Today, the Interim Study Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications met at the Indiana Statehouse to discuss the widespread and long-lasting power outages Northwest Indiana residents endured following severe weather on Aug. 11.

On Sept. 14, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would be rolling back Obama and Biden-era regulations which required coal and gas power plants to capture 90% of climate-altering pollution by 2032. The previous administration estimated that these regulations would prevent 1,200 premature deaths, 360,000 cases of asthma and 57,000 lost workdays. Today, Gov. Mike Braun was joined by a representative of the EPA to announce Indiana will happily oblige these rollbacks.

‍ State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago) is calling on the FSSA and Gov. Mike Braun to ensure Hoosiers in disaster-affected areas of the state can keep their Medicaid coverage and in-home care in the wake of severe weather.

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During a press conference today, Aug. 17, members of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus (IBLC) were joined by several business owners and community leaders to discuss the impact of Gov. Mike Braun's executive order last month ending the Minority and Women's Business Enterprise (M/WBE) program. Created by the legislature in the 1980's, the program worked to ensure state contracts were equitably distributed among women and minority-owned businesses. Braun's executive order followed Attorney General Todd Rokita's legal opinion that the program violated the 14^th Amendment of the United States Constitution. This opinion was unprompted by any legal challenge to the M/WBE program.

State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago), chair of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus (IBLC), issued the following statement in response to Gov. Mike Braun's move to eliminate race- and gender-conscious goals from the Diversity Business Enterprises (DBE) program.

Today, Black Americans throughout the country are celebrating Juneteenth, commemorating the anniversary of the last enslaved African Americans in Texas learning of their freedom years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Today, the Chicago Bears announced they will be moving the team to Hammond. This move was enabled, in part, thanks to State Rep. Earl Harris Jr.'s (D-East Chicago) House Enrolled Act 1292 in 2025, which established the Northwest Indiana Professional Sports Development Commission. Last session, the bipartisan Senate Enrolled Act 27 passed through both chambers, establishing the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to acquire funds for a new stadium for the Chicago Bears. Harris was a leading House sponsor of this legislation.

On Saturday, May 30, members of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus will kick off their annual interim town hall tour with an event at the Julia M. Carson Government Center.

Today, members of the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to require Louisiana to redraw its congressional maps to undo efforts to give Black voters equal representation following the 2020 census.

Today, April 14, Gov. Mike Braun announced that he will augment to Financial Responsibility and Opportunity Growth (FROG) Fund to expand enrollment for Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers.