Unemployed Hoosiers could be pushed into job training and educational programs meant to help them get back into the workforce under a bill that passed the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously on Thursday.

House Republicans Thursday rejected several attempts by Democrats to change the so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA.

If energy efficiency programs succeed, consumers use less energy, which means utility companies get less money. Indiana's proposed energy efficiency program includes what's called "lost revenue recovery" - meaning utilities can get back some of the money they lose by increasing rates.

A Senate committee passed a bill Wednesday aimed at reviving Indiana's declining casino industry. The bill includes accommodations for the various needs of the state's 13 casinos. But, not all are satisfied with the proposed fixes.

The state hired an independent consulting firm to evaluate the workload of DCS case workers, and it's recommending adding 100 new case managers and 17 new supervisors.

The Right to Try bill would allow terminally-ill patients to receive experimental drugs.

The bill would bar construction of new nursing homes for three years with only a few exceptions. Those include allowing construction in counties where nursing home occupancy rates are at least 90 percent, and allowing construction of small homes of no more than a hundred beds.

The legislation aims to speed up the rescue of child victims of human trafficking.

The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act doesn't necessarily extend to members of the Indiana National Guard or reservists. So, the Attorney General's office made a state-level protection bill part of its agenda for the session.

A House committee approved the bill Monday 9-4, along party lines.