Lawmakers enter final week of legislative session
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Indiana’s lawmakers have just days to finalize legislation in key areas like health and education — from literacy and antisemitism to ambulances and a Medicaid shortfall. And some continued attempts to increase legislative oversight of the executive branch are on track for passage, but others appear dead.
“A lot got accomplished (but there’s) stuff still to be done as we work through the last remaining issues,” House Speaker Todd Huston told reporters Thursday. “… Look for a strong week next week, and hopefully (we’re) wrapping it up by some point on Friday.”
“(There are) lots of things still in the air,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said. “… There’ll be plenty of conversations … as well as we try to get some of those things across the finish line, but (there’s been) lots of progress between us and the House right now on some of those outstanding issues.”
Talks still ongoing for multiple education bills
On the education front, lawmakers pushed a major literacy overhaul bill across the finish line last week. Senate Bill 1 — which drew pushback over a provision that’s likely to require thousands more reading-deficient third graders to be held back a year in school — is the standout measure of the 2024 session, Bray said Thursday.
Another contentious measure, Senate Bill 202, is also headed to Holcomb.
The bill seeks to push speech in college classrooms toward “intellectual diversity” and requires university boards of trustees to establish policies that prevent faculty from receiving tenure or promotions if they have not encouraged “free expression” and intellectual diversity,” or if they teach students political views unrelated to their discipline.
Multiple other bills are still in negotiations — or headed that way.
That includes House Bill 1137, dealing with religious instruction and school chaplains. The bill originally required schools to release students for up to two hours of weekly religious instruction at their parents’ request.
The Senate education committee added a provision from a separate bill to also allow chaplains to serve as school counselors. Under the latest draft, they can only provide secular guidance, except for emancipated minors or with a parent’s permission, however.
Legislation that would define and ban antisemitism at Indiana’s public education institutions must receive a Senate vote by Monday’s deadline. But even if it clears the chamber, the bill is likely headed to a conference committee, where further deliberations over the bill will take place.
Despite their previous support for the legislation, many members of Indiana’s Jewish community withdrew their approval after a definition of antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) was removed from House Bill 1002 by the Senate education committee.
“We obviously passed that bill out unanimously,” House Speaker Todd Huston said of the earlier draft of the House GOP priority measure, which included the IHRA definition of antisemitism. “We pass legislation that are priorities for our caucus, and (the Senate) has their opinions, too, and we’ll work through it. Maybe sometimes we get through it, other times we don’t.”
Senate Bill 282, focused on chronic absenteeism, is also up for a Monday vote in the House. The proposal requires school districts to prohibit habitually truant students — those who have 10 or more unexcused absences — from participating in extracurricular activities.
Under the bill, school officials must additionally report habitually truant students to the prosecutors’ office. Prosecutors would then have to notify parents that they’ve filed affidavits related to their students’ absenteeism.
Closed-door debate is meanwhile underway for a broad higher education measure requiring the state education department to offer an online option for all Indiana College Core courses by 2027.
Senate Bill 8 would further require colleges and universities to offer three-year degree programs.
Other language in the bill allows Indiana’s attorney general to sue state higher education institutions that fail to report any contracts of value with or gifts from foreign “sources” located in foreign adversaries, like China, Iran, North Korea or Russia.
A Senate chamber vote is also expected Monday for House Bill 1001. The work-based learning proposal — which builds off a massive 2023 bill that put in motion statewide career-centered education and training programs — would allow high school graduates to use money from the 21st Century Scholars program and Frank O’Bannon grants for training such as apprenticeships, rather than traditional college degrees. If passed, the bill still needs final approval from the House.
And amid what some Hoosier education officials have called an ongoing school counselor “crisis,” the General Assembly has yet to finalize House Bill 1243, which guarantees that school counselors will have more time to provide services for students that are increasingly in demand.
The provision appeared earlier in a different bill and has been amended multiple times as lawmakers attempt to ease concerns from school district officials.
The latest draft requires that for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 academic years, schools must ensure that at least 60% of a school counselor’s aggregate time on the clock is devoted to providing direct services to students. That increases to 85% beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.
Health language added to Senate funds bill
Several smaller health care issues remain outstanding — including legislation on nurse training, health care mergers and reimbursements for ambulances. Most have filed motions to concur or saw minor changes in their non-originating chamber and will likely cross the finish line.
The biggest looming issue in the health care sector is legislative action on the $1 billion Medicaid shortfall and additional reporting requirements for the overseeing agency, the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA).
After announcing the $1 billion “variance” in the Medicaid budget, FSSA proposed several program changes — the largest of which would transition 1,622 disabled children from attendant care to Structured Family Caregiving (SFC). For families, who have rallied at the Statehouse repeatedly in protest, that would mean a significant cut in payments.
House lawmakers used Senate Bill 256, a state funds bill, as a jumping off point for a slew of bipartisan amendments related to FSSA and attendant care.
On top of committee amendments, Rep. Jeff Thompson spearheaded an additional wave of amendments from the House floor. The Lizton Republican authored language mandating that 80% of state funds used to pay providers under SFC go to families, with 20% reserved for administrative expenses.
“As we’ve heard, there’s some cases where families are receiving less than half the amount of dollars. I don’t think that’s the way to operate,” Thompson said.
New Albany Republican Rep. Ed Clere introduced language to the bill that would define what it means to receive “extraordinary care,” including the use of:
- A mechanical ventilation system for at least ten hours each day
- Assistance with the majority of the individual’s daily living tasks
- Two life-saving medical devices or interventions, such as assistive devices for coughing, a cardiac monitor, a suction machine, a feeding pump, oxygen support, medication for uncontrollable seizures or chest percussion therapy.
To pay families providing such care, FSSA could establish an additional tier of payments under SFC and/or apply for a federal waiver to expand the state’s attendant care program.
The Arc of Indiana, which advocates on behalf of Hoosiers with disabilities, called the amendments a win for the disability community in a release.
“We greatly appreciate that members of the House have heard the cries of families seeking action to help them continue to care for loved ones with significant disabilities at home. We now call on members of the Senate to support those efforts and support families across the state,” said Kim Dodson, the organization’s CEO.
But Thompson acknowledged the bill likely won’t get a concurrence vote from the Senate, which would send it to a conference committee. Doing so would open negotiations between the two chambers to find middle ground but could strip out all of the changes made by House lawmakers.
“… We’re getting a lot of reports — and I mean a lot of reports — and I think (FSSA’s) full-time job there is going to be compiling reports,” Thompson said on the House floor Thursday. “… my guess is some of these things — a lot of them — won’t come through in the conference committee report. But at least we have it on the table as a fair discussion.”
Oversight proposals see mixed progress
Legislation offering limited oversight measures over the state’s opaque economic development agency is likely dead this session, legislative leaders say – but they’re moving forward with other proposals increasing legislative branch control over the governor and executive branch agencies.
Senate Bill 295 would’ve required the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) to tell counties or municipalities about land buys larger than 100 acres ahead of closing. It also would’ve added two lawmakers to the quasi-public agency’s board as non-voting advisory members.
It sailed through the Senate on a 44-5 vote, but didn’t secure a House committee hearing before a Tuesday deadline. The state’s top two lawmakers said they didn’t know if they’d revive it.
Asked where the language could land, House Speaker Huston simply replied, “Not sure.”
Senate President Pro Tem Bray said there are “lots of real conversations about that.”
“I don’t know if we’ll see that resurrected or not,” he added.
Lawmakers are still on track for some other flexing over the executive branch.
Senate Bill 234 puts new limits on disaster emergencies declared by the state’s leader. It’s in reaction to a slew of pandemic-era executive orders by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.
Holcomb is term-limited, but lawmakers have said they want to show the state’s next leader “where the parameters are.” Numerous candidates are currently vying to succeed him.
The legislation still needs to pass the House, and after that, the chambers will have to agree on a final version for the bill. That’s because House lawmakers weakened it last week by allowing more time and fewer strings attached on initial declarations and renewals.
Already headed to conference committee is Senate Bill 4, Sen. Chris Garten’s latest attempt at limiting agency discretion in rulemaking. Agencies issue rules to implement the statutes lawmakers devise.
The legislation makes some changes to the interim rulemaking process and tweaks a “noncompliant rule” framework introduced in Garten’s regulatory overhaul last session. It also would make the state’s budget agency prepare a list of dedicated funds that haven’t seen spending in the most recent two budget cycles, and in most cases, revert their money back to the General Fund.
But House lawmakers stripped out requirements that the Legislative Services Agency put together a report on administrative rule oversight and make new templates for legislation that creates funds or makes appropriations. Senators dissented from those changes, so lawmakers from both chambers will have to agree on a final version.
Garten’s other rulemaking-related effort, Senate Bill 297, appears dead after despite strong support from Senate Republicans; 30 signed on as authors or co-authors. But it missed the House’s committee hearing deadline Monday.
The measure would’ve curtailed agencies attempting to introduce rules with implementation or compliance costs topping $1 million. It also would’ve required agencies to perform cost-benefit analyses for all provisional and interim rules, not just regular ones.
Both Republican caucus leaders indicated their intention to sine die, or adjourn the 2024 legislative session, by March 8, a week earlier than anticipated. That gives lawmakers only a handful of days to tackle lingering issues before they leave the state capital.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.