By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
“Today’s announced action steps are a great step to making energy bills more affordable. Hoosier families work hard to make every dollar count, and utility companies must start doing the same.” — Gov. Mike Braun
The summer slowdown went in reverse on Wednesday. We have several important stories for you today.
The state closed out the fiscal year books and there is a lot of cash sitting in reserves.
Gov. Mike Braun is shutting down a program intended to help minority- and women-owned businesses compete for state contracts because Attorney General Todd Rokita believes it’s unconstitutional.
Indiana’s utility regulators are probing company profits.
Plus, campaign finance numbers in the secretary of state race and more.
Indiana Secretary of Management and Budget Lisa Hershman speaks alongside State Budget Director Chad Ranney during a news conference on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (Photo by Tom Davies/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Indiana’s state budget reserves jump 60% in past year to $4B
By Tom Davies
Indiana’s state government cash reserves grew by $1.5 billion over the past year as tax collections increased much faster than expected.
Rising revenue combined with an ongoing clampdown on state spending led to a 60% jump in the reserves to just shy of $4 billion as of June 30, according to the 2025 fiscal year report released Wednesday.
New Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission leader Anthony Swinger announces a pair of affordability investigations on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Indiana regulators to investigate utility profits, bill charges
By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
State regulators on Wednesday kicked off investigations into utility profit margins and bill charges — the first two action items in an energy affordability report that also recommends several legislative changes to benefit struggling customers.
Anthony Swinger, the newly elevated leader of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, said regulators are preparing for a statutorily required shift to a three-year ratemaking system.
They’ll first look into the profits utilities are allowed to collect on the investments they make for capital projects.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita discusses his 43-page advisory opinion on race- and sex-based preferences in contract awards during a press conference at the Indiana Statehouse Wednesday, July 15. (Photo by Mackenzi Klemann/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Indiana to end race, gender preferences in state contracts
By Mackenzi Klemann
Indiana will discontinue aspects of a diversity program it used for decades to recruit minority and female contractors after the state attorney general determined the program’s race and gender preferences were unconstitutional.
Gov. Mike Braun announced Wednesday morning he will replace race- and sex-based contracting preferences in the Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises Program and Indiana’s Diversity Business Enterprises Program with a merit-based system.
COMMENTARY
During the first five years of life, up to 90% of a child's capacity to learn is developed. (Getty Images)
Maintain high expectations for those who teach the youngest Hoosiers
By Erin Kissling
Every Hoosier child deserves a strong start in life. Achieving that goal depends on many factors, but few are more important than the expertise of the adults who care for and educate them.
As policymakers consider changes to Indiana's childcare licensing regulations, every proposed reform should be evaluated through one simple question: How will this improve outcomes for children's learning and wellbeing?
NATIONAL NEWS
A dispensary in St. Louis advertises to passersby. Nearly 34% of adolescents seeking treatment for cannabis use disorder in 2022 experienced an admission delay, according to a new study. (Photo by Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent)
More teens with cannabis use disorder are facing treatment delays, study finds
By Amanda Watford
As federal officials consider whether to reclassify marijuana under federal drug law, a new study has found that more American teenagers seeking treatment for cannabis use disorder, known as CUD, are facing longer wait times before receiving care.
The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, analyzed national data from more than 124,000 adolescent admissions to publicly funded substance use treatment facilities between 2012 and 2022. Researchers found that after several years of decline, the share of young people experiencing delays in accessing treatment increased sharply.
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