Gov. Daniels signs 15 bills into law, weighs signing abortion bill

Gov. Daniels signed 15 bills into law today and is still struggling with whether or not to sign the controversial abortion bill approved yesterday that takes aim at Planned Parenthood’s funding. The Indianapolis Star quotes Daniels as saying, “I haven’t decided yet ... It was attached to a bill I strongly supported, but we’ve got a little research to do.” The bill in question, House Bill 1210, would strip Planned Parenthood of Indiana of federal funds allocated through the state and would increase restrictions on women seeking abortions in Indiana.

Another bill the governor did sign created a system of evaluating public school teachers that categorizes teachers as highly effective, effective, improvement necessary, or ineffective. It also specifies that “a teacher rated ineffective or improvement necessary may not receive a raise or increment for the following year,” as well as stating “that a student may not be instructed two years in a row by two different teachers who have been rated as ineffective in the year preceding the student’s placement in that class if avoidable.”

—Zach Ammerman