded. The proposal, along with Senate Enrolled Act 118, both head to the governor, who previously signaled his support for such transparency measures. The latter moved with minimal opposition and would compel certain hospitals and health care providers to provide detailed reporting on their participation in the 340B drug program, which pairs drug manufacturer discounts with hospitals caring for underserved populations. Some critics say large health systems unfairly profit, prompting additional scrutiny from the state. The initial bill was amended to exclude certain Health Resources and Services Administration grantees. 'When it came back from the House, there was a concern that it may have excluded some hospitals that we wanted to report,' said author Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso. 'The conference committee report simply clarifies that.' The Senate approved the measure unanimously but it had two opposing votes in the House. Legislation to study relocating a poor-performing casino — or adding a new casino — will soon cross Braun's desk, too. Senators on Wednesday concurred with House changes in a 37-11 vote. Senate Enrolled Act 43 would require the Indiana Gaming Commission to contract out for a study to assess the top two regions, revenue-wise, for a casino license. Author Sen. Andy Zay, R-Huntington, initially sought to relocate a failing casino operating near the Indiana-Kentucky border to the Fort Wayne area. When that effort failed, Zay overhauled an empty vehicle bill to create the study. 'Destabilizing' Indiana casino relocation study could also recommend new license During its trip through the House, the legislation was narrowed from three regions, but expanded by striking relocation-specific language. The study would only take place 'subject to available funding,' despite a new November deadline. As he introduced that amendment, Rep. Ethan Manning, R-Logansport, noted 'the biggest hole in the market is northeast Indiana.' He indicated another possibility is Indianapolis. Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, said Wednesday that he'd heard a location has been 'earmarked' for Fort Wayne. Zay rejected that. 'Nothing has been earmarked. And that's why we're doing the study, to determine where the best locations might be — independent of any influences,' Zay replied. Randolph also suggested a set-aside for South Bend, but Zay said the city is 'already under compact' with the Potawatomi tribe and its Four Winds Casino. Senate Enrolled Act 43's text mandates an 'impact assessment of a potential tribal casino in the region' and consideration of the 'impact of a potential tribal casino on revenues.' Another measure seeking Braun's signature, Senate Enrolled Act 146, will raise minimum public teacher pay to $45,000 and bump the minimum percentage of tuition support that schools must spend on teacher pay. The bill — part of the governor's priority agenda — passed out of the House a final time in a 90-1 vote, and 47-0 from the Senate. The average teacher salary in Indiana during the last school year was recorded at $60,557, according to the latest state teacher compensation report. The lowest teacher salary reported was $40,000 — the current state-mandated minimum. The highest was $110,000. Teacher pay is ultimately set by local school districts. The original Senate bill, authored by Sen. Linda Rogers, would have additionally provided 20 days of parental leave to teachers who have worked for a school district for at least six months. That provision was ultimately removed, however, due to budget constraints. 'It was for fiscal reasons, not for policy reasons,' said Rogers, R-Granger. 'It's something I'm sure that we all want to work towards, but it is something that in local school corporations, they can still do today as part of the bargaining process. … I just don't think this is the right time. There are a lot of reasons to do it. Unfortunately, dollars play into it, and I'm trying to be cognizant of the budgets of local school corporations.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In Memoriam: Social media restrictions, newborn tax credit, utility rules and more
Hundreds of bills are already dead as the 2025 legislative session nears its close. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Dozens of bills are headed to the governor's desk for final sign-off, but even more have stalled — or appear to be dead altogether. Despite earlier momentum, legislation dealing with rape kit backlogs, immigration enforcement, social media restrictions for minors, and more ultimately missed key deadlines and failed to advance in the final weeks of the session. Those issues won't be officially settled, however, until lawmakers close out the session for good. Bill language could still reappear elsewhere — via closed-door conference committees — during the coming days. Republican leadership said they plan to finish this year's business by Thursday, April 24, but the session isn't legally required to end until end-of-day on the following Tuesday, April 29. Although a bill prohibiting some Hoosier minors from using social media without their parents' permission got bipartisan support in the Senate, the House took no action. Senate Bill 11 would have required anyone under the age of 16 to secure permission from their guardians before accessing apps like Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. Another provision allowed Indiana's attorney general to issue a civil investigative demand to determine if a social media site violated the law, with civil penalties up to $250,000. Following a 42-7 vote in the Senate in January, the bill was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, never gave the proposal a hearing. The bill's author, Sen. Ryan Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, attempted to amend the language into a foreign trade bill during the second half of the session, but he told the Indiana Capital Chronicle it was deemed non-germane, so he never called it for a vote. 'It's dead for good,' Bohacek said, but he's open to bringing the bill back in 2026. One of several controversial anti-immigration bills this session also died in the second-half of session despite passing the full House in February. House Bill 1531 would have mandated local compliance with federal immigration detainer requests and leveraged local government funding to ensure cooperation with federal authorities like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It also would have targeted employers who hire a person who is not legally allowed in the U.S. The bill died after the Senate Judiciary Committee, helmed by Fort Wayne Republican Sen. Liz Brown, declined to hold a hearing. 'I've had a lot of conversation with Sen. Brown in the second half of the session … she's not comfortable moving it this year due to a few different things in the bill,' said bill author Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, who could file a similar bill in a future session. 'I'm still looking at other options, but more than likely, it's not moving this year.' Still, a separate immigration-focused proposal, House Bill 1393, is headed to Gov. Mike Braun's desk. The bill requires jails and detention facilities to tell county sheriffs when they have probable cause to believe that someone they're booking on unrelated misdemeanor or felony charges isn't legally in the country. Sheriffs would have to report that information to ICE. Senators additionally killed a contested elections bill that aimed to put school referendums and public questions only on general election ballots. Rep. Tim Wesco, R-Osceola, who authored House Bill 1681, previously emphasized that more voters participate in general elections than primaries. Democrats opposed, arguing that the change would strip local control and put more financial stress on schools. Ultimately, though, the referenda language was signed into law in Senate Enrolled Act 1. Also dead is House Bill 1413, which sought to eliminate the state's backlog of rape kits and help counties with legal costs. Rep. Becky Cash, who authored the proposal, pointed to the current six- to eight-month wait for rape kit processing in Indiana, which crime technicians and law enforcement have attributed to a lack of equipment and staff. The bill earned unanimous support from the House, and the chamber's budget-drafting committee created a $2.5 million line item for the proposed Rape Kit Backlog Fund. Momentum continued in the Senate corrections committee, but the multi-million dollar appropriation is likely in jeopardy following this week's grim revenue forecast. State budget writers said cuts are on the way. Left out of the budget, too, was a $500 tax credit per newborn child for eligible taxpayers — or $250 for a married person filing a separate return. Originally offered in Senate Bill 497, the credit would have been available for families earning up to 720% of the federal poverty level. The proposal passed 47-0 from the Senate but never made it into the state's spending plan. Hundreds of other bills additionally failed to cross the finish line. Among those are: , pay day loans: The House narrowly advanced Rep. Jake Teshka's bill to create new, longer-term loans of up to $5,000 — with steep monthly service fees stacked atop interest and other charges. The measure would have also allowed lenders overseeing larger borrowing, like car loans, to charge interest rates as high as 36%, up from the current cap of 25%. The Senate's insurance committee left the bill untouched. CONTACT US , special education classroom cameras: A repeat attempt by Rep. Beck Cash, R-Zionsville, to mandate round-the-clock electronic recording equipment in special education classrooms, sensory rooms, seclusion spaces and time-out areas was stripped from the underlying bill by the House Education Committee. What's left in the measure — which has since advanced from the Senate and is awaiting final House approval — are provisions to allow parents an opportunity to collect their student's property if the child no longer attends the school, and another to permit parents to record meetings concerning their child's individualized education program. The bill also requires schools to always have present in each building at least one employee who has obtained nonviolent crisis intervention training. , annexation: An attempt to bridge the differences between House and Senate lawmakers in an annexation compromise met its demise last month after the author criticized the process and rebuked committee members. Sen. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo, has repeatedly authored legislation to rein in what he describes as an 'abusive' form of annexation that's 'tilted in favor of the municipalities.' But he rejected an attempt to meld two bills into an annexation compromise, seemingly killing the effort altogether. , iGaming: A push to legalize online lottery and casino games passed easily out of the House Public Policy Committee earlier this year but didn't get a hearing in the Ways and Means Committee, which would've taken a closer look at the financial aspects of the proposal. Rep. Ethan Manning, R-Logansport, authored the bill and estimated that the digital lottery and casino games, coupled with sports wagering tax hikes, could bring the state of Indiana more than $300 million annually in new revenue. But some were concerned that online options would cannibalize in-person gaming or lottery sales. House Bills and , new state emblems: A lively committee presentation by Jasper Elementary School fourth-graders was not enough to convince lawmakers to name the persimmon as Indiana's state fruit. That bill died in committee without a vote, as did another proposal to make Myotis sodalis, also known as the Indiana bat, the official mammal of the Hoosier State. Opposition brings likely end to Indiana utility siting bill, but the issue isn't going away , utility siting: Overwhelming opposition from county officials killed the Republican proposal to shift authority over large-scale utility infrastructure projects from local governments to the state. The bill received multiple hours of discussion in the House utilities committee, but it was never put to a vote and failed to advance to the full chamber. Bill author Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, called it a response to ongoing resistance of local governments to greenlight solar, wind and other renewables projects that are increasingly necessary to support the state's growing energy demands. Locals said decision-making control over the zoning and approval processes for those proposals was theirs, not the state's. , abortion pills: A move to ban pill-based abortions, and to require women to file an affidavit of rape to meet one of the state's few exceptions, got no traction. Filed by Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, the bill would have outlawed the use of abortion pills even in abortions that meet the state's narrow exemptions. And it would have required a woman who seeks an abortion under the state's rape or incest exceptions to provide the doctor with an affidavit under penalties of perjury attesting to the rape or incest. The same requirement was defeated in 2022 during an amendment fight. Senate Bills and , closed primaries and early voting: Legislation slashing early in-person voting days and closing primary elections to unaffiliated voters garnered mixed committee testimony in early February before quietly dying in the Senate. Sen. Gary Byrne's bill would've cut Indiana's early voting timeline from 28 days down to two weeks. Another measure offered by Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton, would have added text to voter registration forms asking Hoosiers to choose their political parties and warning that affiliation is required to vote in a primary election. It also would've required county election officials to affiliate registered voters with either the Democratic or Republican Party based on their last primary election votes, and would've created a way for voters to change their affiliations. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
