Statehouse Update: Gov. Declarations, Abortion Bill, Hate Crimes

In one press conference this week, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced his pardon of Keith Cooper, who was wrongfully convicted of burglary two decades ago. He says he’s convinced of Cooper’s innocence. The governor also issued an emergency disaster declaration for East Chicago, Indiana, a community struggling with a lead contamination crisis. And he terminated negotiations that former Gov. Mike Pence set up with a company to lease the state’s cell towers. He says he’s ordered his staff to explore other paths.

In the legislature, a House committee heard testimony on a bill that would mandate abortion providers tell their patients that medication-induced abortions could be reversed. While some doctors support that language, others say it’s scientifically unsound and that the abortion reversal drug is untested and unproven.

And a Senate committee approved a hate crimes bill. The bill could enhance penalties for crimes committed because of the victim’s characteristics – such as race, sexual orientation or gender identity. A similar bill cleared the Senate last year but did not get a hearing in the House.