Latest news with #IndianaHouse
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Final legislative roundup includes health care, absenteeism and school accountability
The Indiana House voted on dozens of bills on the last day of the legislative session, April 24, 2025. (Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle) One-hundred-and-seven days after the General Assembly convened, this year's legislative session came to a close early Friday morning after a marathon day at the Statehouse. Dozens of bills sprinted across the finish line in the final days — and hours — before the sine die gavel strike brought policymaking business to a close. Thursday alone saw more than two dozen proposals sent to Gov. Mike Braun's desk. And although the next state two-year state budget was the highlight of the night, debate swirled around other major bills, too, including those dealing with education 'deregulation,' pharmaceutical pricing and public retiree bonuses. Lawmakers also compromised on measures to connect Hoosiers to broadband; curb local energy project moratoriums; address K-12 chronic absenteeism; reinstate an A-F school grading system; and create separate bans on marijuana advertising and lab-cultivated meat. Tensions rose in the Senate before the chamber voted, barely, to send a Republican-backed education 'deregulation' measure to the governor. Heated debate on House Enrolled Act 1002 centered around last-minute conference committee changes, which included a dozen new code repeals. Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, was displeased with the rush to approve a long bill with new language. 'I can't be in the dang room because I don't know what's in it,' Young said. After the extremely narrow 27-21 vote, he approached the floor mic again — this time raising his voice. 'This is bull crap. You've got a 116-page bill. You've got 30 minutes to read it. We should have more time than that,' said Young, the only senator to refrain from voting. Twelve of his GOP colleagues cast unfavorable votes alongside Democrats. That's after the House voted the bill out 61-25. 'I am so mad about this,' Young continued. 'Our one job is to do what's right for our constituents, and we can't do it if we don't have a chance to read the dang bill.' Democrats, including Indianapolis Sen. Andrea Hunley, agreed that the bill required 'a little bit more scrutiny.' She referenced a repealed requirement for charter schools to publish economic interest statements. Also removed was an existing requirement for administrators to contact employment references before hiring teachers or other school personnel. Despite its length, the legislation will strike multiple sections of current state education code. This is bull crap. You've got a 116-page bill. You've got 30 minutes to read it. We should have more time than that. – Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis Examples include the removal of dozens of 'may' provisions, eliminating specific COVID-19 pandemic requirements and striking duplicate code. Republican bill author Rep. Bob Behning estimated that the cuts would reduce state education regulations by nearly 10%. There were bipartisan concerns earlier in the session about the bill's deletion of existing requirements for teachers to complete training in social and emotional learning (SEL) trauma-informed care and cultural competency. Some of that language was added back in the final version to ensure teachers are prepared to '(support) students who have experienced trauma that may interfere with a student's academic functioning.' Other legislation to further address widespread chronic school absences among Hoosier students earned mostly bipartisan support in both chambers; an 84-8 vote in the House and a 48-2 in the Senate. Sen. Stacey Donato's Senate Enrolled Act 482 specifically seeks to beef up the state's absenteeism statute. The measure has multiple parts, including a new definition in state code for chronically absent, specified in the bill as missing 10% or more of the school year, regardless of whether it is excused. Another provision allows local prosecuting attorneys to hold 'intervention meetings' with parents to help improve a student's attendance before any legal action is taken. A final section of the bill prohibits K-8 students from expulsion 'solely because the student is chronically absent or habitually truant. Current law permits students in those grades to be expelled for missing too much school. Indiana officials say chronic absenteeism rates are improving, but there's still more work ahead In the final days of the session, however, a conference committee added language to sunset the expulsion prohibition on July 1, 2026. After that date, students could be removed from school once again if they miss too many days of class. The latest attendance numbers released by the Indiana Department of Education last fall reported that 17.8% of K-12 students — roughly 219,00 kids — were 'chronically absent' during the most recent 2023-24 school year, meaning they missed at least 18 days. There was less consensus on a different bill to bring back a statewide letter grade system for Indiana's K-12 schools. It was sent straight to Braun after a quick 65-25 House vote. Earlier this week, lawmakers appeared to disagree on a final draft of House Enrolled Act 1498. Any serious conflicts were quashed behind closed doors; Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, called his measure for a final concurrence vote in the House Thursday evening, signaling a truce with the opposing Senate chamber. Behning said his bill seeks to put the state education board's recently unveiled accountability draft — or something like it — into action. In its final form, the legislation will strip back much of the previous accountability framework and task Indiana's State Board of Education (SBOE) with building a new A-F rule — that looks beyond just academic performance and graduation rates — by the end of 2025. Once approved by the governor, a new round of grades will be assigned to Hoosier schools around the start of the 2026-27 academic year. Although the state board is responsible for hammering out the particulars, the bill does require the new grading system's methodology to be based on data from the state education department's existing GPS dashboard and proficiency rates from state assessments, including the IREAD. It also has to prioritize students earning new diploma seals recently approved by the state board. Yes, we certainly should hold people accountable. We should hold school leaders accountable. We should hold our children accountable. We should hold our parents accountable. But I don't think we should give them a label of an F (to show) that you're failing. – Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary School grades have been effectively suspended since 2018, when Indiana shifted from ISTEP to a new state standardized test and later grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic. House Democrats 'still had a problem' with the final draft, said Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary. 'We do feel like we need to look at our school accountability process, but we don't feel like we need to hold the Department of Education accountable for using the model of A through F,' he said. 'Yes, we certainly should hold people accountable. We should hold school leaders accountable. We should hold our children accountable. We should hold our parents accountable. But I don't think we should give them a label of an F (to show) that you're failing,' Smith continued, saying he preferred an earlier idea to give schools a 'need for improvement' designation, rather than a 'bad' letter grade. 'I just don't think that we need to do this.' A bid to boost Indiana's electricity supply — by side-stepping often-hostile local zoning authorities — squeaked through to the governor despite opposition from advocates of local control and renewable energy. A negotiated compromise for Senate Enrolled Act 425 just barely earned the constitutionally required majority of supportive votes during a 51-40 vote in the House. It enjoyed stronger margins in the Senate, with a 31-19 tally. Under the legislation, the owner of a proposed power plant wouldn't have to seek any local zoning approval in certain circumstances. But the Senate explicitly excluded solar and wind installations. Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, said it's ironic that a small modular nuclear reactor — 'which uses radioactive fuel and will generate radioactive waste' — would encounter less local scrutiny than solar panels and wind turbines. 'It's not consistent with the rhetoric that we hear on this floor all the time about how we are an 'all the above' energy state,' Pierce added. The measure's House sponsor, Rep. Ed Soliday, has maintained the Senate wouldn't allow it. 'There was just no hope of putting it back in,' he said Wednesday. '… We went back to them several times and they said 'no.'' The eased requirements apply if a project is located on land that already hosts an electric generation facility — even it's not operational — or a former mine. State regulators would also have to either grant a certificate of public convenience and necessity for construction or decline jurisdiction. Senate Enrolled Act 425 also aims to stop 'abuse' of moratoriums on electric generation projects by local authorities. It caps them to one year and prohibits renewals. 'I've seen how moratoriums can be abused,' Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer, said Monday. He argued the 'real purpose' of moratorium is to create a 'pause' while a local government hurries to adopt an ordinance. But some keep moving the 'goal posts.' 'If there's a certain type of development your jurisdiction does not want, then just say 'no' upfront and save all the headache,' Culp said. Additionally, lab-cultivated meat could soon be banned from production or sale in Indiana for two years with violators to face $10,000 per-day fines. That's if Braun approves of House Enrolled Act 1425, which is coming his way after final votes of 74-15 in the House and 43-7. But a state study of the products' safety was shelved as lawmakers look to cut spending. 'We were supposed to have a study, I guess to determine what we would do after the moratorium, and apparently the fiscal people said we're broke, so take the study out,' Pierce said. 'So it makes me wonder what we're going to actually be learning in the next two years.' The Senate introduced the study and a one-year moratorium following pronounced confusion in that chamber's committee. In addition to cutting the study, the final version of the legislation extends the moratorium to two years. In another governor-bound proposal, those advertising marijuana within state lines could face fines of up to $15,000 apiece under a once-inconspicuous agency bill. Also in the co-opted House Enrolled Act 1390 — originally focused on the Bureau of Motor Vehicles — are contentious regulations for towing and overgrown rural intersections. The advertising ban would also apply to the rest of Indiana's Schedule I list of controlled substances. Contracts locked down before the measure's passage would be exempt. Hoosiers who live around the edges of the state have seen billboards and other advertising pop up because adjoining states have legalized marijuana. Other provisions would set standards for how law enforcement agencies handle their towing contractors, how much companies can charge for emergency towing, how owners can recover their towed vehicles and more. CONTACT US Both concepts landed in the final bill draft after being stripped out three weeks ago. In between, they were added to a bill about the sale of utility trailers and then removed. Lawmakers also folded in a weaker take on a tragedy-sparked push for better sightlines at overgrown, uncontrolled rural intersections. Counties would be able to mow or maintain vegetation in state- or county-owned right-of-way with permission from the Indiana Department of Transportation. The onus was previously on landowners. The legislation retained plenty of Bureau of Motor Vehicles changes, too. It would allow the agency to issue electronic registration certificates, requires that toll road operators invoice drivers within a year, caps the amount private driving skills trainers can charge for exams, and more. One other provision allows for real-time electronic insurance verification after accidents. The current system is unwieldy and often results in license suspensions. It eased through the House in an 81-9 vote, but encountered greater opposition in the Senate's 31-19 vote. Large numbers of Hoosiers will now be carved out of a bill regulating pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Senate Enrolled Act 140 will require insurers and PBMs ensure network adequacy and restricts anticompetitive practices — but Medicaid, managed care organizations and the state employee health plan are all exempt due to concerns about cost increases. Instead, the issue of contracting under Medicaid and the state employee health plan is punted to an interim study committee — though at least one sponsor said it was 'kind of up to debate' whether or not there would be an added cost. 'We don't have a fully transparent model. So the fact that there could be a fiscal on it — and with this current budget situation — that's what's putting the pause on it,' said Rep. Julie McGuire, R-Indianapolis, before a Thursday committee. A bill seeking to define a 'squatter' encountered several hurdles this session, too, with critics concerned about whether vague language would unintentionally harm tenants with informal or unwritten rental agreements. Under the finalized Senate Enrolled Act 157, law enforcement officers can remove an individual on a property without the permission of the owner within 48 hours, unless there is 'credible evidence that the person is not a squatter.' It would also penalize someone who tries to evict someone who might have a right to the property. 'We don't want an unscrupulous landlord to be able to use the wrong date or something very simple like that as a means to abuse this part of the code,' said Rep. Joanna King from the floor. Still, the changes weren't enough for a handful of lawmakers. Pierce, a Democrat who voted no, previously indicated his doubts that such a law was necessary. However, it got a unanimous nod in the Senate — its originating chamber — and now goes to the governor. Indiana's public sector retirees are set to get a coveted bonus by October under legislation on its way to Braun — but with a 5% discount. The thousands of former state and local employees who live off pension benefits that don't keep up with inflation would've gotten nothing after Senate edits. But they would've won several years worth of full-amount bonuses through the original version of House Enrolled Act 1221. 'The 5% cut, it's not what we wanted. One year is not what we wanted. But, we live to … advocate for another day,' said Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis. 'This is the spot we landed on to preserve something,' Rep. Mike Karickhoff, R-Kokomo, told the Indiana Capital Chronicle after the 90-0 vote. He authored the legislation. The 13th check would range from $143 to $428, based on years of service for former teachers; excise, conservation and gaming officers; and most other retirees. That's instead of the typical $150 to $450 range. Former Indiana State Police employees would get checks for 0.95% — instead of 1% — of their maximum annual pension amounts. The bonuses would cost about $31.8 million, with the 5% cut saving about $1.7 million. That's according to an earlier fiscal analysis, which estimated the full-amount bonuses would've totaled $33.5 million in the 2026 fiscal year. Others were dissatisfied, arguing that a dismal revenue forecast shouldn't affect the checks. They're paid out of supplemental reserve accounts — featuring money from retirees themselves and employer matches — not the General Fund. Pierce accused the Senate of 'insisting' on the cut to 'send a message' of fiscal responsibility. He called it a 'kick in the teeth.' In the Senate, however, the 39-11 vote featured opposition exclusively from worried Republicans. 'The math is not math-ing,' said Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis. Under one of the final bills approved this session, a whopping $870 million in federal incentives could be on the way to help Indiana connect its last 150,000 Hoosiers to high-speed internet. That's if the state's own service providers don't get in the way, though. 'Number-one obstructionist': Electricity co-ops lambasted for slow broadband rollout Lawmakers' attempt to mediate utility pole attachment disputes between electric utilities and telecommunications companies crossed the legislative finish line Thursday night, after languishing on the Senate's calendar for four days. 'Obviously, I passed on this bill a lot of times,' Sen. Andy Zay, R-Huntington, told his colleagues. 'I had a lot of consternation whether … it was time for this.' Senate Enrolled Act 502 would give both sides a 60-day deadline to meet after a government broadband grant contract is executed. They'd have four months to reach a project management agreement after the National Telecommunications Information Administration approves the Indiana Broadband Office's proposal for spending the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) money. It also sets detailed deadlines for cooperation if they can't concur. And the office could set up a 'rapid response mediation process' when disputes arise — pulling back from the hefty fines previously considered. That's the compromise lawmakers reached in the House after several rounds of edits. Zay filed a motion to concur with that chamber's changes, but waited to call it for a vote. 'I wasn't certain whether to bring it forward this year or wait until next year when we're in the throes of the BEAD program,' he confessed. Ultimately, he decided that having 'this process in place will be a great start as implementation hopefully begins later this year,' adding that lawmakers could simply adjust it next year if needed. Zay's proposal sailed through the Senate on a concurrence for of 47-2. It heads to Braun for final approval. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indiana lawmakers approve reduced court eliminations
The Indiana House voted on dozens of bills on the last day of the legislative session, April 24, 2025. (Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Legislators authorized a few court closures Thursday while approving the biennial court officers bill. It's the first time lawmakers are eliminating judges that are underutilized. 'Statewide, we have the right number of judicial officers,' said Fishers Republican Rep. Chris Jeter. 'The question is, are they in the right places?' Two weeks ago, the Senate added language taking away judges in 11 mostly rural counties. But the conference committee report — approved 83-5 in the House and 45-4 in the Senate — eliminates only one court in Blackford County, one court in Monroe County and one magistrate in Jennings County. It also removes several unfilled magistrate positions in Marion County. House Bill 1144 — which adds judges and magistrates in Elkhart, Hamilton, Lawrence and Vigo counties — had moved through the entire session without language abolishing courts. Then, on April 10, hours before a committee deadline, an amendment was added in the Senate Appropriations Committee eliminating one court each in Blackford, Carroll, Gibson, Greene, Jennings, Monroe, Newton, Owen, Pulaski, Rush and Scott counties, along with six juvenile magistrate positions in Marion County. State panel recommends judicial reallocation from low- to high-need counties This provision was estimated to save the state approximately $748,885 in Fiscal Year 2027 and up to $2.75 M in Fiscal Year 2032, according to a fiscal analysis. Lawmakers from those areas were deluged with concern from constituents. The general idea of reallocation was discussed in a study committee in October 2024. Essentially, Indiana uses a weighted caseload study that assesses how much judicial time is needed for different types of cases. Then it looks at how many cases are filed to determine how many judges and magistrates are needed for the caseload. For years, lawmakers have added state-funded court officers when the statistics have shown more judges are needed to handle additional cases. But as population has shifted away from some rural counties, they have never taken a judge away — even if the weighted caseload shows they have too many court officers. The weighted caseload study shows, for instance, that Monroe County has 10 judges but only needs 7.87. Blackford County has two judges, but the study shows it needs less than one. Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, said 'these are never easy decisions' but that population shifts mean some counties aren't seeing as much crime or as many lawsuits. Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, said he doesn't disagree with the premise but said the process should have been set out well in advance. He noted the House never heard testimony on eliminating judges. He said Monroe County is losing a court because one of the judges announced she is retiring. Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, thanked his colleagues for giving the Carroll County courts a reprieve. He said the Delphi double-murder case 'really upset' the court system there. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Representative Alex Burton wants IN legislature to refocus priorities
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Indiana State Representative Alex Burton is, again, speaking against the recently passed tax plan by the Indiana Republican supermajority. In an editorial for 'Inside Indiana Business,' the Evansville Democrat knocked the GOP for touting a $100 property tax savings and a universal voucher program, when the state has a projected $2.4 billion revenue shortfall. He said the legislature should instead focus on affordable housing and strengthening Indiana's PreK-12 public school system. In addition, he called for 'practical tax relief' such as a larger earned income tax credit and increased support for renters. Ribbon to be cut for new mural in Haynie's Corner Rep. Burton admitted the legislature can't tax the state into prosperity. but said they also can't cut their way to a better future. The former Evansville city councilman was elected to the Indiana House last November. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former state Rep. Jack Lutz dies at 79
ANDERSON — Former State Representative Jack Lutz passed away Friday at age 79 following an extended illness. Lutz served on the Madison County Council from 1983 through 1991 before being named in a Republican Party caucus to represent the 35th District at the Statehouse following the resignation of Pat Kiely. Lutz served in the Indiana House from 1991 through 2014, when he lost a bid for an 11th term to Democrat Melanie Wright. 'Jack Lutz was a true representative of those who had elected him,' Russ Willis, former chairman of the Madison County Republican Party, said Monday. 'He didn't have personal agendas or try to build himself up using his position of elected leadership.' Willis said Lutz was always friendly, personable and approachable. 'He was down to earth in his consideration of legislation that affected the people of his district,' he said. Former county councilman Dan Dykes was elected by the caucus to replace Lutz on the county council in 1991. 'When I first got active in the party, Jack was on the council,' Dykes said. 'I always looked up to him and he was always nice to me.' He said when Lutz took Kiely's seat in the Indiana House, he completed the term on the county council. 'He always had time for me,' Dykes said. Dykes said Lutz was named freshman legislator the year after moving to the Statehouse and took his service to the county seriously. 'We stayed friends,' he said. 'I always valued his friendship and I always respected him.' For his efforts and lifelong service to the community, Lutz received numerous awards, including Anderson's Man of the Year (1989), National Freshman Legislator of the Year (1992) and the Small Business Champion by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce (1999), among others.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Three things to watch with one week to go
Legislators debate a bill last week in the Indiana House chamber. (Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Indiana lawmakers have just a week to close a staggering $2 billion hole in the state's next two-year spending plan — plus, bridge disagreements over publicly funded vouchers to private schools, regulations on marijuana-like products and school board elections. The General Assembly aims to finish its work this week, but technically has until a statutory April 29 deadline to wrap up. 'Our job, one more important than any other legislation that we pass, is to make sure we pass a budget that is balanced and done so with integrity and not gimmicks,' Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray told reporters Thursday. 'So, it's going to be hard to do now, but we're going to get it done.' The budget, contained in House Bill 1001, is typically the last to cross the legislative finish line. But a crushing revenue forecast last week complicated an already formidable task. The anticipated shortfall creates a 'major' challenge, Bray said, and puts 'everything' on the table when it comes to cuts and revenue generators. 'They're working through the line items. I think the thing that we want to protect and hold to the longest is trying to protect K-12,' House Speaker Todd Huston told reporters. Both GOP leaders acknowledged that'll be a challenge. K-12 is 47% of the budget. Asked how he'd justify a universal expansion of a 'school choice' voucher program amid cuts, Huston replied, 'I can justify that we fund students in the state of Indiana. We don't fund systems. So that's the way our caucus has always approached it.' The voucher expansion would allow wealthy Hoosiers of all income levels to send their children to private school on a state-paid voucher. Right now the cap is 400% of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced price lunch program, equal to about $220,000. House Republicans put the expansion into their version of the budget, but the Senate GOP stripped it out even before the rough financial news. Democrats in both chambers have long decried the spending of taxpayer dollars on private schooling. 'They're very important to some people in our caucus, the House as well,' Bray acknowledged. 'And so, the idea of having vouchers is certainly a viable option, but we're going to have to figure out how to pay for it if that's the case.' Skipping the expansion is among Democrats' first choices for cuts. House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta assailed the voucher program as 'irresponsible spending,' adding, 'I mean, we're almost approaching, now, a billion dollars there.' Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder also suggested holding off on scheduled income tax cuts, which Bray said was 'certainly … on the table.' But cutting expenses isn't the only way to plug the anticipated hole in state finances. Indiana's sobering fiscal outlook may soften the Senate's traditionally hostile stance against a long-sought increase in the cigarette tax. But is it enough? The current rate of 99.5 cents per pack has gone unchanged since 2007. A $2 increase could bring in $318 million in new revenue annually, and bring down the state's high smoking rate. 'Our caucus was slightly more amenable to that than they have been in the past, primarily because of the challenge that Medicaid has created for us,' Bray said. The House has voted to approve cigarette tax hikes multiple times but Bray indicated his caucus' resistance hasn't totally waned. 'That's still on the table, but it's not at all going to be the first thing we look at,' he said. Yoder, his Democratic counterpart, additionally suggested pursuing a managed care assessment fee. If fully implemented, the fee could bring the state $1 billion a year. 'We should be doing this (to) our managed care entities, the insurance companies who are making money off of our Pathways (to Aging program) patients,' she said. 'We should be looking there.' But it would require federal approval. Mitch Roob, who helms the agency overseeing Indiana's Medicaid program, has expressed doubt that President Donald Trump's administration would allow the Hoosier state to max it out. And despite repeated assurances from leaders that 'everything is on the table,' Huston was clear that one thing isn't: marijuana legalization. 'We're not going to legalize marijuana in the budget,' he said. He similarly batted away questions about gambling industry expansions. 'Significant public policy things shouldn't be considered just because you have a revenue shortfall,' Huston told reporters. Democrats, however, maintain conditions are ripe for a 'serious conversation' about the drug. Regulations for already-available, marijuana-like substances — and an accompanying excise tax — are still up for consideration, but face an uncertain path amid plenty of Senate skepticism. Products with legally low concentrations of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol have proliferated in Indiana, alongside those containing delta-8 THC and other isomers. Past attempts to regulate the nascent industry, which is booming on shaky legal footing, have failed repeatedly. Senate Bill 478 is the furthest lawmakers have gotten. But it needs to survive closed-door negotiations — despite its sponsor's attempts to avoid them — before it can cross Braun's desk. The measure would task the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission with overseeing the industry, including approving up to 20,000 retail permits. It sets out advertising, age-limit, licensing, packaging, testing and other requirements over the currently unregulated substances; an excise tax was removed because new taxes must go into House-originated legislation. The revenue-generating provision is expected to find a new home. Medicaid is expected to be about 20% of the budget. Because it's an entitlement program — in which anyone who meets eligibility requirements has the right to enroll — states have limited power to cut costs. 'If it works its way through the process, I do think there'll be an excise tax on it,' Huston told reporters. He was optimistic, citing 'robust discussion' across three House committee hearings. 'There's (been) a lot of discussion about where we are on the legalization, or, excuse me, the regulation of those products,' he concluded. His Senate counterpart was more skeptical. 'We're not gonna do a delta-8 bill to chase revenue. At all. That's not the policy that we're trying to pursue,' Bray said. 'If we can find a way forward with that bill, then we will.' Despite a whopping seven rounds of edits, critics still say the language would expand existing loopholes and legalize overly potent drugs. 'The way that it moved out of the House is not acceptable to the Senate,' Bray said. Lawmakers are still working on a compromise, but commented, 'I have no ability to tell you that that'll pass the finish line.' Disagreements between House and Senate Republicans could sink another contentious measure — years in the making — adding political party affiliations to Indiana's currently nonpartisan school board elections. Senate Bill 287 originally would've required school board candidates to run in partisan primary elections. But, last month, House lawmakers changed it. Now it carries resurrected language requiring partisan designations only on the general election ballot. The Senate dissented to the changes, teeing up negotiations. '(It's the) same idea, but fairly dramatic changes,' Bray said. '… We've got members that are trying to work through that, to see if they can find a path forward that both the House and Senate can accept. I don't think they're there yet, but they're still working on it.' A Thursday conference committee hearing — when lawmakers usually provide short updates on negotiations or outline their compromises — was cancelled, then rescheduled for Monday. 'We're still in conversations on how it's going to go,' Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, told the Capital Chronicle. He sponsored the Senate bill, and authored the dead House bill. But, he added, 'I think the final version will still look a lot like how it left the House.' Gaining Senate support could be a challenge, however. In its original form, the legislation squeaked through the Senate on a 26-20 vote in February. The House, which has historically been friendlier to the concept of partisan school boards, approved the overhauled version with greater leeway in a 54-40 tally last month. Asked if he'd have enough votes, Bray replied, 'You know, that's a razor-thin margin. So I do not have the answer for your question.' Senior Reporter Whitney Downard contributed. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
