Session Week Two! | 2024 Campaign $
Another week of session is in the books at the Statehouse, and this was a short one with Monday's holiday. But that doesn't mean there was any less news made this week.
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Thankfully we have a new face in our crew at the Statehouse to help us out on the many education bills before the General Assembly this year. She can introduce herself below, but you might know her already if you read the IndyStar Study Hall newsletter.
Let's dive into it.
Meet Rachel!
Hey. What's up? Hello. I'm new here! (Well, not new but you get the idea.)
I'll be helping Brittany and Kayla out in what's becoming a very fast-paced legislative session. You'll see my byline mostly on education topics, since I'm IndyStar's suburban education reporter.
But I'll likely venture into some adjacent topics as they pop up.
My time at the Statehouse is already underway, so drop me a line if you want to talk third-grade reading, chronic absenteeism or any other education issue we should be writing about.
📞 Call me: 239-206-7430 💻 Email me: rfradette@gannett.com
Priority bills get moving
Here's a rundown of actions this week on some of the major priority bills for House and Senate Republicans.
SB 1: From Rachel: The Republican-led priority bill that addresses next steps to combat Indiana's reading crisis passed from the Senate's education committee this week and moves to Appropriations. Although debate remained tame for now, Democrats definitely have issues with enforcing bill's retention requirement as soon as Republicans want to. But it's early, and the House could soon weigh in.
SB 2: From Kayla: The key childcare bill passed its first committee with flying colors, with support from the Family Social Services Administration. The bill would create at least three pilot "micro facilities" across the state ― licensed child care centers that serve between three and 30 kids and have fewer regulations without sacrificing safety. These could then serve as a model for adding centers in parts of the state that have a shortage of facilities. We're waiting for it to get heard on the Senate floor.
HB 1002: Brittany here! 👋 I've been following House Bill 1002, which is among House priority bills in 2024. Big news this week is this bill, authored by Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, passed unanimously out of the House for the second year in a row with chants of "Shame on you" from protesters outside the chamber. It now heads to the Senate, where the 2023 version of the bill died last year, but I reported last week that Sen. Rodric Bray said the Senate will take an even closer look at it this year following the start of the Israel-Hamas War last October.
Latest on State v. Indy fights
There were bills this week that Indianapolis likes and doesn't like.
One would help with the city's pedestrian safety crisis: House Bill 1281, a "vulnerable road users" bill authored by Democrat Rep. Blake Johnson. This bill, which has been unsuccessfully pitched in previous years, passed its first committee. The bill would require the state to revoke someone's license if they hit and seriously injure or kill a pedestrian while breaking some other traffic law, like speeding. (Currently it’s basically possible to hit and kill or maim a pedestrian with no legal consequences, unless you flee the scene.)
But another, Senate Bill 52, would ban the use of dedicated lanes in Indiana for a year, throwing a serious wrench into IndyGo's Blue Line plan.
Status update on some oddballs
Fetus tax dependent bill: Sen. Andy Zay, R-Huntington, filed Senate Bill 98 this year, which would allow expectant mothers to claim fetuses as dependents on their tax returns. Zay's bill got a hearing on Tuesday in the Senate's tax committee, but Chair and Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, said it would not move forward this year.
Magic mushrooms?: Senate Bill 139, written by Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, would establish a state fund for research on the clinical use of psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms. The bill passed the Senate's Health and Provider Services committee this week, and Kayla has more here on why Indiana lawmakers are interested in these shrooms.
Oh yeah, 2024...
It's Brittany again, wondering why 2024 election campaigns and the Indiana General Assembly have to make news at the same time. But yes, there are major elections this year, and we got an inside look this week at campaign finance numbers for state races we are watching.
- Governor's race: Kayla broke down the fundraising numbers from 2023 in the race for governor with some crazy details, including how the candidates collectively raised more than $18 million last year. And we haven't even hit the peak of the 2024 campaign season.
- Attorney General race: A second Democrat entered the ring this week for the chance to run against Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, who is seeking another term as the state's top legal officer. Beth White, the former Marion County Clerk and a former Secretary of State candidate, joins fellow Democrat and former Secretary of State candidate Destiny Wells, who announced her campaign in November.
- Congressional races: I (still Brittany!) took a closer look at the Pence and Bucshon Congressional retirement announcements last week to understand why someone might not want to work in Washington D.C. and what the now FOUR open U.S. House seats in Indiana means as we get further into 2024.
Bobcat hunting?
First things first: I (Brittany) am not a native Hoosier so I will admit that I did not know there were bobcats in Indiana. But there are — and Sen. Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville, has brought back a bill this year that would create a bobcat hunting season in Indiana.
IndyStar environment reporter Sarah Bowman wrote about that bill this week, which was heard in the Senate's natural resources committee on Thursday. As Sarah reports, there is already some concern from the Humane Society.
A must-read
IndyStar public safety reporter Sarah Nelson has a story this week on gun storage safety laws. Twenty-six states have laws on the books that prosecute gun owners who do not properly store their weapons, but Indiana is not one of them.
The lack of such a law has been felt by Indianapolis police and at least four Indianapolis metro area families who lost children in 2023 due to unsecured firearms, per Sarah's reporting.
State Rep. Mitch Gore, D-Indianapolis, has revived a bill this year to leverage neglect charges against gun owners who do not secure their loaded firearms that are then used to harm or kill someone. The bill has been referred to the House committee on courts and criminal code.
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Hoosier Politics is compiled and written by the IndyStar politics and government team. Send us tips or let us know what you think of the newsletter by emailing kdwyer@indystar.com or brittany.carloni@indystar.com.