Latest news with #WendyMcNamara
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Final day of the 2025 legislative session
The 2025 legislative session is coming to an end, and the Indiana Capital Chronicle team will be chronicling its last day here. (Getty Images) The 2025 legislative session is coming to an end (hopefully within the next 24 hours!), and the Indiana Capital Chronicle team will be bringing you everything from the final day here. 39 mins ago 39 mins ago As the legislative session enters its final hours, tweaks and overhauls alike are coming rapid-fire. Indiana's retired public employees are likely to nab pension bonuses intended to boost benefits that don't otherwise keep up with inflation — but with a 5% cut — under a final draft for House Bill 1221. That's after a finance-focused Senate committee cut the 13th check and 1% cost-of-living-adjustment entirely. House lawmakers, however, sought years of bonuses. Elsewhere, several contentious provisions were dropped from less-controversial underlying legislation. But some authors are hoping to re-home them. It appears a ban on sleeping or sheltering on public property has been removed from Senate Bill 197, prompting rumors it would be inserted into legislation dealing with juvenile justice. But the final version of that bill is still outstanding. Another prohibition, this one on government-supported 'obscene performances,' wasn't in a conference committee report filed on Senate Bill 326. But that report was quickly withdrawn and is still in flux. Asked where the language might go, Rep. Andrew Ireland, R-Indianapolis, told the Capital Chronicle, 'I don't know any better than anyone else.' And detailed language cracking down on illicit massage parlors was cut from the negotiated draft of House Bill 1416, which would require human trafficking awareness posters in gas stations and rest stops. Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Evansville, repeatedly called it too 'prescriptive.' Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, authored the language after law enforcement raided parlors in his district. He told the Capital Chronicle that he aims to find a new place for a recast version that offers local governments greater decision-making powers. Last updated: 9:05 AM
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indiana bill creating THC threshold for intoxicated driving advances with bipartisan support
A bill aiming to target drivers under the influence of THC in Indiana has surpassed another legislative step. House Bill 1119 was approved by the Indiana House on Tuesday in an 84-10 bipartisan vote. The bill, if passed into law, would allow results from two specific saliva tests that check for traces of THC and other drugs as admissible evidence in court. Lawmakers have specified the tests as the Drager DrugTest 5000 or SoToxa Oral Fluid Mobile Test System. The Drager exam shows positive results for a minimum of 5 nanograms of THC while the SoToxa returns positive for 25 milligrams. Current law would charge someone with intoxicated driving if they had any trace of THC in a blood sample – a method that supporters of the bill argue is more time-consuming, costly and clogs the Indiana State Police labs. The bill will now go to the Senate. The proposal is one of the only bills pertaining to anything marijuana-related that's moving forward in the Statehouse. Other bills aimed at decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana failed their first hurdle toward becoming law, matching an annual trend. Lawmakers file bills to legalize marijuana every year, but none of the measures ever pass, and former Gov. Eric Holcomb through his tenure said he would not take steps to legalize marijuana while it remained an illicit substance at the federal level. More: Marijuana, immigration: Bills that have died in the Indiana legislature, so far Evansville Republican Rep. Wendy McNamara, one of the bill's authors, has said her motivation is to target intoxicated drivers through toxicologist-approved tests, referring to THC as 'one of the trickiest things I've ever tried to nail down' when the bill was still in committee. 'I think this is the next horizon, the next step in how we test for impairment in the State of Indiana while making sure that there's some reliability around that,' she said. The bill carries a Class C misdemeanor penalty for violators, which escalates to a felony if the driver causes serious bodily injury or death behind the wheel. Police cannot arrest someone solely because of a positive test, the proposal clarifies, but the results can be admitted in court for a jury to decide how much weight to put into the results. Contact IndyStar reporter Sarah Nelson at This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana bill creating THC threshold for impaired driving advances
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Indiana bill protecting first responders' use of mental health resource moves to Senate
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – The Indiana House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill on Wednesday that aims to protect the confidentiality of first responders debriefing after a traumatic event. State Representative Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville) authored House Bill 1118, which states that any first responder using a critical incident services management debriefing would not be compelled to disclose any of those conversations in a civil, criminal or administrative proceeding. McNamara says the legislation could address the mental health needs of first responders who serve our communities. Jasper students taking classroom project to the Statehouse 'Our firefighters, emergency medical personnel, police officers and other first responders need a way to decompress after facing a traumatic event,' McNamara said. 'This bill would protect what they say during these debriefings so they can feel safe using this mental health resource.' The bill now moves to the Senate for further consideration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers attempt to fix police buffer zone law
Members of a bipartisan interim study committee this week reviewed new criminal justice data and considered testimony about the need to combat a rise in juvenile gun crimes across the state. (Getty Images) A bill to revamp a buffer zone law for law enforcement passed out of committee 10-3 Wednesday. The original law, passed in 2023, allows police to push citizens back 25 feet from an ongoing investigation. It was challenged in two separate lawsuits; the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction blocking the law because it was unconstitutionally vague. That case was brought by a coalition of media outlets. Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Evansville, is carrying House Bill 1122 to try to eliminate the vagueness. The new law would allow an officer to order someone to stop approaching if there is a reasonable belief that the person's presence within the 25 feet will interfere with police duties. Chris Daley, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, believes the change would allow reporters or other witnesses to unobtrusively record what is happening without that being considered interference. He was neutral on the bill — saying it is an improvement on the previous law, but the legal cases are still ongoing. Daley still thinks the 25-foot distance is too far. Evansville Police Sgt. Mark Saltzman testified in support of the bill, saying it has helped reduce intrusion on officers conducting an investigation at a time when assaults on police officers have risen nationally. He noted that other states have used Indiana's language to pass their own laws, including Florida's 'Halo law.' Plainfield Police Chief Kyle Prewitt said, 'We want safety in our communities, not just for our law enforcement officers, but for those who are impacted by crimes, those who commit crimes, the community as a whole.' He added that sometimes people standing too close can also overhear sensitive information relayed by officers, victims and suspects. 'There's also a modicum of decency that we should be observing as society as a whole,' Prewitt said. Three Democrats opposed the bill with all Republicans in support. Rep. Robin Shackleford, D-Indianapolis, said she initially supported the law in committee but then received pushback from her community. She said many of her constituents don't trust law enforcement and 25 feet is too far to 'make sure everyone is accountable.' Lawmakers heard concerns about witness recordings in an interim committee in 2022 and in committee discussion in 2023. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
