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Weekly Statehouse update: Police bubble sent to Holcomb, bail amendment expanded

Bills banning gender-affirming care for minors and criminalizing bystanders around police head to the governor. And a constitutional amendment expanding bail denial advances.

Here’s what you might have missed this week at the Statehouse.

SB 480: Gender transition procedures for minors

Indiana would join nearly a dozen other states in banning gender-affirming medicinal and surgical care for anyone under age 18 after House Republicans sent SB 480 to the governor’s desk this week.

Gov. Eric Holcomb hasn’t said whether he’ll sign it into law, though the legislature would almost certainly override a veto of the bill.

HB 1186: Encroachment on an investigation

On-duty police officers would now get a 25-foot bubble around them that the public can’t cross under HB 1186, which is headed to the governor.

If a person crosses that invisible barrier after being told to stop, they would be subject to up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 73224. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues throughout the legislative session. And follow along with our bill tracker.

SJR 1: Constitutional amendment to bail eligibility

And a proposed constitutional amendment approved by a House committee would expand the list of people who could be held in jail before trial without bail. The current Constitution only allows that for those charged with murder or treason.

The amendment made to SJR 1 would expand that to any crime, including misdemeanors – as long as the person poses a “substantial risk” to someone else or the community.

Find all the bills our statewide team is covering in our bill tracker at ipbs.org/projects/2023billtracker/

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Copyright 2023 IPB News. To see more, visit .

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.