Latest news with #SenateBill475
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill tracker: Braun signs bill reining in red flag law, Senate passes transgender sports bill
With just three weeks potentially left in the 2025 legislative session, Indiana lawmakers are sending more bills to Gov. Mike Braun's desk. Republicans, and some Democrats, last week signed off on House Bill 1041, which bans transgender women from playing in collegiate-level sports. IndyStar is tracking the prominent bills that are moving through the legislative process and that would impact a wide variety of Hoosiers. Here are some of the major bills that have advanced, and what happened to them last week. Lead author: Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland What it does: This is virtually the same bill lawmakers passed in 2022, which banned transgender girls from participating in girls' K-12 sports. This year's bill extends that ban to collegiate athletics. Status: The bill passed the Senate on April 3 by a 42-6 vote. It now heads to Gov. Mike Braun's desk. Lead author: Sen. Blake Doriot, R-Goshen What it does: The bill would ban college students from being able to use their student IDs as a form of acceptable voter identification at the ballot box. Status: The bill passed the House on April 1 by a 66-25 vote. The Senate will need to vote on whether to agree with the House's changes. More: 'They are a threat:' Indiana House passes bill banning student IDs at voting booth Lead author: Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn What it does: The bill would allow for a judge to seal and expunge someone's "red flag" record if a court determines the person to no longer be dangerous. It would only allow a law enforcement officer acting within their job duties to see the sealed record. Currently, if a person's weapons are seized and a court determines they are not dangerous the case remains public, which advocates say has cost people jobs and other opportunities. Status: Gov. Braun signed the bill into law on April 3. It goes into effect July 1. Lead author: House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers What it does: The bill creates a bipartisan group that would explore how Illinois counties could effectively secede from their state and join Indiana by redrawing state lines. Status: The bill passed out of the Senate's Committee on Public Policy on April 2 by a vote of 7-2. It now heads to the Senate floor. Lead author: Sen. Justin Busch, R-Fort Wayne What it does: Lawmakers tried in 2023 to outlaw noncompete agreements for Indiana doctors — contracts that prevent doctors from taking jobs at competing hospitals within a certain radius. The compromise that year was to only apply this to family doctors. This year, Senate Bill 475 attempts the ban for all physicians, again, hoping it will encourage competition and reduce prices in the health care market. Status: The bill passed the House Committee on Employment, Labor and Pensions by an 8-2 vote on April 2. It now moves to the House floor for consideration. Lead author: Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka What it does: The bill adds far more stringent and regular government reviews of the eligibility of Medicaid recipients and adds work requirements in order for someone to be eligible for the Healthy Indiana Plan, the state Medicaid expansion plan. In addition, if the federal government allows, it limits enrollment in the Healthy Indiana Plan. Status: The House Committee on Ways and Means passed the bill by a vote of 16-7 on April 2. It now heads to the House floor. Lead Author: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle What it does: The bill would further decrease Indiana's individual income tax rate if state revenues grow by more than 3.5% compared to previous years. Status: The House passed the bill on April 1 by a 74-18 vote. It now returns to the Senate to approve or disapprove the House's changes. Lead Author: Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne What it does: The bill restricts government entities, including school districts and the Indiana Department of Child Services, from intruding on parental rights or keeping information from parents, unless there is a compelling governmental interest. Status: The bill passed the House on April 1 by a 69-24 vote. It now returns to the Senate to approve or disapprove the House's changes. Lead author: Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers What it does: The bill creates a prosecutor review board to investigate complaints against prosecutors. If the board determines the prosecutor is 'noncompliant,' their office would be denied funds. Democrats see the measure as an attack on Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears. Status: The Senate appropriations committee passed the bill April 3 by a 10-3 vote. The committee stripped out prior language establishing a deputy prosecutor fund, with the promise to address that in the budget bill. It now goes to the Senate floor for consideration. More: A House GOP bill would help pay deputy prosecutors. It could also penalize Ryan Mears Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis What it does: The bill aims to loosen restrictions for Indiana schools and education systems, including by nixing the education credential requirement for the Indiana secretary of education, changing the timing of when teachers are paid and removing certain training and professional development requirements. Status: The bill passed the Senate Committee on Appropriations on April 3 by a 10-3 vote. It now goes to the Senate floor. Lead author: Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon What it does: The bill would require the Indiana Economic Development Corporation make mandatory notifications to local governments if the quasi-government agency seeks to purchase 100 acres or more in a community and provide annual reports on Innovation Development Districts, like the LEAP project in Boone County. Additionally, the bill creates a new entrepreneurship and innovation office and a new role of president of the IEDC. Status: The bill passed the House on April 1 by a vote of 87-4. It now returns to the Senate, which can approve or disapprove the House's changes. Lead author: Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford What it does: The bill prohibits the construction, operation, purchase, sale and lease of a long-haul water pipeline unless the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission signs off on it. However, the Citizens deal to provide water to the LEAP district in Lebanon is exempted from those rules. Status: The bill unanimously passed the House on April 1. The Senate is poised to vote on whether to concur with the House's changes to the bill on Monday. There was no movement on the following bills last week. Lead author: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle What it does: The bill, which Gov. Mike Braun said he would not sign in its current form, aims to slow property tax increases by limiting how much local governments can raise their property tax rates and proposes limiting tax referendums to general elections. It would give first-time homebuyers a tax credit and enable more Hoosiers to take advantage of tax credits and deductions for disabled veterans and seniors. Finally, it allows counties to create programs to allow taxpayers to defer up to $500 of their property taxes annually. Status: The Senate passed the bill on Feb. 17 by a vote of 37-10. A potential new version of the bill that would impact both the current property tax system and the current local income tax system was discussed in the House Committee on Ways and Means on March 12, but the committee has yet to vote. Lead author: Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger What it does: The bill would require all traditional public-school districts, including Indianapolis Public Schools, to share property tax revenue with charter schools in their attendance boundaries, if 100 or more kids leave the traditional district for charter schools, starting in 2028. Status: The bill passed out of the Senate by a 28-21 vote on Feb. 20. Testimony on the bill was taken in the House Committee on Ways and Means on March 5, but there hasn't yet been a vote. Lead author: Rep. Garrett Bascom, R-Lawrenceburg What it does: The bill requires county jails to report individuals to their county sheriff if the person is arrested for a felony or misdemeanor and there is probable cause to believe the person lacks permanent legal status. It then requires county sheriffs to report the person to proper authorities. Status: The bill passed the Senate by a 37-10 vote on March 24. The next step is for the House to decide whether it agrees with the Senate's changes. Lead author: Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton What it does: This bill funds Indiana's government, health care programs like Medicaid, public K-12 schools and colleges for the next two years. Republican proponents say it's a "vanilla" budget that helps the state live within its fiscal means while funding key priorities such as removing the income cap for private school vouchers and a new workforce tax credit for employers. But Democratic opponents say the bill funds the wealthy at the expense of the poor, for example, by defunding the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program and failing to expand preschool. Status: The bill passed the House by a 66-28 vote on Feb. 20 and now awaits action in the Senate. Lead author: Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie What it does: The bill offers a platter of tools local governments could use to beef up their road budgets. Those tools initially included a tax on food deliveries and rideshares, and for Indianapolis, the ability to levy a property tax referendum, but these were later taken out. The bill also makes it easier for the state to establish more toll roads. Status: The bill unanimously passed the Senate transportation committee on March 25 and now heads to the appropriations committee. Lead author: Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne What it does: This is one of the key bills seeking to control health care costs in Indiana. This bill does it by penalizing hospitals with an excise tax if they charge facility fees higher than a certain benchmark. It also sets another price benchmark over which their nonprofit tax status could be revoked. Status: The bill passed the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services on March 19 by a 10-1 vote and now heads to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. Lead author: Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso What it does: The bill provides a state tax credit for expenses incurred in manufacturing small modular nuclear reactors in Indiana. The bill could result in costs shifted to utility customers to pay back project expenses before construction starts. Status: The bill passed the Senate utilities committee on March 27 by an 8-3 vote. It now heads to the Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy. Lead author: Rep. JD Prescott, R-Union City What it does: The bill gives the governor power to withhold funding from local governments if the attorney general determines the entity does not comply with federal immigration enforcement. It says federal immigration law can be enforced by local, state and federal officials. The bill also prohibits employers from knowingly hiring someone who is not legally allowed in the U.S. Status: The bill passed the full House on Feb. 20 by a vote of 64-26. It awaits action in the Senate's Committee on the Judiciary, but committee leader Sen. Liz Brown released a statement last week in which she expressed reservations about how to enforce the bill. More: Could an immigration law enforcement bill at the Indiana Statehouse be dead? Lead authors: Sen. Tyler Johnson, R-Leo, Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville What it does: This bill bans all state spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — from trainings to diverse hiring initiatives — at state agencies, educational institutions and health profession licensing boards. Status: The bill passed the Senate on Feb. 6 by a 34-13 vote. It still awaits action in the House. Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis What it does: The bill prohibits a public school from expelling or suspending a student because they are chronically absent or habitually truant and expands the number of days for a school to hold an attendance conference about a student's absences from five days to 10. It also requires the Department of Education to establish best practices for student discipline on chronic absenteeism. Status: Passed the House unanimously on Jan 30 and awaits action in the Senate. A bill that similarly addresses absenteeism, Senate Bill 482, passed the Senate unanimously on Feb. 4 and now awaits action in the House. Lead author: Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Avon What it does: The bill would tighten oversight of commissary funds of county jails, requiring more stringent reporting and training. The bill comes in the wake of the scandal involving former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel, who last year was sentenced to 15 years in prison related to taking improper payments from the fund. Status: The House voted unanimously on March 24 to agree with the amendments made on the Senate side. It now heads to Braun's desk. Lead author: Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores What it does: The bill requires parental consent for social media use for people under age 16, and allows Indiana's attorney general to sue social media operators that don't comply. Status: Passed by the full Senate by a 42-7 vote on Jan. 23. It now awaits action in the House. Lead author: Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport What it does: The bill would allow public schools to hire or bring in on a volunteer basis religious chaplains, with an eye toward alleviating the burden on school counselors. Status: Passed the Senate on Feb. 11 by a 32-16 vote. It now awaits action in the House. Lead author: Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville What it does: The bill makes intentional and reckless skidding while driving, known as 'spinning', a Class B misdemeanor and increases the penalties further if the spinning endangers, injures or kills another person. If the bill becomes law, a person found spinning could have their vehicle seized in a civil forfeiture. Status: Passed the Senate 48-1 on Feb. 3. It now awaits action in the House. Lead author: Sen. Andy Zay, R-Huntington What it does: The resolution is part of a multi-state effort to compell the U.S. Congress to call a convention to amend the U.S. constitution, specifically to enact term limits for people who serve in the U.S. House or U.S. Senate. However, any aspect of the constitution could potentially be amended under such a convention. Status: The resolution passed the Indiana House on March 17 by a 66-30 vote after being passed earlier in the session by the Indiana Senate. It goes into effect immediately because resolutions do not require the signature of Gov. Mike Braun. The following bills are now dead. Lead author: Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville What it does: The bill would have shrunk Indiana's period for early in-person voting from 28 days to 14 days. It died on Feb. 19 after Byrne said he did not have the support to advance the bill. Status: Died in the Senate on Feb. 19 after the author did not open it for amendments by the deadline. Lead author: Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton What it does: By requiring voters to register with a political party in order to vote in that party's primary, this bill would have made Indiana a closed-primary state. It died on Feb. 19 after Gaskill said he did not have the support to advance the bill. Status: Died in the Senate on Feb. 19 after the author did not open it for amendments by the deadline. Lead author: Rep. Ethan Manning, R-Logansport What it does: The bill would have allowed people to play online poker and other casino games virtually and allow the Hoosier Lottery to operate virtually as well. Status: The bill died after not receiving a hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee before the Feb. 17 deadline. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@ or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17. Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@ or follow her on X at @hayleighcolombo. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana bill tracker: Braun signs red flag expungement bill
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Income tax cut tops legislative roundup
Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, presents his tax bill before the Senate on Jan. 28, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) While the new governor and budget stewards are tightening state spending due to modest revenue growth, the Indiana Senate on Tuesday passed a bill cutting the state individual income tax rate in the future. Also in the Senate and House, legislators tackled bare-knuckle fighting, fentanyl strips and physician availability. Lawmakers are in the middle of a five-year process to reduce the state's income tax rate down to 2.9% by 2027. That would be the third-lowest rate in the country for states with an income tax. But Senate Bill 451, authored by Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, wants to go further. His legislation would automatically lower the tax rate by 0.05% every even-numbered year, beginning in 2030 — but only if state revenues grow by at least 3% in the previous even-numbered year. Lawmakers could also suspend the law in odd-numbered years. Holdman said in the decade prior to COVID, state revenues grew 3.24% each year. WFYI reported that for a household earning $100,000, that would be a savings of $50 a year. It would cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars per year in revenue. There was no discussion on the bill, which passed 49-0, and now moves to the House. A bill to ban non-compete agreements for all physicians cleared the Senate on a 47-2 vote, with both 'no' votes coming from Republicans. Senate Bill 475 would expand the state's current prohibition on non-compete agreements, which only impacts primary care physicians. Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, urged her colleagues to also vote no, citing concerns about attracting physicians to her rural district. 'My rural hospitals have challenges, sometimes, when it comes to acquiring specialists, specifically obstetricians,' Leising said. 'I'm sure some have signed non-compete agreements … and I know how hard it would be to replace them.' Health systems in Indianapolis and Cincinnati often lured away specialists by offering competitive salaries that rural hospitals couldn't afford, she said. Non-compete agreements kept specialists there for the term of their contract. The bill moves to the House for further consideration The Senate voted 49-0 to add more regulations regarding large state contracts. Sen. Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville, said Senate Bill 5 improves efficiency and accountability in state government through stronger rules for contracts exceeding $500,000 and a no-bid list for poor-performing contractors. The bill also requires state agencies to submit quarterly progress reports about major state contracts to the state budget committee. Agencies would also undergo review for making 'significant' contract amendments or when applying for new federal funds that require an Indiana match. 'These are practical common sense reforms,' he said. Baldwin said the bill isn't targeting any certain agency or bad actors. It now moves to the House. In the House, lawmakers approved proposals dealing with fighting and drug-testing strips. They engaged in little discussion on House Bill 1073, which requires the Indiana Gaming Commission to regulate boxing, sparring, professional wrestling, mixed martial arts and martial arts — including bare-knuckle fighting. 'These things exist. We're not bringing this to Indiana,' said Rep. Craig Haggard, R-Mooresville. But because such activities aren't regulated, safety-related rules limiting fight round length and number aren't standard everywhere, and diseases have spread. 'When we don't have it regulated, it is a Wild West out there and people are getting hurt,' Haggard added. The measure passed in a vote of 86-5. His chamber also quickly passed, on an 88-2 vote, a measure clarifying that drug-testing strips don't count as illegal drug paraphernalia. House Bill 1167's author, Rep. Jennifer Meltzer, said the strips can detect dangerous substances like fentanyl and xylazine. She said local health departments, nonprofit groups and others are distributing test strips to Hoosiers in active addiction, helping them avoid potentially lethal overdoses. The legislation, per Meltzer, will ensure 'those individuals can continue to use those harm reduction tools to, hopefully, save their life today so that they can get treatment tomorrow.' Both bills move to the Senate. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indiana bill tracker: Bills on immigration, anti-DEI advanced last week. Here's what else.
Lawmakers wasted no time advancing some of the more controversial topics of the legislative session this past week, from DEI initiatives to immigration reform. IndyStar is tracking the prominent bills that are actually moving through the legislative process and that would impact a wide variety of Hoosiers. Here are some of the major bills that have already advanced, and what happened to them last week. Sign up for our politics newsletter Lead author: Rep. Garrett Bascom, R-Lawrenceburg What it does: The bill requires law enforcement officers to report individuals to their county sheriff if the person is arrested for a felony or misdemeanor and the officer has probable cause to believe the person lacks permanent legal status. It then requires county sheriffs to report the person to proper authorities. Status: Passed the House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety committee on Jan. 23 by a vote of 9-2. It now heads to the House floor. More: Indiana lawmakers push illegal immigration crackdown, days after Trump's executive orders Lead author: Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores What it does: The bill requires parental consent for social media use for people under age 16, and allows Indiana's attorney general to sue social media operators that don't comply. Status: Passed by the full Senate by a 42-7 vote on Jan. 23. It now goes to the House for consideration. More: Should kids need parental consent to use social media? Here's what this bill would do Lead authors: Sen. Tyler Johnson, R-Leo, Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville What it does: This bill bans all state spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — from trainings to diverse hiring initiatives — at state agencies, educational institutions and health profession licensing boards. Status: Passed the Senate Judiciary committee by an 8-2 vote on Jan. 22. Lead author: Sen. Justin Busch, R-Fort Wayne What it does: Lawmakers tried in 2023 to outlaw noncompete agreements for Indiana doctors — contracts that prevent doctors from taking jobs at competing hospitals within a certain radius. The compromise that year was to only apply this to family doctors. This year, Senate Bill 475 attempts the ban for all physicians, again, hoping it will encourage competition and reduce prices in the health care market. Status: Passed the Senate Health and Provider Services committee by a 10-2 vote on Jan. 22. It now heads to the Senate floor. Subscribe to our politics newsletter Authors: Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, and Sen. Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville What it does: The bill would further decrease Indiana's individual income tax rate if state revenues grow by more than 3% compared to previous years. Status: The bill unanimously passed through the Senate's Tax and Fiscal Policy committee on Jan. 21. It's now awaiting final approval from the Senate. Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis What it does: The bill aims to loosen restrictions for Indiana schools and education systems, including by nixing the education credential requirement for the Indiana secretary of education, changing the timing of when teachers are paid and removing certain training and professional development requirements. Status: Voted out of the House Committee on Education on Jan. 22. Lawmakers make several changes to the bill in committee, including to eliminate a provision nixing economic disclosure requirements for charter schools. The bill now moves to the House floor for consideration. Lead author: Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis What it does: The bill prohibits a public school from expelling or suspending a student because they are chronically absent or habitually truant and expands the number of days for a school to hold an attendance conference about a student's absences from five days to 10. It also requires the Department of Education to establish best practices for student discipline on chronic absenteeism. Status: Voted out of the House Committee on Education on Jan. 22, with some amendments. The bill now moves to the Senate floor for consideration. A bill that similarly addresses absenteeism, Senate Bill 482, also was heard in committee. More: Proposed bill would ban expulsion for missing school, study absenteeism Lead Author: Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne What it does: The bill restricts government entities, including school districts and the Indiana Department of Child Services, from intruding on parental rights or keeping information from parents, unless there is a compelling governmental interest. Status: Passed by 9-2 vote in Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 15. Lawmakers passed a minor amendment to the bill on the Senate floor, and it now awaits a vote in the full Senate. Lead author: Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka What it does: The bill adds far more stringent and regular government reviews of the eligibility of Medicaid recipients and adds work requirements in order for someone to be eligible for the Healthy Indiana Plan, the state health plan for non-Medicaid recipients. In addition, it limits enrollment in the Healthy Indiana Plan. HIP is not Medicaid, but uses Medicaid funds. Status: Heard in committee on Jan. 16. The next step is a committee vote. Lead author: Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville What it does: It makes intentional and reckless skidding while driving, known as 'spinning', a Class B misdemeanor and increases the penalties further if the spinning endangers, injures or kills another person. If the bill becomes law, a person found spinning could have their vehicle seized in a civil forfeiture. Status: Heard in the Senate's Corrections and Criminal Law committee on Jan. 14. It's awaiting a committee vote. More: Indiana lawmakers revive fight to combat 'dangerous' street takeovers Lead author: Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford What it does: The bill prohibits the construction, operation, purchase, sale and lease of a long-haul water pipeline unless the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission signs off on it. However, the Citizens deal to provide water to the LEAP district in Lebanon is exempted from those rules. Status:Heard in Senate's utilities committee on Jan. 16. The bill now awaits a committee vote. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@ or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17. Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@ or follow her on X at @hayleighcolombo. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Statehouse: Immigration, anti-DEI bills advance
