House Democrats say the state budget proposed by House Republicans will devastate many public schools throughout the state.

The bill began with simple language: legalize Sunday alcohol sales. But pushback from liquor stores created an amendment in committee that imposed new regulations on grocery and convenience stores and pharmacies that sell alcohol. After that, the biggest supporters of Sunday sales became the bill's loudest opponents.

The bill passed 68-29 largely on party lines, with minority Democrats complaining that the plan cuts funding to urban and rural districts in favor of more money for suburban districts, charters and private schools.

A bill before the Indiana Senate would open access to over a half-century of adoption records, giving adoptees a much better chance of finding out about their biological roots.

The bill's author, Rep. Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte, said Tuesday morning he doesn't have the votes to move the bill to the Senate.

The common construction wage, a decades old practice in Indiana, is set by local wage boards for each individual public construction project.

By passing Senate Bill 62, the legislature gives the Department of Education permission to eliminate the Social Studies portion of the ISTEP exam for fifth and seventh graders this year. The bill also enables the DOE to reuse pilot questions on next year's test rather than releasing them to the public another time saving measure.

Speaker Brian Bosma says concerns about the impact of gaming legislation on local communities led him to pull the bill off Monday's House floor calendar. The concerns arose after a change to the bill last week in the Ways and Means committee.

The Indiana House unanimously approved legislation Monday to shorten the length of the ISTEP test that begins this week, clearing the way for the Senate to vote quickly to send the bill to the governor.

The House GOP budget proposal unveiled last week largely drew praise from Gov. Mike Pence, but he also said House Republicans have to be careful about spending too much.