Braun signs Indiana-Illinois border commission, Gary supplemental pay and others into law
The Indiana-Illinois border commission, Gary supplemental pay, and tollway bills were all recently signed into law by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun.
House Enrolled Act 1008, authored by Speaker Todd Huston, would establish an Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission to research the possibility of adjusting the boundaries between the two states.
Braun, who signed the bill into law May 1, will have to set the commission's first meeting no later than Sept. 1.
Huston, R-Fishers, has stated he drafted the bill after learning that 33 Illinois counties have voted to secede from their state, including seven in November, since 2020.
'These people literally went and voted. They have spoken,' Huston previously said. 'Whether Indiana is the right solution or not, they've expressed their displeasure. We're just saying, if you've expressed your displeasure, we'd love to have you.'
Indiana would have six commissioners and Illinois would have five commissioners, and a quorum of the commission consists of at least six members, according to the bill.
The Indiana commissioners would be appointed by the governor, and the commissioners cannot be legislators. No more than four commissioners can be members of the same political party, according to the bill. Illinois legislators filed a companion bill, but it was never assigned to a committee. As a result, there would be no Illinois members of the commission.
The bill states the commission's recommendation to adjust the boundary between Indiana and Illinois wouldn't take effect until approved by the Indiana legislature, the Illinois legislature and the U.S. Congress.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker brushed off the proposal — and fired back at the neighboring state — when he was asked about it at an unrelated news conference in January.
'It's a stunt. It's not going to happen,' Pritzker said. 'But I'll just say that Indiana is a low-wage state that doesn't protect workers, a state that does not provide health care for people in need, and so I don't think it's very attractive for anybody in Illinois.'
Braun also signed a bill April 16 requiring property tax assessment board of appeals members to live in Indiana.
Senate Enrolled Act 187, authored by State Sen. Dan Dernulc, states the term of anyone serving on county PTABOA who isn't an Indiana resident will expire July 1. The fiscal body, which is the council in Lake County, would then be required to appoint a new member to finish out the member's term.
The bill maintained Indiana's current PTABOA law that states a member has to be at least 18 years old and be 'knowledgeable in the valuation of property,' including holding the certification of a level two or level three assessor-appraiser.
Dernulc, R-Highland, said he drafted the bill after learning Cook County Board of Review commissioner and Lake County PTABOA member Samantha Steele was arrested for driving under the influence in Chicago late last year.
Steele wasn't reappointed to her seat and left the PTABOA board in early January, said Lake County Assessor and PTABOA secretary LaTonya Spearman. The Board of Commissioners appointed Warren Reeder, a local realtor, she said.
Braun signed House Enrolled Act 1393, which addressed ICE notification after an arrest, April 30.
House Enrolled Act 1393, authored by State Rep. Garrett Bascom, R-Lawrenceburg, required jail and detention facility employees to tell county sheriffs when they have probable cause to believe an arrestee, who is facing misdemeanor or felony charges, is not in the county legally. The sheriff would then be required to contact ICE, under the bill.
Initially, the bill required police officers, who arrest someone for a misdemeanor or felony and have probable cause, to notify the sheriff.
Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said he amended the bill in committee to shift the notification from police officers to jail and detention center employees.
'I amended the bill because I did not want to put law enforcement in the position of even being able to pull somebody over or to detain somebody just because somebody may not be here legally,' Freeman said.
Sophia Arshad, a Merrillville immigration attorney, said the law will open the way to racial profiling.
Immigrants don't carry their immigration file around with them because it involves a lot of important paperwork, Arshad said. Permanent residents are supposed to carry their permanent resident cards with them, she said, but many times permanent residents don't carry that card because they are scared to lose it.
But, even if immigrants carried their immigration case files with them, Arshad said local law enforcement aren't trained on reading through immigration paperwork to understand someone's status.
'I don't think it's going to pass constitutional muster,' Arshad said. 'Local law enforcement has no authority to determine if someone is in or out of status or if there's any reason to question someone about that.'
Braun signed the toll road bill into law May 1. House Enrolled Act 1461, authored by state Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, would allow the state to charge tolls on all Indiana interstate highways, including I-80/94 and I-65.
Specifically, the bill would allow the Indiana Department of Transportation to submit a request to the Federal Highway Administration for a waiver to toll lanes on interstate highways. If the waiver is granted, the legislature would not have to enact a statute for the Indiana finance authority to take action on tolling.
Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, offered two amendments to remove the toll road language – to remove INDOT's ability to submit for the tollway waiver and to reinstate the 75-mile exemption for tolling from the nearest toll road – but both failed.
Along with tollways, House Bill 1461 allows for wheel tax, addresses bridge construction funding, allows excess distributions from the state's Community Crossings matching grant program to be distributed to all communities based on lane miles instead of road miles, along with other elements.
Pressel previously testified in committee that the state has seen a decrease in road funding dollars, which comes from gas tax, BMV registration and excise tax, as cars become more fuel efficient and people purchase less gas.
By 2030, the state will have to fund $1.2 billion and local governments will have to fund between $900 million to $2.5 billion in road projects because of inflation costs and the reduction in drivers purchasing gas, Pressel said.
'When your road funding revenue is based on gallons sold … we are having the conversation: How do we fund roads into the future? Should it come out of the general fund? I don't believe that to be true. I think we should have user fees. You pay for what you use,' Pressel previously said.
House Enrolled Act 1041, which would ban transgender women from collegiate sports statewide, was signed by Gov. Mike Braun April 16.
The act, authored by state Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, prohibits a male, based on the student's biological sex at birth, from participating on a women's athletic team. The act also allows students or parents to file a grievance if a college isn't following the law.
House Enrolled Act 1041 mirrors legislation passed in 2022 banning transgender athletes from girl sports at the K-12 level, according to Post-Tribune archives.
LGBTQ Outreach of Porter County was unable to provide a comment, but issued a February statement when the legislation passed the House. The organization said it was outraged with the legislation and the message it sends to transgender youth.
'Transgender kids, like other students, deserve the same chances to learn teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership and self-discipline, and to build a sense of belonging with their peers,' the statement said. 'When we tell transgender girls that they can't play girls' sports — or transgender boys that they can't play boys' sports — they miss out on this important childhood experience and all the lessons it teaches.'
Braun signed House Enrolled Act 1095 into effect on April 1.
The bill was written by Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, and will expand the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force to include Lake County. The task force was initially created in 2021 and included eight Central Indiana counties.
Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez said in a statement that he fully supports House Enrolled Act 1095.
'This enhanced partnership will strengthen our ability to combat illegal firearms, organized crime and violent offenders throughout the region and the state,' Martinez said. 'We hope this new collaboration will allow to share critical resources, intelligence and technology to address gun-related violence in our communities.'
The Indiana Crime Guns Task Force brings together local and state police with federal partners to track and remove illegal guns, investigate gun crimes and improve coordination between agencies, according to Post-Tribune archives.
In 2024, the task force investigated more than 150 leads that led to arrests of 232 people, seizure of more than 270 illegal guns and more than 75,000 grams of drugs, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Harris previously said the plan is to take the task force statewide.
'It's good when you talk about getting guns off the street and also it's helpful in terms of getting illegal narcotics off the street,' Harris had said. 'Wanting Lake County, where I live and represent, to be part of that as soon as possible is important to me.'
A second of Harris' bills was signed into law by Braun on April 30. House Enrolled Act 1292 establishes a Northwest Indiana professional development commission and professional sports development fund.
The commission will be tasked with exploring and implementing strategies to attract sports franchises to the region. The bill was amended in the legislature to give local control over the fund.
According to Post-Tribune archives, the commission would have 17 members, including mayors from East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Michigan City, LaPorte, Portage and South Bend, while the remaining members would be appointed by various people, including the executive director of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, and Lake, Porter, LaPorte and St. Joseph county leaders.
Once established, the commission would be able to enter agreements or contracts for grants or appropriations from federal, state, and local governments, individuals, foundations or other organizations. It would also be able to operate, own, manage or lease property.
The commission would spend money from the professional sports development fund, which would be funded through general assembly appropriations, grants, gifts and donations. The money from the fund can't be reverted to another fund.
Harris' goal with the legislation is to attract the Chicago Bears to Northwest Indiana. His late father proposed legislation to bring a sports stadium to the region, which was also aimed at drawing in the Bears.
'To be able to pick up the ball, as his son, I'm very proud and happy about that, and I'm sure he would be also,' Harris previously said.
A Gary supplemental payment bill was signed by Braun on May 1. House Enrolled Act 1448 — authored by Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville — requires the city to pay more than $12 million to East Chicago and Michigan City.
The legislation addresses a state comptroller mistake with supplemental payments that were signed into law in 2019, following the move of Majestic Star casinos to Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana.
Money from supplemental payments will come from deducted state comptroller funds and money appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly, according to bill documents. Funds will be withheld for 10 years.
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton has repeatedly spoken about House Enrolled Act 1448, most recently during his State of the City address.
The city was originally set to begin payments this year, but Melton asked to have the timeline delayed due to financial constraints, according to Post-Tribune archives.
'This legislation fails to acknowledge that for 20 years, Gary had to compete while sandwiched between two other casino municipalities,' Melton said in a statement. 'Throughout those two decades, Gary never received subsidiaries from neighboring cities, nor was any 'hold harmless' language established to protect our city's economic viability.'
akukulka@chicagotribune.com
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com
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