04-04-2025
Marijuana billboard ban, towing rules stripped from Senate's BMV bill, but advance in House
From left: Rep. Bob Morris questions Rep. Jim Pressel about towing regulations on the House floor on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
A finance-focused Senate panel excised a billboard-specific ban on marijuana advertising and regulations on towing services from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles's legislation Thursday morning — hours before the House advanced tweaked versions.
Commercial driver's license (CDL) reciprocity also got the ax, with lawmakers citing immigration-related fears.
Appropriations Committee chair Sen. Ryan Mishler, said the marijuana and towing provisions were nixed — just a week after both were inserted — because they weren't germane to the underlying agency bill. The edits were accepted by consent.
But both ideas advanced in the House that same afternoon.
Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, commandeered Senate Bill 73 in a Monday committee hearing for amendments outlawing all marijuana advertising and regulating towing. He made further changes on the House floor Thursday — despite opposition from fellow Republicans — setting up a contentious vote as soon as next week.
Lawmakers cited illegal immigration as they scrapped a provision allowing CDL holders from other states to get Indiana CDLs without the written or skills exams.
'There are other states in our union that hand out driver's licenses like candy,' said amendment author Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis. '… I'm fine if they follow the Indiana process to get a license. I am not fine if that process is California's or New York's or name your other state's process, and I wanted to ensure that I didn't have a non-citizen getting a license.'
Freeman promised to undo the change 'if this needs to go back in.'
Pressel said CDL requirements are federal, describing them as another layer of standards that lie atop state mandates. He resisted the amendment, but added, 'This is not a hill I'm going to die on. If you all would like to take it out, I'm okay with that.'
The committee adopted the changes by consent. But some expressed hesitation.
CDL holder Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond noted the tests take 'a lot of time and money.'
Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, said her district is a major logistics hub, and would benefit from reciprocity.
She instructed her colleagues to 'get this figured out.'
The committee advanced Senate Bill 1390 — sans deletions — on a 12-1 vote.
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