02-04-2025
College IDs for voting, parental rights, transgender athletes: These Indiana bills are on the move
University of Indianapolis students Madison Riley, left, and Sam Hunt protest Senate Bill 10 outside the House Chamber on April 1, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
A rousing debate over college students voting in Indiana punctuated legislative action Tuesday.
Other topics ran the gamut, from tax cuts and transgender sports to water resources and parental rights.
The voting measure, Senate Bill 10, would no longer allow students at Indiana's public institutions to use their college IDs as proof of identity at the polls. But the reason seemed unclear — as sponsor Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer, continually referred to 'concern' that college students aren't residents.
'I think a lot of the concern here that we're missing is: a university ID does not prove that that is an Indiana resident,' he said.
But Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, noted there is an entirely different part of law that governs residency and voter registration. The bill doesn't impact that law.
'We're singling students out. If your concern is about registration, then deal with that,' he said.
Pierce and others noted that most college IDs meet the four requirements in state law: to have a name, photo, expiration date and to be issued by a state or federal entity.
Rep. Chris Campbell, D-West Lafayette, observed that U.S. passports are allowed as proof of identity at the polls, but don't have addresses or even a state of residency on them.
'Who are these students voting for overall? I'm just going to be truthful. They are a threat. They are a threat to Republicans in this state,' said Rep. Renee Pack, D-Indianapolis.
But Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, held up his driver's license and listed things Hoosiers can't do without it: buy alcohol, some cold medicine, fly on a plane.
'We already have created a system where you need one of these to do everything almost everybody over the age of 18 is doing,' he said. 'I don't think it's too much to ask if you are going to vote to have one of these.'
Non-drivers can also obtain state identification cards.
The bill passed 67-24 and now returns to the Senate.
Hoosiers could see upcoming cuts to the state individual income tax rate under a different measure approved 74-18 in the House.
Senate Bill 451 would drop the rate by 0.05% beginning in 2030, if state general fund revenue collections exceed 3.5% growth in each of the four preceding fiscal years. The next year's revenue forecast also must be at least 3.5%.
The reductions would continue in every even-numbered year through 2040.
Current law is phasing Indiana's flat income tax rate down from 3.05% in 2024 to: 3.0% in 2025, 2.95% in 2026, and 2.9% in 2027 and years thereafter.
Each 0.05 percentage point reduction of tax rate would result in a decline of income tax revenues between $150 million to $200 million annually, according to a fiscal analysis for the legislation.
'It's a hard bar to cross, but it would occur in those cases where state revenue is really growing,' said Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton.
The human existence is all about opportunity cost. When we forgo billions of dollars, we are making a decision to disinvest in the future.
– Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis
He added that 'we gain as a state when we do this' because it attracts business and residents.
Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis, said Indiana's coffers have already lost $6 billion since 2015, when lawmakers started slowly reducing the rate. The bill would mean billions more in revenue gone.
'The human existence is all about opportunity cost. When we forgo billions of dollars, we are making a decision to disinvest in the future,' he said.
Porter noted the state could afford things like a fully funded statewide Pre-K program or subsidies for paid family leave and child care if taxes weren't continually cut.
The bill was changed in the House, meaning the Senate must accept the changes before it goes to the governor.
Transparency and entrepreneurship additionally highlighted a separate bill also passed in the House, on an 87-4 vote.
Senate Bill 516 establishes an office for entrepreneurship and innovation, an agenda item for Gov. Mike Braun.
But it also holds provisions taking aim at the IEDC, which has faced years worth of backlash from lawmakers and constituents alike over its secretive approach to economic development efforts like the Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace (LEAP) District.
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The legislation would require the quasi-public agency to tell local units of government and the State Budget Committee about acquisitions of more than 100 acres — whether it's bought in one or multiple transactions — at least 30 days before those purchases close.
The bill also tasks the IEDC and the executives of communities that host innovation development districts — like one within LEAP — with annually compiling reports about the districts' activities over the last calendar year.
And it lists what would be included: revenue received, expenses paid, fund balances, debt details, information on parcels within tax increment financing districts and the amounts locals receive in revenue-sharing agreements. The reports would go to the community's fiscal body and to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
The Senate has to accept changes to the bill or send it for final negotiations.
The House unanimously approved two other bills dealing with water withdrawals.
Senate Bill 4 would require that developers of long-haul water pipelines — over 30 miles long and transporting more than 10 million gallons a day — must go to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and seek certificates of public convenience and necessity.
There are also strict permitting requirements for transferring water from one water basin to another.
'This deals with concerns as we have been building water policy,' said Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso. 'It's a pretty important bill.'
Senate Bill 28, dealing with 'significant' groundwater withdrawals of more than 100,000 gallons of water a day, also passed easily.
Rep. Shane Lindauer, R-Jasper, said the legislation is intended meant to head off disputes when water withdrawals might cause nearby well failures as the state continues to pursue water-intensive industries.
Both bills were changed in the House, so the Senate must accept the changes before they go to the governor.
A bill spurred by anger at the Indiana Department of Child Services over parental rights passed the House 69-24.
Lindauer said the bill recognizes that 'parents have a fundamental God-given right to direct the upbringing of their children.'
Senate Bill 143 specifically requires courts to give deference to parental rights when disputes with government regulations occur.
During the committee hearing, parents from multiple counties told stories of having their children taken away due to alleged abuse but later being exonerated. In some instances, medical records of the children have been kept from parents.
The Senate has to accept changes to the bill or send it for final negotiations.
Across the building on Tuesday, Senate Republicans batted away a series of Democratic amendments to a bill limiting transgender female athletic participation.
Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis, authored two identical amendments — one for high school students and another for college enrollees — that would bar officials from examining an athlete's 'bathing suit area … to determine the student athlete's biological sex.'
'There is no evidence that this has happened in Indiana under the current law in place and I haven't heard of any requirements in any other state,' said Sen. Stacey Donato. 'I ask you to defeat this amendment.'
A fight challenge, musical moments and long meetings: Inside committee day at the Statehouse
Donato, R-Logansport, sponsored House Bill 1041, which would bar transgender female athletes from participating on college athletic teams aligning with their gender. The proposal is an expansion of the current ban on K-12 students.
Republicans also beat back three other amendments to the bill: one establishing a grievance process for college students injured by the bill; one allowing a college to discipline students who make accusations; and another creating a student-athlete 'bill of rights.'
Only Donato, who read her brief rebuttals from a piece of paper, spoke on any of the amendments. All five were defeated on party-line votes.
Two other bills encountered little opposition: one letting the Indiana Gaming Commission regulate bare-knuckle fighting and another granting students additional excused absences for 4-H or Future Farmers of America activities.
The latter, House Bill 1660, now heads to the governor's desk.
'FFA and 4-H are important organizations that help prepare our youth to be successful adults,' Buchanan said. 'As someone who has worked with FFA for many years, I have seen firsthand the great work these youth organizations have done in our communities across the state,' said Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon, in a statement.
Buchanan sponsored the bill. Both bills moved out of the Senate on a 47-2 vote.
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