A rollercoaster of action on a bill to eliminate Indiana’s handgun carry permits. Lawmakers change, again, a controversial school curriculum bill. And a Senate committee halts a measure on state agency rule-making.
Here’s what you might have missed this week at the Statehouse.
HB 1077: Eliminating handgun licenses
A Senate committee took eight hours of testimony and debate on HB 1077 to eliminate the license requirement to carry a handgun in public. Those hours included impassioned testimony from State Police Superintendent Doug Carter, who sharply criticized Republicans for supporting the legislation. At the end of the committee, lawmakers gutted the bill.
But House and Senate GOPleaders plan to revive the original language by session’s end.
HB 1134: School curriculum transparency bill
The latest changes to the school curriculum bill include a new requirement for the Indiana Department of Education to research and report the number of school advisory committees that already exist in the state and a push for a legislative study committee to look into school-based mental health services. HB 1134 cleared a Senate committee and heads to the Senate floor.
A bill that would’ve made it harder for state agencies to create new rules died in a Senate committee. Senate Commerce and Technology Committee Chair Chip Perfect (R-Lawrenceburg) said he largely supports HB 1100, but had too many issues to advance it further this year.
He pledged to revisit the issue in 2023.
The state Senate passed a bill, HB 1313, on Tuesday that aims to offer lead testing for all Indiana children under 6 through their doctor. Kids with lead poisoning can have trouble learning, behavioral issues, and poor kidney function.
HB 1196: HOA homeowner solar access
The Indiana Senate passed a bill that aims to help residents who have homeowner’s associations get solar panels.
HB 1196 allows a homeowner to petition their association to get the panels on their roof – but the association would have a say in how the panels look.
Getting the bill passed in both chambers marks a victory for lawmakers in favor of rooftop solar.
Lawmakers amended a bill to remove incentives for adopting state guidelines on where wind and solar farms can be located. Money from renewable energy projects would have boosted revenues for rural counties and townships.
The original bill, SB 411, would have given counties $1 for every megawatt hour of energy generated by a wind or solar farm, every year for a decade.
But Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) said it wasn’t clear in the bill where that money would come from and that it should probably be part of the state budget.
A bill, SB 342, meant to help two Amish brothers who inadvertently built their homes in a floodway passed the Indiana House on Monday.
But the Indiana Department of Natural Resources warns, if it becomes law, the bill could jeopardize flood insurance in the county and possibly the state.
HB 1354: SNAP benefit requirements
Lawmakers Monday backed off a plan to cut off food stamps to Hoosiers who owe child support. A Senate committee changed a proposed bill into merely a study committee topic.
The proposed measure, HB 1354, would have ended Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits – food stamps – to anyone who was delinquent in child support payments.
But advocates for low-income Hoosiers said that harms more than it helps.
Lawmakers behind SB 269 said people who own the dams have had to pay to maintain them to the state’s standards. That can sometimes lead to years-long lawsuits against the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, costing taxpayers money.
A recent amendment to the bill now makes it so those who own high hazard dams would have to make emergency action plans.
It passed the House Tuesday.
House Bill 1251 would, among other things, permit adjunct teachers in public school classrooms. It’s aimed at helping curb a teacher shortage, but critics say it demeans skilled teachers and targets their unions.
The bill was amended in committee to make it closer to a similar measure that was cut from a Senate bill.
It would allow anyone with five years of professional experience to teach in a relevant content area. It's aimed primarily at middle and high school classrooms, or for arts teacher in elementary grades. The adjuncts could work a maximum of 20 hours a week under the guidance of a “teacher mentor.”
Indiana lawmakers want more students to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, but can't agree how to get there. A committee changed a bill Monday that would have required students to file, after critics raised concerns about it adding more work for schools.
It's the third year in a row that Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) has filed a bill to require that Hoosier high schoolers fill out the FAFSA. The Senate-approved version would have required students to fill it out or have a parent, school principal or counselor sign a waiver, but the House Education Committee took that part out.
Now, Senate Bill 82 requires a notice about the form and its importance be posted online by the Commission for Higher Education, and that schools send families notice too. Families would be able to respond to that notice indicating whether or not they plan to file the FAFSA and if they want help with it.
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SB 361: Remote worker incentives
House lawmakers cut language out of a bill that would create a statewide program to attract remote workers to Indiana.
Senate Bill 361 would have required the Indiana Destination Development Corporation to award grants to workers who relocate to Indiana but work for an out-of-state company. Workers could have gotten up to $15,000 to pay for expenses like internet access, moving costs, or co-working space.
Instead, it added in language from another bill — SB 4, which is now dead — to create local workforce recruitment and retention funds.
SB 147: Underground pumped storage hydropower
Senate Bill 147 would add underground pumped storage hydropower to Indiana’s list of clean energy resources. It passed the state House on Monday.
The technology generates energy by passing water through a turbine as it moves from a higher reservoir to a lower one. It accounts for most utility-scale energy storage in the U.S., but hasn’t been used much in Indiana — which has fewer of the hills and valleys needed to create the two reservoirs.
HB 1147: Agricultural seed testing
House Bill 1147 was passed by the Senate Monday. It would charge farmers more money to get their seed tested by the state.
The Office of Indiana State Chemist offers to test seed for purity and germination, but only charges about half as much as what private companies do. Officials with the agency say that makes it harder for them to provide that service.
Businesses like gas stations would be able to sell electric vehicle charging under a bill that passed the state Senate on Monday.
HB 1221 aims to level the playing field between gas stations and electric utilities. Businesses would be allowed to offer EV charging without being subject to state utility rules.
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