Feb 02, 2025
NATIONAL NUTCASERY
putting the EW in news
Confirmation hearings for Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr and Kash Patel were healed last with with votes expected early this week. Todd Young is moveble on these picks - especially on Gabbard. Call him (and Jim Banks, why not - 202-224-4814) and tell them how much you support merit, experience, and intelligence in hiring and how these clowns don’t have anything like that. Scripts from @momsforindiana
tariffs take effect
Trump has enacted tariffs on China (10%), Canada, and Mexico (both 25%). See corrinestraight’s video on why that’s bad for Hoosiers in particular
Thanks for reading Blue 812 News! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
EO my god seriously?
The Executive Orders continue to be released despite my screams into the void. here’s a tracker with a helpful summary of each.
STATEWIDE SHENANIGANS
race for the chair
Derek Camp joins Karen Tallian, Jennifer McCormick, and Destiny Wells in the race for the next state Democratic Party chair. The latest episode of Turn Left with Dana Black had a great discussion on how the process works in more detail
Related: Destiny Wells’ new website with information about how she will recruit, reform & rebrand the Indiana Democratic Party.
State of the State: the state is state-ing
Mike Braun gave his State of the State address last week, counter-programmed by the IBLC Unity Rally. The speech was unsurprising if you kept up on his campaign speeches - a lot of what we’ve heard you can read the full transcript but here are some highlights
3% annual cap on property tax bill increases and a “reset” to 2021 tax levels for owner-occupied homes. An analysis from the Legislative Service Agency estimated that this would result in a $1.1 billion revenue decline in 2026 for public school districts and local governments, which receive more than 90% of property tax revenue. We’ll probably see local governments raise taxes to make u the difference, and Hoosier taxpayers will just make the payment to someone else.
A renewed call for lifting all income limits on the state’s private school voucher program. 97% of Hoosier families were already eligible for vouchers, but now we can make sure the wealthiest of the wealthy in our state can use state funding for the private schools they were already going to attend.
BILLWATCH 2025
Monday is a particularly bad day for the future of voting rights in Indiana, as several bad bills are being heard in the House and Senate. See below from MADVoters:
Here are some bills that moved last week:
House Bill 1432, which would legalize gambling on your phone, passed out of the House Public Policy committee by a 9-2 vote.
Senate Bill 451, which would decrease the income tax, unanimously passed out of the Senate.
Senate Bill 143, which prohibits government units from denying parents information about their children, passed out of the Senate by a 44-5 vote.
GOOD TROUBLE
There are only a few weeks left of committee meetings for the first half of the session. Over 1,200 bills were filed this session, but for them to remain alive, they must be passed out of committee, heard twice on the floor and voted out by Feb. 20. Then they’ll switch to the other chamber to start the process over there. There are some GOOD bills that have still not been scheduled! Let’s call the statehouse and let them know we want to see them:
From Women4Change Indiana:
Use their webform to contact members of the Health and Providers Services Committee to request a hearing for SB 521 and SB 522. Both of these proposed bills will positively impact Hoosier women and families. Link to email forms below. This is a quick and easy action!
1) Paid Family and Medical Leave is a bipartisan bill (SB 115) but to make it happen we need Senator Linda Rogers, chair of the Pensions & Labor Committee, to give it a hearing. Can you make a quick call to leave a voicemail requesting a hearing of SB 115 (317-234-9443) or email [email protected]?
RESOURCE CENTER
put your scrolling to good use! Here are some great Indiana accounts to follow:
MomsForIndiana: Instagram
UPCOMING EVENTS
Nasty Women will be meeting February 4th from 5-7. Location is tentatively Meeting Room D at the VCPL. We will be discussing the INDEMs FAQ for Pamphlet Club.
Wednesday 2/12: Democracy Day at the Statehouse sponsored by MADVoters, StandUp Indiana, and Common Cause; League of Women Voters' League Day at the Statehouse
From reader Shannon: 2/12 is also Tobacco-Tree Indiana day. We are taking two bus loads of folks there to press for raising the tobacco tax $2 per pack. Would both raise revenue and reduce Medicaid costs.
Thursday 2/20: Reproductive Health day at the Indiana Statehouse. Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, ACLU of Indiana, All Options, Good Trouble Coalition, Hoosier Jews for Choice, Indiana TaskFORCE, ACOG, Our Choice Coalition, and Women4Change are partnering together to urge legislators in passing bills aimed at bettering the status of reproductive health in Indiana. Register here.
END ON A HIGH NOTE
Phyllis Fong, national hero
WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Security agents escorted the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of her office on Monday after she refused to comply with her firing by the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Phyllis Fong, a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and current inspector general, was escorted out of her office on Monday after she refused to comply with her firing. She had earlier told colleagues that she intended to stay after the White House terminated her Friday, saying that she didn’t believe the administration had followed proper protocols, the sources said.
In an email to colleagues on Saturday, reviewed by Reuters, she said the independent Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency “has taken the position that these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time.”
Read more at Reuters.
Trump's time in the White House runs out in:
Thanks for reading Blue 812 News! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.