Lawmakers prep to limit abortion | Permitless carry goes into effect

It's been a week since the Supreme Court released its ruling overturning the basic tenants of Roe v. Wade, leaving abortion regulation up to the states. But we still know very little about what abortion access will look like in Indiana in the future.

Lawmakers are poised to meet for a special session starting on July 25 — a later date than originally planned — to restrict abortion access and to give Hoosiers a $225 check to help deal with inflation. But they have not said at what point in a pregnancy they want to restrict abortion access or whether there should be any exceptions for rape.

Only one Republican responded to an IndyStar survey about what they hope to see legislation look like.

Here's some of our other abortion coverage. Check back in at IndyStar.com for more these next few weeks

• Hoosiers share why they had abortions after Roe reversal.

• As other states restrict abortion access, patients head to Indiana for care. 

• Indiana executives call for abortion rights, but largest firms remain silent.

• Here's how Indiana's political leaders reacted to the news. 

• We broke down Indiana's history restricting abortion access. 

• Briggs: Supreme Court abortion ruling forces Indiana leaders to show their values

Indianapolis won't prosecute abortion

Democrats are pretty powerless when it comes to the Republicans’ impending legislation to restrict abortion rights — but Indianapolis Democrats, at least, are voicing their displeasure.

Prosecutor Ryan Mears said last week he won’t prosecute abortion-related cases if the procedure is criminalized. But in a Republican-dominated state, that’s just about all he can do.

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Permitless carry law goes into effect today

It seems like the 2022 legislative session was forever ago, but some laws from the session are just now going into effect today. Among them: one that nixes the permit requirement for those carrying a handgun.

Reporter Johnny Magdaleno took a look at many of the cases in which police in Marion County arrested someone for not having a permit to carry a handgun since lawmakers passed the law and before it went into effect. Police in Marion County arrested more than 60 people.

Some people arrested by police had a clean criminal slate. That means the only connection to a crime the person had was not having a handgun permit. Others were more concerning, Magdaleno reported.

Here's what other laws are now in place

We compiled a list of other Indiana laws that go into effect today.

Vaping products, for example, are more expensive due to a new tax. The newly enacted tax on prefilled e-cigarette cartridges, or vape pods, is now 15% of the wholesale price. A 15% retail tax has been implemented for other vaping products.

Because of another law passed during the 2022 legislative session, transgender girls can no longer participate in girls sports.

Chuck Jones resigns as Wayne Township trustee

Wayne Township Trustee Chuck Jones is out of office after pleading guilty to a conflict of interest charge. The fallout stems from a nonprofit that contracted with the fire department — as a board member, Jones received payment from the nonprofit in addition to his salary as a trustee.

Historically, trustee and fire chiefs have sat on the board of that nonprofit, which used to provide the actual fire services back in the day before the department was professionalized.

"I'm just sorry the whole thing occurred," Jones said. "And it never was my intent to try to deceive anybody out of any money."

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Hoosier Politics is compiled and written by the IndyStar politics and government team. Send us tips or let us know what you think of the newsletter by emailing Kaitlin.Lange@IndyStar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Lawmakers prep to limit abortion | Permitless carry goes into effect